New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-09-25
CONTROL OF CORPORATIONS
JOHN A MCALL. PRESIDENT OF THE
NETWORK LIFE SPEAKS BEFORE
INSURANCE MEN

protection of all policy holders. excepting those
held on account of foreign corporations of other
| c,ntries when they shuld be held for the pro-
lection of policy holders in the United States only
The report OF the committee on unauthorized in
surance companies was read by j. Y. Barry, OF
| Michigan.
by John A Mccall. president of the New-York Life
| Insurance Company. Mr.. McCalls topic was ST.
pervision of Life Insurance in the United States
| but this subject naturally included the broader
question of the control of corporations in general
which is Just attracting much public at
tention After reviewing the history of life lnsur-
ance legislation particularly in Massachusetts and
New York, the speaker continued in part:
When one contemplates this formidable array Of
is left to the discretion of insurance offclals IN en-
forcing the g aI 52f TIE story is
told of eminent divine that at one of his FRIDAY
right of women to speak IN religious assemblies
ThereuRon woman arose and deiae i've o, iGnS
her remarks, the clergyman said: 'Neyertheiess
ing" And so Notwithstanding the defects OF state
supervision the expense and annoyance It IMPOSES
I believe the evils of no supervision at al wouIo
he Innntey grfateT ens Oh tbe Evils of non
supervision the evils OF anarchy human nat
VIII b liz on indiIdnaI responsfhflty If you
aTe T going to catch fish with net You must make
the meshes fine enough so that the FISH cannot ger
to stop some very small holes, the faithful his
torian must admit that IT was because some com
pany had endeavored TO get through an aperture
OF Just such dimensions.
PROTECTION FOR THE PUBLIC.
seek the motives Of these various ft4b RE
them in any great measure any other purpose
than a desire to protect the pubic. some OF ile
or xampls s2s Ste ne tax hey 5syiea on
f9 S was 20 per cent and
from 1893 to 1887 the tsX levied on suc9 PREM
York was 10 ner cent These taxes were prac-
ucally prohibittve and were intended so TO h 6e
these states while State supervision is more firmly
IS still grievous and unjust in States but it
would probably he equally or more unjust If there
There was taxation before there was Supervision
and so far the right or wrong Of either is con-
cerned each stands on its own merits.
SPECIFIC legal grounds for justification of this far
First-In the fact that the life insurance company
is a o 81 crfsTn n6weSs declares how
those powers shall be exercised. provides penalties
granted provides for its dfssolution--in short.
ercises over it the power Of IRE ana deatn 5ne
the state and makes The state. He has, riEhts
the State may not take away except as punish
which the does not create and give. and haV-
tracts with citizens. the state may properly requl
not only that the corporation show us ability 70
fairs according to acknowledged principles OF
The corporation viewed as a legal entity has an
interesting and Instructive history. which throws
strumentaites Of civilization which the modern
world enjoys the corporation originatcd in Ro,me;
government erected for the purposes of controlling
aPd 5ss omaa t Fm qfnse
maintain that corporation is modelled MODS upon mi a
gin and derivation. These were the views Of such
distinguished authors as Bowler and Mcintosh
Fr9 its s 8eon 2es 5nd powers Ss and
as time went on collateral municipal purposes +Gch
organizatio AS the idea grew and developed the
system applied TO the creation Of ganizatons
ipal organizations and which were devoted [" the |
emolument Of their mem3erf Inc latter form nai
now it may be safely said that the business Of the
p wGT but By the Organized work Of millions Of
people who are combined under and work through |
ALWAYS CREATURES OF THE LAW.
In all countries where either the civil law the |
common law prevailed the creation of corporation
created either by the sovereign or by legislative |
enactment In the Thirteen Colonies at the time Of
brogb fheIr yepgesentatfves in the federal Cn
gress or in the legislatures of the several States.
according their powers were divided, The |
different States of the Union have power to charter
and create corporations; as also has the federal
ter Of the corporation was originally accomplished
by special and at the present time In ten States
the original sf exists an otbp
Of the Union have in their constitutions prohibit
ton against granting corporate powers by special
enactment. and all corporations must be incor-
porated under general laws and not otherwise.
II will he easily seen. therefore, that
tons which in Rome were originally municipal
governments and have ever since been created by |
the of States and nations, have ALWAYS
been under the control of their creators Hence
the right States to create supervise reg
ulate corporations is not only transmitted or in
attribute of sovereignty of the State itself Chief
Justice Marshall said, in the celebrated Dartmouth
College case. that "a corporation Is artificial
being. invisible. intangible and existing only
contemplation of law; being mere Of
law. ii possesses only those properties which the
charter of its creation confers upon it, either
pressy incidental to its very existence
Secor I-CIroundS for State supervision ais
o found in the fact that life insurance com
pany is moneyed corporation, with liabilities ex-
tending into the distant future.
Moneyed corpora lions are justly held accountable
the State, because they hold in trust other peo- |
pies The first corporate banks chiefly,
received their charters: but they also established
the principle of dealing in credits. by making de-
petual annuities of the British government at the
present day, and by issuing circulating notes
against deposits Of coin. The Bank of Amsterdam
after a successful of nearly two hundrei
years. furnished impressive illustration of IN,
neeG of periodical examinations of moneyed cor
porations The bank supposed to have in its
vaults S5O.oOOcoO, but when in 1894 the civ va
captured by the French. the French army co..
stituted itself sort of superintendent of banking
State supervision came too late this case Much
of early history revolVes around IerisIa
ton concerning moneyed corporations. and we
never had a safe currency until the exigencies of
civil compelled the establishment OF The ma.
tional bank system. and the supervision nv tba
government of national banking corpora tons
PASSENGERS OF TWO TRAINS STARTLED