Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-10-31
STATE HOUSE.
Some Ideas on New Building
Construction Laws.
Farmers Institutes Arranged for Ok
ford County, Next Week.
Some Fine Penmanship-New Corporations
Librarian Carver Back from Indiana.

Librarian Carver Back from Indiana.
I When 1t comes to 4 matter Of fine writ
ing whore good pcnman with the pa
uence of job is required the Capital can
furnish more than one, but Of all proba :
bly, Secretary Of state Byron Boyd can do
as good piece Of work any Of them.
, lie did one piece Of work, Monday, that
was remarkable for its finencss ana lcgyi.
| bility.
1t often occurs that some Of the curpor
atoms that are filed with him, contain in
| their list Of purposes pages of paper past
| ed upon the regular blank forms upon
which the corporations are made out. In
| copying these some of the times that
they have to be copied it is desired to 10
without the extra sheets if possible. One
Of these many purpose corporations
filed a certificate. Monday. and Mr.. Boyd
in copying it, copied the work that was
| contained on two large commercial sheets
in fine writing upon a blank, using fine
lines 50 that he had three lines of writ :
| ing between every line that was ruled on
the blank, and it requires the ordinary
writer to write a fine hand to contain
himself between the said lines as they
are ordinarily intended.
Even though Mr.. Boyd's copy was in
the very lnest of writing it was perfect .
| II le@ible and the lines as true a though
t-,Y I'D tael ruled With such an art
Y VI: command lis friends expect to see
him starting out for the record Of writing
several thousand words on postal card
Some Of the doings or the New England
Insurance men at their convention and
some If the things they purpose to 40 in
the way Of equalizing the insurance
! rates have been reported lately. They
are also talking Of classes and of arrang-
ing them to more satisfactory basis.
One of their ideas has been the chasing
of different styles of buildings. 1t is now
50 that the man with the wooden build
ing has to pay but little or nothing more
than the man with the practically fire
proof building while the risk in the case
Of the wooden building is several times
| as large. In consequence it is claimed BY
| some that the man With the tireprouf
structure is paying the losses incurred on
| the latter class ana they believe this is
not right Then they say that the fire.
| proof building should not BE- over a one
| per cent premium while the others should
pay four per cent and thus stand the loss
OF their class.
This sounds all very well, but it is
| claimed by others that .--c wooden strur.
! ture man Will not like the rJise from two
| 10 four per cent and this is likely to hurt
the business. Then there is another side
| brought forth that presents the idea in
| the form Of the many ways in which
losses are incurred that puts the question
in the light If having better bulldin-;
| laws ana thus the freuuoncy Of fires
would 10 lcsscncd ANA many of the frs
| occurring would be stopped.
Deputy Insurance Commissioner fetch.
| Ct was speaking. the other day, Of til.
manner in which fires are started in
| Maine and he said he would be able soon
| to show now great a per cent of the fires
| are caused 10y Il defective chimney or by
other detective parts IF building. y case
| in point was the Hotel North fire of a
| few weeks ago where the fire originated
| by the heat from the range in the kitten
| en- where nothing but one layer Of bricks
was between the bottom of the range
| ana the floor thus letting the floor catch
aiire. Here was 4 case where the fire.
proof building was damaged, though MT
TO any great extent. but enough to cause
| the profit on the premium to become les
scncd for the insurance company
| Single chimncys are being constructed
in buildings. and the studding instead Of
| being built 50 that the fire would have a
hard time to travel from floor to floor, is
| being put in so that once a fire is in 4
building there is the great space for the
draught TO carry the flames all over it at
| once.
Mr.. Fletcher like many another man be
| licvcs that more stringent building laws
| or a better enforcement Of the present
| ones is one Of the solutions Of the defec
| tive fluc and other causes Of fire that arc
| 50 prevalent. He believes that a single
| brick chimney is one Of the things that
| should be legislated against in case the
| chimney is in house near any
other habitation. Even the present build
ing laws cannot be enforced as the cities
Of the State do not pay their building in
spector enough money to inspect his own
building. to say nothing Of inspecting eV
cry one in the city every three years and
inspecting every house in the course Of
construction.
Another thing that the patrons Of com
panics are talking about is the difference
in the rates in different insurance sec
lions. In one county the rates Of the
same company may be higher than in an
other. This is not due to the company
alone but to the associations of under
writer's. The general association Will
leave the rate discretionary with the To-
cal associations to settle and one may sci
its rates for certain section and classes
lower than the neighborinS association
This calls down the wrath of the larger
pavers upon the heads of the companies
when in reality the companies are not
in the least to blame.
! The question Of arrangements Of rates
~ classes. sections or otherwise 50 that
II will be satisfactory to both the insured
ana the companies is something that VII
,l,I,- Ia a nlfzZlp for a time longer