Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1905-12-06

form rssulation ST the vast insurance
| interests Of this country, The United
| States should in this respect follow the
policy OF other nations by providing
| adequate national supervision of COM
| mercia1 interests which are clearly ma
| tional in character. Ny predecessors
| have repeatedly recognized that the
foreign business of these companies is
an important part of our foreign COM
J mercial relations. During the admin
| istrations of Presidents Cleveland,
Harrison and Mckinley the state de-
| partment exercised its influence,
| through diplomatic channels, to pre-
vent unjust discrimination by foreign
countries against American insurance
companies These negotiations illus
trated the propriety of the congress
| recognizing the national character. of
| insurance. for in the absence of fed
eral legislation the state department
could only give expression to the
wishes of the authorities of the several
| states, whose policy was ineffective
| through want of uniformity.
| I repeat my previous recommends
| ton that the congress should also con-
slider whether the federal government
| mas any power or owes any duty with
respect to domestic transactions in in
| surance Of an interstate character
That state supervision has proved in
adequate is generally conceded. The
burden upon insurance companies, and
therefore their policy holders, of con-
| f1icting regulations of many states, is
unquestioned. while but little effective
check is imposed upon any able and
INSCRIPTIONS man who desires to ex-
ploit the company in his own interest
at the expense Of the policy holders
and of the public. The inability of
state to regulate effectively insurance
corporations created under the laws of
other states and transa acting the larger
part of their business elsewhere is
also clear. AS a remedy for this evil
of conflicting, ineffective, and yet bur-
densome regulations there has been
for many years a widespread demand
for federal supervision. The congress
has already recognized that interstate
insurance may be proper subject for
federal legislation. for in creating the
bureau of corporations it authorized
it to publish and supply useful in
formation concerning interstate cor
porations. Including corporations en-
gagged in insurance" 1t is obvious
that if the compilation of statistics be
the limit of the federal power it is
wholly ineffective to regulate this
form of commercial intercourse be-
tween the states. and as the insurance
business has outgrown in magnitude
the possibility of adequate state SUI
pervision, the congress should care
fully consider whether further legisla-
ton can be had What is said above
apples WITH eQOaI force TO Iraternal
and benevolent organizations which
; | contract for life insurance.
| Under the subject of national revenues
the president makes a plea for the enact
ment of reciprocal arrangements between
this and other countries, but does not ask
for any tariff legislation at the present
time. In the same connection he asks for
economy in appropriations.
Business Methods in Departments.
On the subject of graft in the several
government departments that have been
under investigation he says:
At various times I have instituted
Investigations into the organization
and conduct of the business of the eX
ecutive departments. While none of
these inquiries have yet progressed
far enough to warrant final conclu-
sions, they have already confirmed
and emphasized the general impress
| sion that the organization of the de-
/ partments is often faulty in principle
and wasteful in results, while many
OF their business methods are anti
quated and inefficient. There is every
reason why our executive govern
, mental machinery should be at least
: as we'll planned, economical and
: efficient as the best machinery of the
great business orga niZationS which at
| present is not the case. To make it
so is task of complex detail and es-
: sentially executive in it's nature; prob
ably no legislative body, no matter
| how wise and able, could undertake it
with reasonable prospect of success.
I recommend that the congress con-
slider this subject with a view to pro-
vide by legislation for the transfer,
distribution. consolidation and assign
ment of duties and executive organiza-
, tions or parts of organizations. and
for the changes in business methods.
, within or between the several depart
ments. that will best promote the
+ economy. efficiency and high character
of the government work.
= Federal Elections.
On the subject of federal elections he rec
ommenGs that it be made unlawful for po-
litical parties to receive campaign con-
tributions from the corporations, and also
that it be made unlawful for corporations
to give such contributions, and in this con-
nection he says:
Contributions by corporations to any
: purpose should be forbidden by law;
: directors should not be permitted to
: use stockholders money for such pur-
poses; and. moreover prohibition of
. this kind would be, as far as it went.
, an effective, method of stopping the
9 evils aimed at in corrupt practices
acts. Not only should both the ma
tional and the several state legisla-
lures forbid any officer of corpora
, ton from using the money of the cor
: poration in or about any election. but
they should also forbid such use of
money in connection with any legisla-
ton save by the employment of coun-
sci in public manner for distinctly le-
gal services.
The Hague Conference.
n The Hague conference and the sub
I | ject of arbitration generally is treated
: of at considerable length. and in this
| connection an explanation is given of
this governments connection with the
coming conference in the following
words:
:, The first conference of nations held at
C The Hague in 1899. being unable to dis
pose of all the business before it, recon-
a mended the consideration and settlement
r of a number of important questions by
/. another conference to be called subse-
t uuen.ly and at an early date. These
e questions were the following: % The
| rights and duties of neutrals; (2) the