Semi-weekly herald., 1913-03-03
THE BUSINESS OF ARSON.

When Golfers Weekly announced a
short time ago, that it was going to
print sensation in series of arti-
cles under the general heading OF "The
Business of Arson" it promised SEN
sation not of the nature generally
known as newspaper or magazine SEN
sations, yet the publication Of these
articles, two of which have already
appeared, are a far greater sensation
then any that has been written for
many day, and it Is based on facts
which reveal one of the most dastardly
crimes in modern history--the wilful
and premeditated burning of struc-
lures involving immense losses of
property of honest and innocent citi-
zens, and the death of innocent babes
and women.
The series "The Business Of Arson
sets out to prove that burning prop
erty for insurance has become a ma.
tional crime and Mr.. Arthur f. Nc
Farlane, the author, has spent eigh-
teen months in securing the facts for
these articles for Golfers Weekly, and
he has secured many which should
awaken the sense of all honest people
to the seriousness of this modern
crime.
The series of articles Mr.. McFarlane
has prepared shows, by the testimony
of the insurance companies them
selves, that the direct and indirect
tax from incendiary, preventable fires
in the United States and Canada is
four-fifths as great as the tax of the
American and Canadian tariffs.
1t shows how men who want fires ac-
complish their end by wilful neglect
of their property; it shows how others
deliberately lay the mine and apply
the torch. 1t shows how producing
commercial fires" has become a reg
ular business in our big cities and how
the gangs of paid incendiaries work.
1t shows, indeed, how incendiarism
is often welcome to those who dom
mate the business of fire Insurance
in America.
We have in English-speaking North
America eight to thirteen times as
great fire loss to the dollar of
wealth, as has any nation of western
Europe. For years we have been writ
ing around the facts, attributing our
figures to American carelessness'' to
"flimsy construction" to insufficient
fire protection.
None of these causes stands the test
Of investigation. Certain other ma
tions build almost wholly of wood;
we build our greater structures of
brick, stone, steel and concrete. The
ratio remains the same-they have
one dollar loss to our eight, ten,
twelve, thirteen!
This may be called undertaking, but
it is not. Instead it is constructive
criticism. For Mr.. McFarlane car
ries the trouble up from the little
criminal Of the farms and tenements
to big, pernicious situation which
causes arson.
Through the faults OF the system,
insurance agents and brokers profit
by the assumption Of bad risks, by is
suing policies to men with proved rep
utation for arson, by insufficient in
spection Of properties, by overinsur-
ance.
They even suffer by increased fire
loss in their communities. And they
are in position, as the business
stands now, to force their wishes upon
the insurance companies.
Mr.. McFarlane proves this not from
without but from within; not only
from statistics and external evidence,
but from the private and public ut
terances Of the big fire insurance men
themselves.
His series shows how the insurance
business, simply by marking 1t to the
agents interest to prevent fires, could
nearly eliminate arson. 1t shows how
the rest Of the remedy lies in proper
legislation. 1t shows, in fact how one
American community has. without un-
due effort, almost cut its fire loss in
two.
It will show how this may be &C.
complished with vast gain not only 10
the insured. but to the stockholders
In Insurance. companies, to all chaser