Conservation Commission 



81 



The following table contains a summary of violations of sec- 

 tion 97 and section 98 (fire provisions) of the Conservation Law. 

 The total of such cases is but two-thirds as great as for 1913. 



* Section 97 forbids setting fires without written permit. 



t Section 98 makes person who causes fire liable for expense of extinguishing. 



In 1908 several disastrous fires were caused by the railroads 

 operating coal-burning locomotives in the Adirondacks. Some of 

 these fires burned over State forest lands. Investigations as to 

 cause, negligence, extent, amount of damage, etc., as a result of 

 such fires w^ere instituted, and actions brought. A careful an- 

 alysis of the situation disclosed the fact that the Delaware & 

 Hudson Company was not responsible for all the fires alleged to 

 have been caused by it. After a full examination, a settlement 

 was reached. The New York Central Railroad caused two such 

 fires, which burned 1,454 acres near Beaver Eiver, and 500 

 acres near Saranac Inn. Actions were brought and the cases 

 tried. Judgments were recovered for the entire loss as determined 

 by the jury. It was our contention that although the timber was 

 not consumed, the State suffered a total loss. We conceded that 

 in case of a similar fire on private property, there would have 

 been a deduction for salvage, but contended that in view of 

 many and decided opinions of the Attorney-General in regard to 

 use of such property in similar cases the merchantable material 

 could not be utilized. The railroad company contended that it 

 was entitled to salvage. The Court of Appeals during jSTovember 

 handed down an opinion that the measure of damage was the 

 value of property before the fire minus the value after the fire. 

 The court did not pass directly upon the question of utilization 

 of the timber but said the judgment was not upon a proper basis 

 of facts and ordered the case back for a new trial. The verdict 

 in the Beaver River fire case was for $13,500, and in the Saranac 

 Inn fire $9,018. 



