The coroner's jury has completed its investigation of the crib fire and has announced its verdict. The jury found that about seventy people lost their lives in the conflagration, but it also found that nobody can be held responsible for their deaths. And thus the tragedy has been disposed of. The widows and the children of those who died are left with nothing but their grief. They cannot demand compensation for the loss of their providers. They have to take care of themselves as well as they are able.

The jury did its best to get to the bottom of the matter, and its pronouncement is probably in accord with the information given by the many witnesses. Thus, the jury places the blame for the tragedy on the lack of suitable legislation; that is, the blame is placed at the door of society, and the proposal is made that the necessary legislation be enacted to prevent repetition 2[of such disasters]--that the law concerning the handling of explosives, such as dynamite, be given a thorough revision.

In this the coroner's jury is probably fully justified. But we doubt that the legislature will be able to find time to do anything about the matter. The legislators are so busy with their task of not electing a United States senator that they can hardly be expected to find time for legislation that will protect the workers, safeguard their lives and health, and insure their families against want when accidents take their toll.

We have plenty of laws on everything under the sun. We have well-paid public servants whose task it is to enforce the laws. Yet when such a heart-rending tragedy as the crib fire occurs, we find the law valueless--that nobody is responsible. This is a sad situation, but it is nevertheless true. Disasters of the kind just discussed occur again and again. We are shaken out of our indifference at the moment, but soon the whole matter is forgotten, and we permit things to go on, as before, in their old lopsided way.