New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-06-25

to the approval Of the Superintendent
| of Insurance and to the review Of the
1 courts. These rates are now subject
| only to the sweet will of the stock in
surance companies.
Needed Legislation Defined
"Legislation that the companies will
oppose is also needed.
81. To permit OF competition be-
tween q maximum and minimum rate.
"2. To take away from the com
panies the anomalous privilege they
now have to invest the trust funds
that they now hold for their policy
holders in all sorts of wildcat stocks,
to limit such investments and to re-.
| quire that " certain proportion Oh
| them be in first mortgage on real es-
tate.
SO, To require the income from I'M
! earned premiums to be held as trust
/ fund to be applied to the reduction OF
rates, instead of being paid over to the
stockholders as at present. !,
/ "The present law should be amended
| so that whenever contractor oe-
| faults on a construction contract with
the city, the latter shall have the OPP
ton of adopting all existing sub-coh-
tracts instead Of being required to re-
ject them all, and to readvertise Tor
bids.
"The present restriction offers pre-
MUM to contractors who happen W
have entered into .anprotltapie con
tracts to default on the CONTRACT SO as
to release sub-contractors Summary
| situated. orIo,d
ssTho instance of the Cumberland
| Street Hosnital demonstrated the ne
cecsity for this legislation. -,
aThere should be certain otner
amendments to the Penal Code.
ssThe Penal Code should be amended
so as to give the people the same rlghs
of appeal in criminal cases as tha'
now possessed by the defendants, e&-
cept that the people shall oniy n@re
| The right of appeal on questions 91
law. AS the law stands to-day single
! ;u5re NAV erroneonsly dismiss indict-
ments or otherwise destroy the rights
of the people and there is no remedy
| by appeal.
.sThfs has also resulted in putting
| scma very bad law ON the books. by
| one Judge, with no right OF REVIEW
| but inasnuch as there is NO appeal by
| the people the precedents remain as
I established in the defendants favor.
"There should be limitations on the
Investments of all financial institu-
tions that hold the funds of the people
| and provisions for compulsory invest
ments on bond and mortgage of GER
| tain proportion OF such investm e nts, de-
| pendent upn the character of the 1nsh-
tuition. BESIDES thus creating a. loan
market and checking the speculation
| that is now permitted with the savings
| OF the masses. such Legislation would
make for safety ard conservatism, and,
as above stated, would yield far bet
ter return than By permitting officers
of these institutions to profit directly
| or indirectly through the speculative
| character Of the enterprises in which
| they are permitted to invest trust
| funds.
| First Aid to Investors
al I'M sure some of the members of
| the committee Will not agree with me
now, but it will not he at ali surprising
| before we get through. The usury
| laws should be repealed as to all loans
on mortgage on real estate of $4,000
and upward, in the same way as col
! lateral loans are now exempted from
those laws. 1t is not to be expected
that money can be borrowed on mort
gage at per cent, even on gilt-edge
security, when Investors can buy tax
exempt securities of states and munich
paiities that would yield them almost
that amount. and when they can buy
the highest class Of railroad and indus
| trial bonds and notes. as they can to-
day, on an 8 per cent basis or better.
This is not a merely temporary sit
ration, when we consider the needs of
every corner OF the world for financing
and That they are all looking to this
country, we may well decide that the
days OF cheap money have passed. How
ever nnwillingly, we must recognize
that money is Il commodity and goes
to the highest bidder The .usury laws
have, in any event, become obsolete,
useless, with respect to large transac-
tons on mortgages on real estate. The
borrower is simply required to transfer
his property to a corporation which
makes the mortgage and is thus pre-
vented by law from pleading usury;
and that, the evidence here shows, is
what has actually taken place.
"These are suggestions that occur to
NE at the moment. Some of them may
be regarded at first sight as radical
and farreaching. j look upon them as
temporary, and upon the most funda-
mental of them as essential to any per
manent progress in the direction in
which we are heading. They are sub
nlltted for your earnest thought and
for public discussion"
Chairman Lockwood extended the
thanks of the committee to Mr.. Inter
myer for his services and wished him
a safe journey to Europe. Mr.. Inter
myer sails this morning, and is ex-
| pected back in time to resume the
| hearings of the committee some time
in September. He will write his report
i OF the committees activities for the
\ a rr yrbT