我们的国家火灾浪费。

我们的国家火灾浪费。

火灾损失问题是一个受到越来越高的关注，如果现有条件持续，要求考虑到目前为止的大会拒绝给予它的主题。美国火灾总燃烧于1875年在1875年汇总了78,000,000美元，1876年，亏损约为65,000,000美元，自那一年以来，每年烧焦的财产金额几乎稳步增加，直到高水位1884年达到了110,000,000美元的马克，如果这确实是待时间的高水位，那么一些舒适的舒适可能来自垃圾的聚合而不是种植的知识;但是，迹象表明是相反的，今年迄今为止的损失给出了这种情况的令人沮丧的方面。该声明并不是太强，无法在接近几何进展的速率下稳步增加火灾的年损失。Chronicle Fire表将于1880年以74,643,400美元的价格在美国在美国的火灾汇总的财产损失;1881年，81,280,900美元;1882年，$ 84,505,024;1883，$ 100,149,228;1884年，110,008,611美元。 Considerable has been written, by way of comment and comparison, illustrating what the destruction by fire—the absolute annihilation—of so much value each year means. In these days of great financial institutions, whose millions of assets are daily paraded in print, and when the accumulated wealth of hundreds of individuals now runs to tens of millions each, the popular idea of the immensity of what $110,000,000 consigned to the flames in a single year actually means is apt to be dwarfed. It should be clear to the mind always that accumulated millions and the interest on accumulated millions have a vastly different significance ; and this having been said by way of preface, let it be thoughtfully considered that the $110,008,611 burned in the United States last year—so much national wealth altogether obliterated, principally by carelessness and recklessness—represents the annual interest at current rate on a principal of $2,750,215,275. Thus the people of this country, largely through inexcusable carelessness or, what is worse, criminal negligence, year after year destroy the productive value of capital equal to fully one-sixth of the total assessed value of all property in the United States, land, buildings and personal estate. This large amount of capital remains in a state of stagnation, producing nothing from year to year. A fair estimate being made of the market value of all property comprising the total capital of the country, it can be affirmed that the America'n people cast to the flames and charge to waste fully a tenth of their hardearned profits each year. Some statisticians give the ratio of fire losses to the profits of all industry as onesixth. Discouraging to say, also, in periods of financial stringency like that through which we are now passing, the fire losses seem to increase inversely with the relaxation in business interests, for at such time the temptation to incendiarism is strongest; and, on the other hand, under the impetus of business prosperity, the various devices and methods introduced for saving labor and enhancing production all seem to tend towards making the fire hazard greater and augmenting fire losses.

It is a peculiar, yet seemingly natural idea held by the masses, that insured property burned represents loss of little account, for the burned-out individual is immediately reimbursed by the insurance companies, which are supposed to pay out such money without missing it. The public should be educated up to the economy of the insurance business, and to the understanding that the companies are benevolent institutions in so far only as they relieve the embarrassments of individuals in times of great emergency by distributing the burden of fire loss among the community. Every fire that happens, therefore, is a direct tax on the community, no matter whether the property be insured or not, and it has been estimated, on the basis that 5,000,000, or one-tenth of the entire population, are workers or producers, the fire losses impose a tax of about $20 on each laboring citizen annually. It is such truths as these brought home to the minds of everyone that should take root and bear fruit in the exercise of greater care looking to the prevention of fires. All persons well acquainted with fire matters acknowledge that the tendency of Americans is to live in a hap-hazard, reckless way, making little effort to prevent the occurrence of fires, and that they therefore have to pay large sums to maintain fire departments for extinguishing the conflagrations that carelessness invites. And right here is the great secret of the heavy losses in this country. Instead of being educated to extreme caution to prevent fires, the masses are taught by example that carelessness, recklessness and maliciousness incur no penalties, but, on the contrary, frequently bring substantial rewards. Wc boast of having the best fire departments in the world, and rightly so, and yet in such pride confess our weakness ; for in Europe, where better methods of building prevail, the laws on the subject arc more stringent, and the habit of care is more pronounced ; there they have comparatively few fires, and therefore do not, to the extent that we do in America, need such excellent fire departments. There the watchword appears to be fire prevention; here, we seem only to advocate fire suppression.