Small fires being by far the more common, and, it may be added, by far the more expense to the companies, rates can be made with more fairness on the basis of co-insurance than without it. The use of the co-insurance or average clause was made obligatory in Great Britain on floating policies in 1828 (see Walford's Cyclopedia), but the clause adopted was a long one. It can be found on pages 332-3, Vol. 1. COLONIAL ASSURANCE COMPANY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, New York. Organized 1896; capital, $200,000. Leo H. Wise, president; E. E. Hall, vice-president; E. S. Powell, Jr., secretary, 80 Maiden Lane. COLUMBIA INSURANCE COMPANY, Dayton, Ohio. Organized 1881; capital, $150,000. O. I. Gunckel, president; Herman Rice, secretary. COLUMBIA INSURANCE COMPANY, Jersey City, N. J. Organized 1901, transacts automobile, marine and inland insurance; capital, $400,000. Geo. F. Crane, president; H. K. Fowler, vicepresident and treasurer; F. H. Cauty, secretary. COLUMBIAN INSURANCE COMPANY OF INDIANA, Indianapolis, Ind. Organized 1911; capital, $215,096. George E. Feeney, president; Matthew F. Gartland, M. F. Gill and Jacob Buennagel, vice-presidents; Edward T. Lyons, secretary and treasurer: Charles Borcourt, superintendent of agencies. COLUMBIAN NATIONAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, Detroit, Mich. Organized 1911, began business 1913; capital, paid up, $976,675. T. A. Lawler, president; Herbert P. Orr, secretary. COMMERCE INSURANCE COMPANY, Albany, N. Y. Chartered 1859; capital, $200,000. E. Darwin Jenison, president; Frank Van Benthuysen, vice-president; A. J. Hinman, secretary; C. R. Whitehead, assistant secretary. COMMERCIAL UNION ASSURANCE COMPANY was organized in London in 1861, and came into the United States through the Golden Gate, establishing an agency in San Francisco in 1870. It was admitted to New York, and began a general business throughout the country, in 1871, under the management of Alliger Brothers. At the close of 1871 its assets in the United States were $346,037. In 1877 Alfred Pell was appointed to the United States management. In 1878 Charles Sewall became associated with him, and in November, 1885, Mr. Sewall became manager in name, and so continued until his death in December, 1898. He was succeeded by Alexander H. Wray in February, 1899. The Commercial Union closed the year 1918 with United States assets of $12,444,647.65, surplus of $3,211,026.84, and a premium income of $9,271,132.67. Charles J. Holman, then resident secreany of the northwestern department at Denver, was appointed assisttart manager in 1899, and Wm. M. Ballard was appointed branch secretary in January, 1901. Charles J. Holman now is the manager of the Pacific Coast branch. In 1913 Clarence E. Porter was also appointed assistant manager. COMMERCIAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, New York city. Organized 1890; capital, $200,000. A. H. Wray, president; C. J. Holman, vice-president and secretary; Clarence E. Porter, vice-president; Wm. M. Ballard, assistant secretary, 55 John Street. COMMISSIONERS AND SUPERINTENDENTS OF INSURANCE, LIST OF. [See Insurance Departments, fire section, and also National Insurance Commissioners' Convention, life section.] COMMONWEALTH FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF TEXAS, Dallas, Texas. Organized 1903; capital, $250,000. The company was merged in the Republic Fire Insurance Company of Texas, in 1919. COMMONWEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY, New York City. 76 William Street, Organized 1886; capital, $500,000; Cecil F. Shallcross, president; W. P. Young, C. R. Perkins, W. S. Alley, E. G. Cairns, C. E. Case, vice-presidents; R. P. Barbour, Secretary. COMPACTS OF FIRE UNDERWRITERS, STATE LAWS AGAINST. [See Anti-Compact Laws.] i COMPANIES ORGANIZED OR PROJECTED IN 1918. The following mutual fire and reciprocal insurance associations were organized or projected in 1918: American Motor, Janesville, Wis. Association Mutual Fire, Chicago, organized to write fire insurance on Y. M. C. A. properties. Calvert Mutual, of Baltimore writing fire, tornado, hail, burglary and theft. Citizens Mutual Fire, Richmond, Ind. First American Reinsurance Company of New York. General Limited Mutual Fire, Madison, Wis. Implement and Hardware Mutual Fire, Sioux Falls, S. D. Indiana Liberty Mutual, Indianapolis, Ind. Lake Superior Iron Ore Underwriters, Marquette, Mich. Manufacturers Indemnity Exchange, San Francisco, Cal. Metropolis Ltd. Mutual, Milwaukee, Wis. New Cyclone Fire, Rhinelander, Wis. Producers and Refiners Underwriters, Kansas City, Mo.; fire insurance on oil properties only. Racine Mutual Fire, Racine, Wis. Threshermen's National, Fond du Lac, Wis. Union Indemnity Exchange, San Francisco, Cal. United Automobile Mutual, Milwaukee, Wis. Wichita Great Western Underwriters, Wichita Falls, Tex. Companies from foreign countries, either direct writing or reinsurance companies, entered the United States 1918: British Traders, Ltd., for surplus lines. China Fire of Canton, for surplus lines. Christiana General, of Norway, for fire insurance business. New Zealand Ins. Co., Ltd., for fire and marine business. Norwegian Alliance, for fire and marine business. Norwegian Atlas, Christiana, Norway; deposit capital, $1,000,000. Norwegian Sea and Transport, for marine business. Prudentia Re- and Co-Insurance Co., Zurich, Switzerland, for fire reinsurance business. Scandinavian American Assurance, Christiana, Norway, for fire business. Scotch Metropolitan Assurance, for marine business. Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance. Union Hispano-Americana de Seguros. Union Insurance Society of Canton, China, licensed for fire insurance; has been writing marine. United British, London, England, for fire and marine business, $1,000,000 deposit capital. CONCORDIA FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY of Milwaukee, Wis. Organized 1870; capital, $750,000. Gustav Wollaeger, Jr., president; Wm. A. Starke, vice-president; Geo. P. Mayer, vice-president; Frank Damkoehler, secretary; Wm. E. Wollaeger, assistant secretary; Herm. Ambos, A. C. Meeker, Robert H. Moore, Agency superintendent. CONCORD Concord, N. H. MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, Organized 1885. George M. Kimball, M.D., president and treasurer; Louis C. Merrill, secretary. CONFLAGRATIONS. The available records of fires in the United States do not indicate clearly what are to be classed as conflagrations and what are not, and give simply a list of "large fires," or fires involving an aggregate loss above a certain amount. Obviously the amount of loss does not make a conflagration, though that is the easiest and more common factor for classification, but there have been many conflagrations in the United States which are not included even in the records of large fires; that is, if the definition of a conflagration -"a fire extending to many objects, or over a large space; a general burning," is to be accepted. It is hardly possible to make a separate list of fires falling within the above definition of a conflagration, and information regarding large fires probably is all that is, or may be, desired. The following list of fires, which involved an estimated loss of two million dollars, or over, occurring in the United States since 1870, includes the more important and great, but, not all, conflagrations, and is merely a list of large fires" occurring in the United States in that period. 1892 -Milwaukee, Wis., October 28, $4.500,000. 1893 1893 1894 1897 1901 1902 1904 1904 Boston, Mass. March 10, $3,000,000. Newport News, Va., $2,000,000. Chicago, Ill., $2,000,000. Brooklyn, N. Y., $2,000,000. 1908 1911 1911 1912 1912 1913 1914 1915 1915 1916 1916 1916 1916 Paris, Tex., March 21, $7,000,000. Augusta, Ga., $2,500,000. Black Tom Island, N. J. (explosion) $13,000,000. Jersey City, N. J., March. $2,000,000. Kansas City, Mo., April, $2,500,000. St. Louis, Mo., June. $3,000,000. Noxen. Pa., June, $3.000,000. New York, N. Y., July, (steamship), $3,000,000. Perth Amboy, N. J., October, (explosion), $25,000,000. Some of the more notable fires prior to 1870 were: 1820-Savannah, Ga., June 10, loss, $4,000,000; 1835 New York, N. Y., December 16, loss, $15,000,000; 1838 - Charlestown, Mass., loss, $6,000,000; 1843 - New York, N. Y., loss, $6,000,000; 1845 - New York, N. Y., loss, $6,000,000; 1850- San Francisco, Cal., loss $8,000,000; 1851San Francisco, Cal., (two fires), loss, respectively, $25,000,000 and $6,000,000; 1852 Sacramento, Cal., loss, $5,000,000; 1861 Charleston, S. C., December 12, loss, $10,000,000; 1864 - Wilming ton, N. C., loss, $5,000,000; 1865 New York, N. Y., loss, $4,000,000; 1866 Portland, Me., July 4, loss, $10,000,000. CONNECTICUT FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, THE, Hartford, Conn., was organized and began business in 1850. Capital, $1,000,000. Edward Milligan, president; W. T. Howe, Geo. M. Lovejoy, vice-presidents; John A. Cosmus, Fred W. Bowers, Geo. C. Long., Jr., secretaries; Henry P. Whitman, F. Minot Blake, E. V. Chaplin, assistant secretaries. CONNECTICUT STATE ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL INSURANCE AGENTS. A meeting of Connecticut agents was held July 12, 1899, in West Haven, and an association organized with John C. North of New Haven, president, and J. N. Phelan, Bridgeport, secretary. At the annual meeting held in November, 1918, officers were elected as follows: President, James L. Case, Norwich; vice |