The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-12-29
Controversy Not Yet Settled.

l ne recent decision OF the United state,
HuPreme court reported in the dlsps tches
az ,ne case OF the New York Life Insur.
snce company VS.. Deer Lodce county
mont. In which the question InvoIv.J va
10 INSURANCE Commerce. has created
,pr o,l oi comment In insurance circle,
Kingsley. president OF the Now YnrL : To
" OF tho opinion that IL Will only bc Z
ntue while before the whole question Is
raised again. He Is also said to ba ~
tpen tSepu considerable comfort In the fact
Inal TWO OF the justices-Uughes and
van Northumberland from tho ma
courts verdict. Mr. Kingsley said:
INC dissent OF Justice Hughes and
OF Justice Van Devanter is not only
significant fact but one that bring,
great comfort TO the supporters OF
reucIal supervision. Few people viii
ghnesttlon ,ho t their competency 10 pass on
the Issue presented. and probably no
ono VIII question the peculiar compo-
tency OF Justice Hughes
~ snould be remembered that IL
,iN iToN some courage 10 raise the oues-
non In the light OF earlier decisions
OF the court II was q distinct
achievement for the court TO listen
70 the argument and IL Is a greater
aohieVement TO have two distin-
Sulshed members OF the court re-
Gently agree to the doctrine that in
mcrce. "
There arc forty-cight state insur-
ance departments. with all the politi
cal machinery that ma turaliy goes with
such organizations. In addition, the
stateS collect something like Sis
ovo,ooo year in revenue from the in
surs nee companies for the mere priy .
lIeSe OF doing business. II costs
ABOUT 81, 100000 to pay the expense
or the departments, so that insIr-
ance contributes between 5000. 900
and $4,000 900 a year 10 the running
Va Of
reversal OF the existing doctrine
would, OF course. have been followed
oy the assertion that federal govern
heht Is again invading the rights OF
.he states. Such n decision would
nave reduced the field OF opera tIons OF
ihe various state insurance depart
ments to the supervision OF home
compdnies and nothing more
\ federal license under such a de-
cislon would have carried company
Into every state and possession of the
United States. including Texas.
from which most responsible life in
surance companies have Withdrawn,
ana II any local tax was therea ftcr
levied, II would have been only be-
cause congress permitted il. That
Such decision would have been rev.
olutionary does not dctract at all
from the fact that il would have been
right, and it sometimes happens that
revolutions are right II is a good
tiine To recall what Abraham Lincoln
II Is not resistance il is not fac
tlous. II Is not even dsrespcctful to
treat II (the courD as not having
yet quite established a settled doc
trlne for the country"
Those who believe that interstate
insurance Is commerce will inevitably
take similar position toward this
last uttera nee Of the supreme court
The doctrine laid down In Paul vs. Vir-
Sinia In 1869 was economically wrong.
That error has now been rcaffrmed
but for the first time the reaff1r1na-
ton came from a divided court. Dis
tlnct progress has been made. The
issue Will be raised again and again.
Sooner or later. tho principle for
which we contend Will be esta blished
because IT is right. Not even the su-
prcme court can settle q. question in
this country until they settle II right
Another authority takes the position
hat II ANYTHING Is 10 be accomplished
oward placing insurance under federal
control its advocates "must turn TO the
process OF amending the constitution"
Commenting further, the same authority
ays:
The only hope of lighting increas-
Ing and inequitablc state taxation lies
through federal control Otherwise
retaliatory legislation and a great In
crease OF expense seem TO loom in
the future,