EUROPEAN NOTES FOR BUSINESS PEOPLE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 3 August 1907, Page 3

EUROPEAN NOTES FOR BUSINESS PEOPLE.

(Special to "News"). INSURANCE COMPANIES AND EARTHQUAKES. London, June 20. To many people the San Francisco disaster is rapidly becoming a mere memory: this is, however, by no means the case with the European insurance companies, and it, together with Valparaiso and Jamaica earthquakes, still forms the principle topic at the annual meetings of these corporations. At the meeting of one of the largest of these--the London and Lancashire Fire Insurance Ollice— the chairman stated that the amount that they have bad to pay away in connection with the San Francisco catastrophe was C 1,750,♦ | fnhi. a larger amount than has ever I hcen paid by a British company in conniption with one conflagration. The net loss to the company was -CfI&UNK), the balance having been recovered by re-insurance ; and two other British companies have suffered even more severely, owing to their re-insurances not having been so large,

The companies concerned considered that in many cases their liability had been voided by th<> partial or entire destruction of buildings by earthquake before the lire occurred, and that the in>wred were demanding more than they were legitimately entitled to. It was realised, however, that if was impossible to obtain such evidence on this point as to convince a San Francisco jury, and, as a matter of expediency, policy holders nvrc given the benefit of the doubt. As the chairman of the company already referred to, said:—"lt will go down in history that San Francisco was not only the most costly conflagration that has ever occurred, but that it was the most conspicuous example of fair mindedness and even generosity of the British fire insurance coinpanies."' Altogether, some forty million pounds sterling have had to be paid out by insurance companies on account of the San Francisco fire, and, as a result of the earthquake wave to which our poor planet has been subjected these, last few years, the great insurance companies are carefully considering the more precise definition of liability or non-liabil-ity in connection with fires occasioned by earthquakes, and some alteration in : the policy clause is inevitable.

| T/IE BUSINESS SIDE OF AMUSEMENT. A considerable amount of money is spent in al. now cuunlrits oa amuse mcnt. but to see this side of life attain the importance of a great national industry, we have to go to an old country where there a large amount of accumulated capital and a great number of people living entirely on interest derived from investments. The country o] this description, par excellence, is France, and as one of the Government departments publishes statistic showing the annual taking* '<* h of the Paris theatres, it is easy to note the growth and development ol this branch of life. Including music halls, concert halls and variety entertainments, there are altogether in Paris, with its population of 2% millions, no less than 112 public places of entertainment. Ten years ago—in 1807—the total receipts were 30 million francs, or about t: 1.200,000. Last year, they were over 43 million francs, or £1,720.0l)l>. an increase of over 44 per cent. As. during tbe same period, tbe population of the city has increased by less than 10 per ccnf. it is clear that the amount spent on pleasure of this description is constantly growing. In 1000 the takings reached the enormous figure of 58 million francs, or i'2.320,0nn. but this was the year the great F.vhiMtion The lowest figures on record were, of course, those during the Franco-German war, the takings in 1870 and IST 1 having been 8 and 5 mil-li.-n frnu/s respectively. Tt U st'/ange, however, anil illustrative of the hold that the theatres and music halls have 0)i the people, that Paris in 1872—the year immediately following the Avar — when the fountry was reeling under burdens, financial and otherwise, that had been placed upon it. spent more money on pleasure than during the year preceding the campaign, the figures having been 10 million fraiu-s ii> 1872 ns compared with 15 millions in 1800. IDENTIFICATION IN* POST OFFICES In the United Kingdom the populace makes less use of the post offices than any other European nation. Here the P.O. box system is practically unknown, a-id it is only during recent years that it has been permissible to have letters with the superscription so familiar in the colonies. *'To be called for," addressed to any but the most important offices in the Kingdom. In Germany, however, the post ofiice takes orders for newspapers and magazines. sells timetables, collects small debts for traders, and ia by the masses of the people very much more thau is the case in Great Britain. Like their confreres in every oilier country, the German po.:t office olluia'.a have been confronted with the difficulty of satisfactorily identifying people calling for registered letters, parcels, remittances, etc., and they have adopted a most ingenious system of providing inhabitants of the country with, a ready means of identification—a system that is worth placing before the authorities in every colony. The means of identification referred to are called 'Tostausweiskarten," which consists of a card giving a short description of the appearance, a specimen signature, and a small photograph of the person named thereon, all certified by the post nflfce within whoso delivery such person resides. The card cosh only fld, and is accepted as evidence of identity from the period of one year from date.

| One of the regulations in connection | with these cards suggests humorous possibilities: it is to the effect thai if the appearance of the holder so changes as to render identification difficult, a fresh card must be taken out. This eontin geiicv is fairly obvious in the case ol a gentleman who shaves off a beard or moustache, and as regards the ladies, it suggests the likelihood of great advertisement for the proprietors of the numerous "beautifin;u" and "rejuvenators," the announcements of which fill

J-' 1 ) ,:,.7»v papers, but which are not freely allowed bv the paternal German Government. THE JERUSALEM RAILWAY. It Is like reading one of Mark Twain's skits on Biblical times to come across references in European financial journals, to railroads in Palestine and when, a few years ago, capita 1 was raised by II French company to construct a line between the lloly City and the coast, the whole scheme seemed impious to a number of old-fushiohed people. The line, which is only iifty-four miles in length, is showing improved results year by year. Last year it carried altogether 101.18 H pasengers, as against 85,015 in 1005. The increase in lirst-class passengers is due principally to the tourist iralTie.. but the increase in the secondclass passengers is a welcome sign, as (lie natives at first (lid not take kindly to this means of locomotion. A gentleman who recently travelled on this railroad told the following amusing incident that occurred during the journey. The second-class compartments being full, some European passengers. who had only taken second-class liekets. entered a first-class compartment. Tile oHicials wished to eject them, but tliey refused, and insisted on accommodation being provided them, A long altercation with the statinnmnster ensued, and that individual, tired of keeping the train waiting any longer, eventually abandoned the discussion, but gave certain orders to his myrmidons, who calmly entered the carriage, stripped it of all its rugs and cushions, hung a card denoting that It was "secondclass" on the door, and then allowed the train and passengers to proceed!