The Advocate and news., 1898-01-26
HILLMON CASE SETTLED.
MCNalps Fight for Fair Dealing in Insur-
anCe Finally Wins,

The New York Life Insurance Com
pany has settled the celebrated Hillmon
case. The failure to pay this loss was
the cause of Superintendent McNalPs re-
fusal to license this company last March.
He held that after claim had been liti-
gated for twenty years without settle
nent that it was time for the company
to pay and that failure to do so meant
refusal to permit the company 80 re-
fusing to do business in Kansas.
A big disturbance was Immediately
started by the company's agents and by
Republican papers. McNall was called
a czar, and his arbitrary, despotic"
methods were made the text for hun
dreds of abusive editorials. The Fed
eral courts were appealed to and "vic-
tory after victory" was won by the COM
pany. The injunction machinery was
used in every conceivable way, but the
New York Life and its associate COM
panies remained on the outside. The
fight against the cZar was even carried
so far that he was indicted for contempt
growing out Of his disregard for Federal
court orders which were issued without
duJuOElLy ny CUuNI5 udNlu6 uO Jul loulN-
ton Of the isues involved.
But all this time the State courts.
which really had jurisdiction in the case,
we're carefully avoided. They were not
suited to the purposes Of the bluff game
Of the companies. When these courts
were reached by the State authorities
decisions against the companies, GUST
ing them from the State were handed
down. These established precedents in
the construction of State law, which ac-
cOrding to the rules of practice, must be
followed by the Federal courts. A case
Of the same character was pending
against the New York Life and would
soon be passed upon by the State Su-
preme court AS the same decision was
almost sure to be given 1t was, as Nc
Nall would say, "up to them"
AS the bluff had failed to work and
as the company was about to be de-
priVed Of business which was yielding
a profit of two dollars for every dollar
invested in Kansas it very sensibly de-
cided to quit and pay. It's attorneys
made the necessary settlement and paid
$4,000 into court last Friday. The COM
pany's policy was originally $4,000 but
the accrued interest had more than
doubled it. The case was tried five
times. In four of these trials the jury
disagreed and in one of them Mrs. Hill
mon got judgment. In none Of the cases
did the companies get verdict in their
favor.
Hillmon had three policies. These
were in the following companies for the
amounts named: New York Life $4,000,
New York Mutual Life $4,000, Connec-
ticut Mutual Life $4,000. On the basis
of the New York Lies settlement, Mrs.
iillmon, who has since married ]. G.
Smith, will receive about $4,000 II the
other compares follow its example.
The result is a great victory for Su-
perintendent McNall. 1t is virtually an
acknowledgment that his claim that
Mrs. Hillmon's treatment was unjust,
is ture It sustains McNall's action and
is an admission that the claim was a
proper one. 1t is not known what the
other companies will do but it not prob
able that they will continue the fight
alone. The fact that the New York Life
has always led in the fight gives color
TO this impression.