Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-12-20

fetal results, and no doubt these NEE
ings will be continued next year. Tn
last meeting was held last week q
Wahpeton and an interesting pape
prepared by State Insurance Con
missioner Taylor was read at tn
meeting. Mr.. Taylor's views in tn
matter of fire prevention are as TO
lows:
In an audience which is made up IL
so large a part of those having exper
knowledge of the subject we are me
to consider, must conclude that m!
place on the program is mainly fo1
decorative purposes.
And yet I am very glad to have
this opportunity of expressing my ap
probation Of the work tina is being
done by the North Dakota Fire Pre-
vention Association. 1t is pioneer
work in this state. and it's Importance
cannot be realized much less exagger
ated.
! | dare say this is the first meeting
of the kind ever held in your city.
But it is certain that some statements
| regarding the subject Of fire proven
ton will be made here which will
cause the more thoughtful of your cit
liens to "sit up and take notice."
During the year 1910 the people OF
Wahpeton paid out over eighteen
thousand dollars in fire insurance pre-
miums: Something like a thousand
dollars of this sum was retained as
commissions by local agents, but the
balance went out of your rcity, and
most of it went out of the state.
Sometime or other portion Of the
money thus taken out of local circula-
ton will doubtless be returned in
the way of settlement for fire losses
incurred. And right here is the crux
Of the whole matter. Fire losses are
absolute. The owner of property
which has been destroyed by fire
may be recouped for his loss, but it
is at the expense of his neighbors.
A fire company is a business, not
a charitable institution. It deals with
a "hot" proposition in cold, method
ical manner. Fire losses are paid
from the contributions of the in
sured.
Just as a matter Of curiosity I
looked up the amounts that had been
paid by Wahpeton people to fire insur-
ance companies in the form of pre-
miums during the past ten years, and
I found that the sum 30 paid was
$155, $3.50 Quite tidy sum to ex-
pend for fire protection" But we
must remember that fire insurance is
not protection against fire. It merely
provides for the insured partial in
demnity against financial loss on
account of fire. other words, it
shifts the burden OF loss from the
shoulders of the insured to those OF
his neigAbors.
It matters not what portion of the
$155, 900 to which reference has been
made has been returned to the people
Of this city in settlement of claims
growing out OF CONGREGATIONS, the loss
is total. When buildings or stocks
of merchandise go up in smoke" or
when a city or village is devastated
by fire, the property so destroyed is
gone beyond recall. During the past
ten years no less than two billions of
dollars worth Of property has been
wiped out in this country. Not only
that, but more than twenty thousand
lives have been sacrificed to the fire
demon during the same period.
There was a little blaze in Fargo
one day last week. Fargo papers stat.
ed that the loss involved was greater
than the total amount of premiums
paid for fire insurance by the people
of Fargo for the entire year OF 1911.
I don't doubt it. And everyone con-
cerned was loser in the game. The
insurants lost heavily, not only in
the destruction of their property, but
in the loss Of time, diversion Of trade,
and in other ways; the insurance
companies lost the profit on their nn-
derwriting business; and the insuring
public-the ultimate consumers
pay all the bills, suffered most Of all.
The point that I want you to digest
is this: the only real protection
against loss by fire is by fire proven
ton. The only way in which fire
insurance can be had at lower cost
than now obtains is by reducing the
hazard or the loss ratio. That there
is plenty of room for progress in that
direction is proven by the fact that
the annual per capita fire waste In
the United States is $2.51 against 80
cents in Europe. During the year
1910 the loss per capita In the fol-
lowing named countries was apprOx-
imately as follows:
United States ............ $3.50
England ................ ~
france .......... w
germany ...... .......... ~
Ireland ........ ....... As
ANYWAY 80
But let US get at the facts right
here at home. During the year 1910
the fire insurance companies operat-
ing in North Dakota paid out $1,400,-
O41. OS for fire losses incurred in this
state. OF course this sum did not