December 1, 1912.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



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Vol. 47. 



DECEMBER 1, 1912. 



No. 3 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS ON LAST PAGE OF READING. 



A BRIEF HISTORY OF FIRE HOSE SPECIFICA- 

 TIONS. 



1 



T is the opinion of many that if there is anv monopoly 

 or combination of capital now existing in restraint 

 of trade it is the so-called fire insurance trust, as exempli- 

 fied by its attitude towards the manufacturers of fire de- 

 partment hose. 



That which more directly concerns our readers, how- 

 ever, is the attitude of the insurance laboratory theorists 

 towards fire departments and manufacturers of fire de- 

 partment equipment. The manufacturers of fire hose, 

 for instance, some thirty-two in number, have been pro- 

 testing against the threatened complete domination of 

 these insurance autocrats for the past three years. Their 

 ■demands being unreasonable and their methods arbitrary, 

 the great majority of the fire hose manufacturers declare 

 that they will continue to stand out against the exactions 

 of these self-appointed censors. 

 >| For the sake of' argument let us admit that a few, say 



n 10 per cent,, of the fire departments of the United States 

 have in the past, for economical reasons, purchased hose 

 ■• of a weight, cjuality or character not adequate or good 

 ^ enough for their needs, and let us also admit that the 



LIBHA 



large interests of the insurance companies entitle them 

 to respectful consideration. The agitation against poor 

 hose was started by fire department officials in some of 

 our largest cities, which, through false economy and in 

 deference to public clamor, had bought cheap hose in the 

 past. The insurance companies through their labora- j.^^ „, 

 tories, without consulting reliable authorities on rubbeiBOTANii 

 compounding, plunged headlong into the controversy by Qakoe 

 formulating a set of specifications covering the construc- 

 tion of fire hose which they sent to leading fire chiefs, 

 asking their opinion of them. Those familiar with the 

 elementary principles of hose construction did not take 

 these specifications seriously, others condemned them, but 

 some were led to believe that these had been already 

 established as standard. These specifications contained 

 many incongruities and their circulation created a tem- 

 porary condition of demoralization in the minds of the 

 manufacturers and fire engineers alike. 



.\ committee representing every fire hose manufac- 

 turer in the United States called upon the insurance in- 

 terest, protesting and seeking some friendly co-operation. 

 They yielded in a way by appointing a meeting with their 

 hose committee. The manufacturers' committee sought 

 to show the insurance committee that it would be impos- 

 sible to draw specifications covering the construction of 

 fire hose which would obtain for the fire service the best 

 products of the American factories, as now represented 

 by the highest quality brands of the various makers. But 

 it was agreed that minimum specifications for laboratory 

 guidance and standardizing, as a basis of agreement, 

 were possible and desirable and the manufacturers would 

 welcome an alliance with the insurance interest. It was 

 soon manifest to the rubber manufacturers at the first 

 meeting of this joint committee that the insurance mem- 

 bers expected by virtue of the power behind them to ride 

 down all opposition to their plan of domination. What 

 appeared then as sane judgment, but later proved to be 

 fox craft, prevailed, and the manufacturers' committee 

 proposed to continue the conference with the distinct 

 understanding that whatever specifications should be 

 compiled would be for use in the laboratories only, and 

 not published or circulated for advertising purposes. It 

 was so agreed. (The laboratory specifications which 

 were the outcome of this agreement were afterwards 

 promulgated — notwithstanding the agreement — by the 

 •insurance laboratories.) The manufacturers' committee 

 continued this conference with the insurance committee 

 for the purpose of formulating minimum specifications 

 for fire hose, not to be published but to be used only 



