Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-06-29
The Lesson of Laurei's Fire.

The town of Laurel, in Sussex county,
one OF the busiest and most prosperous
towns in the State outside OF Whining
ton, was visited by disastrous lire
early Saturday morning. For over five
hours the flames spread and ravaged,
and had it not been for the aid FUR
nished by the fire departments of this
city and Salisbury and Pocomoke City,
Md, the entire town would have been
practically reduced to ashes. AS 1T
was, property of value that may
aggregate nearly half million dollars
| when the exact figures are obtained,
was destroyed, while against this is an
insurance that will be considerably less
than $50, 900.
This enormous discrepancy between
loss and insurance may seem mystery.
but it is readily explained. Laurel is
community OF about 5000 population
and heretofore has been a centre OF
business and industry in Southern
Delaware. 1t was q very pretty town
before the fire, with handsome, vine
empowered houses, but mostly built of
frame. Frame buildings are infiam-
mable and liable to quick destruction
by fire. Where they prevail to the
extent that they did in Laurel, the
natural corrolary is fire department
equipped to guard against the spread
of the incipient blazes that are in
separately connected with town or city
life. Laurel had the frame houses, but
not the means Of protection against
fire. There was not even fire COM
pany in the town, to work a bucket
brigade.
While the citizens of Laurel were
thus indifferent to the danger from fire,
the insurance companies were not blind
to their interests. They soon classed
Laurel among the special risks of their
business, Notwithstanding the town
J had heretofore enjoyed surprising
immunity from the ravages of fire.
They raised the rates of insurance there
, to point that many property owners
considered prohibitive and refused to
J nay. Therefore, the fire of Saturday
morning caught these people withou,
any financial protection whatever.
More than this. Philosophical oiti
) zens of Laurel, recognizing the danger
r to which the town was exposed by its
! lack Of water works and fire protection
y recently organized movement to secure
:, these requisites. To carry out thei
I purpose a bond issue was necessary
and they applied to the Legislature TO
d the authority to make this issue o
: bonds through the Town Council
it Other citizens, conservative but in
g fuential, opposed this movemen
1t vigorously. They were lulled by tn
# sense of security engendered by th
towns long immunity from destructiv
d oonhagratons, and argued that th
al project, if carried out. would entai
% needless expense upon the propert
s owners of the place. They harrasse
% the movement to such an extent that
N was delayed at every step. and oul
lie recently did the fight for water work
Of and fra protection prove successful
Of 1t seems like the irony Of fate that th
rs work Of providing Laurel with systel
1e Of water works and system OF fl
r protection was only recently started
or and was in progress when the disastrol
ID fire of Saturday morning broke out.
IT'S Suppose that Laurel had been pr
It. yided with good supply Of water an
SO an effective fire department when tn
lk awful conflagration started. III
Id reasonable probabilities are that tt
n a.. ,x-a,,Id have b,Va,, e,,pyraruo1 ~ itb
RS the confines of the building in whiS
ST. it originated, and the loss would ha
ow been inconsiderable.
Oh Who can fail to figure at a thong
an the difference between the cost Of wat
works and fire protection, which Il
ne the terrible loss of Saturdays fire, u
ed balanced by any material amount
III insurance? And water works and Il
es- protection would have enabled all t
led property owners Of Laurel to ma
ION themselves secure against loss by fl
CIV by the payment of ordinary and reaso
ere able premiums on insurance.
The lesson of the Laurel fire shot
pie impress most forcibly the, people
NJ other towns in the State that are wit
'ne out water works and FIRE protectic
.n With standpipes and modern pumps
wy smallest towns located near &C
supply Of water-and there is plenty
% water in Delaware provide reast
y able safety against destructive visi
-. tions of fire, and thereby secure reas'
,oy able rates of fire insurance, No to
~ of any size in Delaware should do wi
out the great necessity of protect
against FIRE.
The people of Laurel have learne
~ valuable lesson at fearful cost.
vi IN, other communities profit by this biz
e, experience.
mas Less cotton and moro wheat" is
IN motto that Georgia farmers are l
the working under. convention
oo wheat-growers is to be held n
may month, when methods will be
ma cussed, experiences related. and
'oui- prizes offered by the Macon Telegr
s for the best wheat yields will
'nts' awarded. The acreage devoted to wi
aper this'yea is much larger thanItha
eign last year, and Pope Brown, presto
Of the Wheat Growers Association
arm snngu;ne that the existing acreage
that be multiplied twenty-five times