The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-12-06

to impress upon his customer that he
can do something for him that no one
else can do do, SO he sets about to get
the rate reduced, thus securing for his
company a premium, no matter at
what cost. Do compares expect that
old and tried agents are going to sit
around and let their business go off
their books? No. The old agent then
gets busy in reducing rates and tries
to go his new brother one better, and
between the two the company gets a
lower premium than before, and when
the average is made up, the income is
materially lowered. l do not mean
that fire insurance a&snts should not
have some competition, for all BUSH
ness is made healthy by reasonable
competition, while 1t Is ruined by I'M
healthy and that which is excessive.
One Third of Present Number Enough.
One-third Of the present number Of
fire insurance agents throughout the
United States would be sufficient to
transact all the business and do it up
on a much higher and better basis
than at present, and when the compa-
MES come to understand that this is
the condition and reduce the agents
to a much less number, then will their
business improve, their income in
crease, and the general condition Of
the business be put upon a higher
plane.
Much has been written and said up
on the question Of overhead under
writing, and competition Of brokers.
Did you ever stop to think that If all
agents had the training, ability and
enterprise displayed by leading brok-
ers, that we could obtain and hold os
much business as they can? What Sc
Hrnf Hn fhnU pNSGoSE that Wa do n0t2
Why don't we go to large insurers and
tell them how to put in a salt water
barrel, stop a hole there, put n a
stand pipe and hose here, a watch
clock there, or equip their plants with
automatic sprinklers If circumstances
warrant, and obtain their business? 1t
is our own fault if we do not take ad-
vantage of all these situations and
protect our business, M the compa-
MES fault if their agents do not knaw
how.
Appointing Agents in North Dakota.
A short time 6 in conversation
with d prominent special agent, he
stated that a number of years ago he
ent his assistant into my state for
the purpose of appointing new agents
for his companies. Upon his return
he said there was no use in trying to
appoint new agents under his compa-
MES requirements, for a number of
special agents in that state would load
into a boxcar punches OF supplies
and as they went through the towns
throw enough supplies upon the depot
platform to make the necessary num-
Der of appointments. and whoever
took the supplies was considered an
agent for their company.
Another special agent says: What
are you going to do when you are
working for a small company, and find
In each town agents already burdened
with companies"" 7 say: "stay out.
Don't appoint a blacksmith Or a bar
ber." He says he never leaves a town
without getting some kind Of an agent;
any old kind seems better than none
at all, and thus through the action of
companies and special agents, they
are daily lowering the average intelli-
gence of their agents.
Send Out Literature Until Doomsday.
Much is being written and said of
fire ~prevention; both by laymen and
those engaged in the fire insurance
business. Much stress Is being laid up
on educating the masses, both by dis
seminating literature upon the sub
ject. by addresses from leading the
orists, by bringing the subject to the
attention of teachers in public schools,
by calling the attention Of the public
to the fearful fire loss in this country
as to the small loss in for