Evening star., 1923-10-13
CAPITAL KEYNOTES
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS

reports adds to this fire waste the
cost OF maintaining fire departments
1 which is as much more. This means
$50 a year to the average family"
Even that does not include the cost
of fire insurance, which is added to
every article sold. 1t is added to the
cost of clothes, food and rentals. Sc
whether one is direct sufferer from
q fire in his own home, fire adds to his
cost of living. And three-fourths OF
| the fires could be avoided by care and
cleanliness Of the premises.
II n X
| OF all the forest fires in 1921. camp
ers caused 1919 per cent-7.63S fires.
Railroads caused 5.515 f1res--14.3 per
cent Brush burning ran away with
| 4,358. or 11.3 per cent.
We are burning up twice as much
timber as we are using in lumber.
and yet statisticians tell us that we
are using and destroying four times
as much timber annually as nature is
replacing by growth, and that prac-
tically all forests will be gone In
twenty-five years unless there be ac-
complished a radical change in fire
prevention and reforestation.
Why are Americans SO given to
fires? We are the greatest fire suf-
ferers in the world, except our neigh
bors to the north. We always have
been, and we are growing worse. In
1918 our per capita fire loss was s3.36;
in 1921 It was Sass; In 1922, s4.75; In
| the fiscal year 1923. over IS.
Maybe Washingtonians are fairly
good as compared with their neigh
Iington in 1922 was only $2.10, but look
at Delaware, with per capita loss
OF S13.SS-the worst in America,
while the Districts per capita Is the
Lowest except Vermont, with Its S1.91.
The per capita losses in Europe are
as follows: France, 49 cents: Eng
land, 80; Germany. 2S; Italy, IS; Aus
tria, 25; Switzerland, Is, and Hol-
land, II.
* * X u
II Is not alone the man who starts
the fires accidentally or incendiarily
who has occasion to collect insurance.
Fires spread and whole blocks. are
destroyed. The originator Of the fire
is then much commiserated with, for
everybody knows he feels bad about
his neighbors' losses on top Of his
own.
But did anybody ever hear of the
starter of the fire which swept over
WnOle DlOCRS SenOlnS a CneCh TO eaCn
of the losers? If a man with a run
away automobile rams his neighbours
car he pays for the damage. He rec
ognizes his responsibility. II a man
cause a fire loss to another, whether
Intentionally. carelessly or unavoida-
bly,, he is responsible for all such
loss, according to common law, but 1t
has been most uncommon In America
to enforce that law. In Europe the
burden of defense lies upon the man
on whose premises the fire starts, if
1t damage neighbor.
X y
President Coolidge, in issuing his
annual proclamation calling for the
observance of Fire day October 9, the
anniversary of the Chicago confiagra-
tion, pointed solemnly to the annual
loss OF 1900 lives. as we'll as more
than half a billion dollars. in pre-
ventable fires.
The United States Chamber OF Com
merce is undertaking systematically
to inspire local chambers of COM
merce throughout the country to
compete against each other in lower
ing the fire records of their respe ective
cities. Most surprising results have
already been achieved. In one city re-
ducing fire loss 4S per cent.
Copyright. 1923. by Paul V. Collins)