The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-11-10
UPN ARMS OVER SLIP 80.
PROPERTY OWNERS THREATEN
THE INSURANCE COMPANIES.

THE INSURANCE COMPANIES-
The Talk of Mutual Associations TO
supplant the Foreign Companies
Aldermen in Favor OF Advancing the
Special Tax on the Insurance Bust
ness-The Georgia Companies Urged
to Withdrew from the Compact
What Business Men Say.
There is a great deal Of indignation
against the Southeastern Tariff Association
on account OF its advancing the rates Of In
surance, and it would not be surprising if
Savannah should unload the association at
the earliest opportunity.
A prominent business man on the Bay
said yesterday that 1.-THE association wants
to split hairs. In adjusting a loss it wants
pay for half brick. 1t wants every
thing, and. because it thinks it has
Savannah at its mercy it attempts to die
tate what we shall pay. l am in favor of
organizing mutual associations in Savan-
nah, and assessing the stockholders when
there is fire loss"
SIT is an Internal outrage" said another
Bay street man. 1.-THE insurance compa-
MES are pleading the baby act. They have
had few reverses, and they are squealing
over them, and want to double up on US.
tell you that we can get along better with
out them than they can without us. We
can carry our own risks, and / am in favor
of dong it. A home mutual insurance asso-
citation would take like wildfire 1 am
stockholder in one of the insurance COM
panies in the compact, but l don't believe
In any such arbitrary action"
IN FEAR OF HIGHER LICENSES.
II think we can reach them, !" said an al
derman, by put ing up the local license
relatively higher. The companies are at
tempting to dictate to Savannah how to
run its fire depaI tment, aud without pres
enting any better plan than that which We
are working under they raise the rates, and
in the face Of the fact that
the city is continually add
ing TO its facilities for successfully
fighting fires. l am willing TO take stock
in a mutual company, and am willing to
put up the license TO the highest notch. 1t
is poor rule that won't work both ways.
If the insurance companies want TO act the
baby and charge the people higher rate
of insurance in order to cover their losses
for a year, when they have had ten or
twelve years of comparatively few losses,
/ am in favor Of making the companies IN
the compact pay well for doing business in
Savannah. If they want to bulldoze we
are ready to accommodate them, and the
city council can do it,
AN UNwARBANTED ADVANCE.
An ex-alderman said: sit is a most in
iquitous and unreasonable advance. II the
premium ON cotton Is 81 80, the rate is to
be advanced to 81 rs. That is an advance
Of one-sixth. or 16% per cent. Now, resi-
dence insurance has all along been consid-
cred the most desirable risks, and yet, with
but few losses on residence property, the
companies have advanced the rate so per
cent. As, for instance, In circular No. 33
they say that il residence property is in
sured at 80 cents, the local agents must add
rs cents. which is 50 per cent. increase, and
there is no shadow of excuse for
such an advance. The people of Savannah
can better afford to organize company
and take their own risks than to be at the
mercy Of the Atlanta men who propose to
dictate to us what we shall pay"
A PROPERTY OWNERS PLAN.
A gentleman who represents from 300 to
400 houses said to a MORNING NEWS re-
porter that the advance has justly aroused
public indignation, but it is small matter
compared to the raise at the time the COM
bine was effected. Tin roof houses, which
were considered to be good risks at
] per cent. were raised to 3 per
cent, and single roof houses
r rated 20 a. IA per . cent were ere
fire on Broughton street. But" said the
gentleman, although this unjust and in
iquitous tax was put on small houses, no
raise was made at that time on merchan-
disc. This discrimination was marked in
Justice to this class of houses, as they sell
dom or never take fire, but are always
destroyed by some mercantile risk, such as
cotton sheds, factory, or stocks"
THE RISK ON SMALL HOUSES
sMy experience with 800 or 400 houses
said the gentleman, sis that / have never
had fire originate in my houses during a
period OF twenty years. The only
sparks, and my heaviest loss was $25 Two
other losses were 50 so each. The insurance
companies advance on rates is the straw
that breaks the camel's back, and the people
ought to take some steps to counteract the
outrageous attack upon the city. In times
past Insurance men have told me again and
again that Savannah is a favorable point
for insurance and profitable for companies
taking risks here. Now because the COM
panies have suffered losses they want to get
them back in one year, forgetting the
profits Of past years.
A CHANCE FOR THE GEORGIA COMPANIES.
Now" continued the gentleman, will
our local insurance companies in Georgia
still remain in this combined What fine
chance for them to popularize themselves
and increase their business by withdrawing
from it, 1t is true that the city ought to
enlarge the water mains, and I have no
doubt that they will, but there is no reason
why the alien insurance companies should
enter upon snap Judgment against us, and
treat US all as if we were a foe, instead of
the patrons that we have been. trust the
city council will retaliate. 1t should charge
them $1,000 a year license. In fact.
l think $4,000 would not be too little. / am
willing to carry my own insurance, and
would not object TO see the companies in
the combine driven out of the city, and
when the legislature meets again hope it
will repeal the deposit law and let COMPETE
ton come ill.,"
CONSERVATIVE VIEW.
President Bloodworth, of the cotton ex
change, said when approached upon
the subject: "As one of those
affected by the advance in rates |
naturally wish the companies
hadn't done it, but / have not had an op-
portunity of giving the matter sufficient
attention to enable me to say that some ad-
vance was not warranted. The rates
charged by insurance companies must, of
course, be based ON the risks, and expert
ence will determine their estimate of the
degree of hazard in any risk. If the CON-
panies comprising the Southeast Tariff As