Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1908-12-19
FIRES AND INSURANCE
What Being Burned Out May
Mean to a Business.
DAMAGE ONE CANNOT COVER.
Enormous Losses Caused by the Sus-
pension Of Operations and the Drift
ing Away Of Trade That Are Not
Appreciated by the General Public.


Co. were burned out from the roof to
the basement last night?" remarks the
man IN the car.
Mo- exclalms the friend who hasn I
seen the morning paper. II suppose
they carried insurance"
"Oh. ycs-a hundred thousand OF IT.
returns the first speaker. at which his
friend settles back with the comment
that everything Is all right then.
This Is the layman's conclusion al.
most invariably. Some big concern
burns out, but with insurance TO an
amount seeming to cover the loss the
average man Is disposed TO feel that II
Is all right. He doesn't stop TO think
OF the enormous risks of n business
which cannot be covered by insurance
and which for weeks. months or years
after a fire are gripping and perhaps
ruinous to the fire victim.
Take, for example. a highly organ.
lied factory plant in prosperous times
which has been turning out vast
specialized product from the hands of
thousands OF expert workmen. This
plant. fitted with costly machinery. is
covered by insurance upon its visible,
material assets. Fire sweeps It and
lays everything in hopeless ruin. II
every piece of machinery. every build
ing and all material adjuncts of the
plant have been covered to full value
In such a plant. will the reader dare
make rough guess as to what the
limitations OF loss may be?
Only the other day stepped into
a bookbindery, transformations In its
street signs and occupying fifth
floor in an obscure street. In the ele-
vator shaft was that peculiar odor
which marks the track of fire and fire
men days aud weeks after such an
accident.
Most OF the fire was next door" ex-
planned the proprietor, but guess
the smoke and the water were about
as bad for us. Sometimes II is almost
better to have the fire yourself than
be next door to It,"
Which seemed to be especially true
of book material. Where smoke and
SCOT had failed to blot and ruin the
stock. water from the engines In the
street had flooded II until ruin alone
was descriptive. Everything had been
closed down. workers in the plant
were idle. and the proprietor was
awaiting the adjustment of the insur.
ance which he had been carrying. But
In the extent OF this insurance itself
was knotty situation.
Ordinarily the house had carried pol
icies which would have left II the
minimum OF risk on It's machinery.
stock and materials. Ordinarily still
further blanket policy was carried for
the purpose of covering the normal
amount OF book material on hand
owned by others and contracted for
reminding, But only few days be
fore the fire the house had received IL
consignment OF $1,000 worth of law
books 20 be bound. These volumes.
aside from intrinsic value. represented
SO much OF other value as TO make
the risk abnormal for almost any sea-
son. And these books were ruined
Before receiving them the binder
had asked the owners TO take out n
policy for themselves protecting them
against such fire loss The firm had
not done so. and when the fire dam.
age came the disposition of the owners
n hold tho hin1ar 10 L.
one of the binders blanket policies.
On this one disputed point. taking 1t
into court. VIII some one make n
guess as to what this one feature OF
the fire may cost the binder. who To
all purposes was INSURED" II II should
be settled in the supreme court after
1--we or seven years. for example?
But in the case of the big manufac-
tory. with its imported special machIn-
cry, its season of rush work and its
enormous and fluctuating stock Of ma.
terial-if on the morning after the
fire the assuring companies settle In
full for the visible losses. how much
has the company been damaged:
or first consideration. perhaps. is the
enormous payroll of the concern. II
most OF the mechanical work of the
plant has been done by pieceworkers.
still the necessary force of directing
employees on salary is problem The
determination OF the owners is 10 start
up anew. Tried and proved employees
must be retained while the work OF
rehabilitation goes on. They must he
paid even II they are TO do no more
than wait. Settlement OF some kind
must be made with contractors who
have been supplying raw materials
from the hands OF other thousands OF
workers. No matter what the clauses
In contracts providing immunity in
case OF fires. strikes and acts OF Provi.
dence. every line OF business affecting
the welfare Of the mandatory has
been affected
The plant is a total loss. Before Il
can be rebuilt the ruins OF the old fac
tory must be cleared away
In the meantime all those customers
OF the mandatory who have been
pressing for the filling Of contract or