The daily banner., 1919-07-23
GET OUT The RUBBISH
THAT CAUSES FIRE
Cleanup Committee of The Under
writers Association Visiting Eas-
ton This Week-Cambridge Prob
ably Next Week.

aDly Next week.
1t is an unfortunate fact tha
many persons who get angry on ac
count of increased fire insuranc,
rates are largely responsible them
selves for the increases. A glanc
| around the rear of many business
premises indicates a supreme con
| tempt for town ordinances and insur
ance regulations. The contempt fo
town ordinances may be due to thu
fact that they are not enforced, be
ing, apparently, like so many "wooC
soldiers" made to scare, not to use
But the insurance regulations are
entirely different; they are made to
use and not to scare. If Mr.. Busi-
ness Man wants to let scrap paper,
excelsior, old goods boxes and rub
bish of all kinds accumulate in the
rear of his property, he is going to
pay for it, and pay dearly, even tho
he may never have fire.
When the inspector of the Under
writer's Association ocmes around
and inspects the property, known or
unknown to the insured, ne looks
most particularly in the rear of the
building, and if he finds the condi-
tions described above, he simply re-
ports the fact and the rate is made
to cover the increased risk resulting
from such carelessness.
Now what happens further, most
people allow such rubbish to accumu-
late because they are too stfngy to
pay for hauling it out frequently;
they want a load-a big load, too;
but while they pay the hauler only
once in a while to haul the trash
away, they are paying the Insurance
Co mpanies for its being there all
the time, every day, every week, ev-
cry month, every year Of their lives,
and why should they not? The COM
pany is taking the risk every day,
week, month and year.
If the public would realize that it
is false economy to let such things
if it would only realize
that it is increasing it's insurance,
both on the buildings and On stocks
Of goods, that it is increasing the
cost of everyone eIse's insurance, out
side and in, then, perhaps, greater
caution would be used.
There is an opportunity to get fire
insurance rates decreased in Cam
bridge; these rates should be de-
because they are entirely
too high and are much higher than
The rates that prevail in other places
Of the same size, or smaller, than
Cambridge; but-and remember the
butt can only be done by clean
ing up and keeping clean tne yards
III the rear of the stores and busi- |
ness piacss. Spasmodic celaning may
oo Httie Sod: it, undoubtedly,
does do some, hut ~. does-not lower
rates; to see~re these low-l
er rates the premises must>Aa kent
clean, inside and out.
Then there is one more phaxe tof
this matter; one careless, improper-l
ly kept place in a block affects the
rate of the whole block. Rememberl
the insurance lnspectoc aoes not
alone inspect the interior and rear
of one piece of property. but all of !
the property. Why? Because the
insurance policy does not alone pro-l
tect in the event of the fire starting
on the premises insured; it protects
against fire no matter where start
ing, consequently, if there is one
dangerous risk in the block, it en-
dangers all of the property in thai
block, and in making the rate that
fact has to be borne in mind.
No reasonable person will object
to cleaning up and keeping cleaned
up; no one who realizes that he isl
paying and paying dearly for keeping
rubbish in the rear of his property
will want to do so and, if he is a rea-
sonable person he will not mind bel
ing told of the rubbish that has aci
cumulated; if he is not reasonable
what difference does it make, any1
way?
Cleanup, keep clean, look progress
siye, feel progressive, and be pro-
gressiye; work together, co-operatei
help each other, and the results wilII
be surprising.