The Democrat-sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1906-1935, 1908-03-12
PROTECTION
FROM LIGHTNING

An enormous fire waste that can
with certainty and comparatively
little cost be reduced to almost
nothing is that from lightning.
Incidental to this saving of prop
erty would be saving of lives.
The number of buildings fired
by lightning last year was 154 and
the loss on them 1852, 447.
For years the violence of
thunderbolts has been increasing,
not because of their being a greater
number of storms, but because of
our decorating Natures face with
high barns and at the same time
removing her liggtning rods, the
forest trees. In ten years the
lightning loss in Maine increased
from $500 to $123,09 In
many southern states there has
been os great an increase.
However, the number of build
ings so fired in Ohio is less than
three -fourths as large in 1907 as
1906.
This reduction might be credited
to the number Of rods up having
been increased by the efforts of
the farm mutual companies; or
the fact that cold line" companies
are likely to make a charge for
the lightning clause in policies on
unrodded buildings, because Sthey
have been paying out more than
the premiums on barns; or by the
fire marshal having shown,
through the kindness of the news
paper, that quarter of million
dollars would be saved each sum-
mer if buildings were rodded.
But the fact is that there were,
as shown by the weather bureau
records, electrical storms reported
on 103 days in 1906 and on but
S5 days in 1907. However, the
number of buildings destroyed
dropped 81 per cent. and the
storms but 16 per cent.
The farm mutuals which are
now carrying 275 millions of
insurance on Ohio buildings find
that their losses from lightning in
the summer are two-thirds as
great as from all other causes in
the whole year. In Michigan the
farmers mutual companies lost in
1906 more than three millions
from this cause.
The last annual reports of the
Ill Iowa mutual companies show
that IS per cent. of their losses
are from lightning. The Indiana
State Association a year ago dis
cussed plan for assessing proper
ly rodded buildings less rate.
In tie forty odd companies repre-
sented in this meeting none had a
loss on rodded building. A COM
mittee from the Nebraska State
Association reported that properly
rodded buildings never were
struck. In that state two thirds
of the fire loss on farm buildings
is from lightning.
In paper before the Ohio
Association, Mr.. Culver, Secretary
of the Union Mutual, go per
cent. of whose losses have been
by lightning), said "Two dollars
and a half was the only money
this company ever paid for
damage to building that was
rodded since its organization in
1873, but it was conceded that the
rod was not properly put up"
Mr.. CulYer told of The Lightning
Rod Mutual Fire Protective
Association of Seville, Ohio,
which began with half million
at risk in July last; now has 81,
200, 900 and has not one cent fer
losses. He insisted that
mutual companies must make a |
less assessment where buildings are
rodded or lose the cream of their
business to companies which in
sure rodded buildings only.
The increased demand for rods
in this state so increased the num-
Der of local agents last summer
that competition has probably !
made the price on rods fair.
There is no rod now offered in
Ohio that is not effective.