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Show A GOOD RESOLUTION FOR 1934. It's a little early yet for New Year's resolutions, but here's one worth considering "I'll do my part to reduce fire waste in 193-1." If a hundred million Americans did resolve that, and didn't drop it along about the second week in January with the resolution resolu-tion concerning- smoking, the nation would have a splendid start toward winning a difficult and ancient fight. We have long been the most prodigal of people when it comes to fire. We've sacrificed sacri-ficed thousands of lives and millions of dollars to it precisely as the pre-christian era sacrificed their victims to the:- god of flame. In'those days the reason was superstition in ours it is a combination combi-nation of ignorance and laziness. And one is as reprehensible as the other. Fires 'mean high tax rates. They mean destroyed jobs and opportunities. They mean bankruptcy and privation and want. They mean terror and misery and disaster. They mean'stulifica-tion mean'stulifica-tion and despair. They've ruined whole communities. Their total economic waste can't be expressed accurately in figures the direct-loss comes to between four hundred and five hundred million a year, and the indirect waste is several times as great. Conquering fire in 1934 would give recovery a mighty impetus. im-petus. It would save jobs and payrolls and homes and farms and producing industries. It would keep money at work that would otherwise be destroyed and made useless. Make that resolution! |