The Seattle Fireboat is Not a Tugboat
Insurance underwriters warn that if the city uses the fireboat 'Snoqualmie' to tow garbage scows, property insurance rates will rise, sparking a debate over city efficiency and political patronage.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Coast Review, the leading insurance journal of the Coast, notes that while the fireboat Snoqualmie did excellent service at the recent big fire in Seattle, there is an effort to use it as a garbage scow tower. The board of health petitioned the city council for such use, claiming the San Francisco fireboat did the same—a claim the Review disputes. Underwriters state they will not permit the Seattle fireboat to be used as a towboat without an advance in fire insurance rates. A council member alleged the fireboat has been inefficiently manned, blaming the fire commissioners and citing either 'foolish economy or contemptible partisan politics.'
“Underwriters will not permit the Seattle fireboat to be used as a towboat without an advance in fire insurance rates.”
The struggle over municipal equipment and political patronage echoes modern frustrations with city oversight of public assets. The threat of rising insurance premiums based on poor management remains a point of contention for Seattle taxpayers today.
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