Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-01-27
InyEsrlGA1ING INSURANCE.

not always above suspicion by MS COL
leagues in the senate and it has al
ready been made apparent to every
member of the legislature that the
state agents for competing eastern
companies are excessively active in
pushing forward the matter of an in
vestigation. However, there are condi-
| lions in Des Moines which could be
disclosed by publicity to the benefit of
the policy holders, but any investiga-
| fairness and with care not to furnish
the eastern companies a club with
which to pound their western compe-
| tition.
| All eastern companies are more or
| less affected by the New York expos
ure, no matter how innocent them
selves, and any action by the state leg
islature to Investigate Iowa compan-
| les" would point the finger of suspicion
at some very strong and clean Iowa
companies and be heralded in the
newspapers of other states, where all
Iowa companies look alike greatly to
the detriment of their business. The
Equitable of Iowa, for instance, COM
pany with 100000 of assets, and
against which not criticism has ever
been made, even by a competitor, gets
half of it's business east of the Miss
issippi river. In the states of Ohio and
Indiana an investigation of Iowa COM
panies by the legislature would bring
all Iowa companies, the Equitable in
cluded, under suspicion until the re-
port was filed. For these reasons it
would be we'll for the legislature to
go slow and when it does move in
clude all companies doing business in
Iowa.
OF course an investigation of all
companies would be beyond the phys
ical capacity of any one commission,
but the insurance department of the
auditors office might be authorized to
investigate outside companies and to
set before the legislature the facts IN
it's possession as to Iowa companies
most of which have already been under
investigation. The people of Iowa and
the members Of it's legislature should
have confidence in man like Auditor
Carroll. He should at least be heard
in committee before anything rash is
done.
The thing which aroused legislative
suspicion was an anonymous letter
placed on the desk of each member set
ting forth eight reasons why an in
vestigation should not be made. With
i'm a. few days a Des Moines paper
published a letter from Mr.. Rawson, |
president of the Des Moines Life In
surance Company, presenting the same
objections, and the query Immediately
arose why does the Des Moines Life
fear an Investigation? Competing
agents were not long in explaining that
Mr.. Rawson was drawing a salary of
s12 600. while his wife acted as vice
president at a salary of $4,000, and 1t
looked like another case of the whole
dam family"
Salaries Of this kind for that COM
pany will be considered extravagant.
There are other extravagances con-
nected with other companies which will
be criticised such as excessive expense
in securing new business, etc. 1t is also
claimed that the auditors department
has refused to approve certain secur-
tiles of Mr.. Rawson's company to the
amount of about $125,000, but this COM
many has ample securities on deposit |
besides these to make it completely SOL
vent. so that the exposure will disclose
extravaganza rather than weakness. 1t
is claimed by agents Of eastern COM |
panies that officers of the Des Moines
Life have borrowed money from the
company, giving as security mortgages
on land in an Idaho irrigation district
and that the land is not worth the
amount of the mortgages, and it is
claimed that these are the securities
which the auditor has refused to ap-
prove. Senator Molsberry refers to
such a transaction intimating that the
officers of the company are also inter-
ested in the irrigation venture, and
have Indirectly loaned the money Of the
company to their own speculative en-
terprise after the fashion of Depew |
Improvement Company.
Another criticism charged by Sena- |!
tor Molsberry is that another company
has carried 100000 of borrowed money |
on which 1t pays seven per cent inter-
est, but which 1t fails to report as a /
He probably refers to the
Royal Union which has such q fund
and it was put up voluntarily by the |
stockholders under contract which |
signs away their legal claim to it and
provides that the money shall be paid
back only at the discretion of the di
rectors and never until it can be done
without impairing the company's re-
serves and that 1t shall draw interest |
the same as other funds. The full de-
tails OF the transaction have been