Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-12-07
SUPERVISION OF INSURANCE
Congress- Should Consider Whether
Such Regulation is Not Now an
Absolute Necessity

i 81 i
The great Insurance companies afford
striking examples Of corporations whose
business has extended so far beyond
the jurisdiction of the states which Gre
ated, them as to preclude strict enforce
lnent of supervision and regulation by
the parent states. In. my. last. annual
message l. recommend THAT the con-
gress carefully consider whether the
power of the bureau of corporations can
not constitutiopally be extended to COW
er interstate. transactions in insurance"
Recent events have emphasized the i'm
consideration Of this question, to see
whether 1t is not possible to furnish bet
have been able to furnish against COR
ruption of the fragrant kind which has
been exposed. 1t has been only too clear
the head of these large corporations take
but small note Of the ethical distinction
between honesty and dishonesty: they
draw the line only this side Of what
honesty necessary in order to avoid fall.
ing into the clutches of the law. or
course the only complete. remedy for
this condition must be found In an
aroused public conscience, a higher
sense of ethical conduct in the commu-
nity at large, and especially among bus,
mess men and In the great profession Of
the law. and in the growth of a spirit
which condemns oil dishonesty. whether
in rich man or In poor man, whether 1t
takes the shape of bribery or of black
lation which is not only drastic but
practical. There is need of far strict
or and more uniform regulation of the
try. The United States should in this
respect follow the policy of other ma
TOPS by providing adequate national. SUI
pervision of commercial interests which
are clearly national In character. My
predecessors lave repeatedly recognized
that the foreign business of these com
pan!es is an important, part Of our for
Administrations Of President cleve-
land, Harrison, and. Mckinley. the state
department exercised it's influence,
through diplon,atie channels, to prevent
tries against American insurance COM
panies. These stations illustrated the
proprfety of the congress recognizing
In the: absence of federal legislation the
state department. Gould only give. ex-
preston to. the wishes Of the authori-
ties Of the ,several states, whose policy
was ineffective through want Of uni
formity
All Insurance Included
repeat my previous recommends
ton that the congress should also con-
slider whether the federal government
has any power or owes any duty with
respect to domestic transactions In In
surance of an interstate character. That
state supervision has proved Inadequate
is generally conceded, The burden upon
insurance companies, and therefore
their policy Holders. of. conflicting regu-
lations of many states, Is unquestioned,
while but little effective check Is i'm
posed upon any able and INSCRIPTIONS
man who desires to exploit the COM
pany in his own interest at the. expense
of the policy holders and of the pub
lie. The inability Of a state to regulate
effectively insurance corporations Great
ed under the laws of other states and
transactlng the larger part of their bus
mess elsewhere Is also clear AS rem?
edy for this evil Of conflicting, inef-
fective, and yet burdensome regulations
there has been for many years a wide
spread demand for federal supervision.
The congress has already recognized
proper subject for federal legislation,
for in creating the burean Of corpora
tons it authorized It to publish and sup
ply useful information concerning In
terstate corporations, Including corpor-
ations engaged in insurance" 1t Is OBJ
yious that If the compilation of stalls
tics be the limit of the federal power,
1t is wholly ineffective to regulate this
form of commercial intercourse between
the states, and as the insurance business
has outgrown In magnitude the possibili-
ty OF adequate state supervision, the
congress should carefully consider
whether further legislation can be had.
What is said above applies with equal
force to fraternal and benevolent or
CARNATIONS which contract for life in
surance.