Bisbee daily review., 1917-03-27
FIRES AND THE COST OF LIVING.


 Few people realize how directly the much discussed High Cost of Living" is influenced by Americas sve fire waste recent nationwide analysis of fires and fire has shown destruction of com mon staples. Single fires in elevators and mills ire luenty consume the equvaent of a living small army people blaze in Illinois rendered 100000 bushels of unit human food, and also destroyed SOO,OoO bushels of oats.
 Grain elevators nour cereals, grst and feed mills pre- we'll known elements of fire hazard in that they subject explosions highly explosive dust handling milling grain These disasters also many lives; dust explosion in Buffalo mill. 191S in thirty fatalities short time ago the United States Department Agriculture made
 study of the frequent explosions in grain in she Big Bend country the Northwest and found that in the height of the these reached from six to ten day, the flame from such explosions in large spreading into the surrounding grain with destructive results
 Individual barn fires add enormously to this total Throughout of the country the of thunder follows closely upon that of harvest and thou sands barns. stored with potential food go up in year of lightning. These fires cassed largely preventable statistics piled by Acturia of the National Board of Fire Underwriters show that of the total fire loss from lightning more than s2 per cent, found where light ming rods are not used.
 spontaneous combustion of hay and grain in poorly ventilated barns is another big factor which might largely prevented by proper precautions.
 When to such items added the fires in grain fields from sparks and the matches of less smokers it may be realized that vast amount of | man muscle This inevitably has up | on the price of the remainder.
 Most people depend upon groceries food and .he grocery. containing it does. stocks of and other infamable merchandise and other iniamable merchandise special instance of fire haz- This is shown by the great number that con during each and each grocery fire contracts
 definite quantity of staples from the national supply
 supplies directly affected by the large number burned in fires and stables and also Oy the many fires packing houses slaughter houses, etc
 The condition holds with other staples than those of food In years there reported S22 fires in wool and cotton mills Cotton is d commodity which is particularly subject to disastrous Hires This also applies in marked degree to the refining. storing and handling of o-one of commonest daily require ments.
 Back of all of this loom the larger of the stua ton. With average of than reported fire for every minute olte year, and daily destruction ap proximatng $6OO,OOO. United subjected every detail of its business and life and is large though unrecognzed fac tor in all commodities Furthermore be overlooked that vast number of people in teresed in empoymept, and hence in earning power, from the
 If America to reduce her fire losses to the frac tiona figures of most other countries it hardly be doubted that the of living would be materially lower ed It must be forgotten that 2l4 per cent of this annual bonre is due to strictly prevenabe 37J per those which partly preventable and that the remaining iO.7 per from unknown causes is probably largely prevenabc-