Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1903-09-11
COMPLAIN Or FEES.

COMPLAIN OF FEES.
insurance csmpanIss' charess Against
1sshlsr and Merriam.
Des MoineG, Sept. 1.-THE inves.
tigAti0n which the state executive
council directed Auditor OF State Car.
r0ll TO make into the question OF fees
collected from insurance companies
by hhe insurance examiners of Iowa
working under former auditors, has
been completed. practically, and the
facts - ascertAined have been made
: matter OF record in the ONCE OF Mr..
Carroll.
The Information was elected from
insurancS companies, Auditor Of State
Merriam having failed to make up the.
record ON direction OF the executive
council. The replies OF the companies
now In the hands OF Auditor Carroll
show that during 1899, 1900, 1901 and
1902, there was collected from tnsur.
ance companies In Iowa and other
states, fees amounting to approximate
" S22,5OO for examinations and ex-
penses. The money was paid by the
companies to Mr.. Max Beehler. OF
Manchester, principally. On two
trips made by him the then auditor,
Mr.. Merriam, accompanied and as
sisted him in examining about twenty
two companies, charges being made
for his expenses, and about $1,000 be-
Ing collected. Some Of the smaller
Iowa companies were examined by p.
L. Camp. Mr.. Beehler appeared to
a. ntuk In ort0 nj N a.
tons by his son, in one by Council
Bluffs man, and in another by MT.
Topper, OF Los Angeles.
Many Of the companies which re-
ported to the present auditor com.
planned bitterly of the charges made
for the so-called examinations, and OK
the extravagant expenses. To deter
mine the extent Of the examinations,
the companies were requested to state
the time occupied by the Iowa officers
in making them. Not to exceed seven
or eight days appears to have been
nut upon the books Of any single com.
pany, and In such cases the charges
went as high as several hundreds OF
dollars. It 10 the theory OF the omcers
and insurance men that adequate ex.
aminations cannot be made by single
experts in q few days. OF the larger
companies adequate examinations
would take weeks. In one case com.
pany reports that 1t only saw the card
OF the examiner, and he collected $4S
for leaving 1t. .
The reports of the companies, for in.
stance, show that from May IA to
June IA, 1902, Messrs. Beehler and
Merriam together examined six east.
ern companies and collected ices
amounting to $2,524.20 for it.
From November 10, 1902, to Decem-
Der II, Of the same date, fifteen other
eastern companies were examined by
them. and fees amounting to $4,OO3.45
were collected therefor.
In the last week In March, 1902, Mr..
Reehler. examined two California con.
Germs, and charged them $l,7OO:
Before the executive council had
gone far into this investigation 1t dis
covered that the state was powerless
to do anything on account OF the fee
collections Of the auditor and his IN
surance examiners.
An inquiry was made of the attor.
ney general as to the power OF the
council to require the auditor to &C.
count for the fees General Mullan
went into the law very carefully and
decided that there was no statutory
authority for requiring the auditor to
account for the collections. Therefore,
the state cannot recover the fees.
But the council asked the attorney
general II the auditor OF state was not
required by the law to keep a record
of the fees collected and this the at
torney general said was required by
law. Auditor Carroll is now engaged
in inscribing upon this record book
the reports made as to the Merriam
Beehler collections and will keep his
own examination accounts therein, II
any are made.
The council has gone into the mat
ter of recovery Of fees paid but has as
vet been unable to discover any
method by which this may be done.
As to the power of the companies to
recover fees voluntarily paid by them,
there is doubt. It Is said that the
Iowa law might be sufficient II there
was extortion, to permit indictment
and prosecution for oppression In
Office. But, this prosecution must be
at the place where committed SO that
il there were plain guilt In this mat.
ter, even, possibly the New York or
Minnesota or California or other state
| laws would not cover the matter as do
Tho iowa statutes