The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-07-26
INSURANCE NE WIS AND
NOTES

business enterprises which enables them to
Judge Of the value of securities 1t is not
alone those unaccustOmed TO the possess
sion Of money who are thus at a loss. bust
ness men of experience being often equally
puzzled In fact, the average American
finds il easier TO acquire money than TO
take care of IL wisely after he has got il.
II is therefore interesting to note the posi-
tive instructions given by the late Freder-
lex d. Tappen, a New York banker and
hnancier, TO his executors and trustees. In
the final clause of his will he directs that
they shall invest the proceeds Of his very
large estate only In the securities included
in the list of investments of a certain in
surance cOmpany-there is, perhaps, no
harm in mentioning that it was the New
York Mutual Life. While in one sense this
Is not a limitation, since the number of en-
terprises in which funds of the insurance
company are placed must necessarily be
large and, therefore, allow q wide choice
the part of the trustees il does
limit them to those that he considers safe
and profitable. Coming from a man who
was a prominent figure in the New York
commercial world for many years, and
whose judgment on such matters ranked as
the soundest, this opinion and mark of
confidence is not only a striking tribute
TO the policy Of the company in question,
but a guide to trustees and individual in
vestors everywhere. The fact that Mr..
Tappen was not a director of the. com
pany or in any way connected with II
makes his action the more notable.
XXX
The question of survivOrship in law usu-
ally appears to the layman one of acad-
emic interest only, resembling the question
in criminal law whether one of two men
struggling at sea is guilty Of murder If he
keeps the other from preserving himself
by the plank which will support only one.
But the point of survivorship is Of great
Importance in the law of property and in
surance, where it is often necessary to
know which Of two persons was the first to
die, in order to determine to whom the
property or insurance should go. The
problem has come into special prominence
lately on account of the number of recent
disasters-among which the shipwreck or
La BOurgOgne, the MOhegan, the yacht
Paul Jones' the calamity at Galveston and
the late appalling destruction of St. Pierre
are we'll known.
Where two people persisted apparently at
the same time, the Roman law presumed
that if both were adults the younger lived
the longer; IL one was an adult and the
other not, the adult survived; while if both
were children the older was presumed to
outlive the younger. The French code has
a somewhat similar provision in that if two
persons between fifteen and sixty years of
age perish at sea the older Outlives the
younger; if one is past the age of sixty
the younger Is the survivor, while IL one is
not yet fifteen, the vitality of the older is
supposed to enable him to exist longer
The common law and that of the United
States with the exception of Louisiana,
which has the French code) makes pre-
sumptiOns further than that all dying in
one disaster. die at the same time. In
recent case, arising from the storm at Gal
weston, the court held that where mans
horse and wagon were seen in the waves at
4 o'clock, when he was known to have
started home with them, and when his
house where his wife was staying was not
destroyed till half past Z, there was no evil
dence to raise the question of surVivorship.
l66 S. W. r., 12S.l
A predominating cause of the great num-
Der of fires which have led to the dropping
out of business of twenty-five insurance
companies during the last year is the in
creasing use of gasoline for heating and
lighting purposes. The gasoline stove has
been improved so much that it is almost as
convenient as the gas range; the fluid is not
dangerous while in the stove and is much
cheaper than gas, while the Welsbaoh
burner has extended its use for lighting
purposes. The danger of fire does not come
from the stoves and burners. but from the
careless storing and handling and ignor-
ance of its volatility in rapidly changing
from a liquid TO a gas when exposed to the
air. The fact that it is heavier than air, so
that IL sinks to the floor in ill-ventilated
cellars often precludeS any warning of it's
presence until an explosion has occurred.
One company in Chicago reports aver
age OF one fire a week from gasoline. n
policy absolutely prohibiting it's use may
not protect the company, for the courts
held in a recent case that the bringing into
the house of a quart of gasoline 10 be used
temporarily was not a violation of the con-
ditiOn prohibiting the use of gasoline.
The cheap brand of parlor matches with
the swapping head is another prolific source
of fires Bits of burning sulphur are apt to
fly into lace curtain and not be observed
until a large blaze appears. Many hotels
do not allow the use of any kind except
safety matches.
Another exchange states that the number
of fires from electric wiring is decreasing,
but this is probably error. The number
enormously, and in spite of the vigilance
Of inspectors, careless and indOlent work
men will violate their orders in the most
fragrant fashion and the work is then COW
scientiOus and diligent Inspector. Even with
the most careful guarding, losses occur
from strange and unforeseen causes There
are some Interesting cases among those
noted by W. II. Merrill for the Electrical
Bureau Of the National Board of Fire I'm
derwriters.
A strip of colored celluloid supported by
a wire guard over an incandescent Ia
was used for the purpose of producing
cOlored light on the stage. The giving way
of the wire guard permitted the celluloid to
come in contact with the lamp globe and
become ignited. The loss was $500
Contrary to the rules of the code Iamps
had been wired in series and were arranged
on a display sign in a show window A
short circuit took place causing an arc
which damaged stock and fixtures to the
extent of 500.
A ground of an arc circuit on band
stand occurred during the intermission of
an evening concert. The musicians being
absent, a number of instruments were de-
strOyed before the fire could be extin-
guished, causing a loss of 500.