The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-02
Chairman of Legislative In
surance Committee Pre-
sents His Views
LOSS ENORMOUS IN
STATE EVERY YEAR
Would Prohibit Defective Flues, En-
force Better Building Laws and
Tax Common Parlor Match
Out of Existence

To the Editor of The Age-IIerald:
There is an apparent feeling through
out the state, judging from the many ex-
pressions drawn from thoughtful men,
that the governor will reconyene the leg
islature within the next coming few
months. Being one of that body. and
alsb at the head of the insurance COM
mittee in the house, / feel called upon to
express myself on some very important
points in order that his excellency may
more carefully advise himself of their Sc
riousness and incorporate them into the
several heads formulating the needs for
the extra call.
The legislation to which I wish to di-
rect the governors thoughts, and at the
same time the peoples attention, is first,
a statute for enactment TO prevent our
enormous fire waste; and second, COM
panion bill or a statute for enactment,
seeking to supervise the cost paid for fire
insurance III this state.
Frightful and Appalling Waste
There are Jew economic questions of
this age which approach each individual
and every commercial and industrial en-
deavor with such nearness as the tlre
waste of this state 1t is the right of
every person to own his home, his mills,
his lands, his timbered forests and other
properties to be preserved to future gen.
erations. In our efforts 10 protect these
properties and conserve them to future
use. we are each year confronted with
fire waste to that property that be-
comes frightful and appalling TO the stu
dent of actual conditions.
When we peruse the official records OF
fire losses in this state upon which in
srrance money has been paid out, then
add to this sum the % per cent value left
uninsured under the policy terms, then
aad to these two items another (esti-
mated 10 per cent for property loss upon
which no policy existed at time of fire,
adding these three items together the
amount of fire waste at once leaps to fig
ures that stagger the mind to compre-
herd. AS evidence for the above, and
explanatory thereof, we will make up
these three items as follows from the
records of 1911. from losses officially re-
ported to the insurance department, viz:
Fire insurance paid claimants under the
three-quarter value clause, $2,363,414
Add the other one-fourth remaining
from. policy uninsured S1S7,s00.
Add 10 per cent property losses (esti-
mated on which no policy existed, $3l51 90
Grand total fire losses for 1911, $S5456, 1884.
Loss for the Decade
BY tracing records backwards for 10
years | find the above an approximate
average. making the approximate amount
tI Af, fr.
over ss4, ,6j3. 900. There is no wonder, with
this enormous drain upon property hand
ed down from the father to the sons and
often unborn posterity as a legacy, that
we see hundreds of humanity limping
from their birth to the grave under bur-
dens of debt they cannot throw off.
If Sherman's army of 50 years ago
were scheduled to pass through this state
each 10 years, causing a wanton de-
struction of this much property as re-
suit of such invasion, every strong arm
OF the state would be reinforced by leg
isiative sanction, a war tax levied to
maintain a standing army to drive back
the invaders, the cost of which nothing
but the history of former war debts can
throw light upon But an unconscious
unobserving, thoughtless people born and
reared amidst these surroundings appear
to be dull of understanding and callous
OF heart and conscience to these startling
facts whereby the lives of the innocent
are often lost or imperiled, as well as
thousands of live stock not accounted for
in the above table.
The reader now inquiries in his mind
WELL what is your remedy?"
The remedy TO be applied is a code for
the construction of buildings reasonably
and cautiously drawn in which defective
fiues. falling short of a given statutory
standard should be condemned. Second
the fiimsy, deficient construction of build
ings. both brick and frame. should be
forbidden of construction forever here
after Third. nothing but the safety
match should be allowed free OF license
and license of at least $50 should be
required of every person, firm or corpora
tion selling or offering for sale the usual
strike anywhere" friction parior match.
Losses for Past Year
III my continued search for official data