Omaha daily bee., 1901-02-18
WILL RESIST ASSESSMENT
Policy Holders Combine to Fight the siou1
City Insurance Company.
IOWA PUBLISHERS WILL COOPERATE
Organization 90 peal with Advertisers
and Agent.-schoci Fund Interest
Qu-.tion-Iowa Miners 90 Meet
Pioneer Minister Ia Dead.

DEs MONIES. Feb 17.-tspecial)-Two
thousand policyhoders in the bankrupt
i Underwriters Mutual Fire Insurance com
pauy OF Sioux CITY, living in Iowa and Ne
/ braska are interested In an organization
/ effected BY them to resist collection oil an
assessment ordered by the court on the
policy notes held by the receiver OF the
company
The company was formed as mutual
companv about ten years ago by James
Mabie. A. u. Collier and =. +. Philbrook
al Sioux CITY and went into the hands OF
! receiver In 1894 Soon thereafter a large
number OF the pollcyholders living in east
ern Iowa met at Iowa city and formed
an organization TO resist payment OF any
possible assessments which might be made.
No movement was made to collect from the
policyholders until the first day OF the
present month. when Judge Wakefield OF
the district court Of Pottawattamie county
directed Receiver NJ J. Smith to levy an
assessment on all policyholders. ranging
from 10 TO Is per cent OF their notes ac-
cording 20 the time they were IN the COM
many. Immediately thereafter the organiza-
tion formed at Iowa City was revived and
enlarged and the policyhoders are gen
erally Joining to make concerted defense
OF the case.
The claim is that while IL was a mutual
,ompany in name Il did business In TACT
as a stock company; that under the Iowa
laws a policyholder is not liable on his
stock in n stock company; that in fact the
business done was illegal under the charter
Of the company and the policyholders are
not liable W. s. Thomas. n. oakes and
w. G.. Brooke constitute the committee OF
policyholders in charge OF the work OF de-
Tense The suit which Is inevitable, VIII
result in some new decisions IN regard 10
Iowa insurance laws.
school Fund Interest MuddIe.
The state auditor and attorney general
have recently had under consideration an
action Of the last Iowa legislature which
will cause some extra clerical service III
state departments The legislature passed
law reducing the rate OF interest on the
permanent school fund This was done
because OF a decreasing demand for the
, school money and the fact that much OF II
was not loaned out at interest. The rate
TO borrowers was reduced from TO per
cent and the rate chargeable to counties
by the state was brought down from TO
4ia per cent.
II has been discovered that the law which
provides for the interest chargeable by the
state TO the county on sales and resales OF
school lands and on sales OF escheated
property is different from the one modihed
This money does not become a part OF the
school fund until the first OF the year toi'
, lowing the time II goes into the county
, treasury Now the attorney general is
compelled TO decide that 3 per cent is TO be
charged on the money up to the first OF
each January, and after that It becomes a
, part OF the school fund and draws the
lower rate OF interest. II Will necessitate
much clerical work until the law Is
amended.
wants Federal Court.
The lawyers OF Davenport are making
a move TO secure the holding OF the federal
court in Davenport. 1t is complained that
the nearest points where court is held are
, Keokuk, Cedar Rapids and Dubuque and
that the business at Davenport would war
rant the holding of court there. Congress
, nan Lane has charge OF the measure. but
, has little hopes Of success.
MIX Inspection ia he Rigid.
In a short time the state dairy commits
sioner will start out on an inspection tour
that will be more thorough than anything
before attempted in Iowa. Two cities o.
Iowa-Fort Dodge and Waterloo-will b'
brought under the inspection law and have
milk inspectors appointed. while Fort Mad
ison will drop out because the census shows
II TO have less than 10000 people. A re
cent supreme court decision fixed the Law
that il is improper TO use any kind of pre-
servative in milk even though harmless
/, and this law is to be enforced rigidly. /
I is believed that nearly half the milk dealer
in the cities use preservatives.
= Iowa Mine Convention.
The annual convention OF the Iowa min
ers. or meeting OF delegates from the union
in district No. 10, United Mine Workers o
u America, will be in Ottumwa Thursday an,
the few days following. The convention
r will not finish its business until the meet
ing OF the miners with the operators at tn
r same place next week. The district com
: prlses all OF Iowa and the northern tier o
counties in Missouri The fact that tn
d national conference shut Iowa out agail
this year will make 1t easier for the seal
committees TO agree on scale, since
: will not be necessary TO consider the seal
q in Illinois. 1t is believed that there vii
: be no trouble in agreeing on a scale an
that it will he substantially the same a
the present scale.
0 Indorscs the sO-CaIled Fads.
The Central Iowa Teachers association
which met in Marshalltown the past wee
- and will meet in Boone next year, adopte
;. resolutions endorsing vertical writing 4
the schools, approving the law requirin
teachers to be examined in music indors
:. ing the tendency to introduce manual train
: ing In the schools asking for more heA
e ble system OF grading and classifyip
s schools and asking for law requiring tina
z all who are granted certificates TO teec
70 must be over p years old. These of1cer
+ were elected: President, z. D. Y. Culbert
n son, Ames secretary, Caroline Anderson
J. Marshalltown; treasurer, c. r. Moor,
y Waterloo.
~ Pioneer Preacher Dead.
n. Rev Samuel ". Ingham, a pioneer Meth
h odist preacher OF Iowa, died at the hom
e OF his daughter in Rutland, Humbold
IS county, Friday. He was one OF the meu
IS bers OF the first Iowa conference and bu
one other remains. He was SO years oil
= and was born In New York He wa
: brought by his parents to Indiana in 1sl
: and entered the ministry IN 1888. His frs
pastorate was Columbus Junction, where
: became circuit rider and covered a va,