The Democratic advocate., 1909-04-23
Lightning RODS
.er,sON OF DESTRUCTIVE THUNDER
STORMS is APPROACHING
Means Of Protection From Lightning
Within Reach OF All
,.om the Ohio Farmer.

ennroaching and it behooves every
tarn,or to prepare for it. We have
hesitation in saying that the AL
mighty has placed the means OF pro-
tnafion from lightning within reach
of man and has given him the 1ntelli-
uoncn necessary to make these means
'oTailable. If he neglects or refuses
- pmDloy them he has no right to
complain if bolt destroys his barn
ood contents or kills some of his fam
;Iv The man who regards such ca
iamities as special acts of Providence
snnerstition. The Almighty made ma
tnre's laws and we must abide by
thom The man who refuses to en-
nIov artificial agencies to protect him
Golf from lightning in the belief that
Cod will protect him, should be con-
.cistent in all his acts, and refuse to
nrotect himself from the cold of win
for the storms of autumn, the heat
of summer, and the dashing rain of
the thunder storm that sends down
the destructive bolt.
The Fire Marshal of Ohio has just
issued another timely newspaper bull
Ietin on The cost of thunder-bolts;
insurance and the lightning rod" He
saws that last summer 213 buildings
we're burned in Ohio by lightning,
against 91O in 1905 and 1913 in 1904
The property loss by lightning last
summer was $2S3,544. This is an av-
erage of over 1881 per building. They
could have been practically protected
at an average cost OF less than $50
each with modern rods AS reported,
only five barns were struck without
being fired, while 85 houses we're
struck and not fired. The question is
asked. why should the farmer go to
the expense of putting up a rod when
Insurance will protect him from loss
nv fire from lightning?" The fire mar
shall replies that insurance protects
for only 80 per cent. of loss of build
ing. and the loss in most cases is to-
tai. or 100 per cent. Hence there is
no insurance on 20 per cent. of the
value of the building. The loss from
lightning usually comes when the
barn is full of the harvested products
and on these there is no short time
insurance; the loss on contents covers
most of the value. Then loss by
lightning must be paid by premiums
or assessments on other property. 1t
is all actual loss. If a rod saves it
there is no loss. When lightning
starts a fire it is often communicated
to other buildings belonging to neigh
bors; this could be prevented by rods.
The marshal says that last year no
insurance company doing large farm
business in Ohio got enough premi-
ums on barns to pay the losses on
them Reports from farm mutual
companies show that their property
loss from lightning was two-thirds as
much as from all other causes COM
bined We think that every farm mu-
tuaI company should adopt a rule not
to pay losses by lightning on unrodded
buildings 1t would save half the loss,
and save the policy-holders enough,
in a season or two, to rod their build
ings. Companies that do not adopt
this rule are not employing good bust
ness methods.
Rods will protect. The secretary of
a mutual company having over 5A
million dollars at risk says that in
seven years they did not have single
loss by lightning on a rodded build
ing A leading farm insurance COM
pany in Ohio says, in circular to
agents, that losses by lightning in the
t. S. have increased 5 per cent annu-
ally for the last 10 years; that high
er rates on barns and stock are a ne
cessity; that proper rod will reduce
loss that rates on country buildings
not so protected will be advanced, and
the time is near when all companies
will charge higher rates on unrodded
property. Another company reports
that in it's last 500 losses from light
ming not one was rodded. A committee
Og ~, T1I@ &ofo TT1CI oT7n
sociation reported that buildings prop
erly rodded were never struck or in
jured by lightning. At a meeting of
the Indiana Farmers Mutual Union,
recently, a plan by which mutual COM
panies may assess rodded buildings at
less rate was the leading subject of
discussion.
Insurance companies are chiefly re-
sponsible for the loss by lightning.
They have long refused to make any
difference in rate upon rodded and un-
rodded buildings. Let them discrim-
mate fairly and the rods will go up.
Every mutual company should at once
refuse to pay losses by lightning on
unrodded buildings. The company
that adopts this policy first will be-
come very popular, for farmers are
Let each company investigate the ROD
business and recommend the kind or
kinds it finds reliable, and issue in
structions how to put them up. Every
company should have a competent rod
inspector, and every rod put up on
building insured by the company
should have this inspectors approval
before it is paid for. In the fire mar
shal's bulletin he quotes from the Uni
ted States agent of the three largest
foreign companies doing farm busI-
ness, as follows: "The day of the old
fashioned lightning rod man has
passed. Science, as now developed,
clearly indicates how property and
lives may be safely and inexpensively
protected against lightning discharg-
es, and doubtless there will be a gen
eral revival of the application OF light
ming conductors 1t is absolutely inn
portant that the work be intrusted to
those fully competent. Each installa-
ton is problem in ITSELF :.
We would suggest that the State
Association of mutual insurance COM
panies should investigate and make
list of all the reliable lightn1ng-rod
manufacturers, whose rods are rella-
bic, and issue instructions as to the
proper method of putting them up.
The day of the old lightning rod man
is surely past but farmers who were
swindled by the shysters, 25 or 40
years ago, are still suspicious They
now demand assurance of honest
work, good rods-rods that will pro-