Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-01-02

The greatest of all incendiaIes Is Ill
our midst, and it behoyes US to be ON
our guard against it. Every morning
from all parts Of the country, North
South, East and West, we receive tUu
details of his work. Now in Chicago,
then in Boston. now in New York, and
20, from city to city, the fire icwstriaos.
People look aghast and inquire thrraos".
Why so many buildings, brick blocks,
marble warehouses, iron churches. as
! well na woodcu buildings, 90 down in
ashes before its fury. Is the cou"y ST"
overruu with incendiaries that p~.afty
of all kinds, in all places and however
protected is doomed. The statement
that the iucrudiaries are in our midst au3
ail around us may he startling, lu, il is
true. There is, however, no fear for us
II we but put ourselves on our guard and
remain in sleepless yigileuce even white
we sleep. There is no occasion for ter
.ror or foolish fears. Our sleep cau be
as quiet and undisturbed as if thi, a-
cendlary was in the antipodes, if we bust
Fm2ke caution and precaution our watch
word, AS paradoXical as it may seem
- some, it is nevertheless true that cold,
Severe, intense cold weather is the great
cst of all incendiaries thatUayc}s through
the land. Cold weather burns mu.e
Buildings than any other known cause.
The records and statistics of our iu-ur-
ance companies proves this beyond qncs-
tion. But the fire cannot do its work
unless We by our carelessness aid the
coll il starting it. This iuceodiary
works not alone, it is only the moving
cause, working through our neglect Tile
bylaws and ordinances of our villages
aud cities aim to prevent this neglect.
but unfortunately their wise provisions
are disregarded hy the citizen and un-
.enfarcud by the authorities. The very
Condition Of the atmosphere necessitates
sthe use Of large amounts of fuel. Blaz-
ling fires are kept going night and dav.
4 when defective Aue, an unsecured
lst0yepipe or weak chimney finishes the
work. In a moment, in the dead of
night, perhaps, all of mans possessions
ARE swept away, and in many instances
human life is sacrificed. This almost
wholesale sacrifice Of life has been the
Irule and not the exception of late. Bas-
lton suffered millions on millions uf dol
lars loss Of property, the Fifth Avenue
Hotel offered up its scores Of human
beings, Brooklyn and other cities have
contributed their churches. stores and
dwellings to the same doom, and still the
work goes on. All or nearly all are of
the same origin-cold weather, hot fires,
.carelessness. Are we not correct in cal
ling the cold weather the greatest Of h-
Icendiaries. While it is yet time be on
Iyour guard against his dread work Re
Imember that unless powerfully aided Iv
your own carelessness it can DO You no
harm Be on your guard then and
while eudeayoring to impart a necessary
land comforting heat to your homes, see
to it that they are not, at the same time.
made q sacrifice to the flames Now. if
ever care, caution and watchfulness are
needed in the management of fires. in
the safety of chimneys and the securing
of stoyepipes. Should, as a result Of
a fire occur in any of our
streets, only benefcient
couldsave us. With the in
tensely cold weather, the strong prevail
ing winds and the liability of the frccz-
ing Of water pipes, the work of suprcs-
sing a fire, or Of preventing its spread.
would be almost superhuman. The re-
suit is one we shrink from contemplat-
ing. With each one of us rest the safety
Of the life and property of ourselves and
aeighbors. If through our remissness
life and property are sacrificed, can we
Be held innocent. Act then at once. and
zee that every place is carefully and Sc
,urely guarded. There cannot be teo
much care or too much precaution. An
ounce of pre- yention, in this case. is
q 3rth more, much more, than a pound
,s cure.