The Critic and record., 1891-04-29

ono year by mail or carricr..",.,.,,",S3 90
one month."'''..''.''''''' '''''''''''''''' 20
WASHINGTON, ID. c., APRIL ~, 1891.
OUR BUILDING REGULATIONS are very
good as far as they go, but 1T may be
doubted whether they go far enough. 1t
is all well enough to say that houses of a
certain altitude must be iireproof, but are
not the reasons that require n seven-story
building 10 be iireproof equally applica-
BILE to two or three story house
Great confiagrations can he started by q
miserable shanty as well as by the most
spacious building. If the houses ada
cent are combustible the fire will spread,
no matter how insignificant may have
been its origin. The way to prevent great
and destructive contlagratons is to erect
iireproof buildings. The way to faoili-
tate them is permit the erection of those
that are not lireproof.
II may be argued that regulation pro-
hibiting the erection of any but fire.proof
buildings would work hardship in a
number of individual cases. Very likely.
But do not all the laws made necessary by
an organized condition of society operate
individual hardship? There are times in
each year when the average citizen would
he great deal more comfortable if he
could 90 about clad in nothing more than
a long shirt CuSom, however, requires
him to wear various other garments, each
one of which adds to his sufferugs.
When PoRFlmo DtAz, President of Mexico,
promulgated the law compelling the
male peasants to wear trousers, it was
received with a shrek of fury and con-
sternation. and denounced far and wide
as an exhibition of CALLING and intolerable
tyranny. 1t is so, indeed, everywhere
under civilization. Certain requirements
indispensable to the public good are re-
sented with the ficrcest bitterness by in
dividuals upon whose convenience they
may happen to trench. Society is reared
upon a sub structure of personal rights
and preferences which have been relin-
guished in order to make the foundation
solid.
We do not believe that it is wise or sound
policy to go too far in concessions TO iu-
dividual interests. The welfare and the
safety of the community must furnish
the standard by which public regulations
are TO be framed. If the erection of the
iimsy little tinder-boxes, which some
people call houses, could be made to harm
only those who erected them or who we're
foolish enough to live in them il might be
an open question as to sanctioning their
erection. But no such arrangement is
possible. The problem the Government
is called upon to solve is whether one
man shall be allowed to DO that which
may at any time destroy or harm his
neighbor. AS we have said, il does not
seem TO us that our building regulations
are stringent enough in the respect to
which we allude. Washington has en-
joyed signal exemption from the terri
ble life-destroying conflagrations which
from time to time ravage other cities and
Washington has, moreover, one of the
most efficient fire departments in the
world; but we cannot safely count upon
continued immunity if we violate the
laws of common sense and trust to luck
rather than to intelligent precaution.
If THE NATIONAL CLUB keeps on at its
present rate the baseball fever in this city
will develop into chills and fever, with q
preponderance of the former.
IT is NO LONGER pretended, even by the
Italian consul at New Orleans, that any
one of the men lynched on March I. had
not voted or registered in this country.
Mr.. CoRTE contents himself with claiming
that they registered and voted without
knowing that they thereby became Ameri-
can citizens. In other words he pleads
ignorance and insists that we shall con-
slider them as Italian subjects, although
they had, as a matter of fact, relinquished
all claim to such consideration. The
truth is that Mr.. RuDIYI and Mr.. CoRTE
and Baron FAvA, as well as the eleven
gentlemen who got lynched month or
so ago, are all afflicted with ignorance as
to our institutions. That has been the
stumbling block on which they tripped
and over which 1t has been so difficult for
Mr.. BLAINE to lift them. We cherish the
hope, however, that in due time it will be
borne in upon the Italian Government
and people that we do not intend to put
mp Nth any nonsense or TO either pay or
apologize every time it becomes advisable
TO execute criminal. Meanwhile, we
can wait with patience. The delay is not
worrying lis at all.
EDIToR JONES of st. Louis may learn