The Two Platoon Bill in Massachusetts

The Two Platoon Bill in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts two-platoon bill was killed in the Sena_____e by a vote of 16 to 5. Efforts to have its consideration postponed for a week or so were defeated. There was very little discussion of the bill by the Senate. The measure is dead for this year in the Massachusetts Legislature.

两个公投法案platoon stem in Massachusetts came up for its final passage in the house on May 5, and by a vote of 111 to 104 it went to the senate for concurence. The original bill which passed the first and second readings was for the twelve cities of the state of 50,000 or more inhabitants; an amendment has been added to the bill which makes it apply to all the 33 cities of the state. The whole day was devoted to discussion of the bill and the arguments on both sides were practically the same as have been used in discussing this question in the past in many city councils, State legislatures and elsewhere. From the representatives of the different cities it was learned that the firemen of all of them were divided on the question of its adoption, many of the firemen prefering one day off in every five, which all of the cities of this state except Lowell and Taunton now have, to the two platoon system, the older members and officers generally favoring the days off. While the house was about evenly divided on the question of adopting the bill it was practically unanimous in its opinion that the firemen of small cities are as much entitled to the benefits of the two platoon system as thos6 of the largest cities and there was no important opposition to the adoption of that amendment. The legislators claimed that the paid firemen of the small ‘cities and towns are fewer in number than in large cities, have a great deal more daily station duty to perform, receive less salary, and in. towns have less days off, and should receive the benefits of the two-platoon system if any firemen should. Had the bill passed the Senate and Governor and come before all the 33 cities of the State at their municipal election next fall to be voted on, it would have met the greatest test vote since it was launched by Chief J. W. Dickinson, of Cleveland, O., 26 years ago. In 1912 all the cities but three of the state, on a referendum vote, accepted the one day off duty in five for firemen, And in 1913 all the cities by a large majority voted to exempt call firemen from a civil service examination to enter the permenent force, and it has always been with the firemen in such measures, but with the great opposition that now exists in this state both in and out of the fire service to the two-platoon system, no one can now predict accurately what the final result will be.