, 1875-01-03

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FIRES AND CHEAP INSURANCE.
We printed in our last issue a conlmunica~
ton upon The Fire Question in Chicago"
the points of which have been stated many
times before, and which undoubtedly repre-
sents the honest views Of many people, as it
also represents the selfish and personal views
OF others. The general idea which forms the
burden Of communications of this Kind is to
Of the Fire Department, soddling the e1-
pense upon the general property-holders Of
the city, thus making the real estate pay for
the insurance Of heavily stocked warehouses.
Thus, for every thousand dollars saved in in
surance, thousand dollnrs would be added
to the taxes Of the city. The application Of
this policy lies in the adoption Of the expen-
sive reforms suggested by Gen sHALER,
which would require over million Of dollars
additional outlay, expended in the hopes Of
putting out, and rot in the sure prevention
of, fires.
Upon the surface, cheap insurance, regard
less Of preventive measures, may seem to be
blessing to be sough after but q little ex-
aminntion below the surface, VIC think, will
show it to be curse to any community.
Its first effect will be to induce heavy and
over-insurancc. Merchants andhouse-ownerB
will insure up to their eyes if they con have
cheap rates. There will DO no limit to the
amount In Europe, q man Gun only insure
to two~thirds Of the value m his property
As no man cares to be cauioue, especially
when he is fully insured, and does not want
to ba troubled with thinking about the
danger to his property OF his neighbors
property, what will be the result Of cheap
and heavy insrnnce2 He will grow more
cazeless than he is now. He will give little
attention to the condition Of his roof, to his
defective dues, to the accumulations Of COM
bustible stuff in his buildings, to the engines
in his basement, Ho will build without rct~
erence to the safety Of his own property or
his neighbo7s, as he will have no RESPONSE
bility in the premises, and can suffer no loss.
The law cannot make him responsible for
damage to his neighbor, as the French Law
does He can 60 to sleep at night in a So
rene hame of mind If bis property burns
up, let it burn. He is fully insured, md more
too. He has no risks to run. Ee can make
money by being burnt out. The insurance.
companies have al the risks.
Every old barn and shanty in the city can
find q company ready to tako the risk Of its
burning up, and when old stables, pine shops,
and shanties can find insurance, they are
pretty sure to burn up before the policies ex-
pire, aud not only burn themselves up, but
vnluable property adjacent. Both our large
fires originated in shnnties, worthless OF
themselves but fully insured The great
fires Of 1871 and 1874 were due primarily
to cheap insurance, because cheap insur-
anco had made people perfectly rcckless
with regard to the condition Of property. It
would be absurd to choapen insurance at the
expense Of the general Taxpayers by increas-
ing the Firo Department enormously, which
already exceeds the capacity Of tho water
supply. This expensive reform is not
advocated with any reference tof prevent
ing fires, but only to extfnguishing
them after they have commenced, although,
with the same conditions that attended the
great Ere Of 1871, all the engines Gen Su41En
could bring here from the whole United
States would be Of no avail. With cheap in
surance ard a costly Fire Department, aad
with everybody loaded down with inoorance,
people would grow still more careleas, and
fires would necessarily increase. With re-
liable insurance at fair rate, covering but
portion Of tho property, people would be CON-
PEELED to bo careful, to build with reference
to safety, and to protect themselves By every
possible means. Prevention is the great !
remedy for fire, and We do not SEQ how cheap
insurance and On expensive Fire Department |
nre going to secure it. On the other hand, it |
is plain enough that cheap insurance means
heavy insurance, and that in turn means cnre-
lessness, moral recklessness. and incen3iar- |
ls1n, ending in reburnt city. Whatever |
tends to impair carefulnoss, and mike it to
the inte.os: Ct propertty-owners to have their
property burnt, is . public cursa, Us It in- !
creases tbs peril of the whole city.