The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, June 8, 1916, Page 10

. HE old line fire insurance com- panies doing business in North - Dakota have always made poli- tics an important part of their activities. These companies represent @ billion dollars in resources and their business has been extremely profitable. They have overlooked no bets in main- taining conditions favorable to their interests. Their lobby at Bismarck has always been powerful and their political activity is one of the big features of the present campaign. It is based on the fear that the farmers of the state, when they get in power in North Dakota, will enact laws for state regulation of insur- ance rates. Hence the chief activity of the insurance companies at the present time is fighting the Nonpartisan League. Why do the old line insurance com- panies .fear rate regulation? The récords of the insurance department of the state at Bismarck give the answer. The companies are now charging rates for fire insurance in this state that return them twice the amount of money necessary to pay all fire losses. companies - took $2,503,436.45 out of North Dakota last year. The same com- panies had to pay fire losses of only $1,060,871.17 in this state. Over half of what they collected from ‘the ‘people, therefore, ' they retained for expenses and profits. No other business has such a.wide margin on which to do business. The companies know that rate regula- tion will mean lowering rates and they fear the farmers of the state want rate regulation. Hence the Nonpartisan Lea- gue must be crushed. ; OLD LINE POLITICIANS IN THE INSURANCE FIGHT . To fight the Nonpartisan League in this campaign the insurance agents of the state formed the Insurance Federa- tion of North Dakota, recently organized at Fargo. Its president is P. J. Murphy . of Grafton, who is one of the chief politi- - cal agents of the companies in the state. - e~ way @ senatoi-in the last legislature " and did valiant service for .the cause of “the old line fire companies as chairman of the senate committee on insurance. . He helped kill insurance rate regula- tion in the last legislature. Another prominent member of the new federation fighting the League is:Lieu- ‘tenant Governor J. H. Fraine, now a can- didate for governor on the Republican ficket, opposed to Lynn J. Frazier, the farmers’ candidate. The vote on insur- ance regulation in the senate last session was a tie and Fraine cast the deciding vote, killing the bill. He was honored recently by the federation for this and other work he has done for the insur- ance cause. The new federation made him delegate from North Dakota to the national convention of insurance men. ~ Se, besides an organization to fight the League and the farmers, the North Dakota insurance interests have a can- didate for governor in:this campaign. ' THE REMARKABLE STORY OF . A NEWSPAPER ALLY But one of the chief allies of the insur- ance cause and the present excessive in-. surance rates is the Fargo Daily . Courier-News. ' This' paper has been turned over body and soul to fight the League for the billion dollar insurance interests, and it is one of their chief “reliances in the campaign. The remark- able fact about this.is that the insurance companies have ‘“‘converted” this paper recently. Two years ago the Courier- -News ‘was giving front page space and favorable editorial comment to articles - ‘showing ‘up excessive insurance rates. It was then -taking the side of the . people against the insurance companies. - The Courier-News now declares that "-the Nonpartisan League is trying to ‘drive the insurance companies from the state—trying” to destroy the insurance -business. ' This: charge is based on the fact that the Nonpartisan Leader’ has * printed’ facts of public' record at Bis- " marck’ showing the present income of The * " the companies and their outlay ro pay companying article. legislative session. and attacking the League. the plea made, excessive -insurance rates. b LI ) 3 . . Politics and Insurance : HEN Big Business enterprises making excessive profits from the people because of unfair laws or lack of fair laws see their profits attacked they get busy politically. One of the most striking instances of this occurs in the present campaign,.in which the insurance companies are playing a big part. The part the insurance companies are taking is shown in the ac- In brief, the situation is as follows: The companies have organized to fight the Nonpartisan League; because'they are afraid the farmers, when in power, will o attempt to pass laws regulating: insurance rates. The companies have a candidate for governor in the field, a man who killed insurance regulation in the last legislature. < ~ The president of the federation is a politician who -as state senator helped block legislation adverse to the companies in the The insurance federation is writing letters to all the country papers, offering free -plate matter -boosting the ‘insurance cause The papers are asked to use this “because they are “in the same boat” as the insurance companies, - both being{ threatened by a farmers’ administration, according to The insurance -combine has succeeded in getting a big daily . paper -to make .a_complete flip-flop on the insurance questions. - This “paper now is the chief campaign men’s cause, although formerly it took the people’s side against The insurance companies have in this campaign a convenient sandbag with- which to line up néwspapers. This sandbag is a law that permits insurance companies to throw profitable busi- ness to such papers as they want to favor, and to withhold it from ' papers not favorable to the insurance cause. 3 A Handy State -La\W_vEnables-'Ihsur‘ance Companies to Make Friends Out of Enemies, as These Facts Show organ of the insurance Barn Wrecked bv Destructive Windstorm The picture shows the ruins of the barn of August Summerfeld, two miles south of Arthur, Cass county, wrecked by the windstorm of May 22. The barn cost $1500 and carried $800 cyclone insurance. Eight cows and six horses were in the barn during the storm but none were injured. The structure will be rebuilt. Photo- graphed by Leader staff photographer and correspondent. Photo Engraving company, Fargo. fire losses.” These facts show that the companies ~ are collecting twice the amount necessary to pay all fire losses in the state and demonstrate the need for rate regulation. But the Courier- News has tried to make it appear that the League wants to destroy the insur- > ance business and prevent people getting fire insurance. T The significant point is this: two years ago the Courier-News printed: much the same facts that the Leader has printed - "about the insurance business. The con- clusions in . the Courier-News, however, were ‘more drastic than those of the Leader. The Courier-News then made it look a lot worse for the insurance com- panies than the Leader has, In its issue of April 4, 1914, the Courier-News, . edited then as now by Dr. Guild, played up on the front page a discussion of in- surance companies headed, “Insurance Business ' Is not Pure Philanthropy.” This _article showed the companies were tak- ing out of North Dakota over twice the back to cover losses. It was a leading front ‘page article, In an editorial in. the same issue Dr. Guild referred to this article as “illuminating” and advised: his subscribers to read it. CRlE i O This agticle “in the Courier-News in 1914 in part was as follows: - “The premiums received by all insur- ance companies, other than misc ‘laneous, fidelity, surety, liability, ‘ete., Engraving by Dakota bg'regated $7,002,413. The, loéses paid aggregated $8,033,791. The proportion of the premiums received reverting to the policy holders in the nature of losses paid amounted to but-43 per cent. In other words, 57 per cent of all-the money paid by the policy holders in this state :is consumed in expenses of the insurance companies and in the dividends paid on the stock and by thg lawful reserve.” in playing up this attack on insuranqu eompany profits and editorially calling attention to 'it, the Courier-News gave conclusions more damaging to: the fire insurance business than the Leader ever~ has.. In the Leader of March 28, page 5, the Leader gave the per cent of prem- iums retained by the fire insurance com- panies for all the years they have done business in the. state ‘as 421% per cent. The: Courier-News declared the com- .panies kept a much greater share for expenses and profits. It claimed they were retaining 57 per cent.. If the ; e the ' Teader is trying to destroy the insurance amount "of ‘money they were paying 7 ‘business or ‘drive the companies from the state, as Dr. Guild and his paper repeatedly scream “in big type, what was the Courier-News trying to do in 19142 SR ; “This " direct. right-about-face by Dr; Guild on 'the North Dakota insurance gouge, would ‘not. be very important _ except: for'two things. It takes place dn a political campaign when the farm- ers for the first time threaten to take ‘over the state government and when the - statement = advertising. - vides that the commissioner of insure “.—they’re going 3 S insurance companies are in politics an spending money as mever before in an effort to keep their. excessive profi intact. - Also. Dr. Guild’s Courier-Ne has lately carried columns of insurance company advertising at profitable rates, This brings the story around to an im portant club that the insurance compand ies, under the present laws, have to! sandbag newspapers into line. ] In the midst of an important political| campaign the Courier-News ch: from the people’s side to the insurance company side. It becomes the enemy of the farmers’ organization and champion of the present excessive insurance rates, Why? AL ) THE CONVENIENT LAW . ot 'MAKES THE GAME EASY |\ ranged so thdt great pressure can be brought on newspapers to line them up | for the insurance companies. The law provides (section 4915, compiled laws)'! that - insurance ‘companies must publish ! their annual statements ard must pay for' them the regular rate: for public printing, about 84 cents a column inchs The Courier-News’ open rate for domes-~ tic advertising is 35 cents an inch. ‘It gets 84 cents an inch for insurance The law pre- ance shall designate three newspapera - in each judicial district of the state and the companies have to choose one of these papers in‘each district in which to publish their statements at 84 cents an inch. The companies therefore have a- very substantial favor to give out an< nually to newspapers: _They therefore have a great whip hand over news- papers. They. can withhold this very profitable - business from papers. they, wish to discipline and can give it to papers that will be “good.” In-a polite tical campaign in which the insurance’ companies are mightily interested this is doubtless a very handy weapon. Meanwhile the Courier-News cries out that somebody is trying to hurt the in- surance business, and carries columns of this profitable insurance advertising. A GENEROUS OFFER TO COUNTRY PAPERS - It has been shown, therefore, that the insurance companies have a new, strong organization to fight the League and - oppose insurance regulation; ‘that they have a candidate for governor; that they have obtained the help of the Fargo Courier-News in their campaign; that a law exists which tends to make. it easy for them to get newspaper support. It remains to show ‘what their organization itself is doing in this campaign. The insurance federation is getting out a weekly “bulletin.” This, bulletin. is chiefly ‘devoted to attacking = the - League and quoting from ‘the Fargo Courier-News. It ‘advises all insurance men and their friends to support the Courier-News. Then the federation has sent a circular to all the country news- papers. In:this the country newspapers were offered free plate matter supporting the insurance cause and attacking the League. The circular tried to make it appear the League and the Leader were. = fighting the country newspapers: and it said that the insurance companies and the country newspapers were in ‘the 4 same boat and. therefore ought to get - i together -to fight- the League and help . the insurance companies; This ' appeal’ to the country newspapers has brought = = no results. as yet. None have been: noticed which have printed the plate - matter offered free by the insurance ' ‘federation, and- it is' not expected wery many will fall forit. , The federation has two objécts. One is.to elect Fraine, the insurance candidate and the candidate of ‘Big Bus ness.. The other: is to preven : tion' of a legislature which controlled: by Big Business going to. “smash smashed. farmers feel in the i N ]