The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-06-14
FIRE INSURANCE.


Elsewhere this morning Appesrs::a commu>
nication signed Halifax, which treats on
fire insurance, the action of the Fort Worth
fire department in clsimi' & salvage on lot
of cotton saved from destruction by fire in
that city short time since, and Of the cons
ments of tie Fort Worth papers upon the
same. Fire and marine insurance compa.
MES are necessity to the commercial world.
Being corporations of large mean. they csn
take risks that business. men and property
owners, unless they be very wealthy, cannot
Afford to take. OF course insurance COM
panies make. money..in their business, other>
wise they would not follow it, They do not
insure buildings and merchandise
and the various other destructible
property upon which they issue policies
merely for accommodation, nor for glory,
out Tor the proat.there is in the business,
the legitimate percentage they make upon
their capital invested, just like the dry
goods merchant, or the real estate owner,
or the grocer, or the cotton buyer, who avails
himself Of the protection or the guarantee
from total loss which they offer, expects to
make profit upon his investment. This
beng the case, an insurance company, when
IL proposes to do business in town or city,
looks about ii to see how much protection it
has for its business, what the character of
the buildings is, what sort of tire department
said town or city has, etc etc., and it fixes
It's rates Of insurance accordingly. If town
or city has no fire department, no
facilities for the ex,inguisnment
OF fires save the primitive one
OF buckets and wells it charges an sdt quate
premium on its policies 10 justify its risks.
liza town or city has a fire department., as
Dallas has, 1t can afford to charge a
less rate for insurance. Why? Because this
IRE department. is some protection to it; af.
lords 1t, ifn0t immunity, at least some guar
antee against that loss in case of every fire
That occurs. The citizens of the city, thu
owners OF property insured are given advsn.
tage Of this benefit by being charged lower
rate OF premiums. The property insured is
that OF tho people who insure IL, not of the
insurance company, and why should said
company DO called upon to pay salvage for
what does not belong to it, 1t is presumed
shat every iireeepartment, that is the appsrs.
tus thereof, and horses belonging to the
same are the property Of the
city where 1t is, and that
the city pays all its necessary expenses and
supports 1t by taxation of its citizens. 1t 10
upon this supposition that insurance com.
panies issue policies on property and take
the FISK OF their loss Of Ere. If this be not
sne true status of things at Fort Worth, if
that city is in the anomalous position of hsv.
ing IRE department which does not belong
70 IT, that is If the FIRE apparatus of that city
belongs TO the members of the department
and that department bears all its own expen.
ses' then the insurance companies ought 10
know IT, and Furthermore the business men
and property owners o. that city are TO be
commiserated, for they are not only at tie
mercy of fire department that is advised to
let property burn because insurance com.
panles will not pay it salvage, but they will
DO either refused insurance entirely
by the companies, or required
10 pay premiums at rate the same as
though there was not fire engine or hook
and ladder company in the place. Fire in
surance companies will not recognize any
demands for salvage, nor Can tho owners of
property afford to do SO. If insurance
companies had TO pay salvage they would
ix their rates of insurance TO cover said
salvage. Ifowncrs of property had to pay
salvage, they had as well not b. insured.
or would DO better of perhaps, il their prop.
erty was not saved. The right to charge
Two dollars and half salvage on each bale
OF cotton saved from loss by fire, implies
the right to charge five dollars bale. Fur>
thermore, If cotton Is subject to salvage, why
Is not dry goods and groceries, and dwsre,
and buildings and all manner of perishsble
property And again, If the pre-
cedent, If the right to charge
ana collect a(v tablished, then a
moral responsibility is created which IS not
always lived up TO or respected. Tho more
fires there are and the bigger they are, the
more salvage there is. This Is tho effect
and IT is an unhappy and dangerous one to
contemplate. The whole thing resolves
isself into this: That tho Insurance GONNA
MES, the assured and the fro department
each bear an obligatory relation to each
other ad each has a separate and Distinct
duty incumbent upon Il. The property
owner, whether Il be Of real estate or mer.
chandlso, takes care Of and supports the fire
department BY being taxed. The Gro do.
parsment does duty at arss and labors dill.
gently and xealously 10 save and protect
property from FIRE because of this support
and care, and because on IL sccoun. insu.
rance companies give lower rates
OF assurance than they otherwise
would. These are the relations
s,ey bear 70 each other, and the
d ities incumbent upon each. We do not
wsh 70 b understood Is In anywise liter.
y .ts.s ~