The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1913-11-07
BOSTON'S WAR WITH FIRE.

BOSTON'S WAR WITH FIRE.
Fire losses in the United States are
regarded by experts as discreditable
to our country, and many attribute the
blazes that dot the land every day
from ocean to ocean to our Partially
for inflammable building materials.
Although the rank and file of our citi-
zens remain Indifferent, believing,
with fine disregard of arithemetis,
that ''the insurance companies pay the
bills" some of our municipalities are
waking up and are making attempts
to diminish the loss, by legislation
and otherwise. Many of our growing
cities show street upon street of new
mental piles of kindling wood. People
who live in such cities will be inter-
ested in the recent passage by the
Boston city council of an ordinance
considerably extending the fire limits
in that city. This ordinance, the Bos-
ton Transcript calls it feeble" and
charges that the council passed it
only through the pressure of cold
facts and the knowledge that the pub
lie were well aware of these facts"
Is regarded as plain step in advance,
and is the result of a systematic cam
paign of education waged by various
civic bodies. Mr.. G. G. Wheat, secre-
tary of the Boston Chamber of Com
merce, who has taken an active part
in this movement, writes of it in sub
stance:
The study of the question of ex-
tending the building limits and in
creasing the area in which no more
buildings of wood construction might
be erected resolved itself into a study
OF comparative costs of housing. This
study again divided itself into the
first cost of construction and the costs
of maintenance and depreciation. and
this has been taken and applied to a
term of years. The figures sub
mitted by builders and obtained on
buildings actually constructed show
that the difference in cost is less now
than 1t was two years ago.
THE various associations. includ-
Ing the Chamber of Commerce. who
have worked in favor of extending the
building limit, have realized from the
start that this question would prob
ably settle itself on business basis
and have studied the question from
that point of view. 1t seems very clear
that the better construction will he
far cheaper in the long run, and even
IN a period of five or six years, and
unquestionably in period of ten
years or more, but great opposition
was naturally met from many build
ers OF wood construction and agents
or such property. An unusual amount
OF interest has been given to this by
all classes of people, and the very
great importance and the reasons for
thls interest can be we'll understood
when the actual proportion of our to-
tai wealth that is invested in residen-
tial property is known.
1T is fact that the business of
housing the family has been very ran
idly becoming a special business,
which is entrusted to other men
These builders of the homes have
viewed this business naturally from
the standpoint of personal profit. 1t is
not strange that such being the case
the future welfare of the cities has
been overlooked and neglected The
study of this entire question of hous-
ing has just been opened up in this
present study. The state of Massa
chusetts has passed law enabling
all towns and cities to create a city
planning board, and in few weeks
session of two days program will be
given to broad view of the whole
question of better cities, and the hous-
ing question will be given a large
share Of the discussions. Representa-
tives from all cities will attend this
convention. Literary Digest.