The Portland daily press., 1895-04-20
FIRES AND PENSIONS.
A Breezy Letter from Augusta-Other
Matters of General Interest.
Especial to the PRESS.}

Especial 10 Tie FhESS.j
Augusta, April l9.-In future, tho man
who wants to know about any Ere happen
ing in Maine can 60 to the Office of the
State Insurance Commissioner and read
from a book all the particulars he desires.
Several clerks are now busy there getting
ready for the operation of the law passed by
the last legislature to provide. Tor en- in
vestigat1on int the causes of ires.S By this
law, the selectmen Of towns and the alder
men of cities are required to make an in
quiry into the cause Of every fire within a
week after its occurrence, and to enter
their findings on blanks furnished by the
insurance departments. Then the town
and city clerks are to copy the decisions in
to books furnished for the purpose. and
once every six months send to the depart
ment here blanxs filed up from the entries
in these record books. Then the insurance
department in its turn will transfer these
records to lig volumes to be kept for refer
ence. Summaries of the returns tc be
printed in the annual reports of the depart
ment.
1t will be seen that the department must
turnis. to every town and city two sets OF
blanks and racord book. 1t is the prepara-
extra clerks in the Office busy just now. The
Maine law, which was passed largely
through the efforts of Representative
Hui Crimson of Auburn, who is himself an
insurance man, is based.upon similar law
in force in Now Hampshire. These are the
questions which the municipal officers must
answer to furnish the data called for by the
blanks and the record books:
Date of fire.
Glass of building-wood or stone.
How occupied-dwelling; ;.store. what kind !;
manufactoTy, what kind.
Name of owner.
Name of occupant.
Building-Value; damage; insurance; in
surance paid.
Contenrs--Value; damages. insurance: in
surance paid.
Loss-total or partial.
Cause of fire.
Remarks.
So from the records in the town and city
Offices, and later from the general records
here at Augusta. it will be possible to learn
all about any given FIRE, and also to tell the
number of fires. the amounts of the loss and
the insurance and also how many were due
to incendiarism, defective chimneys. light
ing. etc. Insurance men believe that tho
publication of these facts. by calling atten-
tion to the causes of fires and the great
amount o. damage done annually, will tend
to diminish the number of fires, making
property owners and occupants more care
full, and will thus cause a reduction in
rates. The fewer the fires. the lower the
ra tes. is a self evident truth. The insuI-
ance department has nothing to do with the
enforcement of the new law in relation to
the inspection of buildings, but is heartily
in favor of it. the blanks y nd hooIs will
be sent out in few days now. The pages
in the books are ruled 10 provide for the
answering of the questions and copy of
| the law will be pasted in each book.
Labor Comissioner Matthews is in the
eastern part of the state gathering statistics
to furnish material for new chapter in his
| next annual rer ort. The business of manu-
featuring butter has of late years grown to
| consid erahle consequence in this state. BY
the term manufacturing butter'' it is not
meant to imply that Maine men are going
into the oleo trade. Mr.. Matthews is after
facts and figures in regard to the creameries
or butter factories where good butter is
made from the milk Of the COWS pastured on
Maine furms. Major House. Mr.. Matthew's
efficient assistant, has list of the butter
| factories in tie state and finds that there
are about fifty of them. lie has also the
| names of about twenty creameries devoted
| 10 the making of cheese, although some of
these are not running. To the propretors
of these butter factories. blanks will be
sent asking for information as to the num-
ber of cows which furnish the milk, the
nulubsr Of pounds of butter and cheese pro-