The Coconino sun., 1921-07-15
FIRE INSURANCE 'HITs THE TRAIL"


 Speaking on the subject, the Literary Digest says: "The SaWduSt trail of reform has been sought by more than one industry attempting to ward off popular wrath to come and escape severe legislative restrictions. And now the fire-insurance business, like the life-insurance business before it, like the railroads and some of the great corporations, finds certain profitable trade practices, hallowed by usage, denounced as sinful by an investigator, and condemned by ed itorial opinion. The stock fire-insurance compan- ies doing business in New York are making "be- lated surrender" are cleaning house," are following the example of Davy Crockett's coon and coming down." as various press writers phrase it, when they agree with the legislatures s committee which has been exposing the build ing graft in New York to eliminate fire practices which the committees counsel considers unethic- al and monopolistic. Such spokesman of insur- ance as the New York Weekly Underwater makes the best of the situation by observing that "usages often grow up in any business that seem justifiable to their authors and persist un- til the other fellows side appears. It is credit to the business to find the companies so prompt to meet and follow constructive criticism.
 "Extortion," robbery" criminal conspiracy" are some of the terms used to describe the meth ods the stock fre-insurance companies have been using to keep outsiders out of the New York field and to increase the profits of their stock holders"
 Since the Literary Digest speaks so strongly on the subject, covering conditions back east, the west can speak with double interest, for 1t IS 100 per cent worse off.
 Board Rates" can be technically defined as rates which the insurance combination has felt could be put over and collected from the public or all the traffic would bear; special interests should be taken care of, but the little fellow wouldn't have enough influence to make any trouble.
 Flagstaff has paid hundreds of thousands out on this basis for fire insurance and the amount of loss in Flagstaff in the last twenty years would not amount to one-half of one per cent of what the fire insurance companies have gouged the people for. The last legislature called the insurance companies onto the carpet, but some one slipped, somewhere, and with all the evi- dence at hand failed to make them come through with reasonable rates of insurance.
 The rate book which shows what the Board Companies" have "evied" on the different prop critics in Flagstaff is enough to make dog laugh. With the present fire protection, the people of Flagstaff could better afford to take their own risks rather than repay for the property every few years. A mutual concern in Flagstaff could make 100 per cent on their money by protecting as could many other towns in the state, and, pay when a man lost by reason of fire instead of waiting until all the law of the land and several experts investigated and made reports.
 Fire insurance is right sort of thing, but not when the people have to pay for the manipu- lations of the overhead, and when the surplus profits have to be surplussed a couple of times before they reach the pockets of the manipu- lators.
 We would like some expert to read the records for Flagstaff and have him report the facts to the state corporation commission, just for thelr edifcation not for any action, of course