20 SECOND ANNUAL CONVENTION 



The insurance companies engaged in this class of business alone have 

 of about $450,000,000. In 1910, one hundred and seventy-five stock fire com- 

 panies assumed risks of $36,357,713,046 for premiums of $273,557,380, while in 

 North Carolina alone $257,375,954 were assumed in risks for premiums of 

 $3,296,096. The fire losses in North Carolina amount annually to practically 

 $1,500,000, or $4,000 a day, and yet with proper care two-thirds could be pre- 

 vented, with a saving to our State in taxable property and to our citizens of 

 $1,000,000 a year, or over $2,500 a day. The loss of property is not all, for, 

 as in the rest of the country, there is a great loss of life. During last year 

 I noted in the papers twenty-one persons who lost their lives by fire in this 

 State; while so far this year, with only one and a half months gone, the 

 State papers have recorded already as burned fifteen persons, of whom twelve 

 have died as the result so far. 



FOREST FIRES. 



In 1910 the loss by forest fires was $26,000,000, or over ten per cent of the 

 fire waste of the country. If the same per cent holds good in our State, and 

 I see no good reason why it should not, then the annual loss in North Carolina 

 by forest fires amounts to $150,000. This can hardly be considered a large 

 estimate when you count not only the standing timber and buildings but the 

 destruction of buildings and small growth. 



My observation would lead me to believe that by far the larger bulk of this 

 loss was caused by thoughtlessness and carelessness, rather than by malicious- 

 ness. This shows the wisdom of our legislators in providing for the punish- 

 ment of those responsible for fires due to either cause, as set out in Section 

 3346 of The Revisal of 1905 of North Carolina, as follows: 



Section 3346. Woods. — If any person shall set fire to any woods, except it 

 be his own property or, in that case, without first giving notice in writing to 

 all persons owning lands adjoining to the woodlands intended to be fired, at 

 least two days before the time of firing such woods, and also taking effectual 

 care to extinguish such fire before it shall reach any vacant or patented lands 

 near to or adjoining the lands so fired, he shall, for every such offense, for- 

 feit and pay to any person who shall sue for the same, fifty dollars, and be 

 liable to any one injured in an action, and shall moreover be guilty of a 

 misdemeanor. 



Of course, I have had some forest fires investigated, but so far I have not 

 had the success in ferreting them out and punishing the originators as I 

 have in other fires, where I have obtained five convictions since January 1, 

 1912, and one hundred and thirty-three since I have been charged with this 

 fire marshal work in this State. 



All laws designed to stop fire waste are largely educational, and accomplish 

 much when handled in this way; hence, I have attempted to spread this law 

 over North Carolina in the form of posters, such as you see distributed among 

 you today. These posters are sent out to the sheriff and other ofl^cers of our 

 counties, as well as to all lumber companies and others interested in the pro- 

 tection of our forests. The Department will continue to send them in such 

 quantities to any citizen of North Carolina as they will post or distribute. 



Of course our attempts to stop forest fires must take into consideration all 

 the different causes for which they are started, and our people must be edu- 



