Evening star., 1927-10-26
Insurance and Crime.

1T Is rather q serious commentary
| upon American civilization that the
American Bankers Association must
in the course of it's annual convention
pause to consider seriously the factor
of crime in the business equation of
of the association report of the pro.
tective committee was presented which
deplored the practice of crime in.
surance companies to compromise with
criminals in the return of stolen prop
erty and urged a relentless war on
robbery. The committee found that
this evil seemed to grow in proper.
ton to the increased volume of in
surauce carried"
The president of the clearing house
section. in reporting, noted that the
records show that pay roll bandits
during the first six months of this
year got over two million dollars In
loot and caused the death of a score
Of messengers. He went on to urge
that the payment of pay rolls by
check instead of cash should be estab-
lished as the general means of making
compensation for services. This sys-
tenn, though 1t means more work for
the banks. diminishes the hazards of
life and money.
While the loss of two million dollars
in six months is but very small frac.
ton Of the money transported through
the streets, it is nevertheless a serious
drain upon the resources of legitimate
business. But far more grave is the
loss of a score of lives. The pay roll
bandits have no compunctions about
killing. In some cases they give the
messengers no chance whatever for
their lives, but shoot first. When
life is taken there can, of course, be
no compromise. In these days of
motor car transportation, however. the
bandits have a good chance to escape.
If they take the money only and leave
the messengers unharmed they NAV
or they may not negotiate for COM
promise, but 1t is evident that in
surance has proved no positive de-
terrent, though it may protect banks
and business corporations from none
tary loss and guarantee the families
of messengers in case of the death of
their supporters.
The system of payment by check
has grown steadily in recent years,
especially during the period of the
prevalence of pay roll robberies. 1t Is
virtually the only way to defeat the
thieves, who are shrewd and inventive
as well as bold and who find means
Of beating almost any means of pro-
lection that can be devised. Further.
more, check payment encourages es.
tablishment of banking accounts by
employees, and it is clearly to the in.
terests of all persons, whatever their
resources. to transact their individual
business through the banks rather
than by cash payments.
During the Great War hundreds of
thousands, perhaps millions, of people
in this country were brought into re.
lations with the banks through the
purchase Of Government securities, in
the financing of which the banking
institutions lent their aid. The mum
| ber Of individual accounts at the
banks increased greatly and a large
proportion of these accounts persisted
after the period of bond selling. The
war thus was an educational influence
in putting the American wage earners
into right relations with sound, de-
| pendable, fiscal institutions. A pay.
ment-by-check system would carry on
this process to the point where the
ma jority of the people in this country
would conduct their affairs as do the
business interests, with greater safety
and with a material saving in life and
treasure.