The Fire Insurance Monopoly

The Caro Adverteer and M:ison News forcibly cali attentioii to a c mlltion of tliiiiiis existing In thOM pluOM M wc II as n Itluica and every town in Michigan. The monopoly conipluined of is that of the couibination existing betwt-en the leadiujz lire iiisurance coiiipunies to blied the public. For the pait two tlii-re lias extetad a pool among the lendlng fire Inanranoa com paules of the country aml tbc result is about once in tbree uiontlis ¦ (Ban is sent [o each Of tin; Cltiel and villages in the state, wbo tlic ratea on nearly all, if not all the buildings in ih.it place, and a new tariff rnte is Iteued. Ko oue ever hears nl tbeir ivdiu:ing thciii. As the Maxon Ncwsremnks, a paid agent of the eonibi nailon h town, cloChed wlth as inuch power as tbat of the vuricst de.-pot of the raidJIe .ig-s. He does not cali on düzen who have carrled lurge insurance for years. lic does not examltra witli anyeura the propi-ity to bc insurcd. 01), nn. He siniply sayson paper, '"Here, The Nelson-B rber (Jo., you pay so much; ym. Wolf Nelzorg, pay so much; you, O. II. Heatii it Sou, pay so much; you, J P. Wbktnan, pay so much; you, Jackson & Brown, pay so much; you, Lewis ft Vost, piv so mach; you, Httan & Covert, pay so much;" aud in this way lixcs Ihe rates ol Insurance for every mui in Itbaca, In St. Louis, in Alni;i. Thert' í-eems to be lio remcdy for tliis ítate of thinfis unless, re lief is afforcfed by the b-glsl ature. laical agentl are not to blame, as they have tbeir iustructions and must obey them. As the Mason News says : "It is nnder this outraf;eou3 tyranny that we live The rcsult is that onr business men are iudignant. of them are refusmg to insure, aud all pray lor au insurance agent to open thop who will do business OUUlde of tho ring. The action of the coinpaiiies is a species of bighway robbery, and we hope and believe the liglslature at the pretent BetUoB will put m'J end to It.'1