Evening star., 1947-01-27
Leaders Of Campaign
For Fire Prevention
Named by Reynolds

Inc Government today picked the
leaders for its campaign against
fires.
Fires cost the Nation 1851 ,487 900
in 1916. They have killed 10000
Americans year in the last 10
years. President Truman, aroused
by this toll, has called a fire pre-
vention conference in Washington
May 6-8.
Fires such as the Winecoff Hotel
disaster in Atlanta, the La Sale
Hotel tragedy in Chicago; reports
like the recent one that showed
Washington's hospitals, hotels and
other buildings lacking fire safety,
have made the conference even
more urgent.
Reynolds Lists Selections.
Public Buildings Commissioner W..
E. Reynolds, whom Federal Works
Administrator Philip B. Fleming,
conference chairman, was told to
form a steering committee for the
meeting, said today he had picked
the following to do the job:
o. ]. Arnold, president of the
Northwestern National Life Insur-
ance Co.: Frank Bane, executive
director of the Council of State
Governments; Paul Betters, execu-
tive secretary of the United States
Conference of Mayors; Ernest B.
Brown of Association Reciprocal
Exchanges; Frank A. Christensen,
president of the National Board of
Fire Underwriters; j. H. Craig,
chairman of the fire marshals' sec
ton of the National Fire Protection
Association: DR.. Ned H. Dearborn,
president of the National Safety
Council; Charles A. Delaney, pres
ident of the National Association of
Fire Chiefs; Robert E. Dineen,
president of the National Associa-
tion of Insurance Commissioners:
James r. Edmunds, jr., president
of the American Institute of Archi-
tects; Wallace j. Falvey, chairman
of the Advisory Committee of the
National Conservation Bureau.
Also Hovey T.. Freeman, president
of the Manufacturers Mutual Fire
Insurance Co.; A. v. Gruhn, gen.
eral manager of the American Mu-
tual Alliance; w. K. jackson, presi-
dent of the United States Chamber
of Commerce; Leroy A. Lincoln,
president of the Metropolitan Life
Insurance Co.; Earl D. Mallery, ex-
ecutive director of the American
Municipal Association: w. E. NAL
lalieu, general manager of the Ma
tional Board of Fire Underwriters;
James H. Mooney, president of the
Building officials Conference of
Auerica; James H. Park, president
of the Pacific Coast Building Off
cials Conference; Curtis w. Pierce,
president of the National Fire Pro-
lection Association; George j. Rich
ardson, secretary-treasurer of the
International Association of Fire
Fighters; Mrs. Pearl Wanamaker,
president of the National Educa-
ton Association; Guy T. Warfield,
jr., president of the National Asso-
citation of Insurance Agents, and
/ dllh II. WllloOOIl VI UllC INdOlO1ld1
Association of Building Owners and
Managers.
Meeting Tomorrow.
The committee will meet tomor-
row in Gen. Flemings Office with
A. Bruce Bielaski. assistant general
manager of the National Board of
Fire Underwriters, and executive
director of the conference
Governors and Mayors from all
over the country and representatives
of all interested organizations are to
be invited to the May meeting.
The meeting will be patterned
after the Presidents Highway Safety
Conference, held last May. The
Government estimates the highway
meeting already has saved several
thousand lives.
When President Truman an
nounced early this month that the
meeting would be held, he said:
"I can think of no more fitting
memorial to those who died need
lessly this year in the La Sale Hotel
fire in Chicago, the appalling disas-
ter at the Winecon Hotel in At
lanta and the more recent New York
tenement holocaust than that We
should dedicate ourselves anew to
ceaseless war upon the fire menace. y