The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-08-12
FIRE WORSE THAN
WAR OR WRECKS
Continued from First Page.

Continued from First Page.
erage Of eighteen fatalities thru fire
avery day in the year! We spend mil |
ions of dollars every year in futile eff
forts to cure the evil which we should |
strive rather to prevent, and whose
prevention would not cost us nearly
as much as the ineffective cure. We
improve our fire departments and in
crease our water supply, yet the losses
are ever augmented. Our present ratio
is nine lives lost by fire every year for
every 100000 of population; in 1900
the ratio was eight, and in 1890 only
five per 100000 people were burnedl
Nearly as many people are burned to
roads, generally believed to be the most
fruitful source Of fatal accidents.
Billion in Six Years.
We have burned up $1,o0O,O00,0
worth of property in six years. Think
OF it, one thousand millions of dollars!
No county on earth, even Japan, that
builds largely of paper and bamboo,
can show such pro rata loss by lire:
Q Onr fire losses are equal to a tax Of
pro produ S would peu only pay FOR for
third of those losses. The total output
of all our splendid iron mines would
just about pay for our fires. Most
losses are really but exchanges, one
product turned into some other form,
a loss perhaps to many, but gain to
some one. Not so with fire; that money
goes up in smoke! $230,000,000. worth
Of smoke last year. That included the
Baltimore fire; but then that total was
+11
loss. This year bids fair to equal It
not exceed that figure. The average
daily loss for the year 1904 was son.
900. We went to much trouble an ex-
pense during the month Of February of
this year to gather accurate statistics
as to all the fires occurring, even In
the most remote districts, believing
that the insurance reports and fire de-
partment records so far depended upon
were far from absolutely complete. Ten
days we're selected at random for the
ruary there. were 1875 fires, totaline
a loss of $14,SO9,8 800, or one and half
million dollars day! (The record fol
February, 1904, the time of the Balti
more fire, averaged $1,251 900 per day.
| On one day during that period Of ter
| days, Feb. %, 1905, there were 165 fires
doing a damage of $2,Ol5,700.
Million in Daily Building.
At most liberal estimate we erect
about 100000 worth of buildings .
day, the, country over. Note how tina
4 figure compares with our fire losses
great as is the building boom every
where, we are scarce replacing tn
property destroyed by fire. If the rec
ord Of February last is kept up, and W
have no guarantee that it will not be
the destruction of property equals hal
as much again as we build.
New York averages $500 fires veal
Chicago 400. We burn up three the
aters, three public halls, twelve church
es, ten schools, two hospitals, two asJ
lums, two colleges, six apartment
houses, three department stores, tw
jails, twehty-six hotels, one hundre
and forty fat houses and nearly 1850
: homes every week Of the year.
| We may say that every person .wh
) 7 lives or has business in buildings
, more or less exposed to danger by fir
but setting aside such broad terms it
estimated that $4,000 lives are dali
' endangered; that is, there are thu
! many people who are directly expose
. to fire, people who escape from bur
y ing buildings, ct cetera, lives that a.
in imminent peril. The Russo-Japa
r ese war, where the losses are appallin
shows no such average Of lives direct
exposed to destruction.
Not Much Prevention.
What has been done to prevent {
this terrific loss9 The two things
\ do are to build all new buildings
I nearly freproof as it is possible +
/ science to make them, and the other
to safeguard the old buildings tn
they will be as little Of an element
# danger as possible. Very much cou
be done in the latter direction, mu
more and at far less expense than t
mere providing Of water and beau
~ fully equipped fire departments. AS I
as regards the construction Of ne
buildings, little, discouragingly lit