Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-03-17
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH,

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE D1SPATCH.t
NEW YORK, March 16.-Mark Schlofsky,
of 2O5 Broome street. has applied to the
courts to change his name to a name that
does not end in ''sky." Mr.. Schlofsky is
an understood man, and wears his reddish
brown whiskers long and fan-shaped. sell
dom trimming them. He is native of Po-
land. Talking with reporter of The DIS
PATCH to-day, Mr.. Schlofsky said:
"1ll take any name, Jones, Brown Or
Smith, because it is of necessity that shall
change my name. I am tailor. and it is
rule of the houses for which we tailors work
that we shall be insured for some small
amount, say $500 or $1,000. the merchant
tailor holding the policy to secure him
self in case the goods we take from them are
destroyed by fire. Last week my policy of
insurance ran out, and I sent So to the
broker, to have it renewed. 1t was returned
to me with the information that the COM
pany with which was insured did not de-
sire to reinsure me. 1 sent word that was
not particularly anxious to be insured in
that company-any one would do. The
broker sent back word that he was sorry,
but that it was impossible for the firm to get
insurance for me in any company.
HIS NAME AGAINST HIM.
TT accidentally learned on Thursday why
it was that my offer of insurance was re-
fused. 1t is because my name ends in SKY.
went to the insurance broker and asked
him fatty if that was not the reason. He
said it was, and that the fire insurance COM
panies would not touch with ten-foot pole
a man whose name ended in sky must
have insurance or 1 won't get any work,
and off goes my sky
Fl The reporter went to the Office of the Ger
man-American Insurance Company, in the
first floor of the Boreel building, and was
referred to Mr., Thorburn. The reporter
told the story of Mark Schlofsky, and asked
whether it was true that there was a combi-
nation among the companies to refuse to re-
ceive such business. "Perhaps it would be
just as well for me not to submit to be in
terviewed upon this subject" Mr.. Thor
burn replied. 81 will say this, anyway,
that if you will refer to the fire record you
will there find the reasons for our refusing
business of persons whose names end in
sky"
TOO MANY FIRES THERE.
The superintendent of the fire patrol has
sent to him every day list of all fires of
the day before. A copy of this is sent that
day to every fire insurance Office. 1t shows
that great number OF fires occur down
town, on the Eastside, in the houses of the
Poles.
Inquiry at the Office of the superintendent
of the fire patrol, 115 Broadway, confirmed
this statement. 1t was also said that since
the insurance companies refused to accept
insurance on such Eastside property-it is
principally chattel insurance-the number
of fires had diminished considerably. The
reporter asked Mr.. Dame, risk clerk, of the
Niagara Insurance Company, why it was
that insurance companies refused to insure
persons whose names end in "sky."
"'Sky,' you mean" Mr.. Dame replied.
''The insurance companies have suffered Sc
uere losses on tenement property on the
Eastside. When was surveyor of this
company 1 had great deal 70 do with this
kind of property. found that the compa-
ny had accepted dead loads of risks from
outside agents. and that we were paying out
losses at rate that would paralyze us in a
little while. I went out with the detectives
and
DROPPED ON ONE CASE
of an attempt to swindle US, but when we
went to the District Attorney he said that
we had not enough evidence to convict.
Next time we made sure and caught the fire.
bugs at work. Every one of them was sent to
State prison. 1t was my experience then that
fires would occur in the most unaccountable
way, in tenements, when the family were
all out. 1t was discovered when we cap
tured the frebugs that some of them bar
gained to set the fires in the absence of the
family. All the insurance companies have
a tacit understanding that they will no
longer accept this class of Eastside tene-
ment risks. It is fact that these fires have
diminished in number since"
Gustavo Frank & Co. are insurance
agents at Bowery and. Grand street. the
edge of the district thought to be objection
able by the insurance companies. When
asked whether they had placed any Eastside
tenement chatEle insurance lately, they re-
piled: "We have had offered to us piles of
risks, but we could not accept them, for the
companies would not accept them from u.s.
The applicants are of careless habits, and
the risks are not considered good business" :"
"What is this about refusing applicants
because their names end in 'sky?'"
THE TERMINATION IS ENOUGH.
"Oh, the companies will not accept them
if they live down town on the Eastside, and
they look up man pretty carefully if his
uduC CuuS III ehJ anu A0 4ltCS III duOtuST
part of the town. In fact, the fire insurance
business has been entirely changed within
the last two or three years. 1t has taken 30
years to learn many things that are now
known. For instance, it was thought fine
risk to have a freproof building nicely To-
Gated. Nowadays it is thought a proper
caper to find out the history of the owners
or occupants of buildings. The companies
are very cautious about persons whose
names end in sky although there is plenty
of insurance, and risks, too, held by such
men,"
1t was learned by the reporter that a
milliner whose place of business is in Grand
street had name ending in "sky," turned
the business over to his wife and adopted
her maiden name because of the difficulty
in getting insurance. Another story
told him was that big firm on
Broadway, which found it hard shedding to
get 100000 of insurance on its stock of
goods One of the firm told the insurance
man that he had been told that the diff
Guilty was due to the fact that the name of
one member of the firm ended in "sky." 4"
The insurance man laughed, and said he
had got it straight.