The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1912-11-11


on the table drank #, and finally 3D.
/; dressed Randolph Mason, speaking IN
q thick. scarcely fntelllgible volce
You SEE" - said. how mann
truthful my gtatomen& VRE could
not come 20 your once. I ShaQ take
but one more journey.
Randolph Mason nodded his had
slightly, as though in 0sge1s Of some
trivial statement and "a Invitation to
proceed to other matters moro 1mpor-
tant
The invalid continued:
within the last day or two. have.
been going carefully over my aHalEg
under. a sense Of impending death In,
one matter conceived myself to have
made a mistake, and wish to corpsct
Il, IL possible. You are aware OF the
recent vicious public assault on the
insurance companies. q wave OF hos
tile, rabid, universal sentiment There
seems to be no particular reason for
It The movement is q phenomenon
recurring constantly in the history Of
our civilization. I believe these Pc
riodic storms OF public opinion to be-
organic and inevitable. All establish
ed institutions. no matter how excel
lent, are subject to such assaults. I
pointed this out ten years ago to the
bank officials OF New. York when. a
wave of sentiment threatened the 6s-,
tabIished monetary standard"
He pulled his baggy form together
IN his chair AS he spoke. his voice
became somewhat clearer.
Now, in all this investigation what
wrongs have been exposed? Indeed
none, outside OF few companies. exc
cept that those in control Of these
insurance companies had the use Of
large sums OF money and, not being
infallibIe, made sometimes question
able investments: and the further fact
that considerable sums were used In
politics. Why, gentlemen, everybody
knows that the average Assembly Of!
the State is composed largely of men
who scheme to extort money from com
mercial industries by threatening them
with destructive legislation The COM.
merce Of today is no better on than
the commerce Of the middle ages It
must stilI purchase immunity from the
banditti Sometimes these highway
men can be fought, but usually most
Industries have found it less expensive
to pay the toll. Consequently, no
higher injustice can be imagined than
to hold officials of an insurance COM.
pany responsible for, such expendi-
lures. It is like shooting 9 captain
for handing over his ships money to
pirates in order to save his cargo.
Why, there Is not an Insurance com
pany in America that could hold it.
self together for a year as a money
making concern If it neglected to keep
a representative at Albany"
u Ea~I6ITh >
statement is neither entertaining nor
point"
Il beg your pardon" replied the in
valid; 'I am coming to the point. Five
years ago foresaw the arrival OF this
outbreak, there were certain signs
which 1 shall not stop here to dis
cuss; and I began to prepare my COM
pany for this era OF exposure The
result OF that labor is today evident.
Ny company stands almost alone with
a clean bill of health. But the cost
to me as an individual would stagger
America If it knew. I have done the
labor Of fifty years in five, and have
expended every dollar that or my
family possessed to accomplish this
result.
You are not to imagine that during
this time the political bandittf were
any the less threatening or. avid. I
fed them as usual, but, unlike the 9th
er companies. paid this tribute with
my Individual fortune. Now. them
gentlemen, l have come to the mat
ter in hand. One yearago politician
of national reputation determined to
force my insurance company to bear
the expense Of his candidacy for
high office. He controlled certain ave
nues Of legislation, and threatened US
with a statute which would have Sc
questered the assets Of our company
in a dozen different states. recalled
It's investments, and left it no way
proftably to place its surplus funds.
It would have been, in fact, ruin I'M
der the guise of law. In plain
terms, his price was three hun
dred thousand dollars. I got him
down to two had no longer any
money Of my own, and would not
use that of the company, even to
save it from destruction. My wife
owned this house. built with money
inherited from her father in England
we were both born in Sussex. ex-
ecuted a mortgage on 1t directly to
this politician for two hundred thou
sand dollars. took this chance with
my family and myself. felt sure
that this present wave Of insane out
cry against insurance companies would
finally pass. and that when business
quiet was again established could
-oh,,sIJ q fortune -