Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1905-12-16

washington, Dec. l0.-Mf. Cochran
of New York maintained in the
house today that the power of taxation
was legitimate weapon for the con-
troll of the privileges of commerce.
The reason the senate was steadily in
creasing i'm power, he said was be-
cause II constantly exercised every res-
tige OF its power. Emphasizing the re-
attOns of the houses. he asserted that
powers unused would decay, and that
the house now possessed all the power
necessary to establish its predomi-
nance
Discussing life Insurance Mr.. Cock
ran said;
within my memory the three large
companies have accumulated a billion
and quarter of dollars. and IT VIII
not be a generation before this sum
will he five or six billions.
The utter Viciousness of this con-
diuon is that these funds are under
the control Of men who have no per-
sonal interest in them. This money is
a trust fund, and yet the persons who
are the benehciaries of the trust cam
not have word to say regarding
them. This system must be wholly
uprooted to effect "A cure"
Mr. Cockrans remedy was to con-
fine the Insurance companies to the
state in which they were organized,
the same as savings banks are con-
fined. Believe me, he declared,
there is not the need of paying sal
-al& OF, Sl50, coo a year by any insur-
ance company TO protect its policy
holders, but it is necessary to get
man to swindle them"
II was an awful spectacle he said,
70 see these men mount the witness
stand and boldly confess their msuses
Of the peoples funds. There is now
the spectacle in New York he said
If the district attorney working night
ana day to prosecute those guilty of
violating the purity of the ballot box.
which was commendable. But at the
same time the insurance officers did
not go to jail hut back to their offices
He said ii was a deplorable confession
tn make, but he would assert that II
would be absolutely impossible TO put
the pCssessor of $i0.000,000 in any
Jail of this country.
Mr.. Cochran described the method
Of stock gambling practiced by msur-
1nCe companies and said that the
thousands Of successful instances left
no record behind. II was only the few
failures whore the companies were
required TO make good that record
was made As a proof that no special
skill Is necessary In insurance for in
I'VE have but to look at the method
by which these three companies have
undertaken to reorganize themselves,
What Is the first thing they have
done? DO they 20 out and look for
Insurance experts Not by any
means The first thing they did was
to send them all away
The Equitable company has been
organized on somewhat peculiar ba-
ais. 4 very rich gentleman whom we
AL have the right, ! presume. to call
~ philanthropist- for he himself has
said II. aud Il is greatly TO his credit
0aughter) purchased control of this
company. giving S2.500. 900 for stuff
that can pay him hut S3.500 a year.
That Is 10 say, through his philanthrO-
by he has given an earning power of
$685. 900 for $3.500 He is too good a
business man to have done that as a
matter of course. There Is no expla-
nation for 1t except philanthropy
Laughter)
\ Financial Vigilance Committee
Now. in order to appease the popT
ular mind on the philauthropic entcT-
prise, what has he done2 Has ltr
gone to the insurance world to find
this talent that Is worth $3.50 600 "A
year or $4,000 year? BY no means.
He has gone outside and appointed
a kind OF financial vigilance commit
tee. and not one of the vigilantes has
even had anything to do with an in
surance company except that possibly
one OF them may have borrowed mon
ey from IT, \ very eminent statesman.
one Of the most illustrious men of our
time. has been called from the classic
shades Of Princeton where he has
been spending the decline after an IL
lustrious life In composing philosophi-
cal contributions TO the Thought OF the
country and placed in the chair of an
insurance company, with which so far
rs ! know, he has never had the
slightest acquaintance whatever.
Another gentleman. who may have
borrowed money from an insurance
company but certainly never had any
thing To do with the administration OF
one himself inancier of no mean
distinction. Is associated with him.
and the third is Judge. an emil
neut Judge a Judge whose motives
nobody will ever question. but who In
taking on this peculiar function OF q
vigilante has been compelled to dis
qualify himself from sitting In a great
number OF cases which the state Of
New York had expected him to ad-
judcate.
A King at Morton.
And I'm order to make effective this
reform a gentleman Is selected who
may have been a good railroad man
| believe he was--and we have The
authority OF the president for Il that
he was an excellent cabinet officer,
too good. In fact. 10 remain (laughtef)
and this gentleman. who. In the walks
Of life where he had proven his eff
cheney l do not believe could COM
mand over $4,000 or $4,000 a year.
gets $4,000 In calling for which he