The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-05
MUST THE PATROL CO 2
The Insurance War Said to Be
Endangering Its Exist
enCe.
NINE OF THE COMPANIES GO OUT
They Will Not Stand In With Their
Opponents Upon Any
thing.

| 1t looks very much as if the war
between the insurance companies, which
is being so industriously prosecuted in this
city, is going to wreck the fire patrol sys-
/ tenn, which forms such an important adj
junct to the local Fire Department. AL
ready nine companies have resigned from
the patrol, and of course if few go. others
will follow. The result can easily be fore
seen.
The withdrawal of the companies is the
direct result of the fight in the Board of
Underwriters. The companies which are
not in the board have become SO bitterly
antagonistc to those within the board
that they refuse to unite with them on any
proposition, the fire patrol included. The
assessment from each company for the
| benefit of the patrol service is paid every
! quarter The first quarter of 1895 having
ended with the first day of this month, the
dissatisfied companies, instead of renewing
| their subscriptions, sent in their resigna-
| tons. Withdrawals were received from
the Continental, Northwestern National,
| Williamsburg City, Franklin Fire of Phila-
delphia, Patriotic of Dublin, Ireland West
chester of New York, Phoenix of Hartford
and the Springfield Fire and Marine.
Arthur E. Magill, manager of the Phoenix
and Home companies, said yesterday that
the Withdrawal of the companies was a
move made by the local managers entirely,
and was done because it was found i'm
possible to unite with the other COM
panies in the Board of Underwriters, and
so it was thought advisable not to join in
any proposition.
eve do not wish to cripple the patrol,
he said, "but they have shown us that we
are not wanted in the board, and so we
rUill nf n in ha trO1
The organizations are different, [ know,
but the men in the one are also in the
other, and we will not cooperate with
them"
w. S. Duval, manager of the Continen-
tai, spoke to the same effect.
Mr.. Magill denies that it is retaliatory
measure, but Mr.. Duval admits that it IS,
eve are in for war;" he said, "and we
must fight on all sides"
The patrol is kept up by subscriptions
| from each of the fire insurance companies
in the city. Every company is assessed
about per cent on each 500 of annual
premium income. The patrol is incorpor
ated, and has been running for twenty zone
| years, but there il no rule or law which
compels company to subscribe to the
| patrol or prevents it from withdrawing its
support.
! Apropos of the withdrawal of the sup
port of the dissatisfied companies, a pecu-
liar point will arise, and one which has
not yet been tested in this State. Should
the patrolmen in their work at fire hap
pen to save property insured by COM
pany paying nothing toward the support
of the system the officers of the local
patrol are not sure but that they can col
lect payment for services rendered. A case
! similar to this possible one has been re-
Gently decided in the Supreme Court of
New York State, and the decision COM
PEELED the non paying companies to recon-
pense the patrol for the value of its SER
! vices.
The value of the patrol the insurance
men say is to them not computable. The
records show, however, that at the Muir
phy-Grant fire some years ago the patrol
saved enough to pay the expenses of it's
operation for five years. 1t is also true
that its efficient service has had its effect
upon rates, for it is predicted that its
abandonment would be followed by an in
/ crease in premium percentages. 1t is ex-
pected that the struggle viii be a bitter
one, and will take long time in solving
| itself.
Chief Sullivan of the local Fire Depart
ment does not look with much favor even
upon the suggestion to do away with the
patrol. He thinks it would be an outrage
and he so expresses himself. "Thev don't
know what they are talking about when
they speak of doing anything that will lead
to disbanding the patrol, " he said last
evening. II can't see how they can be
serious in refusing to support it, for if they
are, and for any reason the patrol is done
away with, it will only take one or two
big fires to show them what it would mean
to get along without it. 1t would not be
very long before they would have it run
ming again.
"You see the patrol works on a different
line from the fire department. We are
| supposed to put out the fire with as little
water as possible and with little destruc-
ton to property, but we have no facilities
| for protecting goods which may be dam
aged by water, and neither have we the
men nor the time. Our business is with
| the fire. With the patrol it is different.
Their work is to protect Manageable goods
and they have everything necessary for
such work. 1t is for just that reason that
they perform such efficient service. | am
| in position to see the men work and I
know that you cannot compute the value
of their services
''As far as the patrol itself is concerned
there is no better in the Union-in fact, I
don't think there is room for any i'm
provement in ours. They are off to fire
before the Taper stops ringing, and often
when our steamers get to the spot with
| only driver, stoker and an engineer
along, the patrolmen have out the hose for
us and have everything ready by the time
the extras arrive For this reason it is a
particularly valuable addition to call
| department such as ours is In other cases
the patrolmen and the chemical work
| together, and there's many little fire
downtown that these two put out without
any fuss, because they can get to the place
and put out the blaze, while steamer,
with little injury to the property, would
have to flood the place with water.
Again, what would they do without
the patrol, in case hose burst. That
might happen at any little fire, and but
for them $40 blaze would cause a loss of
thousands. / don't think they'll let it
CO." the chief continued refectively. eff
they do. Just let ct a big fire come, and let
story. When they see the goods in the
basement, and pay the insurance on them,
they'll put the patrol back again"