The Oskaloosa herald., 1903-03-26
THE BLANCHARD LAW.
State viii Uphold it Against the
Insurance Trust.

Des Moines, March 24-The state
of Iowa will make just as hard fight
as possible to save the Blanchard anti
combine and anti-compact law now on
the statute books as it is possible to
make The law forbids agreements
among insurance companies as to
rates or commissions or other essen
tials. 1t was substantially the Ne
braska law that was declared invalid;
in fact, the Nebraska law was copied
after the Iowa law after the latter had
been in force year, and only slight
changes were made in the wording.
| The Nebraska law was attacked in the
federal court and Judge Mcpherson
declared it was contrary to the consti-
tuition in that it interfered with vested
rights and with business. Now the in
surance combine has attacked the
Iowa law in the same way. Attorney
General Mullan will prepare the de-
Tense of the Iowa law, and Iowa will
have one advantage in that the attor-
ney general is in dead earnest in his
defense of the law and will make
fight just as hard as 1t is possible.
State Auditor Carroll also has the
same feelings in the matter. When
| the Nebraska law was attacked in the
courts the insurance commissioner de-
clared frankly that the law had not
been enforced and it was not his IN
tention to enforce it. But Auditor
Carroll takes different view.
"The law will be enforced in Iowa"
he said. Il have not been in office
long enough to know much about the
operation of the law or to receive any
complaints of it's violation, but shall
not take the attitude that the law win
not be enforced AS long as it is on
the books shall do whatever | can
to have it lived up to-"
AS matter of fact there has never
been any enforcement of the law be-
cause there has never been any eyi-
dence laid before any proper official
that there was violation. Mr.. Mer-
riam, while he was state auditor, de-
clared his belief that the law was be-
ing violated, but that he had not proof
with which to convict anyone. 1T
came to his knowledge that the com
panies were organizing into combines
| all over the state, especially in the
leading cities, but he was unable to
see any way in which the penalties OF
the law could be applied to prevent it.
But the insurance companies do not
want the law en- the books, even ii it
does not interfere seriously with the
mailing Of uniform rates. An insur-
ance man explained it this way:
The law stands as a constant men
ace to us. In most of the larger cities
we are able to accomplish that which
the law sought to prevent through our
present organizations. The rates are
fixed and determined and all must live
| up to them. But if one agent should
cut rates or advertise to do so or break
away from the established order, it is
easy enough to bring pressure on him
to force him into line. Most agents
want more than one company for busi-
ness. If they are reported against
they will lose the companies that are
| in the agreement. This system works
first rate in the cities, and in Des
Moines, Burlington, Sioux City, Daven-
port Dubuque and such cities, the
law does not interfere with us in the
least. But in Fort Dodge, Waterloo,
Oskaloosa and cities of that class it
is found almost impossible to main
tain any system or keep up the rates.
| There are in most Of these cities some
tof the best agents who will not join
our association as long as the Iowa
law stands there. They feel that to
do so would be to violate the spirit
of the law and they do not want to do
even this. 1t is therefore regarded as
essential that the law be declared I'M
constitutional
The policy Of the insurance lobby be-
fore the last legislature was to leave
well enough alone. No attempt was
made to get any new legislation and
all that was done was to fight Off any
thing that looked dangerous. Moth
ing could be got through a committee
that was in the slightest degree dis
tasteful to the insurance lobby. Some
of the insurance men are understood
to depreciate the fight on this law be-
cause they feel that if it is destroyed
they will reopen the insurance legisla-
ton and get something a good deal
worse.