The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1908-09-23
NATIONAL INCENOIAR|ES
That's What the People of the
United States Are.
AMERICAS GRAND BONFIRES


Europe. Every Wear We Burn Up
Over $3.50, 900. 900 Worth of Prop
erty. In the Last Census Year
6,772 Lives Were Sacrificed.
Last year the American people,
adhering scrupulously to their es-
tablished rules of building construc-
ton, managed to burn down $780,
$4,000 worth OF property 1t was
q disappointing record. The average
per year for the last five years has
been 1881. 100000
This year, however, has done fair
ly we'll in the erty-destroying
line, for it has furnished such record
CONGREGATIONS as the Atlanta fire and
the Chelsea blaze. the latter involv-
ing insurance amounting to $780,
S79.
Europe gazes with awe upon the
lavishness of the United States when
it comes to grand bonfres. Some
European countries are so envious
that they profess to regard us as a
peculiar breed of lunatics unique
in our ambition to possess the con-
tinuous record for unparalleled fire
losses in life and money as we are
rapidly acquiring world records in
most other forms of Humankind in
human-endeaVor
D1f1
writer's and specialists in public safe
" at home are more moderate. They
class us simply as idiots The differ
ence is that the lunatic originally
had some intelligence; the idiot had
none.
Lax Building Laws Responsible.
In 1907 the scant 5000 100000 of
losses included no fewer than 25
fires each of which entaiIed destruc- |
tiOn amounting to half million dol |
lars. There were two that over
topped the million-one of them |
burning the street railway car barns |
in New York city in April and the |
other the great elevator fire at Su-
perior, Wis. in September
Nearly an of those large fires |
were community -confagratiOns |
spreading from building to building |
IN the various communities where |
they occurred, impossible of limita-
ton more economical than they re-
Ceived, even by the fire departments. /
which are as much marvels to Eu-
rope as are the conditions that foster
the fires they fight.
The building laws and the we'll
nigh imbeciie laXity in enforcement
Of the building laws of the different
communities that so insanely burned
their money were directly response
Die for the enormous losses.
If there, were any one year that
presented other and better conditions
Of laws and construction the lurid,
flaring horizon of the chronically
eombustible United States present
some safe haven But the records
Of the years are unvarying in their
yistas, as though one could not gaze
across the perspective Of the decades
beholding this huge new,
rich empire of man the sport of a I
race OF inCendiaries. with far sue s
eessiOn of volcanoes leaping flames
10 the incentive of their torches.
A Five Years Total.
For the dve-year period up to 1907 c
the destruction by fire in the United t
States amounted to 81, 257955, 900, q
an average of $3.50. 100000 and more a
per year.
The fire seQuent upon the earth
make in San Francisco put upon the
year 1906 the extraordinary burden \
u $3.50, 100000. raising it's total to
500. an amount which may
not be equaled for ages to come |
which may never he equaled if the
American people in the matter of
their conflagrations should achieve
sense enough to lock the stable door
before the horse is stolen instead of I
That overwhelming fire t
loss of 19O6-e518.611 ,80O-with an 6
earthquake visitation as the occasion
for $3.50 100000 of it, has been I,
ascribed in the cheerful American
fashion of disciaiming responsibility
for an act of Providence. 1t being !
Il ne business of the insurance COM
panies to pay the fire losses and of
the people to brace up and recOup
the uninsured losses, Providence
might as well bear the blame Every
body composedIy let it go at that.
But the analysis of San Francisco S
buildings made subsequently showed
that Americas building methods,
ather than iong-suffering PTovi-
lseIDe, were to blame for not only a