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Show A Civic Disgrace . i CALT LAKE police and firemen have struggled ; through the trying days of the high cost of : living without material help from the city. Long '. hours, low wages and high prices, together "with ; the uniform demands of the service, have made .' work in the public safety department far from sat-! sat-! isfactory. No provisions are made In the current ; budget for wage increases for either of these ! branches of the public safety. I The city may well congratulate itself that the police department has been kept comparatively ; free from graft under these circumstances. Nothing deadens the conscience of the Individual like an unappreciative employer. The employer who af-; af-; fects an Interest In the problems of his employes . prospers, while the one who demands all and gives T nothing suffers with any decline In the morals of ' ' employes. While it is true that prices are being reduced ; In certain lines, the gap between the Income of the I average policeman or fireman and the cost of liv-" liv-" ing is made. These men are paid less than un-" un-" skilled laborers. They work long hours and have few rest days in the year. ; The ordinary fireman or policeman receives ; a daily wage of approximately 13.83 a day, and the higher offfcers'of the departments are paid proportionately. The firemen work every day In 7 the month; the policemen get one day off month-. month-. ly, and 'yet these men stand ready at any time to risk their lives to save human life or property, and we expect them to make the supreme sacri- fice if occasion justifies. They are required to buy their own uniforms, this dress having nd serviceable value when the , men are oil duty. It is apparent that the service .cannot attract men who have a zealous interest in the welfare of their families under these conditions. condi-tions. That they are underpaid is a self-evident fact and one .which should be corrected by the city at the earliest possible moment. In revising the budget the city commissioners should seek to find a way to provide more pay for the members of the police and fire departments. depart-ments. Other departments have asked for Increased In-creased appropriations and it is doubtful if they are in as much need as the public safety department. depart-ment. It is up to the commission to find a way to reduce expenses elsewhere to make the pay of the police and firemen sufficient to bridge the gap between the income and the-cost of living. Economy should be the watchword of the city and the public is demanding a reduced tax rate. The fact remains, however, that neither of these elements ele-ments should endanger a living wage for the public pub-lic safety employes when the appropriations for other departments are made to serve the general interests of the city. |