The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-07-18
Timber and Fires.

Timber and Fires.
The New York Herald says that architect
are opposing the Use of so much "whlt'
pine - in buildings, upon the ground that Il
Is infimmable and is fruitful cause of fires
The Herald further says that they advise the
use of hard wood, as Is The case in Europe
where pine is in graf degree rejected be
cause of its ipfsmmabIe nature.
| Whether the architects make any discrlml
nation as to pine, we are not informed, but
we are left to infer that they do not. There
fore, we suppose, they recommend the oaks,
and walnut, and ash, and maple. The oaks
are very much subject to warping, and
! houses of oak arc liable to open creaks and
| lcakiness unfavorablc to comfort in winter.
The soft pine is so easily fashioned that
lis use in fitting off openings-in sashes,
doors, &c., greatly cheapens hou>e-bulId-
ing; and as that material does not warp the
| work in which it is used lasts long and looks
well.
Our hard southern pine is possibly the
most durable wood in the world but it is
not easy to work like soft pine. 1t is also
more liable to warp than soft pine, yet
much less liable to do so than the oaks, &c.
Nor is the hard pine as iuflammable as the
soft but once fairly afi!e it takes great
deal of water to eXtinguish the fire. Take
it all in all it is about the best material in
the world for building,
Nevertheless, we think it idle to talk OF
building tire-proof houses. You cannot ill.,
crease the cost of building houses beyond Il
reasonable degree with reference to the ac-
commodation of the people. The people
cannot afford to live in costly buildings.
They must be accommodated with node
rately expensive and comfortable houses.
Such houses must be more or less imperilled
from tire, and we think that some sort of
pine will have.to be used in them. People
must live chesply, and after providing al
reasonable safeguards against the inflaln ma
bilty of buildings The rest must be left to
wise measures and rigid police to prevent
fires, and, further, to promptly extinsulsh
them when they occur.
Fires are in some sort mysterious. In
some countries fires are never beard Of. In
this in early days fires were so rare that u
small one caused great sensation. AS The
country has become more thickly populated
the fires increase in number and destructive
ness. How is this9 One would suppose
that means % prevent or extinguish 1'es
would increase with the increased liability
to fires-that the increase of population
would in the same ratio increase the means
of ps election from them.
1t does not appear to be so. We begin to
think that there is al intermediate condition
of the multiplication of people in country
that is the peculiar period of disastrous fires.
We know that the day Of independent fire
companies and fire riots was that Of great
and numerous fires. A company would fire
a building and run for it before the fire ap-
peared in order to win the eclat of first
appearance at fire. From this professional
trick we are sure large fires have happened.
But the steam fire-engine broke up these in
depeudent fire companies, these schools OF
vice and blackguardism, and now things are
q great deal better,
But there are too many fires even now,
and why. The political and monetary trou.
b,es of the land lead to many. Men fire
their own houses to get the insurance upon
hem. and we have some times thought that
if there were no insurance companies there
would be an immense diminution Of the
| number Of fires. Whatever truth there be
in this idea, the companies we have; and, if
it we're desirable, there is no possibility OF
| getting rid of them.
| So we return 10 the main question, which
10 how to syoid fresS This deserves the de-
liberate consideration of every public man
We believe there is vast deal more in the
proper policing of city as measure OF pre-
| yention. of fires than there is in prescribing
the materials of which houses shall be built
| True, it is proper that certain limits should
be prescribed as to where wooden houses
| NAV be built in city; but do what we may
a good police, wise ordinances, and vigi
liant watch are the best relianceS Of people
gathered in dense mass. Time will give
us, we hope, more orderly and settled
population; but until then we must as far a
we can secure the public safety by wise law'
and yigilant police.