Lower coast gazette., 1910-04-16

up this matter as we believe they should have
done. They do not seem to have been deslrous
of promoting home insurance and retaining IN
this state these four millions of dollars that we
are now paying out to foreign insurance compan-
les almost in its entirety. Baton Rouge has a
small insurance company and we believe that
outside of the City Of New Orleans there IS no
other local insurance company in the state.
Shreveport ought to have several home lnSur-
ance companies and, in like manner, Monroe,
Lake Charles and all Of these enterprslng
interior towns should have insurance
companies Of their own and t if they were man
aged as well as their own local banks are man
aged under the supervision Of the state depart
ment, as are all Of the companies now, insurance
stocks would become as much liked in this state
as they were some three or four decades ago,
when they were sought for as investment funds
for the widows and orphans, because of the pro-
mise of larger dividends that lay in them.
The report of the Assistant Secretary Of
State showing up the immense amount OF money
that we have put out for fire insurance and the
limited returns that we have received has eX-
cited some comment and we believe that the
New Orleans STATES had an article in relation
thereto which was very excellent in itself, but
still which did not seem to urge with sufficient
earnestness the creation of home insurance COM
panies. If home insurance companies are ere
ated it is absurd to ask that 500, 600 should be
paid I'D when in a little local community $3.50
can be handled in insurance work very profit
ably, only it must be handled economically and
without any extra pay allowance and without
any increase of salaries because one year hap
pens to be a successful one. We believe that
the national banks are required to accumulate a
surplus before they pay out any considerable
dividends and similar legislation would be a very
wise thing in the organization Of insurance COM
panies with moderate capitals. If the legal cap
tai limit were reduced to S25, 900 We believe
that within a few years we should have fifty or
more insurance companies in this state and we
should not be bounding around to Fort Worth,
Texas, and Sioux City, Iowa, and all through
the little towns out West to get insurance to
cover our risks as we are now compelled to 90 1t
we have any considerable quantity Of insurance
to effect. The great big insurance companies in
the East say that they will take it all and that
they will %reinsure to protect themselves. That
is not the way to insure, at least the merchants
in the great cities in the East do not insure in
that way. They want the smallest practicable
amount of insurance in any one company which
would enable them to get a sufficient line Of in
surance. We recall the fact that a certain
manufacturing establishment in New York City
burned some years ago and the insurance on it
amounted to two hundred thousand dollars.
This insurance was effected in one hundred Diff
ferent companies with policies of two thousand
dollars each. There was some salvage and the
two hundred thousand dollars insurance resulted
in the payment of one hundred and lightweight
thousand dollars for the loss that was made.
We certainly ought to have a reform in our in
surance Jaws and not pay two millions of DOL
lars tribute annually to the other states of the
union.