474 GILBERT E. ROE 



United States receives. But why reduce salaries and other 

 expenses merely to increase the surplus accumulation? Fed- 

 eral supervision of life insurance is proposed, and the humor 

 of this proposition is that it is proposed by the insurance offi- 

 cials themselves, who have been the greatest offenders. Every 

 insurance department of every state and territory in this 

 country could have investigated in the most complete manner 

 the affairs of these companies, and most of them in recent 

 years have done so ; yet it remained for a personal quarrel be- 

 tween Mr. Hyde and Mr. Alexander to reveal the true condi- 

 tion of the Equitable society, which revelation in turn set in 

 motion the present investigation. There is no doubt that the 

 insurance departments in many of the states are honestly and 

 ably conducted, and that they have done all that any depart- 

 ment could do to investigate and supervise these companies. 

 Federal supervision could do no more than state supervision 

 has done, and the right of federal supervision is, to say the 

 least, doubtful in point of law. It would seem much easier 

 also for the companies to deceive one department than many, 

 and [that seems to be the idea of the companies, since they 

 favor federal supervision. 



So long as human nature remains as it is, and the surplus 

 accumulation is continued, the conditions which our present 

 investigation has shown to exist will continue. Restore to 

 the policy holder the money of the policy holder now withheld 

 from him, without justification or excuse, and the life insurance 

 problem is solved. In no other way can it be solved. 



