The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-08-10
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1921
ABOUT STYLES AND LIGHTNING
RODS.

year we have the peg-legged breecl
es and the next year we have tn
tight-legged pants, and this year "
have bathing suits. One year ever!
body is having his appendix take
put, next year is tonsil year, tn
next year the doctors who are
sympathy with the dentists and tn
false teeth syndicate have all you
teeth taken out, and perhaps tn
next they will compromise on havin
your toe nails kept closely trimmed
And so it is with lightning rod
One year lightning rods are in styl
and the next they are not, but al
:ording to a discussion going on tn
New York Herald, and according t
IN editorial in its Wednesdays i:
,ue, lightning rods are again
style, which will be good news to tn
lightning rod agents.
The Herald says editorially:
"All over the continent the
fire insurance companies are urg-
ing use of lightning rods to
safeguard buildings from thun-
derbolts. The National Board of
Underwriters asserts that light
ming caused fires which did
s S39,82S,4S9 damage in the five
years 1915-1919. 1t says: THE
experience of eighteen Ontario
companies shows an average ef-
T ficiency Of lightning rods over a
four year period of 97.2 per
cent and Profcssor W. II. Day
found that "a Michigan company
. had losses 1,166 times as great
on unrodded as on rodded build
ings.'
Z. y "The lightning rod acquired
great fame after Benjamin
Franklin conducted his famous
experiments, but it got a bad
name from rascals who used i as
means to swindle house own
ers. When these scoGndrels did
rod a building they did it in a
slipshod, careless way. Ere
quentiy ,hey never pretended to
fulfil their contracts but tricked
their customers into signing
notes when they thought they
were signing agreements to pro-
tect Their houses and barns.
''Now lightning rods are TO be
restored to favor if the fire in
'surance men can accomplish it,
and they should be able to do it
if anybody c.n. All over the
country, in cities, towns and
hamlets,, the fire insurance
agents are lively citizens who
know everybody and whom cv-
erybody knows. These hustlers
should be able to warn their
clients agsinst frauds, to rec
ommend reliable lightning rcd
agents and to form an inspection
force which should see to it that
good work is done for fair
prices. The copper companies
should be willing to help protect
the public too; thoroughly rod
ded America would mean the
sale of miles and miles of con-
ductors."
The suggestion that there are goo
lightning rods and poor lightnin
,ods, as we'll as a good deal to b
,aid about the way they are install
ID, originates another suggestion
which is this: If the lightning rod
will really prevent fires which Nigh
otherwise be caused by lightning
and if it is a matter Of importanc
hat good lightning rods be used, an
f there is something to be <aid abou
the manner in which they are il
stalled, and if the insurance agent
are to tell US in the future that W
must have lightning rods before the
will insure our houses, and are ais
TO tell us how these must be cor
structed and the make which mu:
be used, would it not be a good thin
'or the insurance agents to take o