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Show The Lfcisoi. of the Fires. Within a few days several cities hare been visited vis-ited by disastrous fires. The superstitious may find .support of their beliefs in the fact that the confla: graiions have come so close together, but the -matter-of-fact persons will ascribe it to coincidence. It makes' no difference which class is right, the fires come just fhe same. , It is the history of mest American cities that have suffered severe fire losses, however, that they have prospered greatly af terwards. The Chicago lire was, as Chicagoans express it, "the making" of that city. Baltimore Js emerging fronr her ashes greater and more beautiful, and no fire-devastated city that we can recall has failed to progress. Individuals suffer by a big fire, but the calamity seems to put new energy and spirit into a community. com-munity. The blistered town does not stop to cry, but binds up its hurts and "gets busy." New and handsome buildings take the places of the old fire-traps, fire-traps, and while business suffers for a time, those engaged in it. resume with such activity that they spoil make np their losses. It is the American spirit. There. was no giving np in the Revolutionary war, and there is no giving up today. Americans don't know what defeat means. |