Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1907-07-04
SECURES PASSAGE OF BILL AT
TER IT HAD BEEN DEFEATED.
BANCROFT IN THE DOINGS
Handles Taxation Of Insurance Com
panies Without Gloves-Denounce
Practice of Paying High Commits
sions to Agents-Only Four Against
the Bill on Final Vote.

Madison, June rs.
Speaker Ekern scored his most nota-
BILE triumph i'll the promotion of in
surance legislation when he turned de-
fest into victory and secured the pas
sage of the Ingram-Sprague bill to tax
insurance corporations per cent. on
their gross income. excluding premi
ums collected in other states. The
final vote on this bill was Il to 4, aft
er it had been killed in the morning
by a vote of AZ to SO. The fight last
ed all morning and part of the after
noon, and Speaker Ekern took the
floor in the afternoon to defeat the
senate bin which was being pushed
by the opponents of the Ingram.
Sprague bin and provides for a per
cent. tax on premiums received in this
state.
The Ekern forces were all but rout.
ed at the morning session when the
assembly killed the more stringent of
the two taxation bills and even re-
fused to non-concur in the senate bill
by vote of ~ to SO. After the mo-
ticn to non-concur had been defeated,
the reform forces succeeded in forcing
a recess and so saved the day.
When the assembly reconvened in
the afternoon Speaker Extern directed
his fire at the senate bill for the pur-
pose of killing it and moving recon
sideration of the assembly bill killed
In the morning. Jackson, Carpenter
and Cernahan led the fight for the
senate bin, and Ekern opposed them
with technical and statistical argu
ments, while Bancroft deviated from
the ordinary style of debate and in
his characteristic way handled the
taxation Of insurance companies with
mgloved hands. stamping life insur
ance as THE biggest graft on earth
today" He denounced the practice
Of paying high commissions to agents
and, in answer to queries whethel
Extern and he desired to accuse the
Northwestern company OF misappU
priations or Irregularities, he an
nounced boldly that they were guilt,
of worse than Stealing by noldinl
out fat bonuses. II the ordinary pub
lie, he said, knew just what was pait
for soliciting insurance they woult
not take cents worth OF insurance
in the future.
The final roll call showed only Doug
las Haper Harraes and Kandpr vot
ing against the bill.
The debate opened at the morning
session with Assemblyman Spragut
urging the passage Of assembly bill
GIG, the one finally passed. He at
tackled the practice OF spending large
sums of money for legislative counsel
Assemblyman Jackson defended thu
Northwestern, contending that the,
paid more taxes now than any othe
insurance company paid In any othe
state, He made plea for fairness
arguing that the system OF taxation
proposed in the bill was too stringen
and that the plan proposed in thu
senate bill was fair and correct.
/ Speaker Ekern, In the afternoon de
bate, urging the defeat of the NOR
liberal senate bill, said that II sucl
Legislation as that proposed by III
senate bill was to be enacted. thi
Legislative should leave it to the mex
one to take up this question alon;
with the income tax and credit taxa
Ition. t8t