The Oakes times. [volume] (Oakes, N.D.) 1906-current, 1916-08-17
FEDERATION OF
INSURANCE MEN
Purpose Of Organization is to Elimi'
nate Vicious Leglslation

At meeting of the local insur-
ance men of the city last Thursday
evening. held in the stock directors
room of the First National Bank of
this place, a local county branch of
the North Dakota Insurance Fed
Grafton was formed, and officers
and committees elected and ap-
pointed.
Harry Curran Wilbur, executive
secretary of the state federation,
was present at the meeting, ex-
planning the purposes and methods
of operation of the organization.
The purpose of the federation,
and the keynote of its existence,
Mr.. Wilbur stated, is to organize
the insurance sellers and the insur-
ance buyers of the state into an or
ganization that would tend to elm
mate any unwise or vicious legisla-
tion in regard to insurance. The
method of the work is educational (;
the plan is to assemble and make
public any facts that have bear
ing upon the insurance business of
the state, and to place these facts at
the disposal of the legislative as
sembly.
The federation, Mr.. Wilbur
emphasized, is not political in any
way, is not supported by any polit-
ical party, and is nonpartisan in all
of its affairs. Only residents of the
state may become members and the
citizen who buys insurance is just
as welcome member as the insur-
ance seller. County branches have
been organized in many counties of
the state, and it is expected that
before fall the entire state will be
covered by these local branches.
The federation is opposed to
state controlled insurance for two
reasons: First, because it savors of
.paternalism, which is distinctly un-
American; and second, because,
Judging from the opinions of those
who should know, and from the
experiences of other states which
have experimental with it, it is no!
"a success. Mr.. Wilbur cited, as an
Iexample of the harm which NAV
come from state insurance, the
case of South Carolina, where the
insurance companies withdrew
from the state because the state
proposed to take charge Of the fire
insurance. Because of this with
drawal, and the failure of the state
insurance, supply houses refused
to sell goods on time, and new
loans were refused. because no one
cared to take the risk of loss in case
goods and collateral were to be de-
stroyed by fire. The condition be-
came so acute that the people of
the state have called for legisla-
tive relief. The experiences of
other states have been similar, and
the elimination of the possibility of
similar conditions in North Dakota
is the purpose of the federation.
The insurance federation is no
new thing. There are organiza-
Itions in many of the other states,
the outgrowth of the original fed
'eration in Ohio two years ago.
Bulletins are to be sent out from
ime to time. to keep the federation
'l touch with the progress of the
organization.
! Following Mr.. Wilbur's state
nent OF the purposes of the feder-
alton, local branch was formed.
The county executive committee
was formed as follows: d. l..
Geer, chairman; D. w. Crabtree
secretary; G. d. Stout, II. c. Peek
w. Z. Dickinson (Fullerton), CA.
Malander (Oakes). A general
; county committee, consisting of C.
d. Hathaway, Merricourt; F. B.
Ollie, Monango; w. c. Caldwell
Monango; ]. F. Nichols. Cakes
w. S. Scott, Guelph; Earl Stearns
Ludden; F. M. Weber. Forbes; II
]. Oberman. Forbes; w. S. Wick
ersham. Glendale; and +. n
l-eiby, Glendale, was then formed
These committees will have charge
of the work of getting the findings
of the state federation to the peo-
pie of the county and to the mem
bers of the legislature. in ordc,
that no mistakes will be made as =
result OF ignorance of conditions.
pJpTIJnA< DANNY,