New-York tribune., 1917-12-16

The cases cited IN the article pub
Hshed hererith are typical Of hpn-
dreds of others ,chict arc const0nt'V
engaging the attention OF the Pre-
iusurdncc interests, 1cho recognize
clearly enough that II they 'Cere any
less uigilaut the amount Of destr'e-
ton drought by arson lco',ld increase
atou alarming rote-Financial Ed
tor.
4 T THE present time arson =
n occupying more prominent
place in the news of the dsy
than ever before, because Of tn
knowledge that incendiary plots ara
a feature OF the German propa.
ghnda. However, arson is no new
thing TO the fire marshals and the
in.urance profession, and the Ma.
tional Board Of Fire Underwriters
has long maintained a committee for
the purpose Of combating this great
evil. For many years the arson com
mittcc was chiefly active in the mat
ter Of Offering rewards to stimulate
the detection Of incendiaries by local
authorities, but early in the present
year the committee was reorganized
UPON new and greatly extended
lines, including the employment o.
It's own force Of special agents.
These special agents need TO be
picked men, since there are few
crimes in the calendar so battling as
those involved in many Of the sus-
picious fires. Fires occur almost in
ccssantly. Statistics show that fires
large enough to become matters Of
record average a little more than one
each minute, night and day. through
out the year. Most or these fires,
Of course, are purely accidental, and
in most of them the cause is not
far to seek. But here and there oc-
cur blazes under circumstances so
suspicious as to furnish a strong
presumption Of crime.
Loss Runs
Into Millions
Viewed in the aggregate. these
fires are very numerous. They rep
resent a total destruction running
into millions Of dollars, and they
take a heavy toll Of human life. And
yet so frequently do they destroy
their own evidence that their detec-
ton becomes matter calling for
the highly trained faculties of the
most experienced investigators.
National Board special agents are
frequently sent out on cases which
are almost romantic in their adyen-
turous interest. The trail may lead
to some bungling, amateur firebug
who desires 10 collect illegitimate IN
surance money, and who plainly
shows his hand in every move that
he makes. Or it may discover the
activities Of an able and desperate
band Of criminals organized for eX-
pert teamwork Of the cleverest de-
scfiption. 4 case of this kind Is
given in the words Of Judge Os-
trandcr. Of Chicago, as follows:
"Somc two years ago a request
came TO me from a prosecuting at
torncy in one Of the Middle States
that confer with him Immediately
concerning a gang of incendiarics
that he had by some means uncoy-
ercd. | found in his possession two
afldavits, disclosing the names OF
many scoundrels, with a carefully
prepared statement Of their opera
tions during the several years Of
their confederated existence. In this
list Of rascals were the names OF
several church members, one banker
ono wholesale merchant and several
insurance agents. This business had
been carried on in some five or siy
different states, and had resulted il
the destruction Of property to the
value Of several hundred Thousand
dollars and the violent death Of TIVE
persons, one of whom had been mur,
dercd 70 prevent disclosures"
Firebugs'