INSURANCE FRAUDS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 12, 8 February 1909, Page 4

INSURANCE FRAUDS.

§?;; FIRE-RAISING AND CRIME. IS; , HIDING TRAGEDIES Df THE f FLAMES. Attempts to defraud fire insurance Are of everyday occurrence kftsays the Glasgow Mail), and it is surr» ijiow often they are successful, b (Che unscrupulous man whose business [J'bas reached, the stage at which it .>s e the nk or swim looks upon the in|<Burance company as fair game, and deh ltenmnea to make them supply the St {wherewithal to gite him a new start. then fire is so safe when plazs have Kireen properly laid. It is no easy matter jy to detect the: cause of a fire when the |»6ite of the building has been reduced to pit chaos ,of pvortwowii masonry and IjCharred timber. Many a time the comhave to disburse substantial sums piwheu they are quite convinced that the u'usured himself laid the foundation of S thc disastrous fire which, be asserts, has femined his business. Bitter is the rogue's as to the loss of trade which will v (surety follow, and the impossibility of p lever recovering it. But ho smiles inISnvardlv as he thinks of the thousands in j£i:eadv cash which the "disaster" has at his disposal. Occasionally, of foeourse. these, "slim" gentlemen ovorjsreaeh themselves. To mention one case. certain auctioneer found himself in sj a .tight corner financially. A sum of t'lmoney was urgently reouired, and he »6aw only one means of getting it—by ./having a fire. He had no hope sf this f desirable event occurring accidentally, apmnd he decided-to bring about the.accident lumsclf. There were a large num*J>er of. pieces of woollen cloth in the iiprcnuscs built up on parallel counters a £jfts\v feet, apart. He unrolled a aumber ssiof the top pieces on each counter, and gfendged the narrow passage with the jßbtuff, making a sort of tunnel. In the g%oollen roof of this tunnel he inserted lb large number of tapers, set fire to Sthem, and made a 'hurried departure. »Rut the result fell sadly short of his

Ij&pectations, Woollen goods don't go gSip in a blaze when fire is applied to Ijitjem, and.in/ this particular instance pthe tapers merely burned themselves |Dtat, and at the same time burned holes Sin; the wool. There was plenty of ptaoke, however, and the fire brigade gjjfnrned out .(til right. Of course, no serijfious damage was done to the premises, lisrod the man got five years' penal servipfudfl for his attempt to mahe a grand gepup at the expense of the insurance &J»raipanv. Another failure stands to credit of a picture-frame maker, jpfrom a "blaring, fire in a grate.be took Jjthree shovelful? of glowing embers and Ipjjpread tjiem out in three distinct places gjttp. the wooden floor of his workshop. then discreetly retired. But the fire Tttfgnde came. ra the scene in time to any serious damage, and the jfliilusc of tlie fire was speedily discovered. EpTCile picture-framer is spending a few raeors In prison. J These two caseij are examples of how gthp lire fraud is worked on what might I tiled the grand scale. There is anrpliase of the insurance business li gives"scope for sharp practice at iSpehse of the companies, although ! is no suspicion of wilful fire raisSay a building is insured for )0. A fire occurs which results in total' destruction of the premise's, ediately a claim {or £2OOO is made, the company pay? 'No. This 5s e the law of averages comqs in. It t be that the premises and contents worth £2OOO, but it can't be ti that this is the case. The in•s are nnable to atate the exact !. and the result is that the amou-.it by the insurance company is based ie average value of the building an<l Contents, and not on the highest estimate. In the ease of premises partly destroyed the salvage corps gives inKraloable assistance to the insurance i&mpames. pThe hiding of a blood' crime by fire is nothing new in our police annals, and £eeminglv resource is still had to this tqqaps of obliterating the traces of a tragedy. Look at what happened recently. The Chief Constable of the West JUditlg of Yorkshire obtained in the Ifligh Court the potfer to hold another toquest on the body of a farmer's daughter whose charred'body was found in a jforned-ont pig-sty. The first verdict on {he day the body was found was "Found gnrned to death," but it is alleged that Hie suspicions of foul play are sufficient Isjprovo that tlie fire was arson to itlempt to hide a diabolical crime. But lOthing in recent years has so stirr°d mb I world as the Laporte murders. Mr?, jjpelte Guinness and her three children pKerft found burned in their American feme, and sinister whispers swelled into Kloud-voiced chorus. Hot farm was inSg&led bv the police. Strange agriculSftrists these, and stranger the crop they jtTelved from the ground. Body after |m<ly "was exhumed, until the tale jirew Son the nerves. Those even who have Sead onlv the merest fringe of the gruesome details shiver at the thought of Sjps Guinness ogress inveigling man after Kan to her farm in Laporte. from they returned no more. To-dnv %girian named Ray Lampere, a friend *nnd_confederate, is on trial for the mtirgsr of Mrs. Guinness and her children. She fire In which they were consumed may have been intended to kill all eviKsncea of the atrocious series of murgS whicli, in the most marvellous way, Spie.to light in the glare of the liurn|fci farmhouse. These two cases given Ktf at-present before the courts, but at Hgfe-rt can be said that, before the an■finKies would go so far, they arc wgStt -of a deep anil sinister connection ilea betwe n fire and murder.