The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-10-19
State Life Insurance.

What is to be the outcome Of the in
surance investigation? This is the CUES
ton great many interested persons are
asking themselves and one another. They
are reminded by recent events that ten
years ago the New York Life was put
on the gridiron by the New York Times
and President Beers was forced to re-
tire. The newspaper pursued him after
his retirement and compelled him to re-
linquish a pension the company had
agreed to pay him, perhaps as the price
of his giving up the presidency.
1t is evident that the same spirit Of
reckless disregard for the rights Of
policyholders was in the company then
and that the investigation which threw
out Beers stopped short Of what it
should have accomplished. It should
have made a recurrence of the condi-
tions under which Beers ruled difficult,
if not impossible. But the old investi.
cation seems to have been directed
merely against grasping official. 1t
did not recognize the existence of
system Of waste.
The present investigation has opened
the wound deeper and found the track
Of, the poison. Its chance, therefore,
of effecting complete cure is greater,
The facts thus far developed show
wastefulness, extravaganza and cal
lousness to moral restraints which are
perfectly astounding. One insurance
president goes on the stand and i'm
piously thanks the Deity that he had
the hardihood to deliver the money held
by him in trust to political commit
tee. Another smirks in the presence Of
the evidence that his fathers salary
is three times that Of the president Of
the United States, and comments that
there should be no limit to the pay of
the president Of an insurance company;
he should be paid in proportion to the
accommodations Of money in his charge
Another high official confesses that he
sold bonds one day and bought them
back two days later for the purpose Of
having them off the books when the
state inspector made his rounds.
p All Of these acts show a distressing
depravity on the part Of men who are
continually prating about their fidelity
} to the interests of widows and orphans.
|, The moral obliquity of the McCalls,
McCurdys and Perkinses demonstrates
} the need Of a, change of men. Whether
it decides the need of change Of sys-
tenn is another question.
: There are those who are demanding
national supervision of insurance as a
cure. It is doubtfu I'll prescription
National supervision would take the
: place Of state supervision, and once
passed by the national department., the
company would have clean bill Of
a health. But passed by one state depart
ment, it is still amenable to some othe1
7 state department, and where one fail.
l. to discover the real character Of a com
: pany another may. The complain
! against state supervision has been tina
. it did not supervise, but this is scarcel,
u true. The state departments have don
:! immense service to the public The,
: have by their insistence established tn
! principle Of the annual valuation o
" policies. and made the companies hol
= assets for the redemption of these va
= ues. They have condemned SO severel
- the practice Of appropriating the entir
;s value of forfeited policies that it ha
,, been abandoned. They have vigorousl
- attacked the tontine system, which j
% at the root Of the present scandals i
q life Insurance.. Such men as Zeno n
q Host, the Wisconsin commissioners, hav
,e been fighting the peoples battle fc
10 sound insurance conditions and hav
se fought it well, considering the Unite
le means at their command and Unite
id jurisdiction in which they work.
n The second and more radical cure
the substitution Of national or stat
+. insurance for private insurance. N