Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-05-21
INSURANCE AGENTS or STATE TO
ASK FOR REPEAL OF sLANcH.
ARD LAW.
ORGANIZING TO SECURE
INSTRUMENTATION" BILL
Recent Activities Of Attorney osnsrsi
in Endorsement Of Anti Compact Law
-stats Becoming surdsnsd With
Land Acquired From Lake Beds
Not Proving Very Profitable.

special to T1mes-Republtcan.
Des Moines. May 21.-Legislative re-
lief from the penalties Of the Blanchard
anti-compact law is planned by Iowa
insurance interests, and organization
is now being effected to secure passage
Of what is called the anti dtscrimin
alton" bill which would really repeal
or nullify the anti compact law. 1t is
learned here that the insurance men
banded together into the various as
sociations and organizations for the
purpose Of dealing with rates and other
things are nightly disturbed over the
crusade of the attorney general which
has already resulted in some indict-
ments and more to follow. There have
been things doing at OttumWa, Oska-
loosa, Iowa City and Dubuque, and
other cities are on the waiting list.
The plan which has been followed
for circumventing the anti-compact
law, since the legislature has refused
to repeal OF nullify it. is to form asso-
Citations of agents and all get together
on the basis of maintaining rates at
profitable scale, then to provide all
agents with q schedule Of advisory
rates." which of course, means that
these are declared to be what the rates
ought to be. An agent who would de-
part from the advisory rate" would
soon be put out of business. 1t is stated
this plan Of effecting increase of rates
without running afoul of state laws has
been adopted all over the country. and
is one Of the. things under investiga-
ton by congress.
F. The attorney general Is said to have
in his possession a letter from w. r.
Weir, Of Davenport, president of the
Iowa Association of Local Fire lnsur-
ance Agents, written to Gus Doerfer,
Of Cedar Rapids, referring to J. \.
Ream, Of Oskaloosa, who was men
toned as having departed from the
advisory rate" in cutting a price to
one E. NJ. Cheeseman. Weir has denied
that his association has any connection
with rate making. But the correspond
ance is declared to indicate that the
whole scheme Of having an advisory
rate" placed in the hands Of agents and
local association with q sort OF
"gentiemen's agreement as to rate
cutting and rate raising, works out to
the raising Of rates and fixing uniform
rates in. violation OF the santi-cOmpact'
law.
Insurance agents all over the state
are becoming much interested In the
prosec utions; commenced. Attorney
General Cosson has. in fact, been en-
gagged for at least two years In making
Investigation Of the practical workings
of the system now employed by insur-
ance interests for raising rates in cities
of Iowa. II he can make an indict-
ment stick he will force the insurance
interests to rely on the legislature for
relief.
The state of Iowa is becoming bur-
dened as a landholder. II 1t could
trade some of its drained lake beds for
more farm land at the state fnstitu-
lions 1t would be better off: but the
lake bed business is neither profitable
nor easily handled. Secretary Of State
Hayward is now in the northern part
of the state making personal investiga-
ton Of the tracts of land the state
owns and will report on what should be
done with them. The state has never
been able to realize much by renting
them, and only low prices have been
realized by sales. State officials ex-
pect to decide soon on definite policy
for handling these lands.
c. H. Robbins. assistant attorney
general, has just returned from Wash
ington, where he presented to the in
terstate commerce commission the
matter Of the glucose rates from Iowa
points. The case involves considera-
ton Of some Of the most remarkable
.oio ,1ov II IN, 70
making turned up In recent years and
1t relates to the manner in which the
trust is able to fight off competition by
49, 1.ay~ - <~o3rh< rotao