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A Hot Election

A Hot Election image
Parent Issue
Day
16
Month
January
Year
1891
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The Washtenaw Mutual Fire Insurance Company held their annua meeting Wednesday. A great dea! of interest was manifested and the attendance was much larger than usual. In the forenoon, the agricultural room in the basement was found too small to accommodate the members of the company and it adjourned to the court room. Wm. Scotney, S. R. Cretland and W. D. Smith were appointed a committee on order of business and the company took a recess until one o'clock. The court room was filled at one o'clock when President Platt brought down his gavel. The order of business reported by the committee, was adopted and the secretary's report was made as published in the Argus, last week. The officers of the old company presented a communication in which they stated that on December 31, 1890, there remained a surplus of 8723.84, the bulk of which they desired to turn over to the new company. Ninety-nine per cent of the members of the old company, they said, were members of the new company. In accordance with this communication, the following resolution was passed: Resolved, That this present Washtenaw Mutual Fire Insurance ComDany does and will accept such surdIus and that they do hereby authorize and direct their board of directors by the secretary to receive and receipt for said surplus from the ïands of said board of directors of he former Washtenaw Mutual Fire nsurance Company. And thát they do further instruct their said board of directors by the secretary to pay on demand, to any person, not now a memberof this company, who may ïave been assessed for and who has contributed to said surplus, his or ïer pro rata share of said surplus and it is further ordered that when aid surpluj is turned over to the oficers and directors of this present company, the company will from hat time forever protect and defend he officers of the former Washtenaw Vlutual Fire Insurance Company, rom any and all demands by reason of said surplus, so received by this company from the said board of directors of the former Washtenaw Vlutual Fire Insurance Company, expired December 3ist, 1889. Messrs. Hunter, Lyons and Many were appointed tellers, and a ballot was taken for director in the place of H. D. Platt, which resulted : William Campbell 35 H. D. Platt 48 F. P. Galpin 54 Scattering 7 Total Vote 144 Considerable electioneering was mdulged in, and after a regular convention scène, the second ballot resulted : William Campbell 34 H.D. Platt 36 F. P. Galpin 70 Scattering 7 Total vote 147 An enthusiastic supporter of Mr. Galpin wanted him nominated by acclamation. E. A. Nordman plead for taking a man from the territory which the director was expected to cover, which the chairman statedwas Ypsilanti, Pittsfield, Augusta, York, Saline anda part of Lodi. Mr. Galpin, it was stated, lived within four miles of another director. Philip Duffy spoke in favor of Mr. Galpin and was loudly cheered. Henry C. Waldron threw a bomb into the meeting by stating that he had been assessed $23 last year. He didn't care who the directors were, who had run the company. The assess ment was too high, in fact, as high as he paid stock companies. He had come to the meeting to see if a change couldn't lower the assessment. His remarles were vigorously applauded by a number of the members. Whilehe was speaking, Chairman Platt's eyes might have been seen to snap. He said, "Gentlemen of the company, for nine years I have been one of your directors. For seven years I have been your presiding officer. In that time, under all circumstances, I have endeavored to do the best I could. I have stood between the company and the insured. I withdraw my name. I will not stand under the circumstances." William Campbell said he had been voting for Mr. Platt. He didn't know anybody was going to vote for him. But the matter of location must be taken into consideration. People didn't want to drive fifteen miles to find a director, Mr. Hunter pnt in nomination the name of A. R. Graves, of Ypsilanti. The third ballot resulted. William Campbell 78 H. D. Platt 2 F. P. Calpin 59 A. E. Graves 11 Total vote 150 As it took 76 votes to nomínate, William Campbell was declared elected director for two years. President Platt repeated what he had said, and concluded with, " If the gentleman who succeeds me will put the same energy and thought in this business as he does in his own, this is a happy change for you." QThe secretary was unanimously instructed to cast the vote of the society for John F. Spafard, of Manchester, to succeed himself. Two ballots were taken for director to succeed Andrew T. Hughes, of Scio. They resulted : lst ballot, ïd ballot. A. T. Hughes 62 70 W. D. Smith 49 62 A. Olsaver 7 J. W. Wing 2 C. D. Johnson 3 Scattering 2 2 Total vote 125 124 Andrew T. Hughes was declared elected. Russell C. Reeves, J. W. Wing, and Fred C. Braun were unanimously re-elected auditors for one year. John Hall, of Dexter, wanted the annual meeting held about the first of June. It was discovered that the charter fixed the date of the meeting. On motion of Evart H. Scott, a vote of thanks was tendered President Platt. The vote was unanimous. Nearly everybody was leaving the room, but quickly returned when H. C. Waldron took the floor and asked the secretary what was the probable cost of taking an assessment (outside of the salaries). The secretary replied that the postage and printing cost $35 or $36 and the whole expense would probably not exceed $50. Mr. Waldron desired to know why the company was borrowing money and paying $700 interest. The last year the losses were $10,000 or #ii,ooo. He was willing to pay any man who was unfortunate, but wasn't willing to make him a present. If losses were adjusted at two-thirds the actual loss, so many barns would not be struck by lightning. He more than hinted that the directors might have kept down the assessment. A number of the delegates proceeded to jump on Mr. Waldron. Mr. Hunter thought he had no right to make such statements, because the losses for one year happened to be two or three times what they generally were. Mr. Nordman was veryj sarcastic about Mr. Waldron's legal ability. He hadn't seen him at the meeting to organize the company, when the changes he advo cated might have been brought up Evart H. Scott said the assessments for the past six years had been #3.90, $2.00, $1.00, #1.00, #1.75 $1.75. The average was only $ 1 . 90 Geo. A. Peters, of Scio, thought the board of directors were not to blame for the fires. The members ought to appoint themselves committees of one to see that they met with no losses. He was a fatalist. Last year, they commenced with an assessment of $1.40 due for losses incurred. This year they commencec with a pure record. Somebody would be to blame if they paid over $1 or Í1.25 this year. J. W. Wing said a third of the year was gone with no indebtedness. Interest could not be saved as Mr. Waldron wanted. No assessment except forj estimated expenses, can be made until the losses are actually incurred. John J. Robison thought expcrience had shown the present way of running the company by far the most economical. Mr, Waldron said if it only cost Í35 to make an assessment it was better to make several than to borrow money and pay $700. Andrew Campbell, William Campbell, and others, took a vigorous hand in the the discussion in favor of the pressnt method of doing business. Mr. Childs, the secretary, stated that the actual interest expenses veré under #300. The meeting then adjourned.