Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1913-05-03
HOW Insurance
CAN BE Lowered
CulEF or RATE BUREAU DIS
CUsSES SITUATION WITH
BUSINESS MEN.
RECOMMENDATIONS MADE.
\ Resolution Can BE Secured In six
Months, lie spls; Committee
Is TO Make Investigation

Insurance rates in Tulsa can be re-
duced 20 per cent In six months time
" certain recommendations are car
ued out Icy the city officials.
The main reason for some Of the
so-called exorbitant rates in the city
Is unsafe buildings ard fire hazards
Dynamite IL stored in the heart of
the business districts in sufficient
quantities TO blow a half block OF
structures To atoms.
Twenty-Five per cent of the build
ings in the business district are penal
ized from 25 cents to 81 on account Of
poor wiring or improper installation
OF picture shows,
Tulsa either has "A poor building
law or one that is absolutely ignored
by the authorities
Fifty Present.
These are few of the things c..
Il. lngal manager of the Oklaho-
ma rating bureau, and the man who
has largely been blamed for certain
cases of excessive rates" told fifty
Tulsans at the Commercial club
rooms last night. Half Of the crowd
was composed of local insurance
agents. Not over twenty property
owners were there.
Mr.. ingalls, spoke for an hour on
the local situation and endeavored to
explain the reason why Tulsa had a
higher rate basis than oklahoma city
or Muskogee. A number of local
people also talked, and questions were
fred at the rate expert from all sides.
VIII Name Committee.
The meeting eliminated in the
adoption Of a resolution, by the terms
of which O. II. Leonard of the Com
mercial club will shortly appoint a
committee OF five representative cit
fzens who will go over the local in
surance proposition thoroughly They
will be accompanied on their inyesti-
eating tour by Mr. ingalls,, who agreed
to stay two or three days in the city
assisting in this work.
When the committee has completed
its labors report of its findings will
be made to the Comercial club.
GOOu f1rc department.
The main obstacle in the way Of
lower insurance rates here, is the con-
dition of the city water works depart
ment. The supply is available, all
right, but the proper mechanical
treatment has not yet been introduced
statements of Mr.. Ingalls, He spoke
of the Tulsa fire department as the
best equipped in the state, and lauded
Chief Alder as the most competent
fire department official in oklahoma.
He said that in case of a big conta-
grafton here, the fire department
would be practically without water
after six hours time. But the whole
matter can be rather easily remedied,
he declared.
Bad Buildings
Structures in violation of the build
ing ordinance have been built during
the present year, said Mr.. Ingalls,,
and although he did not intimate that
laXity on the part of the officials was
rected sharp glance toward Guy
NJ Meacham, city building inspector, who
occupied a front seat along with
Mayor Wooden and City Attorney
Ramsey. None of the commissioners
were present.
Mr. ingalls, cited many instances
where fire-proof buildings in the city
were being given the benefit of ex-
tremely low rates. The property own
ers and occupants of buildings them
selves are to blame where large rates
are charged. he pointed out.
Rate Examples.
He showed that the rates on such
structures as the Pioneer Telephone
company building. the Bliss building,
the postoffice building, the Drew build
ing, the court house and others, rang
ed from 26 to A cents under the so
per cent clause, and from 2S to 40
cents under the 80 per cent clause.
He said that three one-stOry build
ings had been built here since Janu-
airy l. with eight-inch walls. when the
city ordinance plainly requires twelve
inch walls. one frame building has
been built inside the fire limits and
others have been constructed with
sheet iron walls.
Water Supply system.
"A serious defect in the water sup
ply system" he said. land which did
not exist at the time of our inspec-
ton in 1910. is that the river channel
has changed and sand has been
thrown up around the river intake to
the extent that the supply from this
source is necessarily unsatisfactory
and greatly limited. During the last