The San Francisco call., 1906-09-09
THOUSANDS To SUE
THE WELCHERS.
Litigation in Courts of
Three Lands Against Con-
Germs Is to Be Begun
STAKE IS $4,000, 900

Not less than 10000 suits against
welching German fire insurance COM
psnies may be brought in the next few
mcnths to secure payment of policies
for which liability is now denied. Lit
ieation unparalleled in magnitude in
this line is about TO begin The losses
of policy holders who looked to Ger
man and Austrian welchers for pay
mtnt are estimated at s20,000.000 in
round numbers. &he sum may exceed
even that. The existing figures OF loss
are made by the companies. Many poll
icies were burned and some companies
have failed to supply any data to guide
those who are trying to recover.
Within the next fortnight many suits
will be prepared to be submitted to
the United States Circuit Court in this
city An equal or greater number will
be shaped up for presentation TO the
courts of Germany and Austria. The
Organized Policy-holders. the several
organizations representing the policy
holders of the Transatlantic, the Rhine
and Moselle and the North German fire
insurance companies and possibly
some individual attorneys will at once
seek to find whether the German
welchers can escape all liability for
payment merely by setting up a tech
nical defense or an earthquake clause.
ON WAY TO GERMANY.
Two repre- sentatives of San Fran
cisco policy-holders are now on the
way to Gernany--Messrs. Drummer of
the Central Trust Company and the
Gelmania National Bank and Gustav
Gutsch, who particularly represents
the Transatlantic Policy holders AS
soc.ation and the North German Pol
y-holders' Association Brunner went
out to represent banking interests and
also the Organized Policy-holders He
was Instructed to engage attorneys and
70 get matters into shape for the
Wholesale legal proceedings that are
Just ahead Gutsch was instructed to
act similarly for the Transatlantic and
the North German of Hamburg policy
holders.
Attorneys for the Organized Policy
holders say that the suits to be brought
in the United States Circuit Court in
San Francisco will make matters dou-
bly, secure. 1t is generally believed
now by the lawyers connected with
several of the organizations of San
Francisco policy holders that Califer-
mia judgments will not be accepted by
the courts of Germany
The abandonment By the Policy hold
ers' League. composed of the repre-
s4ntatives of the commercial organ
izations and commercial snd savings
banks Of San Francisco, of the attempt
to collect on policies for losers has re-
suited in sending large number of
policy h olders 70 the several other pol
icy holders associations that have
hea eadeuarters in the Western Addition
in this city.
PLAN IS ADOPTED.
A plan has been adopted by the Or
eanized Policy holders to collect on
policies on a contingent fee. No pol
ICY holder is required to make any de-
pcsit or payment of any kind. as It Is
explained. until the company tnat owes
for losses has been compelled to pay.
ALI the organizations of policy-holders
have come to the conclusion that
neither the Transatlantic, North Ger
man of Hamburg, Rhine and Moselle
ner the Austrian Phoenix of Vienna
will pay what is due from them to San
francisco without compulson. Hence
suits will be filed in myriads. That
the dockets OF the German. Austrian
and American Federal courts will be
clcgged with insurance cases is ex-
pected. Suits in Germany must be
brought individually and not on as
signed claims.
DISPOSITIONS in thousands of cases
will be taken in San Francisco. Scores
OF lawyers may be employed in the
trial of suits. Every sort OF a oues-
tion concerning the validity of earth-
quake clauses, about the validity of he
Insurance as an asset and regarding
the actual causes of the several fires
that took place in San Francisco and
burned UP the mercantile and largely
the residential sections last April will
be thoroughly discussed and becomf
the bases of judicial decisions on boti
sides of the ocean.