Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-11-05
From the Index.
Nafhual IndercufieEH

National Undsreutters-
"If the board is working upon principle. i Tani1
to live closely up to 1t as possible II II IS ~,
so working t had better de- Al least &c IS foo ish
| to drag out an existence made up OF compron ses
between right and wrong. IL all the companies
outside its pale are going 70 The ,demnitop P S,
steadiastly to its faith until they have Son,, when
II will have the field to itself When II stoops to
ZION OF non-board companies 1t cannot hope that
| any special providence will step IN TO stretch
| protecting hand over Its head
This talk then OF 'suspendins rates Of ON
promis sin with what, from the National Boards
stand point is all wrong. is worse than useless Il
il simply suicidal Tne board mas sos 70 S,1ts ts
| Efforts put forward in its behalf. But II cannot
prove this by policy based upon the pretty
good Lord and pretty good DeVii usorS-
TIE above paragraphs. from an editorial
entitled " Compromises, published IN our
September issue, would certainly seem 10
be sufficiently plain. Bat as the practice
to which they refer still continues. and t.
if anything, gaining ground, we feel com
| PEELED to recur TO the subject Inc Ma
| tional Board companies have inaugurated.
here in Boston. a course of procedure, hay
| ing for its avOwed purpose the " crushing
out" or the - whipping into line " Of the
non-boerd companies. To this end they
have adopted the practice OF underwriting
hitherto charged as an essentially non
| board procedGre-and carried i, 10 an sx-
\ treme 10 which no responsible nOn-bOard
company has ever gone. Moreover, they
are not backward in asserting that they
propose to carry il 50 far that no non
| board company will dare 70 follow them
By this means Shey propose to destroy their
competitors or compel them 20 come inth
the board organization. Their mole o.
prOcecace Is simple. Going 10 men ho
have large lines of insurance To place, they
offer to write 1t at from eighty-hve 70 ninety
per cent OF the rate fixed by responsible
sOn-bOard companies. prOridsd the opHer
lriH agree 10 piece all his Hisnrarcs rHt
board companies.
la the first place. we may ak what adj
vantage these companies propose to gain by
this conduct. Certainly they can ciaim
none from the simple transaction OF the bus
mess 1t is now regarded g. an axiom OF
fire underwriting that risks written at sess
than adequate rates are 4 positive dl.ii
vantage, and that the Disadvantage IN
creases in proportion to the amount OF such
business. Ii is the claim of board c1mpa
MES that nOn-bOard companies are writing
at less than adequate rates. 50 when board
companies write at rates below those OF
non-bOard companies, they stand selt-c1n-
victed Of writing at inadequate rates, aud
consequently OF doing business which Is
a positive disadvantage 20 Themselves
Therefore, the advantage proposed must be
20 drive their competitors from business
and 50 secure to themselves a monopoly.
when they can obtain such rates as will
make good their presen; sacrifices. Let Dc
see how their plan for accomplishing this Is
likely TO work
\ fire company, before it abln1on- bl--
ness. will either have become bankrupt or
have found itself doing losing business
withOu, the power of remedyinl IT, The
larger this losing business l.. the sooner. oi
course, the company will be compelled O.
abandon it. But the board companies have
adopted a course OF procedure with the
avOwed intent OF cuItailing the business of
the n0n-bOard companies. Therefore. 81
that business is a losing one. th.. cll-~-
will simply postpone the time when tl-
non board companies will be compelled b..
stress of circumstances t. abandon r. lu
other words, the course has for IT, Indirect
fleet the lengthening OF the LEASE OF lie ui
the companies against which II Is directed
" hat i its direct effect? 10 add 10 the
Improbable business Of the c0mpaui-
which have adopted it, and therefore O.
hasten the time when stress Of circum-;an-
ces will compel the termination OF their -
istence. In both ways It acts against tuc
companies which have adopted 4 The
only thing which can prevent this resl.t i-
that the board companies shall actively
j DIN issue with the board companies in the
cutting OF rates. But. from the start, the
latter have declared their intention Of %
ing - low that the former dare not g low
or, and thus far they have kept their
word
Should, however. this reckless compel,
ton begin-but We hope that the prudence
and foresight Of the non-board companie-
will prevent tit will simply be a question
Of which can hold out the longest. aud ;hl7
Is mainly question Of which has nov the
largest proportion Of assets 70 amount 81
risk, for IL such competition the income
Of one side would yarv bat little. in prl-
portion to the business dOre from the TO-
come OF the other side. Taking eighteen
board companies, which are, with 4 few ~
reptions. The ighteen largest companic, %
the country, and, by almost universal c)l
sent are helI to be representative compa-
MES for strength and stability, We hud
hem possessed OF S40, Cos, 272 Of assets.
with s. els SCI sol az risk. To make a
fair comparison We have, from the non
board, as from the board companies, taken
those of high standing and large business
ind twenty-thres of these We hEd to be pos
'essed of $50 $50 553 of assets, with $50
~ .927 at risk. To have presented the
'ame ratio o. assets to risks. the board
companies should have had S5I 81 ,O36 OF
lssets. or only 81 603 81 SIS Of risks
| hat Is, they either have not enough assets
1y Sll 27i ,76i. or TOO many risks By Si45,
~ $50. Evidently. therefore, IN a rough
competition of the kind indi-
'ated. the board companies have not. to say
he least. any manifest advantage IN the
,Oint of rCssrved strenth
Bot there is something in this affair
worse, more humiiating. than the chances
Il defeat which the board companies have
Ssumed. Ii is the sacrifice Of principle
which they have made Loudly and per
lstently they have denounced the measures
1 mont board companies a. wrong with
ut hesitation they have affirmed u the
nbllc that the attitude they had assumed
vas right and must win in the end And
ow, in the face and eyes of their former
enunciations, in the face and eyes OF Their
ormer declarations. they adopt the meas
res they denounced, and repudiaie the ar
ltude they upheld This we saw Is Wore.
his Is more humiliating, than any chance
defeat they may have assumed OF tlan
ny defeat they nay encounter. This policy
hey have iaaugurated in Boston, and. We
rderstind, propose 20 inaugurate in New
ork. What is sauce for the metropolitan
ander can but be sauce fox the provincial
Dose. The plan in its perfection requires
} be put in execution throughout the en-
re country and when that Is done. the
atlonal Board will be the deadest thing
manning unburiet in these United States
America