Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1878-10-25
Fire Insurance a Necessity.

OF machinery generates friction, dam
ger and destruction; but the demand
for three days work in one is irresisti-
bic, and we submit to this increased
wear and tear and count it rs part Of
the expense Of the business.
Destruction by fire is one of the ee-
ments Of this expense; and this has
wonderfully increased within u few
years. The manifold forms Of lumina-
ting and lubricating oils, the infinite va
riety Of material in manufacturing, ig-
nitable by the slightest friction, or by II
breath us 1t were, to say nothing of ex-
plosions and spontaneous combustion
have added vastly to the ratio Of loss
Insurance repayS that loss IN pant. and has,
therefore, become indispensable to com
merce, manufacture and adeed to al
most every business or form in which
earthly possessions are invested Only
those in daily contact with it are aware
how thoroughly it entwines itself
around every bill Of fading; how il car
ries on its broad shoulders the grain in
transit or in elevators, bank advances,
real estate securities, and the credit Of
every merchant for the goods upon
his shelves, and gives the sense of Sc
curity with which every man
rests his head upon his pillow. 1t
Stands next to railway and banks III the
amount Of capital invested. II is the
citadel to which all fly for refuge in
time Of the greatest disasters. il il the
sea-wall erected to arrest the swelling
tide. 1t is the financial reserve which
on many Il hard fought battle field has
saved the day, and enabled the scattered
legions to reform their lines. II is true
breaches are sometimes made in the
walls of the fortress-thc pillows over
leap the barriers the last column is
routed. Sometimes, too, treason has
mined the castle, and those depending
ON it for safety have been lost some
times the guardians have been false,
and stolen its splendid munitions. All
this because in the last analysis every
human enterprise depends upon the
honesty and wisdom of man. But the
fact rcmains-these are the best that
have yet been devised to meet the
imperative want. There il no posi-
biNty Of dispensing with insurance, and
mankind will not try to do so.
The capital invested in these com
panes has not been extravagantly re-
numerative. The New York reports
show il very moderate average, while
Chicago, Boston and t.Johns show where
almost hundred companies disap-
pearod from sight with all their capital
and Accommodations. Indeed we need
not look beyond the fires occurring
since 1871 for the cause OF tie financial
distress. An amount equal to half the
national debt has been annihilated. and
the drafts to replace this loss have left
Il vacuum vastly greater than the con
traction Of the currency, Or the amounts
tied up by wild railroads.
Realizing the supreme importance of
this interest, it IS well for the public to
enquire whether the pressure for 'low
rates" is not going beyond tie point Of
safety. This prop, upon which the
whole business structure leans, may be
hewed so thin that it cannot sustain the
weight Competition is great, and
every man feels justified i'll getting the
lowest rate in the market 10 cXcep-
ton can be taken 70 this; but just one
step beyond is the "yawning gulf of
bankruptcy, or abandonment of the
business. neither Of which is desired or
can be tolerated by any healthy interest
Of the country.
There is tremendous depreciation
of values going ON throughout the
world; and there is an unseen but act
ual connection between this shrinkage
and tho loss hy fires; and il is no
time to weaken this buttress, upon
which all pccunlary interests lean more
than ever, because it is more difficult to
replace dollar lost now than in ordin-
ary times.
These thoughts have run away with
me, and have used more space than |
intended i'm collinp attention ~ thp fact