Show ENORMOUS TAX LEVIED BY Ft fiRE HR EACH EACHON YEAR ON TU TOE THE PROPERTY OF O AMERICANS WASHINGTON Feb 7 Fire Pire Fire stolen fr n heaven by Prometheus according to to ancient ci nt Greek mythology y and as a ables bles blessing brought by him to earth in a holI hollow w reed after Zeus had deprived of it levi levies s upon Americans each year a an enormous tax calculated by byS United States government officials at y S fl alm almost it a million and a a. half dollars a aday day i and 1449 lives a year As a result resultS 7 S of an investigation just concluded by 5 officials of the United States geological r t survey it has been ascertained that V cheaper fireproof materials can be used to in construction th that t three i I to to six times tho the necessary amo amount nt of material is habitually used in structural al l work in the United States that the tho building codes are laxly enforced that the fire loss in the United States is is' is eight times as much per capita as in any country in Europe and that the thereat great reat fire waste in the United States is due principally to the predominance of frame buildings and to defective construction and equipment Contrast between the small losses by fire to government buildings and tho the immense losses reported from the country country coun coun- try as a whole led the geological eolo cal survey to make an inquiry as to fire l losses in inthe inthe in inthe the United States and as to their exact cost to the people Tests Tess to determine tho the strength and fire of building build build- in jug ing materials are still bein being made bythe by the survey and although these tests are desi designed p primarily to meet the needs of the government as the lar largest est consumer their results are available to anyone for tor general use uso Not one person in a thousand kno knows s that the United States government owns buildings that cost more moro than and is spending a year year for new buildings It will be a surprise to everyone too to learn that not one cent of ot insurance against loss by fire is carried on these valuable buildings Insurance at the ordinary rate would cost more than half a million mil mii lion dollars a year and the government avoids this great tax by constructing buildings that are securely fireproof To attain this degree of security from fire firo for government buildings the government government government gov gov- has has nas gone ono to considerable expense expense ex ex- pense and the results obtained fully repay re reo pay the outlay From these tests to determine tho the strength h and fire resistance resistance resistance re re- re- re of building materials it has been determined that American builders can with safety use cheaper fireproof materials than they do It has been l learned larned that the difference in cost be be- tween fireproof and inflammable buildings build build- ings ins is less than generally supposed and the officials predict that this difference dif dif dif- ference will soon become so small that it will cease to encourage the construe construe- tion of flimsy buildings It has been found that three to six times the necessary necessary necessary sary amount of material is habitually used by American builders in structural work The necessity also is is shown for better building codes in cities and es es- es of a better enforcement of the codes already enacted if the present enormous fire losses are to be dimin dimin- Tremendous Total of Losses After a careful investigation it has been determined that the total cost of fires in in the United States in 1907 excluding excluding ex ex- ex- ex eluding that of forest fires and tho the marine marine marino ma ma- rine rino losses in themselves extensive but including excess cost of fire protection protection tion due duo to bad construction and excess premiums over insurance paid amounted to the enormous sum of over a tax the on American people exceeding exceeding ex tho the total value of all the gold silver copner and petroleum produced in the United States in that year The cost of building construction in 1907 in nine forty-nine leadin leading cities of the United States reporting a total population of less than amounted to I and the cost of building construction construction con con- for the entire country is conservatively conservatively con con- estimated at Thus it will be seen that nearly one-half one of the value of all the new buildings constructed within one year is destroyed by fire The annual fire cost is greater reater than the value of the real property and improvements in in either Maine West Virginia nia North Carolina North Dakota Dako Dako- ta South Dakota Alabama Louisiana or Montana In addition to this waste of wealth and natural resources 1449 persons were killed and were injured injured in- in in in fires in in the United States in 1907 1901 The geological surveys survey's in inquiry which is is embodied in a report entitled entitle The The Fire Tax and Waste of Structural Materials in the United States prepared prepared pre pre- pared by H. H M. M Wilson and J. J L. L Cochrane Cochrane Coch- Coch rane of or the survey covered not only the value of property destroyed but also the tho cost of maintaining fire departments depart depart- ments the amount of insurance premiums prem prem- paid less the amount returned the cost of protective agencies the additional additional addi addi- cost of water supplies and other elements of the fire loss Losses Analyzed The report gives the meth method d of gathering gath gath- atherinE ath- ath ering erinE the statistics collected makes an analysis of the fire loss in city and country and on frame and brick buildings build build- in ings and contains tables showing the increased cost of fire protection due to faulty construction The actual fire loss in the United States due to the tho destruction of buildings build build- ings and their contents contents' amounted to in 1907 This was less per capita The per capita loss los in the cities of the six leadin loading leading European countries amounted to but 33 cents Comparisons of the total otal cost of fires which includes the items already stated show that if buildings s in the United States Stales were as nearly fireproof as Its s those in in Europe the annual fire cost would be instead of |