THE CINCINNATI TIMES-STAR
December 6, 1904

NEWS.
scans from newspaper collection of
Ruth Adams-Battle

Transcribed by Dorothy Wiland

WANTS A TAX ON INSURANCE
Board of Public Safety Member suggest Retaliation -
Bitter Condemnation of Recetn Report.

The recent criticism of Cincinnati’s fire conditions and her fire and police departments, made by experts employed by the fire insurance companies, had another round at the meeting of the Broad of Public Safety Monday, Vice President Max Burgheim was probably the severest in his remarks, although Mr. Cushing and Mr. Faran did not spare their denunciation.  The discussion followed the reports of the two chiefs-Millikin of the police and Archibald of the fireman, regarding the strictures (sic) of the insurance people.  Vice President Burgheim said: “They want to milk the cow more than they have.  They may have lost money last year, and may this year, but the figures for the ten years back will show they took out five dollars for every dollar they paid in because of losses.  We ought to resent publicly the charges made in the report.  It is high time for the city to regulate foreign insurance companies, instead of letting them try to regulate the city.  I am in favor of a tax of from $500 to $1,000 against them.  If they don’t want to do business here, let them get out.  Cincinnati business men are strong enough to form their own insurance company.  I think it can be done and know that some people are at work on it now.

Mr. Cushing said if anyone could find out who is responsible for the report and who ought to be answered he might answer the report.  “But to answer under the conditions might mean simply to et into an argument with some blatherskite who should be ignored.” He said.

Then pulling out a mass of newspaper clippings, he showed them to the board, saying: “Recently they have raised the rates 25 per cent in Pittsburg, (sic) Chicago and Jersey City.  Now they probably want to raise them here.  They condemn conditions in the city in which they happen to be, then go to another city, praise the conditions of the city they just left and condemn them in the city they are in at the time.  They will probably go to some other city and praise Cincinnati’s condition while finding fault with the town they are in.”

It was finally decided to refer the entire affair to President Faran.





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