New-York tribune., 1910-12-30
HTS FIRE DEPARTMENT
cvstem Is Deteriorating. Says
Insurance Exchange Manager.
rypl AIMS RATE INCREASES
-.-ner Broker Says He Was
Held Up" When He Asked
for Renewal Of License.

\ '.=..al conDla1lanlS ana INSURANCE oi-
Solomon Koefier, formerly an in
h~--,s h-oker, who lives at No. les East
- greet. came down to tell the COM
-. the. circumstances surrounding the
I-.-iou OF his brokers' license by the
r. ~n-l, Fire Insurance Exchange.
se- and his father ha6 both held
/ --,-s-,s licenses prior 10 1909. he said. but
90 -sr he himself cid not obtain a renewal
! rrril after he had threatened suit In
| - -. "a ras fatty turned down Following
.-perience. he testified. he went down
-. exchange Office. where hs talked
George 3. Bodweu, who told him.
| -.ls- VIZ that he would get license for
| ne would pay 500.
na cripple, and g poor man. and
--,-g. and say. pity me-, cannot
snl - a money" Koeffier explained TO
/ -. connittee yesterday
@.s sns his father laid their troubles with
/ -. e-cba1ga, he said, TO the advent On the
J .-o,s-aEe committee Of that body OF q Mr..
/ s.,s-rin. formerly Of Baltimore, According
~oa4=e-'s scory, Baldwin was connected
/ - -be Baltimore Fire Insurance Com
- sn5 he. Koefler, had some trouble
s5th Baldwin concerning the adjustment
4 loss. before the latter cs11e TO New
Tc-E.
--iIHs O. Robb. the manager Of the ex-
,.enzs. YES On the stand in the afternoon,
! - he tod the committee that the whole
.-,,,-Ja with the Eoefrers was simply that
.,sv were rryiug 70 combine the business
= h-oke- with that CT public adjusrer,
.,-,ht7srion which the exchange would not
e-snd fcr-
c,urssI 9ebulces Exchange Manager.
avou don't believe that story OF
--,.=e-,z. su-ely.'' began Mr. Robo, but N
-l-a Bruce. counsel TO the committee. cut
=, RI with The statement that II was not
,uss-ion Of belief. but simply that Al &C
,-es-i,- had been made against e M-. Bod
--eu II sv-o-n testimony, and IL would be
r,,s thing u communicate with Nr. Boz
r.u LLs1 he might come 10 the stand ana
ssuv -he story If Re wanted TO- Mr. Roho
ssi6 he would do that. but unfortunately
n- Eod1su vas away from the once yes
-.-.s-. IL but he would probably be back
tc-6ay.
rs lan1 episode with kosEer, said Mr.
znbh. vhen The exchange granted 10 MIN z
certificate when suit was threatened, was
--r-ksd cut that way, because or form OF
le-re- - which the exchange used to IL
.s- rs brokers Of sn expiring license.
rhs firm rather implied promise OF re-
-s7ss s-6 tbs exchange deemed II unwlse
- - ID court with that correspondence
eros t,sn tre fern has been changed. he
sid
: Developed from 3Tr. RobbAE further
-sst!rory that downtown Brooklyn was
-ztsd higher by the insurance companies
thar downtown New Ecrk on general rate.
bscanse ct two prime reasons The nrst
Of these IS lhs overhead wire system w4aich
--erails IN Brooklyn. and the second, the
belief that the fire alarm telegraph sys-
~, II that borough IS not II as good con-
os-,on es that Of New York
= an so-7v 70 say that the discrepancy
tstveer Brooklyn and Manhattan Is not
50 marked on that point now as Il usec 70
bs - said M- Soch- sssut that IS because
Mgrhar-zn's system Is deterio-atirg to the
!gvei Of B-ookly-'s, rather than because OF
znv Improvement N etLher place
Hg sai5 II would be at least two years
before the present plans fo- improving the
e-e alarm telegraph Of the CITY would DC CT
snv se-vice Mr.. Rohb was asked 70 sz-
rlsi- several rate increases which had
been complained Of. One Of them at no
= L5spera-d street. brought q smile 70 his
face
''Lisnena-d street brings e laugh in VIII
fan street" be explained. its about Two
blocks long. with a8ty buildings, seventy
eight street numbers, multiple occupancy
.a almost every o1e AID il the last six
years has had rhirJv-one fires in nineteen
Of those buildings az q total loss 70 the
companies Of about S146.oAo''
Thomas O'Conno-, OF Waterford, chair
TEL c1 Tie law committee Of the State
Eire-sn-s Association. said that the mutual
companies from New England States,
which sre writing about s8.o0O0co Of busi-
ness IN This state annually, escaped the
? pr cent tax which al other companies
dung business here have 10 ray, and he
thought that ought 70 be renaedie6.
Favors MutuaIs Here.
Armstrong, Of Brooklyn, who has
orzs-ized at different times q half dozen
zurual insurance companies, said that
nutuais should he admitted freely into this
stz1s as they We're in New England. The
-nutusls would bs a remedy for high com
btnaron rates an6 for Relating. he said
'REeattng is an open secret" ne added
All -ne big department stores. big corpc-
rsucrs DO II. Hire broker on salary and
save ths commission"
But the exchange requires them 70 write
for more than one concern" objected Judge
Bruce
"Gh. he can write for ArbUckle-I don't
know thar there's such & rnan-and for his
brothers and sisters and cousins, Arbuckle
over II BROOKLYN. Ee carries s2s eoo, 90 fire
Insurance"
III. Armstrong seemed 70 he surprised
tsst the committee should have taken the
non-rebsts Law Of the exchange so serI-
ously- sa6 intiaate6 that it vas dead
letter So far as big corporations were cor
oe-re6- SEr Rcbb, when questioned on this
pollt, said that no broker ever got
Aeease renewed II he was suspected Of
cong business IN that way
william L Besrs, Fire Marshal Of New
1oTk- Uas the last witness OF the day
after describing the workings ct his Office,
~ Beers told the committee that in his
opinion, based on the statistics and inves-
lsstlons Of his Office. from 3 70 15 per
cent Of ali the fires il this city were OF
inoeEdisry origin The FIRE marshal com
psl1sd OF an insufficient force, and de-
cared z favor Of z state fire marshal Law.
even = Il shoIiId 1egtslate him out OF Office.
Z general ne was for the reforms sdvo-
Gated By chief Croker in his session On the
Etz1c fhe rfs.-fr,-se Eaw