The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1915-07-20

Ssstigstton. which resulted n the
Armstrong Law. the character Of the
Investments that the Life Insurance
Companies were taking vas largely
changed. snd where formerly these
companies had been allowed to In
vest in dividend paying stocks Of
any kind. ar result Of the ARM
strong Law, they cannot any long
or invest In stocks Of any kind. and
they were compelled to dispose Of
such stocks rs they had. This same
law permitted them to buy mort
cages in any state In the Union.
In as much as the total assets of
all the companies now doing BUSH
ness in Texas, who can by any
means be claimed as sponsors for.
the Robertson Insurance Law, have
total assets OF only 100000
90, or only per cent Of the total
assets OF all the companies that
would be doing business in Texas
but for the Robertson Law, II should
be perfectly clear to the people that
we are very adversely affected in
our ability to borrow money on our
farms. and II seems to me it would
be the part of wisdom to let these
companies return to Texas and loan
their money.
] am credibly informed that most
of the mortgage concerns in this
State are now having to sell their
mortgages to the insurance compan-
les so as to net them per cent.
am advised that II was the plan of
the Northwestern Mutual of Mil
waukee. which company has $685.
000, 10000 invested in farm mort
gage loans. If the Gibson Bill had
passed TO return Immediately to
Texas and establish an Office for the
loaning of money on Texas farm
lands. l am likewise advised, and
think correctly so, that it was the
plan of the New York Life lnsur-
! ance Company to purchase an enor-
nous amount of Texas farm mort
cages, and by reason of the fact that
this company has almost 500, 0OO,-
10000 of money each year to re-
invest. one can understand why they
| can buy them in such great quanti-
ties.
All the Texas companies are stock
owned companies. They arc suppos-
ed to be operated for profit for
stockholders. Practically, all of the
outside companies doing business in
Texas are of the same character. ana
arc operated in the same manner.
The great mutual companies take
the position that compulsory invest
ment laws are wrong, and very dan
| gerous for the reason that 1t takes
OFT of the hands of the trustees for
the policyholders the right to invest
the funds of such companies and
delegates this authority to the legis-
latures of forty-eight states, ana /
believe that any fair thinking man
will agree that it is a dangerous prin-
ciple. because legislatures some
times become whimsical in their
| ideas and go to extremes.
| They likewise claim. and | think
properly SO, that the dividing up Of
their funds in forty-eight different
accounts to comply with compulsory
investment laws would entail Or
| them an endless amount of expense
and confusion. They also in M
opinion properly claim that il woufd
| materially reduce the interest rates
| tcat they are enabled TO secure, for
| in states like Massachusetts, which
has invested at this time only 30
per cent of the foreign life Insurance.
reserves in that state, money is
! plentiful. and in that section interes.
rates are very much less than they
| are in the agricultural sections OF
| the country. They very properly
| claim that in some states whose
securities might be questionable, il
| would be dangerous for the policy
| holders interest to be compelled to
| make them in such sections.
! The facts are that in the south
western group of states, including
Texas. even though Texas is largely
| excluded by reason of the Robertson
| law, that there is at this time $50
per cent or so per cent more than
| the total life insurance reserves now
| invested in the securities OF those
states. If this is the case, VIVA;
good comes from a compulsory in
yestment law.
Attempts have been made to pass
laws similar to the Robertson law
in between twenty-five and thirty
states. and they have in each CAGE