it’s time for a major assault on the arson epidemic which is taking a sickening annual toll in human litc and property damage. This is pointed up by the tragic example of the costly, wide-ranging Napa County tire which was sct hy a series of cmde lirebombs and destroyed t some three dozen homes and caused property damage estimated at $30 million. Many of the bumcd out homes ranged in value lrom $250,000 to $500,000. More than 26,000 acres were charred. ident ical bills introduced in the House and Senate could be the vehicle for a drlve against arsonlsts. Prime sponsors are Congressman Joe Moakley, DMass. and Senator John Glenn, D-Ohio. An Uhio congressman, Democrat Hohn F. Scihorling, who introduced similar legislation in tho 95th and 96th Congresses, supports the estimated in the vicinity ot’$6 billion with indirect losses ranging as high as $13 billion.” Arson is both an economic and a violent crime in many a typical case, the owner or a collaborator sets lire to a property to collect insurance. lnsurance losses eventually are passed along to homeowners and taxpayers in general. One fourth of every home insurance policy premium dollar reportedly goes to pay for arson. The Moakley-Glenn legislation. with tour major provisions, would: e Create an interagency committee to coordinate antl-a rson efforts at the federal level. – Mandate permanent classification of arson as Part 1, insuring that it would always be treated as a major crime. – Require pmperty owners in areas covered by