The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-06-14

premium was paid and IN advance, And
Il was the dearest and highest PREMIUM
ever paid by mortal man the welfare.
happiness, lives and possession Of the
wives, sons and daughters Of the proud
est and most important families of the
land. Strange 10 relate. we at present
reverse the order then obtained. There
the insurer paid the premium to the
party Insuring. who received the pro-
lection, whilst now the insurer pays his
own premium for the protection he re-
ceiyes. History is replete with such
details,
HISTORY OF INSURANCE,
The first authentic account Of in
surRncr that We have is described elaho-
rately by Dcmosthenes. and was com-
mon custom among the Greeks and Ro-
mans some two thousand years ago, 1t
was common usage for them TO make
advances on ships and carEoes, to be
repaid with large interestif the voyage
proved profitable and the ship returned
safe. But the debt was wholly can
| ceiIed If the ship was lost at sea or cap
tured by pirates, the rate Of interest
being sufficiently great to cover not on
ly the use Of the money, but also the
hazard taken.
Common sense and ordinary bust
ness judgment are the qualities that
distinguish civilized man from the saw
age, and they naturally suggested that
It was the part Of prudence not to
| chance all on one hazard, but to distri-
butte the risk. Therefore, as society
progressed, corporations were organic
ed and plans were formulated to lessen
| chance Of loss so that a man would not
be at once absolutely despoiled by fire
Of the accumulations of a life Of labor.
Fire insurance companies were organ
i1ed in London more than a century
back, and grew rapidly. At least each
insurance company had its W fire
brigade. When it insured a building it
was marked, and it was the duty Of
that %company's brigade to protest that
building. but no other, and It stood still
and serenely saw property insured by
another company dissipate itself in
smoke. From this custom, by process
Of evolution, we have obtained the eff
fcctive fre-fghting forces that are now
operated by the various cities, whose
duty il is to protect every citizen alike.
Fire insurance is not a promise TO
pay n certain amount of money, ms
some think it to be; it is an agreement
to guarantee or indemnify a person for
actual loss or damage. The amount
written in the face Of the policy is the
limit of liability, and not the measure
Of the claim, Let me call attention to
the fact that insurance is not based up.
on luck as some might think, but elm.
mating the moral hazard, it is figured
strictly upon the law Of average, based
upon past experience gained from
compiled statements, otherwise it would
cease to be insurance and become gam.
bling pure and simple, as il was in the
beginning, Fire insurance has now be.
come a commercial necessity. without
which the wheels Of trade and manu-
f%acture would cease to turn.
MANY FIRES UNNECESSARY.
II will now take advantage of this
opportunity to discuss briefly with YOU
the momentOus question Of fire waste.
This enormous destruction Of property
affects the price OF everything we eat,
drink, or wear, and thereby levies con.
trlbutlon on the part Of everyone the
rich, the poor, the old and the young.
The fire waste in America for 1907,
and the cost Of protection, were over
$4b6, 0WC, 600, more than 81, 200, 90 Der
day, more than $50, 600 hourly, and
nearly $1,000 per minute. These figures
are obtained from government stats,
tics, and doubtless many losses were
never reported, which would, in all
probability, swell the above figures
many millions more. What We Local
fire insurance agents should strive tc
do, and in fact what every good citizen
should assist in, is to reduce this waste.
and when this result is effected Their
rates will adjust themselves on a lower
basis and all insurers will thereby be
benefited. The question arises, why il
TINS waste so excessive in Americai
Naturally, IN a new country buildings
are hastily and imperfectly construct,
| ca, ana where timber is so plentiful,
/; wooden structures will largely prevail.
ms, only time and conditions will
change, With the scarcity of timber
the price of lumber will increase, and
brick, stone and concrete buildings viii
follow. However, there are some con.
dltlons we may remedy which will tend
generally to reduction without hardship
to anyone. will make only a few sus.
gestlons: Single roofs should be aboI.
ished as they need renewing: fire limit.
should be established in all towns: re.
strietions should be thrown around ths