New-York tribune., 1922-03-12
Plot to Scrap
Housing g Bills
Laid to Gibbs
Continued from page onc)

require that all the amenities be laid
aside and the truth of this latest trick
be exposed. Senator Gibbs is person
ally responsible for the present situa-
tion and his attempt to shift the re-
sponsibility to Senator Lockwood is too
disingenuous to pass muster in the
light of the facts.
Senator Gibbs comes from Buffalo,
where there are number of promi-
nent men under Indictment as a result
of the short visit of the committee to
Buffalo. We are experiencing no end
of difficulty and delay in bringing these
men to trial. The only objection to
the bill requiring prison sentences was
made by the counsel for these men
from Buffalo
Senator Gibbs has in his possession
written request delivered to him by
Senator Lockwood, signed by the ma
jority of his own committee, asking
him to report out all these i~~e.s. Why
has he refused to act upon that rt
quest? Why did he not report out the
bills yesterday as he could have done
and as it was his duty to have done :?
I understand that three more men of
his committee are about to join that
request.
at will be particularly interesting
to have Senator Gibbs on record on
these bills. Perhaps that is one rea-
son why he has not reported them out
upon the request Of the majority of his
own committee.
Saving for People
'T repeat once moro and with re-
newed emphasis that these bills alone
will save the people of the United
States from S3O0,000,00O to S40O,000,-
600 a year by doing away with extor-
tionate premiums that are now being
paid in excess of a liberal profit to
the companies. These bills are of ma
one is interested in one way or an
other in insurance and the whole coun-
try is watching the developments at
Albany.
THE queer part of it all is that
nobody has any real argument to ad-
vance against any of the bills"
Discussing the bill requiring insur-
ance companies to invest 40 per cent
of their assets in mortgages, Mr.. I'm
termyer said:
"Why should not our insurance COM
panies be compelled to come up to the
average of the other states in this form
Of investment. The only reason I can
see is that the power of vast, secret,
insidious lobby over the legislation has
willed otherwise"
"If that manifest evil cannot be
ended, now that its viciousness and the
great losses it has caused have been
exposed, the Lockwood committee might
as we'll go out of business. So far as
| am concerned it will go out Of bust
ness. 1t would be a most unjustifiable
r l &c .{p$o 10
tnue if the malign power of these
companies is so great and uncontrolla-
BILE that such fragrant evils cannot be
checked when exposed.
Suppose that in the last resort the
Governor were to suggest that the Leg
islature remain in session a. few days
longer, if that were found necessary, in
order to secure for this program the
calm consideration to which its i'm
portance entities it; would that be such
great misfortune compared with
the catastrophe J OF permitting this
brazen lobby to work it's will in the de-
feat of this legislation?
Bills To Be Watched
81 advise you to keep your eye par
ticularly on the following bills:
81. The bill limiting the investments
of fire and casualty insurance COM
panes and that allows them five years
in which to sell their present stock
holdings.
"2. The bill compelling insurance
companies to use their new assets in
gradually acquiring mortgage loans un-
til 40 per cent of their assets are so
invested.
"3. The Downing bill, giving to the
state the monopoly Of workmen's COM
pensation insurance, which would save
40 per cent on the cost of that impor-
tant item of building construction and