Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-06
CLEVELAND ADVISES
SUBMITS BRIEF IN REFERENCE
TO INSURANCE LEGISLATION.

NEW YORK, March Announcement
was made yesterday that Grover Cleveland
has submitted a brief to the Association
OF Life Insurance Presidents, of which he
is the head, in reference to certain threat
ened legislation that would force them to
invest their funds in the various states in
proportion to the volume Of business trans
acted In those states. In his brief Mr..
Cleveland says:
1T seems to be quite apparent that II
the best legislative results are to be
reached by safeguarding all the interests
in any way related to life insurance and by
subscribing the peoples interests in the
premises by the passage of wholesome
laws, those who make our laws should be
free from all vindictive feeling and mis-
leading pretudices and duly guarded
against dangerous disregard Of safe and
conservative business rules. In many of
the states contemplating such legislation
there Is a normal, healthy demand for all
or nearly all the securities contemplated
IN pending bills which are so absolutely
safe and unquestfoned as to excuse life
insurance companies in accepting them as
securities for their trust funds And yet
they are forced to purchase in such a mar
ket and must, under severe pain and pen
alt1es, invest in such securities as remain
after investors on the ground have made
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 statutes las number threaten to
do), nor how much of the resources of the
companies may be actually impaired under
this aggregate operation; nor does it mat
ter whether these forced investments are
good or bad, whether they are quickly con-
vertible or not convertible at all, whether
they are In the custody Of the companies
or of officers Of the several states, as in
some cases proposed-in all contingencies
on1 H. ~1l1
they accrue. None of us have in our bib
lical reading discovered any incident which
smacked more of unfarness and oppres-
sion than the exaction by the strong that
those at their mercy should make bricks
without straw
Mr.. Cleveland questions that this legisla-
ton is framed in the interest of the policy
holders.
that 1t would In any way increase the Sc
curity of their policies while on the other
hand 1t is plain that in case of such i'm
pairment of securities as would reach the
point of financial inability on the part Of
the companies their policyholders, of all
the men in the world, would be the mad
dest and most ptiable and helpless victims
of the disaster. How policyhOlders can be
benefited or made more secure BY merely
forcing money into their state by way Of
investments no sinuosity of explanation
can make apparent
The only class of persons who would
perhaps, be benefited, he says are those
who deal in securities, and the manner in
winch the enforced purchase of stipulated
and restricted securities could operate to
their advantage is too plain to need ex-
PLANTATION.
eff legislation of this kind should be
passed in number of our states, MI
Cleveland added lit would not be entirely
unreasonable Ito fear that the inevitable
disparity in amount and kind of investments
distributed among those states would give
rise to invidious cafping and fault-finding
discomfort, thus creating and fostering new
occasions for inharmonious feeling and d.
verse legislative action, which, unfortunate
~, our present surroundings seem to en-
courage
In conclusion Mr.. Cleveland appeals for
comfy between states and complete re-
pudiaton of any intent or inclination on
ish advantage at the expense and to the in
jury of its neighbor.