The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1911-06-29
SACRIFICE
TO FIRE DEMON


(The following is a brief synopsis
OF the fine address delivered by In
surance Commissioner, Hon. James X.
Young, before the State Retail Mer-
chants Association in session here on
Thursday
Mr.. President and Members of North
Carolina Retail Merchants Associa-
ton.
Several years ago / had the honor
of addressing your association at their
meeting at Morehead City. / congra-
tulate you on the work Of your as
sociation-the intelligence and energy
with which you have acted. You may
we'll be proud not only Of what you
have already accomplished, but OF
your splendid membership, well organ
| lied for greater and better things in
: the future. / appreciate the honor and
pleasure of meeting with and talking
to you again today. AT Morehead City
1 discussed before you Fire Insur-
ance'' generally and as 1t was con-
! Quoted in this State and supervised by
the speaker as your Insurance Conn
missioner.
Insurance Department
The North Carolina Insurance De-
! partment was established as a separ-
| ate department of our State Govern
ment in 1899. Prior to that time its
work was in the Office OF the Secre-
tary, and consisted almost entirely of
| collecting taxes from the companies
doing business in the State. The
amount of revenue collected by the
0-~-zG-~ - C4144 Con Tho UooH nPfOr-
to the organization of the Department
was $~84,879.2S. Now the work OF the
Insurance Department is largely a
matter of supervision, but the revenues
from this source hare gradually In
creased each year until the collec-
ton for the year ending April 1, 1911,
and paid into the State Treasury was
$780, 800. OS, and the total amount col
lected since the formation Of the De-
partment, $2,237,256.25.
Fire Insurance
1t is the insurance business done
that furnishes different kinds of in
demnity to our citizens. One class
OF it, (fre1 has assets of about $780,
OOO, 900, and It's stock fire companies
in 1910 ASSUMED risks of $36,357,713,-
.O46 for premiums of 1918, 557, $50,
while in North Carolina alone $751;
375, 1854 were assumed in risks for
premiums of $3,296,096.
Fire Waste
****Headed by the National Assoc
iation of Credit Men, many CONNER
cial bodies have united in the work
of studying the significance of the
fire waste to and the adoption of
every measure by States and NUM-
cipalities as would tend to diminish
it's steady and rapidly increasing
rate. The annual fire waste strikes
at every citizen Of this great country
and causes destruction to person and
property. In the United States and
Canada there is an annual fire waste
of $3.50, 0O0, 900. Do you take it in
$4,000 each hour and $500 each
minute? The annual fire waste in
North Carolina-to bring the matter
closer home to. each of us-iS5 say,
So, 000, 900, over $500 an hour, and
only about one-half covered by in
surance. These are losses of prop
erty measured in dollars and cents
****but as has been we'll said:
Americas greatest contribution to
the fire waste is, however, her men,
her women, and her children burned
alive as sacrifice to the ignorance,
carelessness, and greed of her cit
zens. Those who persisted at the cit
quois Theater in Chicago, on the
steamer General Slocum at New York,
in the hall at Boyertown, at the school
in Collinwood, in the mine at Cherry,
and, more recently, in lesser num-
berS, at many other places, leave us
the remembrance of their cries and
horrors which they suffered. These
appeal to us more strongly than mon
ey loss, be it eve SO large" / may
add to this the horrible destruction
of 145 young women in the Asch
factory fire recently in
New York and many others that come
us each week.
While we stand appalled, al the
let us go one step further and
realize, if we can, that, according to
the best estimate, over tWo-thirds or
three-fourths of these fires and losses
were precentable, and would not have
occurred with the exercise of even orr
binary care.
In the United States, with all her
boaSted civilization, the annual fire
loss per capita is $2.65, while in a
part of Europe the loss is only
cents per capita. Berlin, Germany,
a population of three million
and fire department costing yearly
$500, 900, has annually a fire waste
of less than $175, 900. Chicago, hav-
ing a population of two million and
fire department costing yearly 3d.
O00, 900, has annually a fire waste ex-
ceeding 5000, 900. In Vienna, with
a population of 795, 787, there is no
case where a fire extended beyond
the building in which it originated,
and few cases in which it went be-
yond the floor on which it started.
a city as up-to-date and well
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