The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-03-06
INSURANCE SUIT ON.
Hearing of Anti Trust Cases Is
Begun.

The hearing Of the suit brought by
County Attorney Nichols, under the
antitrust law. against the Aetna Fire
Insurance company, was begun in the
district court this morning There are
IS similar suits against other companies
doing business in Topeka. and the hear
ing OF the Aetna viii be the test case.
A few weeks after Nichols went into
office in 1901 he brought the 56 cases
He charged the companies with. yiolat-
ing the state antitrust law by combin-
ing on rates and using. to maintain the
combine, the tEldridge rate book" The
law provides that il It is found that
the companies are violating the anti
trust law that they shall be liable to
fine and a forfeit and if the 56 cases
could be sustained there would be a neat
sum of several thousand dollars to go
into the Shawnee county treasury.
Mr.. Nichols is being assisted in the
trial of the cases by D. r. Hite. Over
n1yer, MulvaHe & Gault represent the
Aetna company. Some time was spent
when the case was called this morning
in deciding the manner of proceeding i'll
the case. The first witness placed on the
stand was Frank Thomas. Topeka agent
for several companies. He IS the man
who declared war on the combine rates
a few years ago.
The first effort was to establish the
fact that Harrison Clarkson operated
rate bureau and supplied the fire in
oil dilCt companies IN Kansas Win a
rate and THAT when Insurance Commits
sioner McNall went after the rate
bureau that the ClarksOn bureau went
out of business and that then the Ed
ridge rate bureau was established.
Inc attorneys for the insurance COM
pany objected to everything that might
throw any light on the conditions and
suggested what the court should do,
but Judge Hazen was disposed to know
a about the bureau and his rulings were
t feCllRdJV against the Insurance COM
pany. After David Overmyer had OBJ
/ Jeeted to everything that came up
Judge Hazen said: I want the law
yers to assume that the court knows a
/ little about this case. There is a diff
/ ference between trying a case before
a jury and q court. You can some
times make a jury believe things"
Thomas testified that the Clarkson
bureau went into the rate business in
/ 1885. and that then the fire insurance
i companies bought the Clarkson rate
/ book and that all the companies in the
combine made that the basis for fire
/ insurance rates in every town in Kan
sas. Previous to that the ratings were
made by local boards Of insurance men.
Thomas said the CIarksOn bureau would
determine the rates and print them in
book form, and that the insurance COM
panleS would buy the books and send
them to their Kansas agents with in
structions to use the rates prescribed
therein.
MIR IhomaS testified that during Nc
Nails term as insurance commissioner
that the rating bureau went out OF
/ business, but that when McNaIl went
out Of Office in January, 1899. that the
Eldridge rating bureau began doing
I business at the old stand and that it has
been in operation ever since Thomas
1 testified that Eldridge was a clerk in
Clarkson's office before he started the
/ Elldridge bureau when the Clarkson bu-
reau went out of business. He testified
that the Esldridge books are almost the
same in form. etc. as the Clarkson
books