The Connecticut labor news., 1921-05-20
BILLIONS TAKEN FROM
 AMERICAN WORKERS BY FOREIGN INSURANCE CO.'S
Massachusetts Senator Discloses Some As founding Facts in Ar gument for State In- surance Funds Be Real Americans" He Urges.

Calling attention to the enormous amounts of money, amounting, according to some authorities to more than $6,000,- GOO yearly, that are being sent abroad as profits of the foreign and tOre1gn-OWned insurance companies, col lected III premiums for compensation in- suranCe in various states, Senator War ren E. Tarbell of Worcester, created sensation before the Massachusetts Leg islature a few days ago and gave one of the most austounding and logical reasons as to why state insurance funds should be created and maintained ever heard in the halls of legislation. If for no other reason than "Americanis1n," 100 per cent pure Americanis1n, Senator Tarbell main taincd the legislatures of the several states should see to 1t that these enor- nous funds are kept at home and pro- tect not only the employer who has to pay them, but the worker who IS often cheated out of his due by the adjusters of these foreign companies.
 Senator Tarbelps speech was made from the floor of the Senate when 1t ap- peared that the bill for state insurance was to be defeated without protests. Some of his colleagues, undoubtedly agents of the insurance companies at is- sue tried to embarrass him by shuff1ing and leaving their seats. The Senator challenged them, however, and declared that If the bill was defeated he would see to 1t that 1t was made an issue of the next campai ign and placed on the bal lot when the people will be given oppor- tunity to decide the position. He declared that many of these companies, foreign owned, were on the verge of insolvency and no one challenged his statement. At the conclusion he was cheered to the echo from the floor and galleries The speech was a lengthy one and space does not permit its publication in full. Among the pertinent things he said however, were the following:
 Mir President, in Ohio there are ap- proximately one million and a quarter workers under this compensation act and if this legislation IS adopted in Massa- chusetts we will have approximately one million and a half workers covered by this Act.
 At the hearing I produced irrefutable evidence that the great majority of the labor men of this country are in favor of this legislation. l produced a ccpy of the official proceedings of the 1; st convention of the American Federation Cf Labor where the Ohio Compensation Law was unanimously endorsed.
 "NOW, Mr. President, there are few figures taken from the official reports Ot our able insurance COmn1SS1Oner winch | would like to present to the members ui this body for their consideration "Ihe last report in print shows that these com panies (workmen's compensation, who are engaged in this business received Ill premiums from the employers of this State more than twenty millions Ot dol lars. These same companies paid out to losses less than eight millions of dollars. Among these companies are two owned and controlled by Americans. In fact these companies. l refer to the Liberty Mutual and 'he American Mutual, were able to carl this business so far as the cost of acquisition goes for less than 5 per cent while the other companies, many of them fortign-OWned and fOrelgn-cOn- trOlltd. had to charge between twenty and thirty per cent to the cost of aCquiSl- t1On-
 "Thcrc is difference of some twelve millions of dollars i'll what these com panics received from the employers of Massachusetts and what they paid out i'll losses in the last year as reported by the insurance commissioner. It IS true, Mr. President, that a part of the difference was spent for clerk hire, postage and Continued on Page FiVe.)