The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1898-10-02


they take it to themselves and
forthwith proceed to pulverize Tin
their own mind) the offending
party. Mr.. Cornelius may be q
successful insurance agent, but he
is not Atlas; and it is possible that
the great fire insurance business of
this country doesn't know Of his
existence.
No, Mr.. Cornelius, the editor of
the ARDMoREITE had no desire or
thought of injuring your business
or any other mans business. He
simply wrote about what he con-
ceived to be the truth, regardless
Of whose toes he got on. If
he has gotten on the fire insurance
agents toes it can't be helped.
We stated, and we reiterate it,
that two-thirds Of the premiums
paid for fire and life insurance
goes out of the country never to
return. This may not be true as to
the town Of Ardmore in fire insur-
ance, but we didn't suppose any
one would think for a moment we
were alluding to Ardmore when we
said country" 4" 'Ardmore is a
big and good town, but it does not
constitute the whole country. We
used the word in its broadest sense
and did not have Ardmore in mind
at the time.
We spoke of both fire and life
insurance. Mr.. Cornelius tries to
make it appear that we were hit
ting the fire insurance specially.
No corporations have grown so
enormously rich within the last
thirty years as the insurance COM
panies. They control their mil
lions upon millions, yet Mr.. Cor
nelius would try to make you be-
heve that they are not making ex-
penses, because of Ardmore's two
fires few years ago, when they
had to pay few thousand dollars
to the unfortunate insured in this
city. He doesn't seem to know
that the whole country, from
Maine to California, has to pay the
losses sustained by the merchants
and property owners of Ardmore.
The trouble with Mr.. Cornelius
is he relies on the statements sent
out by his companies and doesn't
question their correctness and sin
cerity. These reports are like the
reports sent out by all corpora.
tions. They are true on the face
and yet they are not true in fact
None of them, according to theil
reports, is declaring dividends.
These reports are doctored in such
an artful manner as to render il
difficult to get at the facts. Fol-
ways that are dark and tricks that
are vain" corporations are peculiar
So artful and ingenious are corpo-
rations becoming in their rascality
it is hard to pass laws that will
levy an equitable and just tax upon
them. In order to reach them and
make them pay taxes in proportion
to what they do many of the states
have levied tax upon their gross
receipts. Their reports show NO
net receipts, yet the sworn reports
of the insurance commissioners OF
these states show that millions OF
dollars are drained out of the
states annually. In Texas alone
about three million dollars go out
of the state each year. In 1895
the excess of premiums over losses
was So, All, 1872. In ten years the
premiums paid three New York
companies alone by the people of
Texas amounted to $1S, ,644, 124. .S5,
and the policies which they paid
aggregated only 81, ,947 569. 81;
thus three companies drained out
of Texas alone over thirteen mil
lion dollars in ten years. In his
annual message to the Twenty-fifth