had said that the only way to become a surgeon would be to commence cutting off limbs, without any knowledge of anatomy or of the implements required.

"There is no such short cut to proficiency in any profession, and the day will come when your fellow-countrymen will be obliged to open their eyes to the fact, that if a man learns the business of a fireman only by attending fires, he must of necessity learn it badly, and that even what he does pick up, and may seem to know, he will know imperfectly, and be incapable of imparting to others.

"I consider the business of a fireman a regular profession, requiring previous study and training, as other professions do; and I am convinced that where study and training are omitted, and men are pitchforked into the practical work without preparation, the fire department will never be found capable of dealing satisfactorily with great emergencies."

The efficiency or inefficiency of the fire departments in this country, as compared with those in other countries, cannot be measured by the percentage of property destroyed. It is necessary to take into account not only the difference in the methods of constructing buildings, but the regulations which are in force in regard to the manufacture, storage, and use of all combustible materials. It is claimed by those who control our departments, that the comparatively small losses sustained in London, Paris, and Berlin are owing wholly to the fire-proof character of the buildings in those cities, and the rigid enforcement of certain police regulations. The lack of training on the part of members of the departments is more than compensated, in their opinion, by esprit de corps, and the general superiority of the American fire apparatus.

Given a body of volunteer militia, armed with needle-guns, but without any special training as to the manner of using them, and put it in opposition to a thoroughly drilled and disciplined body of regulars, armed with smooth bores; and, upon the theory of the American fire engineers, the regulars would go down before the superior dash and enthusiasm of the volunteers. Undoubtedly, enthusiasm will sometimes win by its own force, but in the long run training makes the best record. The whole theory is, however, based upon a false notion that the more a man knows about his business, the less interest he takes in it.

These general statements of the views entertained by the officers of our departments as to the qualifications necessary for the duties of a fireman, ought, perhaps, to be somewhat modified since the great fires in Chicago and Boston. In a number of the large cities, the departments have been placed under the control of a Board of Commissioners, appointed for a term of years, and an effort has been made to get rid of political influences. This is the first step, and the most important one, towards establishing the organizations upon a sound basis. Boston, notwithstanding the lesson it has received, still adheres to the old system. The evidence accompanying the recent report of the Commission appointed to investigate the cause and management of the fire on the 9th of November last furnishes the material for a description of this system, and its method of operation, which may not be without interest.

A chief engineer and fourteen assistant engineers are elected annually, by a concurrent vote of the two branches of the City Council. All other members of the department are appointed by the Mayor, with the approval of the Aldermen. But the City Council has entire control of the number of persons to be appointed, designates their qualifications, term of service, and duties, and provides and locates all the fire apparatus. The engineers have some authority by statute law to take measures for the prevention of fires, but it is limited.†

During a fire, the chief and assistant engineers have almost unlimited power; but they may be placed in such a condition by the previous action of the City Council in locating the fire apparatus, and in establishing the regulations under which their subordinates act, that they cannot exercise their power with any efficiency. For instance, under the authority to fix

* The city government of Boston consists of a Mayor, elected annually; twelve Aldermen, elected annually on a general ticket; and four Councilmen, elected annually by each of the sixteen wards. The Board of Aldermen and the Common Council constitute the body known as the City Council. They act separately upon most matters, in the same manner as the Senate and House of Representatives.

†The prohibition of smoking in the streets of Boston, which has been the subject of much good-natured ridicule, on the supposition that it was a sumptuary regulation, occurs in the statute defining the duties of the engineers in regard to the prevention of fires.

the qualifications of members, the City Council provides that every foreman and assistant foreman of a company shall be nominated annually, and whenever a vacancy occurs, by the members of the company. It often happens that the man who has held the position for years, and who is best qualified for it, is thrown out by a bare majority of disaffected members, and one who is totally inexperienced put in his place. The regulations give this man the power to direct the placing of the engine at fires, and the charge and control of the hose and hose-men.

An engine company consists of a driver, a fireman, and an engineer, who are permanently employed, and eight hose-men (including the foreman), who do duty only in case of fire, and who are engaged at other times in various private employments. A hose company consists of a driver, who is permanently employed, and eight hose-men, including a foreman. The hose companies act independently of the engine companies. When a fire is below the third story of a building, they connect the hose with a hydrant; when it is above, they connect the hose with an engine. A hook and ladder company consists of a driver, permanently employed, a foreman, an assistant foreman, four axe-men, four rake-men, and from six to thirteen laddermen. The crew of the steam fire-boat, attached to the department, consists of a captain, an engineer, and five assistants, all permanently employed. The duties of these men are sufficiently indicated by their titles. The whole force, including the engineers, consists of four hundred and fifty-nine men. The salary of the chief engineer is $ 3,000 per annum; of the assistant engineers, who are on duty only a portion of the time, $500 per annum; of the engine-men, $3.50 per diem; of the firemen, $3.25 per diem; of the drivers, $3 per diem; of the foremen, $325 per annum; of the hose-men, $300 per annum.

With the exception of the engineers, the men continue in service during good behavior. Although the foremen and assistant foremen may be reduced to the ranks, by the action of the companies at their annual nominations, they cannot be deprived of membership. The annual election of engineers by the City Council has a very pernicious influence upon the discipline of the department, not so much on account of the - NO. 240.

VOL. CXVII.

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changes which are made, as the old members are generally re-elected, — but on account of the state of subserviency which results from their dependence upon a political body. Assistant engineers are put in nomination against their chief; foremen of engine companies. enter into political competition with the assistant engineers; and the members of companies intrigue for the nomination of foreman. It would hardly be expected that such an organization could enjoy a high state of discipline. The surprising part of it is, that there should be any discipline at all. Neither the officers nor the men have any training, except that which they receive while attending fires.

The apparatus of the department in service at the time of the fire in November consisted of twenty-one steam fireengines, weighing from 6,800 to 10,500 pounds each (including about 450 feet of hose), and capable of throwing from 300 to 550 gallons of water a minute to a horizontal distance of 320 feet, and a vertical distance of 220 feet; ten hose carriages, carrying an average of 900 feet of hose; seven hook and ladder carriages, carrying from fifteen to twenty ladders, and a number of axes, rakes, hooks, forks, and buckets; three fire-extinguisher wagons, each carrying ten portable extinguishers of the Babcock patent, and several hundred feet of twoinch and one and one half inch hose; and an insurance wagon, carrying rubber coverings to protect property exposed to damage by water. The Insurance Brigade, as it is called, consists of nine men, who belong to the regular department, but who are paid by the insurance companies. Since the fire, the department has been enlarged by the addition of a steam fire-boat, for the protection of the water front, capable of throwing eight powerful streams, several steam-engines, and a Babcock chemical engine. The last-named machine is a recent invention of great value in the early stages of a fire. It weighs about 3,200 pounds, and may be drawn by one or two horses. It contains two chambers, one of which can be charged while the other is being discharged; so that a constant stream can be kept up through a one-inch pipe to a vertical distance of seventy-five feet. As these machines are easily handled, and always ready for use, they are admirably adapted to take the place of the manual engines which Captain Shaw considers so essential to the apparatus for a city.

The control of the telegraphic fire-alarm system is in the hands of a department entirely independent of the fire engineers. A great number of boxes are placed in different sections of the city, generally on the corners of streets; and the alarms are given by pulling a slide inside these boxes, which communicates the number to the central office at the City Hall. From that point wires connect with the bells on churches and other public buildings, and also with gongs in the fire stations, and the private houses of the engineers. In some of the engine-houses the electric current which gives the alarm unhitches the horses from their stalls at the same time, and those which have been trained instantly take their places at the pole, without any word of command. Every effort is made to have the apparatus on the ground and in working order in the shortest possible time; and in the performance of this duty (owing in a great measure to the rivalry existing between the different companies) remarkable energy is shown. In many cases the engines leave their stations in twenty or thirty seconds after the alarm is struck. An ingenious arrangement has been recently introduced, by which the water in the boilers of the engines is kept constantly heated by connection with the heating apparatus in the station-houses; and the engines are ready for service as soon as they arrive on the ground. The city is divided into eight fire districts, and only that portion of the apparatus situated in the district from which that alarm is given responds to the first signal.

The fire of the 9th of November originated in the basement of a warehouse about seventy-two feet high, including a Mansard roof, and covering an area of fifty by one hundred feet. The front wall was of granite, the rear and partition walls were of brick.

It would hardly be possible to devise a more ingenious scheme for dividing responsibility, and insuring the largest possible outlay, than that adopted by the City Council for the government of the fire department. There is a joint committee of the City Council on the department, a board of engineers, another joint committee on fire-alarms, a superintendent of fire-alarms, another joint committee to purchase lands and erect and repair station-houses, and another board which locates and controls the hydrants and reservoirs.

† In New York the engines are frequently run out with the horses attached in twelve seconds after the alarm is sounded.