THE

HE city of Jamestown takes pride in the distinction of having the cleanest paved streets of any city in the United States. This is due mainly to the fact that the municipality has utilized the fire department for street flushing purposes, and in doing so the city has succeeded in eliminating, to a very large extent, the` element of waste which is common in all cities in which paid fire departments are maintained. And in the elimination of the element of waste in the non-employment of firemen, there is a correspondingly large degree of saving in the expense for street flushing purposes.

In third-class cities there is an average of only one fire per week. This means that the firemen are kept in the hose houses in idleness and confined in various stations, during the time that elapses between fires, without rendering any service to the community, while waiting for fire alarms. This is not only an expense to the community, but a detriment to the men themselves.

In Jamestown this problem has been solved. There are 40 paid firemen, and the total expense of the maintenance of the department is in round figures $45,000 annually. There are six companies, with six stations in various parts of the city. Three of these companies are alternately employed three hours each day in flushing the streets, with a separate line of hose for that purpose. An auto-driven apparatus engine is kept constantly in close touch with the firemen who are engaged in flushing, so that when an alarm is given they are quickly conveyed to the scene of fire from the place at which the flushing is being done. In this manner the efficiency of the department in responding to alarms is not in the slightest degree impaired; on the contrary, the men, by reason of exercise in the open air, are rendered more efficient as fire fighters, precisely as fire horses are rendered more efficient by being constantly taken out for exercise upon the street at intervals between fires.

When the proposition to utilize the firemen was first proposed, there was considerable objection offered by some of the firemen, as well as by some of the politicians

and the insurance companies. The insurance companies objected upon the ground that the firemen would not be able to respond to fire alarms as promptly as they did while stationed at the various fire houses. This argument was met by showing that, since the fire apparatus was in constant readiness upon the streets where flushing was being done, and within easy access of the firemen, no delay was entailed in making the run to the fire. On the other hand, the politicians maintained that it was contrary to the civil service laws to require firemen to perform any service except that of putting out fires. The same argument was advanced by certain politicians when it was proposed to utilize the army engineers in building the Panama Canal, on the ground that they were engaged simply for war purposes and not any other purpose. All these objections have had little effect in the face of the public sentiment which has developed within the last few years in Jamestown and elsewhere in support of the new science of government, which means that every department of public service shall be utilized for every purpose possible for the good of the community as a whole. And it is the recognition of this new school of thought that has made not only the street cleaning method, but all other branches of the public service in the city of Jamestown, a success, not only from a standpoint of economy, but in the matter of service to the citizens.

Since Jamestown owns its own water plant, the cost of water for flushing the streets is practically nothing. In addition to the municipal fire protection and water service, the city owns its lighting plants. This, like the water plant, is entirely selfsustaining, and by means of it electric current is furnished to the citizens at 4 cents per K. W. H. A municipal hospital, a municipal public market, municipal parks, municipal paving and sewer construction are also among the successful public undertakings in which the city is engaged. In the conduct of all these utilities the element of partisan politics is absolutely eliminated and efficiency and service are made the basis of control.

T

HE deterioration of hose is usually caused by neglect of the hose surface. After every fire this cover fabric is bound to be water soaked and filled with sand or mud and foreign matter. The sand insidiously works its way into the fabric, its sharp particles cutting the strands of the covering. The accumulation of grains of sand soon causes that fuzzy appearance which predicts early weakness of the fabric and often results in a burst hose.

Of first importance, therefore, in the care of hose, I consider the hose surface. After each time of use, the hose covering should be thoroughly washed and scrubbed and then dried. If the hose is put away without first drying out all surface moisture, disastrous results are bound to follow. The hose is immediately attacked by fungus, and mildew results; then rotting sets in, and within a very short time the hose is worthless junk.

Avoid friction on the surface of the hose fabric when the hose is in use. Be sure especially to arrange that the section nearest the fire plug is not being chafed by the vibration at the point of contact with the ground.

As fire will immediately ruin a hose, so also will the direct rays of the sun. All stored hose should, therefore, be kept away from hot sunshine, as within a very short time the rays of old Sol will act like fire on a cotton hose covering. I might add that very hot, dry air has similar effect, though to a lesser degree.

In the opinion of the writer, there is little choice as to the external fabric of the fire hose, as the object of this outside fabric is simply to give sufficient strength to withstand the water pressure. The inside lining of rubber is of the greatest importance and should be of pure rubber of the finest quality.

For a long time an old idea prevailed that it was disastrous to leave any particle of

* From a paper read at the last convention of the South Carolina State Firemen's Association.

water inside the hose after having been in use. The experience of my department, coupled with the experience of others, has convinced me it is unnecessary to drain a hose thoroughly after use. The inside surface had better be kept damp or moist. Moisture has no effect or bad influence on pure rubber, and therefore need cause no fear in the minds of the department using first class equipment. Pure rubber has, however, one real enemy. Oil of any kind is ruinous. Avoid all oil as you would a pestilence. I am of the opinion that it is quite unnecessary to oil hose couplings. Others, however, disagree with me on this. point. If you do resort to lubrication of couplings, avoid all leakages; do not permit any of your lubricant to get into your hose. If through accident this does happen, no time should be lost in thoroughly wiping out and cleansing the part which has been oiled. Acids and other chemicals, iron rust, sulphur fumes, etc., are also injurious to hose, and contact with them is to be avoided.

Hose, like horses or like man, suffer from lack of use. If you permit your fire horses to stand in their stalls without exercise they are sure to stiffen up and become worthless; so also with your hose. Handle it, keep it soft and pliable, do not allow it to remain in its cart or on its reel indefinitely without pulling out or unwinding it. It should be a fixed rule in every department that all hose must be taken from the trucks at least twice a month. The hose is then worked over, brushed and thoroughly wet inside. It is then reinstalled, the men being particular to see that the bends in the hose come at a different point from the one they occupied before. Avoid short bends in your hose when stored away. Severe cold causes deterioration of rubber, and freezing temperature tends to crack the hose. Under the exigency of fire fighting, no preventives for these troubles can be suggested. Usual care and a thorough draining of hose is the best that can be done..

I'

T must be obvious even to the most casual observer that there is a steady development of the tendency to improve street lighting, whether by gas or electricity -and especially, the writer believes, with emphasis on electrical methods. The variety and novelty exhibited in the newer electrical systems for street illumination of the last few years are really quite remarkable; the result being that at the moment heterogeneity is most manifest, with a good deal of uncertainty as to what is going to happen next. But the system employed, whatever it may be, is aimed at a closer approximation to daylight conditions than we have previously enjoyed, due to a keener realization of the fact that the great majority of our thoroughfares are still seriously under-lighted.

In any city of sizable character in the United States we can find one or two streets where the illumination is all that could be desired; perhaps there is even a little too much of it. But, as in Europe, once outside the favored area of limited extent, you penetrate a region of relative gloom and darkness. It is very hard to define or make precise one's impressions as to such matters, but the writer in visiting Philadelphia, where the older but best modern types of "open" electric arcs are in use, always brings away the sense of high average illumination over the whole city which is rarely equaled within narrower boundaries, and certainly so far never surpassed. Yet admittedly the tendency to-day is away from the mere arc and toward newer illuminants. It may be just as well that we never settle down to a good thing without wanting something else immediately, probably not because it is much better, but because it is different from what we have had before.

As pointed out by the Committee on Progress of the Illuminating Engineering Society last September, there is abundant evidence that the public is beginning to

recognize the desirability of good lighting. This is indicated by the recent action of a club in one of the large cities, which appointed a committee to investigate the question of street lighting and make recommendations to the city council. In another city a "Municipal Lighting Day" was held at the State University for the benefit of city officials throughout the state and for others interested in the conduct of municipal affairs. This included lectures and demonstrations on the subject of street lighting. Such examples are but typical. other side of the Atlantic kindred yearnings still appear to work out in the larger use of high pressure gas, but a progressive city like Turin, Italy, is spending $500,000 for 3,000. "flaming" electric arcs on the main streets, with side street lighting by means of modern incandescents.

On the

Fundamental Purposes of Street Illumination

Just what we are after in the higher illumination of our streets is being better defined than ever before, and of course the closer study of the subject works itself out in newer forms of specification or cleaner cut phraseology as to what is wanted. A prolonged discussion in England has served only to emphasize the lack of unanimity on the part of lighting engineers as to just what the requirements are for satisfactory street illumination. The problem has been attacked in this country by a committee appointed by the National Electric Light Association and the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies along lines somewhat different from those previously employed. It was assumed that the fundamental purposes to be served by street illumination are: (1) discernment of large objects in the street and on the sidewalk; (2) discernment of surface irregularities in the street and on the sidewalk; and (3) good general appearance of the lighted street.