The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1905-06-08

there being insurance. asked thia
Hartford man how his city got %
much money. He replied that It was
made in the insurance business. He
went on to tell me something of the
style In which the insurance ma agnates
of his city lived. He said that a
e50, 900 house was rather q modest
home for big Hartford insurance
man. There is no big surplus to tempt
your officers. They are not living in
S50, ,000nouses. Such houses as they do
live in we're not built with insurance
premiums or insurance money of any
kind. Your secretary gets all of $500
year. Your directors and president
get all of $500 per day when they
meet about your affairs land they
meet usually four times year. Your
executive committee gets 81 90 each
every Saturday for examining and
passing upon applications for mem.
bership fee. This is the sum total of
your pay roll.
In the dissentions of the great life
insurance company to which I have
alluded, one faction contends that
the company should become mutual
insurance company; that its policy
holders should control 1t, and the men
who are making this contention are
recognized in the insurance world as
experts in the insurance business. l
hope those old line insurance agents
who have been busy warning our mem.
hers of the dangers of membership in
mutual company will take note Of
that.
The fact Is that our company is not
a mutual insurance company as known
to the law of Ohio. Our company is,
under the law of Ohio, mutual pro.
tective association, while mutual in.
surance company under the same law
is organized and carried on very diff.
ferently from ours. But in so far as
the control of our company is con-
cerned we have what the insurance
experts are contending for. They
claim to be contending that the policy
holders of an insurance company
should control its affairs by the elec.
tion of its officers. That Is what the
members of this company have done
from its:beginning and will do again
to-day.
In the face of the fact that of the
one hundred and more companies like
ours IN Ohio only one has failed In
prompt payment of losses and that all
the others are in the full tide of p. os-
porous work, giving protection at
moderate expense to their members.
1t is somewhat annoying to have our
policy holders coming in now and then
with circulars that have been mailed
to them, and sometimes typewriter
letters, calling their attention to the
one Ohio failure and to failures of
other companies in other states organ
lied and carried on under entirely diff
ferent laws andl by entirely different
methods. and making unfair and some.
times untrue statements about our
company. 1t Is not exactly pleasant,
either, to see articles in our local
newspapers of the same kind, evident.
ly from the same source. But we can
afford to be charitable. We are writ.
ing new risks at rate that shows
such methods of competition to be
failing in their purpose. The facts
that for six years our losses have been
promptly paid and protection given
our members at about one-half what
they would have Ibeen compelled to
pay in the old companies speak for
themselves.
We have no quarrel with the old
line insurance. Although 1t Is very
much too expensive it is great deal
better than gnone. For those who
choose to swell the fortunes and help
guild the palaces of insurance nabobs,
or for thosel.who are unable to get
assessment fire insurance, it Is well
enough. But If we choose to do other
wise and, as we think better, that is
our affair.
In closing I'sdesire to compliment
our members for the promptness
with which our assessments to meet
losses have been paid. confess that
when we we're struck by the tornado
that devastated north.west Highland
county little over year ago l had
some fearslthat some of our members
might leave US, but my fears were
groundless.E Ouriheavy assessment to
meet this tornado loss was promptly
met, and, instead.of being disaster,
was a benefit because it proved the
safety andstability of our company.
Let us 60 on as we have been going
and The Central Mutual Fire Associa.
tion will not only continue but increase
its usefulness.
Schrier-Fine Tailoring.