The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-10-10
Prevention Day Observed by
Merchants Pointing Out
Needed Reforms and Dis
Gdssing Conflagration.
FIRE MARSHAL is
A RICHMOND NEED
With but One Water Main,
City Would be at Mercy Of
Flames, in Case of Fire S.
E. Jones Said.

e. JOIlcS CdlQ.
That number of fires started in
this part of the country as conse-
quence of carless use of the electric
fiat iron, is surprisingly large. was the
statement made on Monday by c. D.
Shideler. Mr.. Shideler was speaking
before the members Of the Commercial
club, on the occasion Of their special
meeting to observe October ninth as
fire prevention day" Several good
points were brought out in connection
with the subject, and all the speakers
were we'll applauded. To show that
even though Richmond is considered
fairly free from blazes, the speakers
gave innumerable examples of big fire
losses here in recent years that were
purely the result of carelessness. It
was unanimously thought that the only
solution here was to employ a fire
marshal.
Shideler, in his talk, said that it was
mere trivial things that went to make
up the big total of losses in the course
of year. He condemned the electric
iron, for people have grown careless
about shutting off the current in 1t.
He gave one striking example Of this:
A woman to whom he had recently
that was controlled by either of two
switches in the room, common pract-
ice now. When she had finished using
the iron, she shut of the current
Later in the evening, forgetting that
the current had been turned Oft, the
woman went out to the kitchen and
threw the second switch. Consequent
ly she was awakened in the middle u
the night by the roaring flames. The
speaker would permit the use of only
one kind of iron and that is controlled
automatically so as to keep the heat
below a certain mark. He said that
all of the other kinds were dangerous
by themselves, and were made much
more SO by the careless use they re-
ceived from house wives.
6iames American Spirit.
Mr. Shideler asserted that the most
serious obstacle in the way of secur-
ing satisfactory fire prevention was
the average American citizen. Ameri-
cans have become so imbued with the
idea that our liberty means that one
can do anything he pleases, that they
will not consent to any laws which
forces them to keep their property
guarded against fire.
He fOrecasted that laws would be
passed insuring fire prevention to a
great extent
Condemn Parior Match.
| Matches came in for a good deal of
discussion through the evening. Shide
Ter said that the United States uses
more matches than the rest of the
world. One speaker stated that In a
single year, 1,OS9 fires in Chicago,
alone, were caused directly by care
less use of matches. The meeting
ended the discussion of the parlor
match by passing a resolution con.
demning its use and promising that
the club would help to do away with
it.
Atwood Jenkins was the first speak
u
fire prevention. He attributed the fl
nancial depression of 1907 in a large
part, at least, to the terrible conflag
ration in San Francisco the preceding
year.
In the last fifteen years, asserted
Mr. Jenkins, fires have cost this coun
try 10000 lives. $500 minute. or one
ho1 <ho ~ h,,sl <A@
The speaker referred to the recent
investigation that was made of the 10z
buildings on Main street between
Fourth and Eleventh streets. Thirty
two of these were found to have de
fective wiring that might at any time
result in a blaze, twenty-four had worr
out rubber hose for gas connections
a most dangerous extent From th<
result of this investigation, he con
,cluded that Richmond needed a fire
marshal. 1t would be no hardship tt
pay a good man as much as $4,000 tt
handle the work, and would undoubt
edly save the city many times his sal
ary in a year. This man could make &
Thorough investigation of every build
ling in Richmond. in addition to keep
ling track of the new edifices. and
would soon have complete record o.
the conditions of buildings here.
! At Mercy Of Fire.
Sharon E. Jones, chairman of tn,
committee for the evening, said tha
Richmond is one of the best towns fo
fire in the central west, supposing higl
Ipressure at some time should breal
the lone main that supplies the cit.
with water. He said that either thA
pressure here was inefficient or tn.
IRE apparatus was, for no stream o
water here could reach the top of sev
eral buildings In this city, and II a 1r.
Ibroke out in the Wescott hotel ther,
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