Discussion in Democracy (1948)

[Music] something ought to be done about all these fires in town oh Howard there's no reason to get excited just because of a few fires and besides what can we do about it well what about Mr Johnson's store Betty they say the fire should have been put out sooner don't think the alarm how do you know sorry for Mr Johnson but it was such an old store maybe with the insurance money he can build a new one that would look much better oh you're just not using your head Alice if there are too many fires and hold it this is no way to carry on a discussion if is it let's see what happens when a discussion group is prepared organized so besides providing more equipment purchase of a new fire engine would save a lot of time they could get to fires faster is that right Alice perhaps you have some information on that according to the chief at Glendale they could go a lot faster now if they wanted to but they always drive as fast as it's safe to drive oh I see well I didn't know that well perhaps a new fire engine wouldn't save much time after all can we all agree on that sure all right you see that proves my point well not just a minute Alice suppose we let Howard finish his presentation of the facts I believe the advantages can be summed up this is the same Discussion Group properly prepared with someone leading the discussion they are beginning to accomplish things why what is a good discussion what makes a good disc discussion leader if you were elected to lead this discussion what would you do well one of Peter's first moves was to call on one of the city councilmen Mr Stewart well our class in American problems has been studying the discussions of the city council we heard that you were talking about the problem of fire safety here in Glendale that's good we're glad to have students interested in the business of the city now what can I do for you well I came to ask if we Glendale High School that is could do anything for you for the city council the classes have elected representatives to a committee on fire safety if we present our recommendations to the city council are you interested well I I think the council would be very pleased to hear from the students we're getting recommendations from the Chamber of Commerce the League of Women Voters and other community groups you know when people get together to think about and discuss a problem and reach conclusions that's the way true democracies work I'm glad the council will consider the school's recommendations but there is something you can do for me you see I was elected to lead the discussion and I wondered if you could give me some advice I'm afraid we'll just have an argument that doesn't get anywhere well to have an effective discussion you as leader must help these people to agree not agree with you but with each other at least find your majority point of view we have many discussions here in the council just as they do in the state and national government there are three important factors in any discussion preparation you must learn the important facts about your topic by reading or by talking to people who know planning your group should get together beforehand and make up an outline of what you're to do personalities considering what must be done and who can do it best as the leader it's up to you to help them work together all right I think I have the idea Mr Stewart just remember this each member of the group should prepare plan think of personalities especially the leader because the leader must guide the discussion to some conclusion and agreements in that way a discussion is not a worthless argument it's a means to democratic action Democratic action well that seems to be what's going on here and it's partly because each one did prepare himself by reading and Peter did plan an outline and he thought of the personalities involved someone had to find out about glendale's firefighting staff when the personalities of the people were considered it was decided that Alice would do the best job of interviewing so she visited the Glendale Fire Station to learn about the present staff and their methods what could be done there to improve fire safety let's see how well Alice prepared herself to some up it appears as though the chief is doing an excellent job considering his men and his equipment however he is short of men and the salary offered is so low that there have been no applicants for the jobs for over a year well all right I recommend that he hire more just a moment Betty we haven't heard all the factors that we're investigating yet Howard suppose you give us some information on the purchase of a new engine as you suggested I checked into the question of buying a new fire engine yes of those in the group Howard is best suited to this investigation Howard likes to Tinker with old cars he knows about the new ones too so Peter suggested that Howard visit a nearby town where a new fire engine was already in use what were the pros and cons of a new engine did it really improve fire safety and Howard went one step further he wrote to manufacturers for technical information on a variety of new engines so you see besides added safety for the firemen and more chemical equipment these new engines have better pumps I believe that this fire truck will more than pay for itself in terms of increased efficiency in putting out fires well we're getting to your part of the discussion Betty what's the story on cost of fire damage and money that can be spent to reduce it local statistics show that each year the citizens of glenia lose thousands of dollars Betty's interest in accounting was in choosing her for the investigation of costs Betty prepared herself for the discussion by telephone and personal interview she also made inquiries by letter so she could plan her remarks on the cost factors of fire safety this fire damage costs the citizens of Glendale the equivalent of salaries for 40 firemen even at the proposed higher pay scales but increased City treasury allotments for more pay mean higher taxes higher taxes for a long time why we'll even be paying taxes for this well let's pause and see what our information adds up up to it appears that a new fire engine would be desirable but would really not improve fire safety until more firemen were added to the staff however the city treasury does not provide for the increased salaries necessary to attract more men are we agreed that's just about it all right Betty will you jot this down yes Betty's handling of facts and data make her a good choice as secretary sometimes a permanent record is important and therefore we the students of Glendale High School recommend that the city council approve higher pay for firemen even though this means increased taxes if the council acts on our recommendation that'll improve things after a while but what about right what can be done immediately to reduce the losses due to fire but you can't put out fires without firemen yes but if you could reduce the number of fires what was it someone said about um fire prevention prevention of course maybe some fires could be prevented somebody ought to organize an educational campaign but who maybe the school yes we can help the city have a campaign meetings with demonstrations posters all over the town letters the town CL and discussion groups to arouse interest so is it agreed a fire prevention campaign okay now here's our immediate program for Action now as soon as we agree on who will do what we'll work out a letter for Betty to write to the city council action we recommend and action we ourselves will accomplish now here's a successful discussion the group group has considered the important information and arrived at conclusions reminds you of something Mr Stewart said doesn't it each member of the group should prepare plan think of personalities especially the leader because the leader must guide the discussion to some conclusions and agreements that way a discussion is not a worthless argument it's a means to Democratic [Music] action