Evening star., 1922-09-30
BOY SCOUTS TO AID
NF|RE PREVENTION
Observance of Protection
Week Urged Upon All
+ Residents.

The Boy Scouts Of the District 200
strong. will be unofficial inspectors dur
| the Fire Prevention week. which begins
tomorrow.
Practically all of the 1875 troops in
every section of the city met last night
to map out plans for cooperating with
! the fire prevention committee in remov-
ing all sources of fire from the District
OF Columbia during the ensuing seven
days.
Edward D. Shaw. scout executive for
Washington. said that each troop of
scouts would make a canvass of its
neghborhood in search of rubbish plies
or other conditions which might con-
tribute to the starting Of blaze.
Charles w. Darr. chairman of tn. fire
/, prevention committee. pointed out 10
day that if each scout does no more than
remove fire hazards from his own home
the scout organization will have con-
tr1buted largely to the success of the
| week.
Topic in the Churches.
Thousands of Washingtonians will
hear something about the value Of
fire prevention when they go to
church tomorrow morning. for all
| pastors have been requested to refer
, to the campaign in their Sunday
sermons
Everywhere you turn next week
some reference to fire and it's de-
structive power will meet the eye
; In store windows on street cal rs atop
! the policemans semaphore and on
motion picture screens warnings
Will appear. calling upon all good
citizens to rid their homes or business
places of fire risks.
Don't look for a gas leak with a
match or a candle; you'll be sure to
find it" That is one of many don'ts
the fire prevention committee is
| spreading broadcast.
Another important precaution. in
the opinion of the committee, is to
keep matches out of reach Of chill
dren.
The farmer should be particularly
interested in Fire Prevention week.
| which will be observed Nationally Oc-
tober 20. Secretary of Agriculture
Wallace announced this morning
while the prevention of fires is
everywhere nore effective and less
costly than reliance on means cf con-
troll and extinction" Secretary Wall
lace said. this is doubly true in TIE
case of the farmer. The urban dwell
er has his fire department and his
ure Of reliance can be placed The
farmer. as rule, is sadly lacking in
effective means of checking a fire
once it has gained headway. A far
larger percentage of farm fires. for
this reason, represent total losses
than is the case with city fires"
Always q Calamity.
The needless destruction of prop
erty, Secretary Wallace also de-
clared. is always a calamity. Even
,, If the owner should be fully pro-
tected by insurance. which the farme r
seldom is, the less burden is merely
shifted to others. and the country is
)rl''cr b. the amount Of the loss.
The total annual fire loss of farm
property alone exceeds $4,000. 900.
No complete figures are available.
proper attention to the work of
Fire Prevention week or the observ-
ance Of the single Fire Prevention
day, October 9, in line with the re-
cent proclamation Of the President
of the United States, it is pointed out,
would eliminate countless fire dan
gers, which, if not removed, will take
a toll of thousands Of farm homes
during the coming winter. The OBJ
servance of this week or day should
further tend permanently to remove
some of our worst habits of care
lessness.