The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1910-11-10

!.
VIZ AN forest fires such as
gNEZYS those whose devastation Of
ISLE life and property in Idaho
M&SEs1 and Montana Is SO fresh In
BsSS the public mind be pre-.
yented? Cannot human ingenuity,
caution, and swealth devise some means
OF making such horrors impossible?
These questions have BEEN asked
by thousands of persons throughout
the country in the last few weeks,
ever since the first bad fire began,
The Idaho disaster has given an add:
ed insistence 10 these appeals for IN.
formations appeals that Indicate n
hope that some preventive system
may be discovered ami put into OPP,
GRAFTON.
In response to these questions Gif.
ford Pinchot, former chief, forester,
and Henry s. Graves, the present chief
forester return the. same answer:
..".Ne!"
; Such fire, they say, is to be classed
swith the great Chicago confagration.
the fire that set Baltimore back, the
San Francisco earthquake, the Gal.
weston food: Disasters of this sort
can neither be foresean nor dealt with
In line of ordinary human endeavor.
This fire, according to Mr.. Pihchot,
Mr.. Graves and the experts who have
spent years in-the forest service, re.
suited from an unusual combination
OF circumstances. The main causes
were the exceptional drought and the
high. steady winds that prevailed for
q long period preceding the outbreak
OF fire. 2
But ordinary forest fires can be pre-.
vented. Thousands upon thousands
Of them are, prevented. every year by
the forest rangers and forest guards.
But they are ordinary fires, which, II
caught early can be. promptly sup.
pressed before they attain serious pro.
portions 70
More forest rangers and forest
guards is the cry of the forest sery.
ice. It Is the cry that has been hurled
from the department OF agriculture,
Of which the forest service is bu.
reau, to the capitol for several years.
But. It has usually found congress
stone deaf.
There is not nearly enough men,
said Mr.. Pinchot, sadly, in talking OF
the Idaho disaster. Just how many
are really needed 1t is difficult to say
but many more than the 1000 now
engaged ID fire prevention and fire
fighting" go
Just as eterna! vigilance is the price
of peace, SO eternal vigilance Is the
price of safety from forest fires. AS
well as 1t is possible with the number
Of men 1t has, the forest service now
looks after this part of lis business
It has fire fighting down to system
and, so far as ordinary cases CO.. its
force works effectively The only
trouble lies in the size Of the force.
Situation Becoming Acute.
But, with the recent disasters in
mind, 1t is likely that congress will
do something better In this line In the
near future. The loss of human life
and the loss of property mot only to
the government, but to corporations
and private individuals as, swelD are
almost suro to arouse a keener and
greater interest In the whole forest
question.
Wood is becoming scarce, Its lie.
pletlon is being. felt by the railroads
and other big corporations. and their
cooperation with the government in
the matter Of fire protection Is almost
a certainty. tiii ~
Surprise has been expressed at the
extent OF the probable loss of life in
the great fires that have swept Ger.
tain sections Of the west. To the I'm.
Initiated, government forest reserva.
4 tiOn means n Prant udIdprnasu ~
trees, uninhabited, save by itinerant
hunters and the forest rangers and
guards. AFt7$f