The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-11-23
Comments of the Boston Press Yesterday.
Boston Advertiser.l

Another sensation in the insurance department.
If the business were conducted with the fairness
and decency which characterize the departments In
other states, and which always characterized that
of Massachusetts until this year such incident as
that reported in regard to the Union Mutual Com
pany of Maine would discredtt the company. AS
the matter stands no one will regard the action Of
the company or any course which the commissioner
may take in consequence OF 1t, as implying Doubt
Of the solven3y of the company. These sensations,
which serve no other purpose than to create need
lesss and unjust distrust will continue well until
ment to some one who can do his work without
ringing bell to summon an admiring public TO the
delightSome spectacle of seeing him do it.
Boston Morning Journal
The course which the insurance department. is
pursuing in regard to the Union Mutual Life Insur
ance Company Of Maine is so remarkable that 1t
will go far to verify the rumors that have been In
circulation the past week. the effect that 1t wil
in the future do something to justify Gov Buffers
attacks upon the insurance institutions OF the coun
try. The movements of the Commissioner and his
assistants will attract attention. They 20 to Port
land and demand of the company that Its affairs DO
put into their hands for investigation. They take
the Investigation required by law. The affairs OF
the company are fully in his hands and ct his dis
position. Mr.. Tarbox instructs his assistant thsts
joint investigation will not serve his purpose, and
directs him to proceed without delay, to examine
the company and its affairs. If the company had II
Of Of Maine Would SaRs bsen ' eo%essd e
throw up his examination, which he could
not DO without leaving the public 70
anime a Maine company to the commissioner Of
that State. In the letters which published else
where, it will be that the officers Of the con-
pany promise Mr. Tarbox that its affairs will be put
in his hands as soon as the Commissioner OF Maine
shall have completed his examination. They could
do more; and if Mr.. Tarbox had been disposed TO
treat the company with fairness he would have
waited week or ten days. Instead OF pursuing
such fair line of action he, or some one In bis
Office and amensble to him, gives newspaper rep
resentatiye the material upon which is based
statement to the effect that the company in question
refuses to be examined. These statements must
the department.. They could not be OBJ
tanned elsewhere. If true, the depart
ment would not have been warranted In
giving them to the press until after the examination
OF the commissioner of Maine has been concluded
and fresh demand made upon the officers. But
the statements not trne. The correspondenco
says that they are false, and, we may fairly add,
malicious. We know nothing Of the company ex-
come due with promptness. We do not appear -
its defender. We do say that until candidly exam
ined and found wanting it should be treated a. sol
vent and honorably managed. This course 10 due to
its policy holders as well as to the company. Tho
course which the department has pursued, especial
ly in giving the information upon which, the false
statements Of the Traveller were based cannot be
too sweepingly denounced. 1t 10 little better than
what is known as insurance wrecking
. Evening Traveller.l
Fairness to Commissioner Tarbox and his as
sistantsa consideration which. we hasten to state
we do not in the least suspect the Journal OF weak
ly entertaining-oblige us to state that nothing In
the article derived from or inspired BY the de-
partment, except the information obtained by ac-
cident that the company in question had refused
Mr.. Plympton access to its books. The further
statements of the article which have not as yet
been successfully questioned, were made upon Ia
the company past and present, and from the OFF,
cial reports of Commissioner Clarke.