The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-06-23

4sN1 ANPA1~Vl4AS iitAl2iIldAel M11EII or /
value. and leaves the community. the
State. poorer by whatever il mount /
TO. 1t is therefore apublir evil and
there Is not only 10 reason why the
state should not lay as heavily a. NAV
be necessary its restraining hand up-
on It, but there * every reason why
the State should do his. The State
IS doing something in this direction
and the insurance companies are pay
ing for it by Il special tax levied for
the but the State Is doing q
very small part Of what she might
do and ought TO do. The State is col
lectlng from the insurance companies
IN taxes. licenses and fees Sl31.434 per
annum, she is spending for fire
prevention A mere bagatelle in com
parlson. Since the fire waste Is a pub
lie evil the State ought To spend what
ever is necessary to keep ii within the
bounds of a thorough efficient police
supervision eve If she had TO foot
the bill herself. How much more
should she do this when the insur-
ance companies will foot the bill many
times over in the taxes they pay for
the privilege of doing business. Two
years ago the fire insurance compa-
MES which | have the of
sustained losses in two towns greater
in amount than all the losses they sus-
tanned in the entire State during that
year. In each OF the instances re
ferred to above. where there We're
small CONGREGATIONS the fire would
have been confined to the buildings i'll
which they orisined with a total loss
of not exceeding 20 per cent of what
it actually to. if the fires
had been handled by the local fire de-
partments in an intelligent and eff
cient ann They had not been
trained and did not know how to fight
fire.
The Duty OF the State.
When the State has employed an
expert in fire fighting to train the fire
men of the cities and towns in eff
cheney and method in fighting fire.
When she has employed IA sufficient
number of inspectors to enforce the
inspections which all cities and towns
should make for efficient protection
against fire; when she has provided in
each community the machinery fol
some kind of an inquest Owe a fire
such she provides in the case of 9
homicide; when she treats a fire as &
public nuisance and places the bur
den upon the owner or occupant o
the premises upon which the fire orig
mated, to show that it was not pre-
ventable or that it was Academia
without Contributory negligence
when she has made it SO i~nConvenien
to have fires that people will not hav.
IL IN S"i hS1p IL. "iSI III
; has put into operation any and al
, reasonable and proper measures 70
! the restraint n prevention of fir
and when she has refused to enac
: any law like the valued policy law, tn
tendency of which and the record O
7 which has been to increase the fir
: loss and to encourage dishonest fire:
she will have dom her part and n
: more than her part towards reducin
the unfiXed charge in the insu~anc
ate.
The Duty Of the Insurance Compa
II MES.
The insurance companies must d
/ their part also, and it is a very in
pOrtant part. They should do the
part whether the States do their pal
or not. 1t is not good business fe
them to stand pat in this matter b
n simply making rates to take care
the losses. l believe hat it is TT
e part of wisdom for the insurance con
panies to adopt a definite program
! work, looking to a definite reductio
: in rates by a reduction in the lossi
by fire. There are at least two thin:
l which the insurance companies ca
/ do by way OF contribution to this en-
e They can, through their agents., loca
o ed everywhere, do a vast amount
IS informing and educating OF the publ
s. in this matter of fire protection, al
rs can enlist their great agency organic;
re ton III this work ii the compani
l themselves are in earnest about ha'
: ing it done The most important co
e tributiOn, however, hat the nsuran,
ie companies a make to the reduCtiC
E of the unfxed charge in the insuran'
"a rates is by a complete revolution
N, the conduc of the insurance busine
SO far as it relates to the method
I compensation to agents.
n The Flat Commission Must Go.
- The American system for the co
I duct OF the business of fire insuran
es may be termed 'the fiat commissit
la system which provides as compe'
SatiOn to the agent who passes up
Oh and accepts the risk for the inSuran
company a fiat percentage CT the pr
IS miums charged. 1t is a system that
d wasteful, thriftless and unbusiHesslik
ie 1t not only affords no incentive to Il
e. agent to fidelity and efficiency in /
ne representation of his principal. the. i
III surance but it furnishes
Il. him a positive inducement to be u
faithful and careless and irrespo
sible. 1t is a shiftless senseless ss
tenn. The agent is supposed to sta
guard for his and to Ike
his company off morally haZardo