The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1884-01-24
chr Loss by Fire

According to the FIremun's Journal,
which quotes from the Comnercial Bull
leiin, the losses by fire in this country
during the first eleven months of
last Year about hiEety-two
millions OF do lars, a.u it is probable
that L! total vi losses for The year will
reach The roni sum IF one hundred
millions. Ii We add To this the expense
of maintainii z insurance offices and
agents, we sh@il find that the cost OF
sombustibie construction, carelessness,
aad incendlt rts IN n the United States
last We was at least one hundred
aud ntty millions OF dollars. Ne are
tcld often that b. the blessings of in
surancen this enormous burden Is dis
tr1buteG" SO as to be 'unisIt." Iu other
words, the man who builds the cheapest
aid most combu title warehouse that
be CAP, fills il with valuable goods, ana
taeu SITS it on fire, either Intentionally
or carelessly, gets back the value Of
tie bpiiOing ahd g Iads IN cash f;om the
underwriters, ana they again collect
what they pay Ut, together with as
much more for their own salaries ana
expenses, by ieVyiog a tax upon ail build
itgs aud IoJ1 NkIch Is finally aided
10 the price OF the goods, and paid by
the consumer 10 lake u sit gle xampie,
the eSo-ton manufactures pay IS, IN the
price, the cost al inEui apce on tie raw
cotton until II IS delivered at his mil,
and fuIth1r premium upon the same
while, il process OK manufacture, aud
| upon The buildings IN which ii Is man
GiaeIU-ed, with he machinery q them.
| Al these 4 rm part OF the cost OF man
ufaciure, and are added To the price OF
! the prodEc;. From the manufactures
| the 90. d 90 To the commission mer-
| chant, who also pays . d emium for in
| surfing 4hem and tue building in which
ne stores them and from him they so
10 the j5bber ard the re a'ler In u
| enc IF tnese keeps them, as well as his
| own ware housc, covered by insurance,
and add. the cost 20 the price of what he
sells. Snpposing n year 10 elapse he
txt en- the gathering of the coitoI and
| its delivery in the shApe of cloth to the
C ansImef, the. epbancement in cost, &c
| pay the expenses of iBSurarce alone
/ will be, as y rough average, about two
per cepr. Every other manufactured ar
lIele bears similar tax, in many cases
| where tie production AID S lies are slow
amounting TO 10 or 15sper cent instead
of two; ard even raw produce is some
B'het burdened Since the imPost bear
upon all alike, each person endeayt IS tC
fIeimbuTss himself by asking liil:
higher price {, his iabo-, so that ia tBS
end the insurance burcea diifuses lice.
as q nearly uniform tax OF about tn,
per cent upon the total annual exPendi
lure ottveFy family in the country.
Viewed IN this light, the insurance
tax is not 50 '-insensibie" as some wouls
have Us believe To state the case Ia
little different way. every man or womsl
in the community who is paid fOE hi
or her lsbor works one week in ever,
year as a gratuitoas contribution 10
{ ward paying the salaries of lBsnTanc
, SCENTS sud the fiue losses caused b.
caFelessnesS or crime. Returning agai
10 the original estimate, aud setting tb
total co-tGf fires and insurance in tn
: United States at one hundred AMI eft
million dollars q year, We viii diyid
this sum by The number of families il
! the ccuBtry, which would Be, by T.
:: / usual reckoning, about ten millions
Ten million families, 10 raise a hun
/ 5red and nifty million dollars yeal
r must pay fifteen dollars apiece, on q
average Taking into account tie eli
mate and circumstances of al p1rtian
: of our territoEy, II may be safely al
serted. We imagine, that fifteen dollar
T for ach family would pay The cost c
| ali the wood and coal used Tor house
hold enc king aud heating shrought th
United States; and a transformation j
) methods of Construction. by which COZ
] flagratiens would be rendered, il nc
!. | impossible, at least as rare as in SOM
!, countries. would be direct pecuniaT
/. benefit, equaiing IN value 3 perpetul
/ gift to every family in the republic (
alI the fuel needed for domestic rse-
American Architect.