The Newark star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1909, 1909-08-12
IN THE WORLD OF FINANCE
HOFFMAN TALKS
OF INSURANCE
Prudential Lies Statistician
Gives Europeans Mass of In
formation About This Country.

Frederick L. Hoffman. statistician of
the Prudential Insurance Company, has
returned from Europe. where for the
fourth consecutive time he had beer
sent by the United States Government
as its representative to the Insurance
Congress at Vienna. Mr.. Hoffman also
attended the Statistical Congress Of in
surance Representatives at Paris. and
made a tour Of the different national
insurance departments in Germany,
Austria, Hungary. Switzerland and
England.
At the Vienna gathering Mr.. Hoffman
was called upon for a paper on the
economic and political considerations of
State Insurance in the United States,
and his p~resentment of the subject was
the of much comment on the part
Of the representatives of the other gov
ernments, the questions now confront
ing the insurance authorities in this
country being clearly brought out and
treated in an able manner The matter
of State interference was taken up by
Mr.. Hoffman, who was positive that the
different companies in this country had
nothing to fear from any possible legis-
lation.
After exhausting the subject thor
oughly in a brief covering fifty-five
printed pages. the address ends with
Mr.. HOffman's conclusions, as follows:
1t is evident that the agitation in the
United States for some form of labor
insurance is gaining force and that it
will probably lead to more or less dras-
tic legislation. It is evident. also. that
such legislation is not necessarily in
imical to the interests of private insur-
ance companies as long as the State
refrains from substituting insurance or
attempting to transact the business of
insurance at a loss.
In the main, most of the proposals
are for some form of compensatory
damages to workingmen employed in
dangerous trades. and while for the
time being most of these proposals are
limited to industrial accidents, they
will, no doubt, in course of time, be
made TO include compensation for in
dustrial diseases. This is not labor in
surance, but a method of labor protec-
ton; or, in other words, on the one
hand a modified employers liability
and on the other hand a modified ad-
ministration of the poor law. These
are not insurance proposals in a strict
sense of the term, and it is of inn
portance that the distinction should be
emphasized so that the public may not
be misled. What the State does in such
cases is TO furnish a social guarante,
which Is practically equivalent to socia
benefits secured by forced taxation
whether in the form of joint compul
sorry contributions of employers ant
employees, or whether imposed entire
ly and exclusively upon the industry.
Efficient workmen's compensation
laws will unquestionably tend to re-
luce the liability to accidents and the
consequent mortality from industrial
casualties. and to a possibly lesser ex-
tent tend to improve the conditions
generally under which industry is car
ried on. From this point of view ra-
tional workmen's compensation laws
are certain to prove of benefit to life
insurance companies as we'll as to the
community at large. The danger lies
rather in subsidized insurance, or In
such plans as the one inaugurated in
Massachusetts. where the State fur