Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1905-09-29
INSURANCE.
Stand by the Well Managed Companies.

From the Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin.
The revelations before the New York
legislative committee relative to the SCI
cret financial operations of certain life
insurance companies are startlingly sig
nihcant. They unmask moral obliQuity
on the part of men high in life insurance
circles, and indicate woeful disregard
of trusts which in a social sense trans.
cend in Importance those of the fiduciary
institutions which are directly associated
with the commercial life Of the nations
and while they constitute only the be.
ginnings of the investigation now in
progress, their astounding character will
give the movement toward national con.
troll of life insurance companies an IRE.
sistible impulse.
National supervision and the publicity
incident thereto will not be unwelcome to
the majority of the life insurance COM
panies of the United States. The off,
Gals of the life insurance companies
which are conducted with due regard for
the sacredness of the trust imposed In
them by the policy holders must feel that
public accounting is the one way by
which the life insurance business can be
placed beyond the smirching influence Of
men who can be tempted into surrepti-
tious and illegal handling of trust
in the position of solvent and solid banks
during times of public excitement incl
dent to failures of sister banks through
embezzlement or unwise banking: and IL
is as illogical to put all life insurance
companies on the same plane with those
whose affairs have been unmasked to
their discredit as it would be to COM
denim all banks because Of the
failure of several as result
OF criminal acts or mlsmanage'
ment. Life insurance companies have
come to be as indispensable as banks.
and people cannot afford to asperse CONF
panies which are rightly conducted be.
cause of the wrong doings of officials Of
other companies On the contrary, they
should be moved in self-interest to up
hold the well managed companies while
they are condemning those whose officials
have been guilty Of gross violations OK
trust.
Self-interest should dictate resoluts
support Of companies which can say. as
does the Northwestern Mutual Life OF
Milwaukee In its annual statement, that
it has never been involved with other
financial institutions nor had any con-
nectlon whatever either as company or
through any of it's officers with any other
line of business" and whose presidents
can say, as does President Palmer Of the
Northwestern Mutual Life. in his annual
address, regarding the assets of the COM
pa n.y. coo, 900 900 :; u+, ouorr dol.
clean, safe, solid assets; there is nothing
in it to be thrown out. There has been
no trickery in buying these bonds. There
has been no dickering with the securtss
ties of this company for the interests or
any officer No investment has ever
been made and none exists today. irf
which an officer has any interest what
ever outside Of the interest he feels az
an official in transacting the business.
They are not members of any syndicate;
Never while they live and are officers
of the company, will they go into any,
arrangement by which the assets OF the
company, or any part of them, may be
manipulated for the purpose Of putting
money into their individual pockets ;.
Surely, life insurance companies which
are thus rigidly Snd impersonally mani
aged should not be judged III the same
class with the companies concerning
which so much has been revealed that 10
reprehensible and disheartening.