Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1905-12-07

| states should in this respect follow the
| policy of other nations by providing
| adequate national supervision Of com
| mercial interests which are clearly ma
| tlonal in character. My predecessors
| nave repeatedly recognized that the
| foreign business of these companies is
| an important part of our foreign com
| 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
l repeat my previous rccommenda-
| 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-
| nicting regulations of many states. is
! hHNueStOneu, Wnlle Dut little eHeCllVc
| check is imposed upon any able and
| INSCRIPTIONS man who desires to ex-
| plot the company in his own interest
| at the expense of the policy holders
and of the public. The inability of a
| state to regulate effectively insurance
! corporations created under the laws Of
| other states and tranSacting the larger
part of their bust ess elsewhere is
! also clear. AS a + medy 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
1t 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 su-
! pervision, the congress should care
| fully consider whether further legiSla-
| tion can be had. What is said above
| applies with equal force to fratcrnal
| and benevolent organizations which
/ e
Under the subject Of national revenues
| the president makes a plea for the enact
! mont of reciprocal arrangements between
! this and other countries, but does not ask
| for any tariff legislation at the present
| tine. In tho 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-
! ocutive departments. While none Of
| these inquiries have yet progressed
/ Gar 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
! duated and inefficient. There is every
! mental machinery should be at least
| as well planned, economical and
| efficient as the best machinery of the
| great business organizations, which at
| present is not the case. To make it
| 50 is a 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
| l recommend that the congress con-
! slider this subject with 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
memts. that will best promote the
| economy. efficiency and high character
OF the government work.
Federal Elections.
on the subject of federal elections he rec
| ommendS that 1t be made unlawful for pO-
! itical parties to receive campaign con
! trbutions 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
| evils aimed at in corrupt practices
| acts Not only should both the ma
! tonal and the several state legisla-
| lures forbid any officer of a corpora
| tion 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.
The Hague conference and the sub
! icct 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
! The Hague in 1899 being unable to dis
pose OF all the business before it, recon-
! mended the consideration and settlement
of a number of important questions by
| another conference to be called subse-
| quently and at an early date. These
| questions We're the following: o. The
| rights and duties of neutrals; (2l the
! Limitation of the armed forces on land
! and sea, and of military budgets: go the
use of new types and calibers of military
! and naval guns; 90 the inviolability of
! private property at sea in times of war;