The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1940-07-24


insurance companies Of the country
nv H. L. Maury prominent attorney
of Butte, is presented in two In
stallments by The Voice. The first
installment appears below:)
BY H. L. MAURY
PUBLIC ENEMY NO. I,
THE INSURANCE RACKET
newspaper may gain in popularity
and prestige by prophesylng eVii
events to an ignorant and complacent
democracy. But it makes enemies Tor
the nerson who studies hard and fear
Iessly and tells out loud an unwelcome
truth. In 1920 Gen. William Mitchell
was court-marshaled and cashlered
from fine United States Army because
he frankly published that the National
Uafense should thereafter mostly
rssteoh its airplane equipment. CThere
were too many steel barons that
wanted to sell armour plate for battle
china /, He was 10 years ahead OF his
tima He died In dishonDr for telling
the truth to the followers OF stupid
greed. -s ~
As 1 never cared much for office,
and cannot be cashiered from any
thing. and have for years refused 10
be- hired by any insurance company
ssesvsaa1ral have offered me work in my
nrofession) and as | believe the chaln
banking systems only rate as pubic
enemy number two, | purpose to ex'
main why; lust as the banking and
insurance companies of England ana
France have made those formerly
strong nations an easy prey for gov
ernments which rule the money chang'
ers instead of being run for the pro-
fit of the rich, the United States is
being consumed by cancer called
insurance. ,.,,,,r,
CANCER IS THE EXCESSIVE
GROWTH OF 4 FEW CELLS, AT
THE EXPENSE OF THE ENTIRE
BODY.
Life exists by cells.
The clubbing together of persons
10 snread the shock of accidental mis-
fortune, of few at a time, over
large body of members was, OF course
a heneficent invention of the modern
nerhaps last phase, OF capitalism
This simple plan does much good ana
can do no harm as long as the con
Germ is divorced from profit, run as a
co.oneratiye for protection only
Home Owned Mutual
Fire Insurance Companies
There are thirteen OF these operat
ing the state. Their respective loca
lions are. Great Falls, Bozeman, Cor
Wallis, Dagmar, Lewistown. WlDaux
H0berts. Kalispell, Poison, Eureka
H1,I1ngs. Sidney and Whitewater. They
3inderwrote in 1888 propertyploss pc
,apyta,s above 151a million dollars
Jrhav collected from members S4f'
sse.6S. They paid losses OF Szhoso.oo
,orIv one claim of s35250 remained
unpaid January 1, 1888! The expense
sof operating was $15,965.99. (fmi
.yvaa of course, paid toethe member!
or their families for clerical work.
Thev do an appreciable though
small part of the fire insurance o
atba; state They cannot grow large
old line companies with the high
est paid lobby in our legislature SET
carefully to it that by law the tiel'
which these may invade for business
10 small and fenced pig-tight and bull
strong.
The insurance gestures OF fraterna
aocieties such as Eagles, Elks, Masons
pythians, knights of Columbus. an'
the like are, of course, recurring pless
ings approaching in beneficence tina
charity taught by the Christ.
All insurance is admittedly gam
bles Gambling in a club IS ]oliy goo'
finn Nobody gets hurt. But gam
Hing house run for private profit al
WAYS wins Tor it does not rum Inc
longer it runs the bigger the pile o
money it got out of its patrons iol
nothing Gambling house owners arr
frequently just as good as the rest 0
NO They. as well as bankers, law
vera loan sharks, brokers, politicians
take advantage of a permltteu piai
FOR procuring part of the wealth pro
sduced by labor without giving any
thing In return. Our electorate Il
Fairly well divided between such al
desire to eradicate, and those wh'
would license and get large puDh'
revenue from gambling. Both crowds
even the professionals, gamblers AM
nronrietors. everybody, will agree tina
gambling is vice Il am not immune
fr.m IN. and a costly one. The Gam
Hing Fraternity usually buys quieti,
the privilege of breaking all laws en-
acted to curb their getting something
for nothing. They practice no hypoc
r,av They do not pretend to b'
saints. They all admit the paymeh
Of graft for protection from law.
The Insurance Racketeers wori
through Chambers of Commerce, NO
HE Fraternal Societies, The Press
even from the Pulpit. They contro
blind public opinion to give tn
garment of responsibility to the mos
oXtortionate racket that any ciVlllze'
~, neople ever endured and thanked
tha racketeers for promoting AM
snreading through every home In TN
land. t.
NV abatement that Insurance is pun
10 enemy No. is not original. Twen
ty-four years ago Louis D. Brandeis
10 father of the Massachusetts STATE
life insurance Plan, that gives all INT