The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-10-09
THEY ARE UP IN ARMS.
SAVANNAH INSURANCE MEN ON
THE WHITFIELD BILL.

It's Passage by the House and the
Probable Concurrence of the Senate
in the Amendments Causing a Lively
Stir Among the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
They Say About It
The passage Of the Whitfield bill by the
House and the imminent probability OF the
concurrence of the Senate and the bill be-
coming law is the nightmare which now
looms up before the insurance men.
The unanimous expression is that such
legislation is worse than no legislation, and
that if the legislature is determined upon
regulating the insurance business it might
give them something better than the Whit
field bill.
Most Of the insurance men prefer to have
the laws remain as they are, including the
SO 900 deposit and other requirements, but
some OF them looked favorably upon the
Fleming substitute, which provided for a
commission to regulate rates aud control the
business.
THE OBJECT OF THE BILL.
The object of the Whitfield bill is to
break up the Southeastern Tariff Associa-
sion. The law may compel the companies
In Georgia TO give up the association, but
ways TO kill dog than to choke him to
dea n with butter" and that the law will
not prevent the companies from continuing
uniform system of rates.
The companies are all required to make
affidavit before obtaining license to do bus
mess In the state to make affidavis that they
have not nor have their agents in this state
catered into any pool, combine or agree
ment TO regulate or control rates. Upon
proof that the agents of any company oper-
| atIug in the state have entered
into any such agreement the license of that
company may be revoked. There is an
even more Objectionable featuret to the bill,
the insurance men say. Ii forbids the in
surance companies to refuse insurance to
any person applying for II at reasonable
rate.
WHAT INSURANCE MEN SAY.
A prominent insurance agent said yester-
day 1t ought to be termed "a bill to pro-
mote incendiarism and arson in
the state of Georgia. That is Just
the tendency of the bill. have
made more money for the companies l rep
resent by refusing insurance than | have
by accepting it. In dozen instances that
could name In the last few years where l
have refused insurance to parties because |
felt convinced they intended to burn out,
those very parties have burned out after
ward and other companies bore the loss
We don't even have the privilege of refusing
insurance to such men. There is no such
thing as a reasonable rate, anyway,
1t is more risk, gambling in
fact. We simply bet SO many thousand
dollars against the amount of our premium
that certain bull ling will not burn within
specified time. II it burns we lose, il it
| doesn't burn we win. The best risks most
often burn.
QUESTION FOR BUSINESS MEN.
According to the provisions of the bill
the licenses of half the Insurance companies
doing business in the state might be re-
voked at any time. This would be a
serious thing to the business interests of
the state and particularly of Savannah.
| A number OF times there has been such a
| large amount Of cotton in Savannah that
all the companies represented in the city
| have been taxed to their Utmost to insure
it. Cut down the companies by half and it
would often occur thatbthe cotton men
would not be able TO cover their stocks with
insurance, or perhaps to obtain any Ia
surance at all. This would be serious
calamity. when fire might sweep fortune
out of existence az any time"
The governor may be- appealed to not to
sign the NJ hitfield bilE 5s1les On