South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-10-08
OUR SURVEY OF FIRE RISKS.

The Indiana Inspection bureaus
proposed survey OF South Bends fire
resistance equipment, with municipal
cooperation. the end in view being to
elevate the city's standing with the
fire underwriters and reduce insurance
rates. is bound to- be welcomed by
the property hOlders-if the recon-
mendatiOns resulting will only keep
within the bounds of reason.
Without questioning the right in
tentions of the bureau, cities have
been known to follow out the advice
of such organizations with like end
in view, only to find at the critical
moment that more defects have been
discovered that need correction. and
so on repeatedly, until after a while
II mas come to be something of a
chestnut. The largest possible pro-
lection against fire is desirable and a
good investment, regardless of in
surance rates, but since insurance
enters into it, and the improvement
in risks is a matter of Importance to
the insurance companies as we'll as 90
the insured. insistence upon some def
mite understanding with regard to
rates would certainly not be out of
place
Municipal maintenance Of fire de-
partment. a water system and the
regulation Of building the use OF ex-
plosives. etc. TO reduce fire risks. is a
sort Of partnership affair among the
people INDUCED in because il is quite
impossible for individuals to maintain
for themselves alone the desired
standard of efficiency. The individual
carries his own insurance but the
community undertakes to protect the
insurance company against having to
pay losses. wherever possible, of
course, at the same time protecting
the insured against the convenience
Of having to collect, with possible loss
addenda The insurance concern ac-
cOrdingly becomes a distinctive part
of the system. They should make
some kind of contribution and by
keeping down rates and creating a
saving to the men who pay the taxes
is a very good way of getting at it,
Some day the state of Indiana will
have an insurance departm Mt that
will go into such matters and arrange
rates in keeping with the resistance
10 fire that the various cities furnish
but hold. 1t Will cost something TO
maintain that department the tax
payers will have To foot the bill and
will ha
state extravaganza just as there has
been against the cost of maintaining
our state public service commission.
We all want these improved meth
DDS of doing things. We can see great
possibilities in them, but we seem TO
imagine that they ought to operate on
the mamma that falls from heaven. \
state insurance department might save
the people of the state a million dol
lars a year in insurance rates but if il
were 10 cost a hundred thousand To
maintain the department. we would
almost be sure 10 be grouchy about it
and imagine We had been robbed.
The Indiana Inspection bureau is a
private enterprise proposing 10 do in
South Bend what in other states
might be done by a state department
AS a private enterprise il is less eX-
pensive if il viii only do the work as
we'll OF course, il is looking out for
its patrons. the underwriters. irst. but
IL cannot do that without looking out
for the insured. at least 10 an extent
and the extent OF the probable extent
is the point in interest.
In proportion as South Bend i'm
proves its fire resistance efficiency SO
should the cost OF risks be improved,
and as we go on improving that eff
fciency il is no more than proper that
we should know a little something
about the other