The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-10-05
To the Editor of the Press.

TO the Editor of the Press: .t
The articles ON insurance over the signature
of Commercial Street." which have recently
appeared in the columns of the Argus, are
scarcely worthy of notice from intelligent bust
ness men, and would not receive any from me,
were it not that they are calculated to mslead
and give an entirely erroneous impression as to
the objects of the National Board, and espec-
tally as to those gentlemen who appeared here
as the representative of that Board; not as rep
reseutng merely Hartford or Hartford Com
panies." The National Board, SO called, is an
organization with head quarters in Neoo York,
embracing all the leading Insurance Companies
in this country, (both American and foreign.)
The object of this Board is to establish a uni
form system of doing business throughout the
United States.
1t is so organized as to have Committee of
revision, &c., not only for New England, but
for New York, Pennsylvania, and the Middle
and Western States. The Committee sent here
were gentlemen from Hartford, Boston, Wor-
cester, Springfield and other cities in New Eng
land, whose duty it was merely to examine, adj
just and revise the rates here, so as to make
them conform to the standard in Boston,
Springfield, Worcester and elsewhere. 1t was
found that the course pursued in this city for
sometime past in "cutting down" rates was
such that it was necessary to have an entire re-
vision, and thus put stop to the ''cut throat
practices which have prevailed here, and hence
. new rating became necessary. In doing so a
thorough examination of the character and
class of property here was made The gentle
men who made such examination were gener-
ally treated courteously, and being only in the
discharge of an incumbent duty, should have
been so by ALL (but it appears there were some
few Doors found among u.s.
A similar course has been adopted and pur-
sued where necessary, throughout the country,
and is not applied to Portland alone, las the
writer in the Argus well knows.) Several of
the leading Companies doing business here, had
been contemplating withdrawal entirely from
doing business in this city, for the reason that
rates here have been altogether too low for the
character of the property, ESQ largely OF wood, }
and therefore not remunerative to the Com
panies. The stockholders of the Companies
were complaining that the business did not pay
them for the mere pleasure of doing bushes in
Portland under such a such system as pre-
vailed here, hence the Old Hartford Company,
which has been represented here 40 years or
more, and has been as successful as any one, has
withdrawn its agency and taken up their pa
pers. The Etna, Phoenix and others, have Sc
riousy contemplated doing the same thing, and
if they had done SO, all or nearly all the lead
ing Companies doing business here would have
followed suit and then there would have been
"high TIM"
All the Companies ask for is fairly remuner-
alive rates for the hazard of the business, and
unless these can be obtained, why should they
| risk their capital here? Did not the Hartford
and other companies respond nobly to the CRY
of distress when the great calamity of July 4,
1866, fell upon this city, and shall they now be
| ''hooted at?'' Did not the $3,00o,0O0 which
| they left here do us no good, and shall we now
throw contempt upon them for trying to get
some small portion of it back, by calling them
| "Phalanxes," "Furriners," and other epthets:
1 trust the good, considerate people of Portland
are nor yet prepared to endorse such kind of
stuff as the Argus correspondent has attempted
| to throw upon them.
If the merchants and business men of Port
land want cheap insurance, they may get il
through 'scalawag" agents and brokers, in IT.
responsible Companies; but it will be like cheaI
-four, poor tea, tainted beef, or other damaged
goops; the more they have of such, the poorer
they will be in the day of calamity
The articles referred to should not be allowed
and will not have any influence with thinkin!
men, and the writer should be considered onl,
as blackgusrd, who thinks by few ''squibs'
at Hartford, and the very respectable genttene,
who were sent here to advise and correct abuse
(Which he among others has been fosterin!
here,) by which he MIL find he only shooting
his own land the Argus) dog. At any rate h
| is not worthy of being considered (as he is no
Commercial Street. man. INSURANCE.