i.
Preventable Losses
React Stupendous
Figures Throughout
the Country
DURIXG last year the American people,
adhering scrupulously to their estab
lished rules of building construction,
managed to burn down $199,383,300 worth
of property.
It was a disappointing record. The av
erage per year for the last five years has been
$251,000,000.
This year, however, has done fairly well
in the property-destroying line, for it has fur
nished such record conflagrations as the At
lanta fire and the Chelsea blaze, the latter in
volving insurances amounting to $8,846,879.
Europe gazes with awe upon the lavish
ness of the United States when it comes to
grand bonfires. Some European countries are
so envious that they profess to regard us as a
peculiar breed of lunatics, unique in our ambi
tion to possess the continuous record for un
paralleled fire losses, in life and money, as we
are rapidly acquiring world records in most
other forms of human and inhuman en
deavor. Building experts, insurance underwriters
and specialists in public safety at home are
IN 1907 the scant two hundred millions of losses In
cluded no fewer than twenty-flve fires, each of
which entailed destruction amounting to half a
million dollars. There were two that overtopped
the million one of them burning the street railway
car barns ln New York city ln April and the other
the great elevator Are at Superior, Wis., ln September.
Nearly all of those large fires were community fires
conflagrations spreading from building to building
In the various communities where they occurred, Im
possible of limitation more economical than they re
ceived, even by fire departments which are as much
marvels to Europe as are the conditions that foster
the fires they figrht.
The building: laws and the well-nigh imbecile lax
ity In enforcement of the building laws of the differ
ent communities that so insanely burned their money
were directly responsible for the enormous losses.
If there were any one year that presented other
and tetter conditions of laws and construction, the
lurid, flaring horizon of the chronically combustible
United States might present sortie safe haven. But the
records of the years are unvarying ln their vistas, as
though one could not gaze across the perspective of
the decades without beholding this huge, new, rich
empire of man the sport of a race of incendiaries,
with a far succession of volcanoes leaping flames to
the Incentive of their torches.
For the live-year period up to 1907 the destruction
by fire In the United States amounted to 11.257.955.000,
en average of J25o,000,O00 and more per year.
The fire sequent upon the earthquake In San Fran
cisco put upon the year 1906 the extraordinary burden
of 35u,OO0,000, raising its total to 1518.611,800. an
amount which may not be equaled for ages to come
which may never be equaled if the American people
in the matter of their conflagrations should achieve
sense enough to lock the stable door before the horse
is stolen instead of afterward.
The record of thirty-three years, compiled from
the slatlfctlca gathered by the National Board of Fire
Underwriters, shows at a glance the steady, startling
increase in America's waste of its most substantial
values:
Aaausl Fire Losses Id the tatted States for Thirty
three Years.
ASTirt
I'ropsrty
Lost
1151 619 0
l7.i44 I7D
141.008.484
141.11 2)8
1 18.717 420
118.25 4.575
110 581 90S
15J 597.810
10 929 80S
i8. nr. 810
181 079 040
145 to; 1 Si
2? 184. 0H
is s ;;i
IIJ 811 8
181 181.809
Property i
f 71 101.281 I
4 J0 0 i
25 100 i
M IIS 00 j
Tears.
1871. .
1 7. .
177..
n:. . ,
Kit...
). . .
1M1. . .
118 .
lit..
MM.. .
11 . . .
)...
17. . .
IMS. . .
1. . .
Hl.. .
Trs.
i.. .
ikfl . .
n ?4 . .
is. . .
159 . .
!7...
mi. . .
1899.. .
lo . .
1801. . .
77.701.7OO
74 141.404
Sl.Mft.A
84 101.024
100 .14 118
1 10 God (1 1
10; SU 7!l I 1K2
104 .'4 70 i 1901
1 ?0 tl 0S5 i 104
1 A t t ' o&
1 Zl 048 8 Jl 10
1 3 ! l0T
14) 714 M7 .
That overwhelming fire loss of 1906 $518 811.800
with an earthquake visitation as the occasion fr
1J50.0OO.POO of it. h been ascribed in the cheerful
American fashion of disclaiming responsibility to an
ct of Providence.
It being the bualncss of th Insurance companies
to pay the Are lostt and of the peopis to brace up
nd recoup the uninsured losses. Providence might as
well bear th9 blame. Everybody composedly let it sro
st that
But the analysis nf &an Francisco's bulldinrs mads
subsequently ihowed that America's butldinrrnethods.
rather than lorg-suffrins; Providence, wers to blame
for not only a vast pereentafs f ths firs losses, but
also for much of the darnare effected sy ths sarth
qusks. So 8n tbat exreptlffnal rear of disaster
harked bsrk to ths people ln proving them their own
worst saemiva
Those losses of li cost more thafi ts nation's
whole wheat rrop, which wss IIHII11H: tt sp-
rroehs4 the valua of ths cotton crop, wsrth $841.-Ia.419.
more moderate. They class us simply as id
iots. The difference is that the lunatic ong
inallv had some intelligence; the idiot hac
none.
All the while, according to the opinion of
Richard L. Humphrey, who is engineer in
charge of the structural material investigations
of the United States government, and has held
the highest official positions in the national ad
visory board on fuels and structural materials,
insists that the millennium in fireproof con
struction is at our command for the wishing
of it.
The spectacle of a whole nation ardently
engaged in erecting buildings studiously plan
ned to ardently burn down again is curious
more curious to its own eyes than to the eyes
of others.
It meant a per capita loss of $6.10 to the entire
population of the country. If we disregard 1906 on the
score of long-suffering Providence and merge it into
WHEN Wu Ting-fanK some tinio flgo an
nounced that he expected to live to the
Dfie of 200 years, people from all parts
of the country wrote to ask him how
he could do this. His reply did not coincide with
the theory of Metchnikoff that the removal of the
large intestine would conduce to old age. lie
said that his recipe was two meals a day, absti
nence from meat, a diet of wheat bread, nuts,
cereals and fruits, deep breathing, mastication,
and exorcise.
Before Mr. Wu made this announcement a
club had been formed out West, the members of
which believe they will lire to the age of 100 by
a method of living much siirpler than Wu's.
Smiles and a liberal use of lemons are the
chief requirements. The 100 Year Club, of La
fayette, Ind., founded by Professor W. Earlo
Flynn, of New York, is composed of the most
prominent men of th place. State Senator
Wood is president.
H
OW would you like to live 100 years of abun
dant and joyous UfeT
How would) you like to swake each morn
ing feeling as sportive as a 2-year-old colt
running free on a bluegrass pasture?
How would you like to be so filled with the fy of
livlnr that work would be one sweet tne blues
Impossible, and ths tax assessor a welrom guest?
According to the belief of the 100 Year Club just
organised, all these blessings sod many more ara pos
sible Ths members of this csw organtxatioo contend
that tt is essr to live to ths rips old ags of 100. And
thev nave set out to do so.
The roles r which ths members of the 100 Tesr
Club expect to fill out ths century, growing young as
they grow old. ere simple.
Pmties and lemons furnish ths foundation for ths
whole system! Ths smites most be genuine soul-born
smile. Any sort of lemons will answer ths purpose.
DECIDENOTteDlEjMfeAR CLUB-
THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL PORTLAND, SUNDAY HORNING, AUGUST 30, 1903
-i-S ' :
the losses of the last decade, the price which every
man, woman and child still pays annually on the av
erage of ten years for the national bonfires is $2.70.
As a means of comparison, it may be remarked that
ln 11)05' the 154 cities having a population o over
30,000 sustained a total fire loss of $5-'. 797. 371. or a
per capita loss of $2.42. The cost o new buildings
erected in forty-nine leading cities in the same year
was $644,620,873; In 1906 it amounted to $678,710,969.
and in 1 907 to $661,076,286. It does look as though the
population were Indulging in all the conflagrations It
can possibly afford.
And the total number of deaths from burns and
scalds in 1900. the latest census year affording figures
fairly reliable, was 6772 a holocaust which did not
include those who perished of suffocation in the na
tion's Innumerable fires.
It Is all or nearly all needless, those thousands of
agonized deaths as well as those hundreds of millions
of wuste of wealth.
No more authoritative explanation of how needless
they are nor of how surely avoidable they are could be
obtained than this, which has been specially prepared
by Mr. Humphrey, government expert:
provided enough are taken, for lemons are supposed
to kill the microbes that prey on the human system.
The 100 Year Club was the outcome of the appear
ance of Professor W. Earla Flynn. Professor Flynn
skipped into Lafayette wearing a smile and a very
light-colored suit of clothes. He has a theory that
light-colored clothing produces smiles and smiles be
set health. He allowed the puMU" to fee. his muscles,
measure his expansion and aland on hih chest.
Professor Flynn made an impression. He gained
the Indorsement of the ministerial association and be
gan preaching his doctrines.
Professor Flynn's theory of life might be described
as a mixture of physical culture, mental science,'
smiles and lemons.
In the beginning he Impressed th idea that the
. mind plavs a great part in life, and this sounded good
to the ministers. They decided that the churches
shou'd pay a little attention to the welfare of the
living that good health is a part of religion.
INTERESTED MINISTER
One week after Professor Flynn came, the Rev.
John P. Hale, pastor of the Second Presbyterian
Church, and a nephew of Edward Everett Hal,
preached a sermon In which he acknowledged th
work of Christian Science, and predicted tbat shortly
all Christian churches will make the health of their
jnemhers a department of church work.
When Professor Flynn arrived at Lafayette he
declared that he would soon have "the old stiffs danc
ing the cancan " Dancing Is not In the curriculum of
the 100 Year Club, but several of the staid members
have been cutting capers and doing stunts to the
amasement of ths inhabitants.
At the same time they keep on smiling ana eating
lemon chjf ,joctrns of the 100 Tear Club is that life
is a Joy. If one Is really to llv happily apart from
predlgested food, he must get In tuns with himself.
The mind plays a great big part on must think,
right snd fcellevs. Ths habit of smiling, accompanied
bv a few simple regulations and lemons gets ths
mind working as It ehnuld.
The rules of the 100 Year Club ars not especiajlv
strict concerning diet Members pledge themselves to
eat less and masticate mors. Two meals a day. with
possibly a light luncheon. Is decreed sufficient for an
able-bodied man.
Q.QQQQOQAVEAE.
"The enormous losses of life and property by Are
form a subject which should be widely exploited, in
order that the public may be brought to a thorough
realization of just how great this danger Is. Catas
trophes such as the San Francisco earthquake and
the fires at Colilngswood. Ohio, and Boyertown, Pa.,
prove to be but a nine duys' wonder, during which -the
public Is horrified and the question of safety ln build
ing construction is a common topic of conversation.
"By 'reason of the impossibility of securing Im
mediate legislation that will correct the evils the dis
asters expose, the public soon lapses into a condition
of Indifference, from which It is shaken ony by some
similar holocaust.
"Numerous buildings are being erected in many
parts of this country to which the term 'fireproof is
applied un,der the building laws. Their occupants en
joy a false sense of security, which leads them to re
lax or disregard the simple precautions bo necessary
for their safety.
"Probably no one stops to consider the lack of
safety in the so-called 'fire-escapes.' many of them
Meat is discouraged as a diet, especially during the
summer months. Vegetables are put down as tha
most valuable food. And above ail. liberal doses of
lemon Juice are guaranteed to kill microbes in all
grown-ups.
The physical exercise followed by the clubmen
does not differ greatly from that prescribed by the
average director of physical culture. There are deep
breathing, calisthenics, cold batfts. But above all. the
mind must direct and control Uie exerclce.
"Look here." said a member of the club when
asked concerning the purposes of the organization,
"we have no secrets and there are no mysteries, lit
beifeve that by the proper will force and the proper
living life may be extended.
"Some of us have not been taking enough exer
cise and some of us have t eeu eating too much, and
some of us have been allowing our appetites to cdn
tiol us. ....
"We stmply have resolved to live simply, to eat
enough, but not too much, to exercise, to recognise
that nature Intended we should be well, to gain
mental control over the tody and to take pleasure In
''""fhere Is nothing to our doctrine of life unlets
the mind Is right Our thoughts make us what we
are If we think riKht. we are right. See thesunsalns
and not the shadows Just keep on smiling.
"And how about the lemons?' was asked.
"Lemons are great '" answered a devotes or ths
century life idea. "I feel muck better since using
them. Brother Flyr.n may hsve placed undue Im
portance on their use. but I t-ll yoa boat they bars
a wonderful effect on ones system.
The membership of the club exceeds thirty and In
cludes clergymen, lawyers and business man. The
president is Will H. Wool state senator an a
former law partner of uovirnor Hsniy
restdentDr. Ldward G. Lewi,, pastor of Trinity M.
WtlYIam J Klenly. a prominent business mn. Is
secretary, and William f. oftMst
Prominent attorneys of the ctty snd a former trustee
It Purdue rr.lver.lty is the treasurer
The executive committee Is romiweed of Professor
W B Latta f Purdue. Forest O'lar. a leading foml
ture l.r: Fr John P. Ha, ra.r ef tm tjd
Preebyterlan Church, the Rev. A Coijn P"
f the rtrst Christian Church, and Dr. J. W. Btuxmer.
professor at Ptirdus
exterior stairways so constructed that under ordinary
conditions it is difficult for any one to walk down
safely ith any degree of rapidity. How much lass
likely, then, are people, under the excitement of a firs.
t-escape from a building?
"In a Are people are practically bereft of all rea
son, incapable of acting- intelligently for themselves.
It is only necessary to bring to fnind such catastro
phes as I have referred to, and the Iroquois Theater,
ln Chicago, to realize that people under such conditions)
are like a flock of sheep or a herd of stampeded cat .
tie.
"A proper means of escape from a structure lit
tho event of fire is one by which a person Is conveyed
quickly from the upper to the lower portions without
being compelled to exercise any volitlo in th matter
and without endangering his safety.
"It would seem that we might take' as an exampla
of a suggested 'contrivance for rapt and safe exit la
case of fire the wooden chutes, commonly known M
'down and out," which are to be found at the seashore
resorts and used for purposes of amusements.
"Such an arrangement would be practically adapt-f
able in the case of schools, theaters and hospitals,
where a straight chute from the upper to the lower
floors would enable the inmates, and especially th
children, to be quickly and safely removed from th
building. Even in the case of hospitals the patients la
their cots could be removed in properly constructed
chutes without serious disturbance.
"In considering the question of safety In structures
where large numbers of women and children or hu
man beings more or less helpless are assembled, th
height to which such structures should be erected be
comes one of prime importance. I am of the opinion
that structures of this character should not be allowed
that are more than two stories ln height. In suclt
structures it would be practical to Install one or
more chutes from the second to the first floor, making
it well-nigh impossible for tho inmates to be Injured
lit the course of their escape.
LAWS INADEQUATE
"The building Itself must be of the highest Are)
resistive typo, ln order to reduce ths loss of life to
minimum; It is evident that no type of flre-esoape or
other means of exit will prevent loss of life where the .
structure Is a tinder box.
"The loss of life and property by Are in this coun
try is appalling. The whole nation was Interested In
the Congress of Governors, held In "Washington during;
the month of May. for the conservation of the natural
resources of the United States. If It is necessary to
conserve these natural resources. Is it not much more
necessary to conserve the structures in which the re
sources Itave been utilized?
"When we consider that the annual losses by nrs
ln this country are between J 2 and $3 per capita, while
the per capita losses in the principal cities of Europe .
do not exceed 33 cents per annum, it Is evident that
the laws in the United States must be either entirely
inadequate or inefficiently enforced.
"The great cities of this conntry-New York, Phila
delphia, Chicago are so full of flytraps, especially la
the congested districts, that, it is miraculous they were
not destroyed long ago.
"While it is true that In Europe the per capita
losses are much less than ln this country, we should
not lose sight of the fact that the knowledge ! tha
methods of nreprooflng abroad Is no better than our
own. The low annual per ciplta losses there are due
to ths fact that ail buildings are required
much higher type. It la the construction of fl "f tin
der boxes which are not tolerated abroad, that Is re
sponsible for our excessive annual losses from Bre.
the building materials Is rapidly fiicreaslng; aew . torws
X nn r. rnmin Into existence, which efT.r
"Our knowledge oi a- ..7 "-V-- ;
far greater resistance to are iun
- resistance to at
attainable
'H one would rut siuir '"V"?. "r"
whW-h Km occurred in reinioroe "'! vbikhos
anot th.compaV.tlv.l, small loss .
compared with the enormous tosses ot other form, c t
construction it won !, net b hard to dn
a. DoealMe rrlirnlum Is far from being unatt4nar .
It snouM be borne in mind, however, that It M t.u
9salbie to obtain an absolutely areprpof strsctur.
-? reVroof is relative ene, fr. M t.- n
XnalfJTf a& M I sufficient, and If It be sufid,. ,
IfonVed. there Is se buUding Material that .
-BaUdlnss therefore, be designed t offer t-e
maximum res.8-ance rs.hle: but th-stlm .
proof- ualer ordinary eeadltions, 8ili r.l
SatieiSc the o reoU.d weui fee ei,4 t, a
minimum."
- ' . . '