The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-11-28
MAY SECURE VOTES
NO LAW TO CONTROL LIFE INsUR-
 ANCE MEN.
Alabama Agents of Big Companies are Free to work for "Administra- tiOn Tickets'-Department
 May Investigate.

That the State Insurance Department of Alabama Is not authorized to take active part in restraining agents of
 the New York Life Insurance Company
 and the Mutual Life Insurance Com
 pany of New York from securing votes
 from stockholders of the companies to
 be used for the administration" tick
 cts at the coming election of officers
 under the existing statutes. and that
 the agents of the companies are, there
 fore, wholly under the domination of
 the comrany administrations. was the
 opinion expressed in number Of places
 in Montgomery yesterday.
 Alabama has no law. several prom
 inent lawyers agreed yesterday, which
 will permit of the State Department
 of Insurance interfering with the con-
 trol of the companies over theg agents, as had the State of New York, and, un- ' less some other method of procedure can be followed, the alleged proselyt- | ing of proxies, which is going on In
 the State. may continue.
 This point was definitely brought out yesterday, when a letter was received by Governor Jelks from G. R. Scrug-
 ham, manager of the International Pol icyholders Committee, which is waging the fight against the administration" tickets of the two companies mentioned, in which 1t was suggested the chief
 executive take steps to have the H.
 censes cancelled of agents found to be working for the company" tick cts. This letter was only one of hun dreds which have been received by the Governor since the statement published several weeks ago in which he urged the policyholders of the two compa- nes in Alabama to have their votes cast for the ticket endorsed by the
 International Policyholders' Commit tee.
 The letter was referred to Secretary
 of State E. R. McDavid. who is also State Commissioner of Insurance. Ow- ing to the illness of Commissioner Mo David, no action has been taken in the matter, and Deputy Commissioner A. c. Sexton declined to give out a statement until he should have had op- portunity to discuss the situation with the Commissioner.
 The question of the right of the | Department to interfere in the matter,
 however, was brought out by the let | ter. Such action, under the Armstrong l insurance law, passed by the New York ! Legislature since the disclosures of the
 insurance investigation, is permissible and legal in the Empire State At present, lawyers say, there is no stat 1 ute on the lawbooks of Alabama which
 would justify such action, and. there ] fore, so far as this State Is concerned, ! the insurance companies have practi- cally a free hand. If the present ad-
 minstration of the two companies wishes to enforce unon its Alabama
 agents the securing of proxies to be
 used in the election of the admins 1 tration" ticket, the agents cannot be l prevented,
 One lawyer interviewed on the sub
 iect dissented from this view. Accord ! ing to his conception of the nature of
 the companies, and the nature of the ! Armstrong law, the companies, with | headquarters in New York .are held
 for the action of all their employees under the New York statute. It is pos
 sible the Armstrong law passed in New 1 York State can be made to apply to agents of New York companies in other
 States. It is possible a ruling on this point will be requested of the Attorney | General of Alabama by the State In- | surance Department, before any action l shall be decided upon4
 While Deputy Commissioner Sexton yesterday refused to make a public statement of the probable action of the
 Insurance Department. 1t is understood | the attitude of the department Is srong- | lv in opposition to the proselyting of proxies through agents in the inter- est of the administration.