The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-10-29

If today some one should ask you "Are you patriotic?h doubtless you would feel indignant. that there should remain in the mind of any one who knows you a question as to your patriotism. Inn mediately your thoughts would revert tc the Liberty Bonds which you have bought, and which perhaps were bought by borrowing the money from your bank at per cent, and loaning it to your gov ernment at IA per cent. or, of the War Savings Stamps that you bought by putting up your car for the duration of the war;" or even by letting the cook go,' etc. But have you ever thought that there are so many ways in which one may prove his or her patriotism tha. the allies will reach Berlin, and stack their guns against the statue of old En- peror William I in Berlin before any Of us have exhausted them? Now here IS way, that perhaps had not occurred to you-the prevention of fire hazards,
 By simple process of reasoning we find that thought spells care Care spells prevention-at least when dealing with fire.
 The loss of property by fire in this
 
 has been made the subject of concern by the war industries board of the United States. A reduction of fire hazard nec- essarily proves of material assistance to the production and conservation of war supplies. and reduces the economical suain "oc1 the country.
 A concerted appeal from the leaders of the nation is going up to every man, woman and child in the country to ap- nrpcia ta rf American resources from destruction. While this appeal is going out, let the message be considered first in it's ap- plication to the home; for there, every one in the home must realize personal responsibility to be answered by care, along clearly defined lines.
 To the traditional head of the house, . Do you smoke? If so, are you careful not to drop hot ashes in the waste bas ket, or the best rug? Do you use safety matches? Have you done your part in safeguarding the home from fire !? When you go to your office, are you in the habit of sitting near the window to smoke? If so, be careful not to throw a lighted cigar out of your window. It may land on the awning of the window just underneath you.
 To the housekeeper It is nearly time to light the furnace. Have you had the flues in your house examined and cleaned? There may be defective chim- neys or flues in your home. Defective chimneys and flues cause loss of more than sSo00O worth of property in the United States every day.
 Have you been in the habit of allowing dead leaves burned on your place in the autumn? If so, do so with caution lest tnss % close to the house Better still, < them turned into a flower bed, for leaf mould, or into your garden spot, for next springs garden
 To mothers of small boys: Have your boys been cautioned against setting the woods on fire? If not, lose no time ,n making your boy realize that a ruthless destruction of timber is wrong, is un- patriotic. and in many instances locally proves a menace to our homes on the mountain side.
 To the user of the electric iron: Don't forget to turn off the iron when the telephone rings, for it is likely that you will not return to your ironing for sev- eral hours Approximately one hundred fires day are caused from forgotten electric irons.
 The one little word, which answers the fire hazard, which does not put out the fire. but prevents it, is care
 To be careful is to route the enemy, destruction; which, in the case of fire, is more than a private misfortune. Presi- dent Wilson characterizes it as a public dereliction. He says. At time like this of emergency and manifest neces- sity for conserva tion of national re- sources, it is more than ever matter of deep and pressing consequence that every means should be taken to prevent this evil.''