El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-06-15

ten prior TO a determination of the
question before the board but the reSo-
luton goes much further than that, ana
reciteS that a number of citizens nave
requested that the companies do not
attempt to enforce the collection or the
new specific rates promulgated, either
, upon policies heretofore written or
upon those hereafter written, until af-
ter decision has been reached upon the
matters pending before said board, ana
that in the opinion of the board the re-
quest of the citizens Of che state affect
ed by the proposed change in rates is
responsible and should be respected
Now. if the statute is to be suspended
as to ali these matters in the cities emu
merated 1t is to be presumed that the
same request and practice will apply
throughout the state; so the fair er-
feet Of the resolution IS 10 request the
companies to ignore and violate
throughout the state all provisions OF
the law upon which the things COM
planned Of are based, although the prac-
teal result would be an actual raise OF
rates on many mercantile establish
ments and on perhaps 90 percent Of the
residences upon which insurance poll
icies may be taken out meanw lille.
Mistaken Contention
This whole trouble grows out of
your mistaken contention that rates are
not legal rates until approved by the
board. from which premise you argue
that suspension of such rates and Of
regulations Of the general basis sched-
ules fixing times of collecting of prem
iums is legal. Your whole contention is
thus based upon a false premise; hence
your conclusion is erroneous My con-
tention is that the general basis sched-
ules and rates worked out under them
are from date OF. filing of such sched-
uIes on January 1, 1910. legal and bind
ing, until changed according to law,
and cannot meanwhile be legally sus-
pended. and that such suspension Is
prohibited by our constitution.
Your further contention is that II is
my duty to carry out the spirit of said
resolution because it was adopted by
the board upon the advice Of the attor-
ney general and under the direction OF
the governor in carrying out one OF
his policies.
LAS to the board 1t has no jurisdic-
ton of the subject matter, as above
stated. 1t certainly has no authority
under the statute to suspend any gen.
eral basis schedule or key rate or spe-
cific rates or the time of payment
thereof. and its request that the COM
panies suspend them is of no legal
effect whatever.
The attorney general stated TO the
board that he had not exclusively
studied the law upon the points in
volved and had no final opinion thereon,
but that he would prepare resolution
embodying the governors ideas in
form in which he. the attorney general,
advised the board to adopt; but that
even if the requested procedure by the
companies would constitute an infring-
ment Of the law he, the attorney gen
eral, would nevertheless advise the
he roSO1ufinr haOanS0
he considered ii eXpedient under eX--l
listing conditions affecting rates He !
cannot consistently hold it legal. To
do so would forever blast his reputa-
ton as a lawyer.
Thus in the last analysis. we find
that the governor alone was primari-
ly responsible for the resolution pre-
senting a plan which an attorney gen.
eral of his own appointment declined to
definitely or in writing approve as le- |
gal, and which in fact called upon the |
companies to violate the law and in |
volved a substantially expressed inten- |
ton on the part of the governor to !
suspend the statute, in derOgation of !
an imperative mandate of the constitu-
ton to the contrary.
The FL PasO Case.
ION the day previous TO that on which !
said resolution was adopted I had gone |
over with you carefully the questions !
involved in the complaint from FL PasO !
and had fully explained TO you my !
views of the law and the plans of the |
board relative TO regulations of rates !
and the difficulties under which it had |
been opera ting, and on the day of and |
just prior to the adoption Of said reso- /;
luton and in response to an invita- |
ton from you, to again express my /
views in the premises and my judgment /
as to form of said resolution I point /
ed out to you and TO the attorney |
general and to said board the follow
ing facts:
81. That the rates and times of pay /
ment fixed by the companies in their |
general basis schedules, whether rea- |
sonable or not, are binding under the |
law until changed according to law
"2. That no order of the board reg
ulating rates can relate backward, but
must apply to the future only.
THAT an order of that sort would
be retroactive and therefore unconsti-
and that in many instances
such rates. which were legal when made,
having been fixed pursuant to law,
had been carried into written contracts
under which risks had been assumed
and carried and premiums earned and
that any order of the board which