St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-30
INSURANCE. ORGANIZATIONS.

Inc MOORE QeIdlcatlOn at lnuidndp-
oils has excited unusual interest
throughout the country, not only be-
cause of the large amount of the defal-
cation, but also because it reveals the
loose business methods which prevail in
some business institutions that are sup
posed to be most reliable. This man
MOORE was the general manager for
the state of Indiana of the Connecticut
Mutual Insurance company, a company
that has long been claSsed among the
safest of its kind. 1t is mystery to the
public how company conducted on
anything like business principles could
let one of its officials get away with a
sun estimated at million of dollars,
and the defalcatiOnS covering a
period of several years, without some
body having an mixing of it. AS mat
ter of fact, In this instance somebody did
have a suspicion of it, for the president
of the company was informed by letter
that MooRE's conduct was suspicious
and that he needed watching; but the
only attention paid to the warning OF
the chief executive officer Of the COM
pany was to turn the letter over to
MOORE, and thus give him a better Op-
portunity to cover his tracks. Still an
other mystery associated with this de-
falcation is that no efforts are being
made to prosecute the defaulter. 1t is
said that his social relations with the
officers of the company are such as to
preclude prosecution, and that he will
go unpublished, while the poliey-holders
suffer the losses.
Just such things as this MOORE af-
fair cause people to loose faith in in
surance companies, and thus operate
prejudicially to legitimate insurance.
There is a vague idea in the public
mind, any way. that the opportunity for
stealing among insurance officials is
greater than in any other department of
business. This popular supposition is
based upon the principle of what's every
body's business is really nobody's. In
company numbering its thousands of
policy-holders it is impossible that
each one interested can give his per-
sonai attention 10 the business of the
concern. So the responsibility for the
entire management must deyolye upon
the few persons entrusted with official
authority. Therefore it becomes all
the more important for the success of
legitimate insurance that official integ-
rity shall be maintained at the highest
standard. There must not only be no
crookedness, but there cannot even be
the appearance of crookedneSs. 1t is.
therefore, difficult. to understand how
the officers and directors of great in
surance company can pose before the
public in the light of compromising a
felony with the expectation of con-
tinued enjoyment Of public confidence.
1t seems to us that other insurance
companies must feel FESTIVE under the
derelictness of the dire ctory OF the Con-
necticut Mutual Life in failing to pros
ecute the defaulting manager. As we
have previously said, the tendency of
such conduct is to prejudice the insur-
ance business. If there is no law to
are not enforced, then the average per-
son would prefer to keep his premium
in his own pocket rather than to have
it go into the pocket of some rascally
official. That being the view the pub
lie will take of 1t in case the Indianapo-
lis defaulter goes unpublished, it seems
to us that it would be wisdom on the
part of other insurance companies to in
stitute prosecution themselves. They
might go further, and unite i'll eStab-
fishing detective and prosecuting bu
reau for the purpose of ferreting out de-
falcations and prosecuting the default
ers. Unless something of the kind is
done to give the public assurance of the
honest management of the insurance
business great falling off in the bust
ness itself will be sure to follow the de-
velopments of the MOORE defalcation.