The Labor enquirer., 1885-03-28
Gambling or Communism L!

Gambling or Communism!
For The Enquirer.
Before me is the Travellers Becord for
March. This monthly is published by
the Travellers Accident Insurance COM
pany of Hartford.
Insurance is called legitimate bust
ness, and perhaps 1t is, taking business"
as we see it, but according to the showing
and inducements held out bv the Tray
elers' Record, insurance is one of two
things: Gambling of the lottery order
or, to be more charitable, communism of
the selfish kind. One column is headed: a.:
Much for little" This is meant to appeal
to the "busness" feelings of the commu-
nifty. The first item is: $36.43 for %
cents, or 14572 per cent. The wonder
full prize was drawn by laborer who
had bought one-day ticket. The only
thing that might redeem this transaction
| from the status of gambling is that the
tiaborer was hurt and laid up three weeks.
The question arises, does the injury
change the character of the deal ? If it
does, then it is based on the theory
that the weak should be sustained by
the strong the invalid by the able. If
this be good principle there should be
no monopoly oft. Insurance should be
national and made a function of the
state. Indemnities should not depend
upon policy bought by the recipient ;
any person injured while discharging a
SECRETARY duty, land all production and
distribution are socletary), should re-
ceive enough for his support.
This purely communistic principle is
dressed up with red tape, manipulated
by 3 rich corporation and called "busi-
ness" Perhaps it is not pure commu-
nism because tits not universal perhaps
it is not pure gambling, for it is made
holy by benefting the helpless. 1t is not
justice, for it is something for nothing.
1t is a compromise, in which greed,
charity, cunning, philanthropy and
selfishness all figure. In short, 1t is
business"
In order to give the scheme respecta-
biiity the Travellers Record calls 1t "sell-
ing insurance." thus making COM
modify out of possibility. A large
number of persons each pay in a sum,
and the injured ones draw part of it out !;
that is the whole of the scheme. 1t is
not all drawn out by needy ones, else
insurance companies could not grow
rich.
What beautiful plan that allows one
to draw goodly sum when injured, but
please allow the company to keep the
better part of the receipts for that is
business" Here is the excuse for enor-
nous profits: 1T is one of the best
known principles of political economy
that the market price of all article is
fixed, not by the figure the most prosper
GUS concerns could sell it at if hey
chose, but by that which will just keep
alive the weakest of the number neces-
sary to supply the market. The larger
will not lowor their charges to a figure
they could just live by, not only because
| so doing would rob them of the legiti-
mate fruits Of their business capability,
but because it would crush out so many
mall fellow-companies that the wants
of the community could not be met"
"Small felllow-companies" is a very
beautiful expression, which shows the
tenderness manifested by large concerns
toward the small fry. We see it every
day in the business world, and hear
about the same principle in the sea
where big fish nurse the small ones.
Insurance men are not advanced
enough to know that the trash known as
political economy is rapidly evaporating
under the assaults made upon 1t by COM
mon sense. They think large companies
should exist to produce wealth cheaply,
and that small incompetent concerns
shall also exist to fix prices high up so
that the former can have big profits.
They might perhaps admit that large
concerns with all the improvements
could supply the whole market, but who
would fix prices in that case2 Political
economy demands that small, weak in