Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-07-29
AN INSURANCE ADJUSTER.
QUEER PEOPLE ENCOUNTERED IN
THE COURSE OF BUSINESS.

The Curious Side Of Human Nature
Value of Damaged Property-Absurd
Notions-Honesty and Trickery.
"The more / come in contact with the
female representative of this day and gen.
GRAFTON, the more l am convinced that she
is curious and remarkable phenomenon,
which remark from blonde young man
who certainly could never have experienced
any very harsh treatment from the sex
naturally became the subject for investiga-
ton.
"Don't get excited" continued he Of the
yellow mustache, lazily lighting cigarette,
"you are not to be treated to confidence.
l am considering lovely woman at the
present moment solely from business point
Of view. My position in the adjuster's de-
partment of a ire insurance company af-
fords me opportunities to study the female
character In q variety Of phase, and l re-
peat that it is q complex and remarkable
thing"
"You must strike queer fish Of all sorts in
your line" suggested the reporter as the
young man paused
Lots of them" was the quick response.
Nothing but queer fish it seems to me some
times, or else the business is peculiarly apt
to develop the queer side of human nature.
Our Office used to insure among the foreign
ers over in the Hester and Essex streets ten
ements There's where you run against
queer fish Such places as they are. Ugh,
it fairly makes my nose ache to think Of
them now. They are mostly tailors and
fur sewers and the like; they are prolific
lot, and one room or two at most answers
for a family of from seven to ten to eat,
sleep and work in. You may fancy the
smells one would strike. And the cat. No
family over there is complete without the
cat The cat does all the mischief, too.
The unfailing reason for all tho fires is, the
cat tipped over the lamp 1t is an estAb-
lished joke among the Offices that take
these risks-this ubiquitous and perennially
mischievous cat Of the east side Bohemian"
VALUE OF DAMAGED PROPERTY.
"Then arson is a common crime In that
community" suggested the reporter.
larson improved, but not unquestioned-
Curious, too, for they get very decent fur
nishings and excellent clothing, and then
damage them for the insurance
You insure nything and every thing,
supposed"
"Oh, yes-that is, if it is specified A
woman over in Paterson tho other day
showed me among the debris of her fire a
dead canary bird in blackened cage She
wanted compensation for it's loss, but the
company would not grant it 1t should have
been covered by special policy, as they
often are. Parrots are very commonly in-
sured, and a woman not long ago asked me to
write in her policy, as she put it, 'frotec-
ton for them goldfish pointing to a couple OF
the little sinners squirming about in q seven
inch globe. l told her fire would never kill
those animals-the creatures were gasping
then in their narrow quarters
Its always the women that have the alb
surd notions about insurance, although the
men are pretty nearly as bad about trying
to increase the value Of damaged property.
A little storekeeper in the wilds of Brooklyn
was partially burned out last winter. He
kept laces chiefly, and all that were injured
were Of the cheapest quality, but his claim
for the moiety Of stock burned was a good
round one
Now, you know, we don't make gifts to
the assured; we simply indemnify, and
said to our friend. 'How's thiss these other
laces all told won't sum up to what you
want for the two or three boxes burned
"'Oh, said the old fellow, lowering his
voice confidentially, I tell you how dot
pensive lacea Dem laces vas fine like q
cobweb and all hand made, and so on, till,
according to his elaboration, nothing short
of the value Of old rose point could COM
pensats him. but the company thought diff
ferently," finished this young damage ap-
praiser dryly; lit frequently does
HONEST WITH HONEST MEN.
"Yet we don't haggle; we are honest with
nDv, t,,tv han, yUo 0vpo nYna
trying to play sharp We are apt to see that
he or she gets no more than he or she is en-
titled to. What do you think, now, Of the
cheek of q fellow down south who actually
sent us up his policy soaked with the kero-
sene with which, as it was afterward proved,
he had fired his propertyf
ITO return to the women. 1t is q COM
mon belief among them that they can got
no indemnifcation if their policy is burned
And if their property is not all destroyed
they think all claim for damages is multi
fed Scores of them have come to the Of
flee explaining that the fire burned the
house ali up, but most of the furniture was
saved, and they don't suppose they can col
lect anything, but they thought theyd
come and see, because Mrs So-and-so,
some neighbor, said perhaps they could
That's positive fact
yet women are persistent insurers; and
how they treasure their policies! Why, out
in Connecticut farmhouse one day last
summer, while l was waiting in the best
room, what should / see hanging over the
melodeon framed, and a companion piece
to the marriage certificate, but an insurance
policy! That was an idea wasn't it!
You insure hereditary valuables, heir
looms and the like
AT their commercial value, yes We
pay nothing for their association to an in
dividual. An autograph letter of Gen
Washington we would insure for good
sum, but a letter written by your ancestor
Of 100 years ago, however valuable it mil, ht
be to you, the company would appraiss at
the price Of the ink and paper, which would
be-nothing"
How about jewelry and art valuablesr
wearing jewelry is included in house
hold goods; special articles Of jewelry are
individually secured Paintings, stAtuary,
and the like are also specially insured.
Then the peachblow vase would be en-
titled TO a separate and particular policyf'
Undoubtedly, but not, my dear sir, in
our company for $lS,0o0 York
Times
A Distortion of Natural Shape.
1t is we'll to study the sty lie Of our fashion
able sisters nowadays, particularly because
we are seeing the last of her shapeliness for
years What do l meant That from the
clinging garments Of two springs ago they
nave already departed into an artificiality
Of outlines and distortion of natural shape
that has not greatly outraged grace and
sy mmetry but is bound to do it soon The
hustle has been replaced under the rear dra
peries and is growing rapidly to abhorrent
proportions At present it distends the
skirts to an extent which, il the wearer's
body conformed to its limits she would lie
deemed hideously deformed: but 1t is moth
ing 70 what it will be next year.-New
York Cor. Chicago Herald
The unpleasant odor left on the breath