Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1957-06-21
GEORGETOWN
Mrs. Constance Brown
Phone: Georgetown 1880

Mrs. Constance Brown
Phones: Georgetown 1880
Ralph Smith, Laurel, who had
been a witness in a civil suit on
Monday, yesterday came forward
voluntarily after consultation with
State Police and pleaded guilty to
perjury in a previous deposition
which he reversed in court on Mon
day.
Smith had. previously stated un-
der oath in i deposition that Dom
aid A. Hickman, driver in a fatal
traffic crash two years ago, had
only one drink when he stopped at
his home shortly before the acct
dent
On Mondl ~, Smith said that
Hickman had had several drinks. -
Judge Charles L. Terry, Jr., pre-
siding at the civil suit on Monday,
directed that the State Police in
vestigate the discrepancies in
Smiths two stories.
Yesterday, Smith, accompanied
by a state police sergeant, ap-
peared before Judge Andrew Chris
tie, Wilmington, in Superior Court,
on the perjury charge. He was re-
leased on bond of 81 900 pending
pre-sentence investigation
He said that he had made the
previous false statement in the
deposition "to help a friend.
The civil suit was the aftermath
of one of the most sensational ac-
cidents of 1855 in which three
persons were killed.
Hickman, driver of one of the
cars that figured in the head-on
crash on the Fenwick Island road
on the afternoon of August q,
1855, was suing the estate of Mrs.
Chester Hall, Selbyville, driver of
the other car. Mrs. Hall and her
young son were both killed in the
crash, as was Robert J. Duggan,
marine on leave from Camp lie
Jeune, N. c., a passenger in the
Hickman car.
The plaintiff was asking $4,000
for personal injuries and $500
for the demolished car which was
owned by Ebert Hickman, now
deceased.
Donald Hickman was originally
charged with manslaughter but the
grand jury ignored the indictment.
Only testimony was completed on
Monday in the civil case which will
be continued at later date.
State Insurance Commissioners,
Harry S. Smith, has just returned
from the Annual Meeting of the
National Association of Insurance
Commissioners where he served on
the Fraternal Insurance Commit
tee, the Unauthorized Insurance
Committee and the committee on
Insurance Covering Instal1ment
Sales and Loans. He was a mem
Der Of a Subcommittee of the lat
ter committee consisting of five
Other commissioners who made
quite an extensive investigation in
to the practices and method used
in writing insurance covering in
stallment sales and loans. The
committee has had several meet
ings and made their final report at
the National Association meeting
in Atlantic City, Wednesday, June
18th. Because of the complexities
of the problems and the far reach
ing effect of any decision or recon-
mendations that might have been
made by this Subcommittee, it was
the concensus of that group that
the matter be further studied in an
effort to secure more detailed in
formation in order to remove the
chance of a reoccurrence of the
violations that have happened in
the past This committee reported
that as a result of misclassification
of automobile collision insurance
premiums which had been correct
ID by the efforts of the committee
the insurance practice throughout
the country had changed consider
ably. This effects most people
throughout the nation and has
meant a return of thousands Of
dollars in premiums which We're
proven to be overcharges as re-
suit of dissatisfaction and has
caused a better system of classi-
fication to be set up which now
pldceS delaware among one Oh the
leading states since S1.6 per cent
of the total collision insurance in
Delaware now is being written on
a Glass / rate which is a cheaper
rate to the public and only 11.8 per
cent is being written on a Glass 2
rate which is a higher rate. The
total net. collision insurance pre-
miums written in Delaware during
the months OF December, 1856 and
January 1857 were $341,3 57.12 on
q 87,759 total months of car ex-
posture, which meant considerable
savings to the people of this state
by having their insurance proper
/ " classified as result of the eff
forts of this committee. This trend
has existed all over the nation
since the formation of this COM
mittee and during the investigation.
The Insurance companies have CO.
operated in general verv we'll and
the National Automobile Under
writer's Association has also CO.