The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1917-01-10

Before 1905 this company had only
one million dollars capital stock and
paid an annual dividend Of fifty per
cent. In 1910 they doubled their cap
ital stock by transferring one million
then continued to pay fifty per cent.
dividends, equal to one hundred per
cent. annually on the original capital
stock.
The New York Times Of November
19,1915, contains the following:
"The Continental ifire Insurance
Company's melon of seven, million
dollars is ripe, and a one million dol
lar plum will be added. They will in
crease the capital stock from two mil
lion to ten million dollars and still
have undistributed profits of ten mil
lion dollars. This will, amount to q
melon of $50 per cent" "
High-Handed Methods.
Under the monopoly created by the
South Carolina insurance law large
insurers in the State, able O deal di-
rectly through brokers in New York,
could secure insurance rates at about
one-half what other people in the
State were paying for the sam class
Of property. The cotton and oil mills
and large property owners were get
ting very cheap rates at the time of
the passage of the Laney-O Odom Act,
largely at the expense of the smaller
property owners in the State, who
had no knowledge of what was going
on. The chief complaint against the
Warehouse Commissioner was not
that he secured low rate on cotton.
but that he told it.
After the withdrawal of the cam
panlcs | enabled great many people
IN South Carolina to place insurance,
and the withdrawing companies have
found that it has been impossible to
punish South Carolina as effectively
as they did in Missouri and Kentucky.
! published a notice in the papers Of
fering to see that insurance was
placed, and did not fal. in a single
case where the risk was proper, nor
have heard of any loss from fire by
reason of inability to get insurance.
1t has been scare manufactured by
insurance agents, "cry of wolf
where there is no wolf"
Doubtless you will recall, after the
withdrawal of the companies, that
Wine in New York with me Senator
Banks placed large amount of in
surancc through brokers at less than
Nt'' viz idtS HS was paving
through their local insurance agents.
He wrote an open letter to the paper
calling attention to this fact, and his
insurance was withdrawn simply be-
cause he told it.
Iii the fact of this the leading daily
papers in South Carolina II have the
ciippings) were published to the peo-
pie that these companies were doing
business at loss, and while the peo-
pie of South Carolina contribute
about three million dollars in prem
lums they withdrew after taking all
this money from the State because
she wished to exercise the same care
with regard to insurance corporations
as - uoes TO BANKS, railroads and
other things of the sort.
Insurance Tax.
There is nothing that comes closer
home to the average citizen than fire
Insurance. In its last analysis it is
a tax, and why tax collecting should
be farmed out to private monopolies
fail to see. Every citizen in South
Carolina contributes, directly or indi-
rectiy, to these insurance companies.
The landlord adds is to his rent, the
merchant to the price of his goods,
the fertilizer factory to the price Of
fertilizers, etc.
The figures which I give are all the
more striking when it is taken into
consideration that the ten-year period
ABOVE covers the two largest fires in
tne history OF the country-San Fran
cisco and Baltimore. These tremem-
dous profits are directly due to a
monopoly created by Legislative pro-
lection. The insurance laws of South
Caro,na fostered and permitted this
trust to live, in the face of tthe Con-
stltution of the State, which prohibits
the formation of trusts. | said then,
and ! say now, that the Legislature
dld right to destroy it.
IN ADDITION to these profits, when
you consider that the Insurance com
panles pay very large salaries-and
thelr agents onpenly stated before
your legislative committee that if
cost them forty-three per cent. to put
the business in their oitices-the con
cluslon is irresistible that the neonle
OF thlS country are paying unreason-
able rates of insurance and that II is
the duty of the State of South Caro-
lima to give them relief.
Know Of no reason why insurance
companies should be exempt from the
same kind of legislation which now
regulates banks, railroads, express.
telegraph and telephone companies
we define the limit and regulate the
acelvlties of evry corporation which
ailects the general public. Why not
Inc insurance companies? We fix
tates or interest. regulate telephone,
Lttinegraph and railroad tolls; we for
n,u corporations to fix the price of
products, restrain trade or DESTROY
competition. Why should an insnr,
ance corporation be the only one i'm
mune from cOmnetitinn unn nj -.