Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-24
INSURANCE TAX DECISION
". ID. Nicely Declares Life Insurance
Men Are Grateful for Action of
supreme Court.

OMAHA, Dec. 23.-To the Editor Of The
Bee: Referring to the article in The Bee
entitled Are Not Much Interested" and to
the interview with Mr.. Steer and the com
ments following, | have no hesitancy in
saying that Mr.. Steel is hardly the repre-
sentative of mutual legal reserve life in
surance companies to have interviewed on
this subject, II your object was to get a true
expression of feeling as to the Weaver
bill.
or course he had no objection to the bill,
as the company he represents will have to
pay the tax imposed by the Weaver act,
notwithstanding the supreme courts de-
cision. This is due to the fact that Wiscon-
sin taxes gross premiums 2 per cent and
the reciprocal act on the statute books of
Nebraska makes the same tax apply to the
gross premiums collected in Nebraska by
all Wisconsin companies.
Life insurance companies do not ask to be
exempt from taxation, although the tax as
1t applies to Insurance companies conducted
on the mutual plan means an increase in
the cost of insurance by the amount of the
tax, but they do object to being discrim-
mated against.
No other corporation or individual is taxed
to any such extent. as was contemplated in
the Weaver bill, by the state of Nebraska.
If it was possible to get proper returns
from other corporations or individuals as
easily and if it was as impossible for other
corporations and individuals to evade the
law as 1t would have been in the case of
life insurance companies under the Weaver
bill, the states treasury would be full to
overlooking with money.
AS trustees of funds for the protection of
widows and orphans and for old age, the
managers of mutual legal reserve life in
surance companies feel it a duty to en-
deavor to stop, as far as possible, along legi-
innate lines, this craze that has been sweep
ing the country to tax their gross premi-
ums.
Mr.. Steel's company did all it was pos
sible to do to defeat the measure before
the Wisconsin legislature. That it failed
does not carry with it it's endorsement of
such a tax measure.
Mr.. Steel's position reminds me of a story.
Four young men went out hunting and it
was agreed. that no matter how bad the
cooking was-and they were to take turns at
it-there was to be no kicking. All went
we'll until one of the boys thought he would
have a little fun. So he cooked a batch
OF cakes that were simply execrable. But
still the boys did not kick. Then he made
a pan OF biscuits, one part dough and nine
parts salt. The boys pitched into them
and began coughing and splitting, but they
tried to choke them down. The cook asked
them what was the matter. "Oh. nothing
much; a little salty, but | like them-I like
them"
In closing l wish to pay my respects to
these other insurance men-life men, | pre-
sume-as IL appears under the heading Of
How it Affects Life Insurance" | do not
know who they can be and | doubt il they
are representative life insurance agents and
If they are they must have been misquoted.
| personally know nearly all the life in
surance men in this city and | know that
every one of them have discussed this
bill and all have a fairly clear idea of it's
contents and all, without exception, except
such as arc situated as Mr.. Steel is, If they
have the interest of their policy holders at
heart, cant help but feel grateful at the
action OF the supreme court.
If a comprehensive bill could be intro
duccd that would properly regulate all conf
panies proposing to do a life insurance bust
ness and would actually be the means of
protecting the people of this state land
that, primarily. was the only object of the
laws governing life insurance companies)
all honest companies would rejoice.
Had the Legislature OF the state OF Ne
braska passed such a measure instead OF
/, the Weaver bill, and senate file No. 80 in
corporated in the law in chapter xiii, sec
tion S5A, governing mutual benefit asso-
ciaticns," which gives mutual benefit as
| scciations the right to issue limited payment
/ policies, while such companies are not re-
| CURED by law to carry the reserve neces-
sary to meet their obligation as the legal
reserve life insurance companies are, it
would have been a satisfaction to all con-
cerned in legitimate life insurance, whether
under the legal reserve law or the assess
ment or fraternal law. II. d. NEELY.
Size doesn't indicate quality. Beware o.
counterfeit and worthless salve offered fol