Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-05-16
BILLS WOULD STOP
INSURANCE STEALS
Measure in Committee Aims
at Dealers in Worth
less Stocks
FRATERNITIES AFFECTED
O'Neil Discusses Proposed Law
Making All Benefit Orders
Subject to Inspection

If the blue sky bill" now in Committee
ON Banks and Banking becomes q law,
Pennsylvania will become an Improbable
field for the promoters OF stock jobbing
schemes
In a statement issued nt Harrisburg to-
day, j. Denny O'Neil State insurance COM
missioner, asserts that the proposed law
will safeguard the public from worthless
stock promoters and contribute much to
the protection OF life insurance concerns.
This law provides that no domestic or
foreign corporation may issue or sell stock
within this State until the stock has been
approved by the state bank commissioner.
Insurance companies and insurance
holding companies" said O'Neil have been
fruitful fields for irresponsible promoters,
but the proposed law will put an end to the
scheme which led persons TO purchase their
worthless stocks"
O'NEILS BILL
TO prevent another insurance crash SINH
lar TO the recent wreCking of the Pittsburgh
Life and Trust Company, ONeil has intro
duced u bill which provides that the control
of an insurance company cannot he trans
ferred without first obtaining the consent
of the Insurance Department.
II was through the transfer of the Pitts
burgh concern that it's wreckng was accom-
plished. and O'Neil is determined that there
shall be no repetition OF that wreck ,..-
Warning Is also served to directors Of
insurance companies who never direct. The
commissioner informs them that their re-
spCnSibi!ites are sacred" and that they
must not permit "any man or set of men
to gamble with the funds held for the pro-
lection of widows and orphans.
O'Neil says that the people of PennSyI-
Vania pay approximately SllSOOo,oO0 in
premiums for various kinds Of insurance
each year and they are entitled to every
protection. TO provide this protection new
legislation is necessary, and a number OF
bills have been introduced in the Legis-
ature.
OF importance s one that has been de-
signed to bring fraternal and beneficial
insurance societies within the jurisdiction
of the Insurance Department, AT the
present time such societies are exempt from
insurance laws.
AS TO FRATERNlTIES
Concerning this bill O'Nei says:
AT the present time any five persons,
no matter how irresponsible, can Secure a
court charter that enables them to operate
without adequate protection to policyhold-
nrs. and without any supervision whatever
hy the Insurance department.. Most of the
insurance trouble AT the present time II due
to the fact that such societies have been
operating without any control and thou
sands Of dollars have been lost to policy
holders through mismanagement. In many
cases the only resource the families of
deceased members of these organizations
have Is the amount Of benefits agreed to
be paid them, and il the society is not sol
vent these families are left without any
siInport whatever The above bill does not
include in its provisions strictly religious
and other local beneficial societies"
An attempt to strengthen the laws gov
erning mutual insurance companies ls de-
scribed az follows:
The laws governing mutual insurance
companies are very lax. House Bill No.
lO34. introduced by Hon. w. H. Mearkle.
was prepared at a joint meeting OF the
representatives of Pennsylvania ana other
state mutual insurance companies This
bill provides for the Incorporation and reg
ulation Of mutual insurance companies and
has already been enacted into law in
large number of the States The bill does
not effect any grange or mutual company
already organized although all of the above
companies can accept the provisions OF the
bill if they so desire.