Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-07-15
Walter WeIIman on the Future
OF Old Line Life Insurance
Shaking-up Of the Equitable Came Just in Time to
Clear an Atmosphere That was Growing
Murky and Lead to Important Reforms.

Walter weilman in q recent letter
says:
Life insurance is 10 be cheaper In
the United States. Management In
10 be made less expensive. The com
missions Of agents are 10 be cut down.
Various economies VI administration
are TO be introduced Less insurance
10 TO be written on the deferred divi.
dend or semi-tontine plans and more
for the purpose 10 which life insnr-
aBce ~ best adaptable protection
for dependents. Supervision by state
authority liz TO be more strict. and
federal supervision Is among the pos
sibiliries-almost among the probar
bilities-N the near future. There lis
to be less petty differing among life
insurance officials and a keener APP
probation Of the character Of the
trust reposed In them. There Is 10
be less intimate relations between
company managers and Wall street.
These are some Of the beneficient
results which, I believe. are 10 come
from the Equitable scandal. Nor In
15nany yearsfhas fhet life insurance
world had Aien a sinking np. The
Equitable expose has served as d
warning to many other companies
10 put their house In order" They
have taken stock, as 1t were. with
a view 10 learning whore they we're
weak and where overloaded. Reform
is the slogan In every insurance
company In the country toiay.
Honest managers are trying To stop
leaks and to introduce better mefhols
through conviction as 10 duty. Iyis.
honest or careless or Indifferent man.
ayers are trying TO do the same thing
through fear OF being found ont,
What they fear IL the press, public
lily. public opinion.
The petty rascalities In the Equit.
able have cost the members OF that
society a few millions Of dollars.
Their loss will mean hundreds OF mil
lions OF gain TO the American people
In our generation.
Not all OF these reforms will come
at once. That Is too much to expect.
They must come slowly, gradually.
Some may never fully materializn.
Some sNl practices will continue.
others will develop. We have not
reached the millennium, nor are we
likely TO reach 1t. But | am convinced
bottom was touched when the Equit.
able revelations shocked the country,
and that from now on, both morally
and practically, life insurance man.
agement IL To be on an ascending
grade. We should not be too op,im.
istic, but there Ia no occasion for pes.
simism. The foundations Of faith are
mo- shaken. The country Is not going
to the dogs.
II was high time. The thunder.
clap that II helping to clear the nj.
mosphere was sadly needed. IL had
become mnrky. Life insurance had
been drifting. Bad men and bad
methods had come into too much
prominence. In my opinion. based
on pretty careful investigation, more
explosions are wanted and are coming.
Equitable was not alone. There are
others.
There are dozens more companies
In the country thar need o~yerhanling.
that need cleaning out. Some OF
these are big companies and ON are
smaller. Part Of them are I'm New
York and others In THE provinces"
A few Of them should be taken by The
throat and be wound up and be nut
ont OF existence. There are state IN.
surance officials who should be I'm.
peached IL they do not do their duty.
In another dispatch | may have some
thing plain and particular 10 say on
this score.
That life insurance Is To be cheaper
during the next few years I really
believe. Talks with a number OF
leading insurance men Indicate they
are AT last convinced that they take
too much money from the people and
give too little In return. The a
ager ~ q of the largest companies
said 10 me today:
II am In favor Of a change Of meth.
Oh on the part Of the biggest compan
les. We should get together and map
ont q new policy. In the first place
we should stop this .rnlnous com.
petition for new business. Instead of
trying TO get large volumes Ct pew
business by main strength-by pay
1yast sums to solicitors and
should make life insur
ban that the people viii