The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1899-04-15
OEEGON'S LHPROTIDENCE.

Wonder is often expressed why. after
a big crop of Our products is marketed
at fair prices, that money should be-
come so scarce in this state within
short time after the crop has been sold.
The wonder is that there is any money
at all left after the crop is marketed
and that we do not come out in debt
every year. The secret of the scarcity
of money is that we pay other people
too much for doing what we ought to
do for ourselves. Our wagons, agri-
cultural implements, stoves, clothing.
boots and shoes anu even a good por-
tion of the articles of food we consume
are imported from other states. We
produce raw material, pay transporta-
tion companies for hauling it to manu-
featuring eenters, pay other people for
converting it into articles of use, and
them pay the transportation lines for
hauling it back TO US. In short, we
are sen5ing our substance out of the
state TO hire other people to do what
ought to be done here.
And there are other things we pay
people abroad for, that shows even
more shortsie htedness than this. For
instance, we are annually expeuding
thousands of dollars with foreign COM
panies for carrying the risks on our
lives and property that should be kept
at home. The annual report of the
secretary of state, who is ex-officio in
surance commissioner, shows that in
1898 there was s57, 739. .932 80 fire in
snrance written in the state. Every
dollar of this was carried by foreign
companies. The gross premiums on
this insurance were 81 ,2O3, ,O08.15.
Premiums returned amounted to
1921, ,076.79 and the total losses
paid were S425, 14S. ST, leaving gross
profit to the. insurance COM
pan;es, that is after deducting the
losses paid and premiums returned
from the total premiums, of $546, 1890.
The premiums paid for life insurance
to foreign companies during the year
were 1925, 1925, and the losses paid
and premiums returned were 1929. $780,
Is, leaving S205, ,606.07 as gross profits.
Premiums on accident policies were
$50. .232. So, and the losses paid were
$50, 166 u, making gross profit of
S29, ,067.97. In all the gross profit paid
foreign companies for fire. life and
accidental insurance in 1898 was $751;
456 SO. A portion of this amount has
been paid local agents for securing
business. probably 100000, making
over ilf million dollars sent out
of the state in one year for insurance
al cne.
Every dollar of this money could
have been kept at home were there
state insurance companies here to
handle the business, and that it could
be handled safely by local companies
is beyond question. There is abund-
ant idle capital in the city of Port.
land alone to take care of the insur-
applied in that direction. A state
ment of four national banks in that
city of their business on April 5th
showed that they held deposits and
undivided profits amounting to ST..
S46, ,843.20. At least half that amount
is idle capital seeking investment. and
with three and one half million dollars
of idle money laying in four banks in
that city it is certainly evident that
there is enough to handle the insur-
ance of the state
Whenever we turn our attention to
manufacturing and when we stop such
leaks as are caused by our. hiring for.
eigners to carry our insurance, there
will be less complaint of scarcity of
money; we will then be able to retain
some of the profits we dig out of the
sail.