The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-10-30
THE DEADLY PARALLEL.
The Continental's and
Thomas Side of the
Case.

I take occasion in defense of the posi-
ton of the non-Union Fire Insurance
! companies and the Continental in
/ particular, to answer a statement pub
! nshed in the Daily Capital and repro
duced at my expense in the adjoining
| column. issued over the names Of var
! ious insurance agents of this city, who
| represent the Union companies, or in
other words, the companies IN the trust
and combine.
| In defense of the weakness of their
| position they grab at a straw in the
| shape of circular issued, as they
claim, over the signature of that able
underwater, Mr.. F. c. Moore, the pres
fdent of the Continental Insurance COM
pany The object of producing this
circular by these gentlemen is to bring
out prominently the fact that the Con
tfnentaI Insurance company lost 800, 900
on the business of underwriting during
the first six months of 1899, and they
add no wonder Mr. Moore thinks rates
are too low" They would have a per-
son not familiar with the magnitude OF
these companies, think that a 100000
was a tremendous loss, when as a mat
ter of fact, it isn't a drop in the bucket
one hundred thousand dollars to the
Continental Insurance company is OF
no more consequence, so far as feeling
the loss is concerned. than though the
Bank of Topeka, the First National
bank, or the Central National bank OF
this city should happen to lose, by some
transaction, the sum of $50. It would
be to the bank a matter Of absolutely
no consequence, so far as feeling the
loss was concerned, and 100000 is OF
still less consequence to the Continental
Insurance company. President Moore
statement that the ire insurance busl-
ness Of the United States mad peeh IN
profitable, particularly during the last
wear. is. as every insurance man knows,
correct, but if the gentlemen signing
this communication wanted TO no!o
up as bugaboO the fact that certain
great insurance corporations had SUI
fered losses during the first SIX or nine
months of this year. why DID they not
begin with some companies IN IneT
own agencies that have, indeed, lost big
money One of them for instance,
shows a loss of $500 600 for the first SIX
or eight months of this year, Wnlle
there are a large number or their mon
companies that show a loss or from
$500, 600 to $500, 100, while the Cont1nen-
tails loss on underwriting in the same
period is the insignificant sum of $780,
900. If they desired to miSIead the
public and desired to impress upon It
that insurance companies were losing
money, why didn't they begin at nome
What does 500, 600 amount to to the
Continental Insurance company when !
her sworn statement shows that her |
income IN 1898 was S@,1a4s145r EGQ0EE4 ~ /
percentage, it amounts to the mere
trif1e of 21a per cent on their actual !
income have been speaking now OF /
only income without touching the fact |
that the total cash assets Of the com
pany are between nine and ten millions /
of dollars If my insurance friends, or /
to use more affectionate term, my in /
surance brothers, wanted to scare the !
public any, by making them think that 1
insurance companies were making I
losses that would effect their solvency, /
they ought to have taken some of their /
own companies that are IN the combine /
who are indeed, losing big money. This /
matter, however, of questioning the |
solvency of companies, or fnsinuating I
such, is very weak. for the reason that |
any of these big corporations are per-
fectly solvent, and their financial con-
dition beyond question
The statement that the motives Of the /
Continental Insurance company can /
only be ''surmised' is ridiculous, COM
ing as it does, from men who know the /
true cause of the controversy; and fur
thermores the Continental have an
nOunced in their advertisement, that |
having been attacked by a combina-
ton Of insurance companies, it has |
decided, as a war measure, and in re-
tallauOn, TO cut fire insurance rates,
etc" The great trusts and cOmbina-
tons In this country, which are now
dominating everything in commerce,
have various ways and means of thrOt-
ting competition. Some of them buy
up every factory producing the article
COnIrOUe0 Dy the trust. The iron ana
steel trust bought all of the iron mines
and forced competitors to sell out on
account Of their ina bility to procure the
raw material etc. The insurance trust, |
however being a business of different |
nature, have sought to throttle COM
petition by various methods, among |
others being the requesting OF local in
surance agents to throw out of their /
agency any company not a member of /
the trust and combine known as the
Union" This last method is at the
bottom OF the trouble at Topeka a
number OF the Union companies in
the agency in which the Continental
was associated, held out to the agent !
an oner Of an additional compensation,
which OF course is in the nature of a
br1be, providing he would throw out
OF his agency the Continental The !
Da1t held out was too alIuring for the
Iopeka agent and he resigned the
agency Of the Continental and even /
went so far in the letter rendering his
resignation as to give the whole snap
away, by saying to the Continental (
Cnat IN order to get this additional
compensation from the Union COM
panies, he had concluded TO resign the
agency OF the Continental" which of
course, was a genteel way of firing the
company out Of his agency; thus is
Illustrated one of the methods of the
Insurance trust Of trying to force into
the trust, non-U Union companies
might say incidentally, that the To-
peka agent who threw out the Con
t1nentaI company is a sick and sorry
agent ana he has been the recipient of
lHe curses and maledictfOns of his
brother agents in consequence He has
sald, referring to the Continental 7
9ldne think they would do this" He
4io not comprehend that the situation /
was loaded" but owing to the fact |
that q sucker is born every second in
this world, there is consequently al
ways one Of them ready to twist a