Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-09-08
RADICAL TACK ON INSURANCE
Creation Of State Board Asked to Fir
Rates TO Be Charged,
FOLLOWS RAILROAD COMMISSION LINES
Republican Committee Issues Reply
60 speech of Claude n. Porter.
Democratic Candidate
for Governor.
(From a stan Correspondent


sition to have the legislature create an in
surance commission to fix insurance rates.
The matter was brought to the attention
of the commission today by a letter from
Mr.. E. A. Nye OF this city. Ii. II. Lantz,
an insurance agent, is the originator OF the
idea. The rates on fire Insurance risks
in this state as in many others was fixed
by board and known as the board"
rates. All insurance companies write at
those rates only. Henry Bennett of Cedar
Rapids was chairman of the board and the
enforcement OF the rates was rigid till the
legislature passed the anti-compact law,
which made board rates illegal. Insur-
ance men now assert that the companies
are losing money because of the cheap
| rates. They propose that the legislature
, be asked to create a commission that will
| fix adequate rates just as the railroad COM
mission fixes freight rates. The iegisla-
tive commission beyond briefly discussing
the proposition has taken no action and it
Is not known now whether they will give
| such radical legislation any consideration
| or not.
After Harrison County Girl.
James Pennington of Logan-is in the city
| hunting for his daughter Mildred. who he
believes has eloped with James Parker Of
4 Council Bluffs. He has asked the assist
ance of the police in finding her. Miss
Pennington is is years old and II is said
by the father did not meet Parker TIL
three weeks ago in Logan. 1t seems to
have been a case of love at first sight and
although the girls father forbade 1t he
fears they have left together to get mar
ried.
No Reformed Spelling.
State officials will not adopt the simplfed
| Nyot aN1a 81 NJ he eta 70
| can be found who favors II TO the extent
| OF adopting It in official correspondence
| Several OF the officials believe there Is
room for considerable reform in spelling
but believe in the gradual growth of the
| reform rather than the abrupt adoption
| OF the change. They believe It would be
| all right IL all would adopt II. but as
some will not they believe the adoption
| by some would cause confusion.
Martin without Authority.
Secretary OF State w. b. Martin said
today that he did not have any authority
other than 10 approve or disapprove OF
i the work of the state binder. The State
| Federation of Labor and the Des Moines
| Trades and Labor assembly have filed with
| the secretary of state a protest against
the payment TO the state binder for bind
| ing the Official registers on the ground
that the work, contrary to law, was done
outside the state. The amount involved
is about $4,000 and the union labor men
assert that the work is contracted to be
| done In Chicago. They ask the secretary
of state to refuse TO pay the bills. Mr..
Martin said today that he recognized that
the law requires the work to be done in
side the state. but that he had no authority
| to investigate and find out whether or not
1t was so. done, and no appropriation Is
available to bear the expense of an in
vestigation. Secretary Martin has not
given his final answer, but believes that
his only authority is the approval or dis
| approval of the work when II Is deliv-
cred. He will investigate further.
Fraternals Increase Rates.
| The Mystic Toilers, a frater4Ial insur-
ance company with the home ONCE In this
city. has raised it's rates, largely because
of the known attitude of Auditor Carroll
and the legislative commission. The raise
applies to the old members, putting them
on the same basis as the new members.
who are paying an increased rate put into
effect January /.
Committee Issues Statement.
Securing possession of an advanced copy
of the address OF Claude r.. Porter, the
democratic nominee for governor, at Of
tumwa last night, State Chairman Frank
p. Woods Of the republican state commit
tee set his literary bureau to work and
the result is a statement issued today to
all republican newspapers in the state in
which the weak places in Porters speech
are pointed out. The chief claim of Chair
man Woods Is that Porter is trying to
stand on tariff for revenue only" demo-
| cratic platform and yet win the votes OF
the Ugh protective tariff republicans OF the
state. He points out that Porter attacks
Governor Cummins for not voting for the
elective system ffor the railroad commits
sion and then attempts to show that under
the elective system freight rates have been
higher than In other states; that Porter
attacks the republican state platform and
says its declaration against domination of
corporations is new and novel; and then
quotes from the writings OF Lieutenant
Governor Herriott, Secretary Shaw and
others of the party leaders, In which they
take stand against corporation DONNA
ton; that Porter warns democrats mot 10
be mislead" in the matter of Cummins'
alleged democratic tendencies" and then
for the purpose Of winning republican
votes devotes a great part OF his address
to try to show that Cummins does differ
from his party" The statement Of Chair
man Woods is preliminary and general
answer to Porter and further documents
will be mailed to the republican press of
the state analysing the speech more In de-
tail and more at length on some of his ut
terances,
Chinese Consul Here.
Consul General J. w. Ragsdale OF Tien
Tsin. China, has just reached Des Moines
on visit to his brother. q. ii. Ragsdale
OF this city. Consul General RaesdaIe left
Tien Tsin July and reached St Peters
burg July q after crossing the continent
in the midst OF las civil strife. He win re-
main In this country till about October
1. when he will sail from San Francisco
for China
HumestOn Citisen Missing.
James Lynch. a citizen of Humeston. is
being sought by the police this afternoon.
The police have been informed that he has
been missing from his home for several
days
WOOdhtne TO Have Carnival.
WOODBINE, Ia, Sept. 7.-(Special -
Woodbine's irst annual carnival will be
held on Wednesday. Thursday, Friday and
| Saturday Ganfemhar o 80 ~