The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-04-24
vention and s,,nnressionI Of forast and ]

|
forest commissioner of this state and his
! orders shall be supreme in all matters re-
| latlne to the preservation of the forests
| OF thiS state TO the prevention and sup
| preston of forest and prairie fires as
hereinafter provided The supervisors Of
| towns, mayors of cities and presidents
! OF village councils are hereby constituted
! hre Wardens of their respective towns,
| cues and villages in the state and the
| cmef fire warden may appoint as fire
Wardens such other persons as he may
organized territory in this state, whose
| districts, to be known as fire districts.
he may determine.
sec. sec: ?; The aforesaid forest commits
Sloner snail appoint a competent deputy
| 70 be known as chief fire warden, WHO
| from personal experience. is familiar
| WIN the conditions OF the forest and
| methods by which fires may be controlled
SAID ch1ef hre warden shall receive a sal
| airy OF twelve hundred Isl 200) dollars
Ter year, TO be paid out OF the amount
appropriated ot1I; Lee for forest preservation.
IRE of the forest commissioner. He shall
represent the authority of the forest com
missioner and it shall be his duty to en-
| out the state
Sec 3. The chief fire warden shall have
| general charge of the fire warden force
OF me state and shall have authority to
may be available at any special
point TO suppress fires. In case the
~ IRE 7oo warden force of any locality
Is deemed by said chief fire warden
inadequate to prevent or suppress forest
or prairie fires, he may appoint tenn
porar1ly, needed fire Wardens, whose du-
Ties ana authority shall be the same as
hereln given to town supervisors acting
as IRE Wardens He shall properly divide
INTO llre districts all unorganized terri
tory III this state and appoint competent
Ilre WardenS therein; he shall cooperate
with any police or military force of the
United States government which may be
detailed to guard the national domain
from hre; he shall investigate the extent
OF the forests in the state, together with
the amounts and varieties of the wood
and timber growing therein, the damages
zone to them from time to time by forest
fires and the causes Of such fires. the
method used, If any, to promote the re-
CROWN OF timber, and any other impor-
tant facts relating to forest interests,
Whlch may be required by the forest
commissioner. The information so gath
cred, with his suggestions relative there
to, shall be included in a report to he
made by him annually to the forest COM
missioner.
Sec. 4. The forest commissioner shall
provide and officially sign an abstract
OF the penal laws of this act with such
rules and regulations in accordance there
with as he may deem necessary, and on
or before the first day of April of each
year he shall forward as many copies as
he considers needful to the chairman of
each town board of supervisors and pres
dens that he has appointed. and to all
railroad companies and to the chairman
Of each board of county commissioners
in this state, and it shall be the duty of
said ire warden to post up such abstract
as warning placardS in conspicuous places
in their respective districts, and it shall
be the duty OF the county commissioners
of each county to cause the said alb
stract to be published in at least three
issues of the official paper in their reSpec-
tive counties during the fire-dangetous
season of each year, which shall be reck-
oned from the 18th day of April to the 1sf
of November.
Sec. .. During dry and dangerous
season, when forest and prairie fires are
prevailing or are liable to break out,
the chief fire warden shall use such means
under his command as he may deem nee
essary to prevent or suppress such fires.
and his expenses shall be paid by the
state, which expenditures in one year
shall not exceed five thousand dollars,
to be paid for out of the general reve-
nue. fund. upon the order of the forest
commissioner
Sec 6. 1t shall be the duty of each fire
warden to take precautions to prevent
the setting of forest or prairie fires, to
patrol his district in a dry season, or I'M
der the direction of the chief fire warden,
to employ one or more patrols. to warn
against careless use of fire any person
he thinks is likely to be negligent therein,
ana when his district is suffering or
threatened with fire, to go to the place
OF danger to control such fires, and each
forest fire warden shall have authority
to call to his assistance in emergencies
any able-bodled male person over eight
cen years of age, and if such person re-
fuses, without reasonable Justification or
excuse, TO assist or If any fire warden
refuses or neglects to perform the du-
ties assigned him in this act, such Off
Ger or person shall be deemed guilty of
a mlsqemeanor and shall, upon oonvic-
ton thereof. be punished by a fine of
not more than one hundred C1O0) dollars,
or Imprisonment in the county Jail not to
exceed three CD months.
Sec. T. The chief fire warden and the
several fire wardens created or appointed
under this act shall have authority to en-
force the provisions of this act and it
Shau be their duty to cooperate with the
fire warden of any adjoining district, and
in the absence of such fire WardenS to di-
rect the work of control and eXtinguish-
ment of forest or prairie fires in such
district, and to arrest, without warrant,
every person found violating any prOviS-
ions of this act, and to forthwith take
the. offender before a magistrate and
make complaint against such person.
Any fire warden who knows or has in
formation of facts and circumstances
which he believes can be established, and
which if so proven would show beyond
reasonable doubt that any person has
caused fire in violation of this act, shall
Immediately go before a justice of the
peace and make complaint thereof. The
chairman of boards of township super
viSorS, presidents of villages and fire
wardens appointed by the chief fire war
den shall without delay inquire into the
cause of each forest or prairie fire with
in their districts and shall Immediately
report the same to the chief fire warden
and the methods used to control or eXtin-
guish such fires and the amount and
value of property destroyed and the num-
Der of lives lost, If any, and report such
other facts in regard to said fires as said
chief fire warden may require. During
the more dangerous season of the year
the chief fire warden may require fire.
quent reports from the chairman of town.
ship boards, CIR in unorganized towns
from fire wardens appointed by the said
chief fire warden as to condition of for
est and prairie fires and as to what is
being done to prevent and control the
same. Fire wardenS shall promptly COM
ply with the instructions of the chief fire
warden Where local authorities neglect
to duly prosecute violations of this act,
the chief fire warden shall be authorized
to ferret out and prosecute such viola
lions, and his expenses therefor, not eX-
ceeding one thousand ($lOOO dollars in
any one year, shall be paid out of the
general revenue on approval of the state
auditor and attorney general.
Sec. s. Each fire warden shall receive
for his actual services rendered under
this act two ($2) dollars per day, togeth
quired in making q break to control or
extinguish fire, one-third of which shall
be paid by the county where such ser
vice is performed and two-thirds by
the state; and any employe engaged IN
like service shall receive at the rate of
one and fifty one-hundredths &1.50l dol
lars per day and said expense shall also
be paid one-third by the county where
such service is rendered, and tWo-thlrds
by the state, as hereinafter provided, but
ant under this act until he shall have pre-
sented an itemized account and made