The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-09-16
KN0X'S PUNCH
0NINSURANCE
SIDESTEPPED
BY EARL GOODWIN

Call it fast foot work-or just
plain luck-but somehow or
other the Republican antagonists
now seeking to put the New Deal
down for the count don't seem
to be able to make the onlook-
erS believe they have reached
the point of the Roosevelt jaw.
Here's the one big smash hit
Of the campaign-Col. Frank
Knox making the deliberate state
ment that life insurance policies
aren't what they used to be
under the Hoover-Coolidge- Hard
ing regimes. Does President Roose-
welt give him the benefit Of an
answer? No. He does not.
What happened about life in
Surance might be described some
what after the manner of a per-
son using the old phrase about
pulling chestnutS out of the fire.
It so happens that Colonel Knox
made his principal statement at
Allentown, Pa, several days ago.
Without letting anything be
known about it in advance, "The
White House" suddenly appears
with small army of life insur-
ance presidents who, everyone is
assured, were invited down here
before Colonel Knox threw his
bombShell.
Gave Them Liberty
The insurance presidents talk
ed about many technical matters
with the President; and, the
President assured his press friends
yesterday, that as they filed out
of his office he told them jocu-
larly that they would be queried
about the political phases of
their visit to his office and that
they we're at liberty to say what
they pleased.
There were so newspaper men
in the presidents outer office, and
the dozen or so insurance presi-
dents m anag to percolate
through them without exuding
anything that could be termed in
formation.
One of them, however, could
not help responding to an inquiry
from one of his own policy holders,
who said:
II have a policy in your COM
pany; paid up. Is it any gOOd?"
HE GETS ANSWER
To this, the insurance president
could not fail to answer; and he
said:
"It is just as good as the
country; it is backed mainly by
United States bonds"
Later the insurance men issued
statement which told of ire
mendouS assets, three and a frac-
ton billions of added assets and
endeavored to show that the in
surance business wasn't dwindling,
at least. President Roosevelt also
said that they showed him in
formation proving an increase in
insurance policies, especially in the
lower income brackets.
But as political matter
Colonel Knox and the G. o. P.
have not yet drawn fire from
President Roosevelt. All the
President would say was state
ment in Latin: RES Ipse Lo-
quitor"-"The thing speaks for
ITSELF"
Won't Visit Coast
President Roosevelt is just as
noncommittal about his campaign
plans. He isn't putting it out that
he doesn't want to be away from
Washington because he's afraid
of a war scare in Europe, but
none the less he certainly has
no plans to visit the Pacific
Coast, as it had been believed
and talked about. He does not
want to be more than four days
distant from Washington until
further notice. It was a matter
of common knowledge at the
White House that President
Roosevelt guessed the outcome in
Maine, and came close to the
figures there. He did not expect
a Democratic victory. He has
also written down his prediction
as to his own reelection or de-
feat. He told newspaper men yes
terday he would unfold the paper
on which he had written the pre-
.S3nHioOa oHaI show ~ -