The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-10-05
Talks of Nevada,s Action.

John c Mccall secretary of the com pany, stated that there were only 4o,Uo people in the entire state, and that llo0 of them were policy holders. The com pany had never thought 1t worth while to have a branch office in Nevada. but all the business was transacted from Cah- fornia and Utah.
 MT. Mccall said that increasing com pensation to agents was 2 temptation for agents to rebate, but Mir Mccall said under the New York license" system the agents contracted not to do so and forfeited benefits of that system if they violated their agreements. He then went into a detailed statement of general leg islation, saying:
 Dread Beginning of Year.
 With the beginning of every year, dare say it is the feeling of every exec utive officer-I know 1t Is of myself-that for the ensuing five or six months of the year we shall be badgered and harrassed to death In every state in the union by the introduction of bad bills of every kind. Sometimes men of honor will feel they have a right to amend law, and their motives are all right, but mainly the general insurance legislation of this country emanates from people who are desirous of striking at insurance com panies. believe that three-fourths of the insurance bills introduced in the United States are blackmailing bills The man. agement of these companies really trem- ble In the beginning of the year as to what they have to encounter during the first six months of the year.
 Tt is condition which I think your committee could do much to provide against if it would pass law similar to the Massa achusetts law. which has been very effective I think, that every bill in- troduced shall be lodged or reported to the secretary of state.'
 MT. Mccall said that the New York law of 1899 did not wholly prevent rebat- ing, but 1t had done much good and that the New York Life Insurance com pany had done as much as possible to make the law effective. He had dis charged many agents for rebating.
 In regard to blaming the tontine and de- ferred dividend plans of insurance, Mir. Mccall said:
 Every fund of the New York Life h. surance company has a class There Is no fund which may be expended on motives Of It's officers There is no reserve or sur plus that does not come under the pro- visions of the laws of New York"
 View Is Too Extreme.
 MT. Mccall was asked if he agreed with Elias Wright, sponsor for the Massa- chusetts forfeiture law of 1S61 that a lre insurance companys reserve should be the absolute property of the policy holders. The witness replied that he did not; he thought MT. Wright's view an extreme one. His one view. MT. Mccall said, was that charge against the re- serve on a surrendered policy was legiti- mate. The poicyholder who surrenders policy breaks a contract, said MT Me- Call and 1t was only just that charge be made against his reserve toward the expenses the company would have in writ ing new policy.
 In reply to a question, Mir Mccall said that the New York Life Insurance com pany did not make deduction in favor of German subjects in order to keep it's hold on German business.
 Lawyer McKeen said to him
 Tt has been alleged that there was a discrimination in favor of Spanish soldiers during the late war;
 ''I can answer that by saying that the New York Life did not issue policy to a single Spanish soldier during the war"
 MT. Mccall said the New York Life In surance company began to make loans to It's policy holders in 1892
 You know 1t Is against the law for companies to make loans against their own policies?" asked MT. McKeen "I never heard that before," replied Mir. Mccall.
 Senator Fully asked how general prac- tice is among the companies.
 MT. Mccall said, We have been forced into 1t lately and there is really no dif- ference between loans on policies and surrender of values, except in the latter case the policy does not continue In force.
 Weeks Is Called.
 Rufus Welles Weeks, actuary and sec ond vice president of the New York Life Insurance company succeeded MT. Mc- Call n wItnacQ After In nir,o in detail of tables and technical man. agement, Mir. McKeen brought out that the company paid agents more for de- ferred dividend policies which are easier to write, according to the witness. than they paid for writing the annual dividend policy. After much questioning by Sena- tor Armstrong. witness said this was be- cause the deferred dividend policy was more to be desired by the company, as 1t furnished a fund to carry on new business Mir. McKeen asked him about the declaration made by the New York Life Insurance company in it's returns to the Prussian government, which show ed the dividend on the deferred policies and asked an explanation of greatly in- creased payments in the final year of the tontine.
 Mir. Weeks said there was very little connection between the final allotment and the interim allotment The share of the surplus each policy had earned was not added until the end of the period
 'The interim dividends are simply added to satisfy the Prussian government"
 Yes" said Mir Weeks.
 "It seems to me" said Mir. Mckeen. to MT Weeks. that your company is run ming mad to get new business, and in do- ing so forgets the interests of the policy holders''
 Mir Weeks denied this. He also stated that If the New York Life Insurance com pany did business on an annual dividend basis 1t would not be able to continue.
 Lawyer Hughes read a letter from the home office of the New York Life Insur- ance company to it's general manager for Europe. in which 1t stated that in 1902 the company had to borrow N40OO, 900 from its surplus to purchase new business. In one year the lawyer showed the new business cost the company about g. 700. GOO over and above all premiums received from It. The sum paid out to get the new business was $10.7S5,575
 The premiums from new business paid to the company in the year amounted to S3.0S5, $40.
 Mir Weeks admitted that the total ex- penses of the company would be reduced