Carolina Watchman

DON'T ECONOMIZE WITH PUBLIC SAFETY
The kind of "economy" that endangers a city's safety is false indeed.
That is the message in a brief article by L. S. Gregory, Assistant Secretary, Fireman's Fund Group. He is in a position to know. During the past few years a great many communities have gone in for "economy" where it is most dangerous--by lessening appropriations for the fire department.
Mr. Gregory cites a case in a large Southern city, where the firemen, in fighting a blaze in a manufacturing plant, could do almost nothing because the hose was so old that it could not stand normal pressure. They were able, through a fortunate circumstance, to borrow new hose from a private concern. Otherwise a conflagration might have resulted.
In another city, cuts in fire department appropriations necessitated laying up the fire boat. When a water-front fire broke out the city was confronted by the ludicrous spectacle of a handful of firemen in a row boat attempting to pull a line out from shore to control the fire!
It is probable that most cities and towns have economized principally in the matter of fire apparatus. Old engines are allowed to keep on in service when they are outmoded and inefficient, or in need of repair. New engines which are vitally needed are not purchased. A few thousand dollars is "saved" and millions of dollars and a multitude of lives are endangered.
There's no worse place to cut costs than the fire department. And there's no better time to improve than right now. The Federal government is making exceptionally favorable loans to cities, 30 per cent of which is to be an outright gift, for needed public works.
No "public work" is more valuable to every citizen than an A-1 fire department.