Mohave County miner., 1912-04-20

| UnlS enormous Hf6 JOSS ana ascertain remedies?
 'The National Fire Protection Asso- citation was organized about sixteen years ago, and since has been conduct ing campaign against fire waste. It analyses and removes causes. They were much greater than they are today. They grew so colossal that insurance companies began to refuse the risks. Then body of engineers inquired ln- to the causes. The insurance compan- ies were appealed to for data. This group of men found that 50 per cent of the fires per year were directly due to a certain small class of causes, easily eradicated. For instance, in the var ious processes in the mills there was generally one dangerous one which often set the plant afre. This part of the process was then isolated and pre- caution taken against fires, and so on.
 "Nowdays there is more bursting fire hose than has ever been experienced before. Probably automobile tires are claiming all of the good rubber and inferior and adultered brands must be given to irefghting devices. Then in the matter of standarizing fire hose and hydrant couplings. The associa- tion has set standard which has been adopted so that they are interchange able, and hose from one town can be fitted to the hydrants of a nearby town in case of an emergency, where appa- ratus is shipped away from home to battle a contlagration.
 ''In Europe matches are kept in metal receptacles. Here they are on the dresser, the sideboard, the closet, in our outervests and trousers. We should use only one kind of match and that is the variety that strikes only on the box. The fire waste in the United States for the past ten years averaged better than 250,0O0,0O0$ per annum, nearly 500$ per minute. In Europe a | lO0,OO0$ fire causes cOnsternation; in ! America, mil lion~dallar fire merely excites the question:: Was it insured?' If so, we answer: Well, that's all right, not thinking that we ourselves are paying for that insurance.
 Insurance companies are only col lectors and distributors. The fire tax is too high. we know that; the compan- ies know it and admit it, but they have too great hazard and can't be reduc- ed except by decreasing this fire waste. The use of asbestos shingles would annually save many times the ditfer- ence in cost, between that form of roof. ing, and of the wooden shingles, in the amount saved by fire loss, and this eminent authority brought out another feature of interest in this connection. He showed that by the use of asbestos shingles, the rate of.insurance would be cheaper, and that while the initial cost might be slightly higher, yet in the long run that they would prove a paying interest upon the extra cost. The officers of the asbestos companies took considerable interest in this mat ter, and they figure that when few more men like Wentworth preach the doctrine of the use of asbestos in all for ms, and the increased use of asbes- tos shingles, that the enormous value of Wyoming asbestos deposits will be more appreciated, and that it will be years before the company will be able to keep up the demand for their pro- duct.
 The Asbestos Companies are work ing to the end of making heavy spring shipments with which to supply their shingle plant, and have let one con- tract whereby a factory can be built upon the western coast to manufacture asbestos shingles.
 The companies report that their stockholders are giving them splendid support by subscribing literally to their recent bond issue, and they feel confident that they are to share in the general prosperity which is very mo- ticeable in mining circles.-Denver Mining Record.
 Puts End To Bad Habit.