62 FORESTRY 



The original form of this law has been greatly changed, 

 but other states copied the provisions and have in some 

 cases retained the weak points. Minnesota is such an 

 instance. In 1894, after the Hinckley fire, this state 

 passed a law creating the office of Chief Fire Warden, 

 and imposing the duties of town fire wardens upon the 

 supervisors of each town. They were required to proceed 

 to all forest or prairie fires and extinguish them, could 

 appoint deputies, and employ men to aid in fighting fires, 

 and submit accounts for such services to the county com- 

 missioners who were to pay the bills and collect one-half 

 from the state. A summons to fight fire was obligatory 

 and refusal to go was punished by a fine. The warden 

 could arrest anyone on sight who was caught in the act 

 of setting fires, without stopping to procure a warrant. 

 Most of these features are necessary to a good fire law. 

 But it was found that town supervisors with the duties 

 of fire warden thus foisted upon them by statute seldom 

 took any interest in putting out fires and often ignored 

 their duties altogether. In the organized towns of New 

 York outside the state reserves, and in southern Maine, 

 the same system still prevails with the same result. It 

 is tolerated because in such agricultural regions there is 

 not much danger from fires, and no one cares who is the 

 warden. But where it was really necessary to secure pro- 

 tection, a new plan was soon adopted which was a great 

 improvement on the old system. The local fire wardens 

 were appointed instead of having an elected officer serve 

 ex officio as fire warden. In New York, the Commissioner 

 of Forestry received the power of appointing wardens in 

 towns within the forest reserves. 



These men were naturally selected for their fitness 

 for the job, and were retained in office by reappointment, 

 as long as they gave good services. This resulted in a 

 great improvement in the efficiency and diligence of the 

 wardens. Later on, New Jersey, after experimenting with 



