The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-10-07
APPROXIMATELY TWENTY
THOUSAND WERE INJURED
PERMANENTLY AND MADE
PUBLIC CHARGE ON
CITIZENSHIP.

large percentage OF WtlOlh "efe ILL.,
jured permanently, and made a pub
lie charge on our citizenship, T. AL.
fred Fleming of the National Board
of Fire Underwriters of New York
City, told the automotive section OF
the National Safety Council con-
gress ere recently.
A classification of these losses
shows that over 10 per cent are wom-
en- and children of school age and
under. This classification shows
that the home and the school have
been neglected in our great scheme
of safety education. 1t also shows
the effectiveness of the general
campaign of safety in the shop and
factory.
"Coincident with this loss Of life,
the destruction of property during
1920 as quoted by MIR. W. E. Mallal-
leo, general manager Of the National
Board of Fire Underwriters, almost
doubled that of any previous year OF
our history reaching an enormous
total of over s505,Ooo, o,ooo-which
does not include the, stupendous
losses in forestry 80 per cent OF
which is due to carelessness of cltl-
zens. This waste of our national
wealth of nearly one and one-half
millions day is paid for by every
citizen of the nation. It is generally
considered that these losses are
borne largely by insurance CON-
panies. As a fact the insurance COM
panies are only collecting and distrl-
buting agencies and of necessity are
compelledto require oincreased losses
Every product purchased for the
home or for the factory has in its
cost to the consumer an amount to
cover the insurance and overhead
cost.
It is the largest and most unnec-
sary leakage of the country's re-
sources, and is almost entirely
avoidable and unnecessary,
Paul C. Redington, of the forestry
division of the United States, in
an address in California recently
stated that of 2o,244, forest fires
caused by campers last year, rs
per cent, or over $4,000 were due to
smokers carelessness. It would seem
that the only way to obviate. these
tremendous losses of life and proper
ty would be to conduct the longest
possible continuous campaign OF
education for their elimination.
"The sections where safety has
been most neglected are in the home
and school. 1t is an appalling fact
that not one busines man out Of. ev-
cry 200 has ever applied the knowl-
edge of safety he has used in his
factory to his home. He has forgot
ten to call cabinet meeting OF
t:he members of his family and SER
wants to instruct them how to turn
in an alarm, how to extinguish fire
in it's insipiency, how to avoid danger
from articles used in the home and
how to use the extinguisher he has
installed. In other words, financial
value in production has 1000 per
cent more care and oversight than
the priceless jewels of human life in
the home, and yet the nation is only
as large or as strong as its homes.
Similar negligence is SHOWN in
the care, maintenance and construc-
ton of our schools. A very small
percentage of the members of our
present boards of education have as
sumed more than the financial bur-
den of school activities while they
are equally responsible for the
moral and physical safety of each
child under their care. There is a
great disregard of properly establish
ed rules in the construction Of new
buildings and the remodeling of old
structures, t has been found by ex-
perts that over 80 per cent of the
school buildings are more unsafe Ell
ther structurally or IN maintenance
than the ColEnwood school when it
burned, causing the death of 1a
children and three teachers: Over
FIVE schools burn a ths United
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