The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1917-01-10
HON. JOHN J.. McLAURIN RESIGNS AS
STATE WAREHOUSE COMMISSIONER;
REPORT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBI,Y Y

i could the farmers expect in accom-
modation? :',t
b Insurance.
At the last session Of the General
Assembly a bill was passed which de-
stroyed the insurance trust in this
State. The insurance companies with
drew from South Carolina in an at
tempt to force the Governor to call
so as to re-enact this trust legisla-
tion. Their animosity was particular
ly directed to this office, because of
the fact that in my report to the
Legislature gave the rates of insur~
ance which we were receiving on
State cotton and contrasted them
with the rates which were being paid
when the State Warehouse System
went into operation.
1t has ben necessary for me to
keep the nalnes of the companies Sc
cret who arc on our blanket policy,
but you will observe from Mr.. Brad
ley''s report that he had the policies
and submitted them to the Insurance
Commissioner, who pronounced them
all right. The reason for this is that
the bitter fight made by the Tariff
Association on these companies would
prevent them from getting reinsur-
ance.
A systematic attempt has been
made to break down the State Ware
house System by dissatisfying the
storers of cotton with our insurance.
1t comes to our ears frequently where
parties are told by agents of the trust
not to put cotton in State Warehouses
that the. insurance is not good"
The members of the General AS
| Snl1h1u fha l.
the Agricultural Committee last win
ter, when one prominent insurance
man openly cast discredit on the State
Warehouse insurance, and l could not
resist the. temptation to disclose the
fact that one of the largest old line
companies, with a representative at
the hearing; carried portion of our
insurance and that another we'll
known old line company was on our
blanket policy.
Home Monopoly is Created.
1t is easy to understand how this
| legislature was created. The aver
| age legislator has not the information
necessary to understand such prob
lens, while the insurance interests
are forever busy scheming and lobby
ing to secure the legislation best
adapted to the ends sought. The in
surance committees generally are in
surance agents, which is just as
wrong as to make up the finance or
agricultural committees exclusively Of
bankers in one case or farmers in
the other The legislative body trusts
to it's comittees, and, as a rule, adopt
their reports, SO that the personnel
OF the committee is of vital import
ance, and the trust has subtle means
to get the right men on the commit
tees. 1T is in this way that legisla-
ton created an insurance monopolv
which enabled the trust to whip all
independent companies in line. The
mutual and independent companies
have been afraid to enter the State,
lest this Legislator recede from it's
position and allow them to be driven
from the State after the expense of
establishing agencies. | venture the
assertion that if the General Assem-
bly, stands firm in it's determination
to have either competition or State
regulations of rates, that within
thirty days after adjournment there
Will be more insurance companies in
South Carolina than are needed to do
| the business.
IN many cases. we have had to paw
higher rates to get reinsurance. In
other cases lower rates have been Of
Tered so as to induce the people either
70 quit the system or not 90 into it.
The newspapers have been filled the
enIire year with statements that the
| insurance companies were making no
money in South Carolina. A similar
| GSht has been going on in Michigan,
| Texas and other States. l have taken
the trouble to get some of the news
lHrers from those States, and the
| Of fot ,o,,fe,
them as are being made in the South
| Carolina newspapers. The same poll
| cles were pursued in all of those
| States. In New YORK the heads of
some of the insurance companies
openly asserted to me that they de-
| MED the right of the State to cues
ton the rates at all. | did not at
tempt last year to influence insurance
leglsiatlon, except so far as it affect
ed the State Warehouse System. |
| did, when called before the commit
| tee, give them such information as
/ was in my possession and expressed
an opinion when requested.
Large Profits.
have put myself to some trouble
to ascertain whether insurance was a
profitable business or not, and I find
that there is no business in the world
Where tne pfofts are so enormous as
in both life and fire insurance The
real profits of the insurance compa-
MES would not show in the premiums
collected and the losses paid as re-
ported to the insurance commission
ers. 1t is known as the Bankers
Profit" The lapse policy in life in
surance and the short term cancella-
tIon in fire insurance show profit
] very nearly akin in nrincinln