472 GILBERT E. ROE 



ent to sojourn beyond the seas while the present investigation 

 is in progress? If any insurance companies are being black- 

 mailed, it is because they have invited it. Lincoln Steffen 

 says, "You can't blackmail a man who won't pay a bribe." 

 As applied to our present discussion, I fear his statement might 

 be paraphrased by saying that you can't blackmail an insur- 

 ance company that has not paid a bribe. This evil, however, 

 like all the others, has its origin in the one thing, an unneces- 

 sary surplus. 



Why don't the policy holders who must elect their officers 

 annually elect men who will return these surplus accumulations 

 as rapidly as possible and cease accumulating them in the 

 future? Let our old friend Mr. McCurdy, from whom I have 

 previously quoted, tell us. I quote from his testimony, vol- 

 ume II, page 115, legislative report of 1877: 



Q. Let me ask you if you have any proxies from any one? 



A. Yes, sir. 



Q. To what extent? 



A. I don't know, sir. 



Q. Have you no idea? 



A. No, sir. 



Q. You don't know whether you have one or a hundred 

 thousand? 



A. Well, if you won't accuse me of being facetious again, 

 permit me to say that we give them the name of the children 

 of Israel; because the children of Israel were never supposed 

 to be numbered, and we never counted them, and don't mean 

 to. 



That is all there is of it. 



By getting proxies from policy holders these insurance 

 officials merely meet annually in their board room and go 

 through the form of re-electing themselves. By letting no one 

 know the number of proxies held, it is rendered almost certain 

 that no one will attempt to wrest control from the present offi- 

 cers, for no one can tell what number of votes it will be neces- 

 sary to have in order to do it. Even if the outraged policy 

 holders should combine, as a result of the disclosures of the 

 present investigation, and elect new officers, it would do no 

 good. So long as the policy holder's money in the form of 



