The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1903-11-06

should not expect community - pay
them Tor protection and at the same
time furnish 4hae protection at great
i cost. Whenever an Insurance company
insures place. It Is supposed TO be at \
risk, for, II there was no risk, there
would naturally be no insurance. And
| community properly reasons that, when
insurance companies threaten a boyectf
they are out for graft. 50 far a. wheel
IS concerned, il the insurance cNnpanien
are on to their job, they win not with
draw, but viii put up the rate.
/ Under this subject it may be well to
state that It Is not enough for a man
to fecl that he Is safe because he has his
| property insured The annual e4pendi.
] tnrc for insurance means more than the
mere satisfaction OF knowing that, II he
sustains losses he will be reimbursed 10
a certain extent. Every sane man wants
more than that. Every insurance com.
pany ought to guarantee more than that
but that guarantee ought not, to be OF
the nature that mikes him virtually
protect himself and ut the same time
| pay the company for the privilege oil
protecting himself. In other words. Il
The insurance companies OF Wheeling are
not satisfied with tho Conditions OF
Wheeling, they ought to raise the rate
to n point that win justify them in doing
business, even II it be to the degree that
would almost compel property owners to
dispose of their property. Tint method
would naturally bring the city to time
and there would be provided ample water
works. But, when 1t comes to insurance
companies debating rs to what shall be
done, it is far different. That Is, if in
srirnnce companies want a man to have
his building so that there is no risk,
/ they should not then consider that there
IS . risk and ask him to pay them for the
supposed risk.
| The man who insures Is entitled DO
just Ms much consideration as the COM
pany that insnres him, and there is no
logical reason why insurance companies
should grow rich at the expense of those
who are insured and especially if the in
sured has to put his property in such
shape that there is no risk. If the water
| system in Wheeling is so inadequate and
incomplete as to drive the Insurance COM
panies to such step, there are those
willing to pay who will suffer, but there
are also taxpayers who have no real
estate who must bear part of the bur-
dcnof taxation to satisfy the demands
of the insurance companies. The ques-
ton arises, why should they be forced
| to insure in insurance companies which
are supposed to insure instead of being
insuredf That solves the problem. The
insurance company that wants to do bus
mess should place its rate so that it can
be safe and the man insured should be
the man that pays that rate, not the
| fellow that has no insurance. 1t is the
| property owner who is insured that
should build the additional water works
| at Wheeling, not the man who has no
realty and no insurance.
\ community, however, need not ex-
pect the assistance of insurance comps-
mics, if it is absolutely not willing to
help protect itself. There is primary
work to be done before it can expect to
| get the advantage of insurance, and, ii
the conditions have not been complied with
insurance companies cannot be blamed for
declining to do business in that city,
but this comes back to the proposition
of higher rate, which of itself will
naturally compel the insured to afford
such other protection as will result in a
lower rate, and that means in the city
OF Wheeling an improvement of the wa
ter works system.
The conditions obtaining in Wheeling
and the relations existing between it and
Insurance companies hold good Is to
other cities and the day is not far dis
tant when demand will be made in
| Clarksburg for better water works sys-
ten, not merely to protect the insurance
companies, but also property. The situa-
ton at Wheeling should arouse Clarks-
burg to action so that there may not
be like situation to overcome at time
when compliance with the demand will
bring hardship. No opportunity should
he overlooked or neglected to make the
| system better and more complete. This
can be done by giving the system what
is due it. The patronage ought to be
more than sufficient to make it self
sustaining and the surplus should be
SUFFICIENT to improve it. Money derived
from that source should never be devoted
to another but to the Improvement of
the system and the service.
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| STRIKES POPULAR CHORD.
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