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fr wr'Lffpii.rrs-pp'fpimrptr-- ' f . The Commoner. 16 VOLUME G, NUMBER 88 ii.i NOT A CRIME TO CRITICISE THIS JUDGE A committee of the Wisconsin legis lature is engaged in investigating life insurance conditions in that state. J. G. Albright, Wisconsin's state man ager for the Union Central Life In surance company of Cincinnati, the company of which tho late Governor Pattison was president, gave testi mony showing that a judge of tho Wis consin supreme court asked that tho life insurance agent's commission for collection of the premium on the judge's policy be paid to the judge. An Associated Press dispatch from Milwaukee, Wis., tells tho story in this way: The letters were written by Chief Justice Rouget D. Marshall. Justice Marshall late this aftornoon vouched for the authenticity of the correspon dence. The justice, however, said he thought there was nothing irregular in any of the letters. The original correspondence was produced by Mr. Albright late today. The letter soliciting the coinhils sion for collection is as follows: "State of Wisconsin Supreme Court, Madison, Wis., October 1, 1902. Gen tlemen: I hold policy No. 232,009 in your company, on 'which there falls duo the 18th day of this month the annual premium, $671.40. I am not at present advised as to whether I will bo obliged to remit to the principal office. Not knowing that you have any agent in this city, and supposing that if you have such agent he has no claims upon you for a percentage for the collection of my premium, I sug gest that you send my receipt to the First National bank of Madison, Wis., witn a draft attached for the $671.40 and instruction to deliver the receipt upon payment of the draft on or be fore the duo date of the premium, and that in such case you permit the bank to take the usual agent's com mission for the collection, with per mission to pay the same to me. "My policy came from an agent. en tirely outside of my circle of, business acquaintances. I see no reason, my self, why I can not be permitted to make the payment in the manner sug gested, but if there are reasons, of course you will write me suggesting where to send the money. Very truly yours, "R. D. MARSHALL." The above letter from Justice Mar shall was referred by the home office of the insurance company to State Manager Albright of Wisconsin who, in turn, wrote to his superior officers as follows: "Milwaukee, Wis., October 6, 1902. B. P. Marshall, Secretary Union Central Life Insurance Co.,n Cincin nati, O. Dear Sir: I am today in re ceipt of yours of the third, enclosing a letter from a judge of the supreme court of Wisconsin, Hon. R. D. Mar shall, asking that you grant him a re bate upon his renewal premium. When a judge of the supreme court of this state makes an appeal for a rebate and does it direct to the home office, Is it not time that there be some elevation in the moral conscience of the people in high places before we can hope for much change for the better among the rank and file on the rebate question? This gives you an idea of some of the difficulties we are obliged to contend with in this state. Respectfully, "J. G. ALBRIGHT, ' "State Manager." Mr. Albright also wrote to the jus tice, informing him that a rebate was forbidden by law in Wisconsin. The final answer of Justice Marshall was written to Mr. Albright as follows: "Madison, Wis., October 14, 1902. J. G. Albright Dear Sir: Here is the draft for payment on my policy. I am not unacquainted with the law to which you refer. t On reflection you will probably see 'that there is noth ing in the law to prevent your com pany from paying to any bank any col lection charges you see fit. I do "not take your letter very seriously. It would not be out of place for your company to establish an agency, out side of Milwaukee. Yours. "R. D. MARSHALL. "P. S. Send receipts to Madison, Wis." "I wrote the letters which were read before the life insurance investigating 1 committee Thursday," said Justice R. D. Marshall over the long distance telephone from: his farm in Kilbourne, late this afternoon. "I wrote, as the letters will show, that the company had no local agent in Madison; that I did not know where to send the money for the premium and submitted to the general office of the company the propriety of al lowing me to pay the premium into the bank and receive the usual agent's collection fee back, suggesting that they so direct the bank if it seemed proper to them. "They evidently did not deem it proper, and I sent the money in full. That is all there is to it. I defy any one to read into .my letter any de mand or request for any rebate or ) allowance other than the regular col lection fee allowed agents who haudle premium renewals. "I submitted the question to tho company whether or not it would be proper to allow me such fee In the ab sence of an authorized agent in tho vicinity. It is as . plain a3 the noon day sun, and no other meaning can bo placed on any sentence in any of my letters. I wrote for information and as soon as I got it I acted on it and remitted my premium in full. I add ed that in my opinion the company .would do well to appoint agents at other places than Milwaukee, with the idea that it would tend to con venience collections. "That is all to the matter." The disclosures were the subject of conversation very generally today. Impeachment proceedings were hinted at in some quarters, but the members of the investigating committee scoffed &t any such proceedings. "The worst construction that can be placed on the incident," said ono of the committee "is that a judge at tempted to find a lawful way in which the law -might be evaded, and sug gested it to- the agent. There is ab solutely nothing on which any crimi nal action can be based." The legislative committee this af ternoon wrote a letter to Mr. Albright instructing him; to submit to the com mittee at its next meeting the origi nal correspondence which, of course, contains the signature of the writer. The committee will meet again ou July 31. Justice Marshall was born in 1847, in Nashua, N. H., and came to Wis consin In 1854. He has been on the supreme bench since August, 1895. The Commoner &" First Voters" A Lexington, Ky., Reader writes to The Commoner as Follows: I I "I notice that the American Protective Tariff League is sending out circu lars which read: -Kindly give us the name and address, etc., of one person who will cast his first vote in the congressional election of 1906. We wish to fonuard literature on the subject of protection. Ash your neighbors to co-operate in the ivorlcS uJSfoio, I suggest that every Commoner reader maJce it his duty to send to The Commoner office the name of one person who, at the next election, will cast his first vote, then a sample copy of The Commoner could be sent to thai person. UI also suggest that every Commoner reader malce it his duty to secure at least one of these l first voters1 as a yearly subscriber to The Commoner. If we cim get these youngmen to read The Commoner regularhjweneed notfear for their political future" The Commoner hopes that this suggestion will be acted upon by Commoner readers generally. It is important that the "first voters" be impressed tvith the value of democratic principles in popular government. In order to encourage the campaign among ufrist voters" The Commoner will be sent for sixty cents to anyone who is to cast hisfwst vote at the congressional elections of 1906 and whose name, accompanied by the subscription price, reaches The Commoner office prior to election day in November,, 1906.. Any one desiring to avail himself of this opportunity must state in his letter that the one in ivhose name the subscription is forwarded will cast' his first vote at the 1906 elections, and is therefore entitled to this rate. n i Address All Communications to THE COMMONER, LINCOLN, NEBR. v. -iv