The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-02-06
THE NEW YORK FIRE.

/ The results of the late terrible fire In
New York showed clearly that there was
somebody to blame and there has been
much agitation in that city since as to who
that somebody was. The World under a
heading of LET Mr.. Potter be indicted
says:
The World called attention Yesterday to
the effort of Mr.. o. B. Potter, the owner
of the building burned on Tuesday, to shift
his responsibility for the wretched condi-
ton of the structure upon the Building
Department. He has now been trying to
shift it upon the underwriters. In an in
terview printed in Yesterdays Sun Mr.. Pot
ter declared that the rate of insurance
was ''the.very lowest taken ON any building
of that character. This shows that the
| insurance companies had confidence in it, !"
1t is not quite clear what Mr.. Potter means
by building "of that character" If he
means that the building was no worse
than other buildings equally bad, the asser-
ton is doubtless true, but it does not carry
US very far. In fact the building, SO long
as the World occupied it, was safer than
other buildings of the same class simply
because it was kept in use and watched by
night as well as by day. But to say that
the insurance companies had confidence
in the building is to say that the incom-
| bustibility of pine wood is received ten
ct in insurance offices. No doubt Mr.. Pot
| ter found underwriters willing to insure
| his building, but their willingness proves
not that they were such idiots as to believe
that it would not burn with great rapidity
after it once took fire, or that it would not
be extremely apt to take fire when once the
safeguard given it by the Worlds tenancy
was withdrawn from it, but that the bust
ness of life insurance in conducted by some
underwriters with as much recklessness as
the business of erecting and maintaining
tinder-boxes is conducted by some owners
of real estate. 1t is doubtful II this aspect
of the matter whether better standard of
construction would not prevail if there
were no fire underwriters to assume the
owners loss by fire and no department of
buildings to divide the owners responsible
ity for the fatal results of fire. Does any
body imagine that Mr.. Potter would have
maintained his tinderbox if he could not
have insured it, or if he had been certified
that he would be held civilly and criminally
responsible for any loss of life that might
occur if anybody should inadvertently drop
burning match in any part of it2
The assumption which Mr.. Potter has
kept up since the fire, of thoughtful care
for the lives of his tenants and of noble
lOl AiS onA pCOdHiaIe 4AtCiCos III
comparison, is particularly irritating in
view of the facts of the case He actually
makes merit of not stiffening his tlimsy
walls. Here is his statement, made to a
Tribune reporter:
when MIR. Vanderbilt carried up his
building on the southeast corner of Beck
man and Nassau streets several stories
higher, and obtained permit to do SO by
doubling his walls, l thought that would
do the SAME. So many high buildings
were going up around me that I didn't
want my building to look low and sguatty,
SO thought that would carry my build
ing up several stories. / went to Mr..
Esterbrook and asked him to send his men
around to inspect the walls. took them
all through the building from top to bot
tom, and l was told that / could obtain
the necessary permit to carry it up three
or four stories more by doubling the walls
from the foundation up. / have the per
NIT here allowing me to build under those
conditions. But on thinking the matter
over / concluded that it would be not only
very expensive proceeding, but that it
would not actually make the building
any safer. You see, the idea was to run
up an additional Independent wall inside
with space between it and the old wall |
| did not think that such plan, even
though approved by the Building Depart
ment. would meet The object Ihad in view,
and so abandoned It. This was two or
three weeks age. 50 yow see that instead Of
being earesess Of any suggestions nude 10 me,
Isoas a0tsoilling to take advantage of q permit
to bassId, because I thought IL would not be
perfectly safe. Mr. Esterbrook said that !
must double my walls IL I put on additional
stories. and got the permit on that un-
derstanding."
This is a beautiful legend, but it conveys
about as accurate an impression of the
facts as does Mr.. Potter's fond imagination
that there were two fre-escapes" on his