The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-25
WHERE THE TROUBLE LIES.
The Tariff Association Last Increase
Of Insurance Rates.


Supt. Keek, Of the Brush Electric Light
and Power company said yesterday that
his company will not be responsible for
the increased insurance rates upon build
ings in the city using electric lights and
machinery.
THE electric appliances belong to the
! owners of the buildings in which
| they are placed" said Mr..
Keck, ''iust as much as any
I other furnishings Of the buildings. If the
| owners discontinue the use of lights we
/ do not take out the appliances. They
| have been bought and paid for
by the owners of the build
ing and the company cannot be
held responsible for any changes ordered
by the insurance companies. That must
fall upon the owners. All electric appli-
ances furnished by the Brush company
have been put in strictly in accordance
with the rules of the Southeastern Tariff
Association at the time the buildings
were fitted up.n
Superintendent Keck thinks the bust
ness men of the city have a good cause
for grievance against the tariff associa-
ton. The association has had four cleo
trlcal inspectors within as many years,
he says. Every inspector has disagreed
with his predecessor as to how electrical
AuUluSS SHouIu 70 pIdCcd, anu Couse-
quently every inspector laid down a
new set of rules which were
adopted by the association and with
which the electric light companies have
been forced to comply The last inspec-
tor disagreed with almost everything pro-
vided for by the former inspectors and
required the whole system of fitting up of
electric appliances to be changed.
Mr.. Keck referred as an instance to the
Ono laai hr,fl1sVc ba 10 To
MIR. S. s. Guckenheimer, who superin-
tended the construction of the building
was particular about the placing of the
electrical wires, as it was thought the
destruction of the former building might
have been caused by defective
wires. For this reason Inspector
Churchill, the electrician of the
tariff association, was requested to
furnish the plans for the electric wiring,
which he did. These plans were strictly
followed in placing the wires in the new
building. Inspector McKissick succeeded
Inspector Churchill about the time the
building was completed and made an in
spection of it, Heannounced himself as
satisfied with the manner in which
the work had been done.
Inspector Smith, who has been recently
appointed, announces that the whole sys-
tenn is wrong and that the building must
be recovered throughout at an expense of
several hundred dollars.
The circular of the Tariff association
specifying the manner in which wires
must be fitted up is particular to state
the names of the manufacturers who man
ufacture the particular goods which are
approved For instance the circular re-
quires noncombustible tubing and then
states that the only tubing
approved of is that manufactured by the
Interior Conduit Company of New York.
Mr.. keck produced specimen of the
tubing manufactured by the Interior Con-
dult Company and put match to it. 1t
burned like celluloid.
MIR. Keck looks upon these recon-
mendations of particular manufacturers
with a suspicious eye His experience
has shown him that better goods can be
obtained from other manufacturers than
some of those mentioned.
What Mr. Keck would like 10 know is
if the users of electric lights and ma
chinery should make the changes as re-
qulred by the new rules, how long will it
be before there will be another inspector
appointed with entirely different idea
upon the SUBJECTS of electric appliances.
AS the present appliances con-
formed with the rules of the Tariff
Association when they were put in Mr..
Keck does not believe that the insurance
companies can make an increase in their
rates, because the present rules require
that the fitting be done in "a different
manner, and he believes that any business
house would have a good case against an
insurance company that cancelled policy
because of a refusal to pay the increased
rate.
The total cost of the changes required
by the new rules in Savannah, MIR Keck
estimates at several thousand dollars.