Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 98, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 March 1919 — Crippled Soldiers as Inspectors to Help Curb Huge Losses by Fire [ARTICLE]

Crippled Soldiers as Inspectors to Help Curb Huge Losses by Fire

By J. H. TREGOE.

National Association of Credit Men

Wounded soldiers should be given immediate employment by municipalities as official inspectors to help curb the huge losses caused by preventable fires. Our heroes are returning to their homes after having extinguished the dangerous flames of autocracy. Changed conditions make it impossible for many of the boys in the khaki to return to their former places of employment. These men, thousands of whom are cripples as a result of their sacrifices, would welcome an opportunity to help make America a fireproof nation. Our boys who have seen service overseas know the frightfulness of waste. They have seen homes, villages and cities destroyed by shell fire and torch. The men returning would be glad to take a job that would mean the prevention of destruction of property and human lives. Bestow 'upon the overseas soldier who returns minus a limb the proper authority to enforce fire-prevention laws. He will help bring about a decided change in conditions that cause high insurance charges. With the decline in insurance rates there will also be a fall in the price of merchandise. New York, Chicago and other municipalities should co-operate with the government in passing legislation. Figures just made public by the national board of fire underwriters show that in twenty states the yearly fire losses amounted to $71,072,433. Fires classified as “strictly preventable” aggregated more than $20,000,000 in losses, while those termed “partly preventable” resulted in more than $34,000,000 damages. These figures show an increase over those -of the previous year. • • . . . Now that the world conflict is over the hour has arrived for the people of America to wage an aggressive war against^fire— that demon which not only destroys millions’of dollars’ worth ofproperty annually and ruins thousands of business men but also causes unnecessary loss of life. Let the boys who went abroad and who are coming back crippled, be the fighters against preventable flames. '