The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-07-25
Will Resist Recent Raise of
 Fifteen Per Cent in In- surance Rates
MUCH ENTHUSIASM
 SHOWN IN SPEECHES
Many Instances Where Rates Have Been Unjustly Raised--Board's At torney to Inquire Into Legal
 Status of Association

War--ferce, bitter war to the death-- has been declared against the Southeast ern Underwriters association by the Bir- mingham Board of Trade.
 Just what business has this associa-
 tion to be raising insurance rates?
 What is this association's legal status?
 'ls it a combination In restraint of trade and in violation of the sherman law?
 What explanation can be offered for
 some of the actions of this association in
 Brmingham9
 These are some of the questions which
 were hurled aloft in defiance at the meet
 ing of the Board of Trade yesterday aft
 ernoon when the special subject under dis
 crssion was the recent raise of l5 per
 cent in fire insurance rates.
 The meeting was we'll attended and spir- tied speeches were made by many promi-
 nent citizens. It was determined to resist | the rate increase by every means at hand. | On motion of ]. E. Shelby 1t was or dered that the board should demand that the executive committee of the associa- | tion come to Birmingham and confer with local men regarding the raise in rates. It was the sentiment of the meeting that
 the matter of insura ace rates should be settled now for all time in Birmingham that the question had been bobbing up | every little while long enough, and that the people of Birmingham were tired of it.
 More Men on Committee Additional men were appointed on the special insurance committee, and Attor- ney R. V. Evans of the board was in- q pd n bapi at to investigate the legal status of the asso- | ciation and other phases of It's activities The committee as now composed is as follows
 A. w. B. Johnson, chairmani I. F. Young. vice chairman; George McC1eery P. H. Linnehan. John w. o'Neill. Lao l Loeb, J. Bloch. J. D. Collins. Jacob Bur ger. George Johnson and R. " Evans. It was suggested and accepted with much enthusiasm that there were com panies not connected with the Southeast ern Underwriters association which would gladly carry fire insurance, and that they could be easily induced to enter the Birmingham field and the members of the association would be driven out. J. E. Shelby made an enthusiastic speech. urging the board to get together and fight the raise in rates to the bitter end George McCieery emphasized the fact that In one ultimatum laid down by the underwriters association it had speci- fled things that should be done here to avoid a raise in rates; that these thfngs
 had been done but the raise in rates came anyhow.
 | Instances of increase in rates were cited 1t was rtated that individual raises have been going on for many months prior to the general raise of 10 per cent few days ago. tilt It was the sense of the meeting that the
 insurance men should take business like
 merchants-as it comes. Some years they | would, make money and some they would not, but when they failed one year to
 make profits they should not straightway
 raise rates. It was stated that data of the companies showed they made a profit
 averaging from 40 per cent to over 10O Expects No Results j. Fl. Hard stated that he was prac- tically sure no good would come from q conference with the executive com mittee. He stated that insurance on household furniture had been raised s4 per cent in the past 10 years and cited other similar instances.
 An Incident was told of a manufact- uring concern which installed sprink- ling pipes through it's plant and fitted
 (Ccntlnued on Page Ten)