South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-03-12
SAYS CARELESS
employees CAUSE
MANY BIG FIRES
Chief of Cincinnati Salvage
Corps Talks At Credit
Mems Banquet.

Educate the careless empIoye and
blrry on campaign OF fire pre-
VentiOn which which will reach all
classes of citizens and you have
eliminated the 90 percent OF the to-
tai fire loss OF the community
which is preventable and which has
its origin in carelessness and neg
ligence." This message was brought
TO the South Bend Association Of
Credit Men at their Fire Proven
ton" meeting held Thursday night
at Kables' banquet hall by Capt. ].
j. Conway superintendent OF the
Underwriters Salvage corps Of Gin
cinnau. recognized as one OF the
country's leading authorities on fire
prevention.
Capt Conway advocated a fire
prevention campaign in South Bend
in which the Chamber of Com
merce, Rotarians, Kiwanis, Credit
Men and all civic and commercial
bodies should cooperate. Such cam
paigns have been carried out in Gin
cinnau and other large centers with
the most effective results in reduc-
ton Of fire losses, he said.
Two Hazards.
Carelessness of factory and store
employees and OF cities themselves
in allowing conhagation breeding
shacks and waste piles 20 stand in
valuable property districts were
classed as the two greatest fire ha-
yards by the speaker.
Capt. Conway carried his points
TO his heal ers in a blunt, direct
manner which brought home the Sc
riousness Of the effect OF fire losses
on business, both directly and indi-
rectly. more forcibly than had they
been voiced in smooth, Oratorical
form.
In his plea for education Of en-
plOyes in this regard he illustrated
with cases where tampering with
window lighting in a department
store by window dresser and over
loading the circuit had started a
fire Which cost several lives as well
as thousands of dollars. In another
instance a school janitOr in hur-
~ 70 get home and attend 20 per-
sonal affairs on business time had
overloaded q furnace with the re-
cult of a loss Of 142 school chill
dren's lives. Both cases could be
attributed 10 no other cause except
negligence, he declared.
Cites Reason.
And there you have your rea-
son for the big majority Of fires
whose origins are listed as un-
known he stated. They are not
unknown. but those who are direct
ly responsible Will not admit their
guilt. Sometimes they are forced
70 an admission by the fact that they
themselves are victims Of the con-
fiagation. A reckles automobile
driver is taken into the police court.
If he runs down and kills a man
ne is indicted for manslaughter.
Why then, should the man who en-
dangers hundreds Of lives through
careIe essness in the case Of FIRE go
scot free?
"A loss through fire in a busi-
ness house Of any character affects
the whole community either direct
ly or indirectly" he declared in
stressing the necessity Of a COmmu-
nifty prevention program. The de-
structiOn Of a big industry throws
men out OF work and autOmatical-
ly cuts off their purchasing power.
The merchants business drops of
and a slump In business means q
probable reduction Of credit and
possible insolvency. Ask any finan-
cial authority and he will tell you
that theh panic Of 1907 was in a
large measure caused by the $780,
0OO,O in securities thrown on the
marked by fire insurance companies
in their endeavor 20 cover the loss
es Of the san Francisco FIRE
Heavy Expense.
The fire departme is the heaFi-
est expense of every city. ne said.
CCOTTIN7-ED ON PAGE THREE)