The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1909-09-24

panies doing business in this state ha
recently appeared in several papers
No company is named but the names o
forty companies are given in bill flee
at iupelo by Mr.. Allen and others il
the name of the state. This action wa
precipitated by the representatives o
certain companies requiring F. M. Saw
cry TO give up the agency of certain
other companies or lose theirs. Ii is
designated by some as a separation
movement" 1t is not my purpose to
discuss the right or wrong of this pro-
ceedine as | have never had anything
to do with it and care nothing about it
The bill charges agreements and com
binations to fix and maintain rates |
don't know or care what others have
done but the charge so far as it relates
to me- to the Merchants Union Insur-
ance company, or any company in my
Office is absolutely eroundless and with
out shadow of foundation in fact
Another charge in the bill is that
companies own stock in other corpora
items and have no right to do business
in the state. It is true that nearly all
the companies including fire lite acci-
dent and others cwn stock in other cor
porations. But why was the Merchants
Union, the only home company, and
possibly the only one that owned no
stock of any kind, charged with crime
while the leading companies that Mr..
Allen has taken under his wing, and
does not sue, own a large amount of
stock? One Of them has more than its
entire capital and surplus so invested
and more than one CT them are stock
holders in the most gigantic trusts in
America.
One of the things specially condemn
ed by our statues is owning or holding
the stocks of any trust or combine, yet
the companies offending in this partic-
ular are not sued but commended in
Mr.. Aliens communication. | know
neither Attornoy-Gener Sterling nor
District Attorney Strange would know
inely permit such discrimination.
If the Merchants Union Insurance
company has violated the law, it should
not be shown any favors, tut it does
seem that no patriotic Mississippian
would have institud suit and attempted
TO destroy the only fire insurance COM
pany in the state without first satisfying
himself of its wrong doing. Without
having any proof against it, he sho uld
have at least presumed if innocent.
A certain insurance man outside the
state boasts CT being back of the prcse-
cution and he with others in the same
business probably made misrepresenta-
fions that caused the action against the
Merchants Union, as they would be the
only benefciaries of successful suit
and destruction of the com pany
About rinety fire insurance COM
panies received in premiums in Missis-
sippi last year the gross sum of $4,000,
268.00. The average expense of doing
business is about 37a per cent. This
would leave the net result S1,750,137.-
s. out of which TO pay losses. Bat the
l3sses were $2,1S6,202.00. This shows
a net underwriting loss S535.064.5c.
No wonder that Mr.. Allen. who was a
large stockholder in the Mississippi Fire
Association, hastened to get his money
out and quit the FIRE insurance business
but private John. should have sympathy
if not admiration for his neiehbors who
are moi so easily scared, but are still
riskins their money in an effort to bnilc
UP a respectable home company. Hi
should help us increase our capital, give
us his business, and if we rob the pub
lie, he would at least get his share O
the spells. The Merchants Union i
doing more for Mississippi than its pros
ecutors and prosecutors ever will do il
improving insurance. conditions.
As to results in the state last year i
can be said expenses were too great
The Merchants Union had the smalles
expense ratio of any company in th'
United States. The leading so-callet
board companies averaged IS per cen
Some Of the good companies expens
bills were as follows: Gesmania. owe
~ per eeit :Shawaee3S.6; Hawkege
ass Of gross premiums, A reduction
otexpenses issas1huch needed reform
The. Metropolitan Of Chicago, anothe