The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1917-04-26
NATIONWIDE MOVE
FOR CLEANUP WEEK
Improvement In Health And Decrease
In Fire Losses Will Follow Proper
Cleaning.

WESTINGHOUSE are being
written to the governor and fire mar
shals of the different states, and to
the mayors, fire chiefs, health Off
GERS and chambers of commerce in
several hundred of the leading Ameri-
can cities, urging that the fire week
in may (Which this year begins upon
April 30th) bedesignated and observ-
ed generally as a spring Cleanup |
Week"
This is a time or national crisis,
when every effort to reduce public
hazard becomes a patriotic duty. How
ever, such efforts pay abundant dl-
vidends even under normal conditions.
For example, Mr.. J. j. Conway, chair
man of Cincinnati's Cleanup and
Paint-up" campaign, writes to The
National Board of Fire Underwriters:
"Cincinnati's cleanup campaigns
have been of great value to the people
of Cincinnati. Prior to the first cam
paign three years ago, the fire loss
totalled $1,34O,00O and this was re-
duced to $370,557 in 1915, and to APP
proximately the same figure in 1916"
Similarly, the City of Decatur, Ill,
reports fire loss of $164,010 for 1915,
before the institution of the local
cleanup campaign, and of only $685. 57
for 1916, following this effort. AS one
of the features of Decatur's campaign,
more than one hundred and fifty mer-
chants provided themselves with metal
receptacles for the storage of waste
paper and rubbish.
The Chamber of Commerce of RO-
chester, New York, states that the
city's 1916 fire loss showed a reduc-
ton of 40 per cent over the figures
for 1915, and credits large part of
this to the result of a cleanup CAM
paign Mayors, fire chiefs, and health
officers in a number of cities, as we'll
as the fire marshals of Pennsylvania,
Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin,
Minnesota and several other states,
are already moving actively in the
matter On the other hand, the great
er part of the United States has not
yet awakened to this necessity.
Spring is a time of peculiar fire
menace because of the accumulated
little of the winter months. The
Georgia Fire Prevention Society has
published statistics showing that all
of the conflagrations in the southern
cities during the past quarter of
century have occurred between Feb
ruary % and May 3, and it is well
known that the $35000000O confla-
grafton in San Francisco was in the
month of April. While this latter was
caused by an earthquake, most of the
loss was due to the bad condition of
the city If a spring cleanup cam
paign could be established as a ma
tional institution, for the first week
in May of each year, it would save mil
lions Of dollars of the national wealth,
which is annually destroyed through
unnecessary fires. 1t also would be
most important health measure, since
dirt and debris breed disease as well
as conflagration.
4 One word of special precaution is
necessary; this refers to the stor-
age of waste paper Following the
suggestion of the federal government
that people should save waste paper as
, a means of meeting the serious short
, age in paper stock, thousands of
school children began to collect pa
per and to store it in school base
= ments, thereby creating a hazard. 1t
is desirable that waste paper should
be conserved, but safe place of stor-
age should be provided. Such stor-
J. age should never take place in schools
y or dwellings. 1t is well to remember
p that paper is less likely to burn when
:, tightly folded and piled than wher
- thrown into a loose heap. 1t should
be disposed of as frequently as pos
e sible so that large quantities may no
i accumulate. This is another case il
which individual carlessness is the
greatest fire hazard.