, 1875-03-05
1H8uRAuCE AND ASSURANCE,

There has been Boou lnany uui4Ne and
ridiculous propositions, legislative and rri-
vhtc concerning tho principles nnd practice
Of the business Of insurance, but we think
the present Illinois Legislature las out
rim the widest vagarics TINT have here-
toforo been committed. We supposed
that the bill to Tux tho premiums Of insur-
ance companies of other States doing busi-
ness In Illinois Ind been allowed To die d
natural denth. hut 1t seems TINT tho Com
mittee having tho mailer in charge 1nvo
listened to the persuasive voice Of some
spcculntors who SOC millions in the organiza-
ton Of home insurance companies. The re-
suit Of this conference il that M1LtEn's bill
has beon reported fayornbly with tho single
difference TINT tho proposed per cent tax
has been reduced to q per cent. This is
tax on gross receipts, siuco the bill provides
only for tho deduction of Losses, and leaves
tho foreign insurance companies under the
necessity Of paying taxes on their agents
salaries, Different, advertising. md every
other oxpcuse Incident to tho business Of an
insurance company
It is positively tedious to go over again tho
obvious objections to tho taxation of tho
receipts Of foreign companies, but the danger
TINT It nlny find approval from sheer igno-
ranco and hcadstrong folly on tho part of
eomo members, gross neglect on the pnrt Of
otheEs, and Interested motives on the part
Of n few, prompts us to restatc some Of the
arguments against tho bill. The whole
principle Of protection being false and op.
prcssiyo, it is as wrong when applied in Illi-
nois as when applied IN Pennsylvania, and as
Outrageous when intended to "protect homo
insurance companies rs when intended to
"protect" pig.iron, salt, and lumber, at tile
expense Of consumers. In both cases tho
oppression falls upon the mass Of the people
for the benefit Of tho few. Thus, If tho 1lli-
nole Legislature ..puts tax of y per cent
on the gross receipts Of insurance companies
; organized in other States or abroad, either it
is prohibitoy Of foreign insurance capital
and limits propoEty-owners to tho Inadequate
md uncertain supply Of homo insnr-
auco, or elso it taxes every policy
holder, and forces hin to pay 81 per
cont more on every policy ho takes
out than he otherwise would The foreign
insurance company gets tho same or eyon
moro thaf it did before, hut all policy hold
ers pny at least q per. cent more than they
would otherwise pay. Tie only benodcianes
are the few organizers Of "home companies" :"
who are thus onabled to chnrge tho public
considerable more than tho previous rates.
Tho whole object of Tho bill is to mako dear
insurance md oppresH policy-holdcrs, in or
der to "protect" cortain homo companies. Is
it right to mako man pay double ta1 On
the Same house or gooda? In otler words,
the proposed tux III one levied upon careful.
mesa mud good business habits, is intended to
promote q contompt for the principle Of in
suring property, mud is calculated to bring
into existence number Of worthless COM
panies which, having no business outside Of
one or two citles or counties in Illinois, will
collapse ut the first severe scorch.
OF a kin with this proposition to ta1 policy
hofdera in foreign Insurance. companies, and
only littlo moro outrageous, il another
proposition in tho Legislature 10 shut out al
insurance companies from doing business In
this Stato which shnl1 have carried any suit
agaiust them from the State to the Federal
courts Here is the Insertion Of tho Bourbon
dootripe Of State Sovereignty with ven
geance. It's consideration would also seom
to Indicate an impression in the Illinois Leg
islature that tho people Of this Stale have
tired of iusuring their property, and want
ths insurance business broken up by Law. It
would bo as well for tbs Legislature to lot
the people af Illinois decide this question for
themselves, and according to their individual
inc]inations. There is no law compelling
people to insure their lives or their property,
md NO certainly do not want law prac.
tica1ly prohibiting tkom from doing either.
THIS is about what tho passage OF tho Muller
and Knost1n bills would accomplish.