The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1911-08-24
-rA-
al[slQR ! aELlIls
H0H hes n HANDED
OUT OFFICIAL PIE
Claims No Discrimina-
tionWith Insurance
Statements
TO LAW
Basford Goes That Far in De-
nying Political Use of
These "Spoils"
TO LAW

Pierre. On reply to attacks
made upon mis- distribution of in
surance statements among the pa
pers of the state o. S. Basford. COM
missioner of insurance. issued the
following statement today:
For six or eight years last past
there has been considerable said
about distribution and pnblica-
ton OF insurance statements. The
undersigned has something to say.
II you forget all else that he says
don't forget the following:
Three hundred and thirty pub
fishers have filed afidavits in this
Department since March Is, 1911.
You may think that having once filed
ydh needSdo no mere. However. no.
ttice that the law sayssg"The publish
Heitfas shall each year $ y
furnish to the Commissioner OF
Insurance an afidavit.'' The point
yon must remember is that the afi-
sitiayits must be filed each year be.
tween the LIST of January and the
Est OF April. The number OF papers
used the last year of Mr.. Perkins
administration and the last year I'M
der the old law by Basford appears
n below as follows: sse .as ,vs
Year Commissioners 99ns No.
ssrsl 1906 Perkins . .176
1910 ... 3. 8. Basford. Psi
We consider It a. credit to the
good senseSof the last session of the
Legislature that they passed a law
z taking away the power of a Commits
+ sff6ner to distribute the statements
Tor partisan purposes. Personally,
W think the Law should be entirely
repealed but do not propose to ar
sue that point here.
18th is new law did not take effect
until. the LIST of last July. By hard
work of the Office force, probably
Steskkkty or seventy per cen of the state
Z A16enta could have been seEt out un-
! Ter the. old ilasa. which law laid no re-
skficti0ns on the Commissioner and,
aAnce, might have been legally usec
80 favor pets or politics
However. this matter was dis
tnSsed by the Commissioner AM.
heHte; might haye,been legally used
to5ssfavor pets or politics.
HOwever, this matter was discus
sedsss BY the Commissioner with Mes
srs, scot Hafliday and Bancroft,
the committee elected by the Pub
Observation-Disclosures, and it was con-
selGdeSds'-at. THAT conference that the
statements be gotten ready for pub
ifcation under the new law and, SO
far as It wac possible to apply the
same. It should govern in the distri-
bptionso o.. statements for 1911.
Worked with Publishers.
With stiisain view, the publish
ers' committee agreed that both the
Commissioners himself and the COM
mittee for 'itseif3swouid circularize
the papers OF the state as best they
could, giving the publishers notice OF
whatswas lnecissaryssfor them to do
to asecnre recognitionsin the distribu-
ton. ssssss%y ssss. 8 tat@.
The Commissioner mailed out
not only to each paper of the full
listssDf papers ased-in 1910, but from
nlemorysadded about forty moretpa-
pefs u that list. In addition in ms
circularsletter he asked each publish
serst0 pablishstte following note:
INSURANCE statements under the
new law are to be distributed to all
legal newspapers. irrespective of
color, politics or previous condition
of Beryitude.H Send to Commission
ser B~asfordsfor a. blank affidavit SO as
to swear that your paper is a legal
paper and do SO before the first Of
4 April
t.&at4 -&@SE 49, lEHN+1
s@sF'iiftysorsnereapapers sgrantedsth
request OF the Commissioner and
pnblished the abosesnote and as was
RESIGNED bysthe swriteraofsthe para
sSsphsssata pecdstar termssled Il CONF
nlttaIlsl s.s Y .s ss as |
ssSsssMind sgoui2that the law does not
mint that the Commissioner shall
tronbie himself in the least about
eiylng this information.
S,sVhss ~ the publishers COM
a ilttsss1aso? .,
Halhday's Opinion. 4
ssssluJnder date Of June Goth. j. f.
E1gSlll11yfsoHs of the members Of tho
3lklilhers committee wrote to, the
CSn4lts1toner as follows:
ssst Dear Sir:s
"a ascptpysof tho Loucks
1GI(Il lIItehIdAw wrote him that the mat
aS9fE3Si had been6fully cover.