The Alaska daily empire., 1918-02-08
In Nearly All Other Cities in Country Save Ju-
 neau Insurance
 Been Raised.
JUNEAU IS FORTUNATE
An Added Reason Why the Merchants Should Sub- scribe to Firemen'S
 Ball Fund.

7
 in the aggregate equal flat in crease of about ten per cent. for the whole country.
 This new schedule was recon mended and adopted at recent meeting in New York of the Nation al Board of Fire Underwriters, which is the parent organization of all the State Boards and local boards in the whole country. This increase was in addition to and after all the special hazards such as intuition plants, war material factories, etc, had been separately figured at pro portionate increases. The extra ten per cent covered all business writ ten in all classes.
 The foregoing is further proof of how fortunate the residents and property owners of Juneau are in having been granted a ten per cent. reduction at a time when rates in practically every other part of the
 Union have been increased that
 much
 Too much credit cannot be given
 to the local insurance agents, the
 Juneau Fire Department, and the
 City Council, who have all worked earnestly and strenuously in behalf of a reduction.
 Both insurance firms, Allen Shat tuck and Shepard & Son, have beer off nd hoGe piles of correspondence in the mat ter, all urging the reduction ant containing arguments in favor O.
 same backed by facts and figures. When Kenneth c. Hamilton, rep | resenting th% San Francisco Boart of Underwriters, was here last year | he made an exhaustive survey of tht whole town, thoroughly tested bott
 water systems. and carefully exam ined all the fire fighting equipment of the local department. In this latter connection it vii be remembered that Hamilton hat the Fire Boys out for practically whole day and was given numerous demonstrations of the efficiently o1 he Fire Department in handling the pig LaFrance pumping engine. and Ill other equipment. The final test vas given early one Sunday morning when Haliton was leaving. At fivs |. m. when the whole town was wrapped in slumber, Hamilton rang n box number IT which Is situated 1t the City Dock-two minutes and 'orty-five seconds after the first tar if the gong the fire engine with nine firemen aboard stopped along side IT to meet the smiling. we'll satisfied face of Hamilton = upon whose report-favorable or unfavor able-so much depended Before eaving he said: Juneau has the ]. ,est Fire Department of any town d its size in the United States" It is not generally known, how ,ver, in spite of the good showing made, how near Juneau came to not ,etting the reduction. Hamilton's re- oort-favorable to a degree and rec ,mmending reduction-was turned down by the board and the local agents so notified It was then that )ne of the local insurance men wrote he letter of his life-it was mas erpiece of well chosen arguments,
 ndisputable facts, and forecful rhe-
 .oric, laying particular stress on the efficiency of the local fire fighting force and it's equipment and improve
 nents and additions to water sys'
 tems, and it started the ball rolling
 once more to the point of reopening the question for further discussion
 The result of this further discussion
 IS everyone knows, was a reduction
 n rates in the mercantile district
 len per cent, and from twenty-five
 0 forty per cent. in the residential sections, and this at a time when
 there was a ten per cent raise most
 everywhere else in America. The
 reduction in the business district
 consequently is equivalent to one of
 twenty per cent. This means that
 practically five dollars on every
 housand dollars worth of insurance
 written in the mercantile district is
 actually saved to the town. and if 1t had not been for the work of our
 Agents, our splendid Fire Department and the City Council for making i'm provements agitated by them, we
 should no doubt have been raised with the balance of the country on which basis our present saving is doubled, leaving just that much more money remaining in Juneau. The moral is-support the Volunteer Fire Department place all your insurance with local agents and back up the Council in progressive legislation.