Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-06-16
FIRE PREVENTION.

FIRE PREVENTION.
The subject of fire prevention is
now attracting a great deal of atten-
ton in this country This subject is
of especial interest to everyone en-
ployed in any capacity in every kind
of manufacturing Institution or bus
mess house. A great many fires are
caused by carelessness and there is
general movement now to try to get
the people interested in taking every
precaution to prevent fire. Fires make
a direct loss to the owners of the
property, to the insurance companies
and to the employees who are thrown
out of work on account of the inter
ruption of the business and it is of
the utmost Importance that every one
should take it upon themselves to use
every precaution to prevent the start
ing of fire. We reproduce a part of
a paper that was recently read by
Powell Evans before the National as
ISOLATION of Manufacturers in New
York City. Mr.. Evans said:
"The danger Of fire in destroying
property, in interrupting business and
In creating a permanent charge on in
como, brings this subject well within
the range Of your activities as bust,
ness men; while the wisdom as good
citizens, of decreasing the ever-present
danger to the lives Of yourselves and
your families in your homes and
places of business and assemblage, is
self-evident.
"a comparison with other countries
of like civilization will supply fair
test. In round figures the per capita
fire loss in the United States during
the past year has been SO, as against
s.33 In the principal European coun-
tries, including England, France, Ger
many and Italy-or nine times more
fire waste and interruption of business
(Which insurance cannot cover) in the
United States than in western Eu-
rope. There are certain conditions In
these countries that operate to effect
lower fire loss than would reason
ably be possible here, viz: the larg-
er use of non-combustible materials,
due to the high cost of wood, and
better building codes in letter and
practice; the lower height and smaller
areas employed in their city construc-
ton; and finally, the intangible infiu-
ence Of their older civilization, which
makes these people more careful of
small savings in all their affairs and
generally more cautious than we have
yet become. Allowing duly for these
fundamental differences between the
countries compared it Is yet apparent
that the nine times larger fire loss in
the United States than the principal
western European countries suffer is
outrageously and criminally greater
than 1t should be, and this condition
must arise largely from the ignorance
and carelessness of this country's peo-
pie Ignorance, careIessness, or iso
lated self interest, when they result
in the tremendous sacrifice Of life and
property now habitually occurring
among us from this one cause become
nothing less than criminal.
"In many European cities a fire is
held substantially crime, and the
owner Of such property where 1t oc-
ours, regardless Of size, must report
the facts to the authorities, and is
charged for the use Of the public sery-
ice to extinguish it. Every considera-
ton leads to the belief that this prob
lem needs present attention; and 1t is
incumbent upon our business men
and great trade organizations, who
represent certainly equal brain with
any. other class in this country, and
large power and influence, to make
themselves felt without delay in amel-
iorating this evil and unnecessary con-
dition. Many of our business men
now know more or less about this mat
ter and apply it In their own affairs;
but taking the population at large
there Is great ignorance not only about
the fact that fire waste is as bad as
have shown it, but that it can cas-
lily be rectified. The facts must first
be widely advertised to arouse sufi-
cient interest among individual citi-
zens to induce them to study the SUBJ
Ject, and as far as convenient and
permissible to apply the knowledge
primarily in their home affairs. a
weekly fire bulletin, made up from
the municipal records of the cities and
towns throughout the country for gen
eral distribution to subscribers, would
fully disclose complete list of fires
and their causes. Next to this source
of information in authority and COM
pleteness of information would be the
records of fire insurance organizations,
| and third, statistics on the subject by
journals continually publishing such
facts-for example the Journal of
Commerce New York daily, or the
strictly insurance Journals The re-
lsult Of this constant diffusion of in