142 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[February i, 1908. 



7. That specifications for weight and strength of cotton duck 

 and for yarn used in cotton covers be abolished, as this is cov- 

 ered by the four-year guarantee. 



8. That no bid be considered unless from a manufacturer of or 

 dealer in fire hose. 



9. That in cases where agents (not direct representatives of 

 hose manufacturers) file a bid they must specify the brand of 

 hose to be supplied and the bid must be accompanied by the 

 manufacturer's guarantee. 



ID. That any bid may be rejected in whole or in part. 



11. That upon a delivery of the above mentioned hose the de- 

 partment shall test all hose on hand, over one year old, to a pres- 

 sure of 200 pounds per square inch, until all has been tested or 

 until an amount equal to that delivered has been bursted ; in 

 which case the department shall purchase as speedily as possible 

 .1 further lot of hose to replace that burst and upon its delivery 

 continue the testing until hose has been tested throughout the 

 boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. 



12. That prompt measures be taken to enforce the fullfilment 

 of the guarantees on hose purchased during the last three years ; 

 this applies especially to the , , and brands.* 



13. That bids be immediately advertised for at least eight hose 

 wagons as designed by the fire department, to be used in connec- 

 tion with the high pressure fire service. 



14. That a supply of three-inch hose be purchased, about 

 30,000 feet, to equip the high pressure hose wagons. This hose 

 should be purchased under similar liberal specifications as the 

 other department hose, but should be guaranteed to stand 400 

 pounds pressure, every length should be tested to 300 pounds, 

 and every fifth length to 400 pounds. This also should be de- 

 livered as early as possible. Respectfully submitted, 



W. E. M.\LLILIEU. 

 Assistant to General Agent. 



John H. O'Brien, formerly fire commissioner of New York for 

 a short period and now holding another position in the city gov- 

 ernment, has issued a statement bearing upon the system of 

 new and larger water mains ordered at a heavy cost and now 

 Hearing completion, in which connection he says : "Unless the 

 fire department is equipped with hose capable of standing hydrant 

 pressure of 300 pounds, efficiency of the high pressure system prob- 

 ably will be nullified. The city ought to vote $500,000 for hose 

 to insure the success of the new fire protection service, which 

 is costing $3,500,000." 



Burning of the P.\rker Building. 

 The importance of the fire hose question has been emphasized, 

 since the appearance of the reports just referred to. by the 

 burning of the twelve story Parker building, at Fourth avenue 

 and Nineteenth street, New York, on the night of January 10. 

 ."Mthough the fire engines were promptly on the scene and the 

 firemen e.xerted themselves to the utmost, the building was left 

 a ruin and the contents totally destroyed. The amount of the 

 loss is as yet unknown, but the insurance reported on the build- 

 ing and by fourteen tenants amounted to more than $2,000,000. 

 The fire commissioner complained strongly of the bad condition 

 of the hose in use, but from a study of the newspaper reports 

 it would appear that a lack of pressure which prevented streams 

 of water from being thrown above the sixth story of the building 

 had more to do with the failure of the firemen to subdue the 

 flames. The fire, it may be added, broke out on the fifth or sixth 

 story and ascended to the roof, after which its work was continued 

 until cA-erything was destroyed down to the cellar. Doubtless 

 it will be found that a change of existing methods for fire pro- 

 tection in the case of very tall buildings will be found equally 

 important with the improvement of the present standard of qual- 

 ity of fire hose and increase of water pressure in the districts in 



which the high buildings abound. It may be added that the fire- 

 men prevented a spread of the flames to any of the adjoining 

 buildings, but these were all low in comparison with the Parker 

 building and capable of being covered by streams thrown by the 

 fire engines under the low pressure obtainable in that part of the 

 city. 



It is definitely stated that at this fire 25 fire engines were in 

 action, supplied with 585 lengths of hose, of which 41 lengths 

 — or nearly 7 per cent. — burst. 



New York Merch.'\nts T.\ke .\ction. 



Following the action of the fire underwriters, and influenced 

 to an extent by that action and also by the revelations in re- 

 lation to hose brought out by the Parker building fire, on January 

 10, the Merchants' Association of New York has made a formal 

 demand upon Mayor McClellan for a further investigation. 

 The letter of the Merchants' Association calls for an examina- 

 tion of "all the circumstances attending the recent changes of 

 specifications for hose, the effect of such changes upon com- 

 petition by leading manufacturers, the conditions attending 

 the letting of contracts made since the change of specifications, 

 the business connections and standing of the contractors, the 

 quality of the hose delivered, and the steps taken by the fire de- 

 partment to enforce the hose guarantee intended for the city's 

 protection." 



The Old Sc.^nnell Sc.\nd.\l. 



In the New York courts on June 28, 1901, John J. Scannell, 

 then fire commissioner, was indicted on charges affecting the 

 methods of purchasing fire hose for the city, and further on a 

 charge of conspiracy, with one William L. Marks, described as 

 "agent," for conspiring to defraud the city in purchasing fire 

 hose. [See The Indi.\ Rubber World, August i. 1901 — page 336.] 

 It was asserted at the time that no fire hose could be sold to the 

 city except through this "agent," and the inference was that a 

 commission liad to be paid to him which he in turn divided with 

 the authorities. While much was printed in the newspapers in 

 regard to the matter at the time, the consideration of the case in 

 the courts was repeatedly postponed, and although a second in- 

 dictment was obtained by the district attorney, the accused were 

 never brought to trial, and the merits of the case, if there were 

 any, never became public. Since the time referred to the matter 

 of the purchase of fire hose has not been until now a matter of 

 general interest. 



Public sentiment was not aroused by the Scannell case, be- 

 cause no question was raised then with regard to the quality of 

 the hose supplied. Now, however, a different feeling prevails, 

 which is reflected in an editorial in the New York Sun (among 

 other newspapers), in which it is asserted: "The water pressure 

 in the mains was inadequate and the fire hose was rotten. In 

 our opinion the individuals who sold the hose and the officials 

 who bought it should be dealt with by the grand jury and. their 

 culpability being ascertained, indicted for manslaughter." 



GUAYULE NOTES. 



•The India Rubber World, in dealing with the fire hose situation in its 

 present shape, does not feel called upon to introduce the names of any 

 manufacturers or their brands of hose. — ^The Editor. 



ACONTR.\CT has been entered into by the Mexican minister 

 of Fomento with Fernando Solis Camara and Ricordo 

 Arteaga for the exploitation for ten years of any guayule plants on 

 national lands in the states of Durango and Zacatecas. The con- 

 cessionaires are bound not to cut shrubs under a certain size, and 

 are to plant new shrubs to replace those cut down. They are to 

 deposit a fund to guarantee the fulfillment of this contract, and 

 pay $100 a month for a government inspector. The contract 

 was published in the Mexican Diario Oficial of November i. 



Experiments in the culture of the guayule rubber plant have 

 been begun on the hacienda "Cedros," in Chihuahua, recently 

 bought by the Continental Rubber Co. The work is in charge of 

 Professor F. E. Lloyd, formerly of Columbia University and 

 interested latterly in desert botanical work in Arizona. 



