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Show I j, ; II 1 ! State Fire Insurance hJj. The Urut. sBH lit ! y Agont. H 1 I As must inevitably have followed, the excite- Rj I ment occasioned by the change in fire rates in S 1 Salt Lake has somewhat abated, and this goes to 8 1 i prove that there is no vital principle involved in Hl jLj I the indignant protest, or that the principle did H ff! not amount to a great deal after all. It may be Hi ml questioned if any really sensible aspect of the Hi m proposition has yet been presented even by Mr. Hi m Parkhurst, who seems to have been the head and HI I IS.1 1 front of the insurance offending. HHH I'j f Leaving aside all political aspects of the case, 14;' no one can seriously deny that the fire depart- ','. ' ment of Salt Lake is almost as hopelessly useless tj,' to combat a conflagration as the water supply is I insufficient to overcome it, but when it is remem- $ I bered that members of the City Council of Salt ri Lake seem more determined on running beer fl1 j garden seances rather than conducting a conven- j:i tion to promote the city's welfare, it need occa- , sion little surprise that the Chief of the Fire de- ji 1 partment, aided and abetted by the firemen, should Jr. i also be more interested in politics than in prepar- I i ing to combat fires. From beginning to end the I J whole array is personally selfish, each for himself , and the fireflend for the hindermost. Until the vi ' - introduction of the new fire rates no man buying (I J fire insurance and no local agent selling the same , could give any reason whatever for the rates that ':' ' obtained. Rates were the result of influence, ca- $j joling volume of business and pull with ciie board a b v representative in this city. The Z. C. M. I., for rea- i f sons that are beyond the power of human intel- sg f lect to fathom, gave all its fire insurance to one Je f of the twelve apostles who had formed a com- Q I ' pany in which leaamg members of the church and q I the heaviest Z. C. M. I. stockholders were inter- 'i1 jjj r ested. Indirectly, therefore, these received a com B yi t mission on the business placed by Z. C. M. I., as Hi' r well as on that placed by the members of the J & i apostle's company individually. Naturally fire H i ? '1 ' insurance companies seeking this business would H j t do all they could to satisfy their customers, and B I yV wherever a lower rating could be procured by the B J f i , apostle's agency, backed by the companies through B whom he placed his business it was done, and to B i i I the devil with all other insurers. The same rule B J rj applies to many other firms. Each agency was B 1 ' doing all it could by direction, indirection and B i j3 l cajolery to show its clients that a better rate was B fj 4 ; I being obtained, and the beneficiary feeling that he B I & j was getting just a little better than others, either B f a, j by a lower rate, or by a division of the commis- B i !lj J sion, rejoiced within himself and acted much on B J fj, I the principle of the fellow who brutally said: "T'ell H f i with the other fellers." B! I ff The upshot has been a series of ratings, as al- Bj ,i kt ready stated, that were neither explicable nor de- B I ,j fenslble from any save a purely personal and es- B' r J' : pecially selfish point of view. Another detestable Bh JH 1 phase has been the growing tolerance of insuffl- HINj $ I cient fire protection and a political as against a H J $ business fire department. Every prominent in- Hf' t ? surer has been afraid to make a protest lest Hit W nis personal rate should suffer an increase, and ! the inevitable result has followed. The indiffer- ' enco of leading property owners to a proper safe- f jg guarding of the city against fires has brought its B2 w own reward a rerating has been made and the H ' f s selfish creed have been lifted to their feet by an BLj $ increase in rates that was as certain to follow as B Si il, the night the day so long as conditions continued H-' m as prevailed prior to the recent change. This much can be said for the new schedule, each insurer can tell why his rate is what it is and he can tell how to secure a decrease therein by individual effort. It goes further it puft the whole community on an equal footing and says: "If you all do certain things, viz.: increase your permanent water supply, modernize your fire department de-partment and eliminate political pot-hunters a wholesale reduction in rates will follow." Such a course forces a community of interest toward a given end, as against the selfish and personal bickerings and seeking individual advantages which prevailed before. Moreover, any individual can obtain a minimum rate under the generally obtaining conditions by complying with requirements require-ments that are made plain to him. Jones can tell at a glance why his rate is higher than Smith's, and he can also tell what must be done by him to secure as favorable a rate as Smith has been given. "While above and beyond all stands the definite assurance that a more stable water pressure pres-sure and a better equipped and more efficient fire department will bring about a cut clean across the whole board. In view of the fact that the effect of the increased in-creased rates will be to bring about a unification as contrasted with the former diversification of interests it will prove a blessing to insurers in the business district, however bitterly certain Interests Inter-ests may oppose it at the present time. "Whether insurance in-surance companies get higher premiums or insurers in-surers suffer a larger percentage of loss because of fires, the resultant injury to the property owner is the same. He is now brought face to face with the fact that he not only pays higher insurance rates, but he pays to support a fire department which does not give him value received and that his insurance rates, or his fire losses must continue con-tinue to increase with the growth of the city, unless un-less there be a corresponding increase in the city's water supply and in the effectiveness of its fire department (not politically, but as a fire-fighting body). He will also understand that by increasing increas-ing the water supply and the effectiveness of the fire department he will decrease the premiums he has to pay. The day of the personal pull has past. All honest hon-est insurers should rejoice, for in the long run there is not one that will not be better in favor of some other "jio, not one." Now the remedy. Each insurer must take his own risk or pay the price that's the alternative or the State can go into the insurance business and take the risk for all. Now, in the insurance business. State insurance insur-ance could take all the butter and some of the bread from my family, and yet I declare that the State can carry the risk for 25 to 40 per cent less than is now being done and make money out of it. If the gentlemen who are now howling at an insurance trust and exhorbltant rates for Salt Lake are in earnest let them support this plan. But I am prepared to wager all comers to a standstill stand-still that they will oppose this remedy even more vigorously than they are now opposing the increase in-crease in their rates. And why? Because they are not looking for the general welfare any more in insurance than in other particulars. par-ticulars. Each one is seeking to have the same advantage over his fellows that he thought he had hitherto under the old system dZ Insurance rates. |