The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-01-24
WERE TOO SANGUNE.
Insurance Managers Are All
at Sea.
THE NEW COMPACT FAILS.
Men Who Ruined the Old One
Allowed to Join It.
so HARMONY CANNOT Be REACHED.
Rates Will Be Cut Ali Over the Pacific
Coast in Fight for
Principle.
so HARMONY CANNOT Be REACHED.

The men who organized new insurance
compact Tuesday afternoon, believing it
would supersede the Pacific Insurance
Union, found to their dismay yesterday
that they had been altogether too sanguine
in their expectations.
For yesterday new and startling phase
of the difficulty that has been threatening
the local insurance men with discord and
an accompanying rate war showed itself.
Compromise is out of the question after
all that transpired. The honorable agents
declare nothing can induce them to sign
their names to an agreement containing
the names of men proven guilty of violat-
ing word of honor under the Pacific Insur-
ance Union compact. So the very annoy
ing and puzzling question of either strik-
ing from the roll the names of agents under
a cloud or keeping them with the twenty
six signatures and Fastening utter collapse
is before the agents.
AS stated in The CALL yesterday, the
Board of Fire Underwriters of the Pacific
was organized and twenty-six members of
the old insurance union signed the consti-
tuition and pledge. Great hopes were en-
tertained that next day would see major
ity at least of the remaining sixteen
pledge. But this has proved to be bitter
disappointment for those who engineered
the change. Only one man signed-Mana-
ger Macdonald of the London and Lanca-
shire.
In all probability the other fifteen will
not enter into the combine, and the result,
as a matter of course, will be a slashing of
insurance rates all over the Pacific Coast.
Two sessions of the Board of Under
writers that has succeeded the union were
held yesterday, but nothing was accom-
plished. Nothing could be done anyway
to get out of the difficulty, for the reason
that the agents to whom objections were
made had signed the roll on Tuesday and
the dissatisfied agents would have nothing
to do with it.
eve are infinitely in worse position
than we were yesterday, said prominent
manager who is an ardent worker for the
new order of things
"You got some more signatures, OF
course" was suggested to him.
"Signatures!" he exclaimed in surprise
and rather petulantly. ''The trouble is we
got too many yesterday"
When asked to explain how there could
possibly be too many, as fifteen managers
were still out of the combine, he shook his
head and begged to be excused from an
swering. But there was no secret about it
on the street. The fact of the matter is the
promoters of the new union went too fast
in their zeal.
They wanted every managers signature
and believed it possible to get them, but
they got a few too many. Before COM
plete organization can be effected certain
names will have to be withdrawn, and
when that is done the Fireman's Fund,
Arthur E. Magills companies, c. F. Null
Inns company and the other concerns now
out will join in the compact.
A meeting of the managers who kicked
over the traces on account of deception OF
competitors was held secretly yesterday to
consider the situation. They decided to
keep out of the new union and meantime
to protect their respective business risks,
even at the expense of cutting rates, until
the other managers are forced to withdraw
| from the compact.
A prominent official of the Fireman.
Fund Company stated that it is very doubt
full if his company will go into the com
pact. Should any cutting of rates be done
BY union men they will show fight, as
Messrs. Magill and Mullins are doing; but
it is the design of these managers to work
in harmony with good companies, whose
managers have not violated their promises
on rates,