The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-11-21


the reason that the city has expended a
large sum OF money to protect our risks.
and having confidence that the Board of
Safety viii use every means in its power
TO put the proper men at the head or the
department and efficient firemen under
him.
.'The impression to be gained from the
tone of your letter is that you ask the
board to remove Chief Barrett and sub
sttute in his place new man, and if this
is not done the citizens will not get the
benefit of q reduction. / believe you and
your committee know full we'll that, COM
ing ut this late hour, your request would
not be complied with.
Hoping that your committee Will re-
consider its action and comply with my
former request for the restoration of the
rates. i am. yours respectfully
MIR. COOLIDGE ON RATES.
In explanation of his letter, Mr.. Goodloe
said: II received Mayor Taggart's letter
of month ago and submitted it to our
committee for action There were several
meetings and the probable action was dis
cussed. We considered the matter of ask
ing that new man be brought here to
take charge of the department, and were
considering what we could offer If this
were done, when we arose one morning
confronted by another total loss on a
downtown building. When L attempted
then to get the companies TO agree TO a re-
duction 4 was simply confronted with the
and We are not yet in a position TO come
out whole on the indianapolis business.
Then we began reasoning that here for ten
years the erIort had been TO keep the rates
nigh enough TO pay the losses and leave
margin While the mood was on for the
Improvement of the department 1t was de-
termined that the better way to make the
companies come out whole would be TO re-
duce the losses instead of raising the rates.
With this in ". and knowing that the de-
as much as we thought necessary, we saw
that there must be another fault. We be-
lieve We located the fault in the general
discipline and management of the depart
ment and the management of fires.
we then decided to make the request
that new chief from another city he Sc
cured, and backed up this request with the
promise that Immediately would reduce
the rates on all property, except frame
stores. dwellings,, schoolhouses, churches
and public buildings, which already
very low, and were not affected by the last
increase, an average of 10 per cent. the de-
crease in each instance to be governed by
the character of the risk. This is because
of the fact that the reduction would proba-
classes of property. while on others it
might be no more than per cent, and We
could not make schedule showing just
what the reduction would be on each piece
of property or on the different classes. At
any rate, the reduction was to average 10
per cent. The class of property included in
this reduction pays fully so per cent. of the
insurance premiums, which would have
made a reduction Immediately of about
companies i'm this city is approximately
S6UO.O00 a year.
FACTIONS IN THE DEPARTMENT
Robert Martindale was asked what he
thought of the two letters. After repeating
in substance what Mr.. Goodloe had said,
thus confirming the statements, he said:
In his letter Mr.. Taggart says that if
partment the Board of Safety and Chief
Barrett would be glad to know of it. The
fractional strife referred TO is a thing that
all men who have closely observed the
workings of the department, especially at
a time when changes We're about to be
made, can easily understand, and many of
them we'll acquainted with the condi-
tons referred to. The fire department. in
this city contains men who have been i'm it
for many years, and it has not passed out
of that condition that formerly made it di-
rectly subject to party politics. There are
now III the department men who We're
friends of Mr.. Dougherty when he was
chief who would like to see him in his old
place There are also many friends of Mr.
Webster. and Mr.. Barrett has his friends
This makes three factions, which. while
| they say little and do little to show it,
never allow anything to pass unnoticed
| their particular friend. | do not mean any
| thing derogatory to the firemen in this for
| 1t is very natural that man should have
| in his heart feeling that he would like to
| do something for the man who has been
| his friend. 1t is not to be supposed that
all these men are perfect and would not
| things to help their friend Thus. there is
| that continual strife which would not ex-
| list If man were brought here from some
other city and placed in charge and given
full power to manage the department.. He
| would have no friends who want TO get i'm
the department. and his recommendations
to the board for dsnssals would carry
| weight that they cannot carry now. think
that shows where the factional strife men,
| toned exists.
| LAS to the main features of our PROPOSE
ton. II is quite plain to any man that the
one-half If by doing SO they would be en-
| abled to make profit than to maintain
| them as they now are and make profit
| at all. Omaha is a city that can be cited
| as an example of this. A few years ago
| their rates were very high. and il was rec
commended that they. get man from a
| larger city TO take charge of the depart
ment. This was done. and since then the
| rates have been so reduced that the saving
IS about 100000 year. The business men
| here complain that they are paying higher
| insurance rates than are being paid i'm Gin
| cinnati and other places. That is trne. but
! the companies are losing money here and
| are making money i'm Cincinnati This Is
| not because the buildings i'm Cincinnati are
more substantial for any one who is famil-
| lar with both cities knows they are not
| 1t Is simply because the fires in Cincinnati
| are better managed and the losses are not
| so great. For instance | know Of one store
similar to Charles Mayer & Co.'S store here
on which. the owner pays 40 cents on s1N
for insurance. | cannot recall the rate paid
| by Charles Mayer & Co. but il is consid.
erably more than twice that amount Ye,
| at ~ cents the companies making
| money in Cincinnati and are losing here NJ
| more than 81 for the same risk.
/ Ten years ago the rates were consdera-
| bly, lower here than thev are now and the
| companies made money Then the whole
| sale men on South Meridian street paid
| something like 20 cents or probably less
| While now they are paving 81 80 for the
! same thing. but under the former rate the
| companies made money and they are now
losing monev. This shows that sometime
is wrong. We surely must have had p bet
"a hon,
| have now.
| while the proposition contained in the
| inspectors letter did not anythinc
about any reduction beyond the ~ per cent
| which we would make Immediately on the
| selection of proper chief 7 can assure
the people that the probability IL that this
would not no the end of reductions II Is
| more than likely that within n year the
| rates would go down still further The
local agents will see to II that the rates arc
| not hicher than thew must he TO brine i'm 2
small margin over the expenses and losses
| If the change should operate here as wei
az " did in Omaha there would soon h
! another reduction. OF course this couIf
| not he made until we had had some threa =
ening fires. so rs to determine the worth OF
the man selected and show his ability &c
handle big fire.