New-York tribune., 1922-03-19
Trusts Killed
Housing Bills, ,
Saws Unterlnyer
Lawyer Assets That lnsur-
ance Companies Used Of
fetal Tools 10 Destroy Eff
fcctiveuess of Measures
Sees Only One Good Law
legislative Leaders and
Others Denounced as Be-
travers of People i'll Need

travers of People III Need
In surveying the havoc wrought by .
.he Legislature on the various hills ,
.-,noseo by the Lockwood housing
.ormittee tor the relief OF the hous-
mo situation. Samuel Untelmyer, chief
.,urscl 70 the committee, character
.,od tho result yesterday as crush
6ofeatr for all but q few OF the
,emedial measures.
The The entire body Of antitrust iegis-
,,t;on ne said and all the legal and
administrative machinery i0 the pro-
nosed state trade commission bill.
Eve been "smashcd into smithercens,
is.ying the people q the statc, "as
ever before, at The mercy Of the
nroGtecrs and the most powerful and
corrupt insurance combinatlo" con
re;voble which has been for wears lft
SeaIiv robhing the public, backed by
rsst lobby chat stops at nothing.
The neople may as wei know that
.hsv have been betray cd, says the coun-
.eI bitterly attacking the men who. he
s1ds "have done the dirtiest nights
y,orl that has ever been put over on
he public.
phillips former State superintendent
~ Insurance, and the "treachery' OF
the incumbent. Superintendent Stod-
dord. for the insertion of "lokers' IN
the insurance measures passed which
almost make them useless. Mr.. Stod-
lard. he declares. had agreed to the
removal Of these jokcrs, but at the
eleventh hour had them reinsertcd.
But. adds Mr.. Jntormyer, ''it is TO
Mr.. Phillips more than to any one
otber lohbvist that we owe the emascu-
lation and defeat of almost the entire
insurance legislative program.
The superintendents Of insurance. he
EMPHASIZED, are mere puppets of the
insurance companies and register their
will as rubber stamps The defeat of
the bill requiring the fire and casualty
companies TO dispose of their specu-
latiye stocks within five years. says MIR.
Untermyer, now permits these com
ranies to continue their wild specula-
lion with the hundreds of millions OF
dollars Of money that the officials, are
supposed to hold in trust for the policy
holders
Puts McWhinney on Spit
Mr.. Untermyer scores Assemblyma ar
Thomas A. McWhiNney, vice chairman
of TIE Lockwood committee, tor nj!
eincredible action" and the large par
re played in the defeat of the stat
Trade Commission bill. Mr.. McWhin
Yer vas in charge OF the committee
.ccislation in the Assembly.
This is not the first time tnat IN
eonmittee has had its troubles WIT
,As gentleman. 1t may be some sat
,sisctjon to him and his constituents
adds Mr.. Untermyer, "to know taat tn
~eSnonsibilitv for the defeat Of thi
,ri each and all of the other ant
INST hills by which it was hoped to re
duce the cost of living in the neceS
e.ries of life lie at his door.
The one ray OF hope IN the situaNoT
the counsel pointed out, was the pass
,e. of the so-called Metropolitan I.if
all. under which the construction
}o.y.priced apartments is to be in
madiately begun "That will go fs
toward eliminatn~ the housing crisis
said Mr.. Untermyer, "and believe thi
IN eighteen months from THIS day tt
housing problem will be nightmare
the past
Will kecr Up Fight
There were intimations, howeve
that he was not through with the stru
gle for the passage of the remedi
measures. "The fight is far fro
over" he insisted. at has just begu
The Metropolitan bill is not going
I'd Us Of this network of criminal cor
binations that are infesting the sta
and country in every line of indust
and that stand as an impossible ba
rier against the reduction in the co
of living"
Mr.. Untermyer said he was not pr
pared 10 say just now what he won
personally do in view of the lmpas
that now confronts the committee.
There are many of these combin
tions that should be prosecuted q
suppressed,' he added, and othe
should be exposed, but what justifc
tion was there for eXpending the til
and money for their exposure. he asi
when the courts will not punish t
offenders and the Legislature refus
the remedial relief that would ma
their exposure effective
Referring to the deleat Of the sts
trade commission bill, Mr.. Untermy
said;
NO more important legislation tn
this has ever been offered in my TIN
and none that has been treated w
more arrogant contempt and disrega
for the rights of the people than Il
bill has received at the hands of
autocratic Speaker of the Assemb
g
who apparently does not give +
for the sutferings of the people v
are compelled t. live in the cities |
der the present intolerablc conditi'
under which the price of almost ev'
article of food and clothing that tt
buy is the subject of artificial
poitation and combinations
Jokers in insurance Bills
With respect to the insurance bi
the counsel said
"The next important insurance /
giving to the superintendent the ri
OF supervision over the rates that tn
companies have been making in CO
bination and that the policyhold
have been compelled TO pay without
dress, and more particularly that p
Of the bill giving the right to the
sured to review the reasonablenes IS
these rates by the court, was again
emasculated at the eleventh hour t
1T might almost rs well not have b
passed.
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