FIRE AND WATER.

FIRE AND WATER.

IN Manhattan borough, New York, a lodging house for homeless men is maintained by the city. A report of its management has just been made to the authorities at Albany, according to which it appears that in some of the dormitories (which are on the second, third, fourth, and fifth floors), it is doubtful whether the air space required for each bed by the regulations of the board of health is provided. In the face of the recent holocaust in the Bowery mission house it does not seem amiss to inquire why such overcrowding is permitted by the municipality. Had there been fewer inmates of the Bowery house, the means of escape from the fire would have been easier. Who shall guarantee immunity from fire in the municipal lodging house or undertake that a similar catastrophe shall not take place there if such a fire should break out ? In any case, the city authorities should be the last to set the example of not living up to the letter of the law. The overcrowding should be at once stopped, not only for sanitary reasons, but also to afford the lodgers the means of escape should the building take fire, and to give the firemen room and space enough in which to work.

佐治亚州萨凡纳水,是被浪费的lesale every day, while at times there is not enough to supply the fire engines in case of a large fire. The water supply of Atlanta in the same State reaches 2,800,000 gallons a day, while the pumpage at Savannah, with a population of 18,000, is 6,000,000 gallons in the same time. Atlanta, with a population of over 110,000, has a supply abundant enough for the legitimate wants of the whole city. In Savannah, however, it will be found that at least 2,000,000 gallons of water more than are legitimately used are pumped every day. That is to say, the daily waste of water is 2,000,000 gallons. Allowing for the fact that Atlanta is a much larger city than Savannah, and, therefore, takes more water for cleaning and fire purposes, still the difference in consumption between the two cities—about forty-two gallons per capita in Atlanta to 149 in Savannah cannot be accounted for on the score of the superior cleanliness of the latter city—in reality Atlanta is the cleaner_of the two. Yet, while it is obvious that the.compulsory meterage of water and a more rigid system of inspection would do away with nine-tenths of the water waste, there is a general feeling of antagonism in Savannah (as in several other Southern cities) to meterage,on the ground that, if the use of water were restricted, the health of the people would suffer; uncleanly habits would be engendered, and the results would be disastrous.