Live Oak daily Democrat. (Live Oak, Fla.) 190?-190?, 1907-04-17
GOV. BROWARD'S INSURANCE
s.. s-s-;. SCHEME.
Savannah Morning News.J

Gov. Broward, of Florida. intends
| to insist upon his plan Of state life
insurance. In his message to the last
legislature he brought it forward and
he is recommending it to this legis-
llature and will use his influence in
its behalf.
There is no doubt that the state
could furnish life insurance to the
people of Florida for less money than
they pay to life insurance companies,
and it is also true that those who took
out insurance with the state would
be just as certain to get their in
surance money when ii was due as
are those who insure in the regular
life insurance companies. The chief
objection we see to the plan is the
impossibility of keeping the insur-
ance managers out of politics. The
{ insurance department that the state
would have to establish would be-
come filled with derelicts of political
campaigns. 1t would become the
home for political cripples and its
funds would be subject to political
influence.
What would happen would be this:
Political doctors would pass all sorts
of applicants and the death rate
among the insured would be high,
and the managers and clerks would
in time be partisans. The effort would
be continual to have the insurance
money invested in home enterprises,
some of which would doubtless be of
highly speculative character. 1t may
be said that the Finance Committee
that would have charge of the in
yestmentS would be men above be-
ing Influenced to make risky invest
ments. But how are you going to
get men of that kind when those who
will dominate the insurance depart
ment will be partisans, some of
whom would have axes to grind?
1t seems an easy matter to enact
law to the effect that there shall
be no politics in the insurance bust
ness of the state. but it would be next
to impossible to enforce such a law
in letter and spirit. The Governor
points out that in Canada and in a
number of European countries state
insurance is proving to be a success,
but because it is a success in the
countries named it doesn't follow that
/ it. would be a success in this country.
1t will be recalled that the public
utilities expert from Glasgow who
visited Chicago for the purpose of
giving an opinion on the advisability
of inaugurating municipal ownership
of street railroads in that city, said
that while municipal ownership was
a success in Glasgow he thought it
wouldn't be in Chicago on account of
political conditions that prevailed
there
II is true of course that a vast
amount of money goes out of the
South every year to the life insur-
ance companies of other states, but
lif the Florida legislature is wise it
will insist that the government of the
state be confined to matters pertain
ing to the government and that mat
tiers that are purely business shall be !
left TO individuals and corporations |
life insurance department attached |
to the state could easily be turned |
into a poll ,ical machine, and it would |
be next to impossible to keep such |
a machine entirely clean. 1t could !
be made an instrument of oppression |
and corruption and might easily be- |
come the means of undermining the |
credit of the state. 1t is worthy of |
notice that in New York it hasn't |
been possible to keep the Offices that |
superintend the insurance companies
of that state free of scandal 1t can |
easily be pictured what the condition |
of affairs would be if the insurance |
companies were run by the state