The Ronan pioneer. [volume] (Ronan, Mont.) 1910-1970, 1917-03-23

/ HESS Ine new state hail insurance
law, over which there was so much
discussion in the legislature just ad-
]ourned. The law creates state
board of hail insurance commission
ers composed of the state auditor,
the commissioners of agriculture and
publicity who shall be secretary OF
the board, and three other members
appointed by the governor "from
names submitted therefor by the duly
organized farmers societies having a
general membership throughout the
state.' One term is for three years,
one for two, and one for one year,
the three year man b ing the chair
man.
Elect by June 4.
The board is to prepare a special
blank form outlining the provisions
of the act. These banks are to be
furnished the county assessors to be
submitted by them to the farmers.
Not later than June 1 of each year
farmers who desire to avail them
selves of the provisions of the act are
to file the filled in blanks with the
assessor. Farmers not working their
own lands can obtain insurance only
with the consent of the land owner.
A tax is to be levied on the lands
of all the owners who desire to come
under the act, not exceeding Is cents
an acre on hay crops, nor more than
60 cents on grain crops, by the state
board of equalization is to prescribe
such levies annually made against
the lands subject to the law. The
county treasurer is to collect this tax
and not later than December 81 of
each year remit the monies to the
state treasurer.
Appraisal of Losses.
All hail losses are to be reported
direct to the state board of hail in
surance by sworn statement.
Boards of county commissioners are
to appoint two appraisers from each
county from names submitted by reg
ularly organized farmers societies.
the state hail board appoints the
third appraiser, and shall adjust the
losses.
Payment of losses is to be made as
follows: "Said state board shall as
certain as soon as practicable each
year, the acreage of land cropped to
grain and hay subject to this act
thereby ascertaining
the total amount of such tax levies,
and after deducting therefrom 10
per cent for possible delinquencies,
and the estimated actual cost of the
administration of this act and the
appraisal of losses, shall apportion
pro-rata the balance of the amount
/ levied for hail insurance amongst all
taxpayers subject to this act, who
have sustained losses by hail share
and share alike based on the amount
of each of such losses as adjusted and
determined as aforesaid, and shall or
der the state auditor to issue war
rants on the state hail insurance fund
in settlement for such losses, provid-
ed, however, that in no case shall the
payment for such losses exceed rs
per cent of the appraised value there
of as adjusted and determined as
aforesaid
Equity Opposes Law.
The American Society of Equity,
which is the largest farmers organ
ization, in size of membership, in the
state, is opposed to this hail insur-
ance law, Notwithstanding the fact
that the Equity organization has
been advocating state hail insurance
for over a year. This hail law is
elective in principle, while the Equi-
ty is striving to obtain "compul-
sorry" hail insurance. The society S
efforts in this direction were blocked
in the recent legislature because of
constitutional limitations.
"The new hail insurance law will
not be of any great advantage or as
sistance to the farmers of this state"
is the assertion in a recent statement
made by the Equity organization. 1T
does not recognize the law or aver
ages, which is basic principle of all
insurance. If put into operation the
law will assume risks from four to
six and one-half times more than will
be possible to pay at the rate of pre-
MUM required. The law plainly
states that 60 cents per acre shall be
the limit of tax, then leads the farm
err to believe that he will receive rs
per cent of his actual loss, which in
many cases will amount to $45 per
acre or more. The law provides that
whole section of land may be in
sured, notwithstanding the fact that
no one insurance company ever dared
to assume the risk of more than one
quarter of each section. The princi-
pie involved in the present law have
been tried out in number of states,
and have been found impractical and
unsuccessful. In North Dakota, the
state was able to pay only SO per
cent of it's hail losses under this plan.
In Canada only 40 per cent of the
locSns was racaivad nv those insured
and over 100000 was lost to the
farmers in single province, owing
to the operation of the principles
similar to those in the Montana hail
insurance law.
''The Equity believes that if the
present law is put into operation it
will be so unsuccessful that it will
defeat any attempt which may be
made in the future for a hail insur-
ance law based upon the right prin-
oin1oc -