Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-01-16
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
REASONABLY SAFE,
50 Says Committee Appointed to
Investigate the Fire
Situation,
IMPROVEMENTS RECOMMENDED.
Board Companies Get the Contract for
Insurance Nelden Asks for
4 Report,

Tha. there Is no fear % q repetition
Of the Chicago disaster in salt Lake,
80 far as the public schools are con-
cerned, a, any rate, % the report given
TO the board Of education last nigh.
By the committee appointed TO !nyesi-
gate the situation. The committee con.
sisted OF Il. S. Young and A. G. Giau.
cue, who stated that they had visited
all the schools during the week, and
found them, in the main, in a condl.
ton which reduced the fire hazard 70
a minimum. In some schools minor
Improvements were recommended,
while Mr. Gauque reported that there
VAS not a building in the city which
could not be em9tled in three minutes.
ana some Of them, such az the Union,
the Nasatch and the Lincoln, could be
vacated in half that time.
The building considered the least safe
OF all Is the West Side high school. anu
In this the comnltte recommended that
1t be provided with an outside fire es-
cape, ana that the stairway on the
north side, which has an awkward
spiral turn, be remodelled and made
more straight. a similar recommenda.
ton was made In regard TO a stair
way in the Fremont building with the
recommendation that a means OF egress
be provided on the east side Of that
building, II was also advised that each
basement room in the Sumner building
be provided with a separate exit, and
that all the buildings be supplied with
Babcock fire extinguishers for every
floor II was further recommended
that every building be provided with
fire escapes and stand-pipes for the use
OF fremen, With these improvements,
which It was agreed should be carried
out, the committee felt that the school
buildings would be among the safest
public buildings Of the city.
SCHOOL INSURANCE.
The matter Of school insurance pre-
cipltated some debate among the MEM
bers, but II was finally agreed to give
the business to board companies, IN
asmuch as they had decided to meet
the board" cut Of 80 cents a hum
dred. The action taken was I'm accord
with recommendation Of the insur-
ance committee, but Messrs. Branting
and Newman took the position that in
asmuch as the "non-board' companies
had provided the competition resulting
In n reduced rate, they were at least
to share Of the business, Mr.
Young took exception to the conten'
ton Of his colleagues and explained
that the reduction had been brought
about IN an entirely different way, He
said the committee had discovered that
the state university insurance was be-
ing carried at q rate Of 30 cents a
whereas the best rate the
board Of education had previously been
offered. when dividing It's insurance,
was 81 a hundred or ! per cent, for |
three years. The committee then went |
TO the board Of underwriters and asked |
why they could not get the same rate |
given the university They We're told |
that the rate would be given II all the |
school building Insurance We're given to |
board companies. Thereupon a COM |
was addressed to the board |
Of underwriters, which Mr.. Young |
claimed was signed by every member |
Of the board of education eN-
Cept one proposing that all of |
the Insurance would be given 10 |
board companies provided the Hat |
rate Of 30 cents hundred We're grant. |
ed.
BOARD COMPANIES WIN