Evening star., 1898-04-08
BOARD OF TRADE
Meeting Of the Organization at Car
roll Institute Hall.
AMENDMENTS TO INSURANCE LAWS
Reports of Committees Received
and Resolutions Adopted.
II n ID n O I, = 1T,
AMENDMENTS TO INSURANCE LAWS
THE MEMBERS PRESENT

A meeting Of the board Of trade was held
last evening in the hall Of the Carroll In
stitute. Several matters of interest were
considered and acted upon. The report of
| the committee on insurance. recommending
| amendments in several particulars to the
| bill now pending in Congress to regulate in
surance. was adopted, as were also a reso-
luton from the committee on public order.
| recommending the increase in the police
| force provided for In the District appropri-
alton. and one from the public library COM
| mittes, urging the conference committee to
| retain in the District appropriation bill the
Senate amendment providing maintenance
| for the public library of the District of Co
| lumbia.
Mr.. Theodore w. Noyes presided and the
secretary. Mr.. George H. Harries. read tn,
| minutes of the last meeting which were ap-
| proved. An invitation to attend the open
ing of the Masonic fair the evening of April
IL, from Thos. B. Morgan, chairman of the
committee on invitation, was read by the
secretary, who was instructed to reply that
1t would be accepted as far as practicable.
Report ON Charities.
| communication from Mr. B. 7. Janney.
| chairman Of the COMMITTEES on charities,
| urging the active interest of the board In
the bill to compel parents to support their
| children, was referred to the board of di-
| rectors.
| A request was received from the local
members of the National Association of
| Theatrical Employees that the board extend
| an invitation to the national body to hold
| the annual session. in this city in 1883. The
communication was referred to the board
| of directors.
A report from the committee IN IN
| SCrancp then made Inv Mr. Watson I
| Newton, the chairman of the committee,
| who, before intro ducing his report, had
| distributed III the audience copies of the
! bill proposed by the committee, and which
! is designed to regulate insurance in the
| District of Columbia. He said that under
| The present laws any insurance company
| can do business tn the District whether
| they paid the license required here or not
because there is no penalty provided in
| the law.
| Bogus Insurance Companies.
| He spoke Of the amount of bogus in
| surance business done, estimated to be
| about a quarter of a million dollars
worth, and said, in the event of fire, not
a cent could be recovered from such con-
| Germs for losses. In number of cases, he
said, the premiums. when paid. were pock-
| eted, and no return was made for the
| money He cited an instance of a man
| who showed him policy which had been
| issued to him, and who told him that he
| was rot able to find the company The
company, on the face Of the policy. was
said to. be located in Wheeling, w. Va, but
| an inquiry there brought out the fact that
| there was no such company known in tnat
| city; but about two years ago a box in the
post office was rented in the name of such
| q concern.
Mr.. Newton added that further investi-
| cation showed that the policy was issued
in this city. He found that no legal steps
| could be taken on account of the deficien-
| cies in the laws, as stated. He then gave
& brief history of the origin of the bill rec
| ommeEded by the committee, and said the
| action was reached after consultation witt.
| the local board of underwriters
| The bill now pending in Congress- known
| as Senate bill 1897, he stated, was TIE
| same as the one adopted by the committee
| with the exception Of the first five lines of
| section 0. He said the committee did not
| favor this change. He then went on to
| speak of the consideration given by the
| committee to views of others not connect
| ed with the local board of underwriters
Amendments Proposed.
These views had been met by amend
ments TO the bill, which he read, as follows
| I'm order to eliminate any question as to
taxes on which difference of opinion ex-
lists add to section the words:
Provided, that nothing in this act shall
| lie construed to affect any provision for
payment of taxes or percentage of receipts
| in lieu thereof now required to be paid by
| law
I'm order to prevent interference with
do business in the District of Columbia.
| add after the word District in the fourth
line Of section the words:
! Or mutual companies of other states
| District
I'm order not to interfere with companies
| who employ solicitors exclusively for the
business of such company employing them.
L It.l n (N,ln1,
| line of section 10 the words:
| " Provided. that any insurance company
| licensed to do business in the District of
Columbia may employ solicitors, and the
| license fee to be paid for each solicitor so
| employed shall be SO per year, payable in
| the month of March, and such license shall
| have printed on it's face the words "Insur-
ance solicitors license" and shall contain
| the name of the company for which such
| solicitor Is employed
Add after the syllable for in the twen-
| ty-eighth line. section 10. the words:
| "'Or shall solicit for any other comma ny
| other than the one named in such license
| I'm order to make this amendment con-
| form in other respects, strike out the word
| solicitor wherever it occurs in section o,
| end the word companies in the nineteenth,
| line of section 10, and the word fndustriaI
| in line twenty-seven of section ~, and ir
| sert the word company after the word
insurance In the twenty-seventh line of
| section H.
Strike out the first five lines and the
words month of March in each year and
| in the sixth line of section .,
Add after line twenty-five, section A.,
after the word jurisdiction: Any person
| who shall aid In the carrying on Of any
| such business or shall act as agent or So
| lfcitor for any company not licensed to do
| business in the District of Columbia or
whoseslicense is revoked. shall be held to
| be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on con-
viction thereof in the Police Court of said
| District, shall be punished by a fine not
| exceeding 500. and. In default of payment
| thereof. by Imprisonment in the Jail of said
| District for not less than ten days nor
more than sixty days."
Mr. NewtOn's Explanation.
He explained in detail the yarious
amendments. the most important of which
was the change In the amount of license
| required for solicitors. which was reduced
in the case Of those employed by licensed
| cOmDanies from go IN s1O