insurance. He _may_ escape loss, but by not making a reasonable
effort to insure against it he takes a course practically unknown
with other forms of property.

Modern fire patrol is systematic. Trained and organized men have
definite duties. Tools, assistance and supplies are available at
known points and without delay. Trails and look out stations, often
supplemented by telephone lines, give the greatest efficiency with
the least number of men. Above all, the system is based on the
fact that results are most truly measured not by the number of
fires extinguished but by the absence of fire at all. Settlers,
campers and lumbermen are visited, cautioned and converted. In
short, the patrolman has a certain area in which to improve public
sentiment. His success in this is worth more than efficiency in
fighting fires due to lack of such success. A system devoted to
mere fire fighting to be adequate must grow larger as time goes
on. One devoted to preventing fire may be reduced, as time makes
it successful.

The cost of efficient patrol varies so directly with the risk that
it is almost constant as an insurance investment. Where prevalence
of fire, difficulty of handling it, etc., make the cost per acre
comparatively high, there is equivalent certainty of greater loss
if this sum is not spent. Where the owner is warranted in believing
his risk small it costs but a trifle to provide sufficient patrol
to insure against it. One to 3 cents an acre is spent in the great
majority of successful patrols in ordinary seasons.

ASSOCIATE EFFORT