St. Paul daily globe., 1892-06-16

com mission erS
of the United
States, held in the senate cham
ber at the capitol yesterday. The
insurance commissioners enjoy these
annual diversions with peculiar
relish. All the year they are bound
down by the dry routine of their
offices, and then these conventions in
which they gather to compare notes and
individual experiences come as a de-
lightful breathing spell and relief, and
they come determined to absorb all the
enjoyment that the occasion offers.
The attendance. as might be expected,
is not overly large, but it develops a
gathering of intellectual men of affairs.
George 3. Luper, the president of the
association. and the insurance commits
sioner of Pennsylvania. called the con-
vention to order promptly at IL o'clock,
and in the absence of the governor,
Assistant Attorney General Childs ap-
peared and delivered a felicitouS ad
dress of welcome. He spoke in gen.
eral way of the rich resources Of the
Northwest and of the capacities and
| advantages possessed by this city in
particular. Hon. George s. Merrill, of
Massachusetts,, made the reply. 1t was
a happy address, for MIR. Merrill is an
eloquent speaker. The presidents ad-
| dress follows:
Gentlemen of the Convention: He who is
commanded by the laws of a sovereign state
Ito see that all the laws of that state respect
| ing insurance companies and the agents
| thereof. are faithfully executed. " has most
| delicate and dangerous duty to perform.
Such, however are the duties imposed upon
| you and me by our respective states, and we
are here assembled in our twenty-third an
| nual convention that we may the better
qualify ourselves TO meet the full measure OF
| every requirement of our official duties.
The insurance interests of q state or nation
are essentially the interests or the people, and,
therefore. every rightful official act of yours
| or mine that affects the former will benefit
| the latter, just as every wrongful act Will
| jeopardize the interests of both, and discredit
and cast suspicion upon the government
| and its officials 1t is not within the power
| of finite minds to comprehend the height
| and depth and length and breadth of the
aggregate insurance business OF the United
! States. or to measure the vast responsibility
| of those who have in their keep
| ing the trust funds of the individual units
| of nation. They are, in large measure.
| the stewards of the surplus earnings OF the
| people. They have i'll their hands that
| which alone must feed and clothe the help
| less when bereft of father and husband; and
| that which must replace alike the palace OF
| the rich and the humble dwelling of the
poor. To supervise and regulate the cuStOd-
| ians of these gigantic and holy trusts is q
| duty that may we'll demand the most devoted
| effort of our lives. But. gentlemen, our
| duty does not end here, for yet no answers
| have come to the prayers of the people
! for protection from the hoard of vampires
| that infest every state and every community,
robbing and pilfering the credulous and un-
! wary. Their hellish schemes of insurance
| cover the whole realm of human disaster
from death to marriage. Their victims are
! numbered by the thousand, and their plaint-
| i've cries of distress are a burning shame on
| the laws of any state in this Christian land.
"They would cheat the living and rob the
| dead.
Fitch from the orphan it's crust of bread,
| Pluck the plumage from an angels wings,
| And pillage the palace of the King of
Kings"
| l take it for granted that there are no diff
| ferences of opinion concerning the objects
| of these conventions. Briefly stated, they
| are:
| First-To secure an absolute uniformity of
| blanks
Second-To secure. as far as possible, uni
| forInity of legislation.
| Third-To secure uniformity of practice in
| the execution of the insurance laws.
Uniformity of blanks is of the first i'm
| portance, and would suggest that some final
action be taken at this session to secure, not
! only uniform annual statement blanks of the
/ various kinds. but of all blanks that
| are common to all the departments.
l am thoroughly convinced that
| the labor and expense necessary under
/ the presentsvstem may be very much lessened
| ana better results secured if we can but
| arrive at q final and satisfactory determin-
| alton of this question. The mere adoption
| of certain blanks is time worse than wasted
| unless the forms are rigdly followed in each
| and every particular by US in our several de-
| partments. The committee on blanks are
| gentlemen of wide experience in,and acknow-
| ledge fitness for, the work assigned to them,
and their conclusions should; as 1 have no
H.
| support of every department. in the United
| States.
| Uniformity of legislation can of necessity
| only pertain to such subjects as are common
! to all the states, but these are the essential
| features of our general insurance laws. State
| supervision of insurance corporations is now
! recognized Dy the laws of nearly every state
| and territory and, unless the public mind
| undergoes a radical change. this vigilance
| will not only continue, but Will increase with
| each succeeding year. The experience gained
| BIZ this branch of the executive departments
| of our state governments ought to be, and
| think is, wide enough to point the way to the
| formation of. a code of insurance laws the
| general features of which should be adopted
| by oil the states.
| A number of states have enacted laws pro
| yiding for standard forms of fire insurance
| policies The wisdom of such laws must be
| apparent even to the least observing. yet the
! full measure of their benefits can only be
! secured through uniform policy for all the
states A national policy" is the end de-
sired. Under the present conditions this can
not be secured through federal legislation,
| but it is to be hoped that our present COM
! mittee on legislation may be able to report to
| this convention some plan for its accomplish
ment and the plan will solve the whole ques-
| ton of uniformity of legislation.
| trust these crude suggestions may not be
| construed as recommending additional re-
| strictive legislation, but rather as condemn
! ing those laws now on our statute books
| which impose senseless burdens on iegiti-
| mate. Iaw-abiding companies, but provide no
| protection from the ravages of rotten, worth
| less concerns.
Uniformity of practice in the execution of
| Ihe insurance laws presents an exceedingly
fertile field. 1t is question in which we are
| directly interested, and one which should re-
| ceiye the considerate attention Of this body.
! Unlike legislation. this is a question over
which we have sole control and, therefore,
| ought to be brought 10 a speedy adjustment
| In conclusion, gentlemen, bespeak for
| you an interesting and profitable session, and
for myself your hearty cooperation in the
discharge of the delicate duties devoluing
| upon me as your presiding officer
Hon. W. ID. Whiting. of Maine, read
an excellent paper on "a New Table
of Mortality" and Hon. d. F. Fackler
| read a carefully prepared paper on
Limitation of Amount of Business of
Life Companies" A recess was then
taken for dinner and the afternoon
session opened with a paper on RE
serves for Companies Other Than Life" "
bV hon. A. b. Harvey Of.MiSSOuri.
System of Reserves.
Mr.. Harvey took the business of three
| companies, beginning with 1892, to give
| the results Of plate glass insurance, and
he read tabulation OF the same.
'In each year, except one" said the paper.
ut will be observed that the amount neces-
sary TO reserve at the end of the year, TO pro-
| vide for the losses out of the amount then in
force, has been less than the usual 30 per
cent of the premiums outstanding. The one
| execution II occurs in the account OF the last
| year for Con- pany No.. 3 in which the pro-