New-York tribune., 1910-12-31
WALDO SUPPORTS croker
Makes Two Prime Suggestions
to Legislative Committee.
CRIIIcISES FIRE MARSHAL
Hearings Go Over for Week,
When Alleged Racing Fund
Will Be Taken Up Again.

Fire Commissioner Waldo told the legis-
istive investigating committee YESTERDAY
chat he was having the whole bureau OF
she fire marshal's department overlauled
and expected to ge. better results there in
the future The point came up when coun-
gel to the conznittee suggested to the Com
missioner that Fire Marshal William l.,
Beers when on the stand the day before.
had intinated strongly that his force was
entirely inadequate for the work
The question OF the efficiency OF fire
r7a-sheFs force is based solely on the man
himself was Mr.. WadVs comment In
BROOKLYN. with a much smaller force, We
sre getting better results than we are in
New York. Over there they are bringing
more persons to Justice The main thins
4. TO concentrate effort on the cases that
- ere suspicious and not waste time on cases
that are evidently on the face or ihefh not
due to crinlrality.''
The commissioner did not refer 10 the
fire marshal by name but he made h per-
.fecflN- clear that he did not think Mr. Beers
MAS accomplishing all that might be ac-
complished. Also. he thought that under
the present system the fire marshal would
more properly be piaced in the District At
forneys office.
His is a legal ra tJler than fire fight
l.ng Junction he said.
In the main Commiss ioner Waldo sup
.poried-slle complaints of Fire Chief Croker,
in regard particularly TO the great major
tity of fires originating in cellars He had
itust two prime suggestions to make to the
Legislators. the first that they should es-
i1ablish bureau Of fire prevention. ade-
uuately equipped with money and men and
with full power To bring offenders or those
who disrecarded its orders to justice. and
the second that they sfonld enact a law
compelling the insurance com panies TO m
.7entory property be insured properly. in
order 10 eliminate overinsurance, which Mr.
Waldo thought was one Of the chief causes
90 incendiarism-
Famous Municipal Bureau.
The bureau of fire prevention. he said
should be municipal. not state, because
such a bureau would have all il could do
TO look after New York City Under the
present system. he testified. along the same
line as Chief Croker. that prosecutions and
especially convictions were infrequent and
GLOW.
one case he said. had been reported on
frv the. Fire Department with o-ders 10
Grave certain sa seguards installed over
month ago The order disreEarded
and while the case was in the hands of the
q
st h7 the Fire Department. fire occurred
and the building was burned dov@ An
other case in which orders were issued
Ave months aso and are still disregarded
is still in the Corpora ton CounselS office.
As TO the uniformed men now detailed TO
theatres. Of whom there are sonfthlng
-over a hundred day, the Commissioners
advocated that 4 Law should be passed
.-o7pelljns theatre owners to pay the sal
.arie. of men SO detailed
Il have figured that such Law would
xive us about 100000 year income. and
that could be used in fire prevention work -
he said There is more reason why
theatres should ga the services of city
xnploves free than that department stores
ar suy other lines of business should
The place of fire marshal Mr.. Waldo eX-
e>isined after he left the stand. is Civil
Service one. from which an incumbent may
he removed charges.
George r. Bodwell' head of the certificate
department of the New York Fire lnsur-
-ance Exchange, took the stand for a few
minutes 10 deny fa1ly the tale Of alleged
ettemp1ed extortSon which Solomon koef-
fer recitsd TO the conl1nltee at THURSDAY :
hearing The facts we've. Mr. Bodwell said.
4bst in his only converse ticr>with Koeffier,
tho latter had Attempted TO offer him SO
each for two licenses. the regular license
fee then. in 1901. being s. - year
II assisted him out II the office hurried
Nv" explained Mr.. BodEyell. and that was
ell the~e was 10 it
Plea for Simpler Policy.
Hugo EYintrer a lawyer. who said he
made "a specially Of fire. insurance cases,
declared that the presel. form of policy
i7jeed l,,- tile companies doing business in
this city was hedged about with re
stI-ictions on the assured that the COM
l.s,ij,.s could hamper and delay collections
on lcsso- in almost any case they chose.
As an instance in point. he cited the
-rubtor stamp clause. which is Stamped
IN dwelling house and apartment house
household furniture policies and annals the
7.ol.,.- il any business is conducted on or
yeo1e thc grade floor
--uuitc often" said Mr Wintner. "a man
VIII insure and have a loss. which he can
no. collect bet tauSe the companies bring
forward the fact that some woman is con-
Sucting say. d small dressmaking business
in an apar1,1lent on the first or second
floor. The form Of policy should be made
isr119Ier At present il is succession OF
ttraps
Henry ". Eaton, American manager OF
the Liverpool London and Globe 1nsur-
..,ca Company. deserted the Factory In
!
1io, of stock companies formed TO COM
.,,e-e with the factory mutuals- He said
,heir oreratioyls had shown an average an
rl,al profit Of about 20 per cent
= certificate of insurance, which ap-
reared to be of little value so far as col
lecting loss upon the property described,
WAS brought into the inquiry ~ one A.
.Eaertini who is an attorney-at-law. he said,
when he is not busy running a moving
,,icture place Il appeared that the prom
3se 81 a rate of s2s instead Of the s45 he
had been paying FOR regular insurance
loiicy tempted him TO forsake the old line
,,ompanies. but he plainly disguised
when l-e was unable TO collect a loss of
sln5 on the certificate
Matthew Wood. of the law firm of Mingle
& Wood whose name appeared on the GER
sj6cafe followed Bertini on the stand just
long enough TO explain that Mr. Mingle,
who MAS i'll at his home in New Jersey,
handled all the insurance business for the
fiTrn which ne said, was primarily a law
firm He would try TO have Mr. MinSle
take the stand before the committee ad-
iourncd . , = .
The next session viii be on January s, at
ii O'Clock in the morning, when IL is ex-
recfed that Aigernon Dalngernelo, assist
anr secretary Of the Jockey Club, viii re
ttlrn TO the stand 10 clear up the ODDS and
ends of his testimony If city Chamberlain n
HYDE shall have returned from ms ieasurely