The Natchitoches enterprise., 1920-06-24
;. Il ol. JTGC.IO.i
To tie Editor:

home town." | had occasion to discus
Fire Insurance rates there, rs com
pared to other towns of like size an
conditions. In the course of the dis
cussion, l asked if Natchitoches, lik
DeRidder, was receiving portion O
the Fire Insurance premiums pal
within its corporate limits for the pur
pose of increasing the efficiency of it
Fire Department. and without excer
ton, no ore seemed to have heard o
such an arrangement and wondered i
it were possible.
The foregoing paragraph j
from letter in The Times of tn,
18th of June 1920, from our, ant
my, esteemed friend, Mr.. Iohr
ii. keyser.
Now, | do not know with whom
John discussed" this subject, bu
l do know, had he gone to the
proper source, to those whose
duty 1t was to know, or to the
public records, as the true and
earnest Investigator would have
done before making this pre-.
nouncement, he would have found
that this city, like DeRidder, .
was receiving and had received
its portion of the Fire Insurance
Premium. paid within its corpo.
rate limits.' as provided by law.
IT'S true. the city authorities
were tardy in receiving it's por.
ton" 1t was in the State Treas
ury in 1915, and it fell to Mr.. p.
V. B. Prudhomme, as City Clerk,
IN l918-l9, to find it there while
ON a visit to Baton Rouge, and
took the necessary action to secure
IL. and did, on March 18th. 1918.
COLLECT and deposit it with the City
Treasury. $789 OF, to the credit of
the Fire Apparatus Fund" as
provided by law. Again, on May
5th; 1920, $42O.83 was ''rcceivel"
lrd deposited with tn. City Treas
lreE l am informed that State
Treasurer. Hunsucker. did several
;imes during 19l7-19lS,, advise the
,ity officials that this money was
n the State Treasury and urged
hat they qualify" and receive
t, and no attention was given to
,hese requests.
IT mistake not, Mr.. Keyser
vas City Clerk during 1917'1S,
night have known of this Iaw-I
night say should have known of
and seen to its enforcement.
1t is one of the troubles in gov.
rnment, too many of the officials
10 not know the laws, or conven-
emily overlook them, or wilfully
nd wontingly fail to enforce them.
q olden times every community
ad its public scold," who kept
he community straight and public
ficers up to the rack. that they
vould earn their feed and fod-
err" II would be well if there
7ere in each community an Off
ial parsonage whose duty it would
e to keep tab" on the Iatches
nd derelictions of public affairs
nd report them. 10 my idea the
ress would be the most effective
,edium, as publicity is the most
tfective remedy for wrong. doing,
exercised without fear or favor,
cling the whole truth, with fair
ess and justice to ali, in the Dem.
cratic princlple-''the greatest
ood to the greatest number"
Rut l have digressc1.
The quotation of the law, us |
oughly substance Of the act" AMI
,ay be misleading; he act pro-
.des that cities, towns and
iIlages, etc. shall receive one
er cent of the premiums paid cn
,surance of property within the
sdlus of the fire protecting
luipment,'' or as defined, within
DO feet of fire hydrant, and not
thin its corporate limits"
Whether this city, DeRidder
nd other cities and towns are re-
Giving the FULL amount due theu
do not know, l have never made
lvestigation or checking; l can
,e under the provisions of the
W how it might not be so, by
le companies not paying on ALL
le premiums on ALL the prop
'ty insured within the fire pro-
cted radius; I have made the
paratiOn for my comDanies for
veral years.
As to the rates, | challenge that
our rates" are as low or lower
AN any city in the State Of the
INC Glass;" despite our fire.
citing deficiencies, so accorded /,
] because of our ''lligll moral
cord" while other towns are pen
lied 0nc-quarter. .of-ope per cent, ,
$3.50 on each $1,000 Of insur- ,
ICE, because of bad record.'
Our fire record is known and
ecorded as the best in the State,
pelousas,' an 'old town" like !,
lrs being the only other in the /
me class, and ranking with the |
st in the whole country.
Unfortunately, under the under
.iting system, cities and towns t
d individual risks" are "ratedn
cording to classes" instead Of q
their individual conditions and {
lividual merits. / have been :
hting this system for twenty q
ars and am still fighting it. ~
In addition to the ''onc-per- /
A