The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-26
FREE LANES IRONY
IS INJECTED INTO THE LONG
PENDING SALVAGE CORPS
FIGHT
CHICAGO COMPACT FIGURES
AS THE OBJECT OF HIS FIERCEST
DARTS AND BARRED
SHAFTS.
CHICAGO COMPACT FIGURES
CALLED AN INSURANCE. TRUST
BY the New Termin oSist of the
HeRnepin County Bar in His
Latest Brief.

freeman L, Lane, Matthew Gala
CHER and c, j. Cahaley, the counsel for
the Merchants board of fire underwrit-
ers in the famous Minneapolis salvage
corps litigation, yesterday filed with
the clerk of the supreme court a sup
Elemental brief dwelling especially upon
the question Of what constitutes
board of fire underwriters? to bring
1t within the law Of the state concern
ing the distribution of receipts from
insurance companies,
The attorneys hold:
THE articles of Incorporation of the
Merchants board provide that the gen.
eral nature of it's business shall be the
promotion Of just and equitable prac-
tees between the insurance companies
doing business in Minneapolis and the
assured Of said city. Language could
hardly be more broad and comprehen-
sive. Within it's scope and limit, every
thing that could be conceived of as be-
ing within the legitimate scope of a
beard Of underwriters would be posi-
BILE under our articles, for every thing
that would be just between the assured
and the assurer would be within the
letter and spirit of these articles.
In New York the law declares that
boards are organized to inculcate just
and equitable principles in the business
Of insurance. The Boston board is or
ganized for the general promotion OF
fire insurance interests, while the Pa
oific Underwriters and the Under
writer's Exchange Of Denver were or
gained for purposes within the scope
of this Merchants board, our statutes
are silent on that subject.
1.-THE Merchants board was organized
as a board of underwriters. It's powers
as such board were clearly defined; and
as board of underwriters they were
permitted to equip and maintain a
salvage corps. We confidently submit
that it has the power:
First, to do each and every act necessary
to promote just and equitable principles be-
tween the insured and the insurer that is not
opposed to public policy.
Second that within its scope, act would
be declared ultra wires that carried out the
object and intent of its articles that were
clearly within the functions usually exercised
by boards of underwriters.
Third, that as such board, it has the power
to equip and maintain salvage corps, as pro-
vided by the legislature of 1895.
The articles of Incorporation of the Mime
apolis board of fire underwriters provide for
the organization of a salvage corps, pure and
simple. 1t is admitted that it is Its sole func
ton, but 1t is argued that no other functions
have been left to boards of fire underwriters
since the Chicago compact or Commission
No. 8; the insurance trust, had kindly fixed
the rates of insurance in this city, and the
state having adopted a standard form of pol
icy, therefore the agents of the compact COM
panies have had all of their functions taken
away from them by their compact managers
In view of these admissions it seems to US
that the Minneapolis board having failed to
organize a board of underwriters, pro-
hibited from organizing a salvage corps.
Adopting for arguments sake the
contention that Commission No. has
arrogated to itself all the recognized
functions Of a board of fire underwrit-
ers except those of eQuipping and main
tanning a salvage corps, then these
agents could organize nothing but a
salvage corps. But since the legisla-
ture evidently did not acquiesce in this
Chicago combine, it made the validity
and existence of a salvage corps de-
pend upon the organization Of a board
of underwriters, and since the agents
of these combine companies had dele
gated to this foreign combine the es-
sential powers that they could have
exercised as q board of underwriters,
they did not possess under the act Of
1895, the power to organize salvage
corps. An insurance agent Is such
whether he represents a company that
goes into trust or combine to main
tain rates or company that refuses
to become a party to an agreement
that chokes off competition. Since the
agents in Minnea polls seem to have
delegated their main functions as I'M
derwriters to the representative of the
Chicago combine, Inspector Brand.
then from their standpoint the neces-
sity for the local board of underwriters
does not exist" The brief continues
with the contention that the incorpor-
ates of the Merchants, or three of them
at least, had been exclusively in the
insurance business within the scope
of the law.