AND STATE
INSURANCE
WAREHOUSE SYSTEM
Ex-Snator John L. McLaurin has ad
dressed the following .letter to J. S.
Wannamaker, president of the Ameri
can Cotton Associalon, in which tl 5
insurance and warehouse subjects arc
again brought to the fore in this state:
- Bennetjtsville, S V C., Oct. 14, 1919.
Mr. J. S. Wannamaker, President
American Cotton Association, St.
Matthews, S. C.
■ My Dear Sir: I have your favor of
The 2Tst ancF^fin glifll to ’Show
that you favor the development of
the-state warehouse system modeled
on the South Carolina plan “in ever
state in the cotton belt.” £s soon as
I return from the conference with
Governor Dorsey I will prepare the
articles giving concrete plans con
necting the system with financing
institutions and the marketing fea
ture. You have done a wonderful
work in arousing public sentiment
end you can depend on my doing
anything in my power to aid you. Be
fore writing these articles however,
something definite must be agreed up
on alout the insurance question. A
situation is brewing in the insurance
field in South Carolina which will have
a tremendous effect one way or the
other. Insurance is a vital factor in
the financing of cotton. We have
reached the point where the farmers
must finance and control the surplus
in orderTo get a fair price for the cot
ton crop. The higher it goes the more
surely will this be the case, because
at present prices .manufacturing con
cerns cannot afford to carry a large
surplus, and if middle men control the
surplus they will use it as a club, and
continue to reap unreasonable pro
fits at the expense of both producer
and manufacturer.
A bank cannot afford to handle
warehouse receipts unless the Insur
ance is unquestioned, and the farm
er cannot afford to pay an exhorbi-
tant rate of insurance and interest
charges in order to hold his Cotton.
In establishing the state warehouse
system, fibe moment I touched the In
surance I stirred up a hornet nest.
Had I not been entirely free to make
my own arrangements outside of South
Carolina, the system could have never
been put in operation, nor can it be
maintaine4 effectively under the pres
ent insurance situation.
No man who has the true interest
of the farmer at heart can advocate
a system , which does not take care
of the country storage. Cotton should
be kept as near the place of produc
tion as possibla and when it moves,
should go straight to the place of man-
• ufacture, even if it is in China or
Japan. Every time that cotton is
moved, it adds to its primary cost,
and whether the growdr pays it direct
or not, it is at his expense. I found
- in 1914 that the rates on country ware
houses were prohibitive. The trust
“charged 13.50 per 1100.00 while in a
fourth class town with exactly the
same building the rate was less than
one half that amount.
Experience has proved that safety
in Insurance lies iu the distribution
of risk. I contend that if the sur
plus cotton were distributed in ware
houses of 600 bales capacity, scatter
ed all over the belt, that so far ^as
fire risk was concerned, it is the best
in the world, and should be the
cheapest. The insurance companies
paid more loss in one fire in Augusta,
Ga., than they would in the next ten
years on Georgia cotton in country
Warehouses such as I have described.
Yet they give the Augusta warehouse
a rate of 15c and charge the country
warehouse $3.50 per $100.00. The
remedy for that is to provide a sys
tem of state insurance for warehouse
cotton.. To do that, however, will in
vite such a contest with the insurance
trust that it will be necessary for each
state to have its own rating and in
spection bureau. We have a provision
in our constitution forbidding the
formation of a trust and specifically
directing the legislature to pass laws
for their prevention. In 1917 the leg
islature of South Carolina deliberately
laid down to the insurance trust and
we are today well nigh powerless.
The passage of the (aney-Odom act
was the reuslt of the light made by
the trust to prevent the development of
a state warehouse system. South Caro-
lina^as been selected by this trupt as
a proper field for the full developmelit
of a trust system with a view to its
extension into other states. So that
If you are going into other states with
the cotton association, it wlllbe neces-
sary for you to take a hand in this
fight. *
After the passage _of the Laney-
Odom act ther£ was a wholesale with
drawal of insurance companies from
South Carolina in order to force its
repeal. They failed to deprive the
state of insurance, because of the de
velopment of local companies and of
foreign companies who remained, be
cause jthey saw it would bn a~-Droflt«-
able field. By the time the legislature
met in 1917 the fight was practically
won. and all property in South Caro-
li ft l ft l „ w fta.iteW g takon-care-qf-at rates.
far less in most cases, than those
which we had been paying under the
domination of the insurance trust. I
thought at one time that Governor
Manning had gone in with the trust,
but I do not think so now. I believe
he was trying ^o do his duty but was
grossly deceived. Mr. Doyle, general
counsel for the insurance trust ap
peared before committees of both sen
ate and house, and presented an in
surance law of his own making, and
stated that if his act was passed that
the companies would enter the state
and treat the people right. Governor
Manning’^ - political influence secured
the repeal of'the Lan#y-Odom act and
I saw that I was powerless and re
signed as warehouse commissioner.
The very first step taken by the
trust was a general increase, ranging
from a minimum of 45 per cent, to 100
per cent in rates. They are now pre
paring to take the next step to make
the trust absolute, by driving all non
board companies and their local
agents out of business. I have recent
ly returned from a northern trip
where I have secured positiv informa
tion that South Carolina has been se
lected as the proper state in which to
try this experiment The reasonSi as
signed being, vis.: -
First In order to punish this state
for having the temerity to buck the
trust in I91d. 4
Second. Because she is a small
state and it will be less expensive and
dangerous to make the fight here. I
might add that I suppose they pulled
it over the politicians so easily in 1917
that they regard our legislature as a
“soft snap.” . ■ ■ ,
A few days since there was a meet
ing in Atlanta of the general and spe
cial agents of the Southeastern Un
derwriters Association, (which is the
name of that -branch of the trust em
bracing South Carolina). The startling
announcement was made aft£r~thls
meeting that no local agent who repre
sented any company not a member of
the trust, would be permitted to rep
resent' any of the trust companies.
They gave as a reason for this action
that the non-board companies get rates
from the Trust Stamping Office with
out any cost to them, and are conse
quently enabled to give the local
agents more commission than the trust
companies. This is not true because
the non-board companies are urged by
the-trust to send their reports through
the Stamping Office: as a matter of^
fact, these non-board companies have
announced their willingness to pay
their pro-rata share of the expense
of maintaining the rating bureau, but
are not wiftlhk to sign the agreement
binding themselves to obey the rules
and regulations of the trust as to rates.
In other words become servants of the
trust. This involves something more
sacred than dollars and cents.. It is a
question of personal liberty. It is an
effort to compel every local insurance
agent to become a servant of the trust
or quit business.
Following this meeting in Atlanta
there was a secret meeting held at the
Jefferson hotel on Octobr, 14. The At
lanta meeting made its proceedings
public, but then I understand that the
tryst leaders saw that hey were going
a little too fast, as the South Carolina
legislature would soon be in session,
and it was deemed advisable to keep
under cover until after the legislature
adjourned.* For this reason not a word
has been given opt from the Columbia
meeting. I have given the alleged rea
sons set forth by the trust for attempt
ing to force independent companies
to retire from the state, but anybody
conversant with the situation knows
that the reasons given are all rot. The
t ■
real reasons are, viz.:
First. Those companies and the lo
cal. companies who remained in the
state and stood by our • people are
writing more than one-half of all the
business in this state.
Second. It is a continuation of the
\
effort to destroy the state warehouse
system in South Carolina and render
mpossible its development in other
states.
Ak soon as the trust was permitted
to enter the state after the repeal of
the Lajiey-Odom act they sent around
and had each one of the state ware
houses rated. I have in my possession
a littU booklet giving the new rates,
wtyich on an average was double the
rate that I had secured, by forming a
combination of independent companies.
I have heard of a prominent insurance
man making the - remark about this
new rating: “If we can’t put them out
of business in. one way we can an-
jather.” ■ Th» - -South. .Carolina alate.
warehouse system did not make any
war oh the insurance trust. The com
missioner found an average rate of
gffa Ntw
York and formed a combination
through which be obtained a rate of
$1.58. The trust when* they found
the names*of these companies com
pelled them to withdraw, not because,
the rate was too low, but because they
did not propose to have any opposi
tion. I have written this at some
length, so .as to let you see that we
have the opportunity right here iu
South Carolina to Win this fight and
have no trouble when you go into the
other states. The other articles will
follow as soon as I can find time.
Yours very truly,
Jno. Jj. McLaurin.
Pursuant to the order of the
Court, all partic% having claims
against the estate of*E. Lee Pitts,
deceased, are required to present
and prove said claims at a Refer
ence to be held by O. G. Thamp-
son, Probate Judge for Laurens
County, S. C., at the office of the
said Probate Judge in the City of
Laurens, S. C., on Priday the 21st
day of November, 1919, at ten
o’eloek A. M.
IT . STANLEY L. T4TT&, - •
Administrator.
SUBSCRIPTION.
Pursuant to a oomnjission "iven Oc
tober 1011), of W. Banks Dove,. Sec
retary of the State, to B. H. Boyd, pfjC-
Hays, N. R. Young, W. P: Jacobs, W. D.
Copeland, Win. Bailey Owens, E. B.
Slonn and John I). Bell, the.books of
subscription' to the capital stoek of
Masonic Temple, of Clinton, S. C., will
be open at the office of the First .
National Bank, of Clinton, S. C., at 10,
o ’clock, Saturday rooming, October 25,
1919. Proposed capital $30,000.00, to
be divided into 300 shares of $100.00
each.
% ITCH!
JEWELER
CLINTON, S. C.
Piles Cured in 6 to 14 Days
Drutfists refund money if PAZO OINTMEfT ;ail»
to cure Itching, Blind, B!ceaing or Protruding r
Instantly relieves Itching Piles, and you esa g t
restful sleep after the first application- PticeGCc.
1 customer. Try Hant’sSatra
atourriak. Par —Ig locally hr
Youugs Pharmacy
November
ONE DAY
A Drama of Wider Appeal Than Has Ever Been Presented on Any Stage
THE SWEETEST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD
D. W. GRIFFITH’S
SUPREME TRIUMPH
THE
One Million Fighting Men. Twenty Thousand Horses. Miles of
Artillery. March of Legions. Squadrons of Airplanes. Fleets «f
Zeppelins^ The Destruction of Cities. The Charge of the Tanks.
The Biggest and Greatest Sensation Ever Scored in the Realm of
Silent Drama. A Romance of the Great War.
A Soul Stirring Tragedy Alternating With Delicious Comedy
Enacted Amid Scenes of Spectacular Splendor.
. • ' • . ■
' , Eighteen Months in the Making.
-i
The Talk of the Town
‘‘Ask Your Neighbor”
Rivaling Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation”
in Gripping Public Interest
Battle Scenes Taken on the Battlefields of France
(Under Auspices of British War Office)
Show opens lO a. m and continues to 11:30 p. m.
0 ' . • . ’
Children 25c (Including War Tax) Adults 75c
Show Time: Two and One-Half Hours
■ x A
r W.'