iL. XIV., NO. XXXVIII.
ESTABLISHED IN 1886
PRICE FIVE CBNT&
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LINCOLN, NBBR.J, SATURDAY, SbPTBMBER 23, 1800.
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BECOND CIjABB MATTER.
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' 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-
