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November 2008
   VOICES FROM THE FIELD
Issues and Accomplishments of the First 15 Years Part 5
Perhaps Register had no interest in serving again. In any case, Wyman was a popular choice. "The selection is certainly a happy one," asserted one journalist. "Mr. Wyman is typical of the clean life insurance man. He represents the higher class of managers. It is stated that his agency is the most ideal of any in Chicago, and he has made it so because he stands for all that is good in the business."[xxxix] Before the year was out three more of the NALU's founding fathers passed away. Caleb E. Tillinghast died on November 1st. A month later, on December 9, 1901, Ransom died. David N. Holway of Boston, a close friend of Ransom (and also one of the NALU's founding members), initiated a subscription fund to erect a granite monument where Ransom was buried in the family plot at Newton, Massachusetts. In the meantime, Holway died. Wyman and the Executive Committee, nevertheless, proceeded with the project and, thanks to contributions from local associations, the memorial was unveiled on September 15, 1902. The inscription read:
Senator Dryden, founder and president of the Prudential, addressed the members of the NALU Executive Committee at their midyear session, held at the Raleigh in Washington, D.C., on April 9, 1902. The meeting was devoted to hearing the reports of committees, planning the next convention and discussing ways to promote the association movement. The NALU's thirteenth annual convention met in Cincinnati on October 15-17, 1902. Attendance was larger than expected, reaching 164 delegates. Since the meeting room at the Grand Hotel proved inadequate during the first session it was decided to move to larger quarters at the YMCA auditorium. In 1902 there were thirty-five local associations affiliated with the NALU. But America's life underwriters were looking beyond their present level of growth. In his report to the convention, Stephen F. Woodman, Chairman of the NALU Executive Committee, observed:
The constitution of the national body underwent further revision that year. Instead of having a large number of vice presidents, the Association decided to be content with three (designated as first, second and third vice president.) Each association would have representation on the Executive Committee, on a rotating basis, with members serving three-year terms. Before the amendment was voted on, William Scott moved that ex-presidents and members of the Executive Committee who are not delegates should be allowed to participate in debates, make motions and vote at national conventions. His motion was seconded and passed. The delegates elected Philip H. Farley of New York City to be their new president. The final item on the agenda was selecting a place for the next convention. Baltimore was the favored site, and Scott suggested October as the time. Both ideas met with everyone's approval. Graham C. Wells of Pittsburgh added the suggestion that, since many members "belong to the Romanist church," that the banquet be planned for a night other than Friday. "I am very sure the gentlemen from Baltimore will take that under consideration," Farley said. On motion the convention adjourned. The midyear meeting of the Executive Committee was held at the Allyn House in Hartford on April 15, 1903. As part of their entertainment the members were given automobile rides about the city and the suburbs. It was agreed at this meeting that the National Association assume responsibility for the publication and sale of the annual convention reports. The Standard Publishing company of Boston, then under the management of Ransom's son, R.W. Ransom, was to continue handling the compilation, printing and binding. (This arrangement lasted until 1910, when the NALU engaged Wynkoop, Hallenbeck, Crawford Company of New York to print the report of the 21st annual meeting.) It was because of Colonel Ransom that, since the first NALU convention, verbatim reports of the proceedings had been handsomely bound and made available to the delegates and their friends. Since the national organization as yet had no magazine, the records of its annual meetings were an important element of its public relations program. In a time when there was little or no formal training for agents, these volumes filled a need for inspiration and practical information. Because of the high caliber of guest speakers and the quality of many of the papers delivered, these books were an interesting and valuable resource for agents who could not attend the meetings. Selling subscriptions for copies of the Proceedings became part of the routine at the early conventions. During the first sessions of the 1903 convention in Baltimore, when the orders were being taken for copies, Plummer took occasion to emphasize the value of these Proceedings:
Plummer made his point. From the reaction on the convention floor, the Standard Publishing Company must have found the subscription orders very gratifying that year. Someone else who impressed the delegates that morning in Baltimore was the young Ernest J. Clark, secretary of the host association, who delivered a vigorous speech on the potential of associations, to influence legislation for the good of the business. He pointed to some rather startling successes of his own association in this arena to demonstrate the possibilities. These included driving a number of "wildcat" insurance companies out of Maryland. The Baltimore convention, as it turned out, offered consistently good reading for the subscribers to the Proceedings. This resulted largely from the excellent quality of essays submitted. The topic was "Building for the Future." J.H. Jeffries of Philadelphia was the winner of the Williams vase. He focused on the requirements for a successful general agent, as well as the nobility of his calling:
There was also considerable discussion at this meeting on how to raise funds for reimbursing the NALU presidents for expenses incurred during their terms of office. As often happens when no ready solution can be found, the delegates decided to form a committee to come up with some specific proposals. The officers elected for the 1903-1904 term were Hubert H. Ward of Cleveland, president; J. Herman Ireland of Baltimore, first vice president; Danford M. Baker of Chicago, second vice president; and John H. Quinlan of Newburgh, New York, third vice president. William G. Carroll of Philadelphia became chairman of the Executive Committee. Considering that it was such a young organization, the reformed Baltimore Association did a magnificent job of hosting the delegates and their guests. After a cruise down the Chesapeake to Annapolis, on board the steamer Annapolis, they were given a tour of the U.S. Naval Academy, as well as the State House. The Baltimore Association even managed to oblige the Catholics by planning the banquet on Thursday. About 250 people attended the dinner at the Rennert, regarded at the time as one of the country's prestige hotels. The list of speakers was as long as it was distinguished, which made for a very late evening. When, at the conclusion of all the speeches, Farley proposed singing "Auld Lang Syne," it was discovered that the orchestra had left. Within four months, much of what had become familiar to the visitors in the last three days would be reduced to rubble. On Sunday, February 7, 1904, seventy blocks in downtown Baltimore were destroyed by fire. The flames engulfed 526 buildings that housed 2,500 enterprises (including twenty banks, eight hotels, nine newspaper plants, and nine transportation offices.) The fire was halted within yards of the Rennert itself. The total membership in local associations affiliated with the NALU was 1,698 in 1904. About half of these were general agents and managers. At the 1904 convention, held in Indianapolis, Plummer was elected chairman of the Executive Committee. The delegates elected John Dolph of Cincinnati as president. Percy V. Baldwin of Boston became first vice president; William Van Sickle of Detroit, second vice president; and C.C. Courtney of Kansas City, third vice president. For secretary they chose Ernest J. Clark of Baltimore. The delegations from St. Louis, Los Angeles and Hartford each offered to host the next NALU convention. F.A.G. Merrill of Buffalo spoke out in favor of Hartford, arguing that St. Louis had enjoyed quite enough visitors that year owing to the World's Fair. "Three-quarters of the interests represented here come from the East," he said. "The gentlemen who attend the convention can visit the home office and save one trip." Merrill evidently expressed the prevailing sentiment, and Hartford was selected for the 1905 convention site. The dramatic rise in membership during this period reflects the growth experienced by associations throughout the country. From the 1899 low of twenty-six associations comprising 940 members, the ranks of the national organization swelled to forty-five units representing 2,032 members in 1905. Writing in 1913 in a series of articles ("The Story of the Life Underwriters' Associations") published in Life Association News, Charles W. Scovel attributed this resurgence of life underwriters associations to the "peripatetic" presidents of the NALU, who from 1899 to 1905 "traveled many thousands of miles at great cost of time and energy, and ...without a dollar from the treasury to do so." Beyond that, Scovel pointed out, "The conventions of 1903 and 1904 devoted much time to discussing methods and means; prizes were offered. Also in 1904-1905 an 'extension fund' of $2,500 was raised by special subscription to be applied for printed propaganda, addresses and correspondence centering in the secretary's office."[xliii] Proschansky, however, believes Scovel overestimated the importance of the traveling executives as a factor in renewed interest in the association movement. Viewing the situation from a somewhat broader perspective, he contends, "While the zeal and devotion they [Cochran, Johnson, Register, et al.] showed were highly commendable and their activities were undoubtedly of much help to the young organization, there were more fundamental factors at work." Among other revitalizing influences, Proschansky cites the pains taken by the NALU's leadership to permit greater freedom of discussion on the convention floor, which served to diffuse previous criticisms:
The number of subagents joining local associations, Proschansky observes, is another indication of renewed interest among the men in the field. He also points to the subsidence of company rivalries after 1900, which gave life underwriters associations more relevance and viability. This created an atmosphere more conducive to the success of organizations dedicated to reforming business practices. "A logical outcome of the development of local associations and the growth of the insurance industry on a national scale," he says, "the National Association of Life Underwriters was designed to fill a real need, that of coordinating and providing leadership for the local groups in their efforts to effect reform. It also exercised other functions, such as influencing legislation, bringing the agents of the country into closer relations, and helping to elevate life insurance soliciting to that of a profession."[xlv] By 1905, Proschansky concludes, the National Association of Life Underwriters had gained much prestige within the industry, "accepted by company and agent alike as a professional group which had accomplished much good." Part 5 Foreword by Alan Press, 1988-1989 NALU President Preface by Jack E. Bobo, 1989 NALU Executive Vice President Chapter 1 Laying the Foundation—A Meeting at the Parker House Leading Figures—Ransom, Carpenter, Blodgett and Plummer Conditions Leading to the Foundation of the NALU Rise of Modern Life Insurance and the General Agency System Issues and Accomplishments of the First 15 Years Chapter 2 In the Wake of the Armstrong Investigation A Royal Commission Investigates Life Insurance Operations in Canada A Period of Growth and Visibility for the NALU Under Strong Leadership The NALU Plays a Leading Role in Insurance Education Chapter 3 The NALU's Extension of Activity The Agents Move for Recognition Chapter 4 Annual Conventions and Midyear Meetings The NALU Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary Chapter 5 The NALU Joins the Industry in Legislative Battles The NALU Establishes the National Quality Award Chapter 6 Controversies and Schisms (1946-1956) Chapter 7 Dispute Over Minimum Deposit Insurance Plans GAMC Stages First LAMP Meeting The NALU Celebrates Its Diamond Jubilee Year The NALU Increases Political Activity U.S. Senate Antitrust and Monopoly Subcommittee Investigate Life Insurance The NALU Responds to Consumerist Activism Chapter 8 The NALU Reaches the Century Mark FTC Releases a Study Critical of the Insurance Industry Formation of the Women Life Underwriters Conference The NALU Issues Statements on AIDS The NALU Combats a New Wave of Attacks The NALU Celebrates a Century of Service *"The new commission scale provided for 25 percent on the first year's premium on an Ordinary Life policy, 15 on the second, 5 on the third, 10 on the fourth and 5 on the fifth and for a specified number of years thereafter, as per the individual agent's contract." [xxxviii] Op. Cit., July11, 1901, p.1. [xxxix] Ibid., September 19, 1901 p.1. [xl] Proceedings, 1902, pp 37-38. [xli] Proceedings, 1903, pp. 76-77. [xlii] Ibid., p. 118. [xliii] Op. Cit., May 1913, p.7. [xliv] Proschansky, Op. Cit., pp. 152-153. [xlv] Ibid., pp. 161-162. © Advisor Today 2008. All rights reserved.
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