The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-03-06
SEES DANGER TO
POLICY HOLDERS
Grover Cleveland Submits a
Brief in Reference to Threat
ened Legislation.
GREAT Loss WOULD RESULT
APPEAL FOR Comfy BETWEEN
THE STATES.

New York. March announcement
was made today that Grover Cleveland
has submitted a brief to the Associa-
ton of Life Insurance Presidents. of
which he is the head. in reference to
certain threatened legislation which
would force them to invest their
funds in the various states in proper
ton TO the volume Of business trans
acted in those states. The brief says:
1T seems quite apparent that if the
best legislative results are to be
reached by safeguarding all the inter-
ests in any way related to life insur-
ance. and by subserving the peoples
interests in the premises by the pas
sage of wholesome laws, those who
make our laws should be free from all
vindietive and misleading prejudices
ana duly guarded against dangerous
disregard of safe and conservative leg
islative rules. In many states contem-
plating such legislation there is a nor
NAL. healthy demand for all. or nearly
all, the securities contemplated in
pending bills, which are so absolutely
safe and unquestioned as to excuse the
life insurance companies in accepting
Bricks Without Straw.
And yet they are forced to purchase
in such a market and must under Sc
verc pains and penalties invest in such
securities as remain after investors on
the ground have made their choice, or
to pay for those more desirable the
manipulated advance invited by their
legally created necessities. 1t matters
not how many states pass similar stat
utes, nor how much of the resources of
the companies may be actually i'm
paired under this aggregate operation,
nor does it matter when these forced
investments are good or bad, whether
they are convertible or not convertible,
whether they are in the custody of the
companies or of officers of the several
states, as in such cases proposed, in all
contingencies policies and premiums
must be paid as they accrue. None of
us have in our Biblical reading discov-
cred an incident which smacks more
of unfairness and oppression than the
exactfon by the strong that those at
their mercy should make bricks with
out straw"
Cannot Be Explained.
Mr.. Cleveland questions that this leg
lslation is framed in the interest of the
1T cannot be made to
appear" he says, that it should in any
way increase the security of their poll
cies, while on the other hand il is plain
that in cases Of such impairment of Sc
curities as would reach the point of
financial inability OF the part of the
companies, their policy-holders of all
the men in the world, would be the
maddest and most pitiable and help
-rf-44r .
cy-holders can be benefited or made
more secure by merely forcing money
into their state by way of investments
no sinuosity CT explanation can make
The only class of persons who would
perhaps be benefited, he says. are
those who deal in securities, and the
manner in which the enforced purchase
of stipulated and restricted securities
could operate to their advantage is too
plain to need reiteration
IF legislation of this kind should be
passed in a number of our states" Mr.
Cleveland continues, 1T would not be
entirely unreasonable to fear that the
Inevitable disparity IN amount and kind
Of investments distributed among those
states would give rise to invidious
,arping and faultfnding discomfort.
thus creating and fostering new occa-
siOns for inharmonious feeling and di-
verse legislative action which unfor-
our present surroundings
seems to encourage"
In conclusion. Mr. Cleveland appeals |
or comfy between the states, and a |
complete Reputation of any intent or |
Inclination on the part of any state TO |
gain undue or selfish advantage at the |
Expense and to the injury of its neigh
1oz."