The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-08-28
Resents Attempt of Successor
to Make Campaign Thunder.
Says Most of Money Claimed
He Collected.
THE RATE REDUCTIONS
Discusses Question of Why
They We're Lowered.
Rating Bureaus and Destruction
of Competition.

The Republican state committee is
sending out considerable literature,
prominent among which is a circular
discussing insurance in Kansas This
particular circular contains extracts
form the report of w. ". Church, SUI
perintendent of insurance, special refer
ence being made and prominence given
to that part of the report which at
tempts to prove a great reduction in
insurance rates during the incumbency
of the present state administration.
AS matter of fact the last report of
the superintendent of insurance is
campaign document. according to the
Interpretation and action of the state
committee.
The committe has been circulating
this literature very generally and the
attention of Webb McNall, who pre-
ceded Mr.. Church in the department,
has been called to the document. After
examining it Mr.. McNa1l reached the
following conclusions:
This insurance report for 1899. which
IS being used as a campaign document,
embraces the business from january,
1899, until December 81, 1399 I was in
the Office as superintendent from Janu-
airy 1 until the morning of March il,
1899, two months and fifteen days.
During that time collected and turned
into the state treasury, from insurance
companies, over $4,000. I also turned
over to Mr.. Church, my successor in
office. some $1s.5O0 of the Firemen's Re.
lief fund.
This insurance report which is now
being used for campaign purposes
shows that Church collected and turned
into the treasury for the credit of the
year, the sum OF 500, 5s0.24; to the
Firemen' Relief fund the sum OF $780,
1851
1T is all very well for the administra-
70 Gle T..rf
desire to call attention to the fact
that collected during the two months
and fifteen days I was in the office
$4,000 of the above amount and turned
over to Mr. Church, by personal check
on the Central National bank, about
$500 of the 20.140.S1 of the Firemen's
Relief fund which Mr.. Church says he
collected.
THE latest report from the depart
ment places great emphasis upon the
claim that the administration has been
responsible for q material reduction in
insurance rates. AS to this I will say
that during the time / was in the de-
partment in 1899 insurance rates were
gradually going down all the time, be-
cause of the fact that competition had
been introduced by the shutting out of
the Clarkson rating bureau.
1.-THE state administration knows and
everybody else knows, that the 1nsur-
ance rates of 1898 were lower than those
of 1897 and this was due to the de-
Struction of the ClarkSon bureau
ut will be remembered that in 1899
there was a rate war in Topeka brought
about by the contest between the union
and non-union companies, the conten-
ton being caused by war against the
non-union companies because commits
Sions of 20 to rs per cent were paid by
that class of companies while the non
union companies paid but Is per cent
Frank Thomas, a Topeka local
agent with the Continental Insurance
at his back, one of the strong
T,s4 fakn
est companies IN the OnlIeo states,
started to cutting rates Rates were
made so low that on a five year policy |
that had run three years, the policy |
could be surrendered and cancelled and |
for five years could be obtained from |
the Continental.
This was carried on until the union |
companies surreneded. This fight was |
responsible for the reductions in the |
cost of insurance amounting to several
thousand dollars and with which the |
state administration and the insurance |
department had nothing to do Yet, we |
find out now that all this was due to |
the sagacity of the present administra-
ton.
This is amusing especially in view /
Of the fact that the rates which were
agreed upon by the administration and !
the insurance companies were higher |
than those rates which were in force
at the time the agreeemnt was made
Insurance men from one END OF Ine
state to the other will substantiate this |
fact.
Another fact is that this administra-
ton had built up and fostered the Ed
redge rating bureau so there is no COM
petition in insurance rates. Eldredge
was clerk in the Clarkson rating bu-
reau, so an illegal combination has been
protected and permitted to do business
under the very nose of the admipistra-
ton.
THE reductions in rates have been
due to causes not in any manner identl-
fed with the present administration,
the fact taht the docu-
ments printed by the state are being
as campaign material"
RI1RIINGTnN RnuTE