Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1909-02-17
WORK is WELL
Under WAY.
ThiTty-thIrd General Assembly
Completes Half Its Session.
OVER 500 BILLS PRESENTED.

/ School Bills, Public Utility Commits.
sion Measure and Movement to Re.
i peal Blanchard Insurance Law Are
! Important Measures Before soIons.
Des Moines, Feb. 16.-Today the
Thirty-third general assembly of the
state OF Iowa has completed half OF
It's regulation session. While but few
completed laws, and these of but small
importance, are to be shown as the
result OF the work OF the members for
/ the past Six weeks, the session is as
lar advanced in its work as any Of its
predecessors have been at this time
/ OF the legislative year. The work so
/ lar has been mostly of preliminary
! sort, the laying of the foundation for
the constructive legislation which will
| be enacted before the LIST OF April. So
far more than 500 bills have been pre.
scented to the two houses. About 100
more will be presented before the
| sessions finally close. OF this vast
| number of measures, scarcely more
| than oneiourth will be finally made
| into laws and given place in tho stat
utes OF the state
| three Important Measures.
The measures OF wide importance
Which are before the legislators can
a!alost he counted on one hand. They
| eri5o6y the school bills, one for the
ierdadci.as OF the entire school sys.
TEN OF the STATE which was outlined
in this lettcr last week; another for
| the creation oil a school OF correspond
| ence in connection with inc state uni
versity, and another Tor the establish
ment OF tour new agricultural schools;
! then there is the public utility COM
mission bill, OF vital interest to all
cities in the state, and the movement
to repeal the Blanchard insurance
law, goserning fire companies.
Or the measures named the one
most likely TO meet the approval of
/ the Legislature is the anti-Blanehard
| law bal. Representative Harding of
Woodbury. county, who is backing the,
measure, has succeeded in securing
the approval OF the house committee
for his ffoDosed law and declares him.
self as confident OF the final adoption
OF the bill. IN explaining his reasons
| fer introducing the measure, Mir. Hard.
ing declares he is Simply aiming to
make IRE insurance rates equal for
every iEsi;er in the state, and says IL
1t Is hight that each insurer should
pay an ecual amount for the same pro.
| lection then his bill is right and
should become the law. The Iowa
law now torbids rebates or discriinina.
tlons in lie Insurance, whether in old
line Or fraternal companies, but com.
pels ire Underwriters to transact their
| business without single landmark
from which they can prevent the evils
OF Discrimination which are penalized
in other branches of insurance. The
Harding bill repeals the Blanchard
law, which was adopted many years
ago, and the object of which was to
prevent combinations in rate making
/ by the companies. 1t Will, If adopted,
| permit Underwriters to confer to-
| gether in the presence of state au.
thorities in establishing some uniform
| ity in practice in the conduct of their
business. Under the terms OF the bill.
its author says, there is no possibility
| OF secrecy OF CT unfair treatment of
the public. The state auditor, who is
the insurance commissioner of the
state, and the attorney general have
the right to attend all meetings and
to have access to all the records OF
the associations proposed.
Fair to Rich and Poor.
Publicity is one of the best meth
DDS of prohibiting unjust rates." says
MIR. Harding, and OF making insur-
ance companies as well as other cor
| porations conduct their business in q
fair and legitimate way. Under the
1 proposed bill rates could not be ad-
: vanced, reduced or adjusted without
| the representatives of the state hear
ing every discussion and knowing
every reason for such transactions.
Under the Blanchard law the poor
man, CT rather the small insurer. pays
| the insurance premium that the rich
man or large insurer ought to pay. /
j mean, the large insurer is able to
/ dicker with the agent and get re-
i duction in rates, while the small in
surer cannot do this, because his risk
is of but little value to the company
: in itself. The result is that in Iowa
the small insurer, under the Blanchard
law, is paying much higher rate for
the same hazard than the large insur-
er. The bill will do away with this
and make every insurer in the state
ard. 10 my mind this is along the
: lines OF regulation in other business
1t is the same thing we have been
!, fighting for in freight rates. Fire in.
surance is tax and should fall
equally on equal hazards. The mere
fact that a man has 100000 worth
OF property to insure should not give
him a less rate than the man who has
only his home to insure
], Little Hope for School Bill.
The best informed members of the
two houses say there is little hope
for the passage of the school bill
which practically rewrites all the
| stubbi ittNs' Vi LhS StctS. Aey Sds
/ the bill has many good features, but
it is too revolutionary in its scope to
meet with approval The fact that the
bill would take away the close con
nection with the country schools nov
: in vogue under the country distric
: plan is found by the members to be
l one OF the most uniform objections Il
it. The members are hearing iron
i. their constituents and very few OF th'
!, letters are favorable TO the proposel
: law. However, there is "a strong Oh
ganization lack of the bill, and tn,
TACT that it is proposed as the resul
: OF investigation made by u Legislative
g committee named BY the Thirty-sec
II ond general assembly for that purpos
is counted on to have good influence
in its behalf.
The n,,htin I,,tilitiac Hill will n,a.,