Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1893-11-10
HLeauing agent Gives Inter-
eating General and Local
Information Hbouf II.
Constant Heavy Losses For
Years Have Crippled Some
strong Companies.
Efforts That should Be Made
to Lessen Dangers From
Fires in the City.

safer and more profitable fields ol
employment. The active companies
have paid out over $9,00O,0O0 from
their aggregate surplus funds thus
far this year and the January state
ments will show an enormous shrink
age in the. securities held by the COM
jpanies. This has been one of the
toughest years in insurance annals.
The fire waste in this county alone
from Jan. LIST to Oct lists footed up
$12l ,s32,700 a monthly average OF
$13, ,537 900; the loss during the CORE
spending nine months of 1892 was
1884 ,992, $50, monthly average OF
$10, ,594, 700; for the corresponding
nine months OF 1891 the loss was $685.
96O,67O. Ii the percentage keeps up
for the remainder of this year as dur
ing the first nine months the total
waste will approximate $162, 800, ,OOOe
! The number. of insurance compan-
les doing business now (foreign and
home) is about 225. They actually
paid $s4,0O0,0OO in losses in 1892
against $Sl, 100000 in, 1891 and they
will pay considerable oyer $10O,000,-
600 in 1898. There We're about Is
companies that went to the wall
during the year 1892 and so far this
year there have been about 40 COM
panies that were obliged to quit the
business. The fire Insurance COM
panies have paid out in Minneapolis
alone this year nearly one million
dollars for loss of mills and lumber
only.
Regarding the causes OF the in
crease in fire losses of late there are
various reasons assigned. Some at
tribute it to an increase OF fires OF
incendiary origin, others hold that
the hard times have made people
careless and that property owners
are less watchful of small things
tending to protect themselves against
loss. They donot personally inspect
their premises as much as formerly
to see that there is no infiammable
material in proximity to fire and gen:
orally relax vigilance.
Carelessness is shown to a great
extent in our city. There are ten.
ants, such as merchants, who, ]
know OF my own knowledge, dump
their ashes and sweepings OF paper
and pine boxes within two Or three
feet of the building they occupy and
if this class Of people are not looked
after by the city authorities or by
the landlords we will have the same
experience we had last winter and
this we cannot afford. Some of the
best fire insurance companies repre-.
sented in our city have withdrawn
from here in the last three months
and ordered all policies cancelled
These salue companies have been do
ing business in Little Falls for years
but have come to the conclusion
that Little Falls is not a profitable
place to write insurance. The specia
agents Of these companies appreciate
he fact that we have a first class
supply OF water and 1, as well as
other local agents here, have heard
the representatives of the different
companies say that our facilities fol
extinguishing fires are equal to those
OF any city in the state outside OF st
Paul or Minneapolis. They have
been surprised to see how all of oul
fires have been confined to one build
ing in a frame row. 1t. has showr
good work on the part Of the fire
men. rV
Some Of the business men Of oul
city are complaining because of the
high rates charged for insurance. Il
may seem high to them but wheI
compared with the rates charged il
st. Paul and Minneapolis and othel
cities, for instance ST. Cloud ant
Brainerd. find that our rates arr
very reasonable. It is supposed BY
some in Little Falls that the agents
or local board underwriters of oul
| city are responsible for the rates now
charged. This is not altogether SO
The State Board of Minnesota sent
E, ,., or,,,, ~, ~ FOO hove .,,1x>