New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-01-10

cessful; but before midnight the site OF the
buildng was n smoking mass of ruins. The
loss is estimated ut million and n half, and
200 men are probably thrown out OF en-
ploymclIt.
The growth of these mammoth manufactures
and immense buildings of various sorts hlIed
with innammable materials, the rapid lhtrOuuc-
ton of lighting and heating novelties ana inc
invention of new devices and processes Whcl
involve increased peril, ought to be matched
by commensurate advance IN care anu means
70 prevent or cxtingusD fires. One would
think that the amount Mt risk would inspire
owners To greater pIecautiOn; but apparently
il does not "The fire apparatus was out Oh
order" Is not this common announcement
after a great fret The million and hall these
nroprictors have lost represents an annual IN
come of between $4,000 and 100000.
Surely an annual expenditure of very few
thousands in keeping the fire apparatus III order
would nave been wise, and might, in all prob
ability, have averted the loss. 1t is not enough
to have % good extinguishcr. or hydrant ana
hose. or engine, on the premises there must DO
men at hand competent and trained TO use IL.
On some steamships the plan has been tried OF
an occasional fire drill at n signal given by
the captain the men rush to their places as II
to extlngush fire, the orders are gwen the
pumps are worked, and the hose IS trled as IL
a fire had been discovered. The captain thus
makes it his business to know whether inc APP
Iaratus, including the men on whom 1t de-
ncnds il in order. Somehow these steamers
do not take fire, or if they do, they are not re-
ported burned When will propTietOrs on shore
learn that g it pays" to maintain means and
discipline adequate for extinguishinG lire
But "the loss is covered by insurance" Is 1t
That only shifts 1t upon other persons The
destruction of value is the same whether 1t lies
upon the owners, or is thrown, by means OF
policies, upon insurance companies ana their
stockholders. Why should fire he deemed
loss grievous because thousand stockholders
must be taxed to restore what mas Deen
burned The insurance system needs improve
ment in this very respect; the means at com
mand of the companies for guarding against
fires should DO made more adequate to the
steady increase, under modern manufacturing
methods. of fire pors. Insurance naturally
tends to relax the prOpretOrs care and precau-
ton against fire; in the long run an insured
man will not maintain rs faithful watch rs
ono uninsured. Do tho companies who insure
him take his place in this respectf Certainly
they do not They insert few conditions IN
their policies, maintain a sort of patrol, make
nm occasional examination. but do nothing ade-
ouate 1t is vice in the system that 1T tends
to increase carelessness, and this at an era
when an increase of care is needed. The risk
e eco
ing, Here are 200 men thrown out OF work.
This might easily, in dulI times, represent an
aggregate loss to them OF 100000 or $lOO,OOO.
On this there is no insurance. Many proposals
are nowadays made that wOrkmcn of establish
ments should combine or cooperate"
Might it not be worth their while in some cases
to club or associate for the purpose of being
equipped and ready to put out fret
Every neighborhood has an interest in the
safety of those great cOmbustibe buildings; for
the burning Of enc in dry or windy weather inn
perils the vicinage. Our ancestors might have
given us great protection by simply laying out
the New York OF their day with wider streets
and more frequent spaces. Compare lower
New-York In this respect with Washington
City. Pennsylvania ave, or some one OF the
broad streets or frequently recurring circles
in Washington, would stop fire which, start
ing uLder the like conditions. might devastate
lower New-York. Wider streets pay for them
selves, not only in increased facilities for travel,
but also in diminishing risk of fire. This gem
Grafton may recommend itself to the gratitude
of pOsterity by taking some thought and care
that the mode adopted of building around and
above Harlem River shall be such as to dmin
ish the danger of spreading fires for that region.