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About The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 23, 1899)
iL. XIV., NO. XXXVIII. ESTABLISHED IN 1886 PRICE FIVE CBNT& ' i ; '. .. -v I ( - . - -if ..; LINCOLN, NBBR.J, SATURDAY, SbPTBMBER 23, 1800. ITKIU'.D IN THE POSTOFFICE AT LINCOLN AS BECOND CIjABB MATTER. PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY i -nt- COURIER PRINTING AND PUBLISHING GO Oflice 1132 N street, Up Stairs. Telephone 384. LRAH B. HARRIS. Editor Subscription Katop In Advance. rer annum 91 ou lix months 75 "hreo raontbB 50 )no month ......... 20 linglo copies . . 05 I, The Courier will not bo responsible for vol uiiiu iuiiiiiiuimcuwuub uuiuns ttccuiniiumuu uy fttllrn nnafuvn ' Communications, to rocoivo attontion, must to sisnod by ttio mil nnme of tho writer, not Boroly ns a sunrantoo of good faith, but for auuciuiun u auviBHDio, OBSERVATIONS. i Colonel StoUcnburg and the Regiment. Tho most important clement of 3olonol Stotzenburg's greatness and lucccss was liis ability to make a reg iment out of companies enlisted from jlncoln,' Omaha, York, Hastings, Iroken Bow, Geneva, and other little towns in Nebraska. In accordance rith the national custom of contlgu- )us towns or cities of the same size, these little 'towns hate and are jeal- aus of each other. No bettor example )f the unifying power of a leader can jo found than the regiment that Col )nel StoUcnburg mude out of these ineongonial elements. From the time the regiment left Lincoln until Colonel StoUcnburg was made Col- nel, L Company from Omaha was iparb and outside of the icgiment. was maneuvering to socuro special Irivllcgcsand in several instances it ras Lemporarily successful.' Colonel stoUenburg realized that the pride of locality, the sort of fraternity exclu- Jlveness and aristocracy that L com- ipany exhibited should bo destroyed. As Boon as lie had the power, tho Colonel nit L company to work putting it on exactly the same basis as tho other companies, Dor this tho Colonel r,is assassinated by tho men tho were weeded out of the regiment and who returned while the Nebraska legislature wus in session to nake a plaint of ill treatment instead )f a confession of incurable Incompet ency. But tho very satisfactory, re- full In the Filipinos was the unifica tion of the regiment and the rapid elopment of as brave. and perfectly -uleel a body of men as ever fought ..'ether. The Ouauhu men when they were once disciplined made good lighters and capable, faithful officers! The realization that 'the regiment was a whole, composed of lighting ,parts whose devotionto tile tfirst was complete, whose esprit du corps had finally and completely destroyed any petty allegiance to Omaha, Lincoln, Hastings,Xork,or Grand Island, partly recompensed the Colonel for any personal airronts he was made to s.uf. fer rrom tho legislature. Tho quality of leadership, which gave every man in the regiment implicit confidence in him when he ordered a charge in the face of an intrenched foe was Colonel Stotzenburg's birthright. .Without it the regiment would have remained as It was first composed companies of men from Lincoln from Omaha from here and there over tho state. A Fire Chief. Unless Lincoln is to be destroyed by fire, it must have a fire chief whose recommendations the council will consider with respect, who can com mand the respect, obedience and emulation of every li reman and who will drill them till they aro letter perfect in the specilic duties of a fire man engaged in putting out a lire The present force are undrillcd 'men who are clumsy and excited when a .lire breaks out In last week's tire,thc rawness and lack of drill was ap parent to any one who has seen a thoroughly organized tire department at work. It is not so essential that the fire chief's wagon should be paint ed a brilliant red, white and gilt as that the firemen should learn how to handle and work the ladders and water tower, that each man should learn his post and 'his" duties when tho fire alarm sounds and afterwards, when tho swinging, swaying fire engine and hose carts have arrived at the lire. Firemen of the Lincoln de partment might grumble If the may or should placo a man 'from outside the state at the head of the depart ment. But the right man would make good firemen out of tho stalwart fellows who now spend too largo a portion pf their leisure time painting the chief's wagon and lounging about the different stations.; A thoroughly competent,' experienced tiro chief possessing the quality of leadership would organize the Lincoln fire do' partment as Colonel StoUcnburg or ganized the First.' HJs success would disarm envy and the very men who threatened the mayor with political disfavor would take increased pride in him for this crowning evidence of his discriminating judgment. i The Fire ChiePt Salary. , The loss to tho city of the taxes on property destroyed by fl.ro w.ou.ld more than pay a competent. chief's salary. Since the present chief's administra tion the city has been -afflicte'd' with larger and more disastrous fires than In any othor one period. Chief Wled- man is an industrious, honest, eco nomical man, but ho is entirely lack ing in tho qualities of leadership, an essential qualification' of ono who must command in emergencies. 'Tlic climt'x of a lircclilef's responsibility is that always unexpected exigencya tire. As in the case of a great general whose troops are well drilled and ac customed to instant obedience, the In dividual' peculiarities of each tire will be comprehended by tho chief, and his commands will reflect his compre hension and mastery of tlics6 inci dents. ' ' Mayor Winnett's action is hamper ed by a lack of funds und the partial ly bankrupt condition of. the city makes a remedy ditllcult. Butatevcry tire the need of a controlling and com prehending chief is more and more apparent. It is spendthrift folly tb jeopardize the safety of the city, be sides being constantly threatened with a rise In insurance rates, for the sake of keeping in oflice a Well-meaning but Incompetent man. It Is urged that tho fire department should be commended for preventing the burning of the frame pars'uuigc nortli of tho Methodist church last Friday night. Butthls fcatindicutcs that the same time and effort expend ed on the stone church would have kept it from burning. Tho distance between the North building and the church and between the church und the frame parsonage is the same und the church being constructed of stono it was easier to prevent the latter ig .nltlng irom the adjacent burning building. -On tho church it would only, have been necessary to keep the roof, eavesj and windowj frames wet. Tho old pine house, every inch of which is inflammable, was soaked with water and thus preserved from fire though only a few feet away from tho burning church. Long after the flames were in complete control of the North building on the west of the church the firemen were pouring water into the front of the building. In large tires it is us necessary to know when to abandon a position us It Is to direc.t new hose streams- It is a matter of retreating from an impossi ble position, to tako a stronger one in time to hold the new position. The North building hadr surrendered to the fire long before the firemen were allowed to turn the streams upon the church und then tho enemy was In side and the water liad very little effect. , , , The Fire Department;. With Councilman Woodward as the chairman of the council committee of tho fire department the cause of its present disorganization Is partly explained. Mr. Woodward's recom mendations to the council in regurd to tiio fire department aro ineffectual and have hot the. credit of being in spired by. a single motive tho need's of the department. When he advo. cates, week after Week, a' cistern In a locality whore it is not needed, tho conclusion is Inevitable . that' Mr. 'Woodward wishes to have a icistcrn 'dug there to glvo work to men who have votes, or to gain popularity with the pcoplo of that section. Hols one of ( those' Unfortunates who cannot !kcep things separate. It has become impo&siblo 'for him to consider tho g()6dufthc fire department by itself and without regard to tho political effect Ills recommendations may have upoh hlihself. iMiis mixture of mo tive has retroactcd upon Mr. Wood ward to his' own loss. His influence in the council is trifling on account of the suspicion that lie is trying to ac complish by nieans ofitlie firo depart ment some th Ing for which it was, nut created, viz., tho popularization and dxaltatlon of Mr. Woodward. Such a suspicion may not bo altogether 'wcll'foundcd; but there is little doubt that it has undermined his standing with the1 other counciltucn und wjch his follow citizens. : H Councilman Wooiward's Resolutions At the council meeting on Monday night Mr. Woodward moved that tho chief and chairman of tho fire com mittee (Mr. Woodward is the chair man) be Instructed to put (in ten ex tra firemen at 1.50 for each twenty four hours. Mr. Woodward said that the men ought not to be kept In the fire stations but in tho street fair dis trlcts. On being questioned as to what their duties should be und how, in case of an alarm ' they would know the location of a lire without going to the etatlon, he was not uble, to an swer.' The chief did not approve of firemen being stationed on the streets and when Chief of' Police, Hpagland stated that lie had, placed extra police men in the street fair district with in structions to guard against fires, the motion was lost. Then the unabash ed Woodward moved that the city .en gineer be instructed to advertise for bids to put in a cistern on Elevcpth street, between O and V streets, with a capacity of 2,500 barrels, und that the clstern.becon tiectcd 'jup" with the ,clty water main, and with the-dpwi spout leading from, the Itlcjiard's block so as tOjConduct the alq water off of .this block to the sa(ld cistern. President, Webstersald that tho reso lution wu impracticable and to set tle the .question It.wosleft to thecity engineer, . Mr. Woodward moved th'at tho firo chief bo instructed to reniove tlio Jlro engine from engine- house No. 2, to engine-house No. 1, and replace it at .No. 2, wltli a ladder truck, This mas ter was opposed by many members. Councilman. Mulone said he did not care, to discuss such a question, as that was tho fire chief's business. Mr. Mockett moved a,point of .order, as the city employed a lire chief to look after placing die apparatus. 'Mr. Woodward withdrew the resolution. " , These recommendat'ions are hot re ferred to here for fear that, they may becomo operative butforthe purpose of considering their futility and of Vr-