Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1906-02-21
FROM WASHINGTON.

the statehood fight, the Panama
Canal, the rate regulation question,
the pure food fight, and few other
active questions now being discus
sed i'm Congress, we hear very lit
lie about the Federal control of
Life Insurance companies. This
is extremity significant. and il be-
hooves the policy holder TO keep
a sharp lookout TO see that some
legislation of this character is not
sneaked through under cover OF
the smoke from these other battles.
Senator Dryden, President OF the
Prudential Insurance dompany. is
the prime mover in the matter of
securing Federal control, and not
on the policy holders account,
either. Such control would enable
the big companies 10 carry on their
business with supervision Of but
one board of commissioners. as IL
would entirely do away with state
supervision which at present
causes them 20 be Scrutinized by
some forty-five separate Boards.
Do you imagine that il these com
panies had been under government
tai control we would have been
treated to the recent exposures so
ably made by Mr.. Hughes in New
York; And don't you think il 5 TO
avoid a repetition Of this scandal
that the big companies are crying
for federal cOntrOk These com
panies don't need any federal con
troll, even if such control
were constitutional which |
very much doubt, rs all that the
government could control would be
that which they now regulate on
railroads, namely, TO prevent any
discrimination in rates, and no one
ever heard a policy holder kicking
about that. The real danger from
these monster corporations is that
they have accumulated such enor-
nous assets, and by means OF
their assets and the banks and trust
companies which they control
through these same assets, two or
three men now control over two
thousand million dollars of the
peoples money, and they are us
ing it solely and entirely To futher
their own schemes, through which
they hope 10 take more money
away from the people and get it
into their own Golfers. Federal
control is surely a great joke. So,
Mr.. Policyholder, be careful who
gets your proxy, and look out for
federal control, and when you hear
me holler grab your fountain pen
and take such steps as you can 10
make your Congressman kill any
bill that Is not 10 your interest.
Senator Money, of Mississippi,
last Thursday, presented to the
Senate his proposed amendment to
the Hepburn Pure Food Bill, in
the shape of the pure food bill ap-
proved and adopted by the Natio-
nal Food Manufacture Association,
which includes in its membership
every prominent manufacturer of
foods, drinks, confcctions, drugs
and condiments in the United
States. This amendment, which
has been approved by many of our
leading stateman, is drawn strictly
on the lines suggested by Presi-
dent Roosevelt in his last message
to Congress, that the pure food
question should be settled by regu-
latlon through interstate commerce
and not by prohibition. So favor
able has been the comment excited
by Senator Moneys action that
Representative Rodenberg, of Ill. ,
has already introduced the Money
amendment into the house in the
shape of an original pure food bill
which is verbatim copy of the
Money amendment! The hearings
on the pure food question in the
House commenced on February Il
and some very interesting sessions
are looked forward to, especially
as the Agricultural Department is
going to make 3 hard fight to retain
Its control of this branch of gov
ernmental supervision, for at pres
ent it carries some very large ap-
preparations with it each year, and
makes the indivual opinions of the
Chemist of the Department super
Tor to the Constitution of the Unit
ed States, or laws of this country
No wonder they don't want to give
Ii up. And II IL this worry fact