Chaos

The bill contained just 83 words, one of the shortest ever to be dropped into the House hopper. It said simply that the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts, as amended, shall not be construed to "apply to the business of insurance." Thus, just 17 days after the U.S. Supreme Court broke a 75-year-old precedent in holding that insurance is subject to the antitrust laws (TIME, June 12), the House moved last week to nullify the ruling.

Missouri's Representative Walter Ploeser, an insurance salesman for 20 years, told the House: "The insurance business is in mental chaos and in a few days will be in financial chaos."

To this California's New Dealing Jerry Voorhis replied: "This bill is tantamount to an invitation to the insurance business to indulge in monopolistic practices."

But opponents of the bill were shouted down, and in short order the bill was passed (283-10-54) and whisked to the Senate for action before the recess. There it fell afoul of Wyoming's monopoly-hating Joe O'Mahoney. Hastily he rounded up the Senate's Judiciary Committee and called Attorney General Francis Biddle to testify before it. Biddle gave his word that no prosecutions, except the current one against the Southeastern Underwriters Association (TIME, June 12), are contemplated until insurance companies have a chance to "digest" the Supreme Court decision. The Committee then shelved the bill, thus preventing a Senate vote until this fall.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.