FIRE AND WATER
MAYOR Pennoyer, of Portland, Ore., has decided on an absolute divorce between the fire department and politics. Chief Campbell, therefore, is not to be removed, nor are there to be any more removals among the firemen. It was nearly time for the mayor to discover that the fire department should not be converted into a mere political machine, and that the attempt at doing so leads to the impairment of its efficiency and the jeopardizement of life and property. The world moves.
SAVANNAH, Ga., underwriters are complaining bitterly of the city’s unprotected condition against fire. Some blame the water department, others, the fire departments, others again, both. One thing, however, is very certain, namely, that politics has played a most mischievous part in the municipal council and unsettled the minds of all connected with the various city departments. This, of course, has had a demoralizing effect all round—and the demoralization will continue to spread until a crisis arises, the outcome of which cannot but be disastrous to the best interests of the city. The administration of the water and the fire departments, at least,should be non-partisan, and till that is the case the citizens of Savannah can never look for the best service in these two most important lines.
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