The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-05-15
WHAT SINCLAIR is DOING.
Grapevine Special from Montana
Gives Some Information.


For some time past the local insur-
ance agents have been very curious
to know what Special Agent Sinclair
of the Home and Phoenix, is doing UP
in Montana all this number of weeks,
when it is known that there is no open
cutting of rates going Sn, with the ex-
ceptiOn OF some indifferent slaShing in
the city of Missoula. By grapevine 1t
was learned yesterday THAI he is in
the north running a quiet little g2me
OF his own, one that is escaping the at
tention of the professedly aStute under.
writers of the state of Montana. These
latter have repeatedly declined to ac-
cept tips given them by several of the
salt Lake agents and on the other
hand have thrown back the insinuation
that the entire trouble which has
Iacked local insurance circles for these
several months has all been the re-
suit or the Salt Lake and Ogden agents.
Possibly when they find that some of
their choicest risks are fading away
from them and going over to THE Home
and Phoenix they will awaken to the
realization that there are other smooth
insurance people in the world in addi-
ton to themselves.
The sender of this grapevine dis
patch may be mistaken, but he states
that Mr.. Sinclair has for the past sew
eral weeks been gradually taking the
business of the union agents through
out the state of Montana by offering
cuts on the quiet and issuing the poll
cies himself, ignoring the local com
panieS' agents in order that his tracks
may be effectually covered up. by
this means he is securing some choice
business and adding to the book
records of his companies. 1t IS only
q Of Oh 49,
work will begin to tell and then prob
ably the regular agents of the state
on the north Will get their skates on
and throw aside the mantle of assumed
security.
Yesterdays loss at the Stewart mill
in Bingham. which caught five COM
panies to the tune of $4,000, will un-
doubtedly prove an object lesson in
rate cutting. This insurance was
placed at reduction and the loss
falls with greater force in consequence
A few such fires and there will be a
have, since the first day of January,
ness which has been continued for
several months past. 1t is stated on
good authority that the Insurance COM
panies doing bushes on the coast
have. since the first day Of January
lost in the neighborhood of SIS, 900 in
Utah alone. not counting the farm
losses. Such a record as this VIII
without doubt ultimately result in a
return to the rates which prevailed
some time ago, or at least to some
thing more in keeping with the per
centage of losses than the schedules
which are now in vogue.
The board of directors of the Home
Fire Insurance company held its regu-
lar monthly routine meeting yester-
day afternoon, but transacted little
else than routine business. All of the
members of the board were a unit,
however. on the rate cutting PROPOSE
ton and the former determination to
stand out from under the presen. war
cloud to the greatest possible extent
was reiterated. Witrout exception
the directors hold to the opinion that
the Home of Utah has no place in the
ranks of the deep rate cutters. The
will pursue the same conser-
vative course as of yore.