46 UNITED STATES - INSURANCE AND THRIFT 



precautions and inspection. One mutual fire insurance company in Illinois 

 classified the causes of the fires for which it paid indemnities as follows : 



Railway engine .... i Bonfires 3 



Furnace i Children playing with matches 5 



Spontaneous combustion i vSparks on roof 12 



Deliberate incendiarism . 2 Kerosene and gasoline ... 12 



Farm engine 2 Defective flues 23 



Smoking 2 Unknown 24 



Tramps 2 lyightning 100 



Parlour match .... 3 



Thus in this particular case 16 per cent, of the fires had unknown causes. 

 The necessity of ascertaining the causes of fires in order to take the needed 

 preventive measures is evident. 



The government of Illinois has not neglected fire prevention but 

 formed in igii the Fire Marshal's Department which is divided into three 

 sections. The section of publicity and education conducts public meetings 

 at which the question of fire prevention is discussed and the people instruc- 

 ted as to their personal responsibilit3^ The section of investigation inves- 

 tigates the causes of fires which appear suspicious in order that prosecutions 

 for fraud and arson may be conducted. The section of inspection educates 

 the people to protect their property. In June 1914 more fires caused by 

 lightning were reported to the department than ever before in one month, 

 namely 120 fires which caused a total loss of § 202,637. -^^ the same month 

 the total number of fires reported was 975 and they caused a total loss of 

 $ 957,014. Thus lightning was responsible for 12 per cent, of the fires and 

 21 per cent, of the loss. The great majority of the fires occurred in rural 

 districts and the bulk of the losses was borne bj^ the farmers. 



The co-operation of the mutual companies would be most valuable, 

 and since the interests of farmers are directly at stake it may be hoped that 

 the campaign undertaken in its favour will meet with good results. 



The experience of commercial companies has convinced the farmers' 

 mutual fire insurance companies of the need for a standard fire insurance 

 policy. Mr. E. W. Monnier spoke at the meeting on this subject as follows : 

 " We have in the State of Illinois 220 mutual fire insurance companies and 

 12 mutual windstorm companies and perhaps as many forms of policy and 

 different by-laws. That such conditions exist and that mutual insurance 

 companies are successful iinder such conditions can onh^ be accounted for 

 from the fact that mutual insurance conducted under most an^^ condition 

 cannot fail to save money when we compare the actual rate of loss in the 

 State with the rate charged by old line companies, the actual rate charged by 

 old line companies being almost or quite double the actual cost of insurance. 

 Conservatively speaking 40 per cent, is saved by the members of mutual 

 companies as compared with the cost of purchasing old line insurance. 

 Can we not do even better than this ? To me it seems an easy matter to 

 increase the saving from 40 per cent, to at least 60 per cent, but I do not 



