Amarillo daily news. [volume] (Amarillo, Tex.) 19??-current, 1913-02-09
INSURANCE LAWS
Unsatisfactory
THOUGHT BY SOME TO BE
A LOCALIZED
TRUST.
THE ALAMO CONTROVERSY
CLAIMS OF THE DAUGHTERS OF
THE REPUBLIC SkILFUl.Iy
PRESENTED ny MRS.
SEIIER
(By Worth S. Raw

AUSTIN. Tex. Feb. S.-Anent the
Fire Rating Board Law for the reg
ulation OF insurance rates: ITO be
or not to be-that Is the question:"
Whether To bear the ills OF which
many complain under law that.
In a measure at least, swats COM
petition In fire insurance rates a
body blow. or fly 10 those ills they
wot not OF alleged to have existed
prior to the Campbell regime. Oh.
ponents of the existing law are of al
least two classes. those who believe
the law should be repealed In toto
and those who maintain that some
kind OF regulation OF insurance rates
Is necessary for the general good.
Representative Mandell OF Travis
county favors the absolute repeal of
the present law and would do away
entirely with the principle OF sched.
ule insurance that now obtains and
substitute a strong law instead, put
ting the insurance companies under
the restraint of an antitrust act.
Like the Tariff.
In many respects the attitude of
the people OF different sections of
the State Is analogous to the atti-
tude OF the various sections of the
country at large towards the tariff.
Under the schedule system now In
vogue some cities OF this state are
enjoying exceedingly low rates on
fire insurance. In other sections Il
Is claimed they are abnormaIly high.
Where The low rates obtain there n
less complaint nut where the ex-
cessive rates are In force there is q
correspondingly strong sentiment In
favor OF some kind Of change In
the law. but whether the rates are
! high or low in a given city or town
the rates on property OF the same
class In the same community are the
same One company has no advan-
tage as To rates over any OF the
others. There is no competition as
far as rates are concerned. and rates
are about the only thing that could
be made the subject OF competition.
ON the other hand there Is likewise
no discrimination Rich and poor
alike are served at the same cost rel
atively speaking
l. This Trust?
This state OF things has lead to
the charge that the law as IL exists
is nothing more or less than legal
I lied trust But the original Sdvo-
Gates OF the idea claimed that such
a law was necessary In order 20 pre-
vent discrimination There may be
merit in the contention. but whether
there is or not % is settled that many
people are dissatisfied and all OF the
7 complaint does not come from the
sections where the rates are now
the lowest Beaumont claims to
! have the lowest fire rate OF any city
/ In the state and yet there appeared
/ before the committee on insurance
here delegation Of business men
from Beaumont who insist that the
present system is unsatisfactory In
/ this delegation were Messrs j. 5.
/ Edwards. % \ Perstein. T. V Smell
/ kcr. u Weiss. Singleton Bryan.
/ J u Roberts. J II Ried and Tom
/ " Larku
Relieve Ia the Principle.
Mr. Larkn said. we believe that
the basic principle of the schedule
system OF rate making is correct.
f but that 20 is very unsatisfactory
F 20 the property owners of the state
as 10 is being now administered We
also believe that the Insurance COM
panics should be placed under a
commission similar 10 the railway
commission of this state and that,
instead of the commission being paid
for their services indirectly by the
insurance companies they should be
duly constituted officers of the State
OF Texas empowered TO adjust and
4 ia the rates within reasonable lin
its and TO prevent discrimination" I"
Mr. H. A. Perlstein, who owns a six
story office building in Beaumont.
said Before the passage OF the law
creating the Fire Rating Board
had a rate on my building OF si.37.
Immediately after the law went into
effect 10 was raised to S4.25. but by
making certain changes on the prem
ises. changing certain doors and ma
terials and otherwise complying with
/ -nruIntlnr. nI tho Eirn Rating