The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-05-21
AGAINST THE AETNA LIFE
INS URANCE COlfMISsI0NER BETTS
 BRINGS 4 SUIT.

,rhe Writ Complains That the Company Has Misapplied the Earnings of the \ Policies of the Mutual Stockholders
 The Commissioner Will Not Discuss
 the Probabilities of the Case.
 Insurance Commissioner Betts has, Through his attorneys, filling, Webb & .Morehouse, brought suit against the sEAetna Life Insurance company of Hart Ford for the violation of the state insur- afnce laws. The writ was served yester- Hay by the sheriff of Hartford county SAnd is returnable-in the superior court sAt Hartford on the first Tuesday Tn SJune next.
 The writ, which is a voluminous doc- Hnment, quotes the different statutes Band amendments under which the Act |ha company has done business from Eehe passage of the original charter in El819 down to the act passed in 1883. All Ethese are commented upon at length, kas we'll as resolution passed by the Ebompany October 20, 1870, which says khat the cash accumulationsfrom the Enutual department applied hereafter as he per cent. reserve to purchase paid Elp participating policies be credit Fed to the stock department, and that Ehe stock department assumes the pay Enent of the sums insured thereby. The writ says that from and after Oc- FEober 20, 1870, to the present time large |amounts of insurance originally issued En the mutual department of the de- Pendant have been surrendered, and Fare from time to time being surren- Elered, and paid up policies have been Nssued by the defendant in such cases 8And numbered and entered upon its Books in its stock department, and at Ehe same time that portion of the re- Eerve on the original policy heretofore Failed the single premium, or reserve pn the paid up policy, has been and is Foeing transferred from the mutual de- |partment to the stock department, and Elll gains and profits, as heretofore de- Bcribed, subsequently, accruing on such Business, have been accumulated in and Received by said stock department and Enc mutual department, and the policy holders holding policies therein have #been and are being deprived thereof.
 In pursuance of said resolution of Oc- Eober 20 1870, substantially three mill #fion of dollars of assets were trans EFerred from the mutual to the stosk de- bartment, up to and including the year #S7s and substantially the same Hlnount from 1878 to the date of this Complaint, and the profits which have Been derived by the stock department From such transfers are at least one Enillion of dollars, and, as the commits #ioner is informed and believes, amount 10 sum largely in excess of one mill ion dollars.
 Section 2S of the writ says: Policies f life insurance are outstanding, issued In each and every year since 1861, by he defendant company, in it's mutual
 Department, dividends on which have been very greatly reduced, and will
 hereafter be very greatly reduced, by he wrongful and improper diversion If funds and business from the mutual department to the stock department, as las heretofore been described:
 COMMISSIONERS ORDER.
 On the 4th day of March, 1896, the laintiff, as insurance commissioner of he state of Connecticut, served upon he president and board of directors of he Aetna Life Insurance company the ollowing order:
 Insurance Department of Connecticut,
 Hartford, March 4, 1896
 To the President ard Board of Direc-
 tors of the Aetna Life Insurance Con-
 pany, Hartford, Conn.,:
 Whereas, Under the statutes of this tate, it becomes the duty of the insur- nee commissioner of Connecticut to be that "all the laws respecting insur- nee companies are faithfully execut- Il" (section 2S20) and
 Whereas, From examination lawfully hade (section 1922 and 2S5O into the methods of busint s" and financial pndition" of the Aetna Life Insurance oupany of Hartford, Conn.,, by said ommissioner, he finds that said com any has done and is now doing "busi- ess in an illegaI' or improper man. er,'' and has been and is failing to
 dust and pay the obligations when hey become due" for just participa-
 on in profits to mutual policy-holders, to which, in the judgment of said com lissioner, there Is no substantial de- ense'' (section 2822). and has not ''com- ed with all the provisions of the law lection 2S57) and has failed to comply ith certain "of the requirements of the
 W" (section 2S69) in the following par culars, to wit: . A. Having, by resolution of its board
 directors on August 19, 1861, consti- hted a mutual department" whereby
 e participating policy holders were to hjoy all the profits derived from in- trance taken in said department, "af- 1T deducting a proper rate for the use
 the capital (not exceeding 6 per cent
 hnually) and a reasonable sum for eX- bnses and a proper sum for reinsur- hce::" and having from time to time
 sued printed matter in explanation of
 mutual plan of insurance which was led by the company in soliciting such
 surance, setting forth the substance
 nd effect of said resolution, and that
 e entire earnings of said mutual de-
 lrtment, after paying to the stock de-
 lrtment the sum of 5000 G per cent.
 s15,000 capitaD annually, should be-
 hg to the policy holders of the mutual
 partment, and the profits arising
 erefrom should belong to the partic-
 hting policy-holders of said mutual
 partment; and having ratified said
 solution of 1861 and said literature by
 hnsferring said 5000 for each and