Burning Patriotism

It's interesting to see the issue of patriotism invoked where you might not expect it. For example, this article from the Hobart Gazette of August 24, 1917, reported the position of the National Board of Underwriters that fire prevention was now a patriotic duty:



And when the State Forestry Board urges the use of wood as fuel instead of the increasingly expensive coal — a practice that incidentally would clear out dead wood from woodlots and forests — the article appears in the August 24 Gazette under the headline, "Wood Fuel as a War Measure."


(Click on image to enlarge)

If I were cynical, I'd say the Underwriters and the Forestry Board were using patriotism to advance their professional interests. On the other hand, the diversion of manpower, materials and fuel into the war effort did create shortages of both in everyday life.