Evening star., 1944-03-23
DC. Surety Bill
Reported Out
By yHouseU
Committee Holds Up
McCorron Measure
Passed by Senote
BY DON S. WARREN.

BY unanimous vote, the House
District Committee today reported
favorably the modified version OF
the bill of Representative Ander-
son. Democrat, of New Mexico tc
give the District superintendent OF
insurance power to regulate fire in
surance rates on District risks when
he finds the rates over a f1ve-year
period have been unreasonable.
The committee also had before
it the McCarran bill, passed late
yesterday by the Senate, which has
the same purpose, but which has
a number of different provisions,
notably one that rate adjustments
shall turn on the question of
whether the profits resulting from
nre insurance here are excessive
adequate or unreasonable.
If the House approves the bill a,
reported by its District Committee
and If the Senate should insist on its
version, the differences would have
to be ironed out in conference.
Fire Pay Bill Approved.
The House District Committee to-
day also approved the bill reported
favorably by its Police and Fire Sub
committee, headed by Representa-
tive Mcmillan, Democrat, of South
Carolina, to raise the pay of certain
officers of the Fire Department to
the level of comparable officers of
the Police Department. Fire cap
tains, the assistant superintendent
OF machinery and the deputy fire
marshal would receive a 5000 pay
raise, to $500 a year; lieutenants
up $2l0 to $3,050 a year and SER
geants up $3.50 to $2,75O a year.
The committee also approved a
bill to permit the District to ad-
vertise bv brief notice instead of
publication of the text of proposed
District Minimum Wage Board reg
ulations regarding industrial safety
provisions in affected District busi-
ness and industrial establishments.
Corporation Counsel Richmond B.
keech explained there was a short
age of newsprint and that it would
save the District government thou
sands of dollars if the change were
approved. He said affected en-
ployers would be given adequate
notice Of proposed rules. Some of
the proposed regulations, he en-
phasized, are of great length.
When asked if there was anv pro-
posal to conserve paper by limiting
the size of the Congressional Record
Mr.. Keech suggested that was a sub
Ject beyond his province.
Sees Terrible Situation"
During consideration of the fire
insurance bill, Mr.. Anderson. an in
surance man. said he thought the su-
per1ntendent of insurance would be
In terrible situation" if he had to
consider fire insurance rate changes
on the basis of what he thought was
reasonable or unreasonable profits.
as provided in the Senate bill.
He urged action on the ground
that the experience in the District
over recent period of years shows
hat the loss ratio on fire insurance
has been only about 30 per cent.
whereas the national average is
more than A per cent. He has
rates here are entirely
too high" and that, therefore, some
IL 900 900 year too much is being
collected in fire insurance pre-
NUNS
Frank S. Dickson, representing
the National Board of Fire Under
writer's, and former member of
Congress. said his group was not op-
posing the Anderson bill and that
Unless the committee would allow
more time for study of changes
written into the Senate bill yester-
lay, he would prefer adoption by
he House committee of the modi-
fed Anderson bill.