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that, and we have made stringent rules and regulations in regard 

 to putting out fires when they were built; those are the two chief 

 causes for fire; there is another cause our attention was called to 

 by a judge of the Court of Appeals, and that is the railroads going 

 into the woods; he called our attention in a very fine, long letter, 

 to the fact that on one of the railroads going into the woods there 

 was a strip on each side of the railroad for over half a mile 

 burned, there was nothing left whatever, and asked if there wasn't 

 some way we could prevent it and stop it; we have caused annual 

 copies of the law in regard to fire to be sent to the railroads and have 

 endeavored to have them comply with that law as far as may be; since 

 that time there has not been very large fires from that cause. 



Q. One other thing that you didn't call out, and I don't know but 

 you did, and that is in reference to these fires that were set by settlers 

 in the woods and along its borders; what has been your instructions 

 to the wardens with reference to calling the attention of the settlers 

 to the fact that they should, before setting the fire, notify your 

 wardens ? 



A. Our instructions and the fire rules were, before any one set fire 

 we cautioned them strongly against setting fire in the spring of the 

 year before the leaves and the verdure had come out, and in the fall 

 of the year when it had become dry, and that between these two times 

 we made it a rule that whoever wished to set fire to a fallow must 

 previously notify the fire warden in that district of his intention to 

 set fire, and that he must provide suitable help and watchers with the 

 view of preventing the spread of the fire, to the end that there could 

 be no question as to the fire wardens; we caused a list of the fire 

 wardens of each district to be printed and posted up along the woods; 

 I myself in our immediate neighborhoods repeatedly sent our for- 

 ester to these people whenever I saw a fallow started, and have pre- 

 vented to a large extent fires in that way; still, I have had instances 

 in my own individual matter where I went to the man in question, 

 saw that he was going to set the fire and said to him, " Now you must 

 not set fire at the present time; rather than have you set fire at the 

 present time to this fallow I will buy your land or I will pay you what 

 your crops will be for a year or two;" in opposition to that he did set 

 fire and burned over about 2,000 acres of my individual lands. 



By Chairman Ryan: 



Q. Have you as commissioner authority to prevent them setting fire 

 to this fallow ? 

 A. No, sir; we have not. 



