The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1916-01-07
National Association of Credit Men


National Association of Credit Men,
c. E. Baen. of the National Asso-
citation of Credit Men, delivered a pa
per on the work that his organization
had done toward fire prevention. say
ing that much had been accomplished
through the educational work of COM
mittees.
He said in part:
"The public generally assumes the
business of fire insurance to be very
lucrative one, and that fire insurance
companies, from some source or other
are able to obtain enormous sums
year after year with which to meet
their losses. The facts are that in the
past ten years, owing to extraordin-
airy losses caused by general conflag
rations in Baltimore. Toronto and Ro-
chester in 1904. San Francisco in 1906,
Chelsea, Mass, in 1908: the stock
holders of American fire insurance
companies were called upon to adj
vance over forty millions of dollars
of new capital to rehabilitate and re-
finance their companies in order that
Our great commercial interests should
have proper and adequate fire insur-
ance capital. Those companies whose
stockholders were unwilling or un-
able to make these sacrifices were
compelled to compromise with policy
holders, liquidate their business as
best they could and retire from the
field. Naturally some of these losses
having been transferred to policy
holders, brought forth from them a
big howl and We heard great deal Of
welchino fire insurance companies, as
we'll as lot of unmerited and unjust
criticism of fire insurance in general
1t is difficult, gentlemen, to see in this
attitude of the American people to-
wards fire insurance that spirit of fair
ness which they generally show on all
other great questions. 1t is still more
year. we allow two hundred and fifty
millions of dollars of our nationa
wealth to be destroyed by fire waste
particularly when we are told b,
those having expert knowledge of this
subject, acquired by years Of exper.
fence as underwriters. that from fifty
to eighty per cent of this great sun
annually lost is due to preventablt
causes and might be saved if propeI
care is exercised, proper inspection
work done and better regulations OBJ
served as to the erection of building.
and keeping premises free from &C
cumulated debris and rubbish. Thi
does not seem to be such atremend
Gus undertaking, since all of our larg'
cities have expensive and well-man
!. ned fire departments. Doesn't it seen
reasonable that more of their energie
could better be expended on well
, known means of fire prevention, a
we'll as answering fire calls? Doesn'
the old-time doctrine of can ounce o
prevention" seem to apply in thi
, case?
. The Fire Marshal of the state o
! Illinois, in his third annual repor
stated that he believed if the chiefs Q
: fire departments of the cities of tn
, states would delegate two or three @
their most capable men as inspector
and keep them busily engaged in tina
> work, the fire loss of Illinois wohl
be cut down one-half.
San Franchises fire department TO
Z the year 1912 cost $l,562,769, or $50
per capita. That gentlemen, seems
a very large sum to pay for fire pre-
e lection, but, Notwithstanding thi
n great expenditure, San Francisco
Y FIRE loss that year was $ooo,o75. @
:. $2.3s per capita. 1t would seem
: fair deduction from these figures, an
: those of other American cities a
D we'll, that our fire departments. tn
c most efficient. as we'll as the most e,
d pensive, of any country in the worl'
: as purely fre-hghting agencies and
1 means of preventing. excessive flr
: loss, cannot be considered success
since our fire loss continues to il
crease in greater ratio than our poi
ulation.
r Fire prevention. then. looks like
e more productive field and offers MOI
encouragement than mere fire hgh
e ing. c. Heller, in splendid articl
:. on FIRE prevention, points out tn;
8 most of the countries of Europe hay
: worked out the problem from TIL
r viewpoint and with very much be
: ter results. He quotes from FEEDER;
: report of 1907 that the cost of mair
: tenance of FIRE departments in tn
d larger European cities. having an as
gregate population of l5.074,432, Wa
r l$3.06o, 668, or twenty cents per capt.
: For the cities of the United State
e having a combined population of %
: $4,000 the cost of fire departments
: 1912 was $47, 385,546 of $l.62 p'
e capita, yet our fire loss is one quart,
d of million dollars annually, viii
f theirs is one-sixth of this amount. {
# SAC, 100000 annually. The reason f.
v this great difference, Mr.. Heller e,
I TRIB-TWO -. .... .... -. ....etaoinmr
d plains, is largely because they ha'
b paid more attention to FIRE preventic
e than we have; that they have bui
e substantial cities; have brought.
II adequate laws on the subject. the pc
" pie to full knowledge of their NOR
Id and financial responsibility for car
IT,. CO ,,,,eta ,cJ tbarahv have mi