University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1909-02-24

|
anee Company, delivered at the Un'er
sitv Assembly February Is, has oeen
published by that company in pamph'e'
form The title page says: insurance
Supervision and National 1deals-A plea
for Federal Supervision of Interstate In
surance. Delivered before the students
Of the University of Missouri, at Colum-
b;a No.. February l6, 1909. by Darwin
p. Kingsley"
The closing paragraphs of MIR. Kings
ley's address are:
A law should be drawn on the theor!
tb.t interstate insurance is commerce,
and that the power of Congress to regu-
late insurance in its interstate relations
;s absolute. Presented with such an
act. the Supreme Court, with the de-
ference which it has always observed
toward Congress. would we believe be
disposed to accept the declaration by
Congress that interstate insurance IS
commerce and is subject to control by
Congress, IF case were to arise under
such an act it is difficult to see how the
Court could render any different decis-
ion from that in the lottery case. In
the lottery case the Court was probably
seeking to put an end to great public
evil. to abate great public scandal.
Il oL,-;n ha tho OWL WOllId moi
and could not be ended by the States.
and therefore the power to deal with
the situation. which must lie some
where. was recognized as being in Con-
gress under the commerce clause.
Insurance would present case in
which the law and the Court would be
invoked. not to abate or destroy an
evil. but to conserve and protect a great
public utility. 1t probably would not
90 before the Court with the pressure Of
a widespread public demand behind it.
1t would 90 before the Court stating.
first. that it is commerce; second, that
il is in distress and confusion and needs
the relief which a single authority alone
can give: third. that it is irratiOnally
supervised: fourth. that it is harrassed
by multitude of eXactions and re-
guirements: fifth. that it is unequally
and mjustly taxed: sixth, that its
operations are. in practice, almost uni
versially interstate and often interna-
tional: and seventh, that the govern
mental regulations which it now OBJ
serves have begun to narrow it's field of
activities. a condition which. carried to
its logical conclusion. threatens ulti
mately to limit the operations of every
insurance company to the State of its
domicile
There must be relief somewhere.
The problem will not be solved by the
States. 1t cannot be. The solution
lies in the commerce clause of the Con-
stitutiOn, and an act of Congress.
drawn on the theory 1 have suggested.
would bring insurance before the Court
in proper way. 1t would be able
to present its just claims. and they
could be argued from the standpoint of
a powerful precedent So presented.
the question would at least be settled
and insurance would know finally
whether it may 90 forward or not. 81
do not believe. therefore. that an amend
mcnt to the Constitution of the United
States is necessary. / believe that in
surance is commerce. believe the Su-
preme Court. which has. as I see it,
already said so by implication, will ulti-
mately say so by definite decree
State supervision of insurance is not
as logical as the union of the Colonies |
under the Confederation. The Colonies |
had in their Congress at least one point |
of contact. There is no point of con-
tact in State supervision. no common
There was chaos under the COnfed- |
there are chaotic conditions
now under State supervision. The Col
onies needed larger. a stronger, a
broader plan. They found that plan in
the Constitution. Society itself pre-
'ents much of the savage individualism
that would certainly have destroyed the
Colonies under the Confederation. The |
rule of the strong is the law of society. |
Waste. inefiiciency. brutality. selfish
ness. the lack of any comprehensive
plan. make even the best of civilizations
more or less inhumane. Society would
like to be humane. but it has little time
and no sufficient program. Society has
advanced only to that condition of eff
riency which was exemplified in the
Confederation. 1t needs Constitution
which shall provide a more perfect
Union. 1nsurance-fire insurance as an
instrumentality of credit and traffic. and
life insurance As a mere and Just method |
Of capitalizing human life-presents
plan. and. so far as it goes. an adequate
plan. But. like the Constitution. it |
operates. if it operates effectively. di-