Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-10-04

insurance, and at the request of the
insured it was made in four separate
periods, but under single policy.
The application states that the policy
Shall cover four separate insurance
contracts, the principal reason for this,
it appears, being that the insured was
unable to pay the premium at one
time, each applying to it's correspond
ing period. The insurance company
claimed the right to affix the stamps
to the application instead of the policy
and contended that the amount of the
stamp should be determined separ-
ately for each of the four periods dur
ing which the contract runs. The
commissioner of internal revenue, on
the other hand, has ruled that, altho
the payments are made in Install
ments, the entire amount of the
premium is and has been fully deter
mined at the time of issuing the pol
icy, and, as the policy is for a stated
period and a fixed premium, it should
be stamped for the terms of insurance
included therein. In his ruling the
commissioner says:
Two questions, therefore, are sug-
gested by the inquiry:
l. II Lie oJdlup
by the act of June 1888, be affixed
to the policy of insurance, or to the
application of such policy?
"Second-Should the amount there
of be such as. is required by the en-
tire premiums to be paid during the
period of one year for which the pol
icy of insurance runs, in the aggre-
gate, or may the stamp duty be di-
vided into four parts and separately
affixed with each successive payment
during the periods in question?
"As to the first question, would
advise you that the act of congress
requires stamp to be affixed to the
policy of insurance. or other instru-
ment, by whatever name the same
shall be called 1T is true that in the
present case the application is ex-
pressly made part of the policy, and
it is, therefore, true that the applica-
ton and assignment of the wages do
form part of the entire contract of
| insurance. Nevertheless, the term,
! policy of insurance. as used in the
act of congress is a technical word
| with well-ascertained meaning, and
ordinarily applies to the specific in
strument by which the company
| agrees 10 pay certain amount upon
conditions therein stated. The appli-
cation does not, of itself, insure, and
policy of insurance may not be
granted as applied for. To the extent
that its statements, if false, may in
validate the policy, it forms part of
the contract of insurance, but it is
not commonly regarded as the policy
but only an instrument of writing pre-.
ceding and accompanying it. l am
therefore, of opinion, that congress in,
tended that the stamp should be af.
fixed to the policy of insurance, and
not to the preliminary application.
AS to the second question, there
can no longer be any doubt, in view
of the case of Buckalew VS.. United
State (102 Fed. Rep. 32O), in which
the circuit court of appeals for the
| fifth circuit decided upon facts which
are precisely those set forth in youl
inquiry that the policy was a policy
issued for one year, and that, there
fore, the amount of tax to be affixed
when the policy was delivered was tt
be ascertained by the aggregate of the
premiums, even tho the premium:
for the entire year were payable IL
four installments."