Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1920-12-27
Fire Prevention
Awakened Conscience
DUTY to Humanity


Insurance Department, in New York,
a few days ago. before the FIRE
Marshals' Association of North Am
erica, the following IS taken, as OF
special interest because Of the APP
peal to the human side Of IRE pre-
vention. \
1t has long been an obsession with
me that the most effective and abid-
ing law that could be enacted TO
quicken the impulse Of rendering as
sistance and promoting the great
cause Of fire prevention and safety
first was the awakened conscience
of men and women to the duty they
owed humanity. to feel the responsi-
bility of conserving human life and
material possessions by the keenness
Of their love toward their brother
their sister-and community. Yes,
the most effective law. whether it
be writ on the pages Of the statutes
of the State or the municipal ordi-
nance of the humblest village or
town, is the law of love for the
very privilege Of living; and thus an
acknowledgment in rendering serv-
ice to others.
We write in our laws, Thou shalt
not steal" but it is not determent
to many. The disinclination not to
transgress by the larger forces of hui
man beings is the steadying factor
to the world at large.
Recently in an address before a
large audience of men and women
employed by one of the most i'm
portant industrial establishments of
Maine, I submitted the proposition
that to prevent the continuation Of
the large number of accidents that
were daily occurring in this especial
plant the thought should actuate my
audience, representing practically
nine-tenths of the employees Of the
concern, the human love to save
| their fellows and to conserve the
property Of others, not merely to
! do this because they had placards
all over the mill, not for the reason
that all sorts of literature was be-
| ing handed them from time to time
| asking their cooperation along safe.
| ty first lines, but to think of it as
| a duty created by love of others.
| 1t was immensely gratifying to learn
as result Of this experiment, later
told me by the manager of the COM
pany, that only four trivial accidents
occurred during that week as COM
pared with nineteen the previous
| week and the splendid work thus
begun is being continued.
One of the most costly fires that
occurred in the State of Maine dur
| ing the past year was that causing
very much damage to a million dol
| lar school in one Of the larger cities
of the State. For while the regula-
tons of the school board, the fire
department and city ordinances were
| specially designed to prevent accu-
mutation of trash of various kinds
in school buildings, it was found in
| the basement leading from the rec
| reation rooms there had been slowed
at least half ton of old paper,
| shavings, excelsior and other high
| ly infiammable stuff that the jani-
tor intended removing the next
morning" when it was plainly his
duty to have done SO that night be-
| fore leaving the building. and as it
occurred late in the afternoon some
young students leaving the class
| room for a few moments secreted
themselves behind this barrier to
have a quiet smoke of a cigarette
and probably being observed, care
Iessly, in hasty retreat threw their
cigarettes still lighted in the heap,
where it smouldered, as the chief Of
the fire department put it, until
the breath of confagration was
breathed into it's nostrils'', and with
in a few hours it was q roaring fur
mace of destruction. There! that
is what / mean to bring out in this
| address, no ordinance under Gods
footstool would have served to check
such disastrous experience. Had the
real thought of prevention, had the
real thought of preservation Of per-
sons and property been in the minds
of those young men this fire would
not have occurred, hence, the first
principles that I would advocate
would be that of instilling into the
minds Of the many through the me-
diumship of prevention propagating
the first principles of Love thy
neighbor as myself"
There comes to my desk almost
daily some of the finest sort of bull
letins, booklets and literature Of va
rious, kinds prepared and circulated
by the insurance and fire marshars
department of the various states. all
breathing and preaching the religion
of Fire Prevention. Some of these
articles are inspirations, have
carefully read many and If such an
application could be made, some of
them reach almost the heights Of
being classics. In these various ar
ticles written by many Of you men
who are before me in this audience.
men vested not only with official
duty to render this service, but who
from the nature of the pleading, the
depth of the language employed to
create interest that fire prevention
may be regarded as a force not to
be overlooked. have in a large meas
ure the vision allude to, and be,
cause OF this, through such mediums
ship much more effective work is
being done today than through the
mere matter of enacting ordinances.
That leads to another thought. in
| examining the ordinances of many
cities, the preponderance of that
which is presented really borders
| upon fire fighting and the POSSIBLE
| ity of the highest service to be Sc
cured in the great science of fire
ESTABLISHMENT. Very little is in
| foI i,%