The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-03-11
State. Insurance.

atleast one Of our exchanges still insists
upon it that it Is the duty OF the General AS
xeuialy 10 pass law providing that the IN
surfing Of property and lives in Virginia sha'i
be sioDe by the State. We suppose that tbe
General Assembly has become convinced De-
fore now that the scheme Is, to say the least
against II, an unpromising one. imagine
tina; our Solons looked over the history OF
the Chicago fire, and saw that tax CT one
dollar OH the hundred on the value of al the
property in Illinois would not have paid the
losses sustained from single conAasrtion.
They may have learned, too, that ali the
faxes collected in Boston for State purposes
for the last ten years would not have paid
the losses experienced in that city
from the single great fire Of last year.
Or, to come nearer honc, they may nave
learned that the fire IN Richmond In 1860 Gan
act OF war caused it, but every city Is liable
10 such fires even in peace timcsO destroyed
more property than all the taxes for that year
and for several more years together woulG
have paid for. Or look at the case OF fincas-
tie. Tow many years would 1t take TOR TIE
state taxes paid in that town TO amount to as
much as was lost by fire there in one day
few years ago?
Itwil be practicable for the State TO insure
the property Within It's borders when State
officials become rs careful OF the pubic
moneys as private individuals arc OF their
own. How many rcams o! paper ard tic"
many pcn-knires do large insurance COM
panies allow to each Of their clerks and
agents? How many would The State allow!
How much does each insurance company
pay per square for advertising, and how
much would the State have to pay! Look
at tho Governors proclamations-say the
one concerning the usury amendment to the
Constitution. and then irarn that some coUh'
try wecklcs charged more than de
tho Richmond Dispatch, and then est
mate what It it would cost the state
TO advertise its insurance agencies.
Every village in the State would have
so-called newspaper feeding ont OF the pub
lie treasury The premiums in one bali the
counties in the State would not pay tho pa-
triot;c editors whom patriotic legislators
would recommend for public patronage, fer
the flaming advert, ements with which they
would deluge the unsoQbistlcated people in
the rural districts. We fear there would be
nothing left for the Insured anywhere in the
Commonwealth. But, supposing that tie
State should annually collect ten millions
dolars-more than three times as much as
she now COLLECTS for all purposes-to lie APP
piled to paying for losses by insurance, and
that not mere than four millions Of it should
20 to agents and editors, who would get the
other million? Who gets the plumber any.
where? Why, the dishonest. Of coure. The
NTH who insured for the purpose of burning
down their houscs. ana the agents who
thought Il u small offence thus to dispose 0
the public money, and therefore arranged TO
share in TIE proceeds Of the fraud, would
take it all. There would ho none left for
tona .J:ae i;isuI;rS.
It is said that the State has for years in
surcd tobacco. But tobacco is not easily
burned after it is priced, anu the State never
insured tobacco scattered all owe, ner terri
tory in every mans barn, but only such Is
had been put into public warehouse and
belonging to numerous owners, aud lar
away from the owners residences, anG
guarded by policemen or private watchmcn.
Store all the property in the State in public
warehouses, and guard it In tie game way,
and insure none that Is more combustibIc
than tobacco, and perhaps it would not pau.
perizo Virginia tc 80 into the business. BIT
insure all the houses and barns, and tobacco
and wheat and corn aud furniture and What
not, as these are to lie found scattered all
over the State and in every sort Of hands,
and all the "wealth Of ORMUs and of ISD''
would not suffice to keep up the grand In.
surance company Of the body-politc called
the Commonwealth Of Virginia. Richmond
None would furnish claimants enough to cal
up oil the money that could DO collected rs
premiums between the Atlautic cvcau an(
the Allcghmics.