The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1915-07-09
M'LAURIN ANSWERS
IN VIGOROUS LANGUAGE
STATEMENTS AS 10 STATE WARE
HOUSE INSURANCE NOT TRUE
State Warehouse Commissioner Says
Insurance Placed With Good
Companies.
Special to The Herald and News.

ing correspondence explains itself and
is of especial interest to t-ose who
store cotton and also to all who have
insurance. Mr.. McLaurin has fully
answered the untrue and unjust
charges which were made in the article
in regard to the State warehouse in
surance. The purpose Of the article
was evidently to injure tie State sys-
TEN, but the statements are so pal
pably untrue and unjust that they
practically carry their own answer.
Office of Jno. L. McLaurin, State Ware
house Commissioner, Columbia, S. c.,
July Z, 1915.
To thte Farmers of South Carolina:
My attention has been called ito tie
following article, published in "The
Insurance Field" of July 1st:
QUEER TURN OF POLITICS.
'SOuth Carolina Officials Try to Place
Warehouse Insurance in Out
side Companies.
'tNew York, July 1.-(Special.)-A L.
most peculiar state of case has devel-
oped in connection with the insurance
on the cotton warehouses maintained
by the state of South Carolina. 1t
will be recalled tat the Southeastern
Underwriters association recently is
sued notice that the 10 per cent re-
duction on warehouses under the su-
pervision of the State was being
abused in that in number of cases
barns and farm buildings in the coun-
try districts without any direct super
vision were being given advantage OF
this reduction. Companies were ac-
cordingly advised that the reduction
was to apply only to warehouses in
cities and towns under direct super
vision of the State warehouse commits
sion. -.
= e"The peculiar feature of the ;situa-
ton is that politics has been injected
with the result that the State ware
house commission is reported to have
turned the business over to a firm OF
New York brokers to place at rate
Of 1 IA per cent in unauthorized COM
panies. It is regarded. as astoniso-
ing that a.: State with such an active
insurance department should be par
ty to sucn illegal insurance.
"The South Carolina legislature at
Especial session last year, enacted law
authorizing the establishment of bond
ed warehouses under the supervision
of a State commission, with the idea
that this would enable the farmers to
get cheap storage rate and satisfac-
! tory negotiable receipt. 1t is under
stood, however, that the banks do not
regard the State receipt as being al
together satisfactory security, as the
State can not be held responsible IN
case of trouble"
/ do not think H:at this article was
meant for circulation in South Caro-
lima, but was probably intended to be
handed around in New York city to
iniure the State warehouse system by
casting doubt upon the safety Of our
methods of insurance. l never heard
of the paper before, and while the
special is dated from New York, it
bears every ear mark of having come
from Columbia, South Carolina. Nearly
every statement in it is false, as l will
undertake to show, and it is coward
ly, underhanded attack which woul1
not notice except for it's circulation in
New York city.
TIE charges are as follows:
First. That cotton is insured in
barns and outbuildings not under the
supervision of the State warehouse
system.
Second. That politics has been in
jected into tie system.
Third. That the insurance business
has been turned over to lrm of New
York brokers to place at a 1 IA rate
in unauthorized companies.
Each and every one of these state
ments are absolutely false. The design
of the author of this article is evl-
dently to prevent the storing of cotton
in tie country. A warehouse in the
country is just as much under my su-
pervision, and as carefully guarded,
as a warehouse in the town. When We
inaugura-ed the system they were
charging three dollars and half per
hundred on cotton stored in the coUn-