London was destroyed, 1,000 houses burning at once, covering 430 acres. On October 9, 1871, fires killed 200 in Chicago, 17,459 buildings were destroyed and 98,500 persons rendered homeless. In November, 1872, Boston was devastated by fire, 800 buildings being destroyed and property lost to the value of $73,000,000. In April, 1906, San Francisco was burned over. The fire was three times greater than Chicago, ten times greater than Boston, $300,000,000 were lost, and 300,000 persons made homeless. In 1904 a Baltimore fire covered 140 acres and destroyed $85,000,000 worth of property. In October, 1910, forest fires alone cost $14,600,000, while in the whole country they cost us $50,000,000 annually. The single item of careless handling of pipes, cigars and cigarettes costs our people $10,000,000 each year.

It was apparent years ago that the State would have to step in and take up the question under discussion in the interests of the people. In 1886 Massachusetts created a Fire Marshal for the City of Boston. In 1894 the State Fire Marshal was created for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Other States have fallen in line with the above State, with the result that there are now in existence twenty-eight departments of this nature in the United States, which shows that our government is keenly alive to the necessities vital to our people.

I desire to thank the Association for your attention and consideration and extend to you all a hearty invitation to visit my Department at the Capitol in Albany.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE FIRE MARSHAL,

ALBANY, N. Y., August 7, 1913.

HON. WM. SULZER, Governor, Executive Chamber, Albany, N. Y.: DEAR SIR. In compliance with your request at our recent interview with reference to the Department of State Fire Marshal and its needs, I beg leave to submit to you the following considerations.

I earnestly appeal to you to give them early attention. The importance of the work involved warrants it, and recent large fires in our State, particularly the terrible calamity at Binghamton, would seem to make it absolutely necessary.

The Department of the State Fire Marshal was organized in July, 1911, and was the direct result of the Merritt Investigating Committee of the Legislature of that year.

Its work is steadily on the increase. Each day augments the subject matters of its activity, and new situations are continually arising to which the capacity of the Department must be adapted. In fact, the laborers of the Department and the volume of business have increased at least six fold since its organization.

I am daily in receipt of many communications from every part of the State asking for advice as to fire hazards and begging the intervention of the Department for such purposes. There is a very marked increase in requests from all over the State for investigations into suspicious fires, as knowledge of the powers of the Department in that and many other respects has largely gained ground through the campaign of education conducted by deputics and engineers who have attended meetings of chambers of commerce, credit men's associations and firemen's conventions in every part of the State in their endeavor to enlighten these bodies with reference to the State Fire Marshal Law. These requests come not merely from citizens nor from my immediate assistants, but from insurance, mercantile and industrial interests as well.

It is idle to think that the situation can be met by an inadequate force. No right thinking man would subscribe to such a view and the great body of citizens will not begrudge the reasonable ex

penditure of money, whatever the amount may be, for the most laudable purpose of the saving of human life and the reduction of the vast fire waste in the State.

Last year fires outside of Greater New York damaged or destroyed 4,317 dwellings, 984 barns, 827 stores and dwellings, 493 offices and dwellings, 377 factories and mills, 239 hotels. There were 12,835 fires with a total loss of $12,850,954, making an average loss of $1,000 per fire.

I wish to adjust the Department in a manner most effectively to cope with such condition of affairs.

It is an absolute and imperative necessity that I be given additional help, and, unless that be done, I protest most earnestly against any attempt in any quarter to hold me or my Department responsible for disastrous consequences.

I have but twelve general inspectors and five boiler inspectors outside of a small force of office help with which to cover fiftynine counties in the State. The gross injustice of any attempt to make me or my Department responsible for alleged non-execution of the laws is therefore apparent and must be admitted by every fair-minded man.

I had requested the former Civil Service Commission for authority to make appointments for different positions and such authority has not been granted to me. Furthermore, the appropriations for my Department made by the Legislature were not approved. So, for instance, the new Boiler Law, enacted by the Legislature of 1913, and which largely increases the work of boiler inspection, was approved, but the appropriation necessary to carry it into effect was not granted and in consequence the boiler inspection bureau of my Department, unless relief is awarded at the special session of the Legislature, will go out of existence October first next.

It is appalling to contemplate the possibilities of an abandonment of boiler inspection in the loss of life and property in view of the thousands of boilers in this State in need of thorough inspection.

When my Department was organized I had but nine inspectors and now have twelve, an increase of only three. Only five boiler inspectors are now in the Department.

Upon its organization I had two stenographers and now have three, an increase of only one. I began with two office assistants and have the same number now although the work has so vastly increased.

I have given these matters, I assure you, very earnest and conscientious attention. I consider it necessary that I should be empowered to establish in my Department the following:

1. A legal bureau to have charge of legal matters and questions of all kinds that arise daily. The records of the Department in its files could be more readily handled here than by an assistant designated in his office by the Attorney-General. Likewise the investigation of incendiary fires. These are on the increase in our State. The crusade against arson in New York has driven firebugs into the rest of the State. I have no force specially charged with their investigation and must make use even for this purpose of my inspectors who should be in the field for regular fire inspec tion work. In New York city there exists a fire marshal bureau with every facility to ferret out the crime. Men are on duty day and night and are conveyed to a fire as soon as the alarm comes in. In addition there is a special arson bureau in the office of the district attorney with its own staff. Even so, investigations by this Department of incendiary fires have undoubtedly saved thousands of dollars and have had a deterring effect on the commission of the crime. I should have a special force in the nature of a secret service of at least four men trained in detective work and ready at a moment's notice to go out into the State and unearth the firebug. Furthermore, there are now in this office in the neighborhood of 1,500 violation orders which could then be enforced by legal proceedings and the collection of the penalty of fifty dollars a day under the statute would result in a large revenue to the State, which would go very far, with the other items enumerated later on, towards the support of the Department financially.

2. There should be a bureau of explosives. There are now over $3,500 to the credit of this bureau in fees collected for magazines even with the small force at my command. At least $40,000 could be collected a year in these fees if I had a sufficient number of inspectors for this purpose alone. At present I must take them from their other work.

I wish also to place in this bureau the details of the enforcement of chapter 303, Laws of 1913, which gives me the power to formulate rules and regulations for the safe storage and transportation of gasoline, kerosene, naphtha and other dangerous and inflammable oils. These subjects are now without direct supervision in this State.

3. A bureau of engineering. I have at present a chief engineer who is unable alone to cope with the vast increase in the work of the examination of plans of buildings, fire escapes and the like. He should have an assistant in order that the time and money of citizens and contractors in building operations should not be wasted and that the safety of life and property should be conserved as rapidly as possible.

4. A bureau of boiler inspection. As stated I now have five boiler inspectors for the entire State. Yet the revenue for the few months of the establishment of this inspection has amounted to over $4,200. This would largely be increased by an augmented force. As shown above the new Boiler Law was approved but the appropriation made for its execution was denied. After October first there will be no boiler inspection in this State. (Since restored.)

5. A general inspection bureau to have charge of the field work of the Department.

Two statutes enacted by the last Legislature, chapter 204 and chapter 520, will enormously increase the labors of the Department. They are both of the utmost importance. The former gives me power to inquire into the adequacy and sufficiency of water supply and fire apparatus and their inspection for fire fighting purposes. Under this I should be empowered to appoint men qualified for the work to examine into these questions in different parts of the State. The latter provides for increased inspections throughout the State to discover fire hazardous conditions. These inspections would result in the making of thousands of violation orders and, of course, augment the labors of the Department.

My Department requires a chief boiler inspector, inspector of fire appliances, advisory engineer, examiner of plans and specifications, electrical engineer, two supervising inspectors, which