Arizona republican., 1911-09-30
Don't Let Fires Start and Then You Will Not Have to Put Them Out" Says New York's Famous Of ficial
CROKER DELIVERS
 SPEECH AT CHICAGO
One of the Most Famous and Efficient Firefighters in the World Gives Prac- tical Hints About His Trade.

CHICAGO, Sept. 29.-The preven- | siOn of fires, rather than the ques- ton of how best to put them out, and a proposal for the establishment
 by the government of a department
 tO insure adequate protection against fire, were the subjects of an address delivered this evening before the In ternational Municipal Congress by
 Edward r. Crocker. who for twelve
 years was chief of the Fire Depart
 ment of New York city. Mir. Crock
 CT said in part:
 "The enormous fire waste of the
 United States varies from s2OO,OOO, ,OOO
 tc $4OO, O,OOO,OOG annually. and the vast
 ly greater indirect losses that re-
 suit, seriously affect our economic
 and civic progress. The loss of lives
 by fire is one that cannot be realized
 save by those unfOrtunates whose
 relatives and frispds have been lost
 in many deplorable Callmitics. To
 be poetical, it is something more
 than a Slaughter of the InnoceDts.'
 This utter destruction of more than a quarter of a billion dollars
 in property in addition to the lives incalculable in money value, is not an act of God nor one of the inevi- table chances of industry and com merce.
 Let us apply the test of com parison with other countries of like civilization. In round numbers, the per capita fire loss in the United States has been from g. to S4 against $3 cents in the principal European countries. One of the conditions in these countries that operates to af- feet a lesser loss than here is the larger use of -cOmbustible ma terials due to the high cost of woed reason is the intangible in- fluence of their older civilization, which makes these people more care ful of small savings in all their af- | fairs and generally more cautious | than We have vet become
 It has been my observation that | the large majority of fires arise from preventable causes. In fact every | fire of consequence is preventable.
 The subject of fire prevention is vastly more important than that Of | fire fighting. When one conflagra- ton has been checked or prevented | you have accomplished little The chances for repetition tomorrow are equally as great.
 If we are to better conditions you must realize that 'fireproof is not fireproof as it is understood today. am sincere in the conviction that he government should make it a heavily punishable offense to apply he term to anything but an abso- utely fireproof building.
 There is but one principle to fire proof construction. be it either homes. hotels. office buildings, theatres, apartments, battleships, railway cars 'r whatever. To have fireproof buildings architects and owners must hrow aside precedent and eliminate he use of cOmbustible and semi materials in their con- ;truction.
 If I had my way about it would lot permit piece of wood. even the 'ize of a lead pencil, to. be used in he construction or finish of any building in the United States ex- 'eeding q ground area of 25x5O feet IT three stories in height If there vas still an absolute necessity for Is use. if We could find nothing to eplace it. it would then be well o attempt to conceive of something better. I am opposed to the use of wood in any form in fireproof build ngs and the law ought not to per nit it's use. Wooden floors, wood n window frames, doors and cas- ngs burn and help other things to urn; wooden trim and bases burn that is made of wood turns and helps the fire to spread Eliminate wOod-remove the cause nd you have precluded the possibil- ty of fires.
 We have no department of our government devoted to the matter of ire protection. Our laws on the sub ect are not specialized to completely over any particular building or busi- ess. although they could be made road enough in their general ap- lication to go great way toward artly solving the problem.
 Tt is my firm conviction that the Jnited States government should es- ablish department. founded some that on the lines of the pure food , nv, for the purpose of establishing whose business it should 1 e to test and classify various ma | arials used throughout the construc- { ion of fireprOOf buildings in order hat the public may be provided with (