of the forests and the magnitude of the undertaking. Also the fact that very much of the forest is private property. Fortunately, some of the older states had solved the problem for us. In 1884 the State of New York created a commission of distinguished citizens, placing at its head Professor Charles S. Sargent of Harvard University, "to investigate and report a system of forest preservation." The State of New York paid $6,000 to enable the commission to accomplish its work. After a year of investigation and study this commission made their report, Jan. 23, 1885, accompanied by a bill, the leading feature of which was the constituting town supervisors forest fire wardens in their respective towns. The legislature of New York enacted the bill May, 1885, with some amendments, and it has been in successful operation ever since. The State of Maine in 1891, and the State of New Hampshire in 1893, copied into their laws and put into successful operation the same principle of making town supervisors, or as they are called in New England, "select men," fire wardens. In view of the trial which this principle had received in these older states, of making town supervisors fire wardens, it seemed reasonable for Minnesota also to adopt it, and the law of this state, enacted April 18, 1895, embraces this principle. Instead, however, of creating a forest commission to carry the law into execution, it made the State Auditor Forest Commissioner, and authorized him to appoint a deputy to represent his authority in executing the law and to be known as Chief Fire Warden. SYNOPSIS OF THE ACT OF APRIL 18, 1895. Fire Wardens and their Duties. Supervisors of towns, mayors of cities and presidents of village councils are constituted fire wardens. In an organized territory the Chief Fire Warden may appoint fire wardens, and in case the fire warden force of any locality is inadequate to pre vent or suppress forest or prairie fires, he may appoint temporarily needed fire wardens. Fire wardens are to post warning placards containing an abstract of the penalties of the act; take precautions to prevent the setting of forest or prairie fires; and when their districts are suffering or threatened with fire to go to the place of danger to control such fire; they may call to their assistance in emergencies any able-bodied male person over eighteen years of age; they are to co-operate with the fire warden of any adjoining district, and in the absence of such fire wardens direct the work of control and extinguishment of forest or prairie fires; they are to arrest, without warrant, every person found violating any provisions of the act, and to forthwith take the offender before a magistrate and make complaint against such person; and they are to make reports to the Chief Fire Warden in regard to fires. Duties of Railroad Companies and their Employes. Railroad companies operating any railroad within this state are to use efficient spark arresters on all their engines; keep their right of way to the width of fifty feet on each side of the center of the main track cleared of all combustible materials; not permit their employes to leave a deposit of fire or live coals or hot ashes in the immediate vicinity of woodland or lands liable to be overrun by fires. Engineers, conductors or trainmen discovering that fences or other materials along the right of way or woodland adjacent to the railroad are burning or in danger from fire shall report the same promptly at the next telegraph station that they may pass. In dry seasons railroad companies are to give particular instructions to their employes for the prevention and prompt extinguishment of fires and they shall cause warning placards to be posted at their stations in the vicinity of forest and prairie grass lands. Where a fire occurs along the line of their road they shall concentrate such help as shall be available to effectively extinguish it. Forest Commissioner and Chief Fire Warden. The State Auditor is made Forest Commissioner and appoints a deputy to be known as Chief Fire Warden, to represent his authority and whose duty shall be to enforce the provisions of the act. He has general charge of the fire warden force of the state, may appoint temporarily needed fire wardens, and fire wardens for unorganized territory. During a dangerous season, when forest and praire fires are occurring or liable to occur, the Chief Fire Warden may use such means as he can to prevent or suppress such fires, but at an expense not exceeding $5,000 in any one year. The Chief Fire Warden shall investigate the extent of the forests in the state, together with the amounts and varieties of the wood and timber growing thereon, the damages done to them from time to time by forest fires, and the causes of such fires, the method used, if any, to promote the regrowth of timber, and any other important facts relating to forest interests, which may be required by the Forest Commissioner. The information so gathered, with his suggestions relative thereto, shall be included in a report to be made by him annually to the Forest Commissioner. He corresponds directly with the fire wardens, also furnishes the warning placards which are to be posted by railroad companies and by fire wardens. The Forest Commissioner makes an annual report to the Governor of his doings in respect to the duties assigned him. Compensation. The Forest Commissioner receives no compensation in addition to his salary as State Auditor. The salary of the Chief Fire Warden is twelve hundred dollars a year. Each fire warden receives for his actual services $2 per day, and each employe who in emergencies assists in extinguishing a fire, $1.50 a day; two-thirds of which shall be paid by the county where such service is performed and one-third by the state; but no fire warden shall be paid, in any one year, for more than ten days' service in preventing and extinguishing forest or prairie fires, nor for more than five days' service in each year in posting notices and making reports; nor, in the aggregate for more than fifteen days' service of whatever character in any one year; nor shall any person employed by fire wardens to assist in extinguishing or preventing forest or prairie fires be paid for more than five days of such service in any one year. No county shall expend more than five hundred dollars of public money in any one year under the act. The accounts of fire wardens and employes have to be approved by the board of town supervisors and the county commissioners before being paid. Penalties. Anyone incurs a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars or imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding three months who willfully or carelessly sets on fire, or causes to be set on fire, any woods, prairies or other combustible material whereby the property of another is injured or endangered; any person who shall kindle a fire on or dangerously near to forest or prairie. land and leave it unquenched, or shall be a party thereto; any person who shall use other than incombustible wads for firearms, or who shall carry a naked torch, fire brand or other exposed light in or dangerously near to forest land causing risk of accidental fire; any person who shall wilfully or heedlessly deface, destroy or remove any warning placard posted under the requirements of the act; any fire warden who refuses or neglects to perform the duties assigned him in the act; any person called to the assistance of a fire warden and who refuses, without reasonable excuse, to assist. A fine of not over five hundred dollars or imprisonment in the state prison not over ten years, or both such fine and imprisonment, is incurred by anyone who maliciously sets on fire, or causes to be set on fire, any woods, prairies or combustible material whereby the property of another is destroyed and life is sacrificed. Any railroad company willfully violating the requirements of the act is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars. Any railroad employe willfully violating the requirements of section twelve of the act is liable to a fine of not less than five dollars nor more than fifty dollars. Any owner of a threshing or other portable steam engine who fails to have an efficient spark arrester on his engine and any person in charge of a threshing engine who shall deposit live coals or hot ashes from his engine without putting them out or properly covering them is liable to a fine of not less than five dollars nor more than fifty dollars. ORGANIZATION. The law being new in this state and the forms and proceedings under it having to be newly devised, it will be proper to show the steps that were taken to put it in operation. On the first of May a sufficient number of copies of the act to supply all the fire wardens, also railroad companies, for their employes affected by it, were printed and issued in the form of Circular No. 1, as below: C. C. ANDREWS, Chief Fire Warden. Circular No. 1. R. C. DUNN, Forest Commissioner. STATE OF MINNESOTA, OFFICE OF Chief Fire Warden. The following is published for the information and guidance of all parties concerned: AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FORESTS OF THIS STATE AND FOR THE PREVENTION AND SUPPRESSION OF FOREST AND PRAIRIE FIRES. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota: SECTION I. The State Auditor shall be Forest Commissioner of this state and his orders shall be supreme in all matters relating to the preservation of the forests of this state and to the prevention and suppression of forest and prairie fires as hereinafter provided. The supervisors of towns, mayors of cities and presidents of village councils are hereby constituted fire wardens of their respective towns, cities and villiages |
