The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1906-09-10
FRANK Z. HOWE, Editor and Publisher
ALame Excuse.

The Vermont insurance commission
ers did not cover themselves with glory
In their report just issued. The fol-
lowing Is from the Wilmington Times;
The report Of the insurance commits.
sioners has Just been distributed. Re
ierring 70 the scandalous disclosures
OF the year In relation TO certain OF the
New York Life Insurance companies,
the report goes on 10 say. at was
unfortunate, however, that the reyela
tlons, serious as they were IN charac-
ter, should have been so magnitied and
distorted In the daily press as ~ cause
alarm among policyholders respecting
the solvency OF the companies lnvolv-
cd, leading many 10 suffer their con-
tracts 10 lapse.
Why should the insurance commits
sioners OF this state officially publish
such an utterly untrue charge against
the very agency which unearthed the
rotten management ~ the companies
concernedY Substantially without ex-
ception the press OF this country, from
the beginning OF the insurance scandal
has over and over again sounded the
warning: "Don't let your policies
lapse; these companies are solvent and
will continue 10 be solvent. Instead
OF Una gnifying" and "distorting',
the existing conditions, the newspaper S
for long time failed 10 realize the &C.
tual ext, Mt OF the crookedness, while
official investigation developed far
more serious mismanagement than had
been alleged by any newspaper or mag
azine. The Vermont insurance com.
missioners have adopted very stale
and cheap device to cover their own
inexperience aud inability TO cope with
the big problem OF insurance laws by
crying out against newspaper sensa-
tionalism.
BY the way, whose interest is their
work In anyway-the state or the In
surance companiesy Here they come
along with recommendation for the
appointment u state fire marshall
a measure desirable TO the companies
but there Is no word OF protest
against the welching procliyties Of
these organizations which, after peck
citing large profits during many proli-
tic years, endeavor to shift their San
Francisco losses onto their policyhold-
ers by increasing rates out OF all rea-
son.
As q matter OF fact Vermonts ex-of-
icio board OF insurance commissioners
amounts to mighty little. Its report is
OF small value for 1t consists Of next 70
nothing beyond reprint of the reports
OF the various companies. As "a pro
lection to the policyholders 1t is use
less and its annual report costs q lot
10 print. II the state cannot afford TO
have an expert commissioner II might
as we'll get along without any.
The Banner had been intending TO
pay its respects to this report OF the
insurance commissioners, Messrs Ba-
con and Fleetwood, on account OF this
report but the Times has covered the
matter so we'll that little more need be
said though we do not agree with the
Times that the commission is wholly
useless. 1t has several times proved
OF real importance and value but that
has nothing to do with its foolish
statement relative 20 the insurance
scandal.
II there is one reason for which the
public have reason to thank the news
papers 1t is for the reform accomplish
ed in life insurance. The honor be-
longs almost wholly to the papers
which forced the investigation and fur
nished much OF the evidence. True
some timid policyholders we're simple
enough to drop their contracts and
lose what they had invested, but far
better that than that the abuses had
gone on, as they would have gone, un.
Til the great life insurance reserves
had become impaired or dissipated
and the wreck would have involved
millions which the reform has saved.
The statement OF the commissioners
in their report is not worthy of them.
1t sounds like the cry-baby wall of the
agent of discredited insurance COM
pany.