The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-07-05

A DANGEROUS feNDEScv.
one Of the most forcibis ob3sc4ions
TO socialism. and an objection IN which
there Il wisdom ana justice, IL that II
limits human sndsavor and human In
itiative. Socialism would put mankind
on the dad Isvei. the eficients with
the insfncssnts. the thrifty with the
reckless and the industrious with the
born tired" New York's recent In
sarancs- Law, which is just now receIv-
ing unspsring criticism IL as near So
cialism as any Legislature has attempt
Cd to 20. y
The new law limits the amount Of
insurance which a company is allowed
to write. Under this peculiar law no
company 10 allowed to write more than
so.ooo.C0o OF business In any one
year.
The law touches only the successful
and financially strong companies. The
companies which have succeeded. the
companies which have brought their
business upward. by toll and labor and
by good management are to be pun
ished for their suceess
The new law goes over the head OF
the weak companies. They may. be on
the edge Of financial distress brought
about by mismanagement, they may be
weak because their officers ana agents
have not iabored and toiIed through
the years. but they are not touched by
the new law. The new law, in fact,
would appear to put q premium on
failure and punish success
A dangerous precedent has been es-
tabiished. when a government sets
out to use its arbitrary power in the
humiliation Of success and for the re-
warding Of inefficiency the ideals of
individual EFFORT, Of liberty Of endeav-
or. the equality of opportunity, which
have made America great are assault
ed. II the principle OF the law is good
1t could be easily applied to an Ala
bama plantation. one planter by en-
erxy. industry and business skin makes
$50 bales Of cotton on hts plantation.
The man on the adjoining plantation
who loves to sit In the shade and talk
politics makes only seventy-nve bales
Of cotton on plantation OF the same
size The enterprising planter, be-
cause he makes SO puch cotton Is bear
ing the cotton market and lowering the
price. The Legislature, therefore. -
called upon to pass q law forbiddins
the enterprising planter to make more
than seventy-hve bales on q plantation
the size Of his.
The merchant In q small town has.
BY keepingsat 1t early and late, by good
judgment ana uniform courtesy. built
up a business Of 100000 q year. The
rival merchant across the street, has
gone fishing often, and has taken SO
many trips that his husiness does not
amount to sto.ooo . year. The Legis-
lature. therefore. shall decree that the
enterprising merchant shall drop back
into the $4,000 .class
It has been well said that the princi..
pie Of such q law IL "vfcious" 1t is
to be hoped that this principle win be
carried into no other field but logi-
cairy II could be made to apply to any
business. a 49,,
The unfairness of this law will be
felt in other States Of the Union. 1t
has already been felt in Alabama. One
large insurance company has already
discharged this year between 1900 and
1900 men. II had to be done. The
amount Of insurance allowed by the
law had been written ana there was
nothing for these employees of the COM
pany TO do. In Alabama one large Of
nee was abolished and between forty
and nifty lost their positions. The real
worker In the first man to be hurt by
socialistic legislation.
The effect OF this law In Alabama
brings up for consideration the fact
that an act Of the Legislature of New
York regulates affairs in the State of
Alabama. The New York Legislature
stops the growth and business Of ie-
gitimate company In New York and its
agents in Alabama are thrown out of
employment.
Such an unfortunate piece Of legis-
lation might have been expected from
Kansas. but 1t was never looked for
from New York. The law shows
dangerous tendency and It's injustice
should be exposed to thinking people.