The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-02-04
DrcIrNE ma MANY TOWNS.

DOT ln the woods. IneSe WoodldndS through mismanagement and the eff fleets of fire have steadily deteriorated in their productive capacity, The nat ural result has been the moving into the towns of the more energetic peo- pie, and the gradual stagnation and economic downfall of many of those that remained, accompanied by the in- evitable increase in shiftlessness and in some eases open immortality which are found in all parts of the world where the natural resources have disappeared. PREVENTION OF FIRE NECESSA-
 KY.
 There are many things needed to bring back prosperity to these back woods places, but the most important from the forestry standpoint is the pre- vention Of woodland fires Accordingly bill was prepared and passed, with some modified by the last general assembly providing for the appoint ment of town fire wardens by the se- lectmen, with the approval of the state forester, who was made state forest fire warden.
 After persistent correspondence with the selectmen about 125 towns out of the 16S have finally appointed wardens, and with the district wardens, which are in turn appointed by them there is at present a force of about $40 in the state responsible for preventing and eXtlnguishing woodland fires
 LAST YEARS REPORTS.
 Reports were received last year from siXty-six towns In thirty-fve towns eighty-eight fires were reported, of which sixty-four were extinguished by the wardens and their assistants at a total expense of $46456, or an average of SIPS per fire. War1ens are paid twenty-five cents per hour while they worak. They have the right to demand assistance of any male residents be- tween the ages of sixteen and fifty years, and they are paid twenty cents an hour. The town first pays the bill and is then reimbursed one-fourth of the expense by the county and one fourth by the state so that the sixty four fires cost the state only $116, the various counties the same amount and the twenty-five towns $232.2S, or an average per town of $10.55.
 EFFECTIVENESS OF SYSTEM.
 By this expenditure of less than five hundred dollars, there is no doubt that as many thousand dollars worth Of property was saved from destruction. And one must also take into considera- tbon that the posting of notices and wide advertisement of the new law were influential in greatly diminishing the number of fires, so that there has already been an increased feeling of se- curity on the part of many land own CTS. In fact the general concensus of opinion seems to be highly satisfactory. The fire wardens have the authority to arrest any whom they find in the act of setting fire.
 Of the eighty-eight fires reported, thirty were attributed to the New York, New Haven and Hartford rail- road.
 Ten were attributed to brush burn, CTS.
 Two were attributed to hunters; Twelve were attributed to miscella- neous causes.
 Thirty-four were attributed to caus, CT unknown
 RAILROADS RESPONSIBLE FOR
 DAMAGES
 There is already law, Sections 3779 and 3780, providing that railroads are responsible for damages where notice of fire caused by them Is given within twenty days of the fire. As the New York, New Haven and Hartford rail- road provides their engines with spark arresters, keeps their right of way clear and instructs their section bosses and railroad hands specially regarding fires, little more can be done in regard to them except to affect a closer sys- tenn of cooperation between the sec- ton bosses and local fire wardens Where owners of woodlands live at a distance fire wardens should instruct them when their lands have been burned over by the railroad so that claims for damages may be sent in at once. These must be in writing and can be made either to the superinten- dent of the railroad or a station agent in the town where the fire occurred The starting of fires by railroads seems in dry seasons unavoidable, but pro- per surveillance of the tracks in dan, gerous times should result in immedi- ate extinguishment. There is no crim- inality involved in railroad fires, there fore no action other than civil suit for damages can be brought against them BRUSH. BURNERSS RESPONSIBLE
 FOR. GREAT DAMAGE. Next to the railroads the great cause of fires is brush burning and the case l of the people doing this is different-it is usually criminal negligence which should be punished by the town just as | much as that of any other incendiary There is an immense and utterly heed | less population in the state who seem to have no idea of the rapidity with which brush fire will spread and the great damage which 1t may do. These are almost invariably worthless citi- zens who can neither pay damages or be punished by fires. They should be imprisoned as an object lesson to | themselves and others of this kind. While the law is explicit in providing 1 that offenders must pay damages for the fires they say it is not possible to l convice them in criminal procedure unless it can be proved that the dam age was done wilfully or maliciously, ! which is rarely the case.
 AMENDMENT PROPOSED. As a means of overcoming this diffi- culty an amendment has been proposed by the fire warden of Killingly. Since of the eighty eight fires, forty-five oc- cured in April and twenty-five in May and the others were scattered through the remainder of the year, speial pro- i tecti0n is unuuestionably needed for