Connecticut western news., 1911-01-19
THURSDAY. JANUARY 19, 1911
''Two ears and but a single tongue By Nature s laws to man belong. The lesson she would teach is clear Repeat but half of what you hear"
QUESTION OF FIRE PROTECTION


 The Canaan Board of Trade has cons to life and unanimously adopted reso lution that it is not dead. This clears up one point that seemed to be in doubt. And from the manner and spirit in which it approached the problem of in stituting some system of fire protection, at the meeting in The Garfield, Monday evening, it was made apparent that the business men of this town are becoming fully alive to the responsibility devolv- ing upon them and upon the community to adopt some measure to safeguard the property of the people.
 The urgent need of some adequate provision for fighting fire in Canaan is, and has long been painfully apparent. The fact that we have thus far been ex- ceptionally fortunate in immunity from disastrous fires cannot safely be inter- preted as an assurance that we always will be so fortunate nor does 1t justify precautions. One penalty of that neg lect, which property owners cannot es- cape is, the excessive rates they are obliged to pay for fire insurance-a pen alty as logical as it is unacceptable. The property owner who takes out policy on his house or store or shop, and grum- bles at the excessive premium as con- pared to the rates on similar property in hoo oy11r1 EC in nd that the insurance company has figured out the hazard, on the basis of probabil- ities and possibilities, and arrived at an estimate of the chances of the building being totally destroyed in the event of it's taking fire. The degree of hazard is naturally greater where there is an ab- sence of facilities for extinguishing fire, hence the odds against the insuring company are greater, and, logically, the insurance rates are jacked up in proportion. Thus the community that has no protection against fire is con- pelled to pay higher rates for insurance than the town with fire department. One of the speakers.at the meeting ob- served that we are in danger of neglect ing to clock the barn door until after the horse is stolen" In other words, we are in danger of contenting our selves with a feeling of false seou- rity against disaster until the disas- ter occurs and the mischief is done. Such a fate has ovsrtaken many anoth- CT town and supplied an object lesson and warning that cannot be safely dis regarded.
 ''God. helps those who help them selves," says an old saw but there is not even an old saw that offers a reason able hope that God will always help those who show no disposition to help themselves. Canaan has had very few fires, in it's whole history as town, and never a really serious one. Neverthe- less, 1t is entirely within the realm of possibility that a fire may break out which, under right-or wrong-condi- tions of wind and season, will sweep the village clean. One need not neces- sarily be an alarmist to contemplate such possibility. There are too many concrete instances on record where that vary thing has happened.
 The primary obstacle. foresh allowed i'll the discussion at Monday nights s meeting, is the possible unwillingness of residents on streets away from the center, to assume any share of expense incurred for service from which they will apparently receive no direct or inn mediate benefit. And it will not do to imputs to such, selfish motives or nar- row -mindedness.N The argument of taxation without benefits is as potent and legitimate as that of taxation with out representation. The solution of this phase of the problem would seem