National Union Insurance Company, Washington, D. C. Organized 1865; capital, $100,000. H. O. Towles, president, N. D. Larner, secretary.

Neal, Robert W., insurance journalist, is a native of San Francisco, Cal., where he was born September 14, 1864. He was educated in the public schools of that city and became a printer at an early age. In 1890 Mr. Neal, being then the owner of the Pacific Underwriter published at San Francisco, assumed the editorial and business charge of that paper.

Nebraska Field Club. This is an association of field men of fire insurance companies doing business in Nebraska. As Nebraska has an anti-compact law, the club does not make rates, but its declared purpose is to exert a moral influence for the good of fire underwriting in the state. The proceedings of the club, at its meetings, are secret. At the annual meeting of the club held at Omaha in November, 1893, Frank D. Lyons was elected president and C. E. Tebbets, secretary. At the semi-annual meeting at Omaha, May 1, 1894, F. S. Holmes, special agent of the London and Lancashire, was elected secretary, in place of Mr. Tebbets.

Nebraska, Insurance Supervision in, 1865-1894.

In Nebraska

the auditor of public accounts, who is elected by the people for a term of two years, is charged with the supervision of insurance. The department was organized in 1865. The officials who have held office since then are:

John Gillespie,
J. B. Weston,
F. W. Leidke,

John Wallichs,
H. A. Babcock,

Thomas H. Benton,

Eugene Moore,

Oct. 10, 1865-Jan. 12, 1873.
Jan. 13, 1873 Jan. 9, 1879.
Jan. 9, 1879-Nov. 12, 1880.
Nov. 12, 1880-Jan. 8, 1885.

Jan. 3, 1885-Jan. 3, 1889.

Jan. 3, 1889-Jan. 1, 1893.
Jan., 1893-

Mr. Moore is the present auditor, and his term will expire January, 1895. H. A. Babcock is the deputy auditor in charge of the insurance department.

Nebraska Life Underwriters' Association was organized March, 1890, the original officers being W. J. Fischer, president; H. D. Neely and O. H. Jeffries, vice-presidents; and E. H. Mayhew, secretary. At the annual meeting held at Omaha, January 10, 1893, the following officers and executive committee were elected: M. L. Roeder, president; H. D. Neely, first vice-president; Charles J. Bell, second vicepresident; F. E. McMullen, secretary; H. F. Lunback, treasurer; William Henry Brown, corresponding secretary; O. H. Jeffries, Oscar Wasson, H. D. Neely, W. F. Allen, and W. I. Hawks, executive committee. The present officers and executive committee, who were elected at the annual meeting January 10, 1894, are as follows: H. D. Neely of the Equitable Life of New York, president; J. M. Edmiston of the Union Central, and John E. Steel of the Northwestern Mutual, vice-presidents; Frank E. Hartigan of the State Mutual, secretary, and William Henry Brown of the Equitable Life of New York, corresponding secretary; M. L. Roeder of the National of Vermont, H. S. Ford of the New York Life, H. F. Linback of the Pacific Mutual,

W. I. Hawks of the Travelers, and H. R. Gould of the Phoenix Mutual, executive committee. The association has over fifty mem

bers.

Nederland Life Insurance Company, of Amsterdam, Holland, entered New York for business September 1, 1893, and during the following six months extended itself into a large number of states in all parts of the Union. Louis Isaac Dubourcq was appointed manager, with headquarters at New York. The following were appointed United States trustees: H. Amy of H. Amy & Co., bankers; Amos T. French of the Manhattan Trust Company, Charles E. Whitehead of Whitehead, Dexter & Osborn, and John D. Keiley, Jr., merchant, all of New York city.

Needles, Edward M., president of the Penn Mutual Life insurance company of Philadelphia, was born at Baltimore, Md., April 26, 1823. From early manhood until 1854, he was engaged in the dry goods business, when he removed to Philadelphia to become a buyer for a large silk house, which required him to visit Europe twice annually for five years. He then entered upon a branch of the same business, which he conducted successfully until he retired in 1870. Mr. Needles was chosen a trustee of the Penn Mutual in 1863 and placed the same year on the finance committee. He was elected vice-president in 1879 and president in 1886, succeeding the late Samuel C. Huey.

Nelson, William C., manager of the New Orleans compact, was born at Holly Springs, Miss., in 1841. He had just reached manhood when the war broke out, and be enlisted as a private in the Ninth Mississippi regiment, C. S. A., and went through the entire conflict, subsequently in the Seventeenth Mississippi regiment, emerging at Appomattox with a captain's commission. He entered the insurance business in Arkansas, removed to Nashville, Tenn., in 1871, where he was a local agent several years, and secretary of the local board. He was special agent for the Royal six years, afterwards for the North British and Mercantile, and was appointed compact manager at New Orleans in 1892.

Nevada, Insurance Supervision in, 1864-1894. In Nevada the state comptroller is ex officio insurance commissioner. The comptrollers since the admission of the state in 1864 have been :

The official term of the comptroller is four years. Mr. Horton's term will expire January 1, 1895. The deputy in charge of the insurance department of the office is R. M. Horton.

Newark Fire Insurance Company, Newark, N. J. Organized 1810; capital, $250,000. J. J. Henry, president, F. T. McBride, secretary.

New Brunswick Insurance Company, New Brunswick, N. J. Organized 1826; capital, $50,000. J. N. Van Cleef, president, F. Weigel, secretary.

New England Bureau of United Inspection. The New England Bureau of United Inspection was organized at Boston in December, 1887, for the purpose of making frequent and complete surveys of important risks in New England, the reports to be furnished to subscribing companies. The bureau is in charge of a governing committee of twenty-five, the list being elected annually. At the annual meeting held at Boston, February 2, 1894, George P. Field declined re-election as chairman of the governing committee, and J. M. Forbush was chosen to succeed him. F. H. Stevens was elected vice-chairman, R. W. Hilliard, secretary, and A. C. Adams, treasurer.

The following is a summary of the report upon the work accomplished by the Bureau in 1893, and since organization in 1887 :

We have at this date 1,410 risks registered, and 1,154 under inspection, as against 1,246 registered, and 903 under inspection a year ago. Our survey numbers show 1,366 risks under our care, but 71 are duplicate numbers, and 141 have been dropped for various reasons. Since organization we have made 1,366 original and 8,879 resurveys. We secured improvements and corrections of defects in 1893 as follows: in construction 445, in hazards 1,033, in special features 296, in fire protection 1,262, in sprinklers 485. Total in 1893, 3,521. Total since organization, 14,160.

New England Fire Insurance Company, Rutland, Vt. Organized 1881; capital, $125,000. J. A. Mead, president, J. R. Hoadley, secretary.

New England Insurance Exchange was organized by special agents of fire insurance companies, at Boston, January 6, 1883. Prior to this, anything like order or cohesion in rates in New England, outside of Boston, was practically unknown, and very few local boards were in existence. The first attempt to make rates, beyond the limits of Boston, was in November, 1882, when a meeting of special agents was held to consider paper mills. It resulted in sending out a circular to companies asking them if they would stand by a scheme of rates on this class of risks if they were made, and forty-four companies answered that they would. This success encouraged hope of a closer organization, and resulted, a few months later, in the formation of the Exchange.

Membership in the organization is entirely personal and is open to all persons regularly engaged in, or having charge of the New England field work of any fire insurance company. The objects of the Exchange are declared by the constitution to be "the systematic interchange of information and co-operation among field men." The Exchange is a rating and supervising body. Its preliminary work is mainly done through standing committees, of which there were, at the beginning of April, 1893, twelve of the Exchange and 119 in charge of as many localities in New England, all committees being composed of members of the Exchange. These committees report to the Exchange at its weekly meetings, and their action is approved or disapproved by that body.

The jurisdiction of the Exchange covers New England practically, with the exception of Boston (which is controlled by its Board of Fire Underwriters), the state of New Hampshire (which has its own state board), the state of Maine (which since the passage of the anti-compact law there, has been abandoned to its local boards), and a few other places of less importance. The Maine committees, however, are continued as advisory committees.

The presidents of the Exchange since organization have been as follows: 1883, U. C. Crosby (two terms); 1885, George P. Field; 1886, George W. Taylor; 1887, Henry E. Hess; 1888, Henry R. Turner; 1889, Benjamin R. Stillman; 1890, Frank A. Colley; 1891, U. C. Crosby (third term); 1892, Moses R. Emerson; 1893, Charles B. Fowler; 1894, A. C. Adams. The secretaries have been: 1883, James Bruerton; 1884, Arthur A. Clarke; 1888, Oliver P. Clarke; 1891, C. M. Goddard. The present officers, elected at the annual meeting in January, 1894, are: A. C. Adams of the Etna, president; E. C. Brush of the Commercial Union, Edward C. North of the Merchants of Newark, and S. G. Howe of the Phenix of New York, vice-presidents; C. M. Goddard, secretary and treasurer,* W. H. Smith of the Providence-Washington (chairman), G. W. Hinkley of the Phoenix of Hartford, J. J. Downey of the Royal and Pennsylvania, C. L. Woodside of the North American, and G. Herbert Ide of the London and Lancashire, executive committee.

The following is a list of the companies having representatives as members of the organization:

Norwich Union.
Orient, Hartford.
Palatine.
Pennsylvania Fire.
Phenix, N. Y.
Phoenix, London.
Phoenix, Hartford.
Providence-Washington.
Prussian National.
Queen, N. Y.
Reading Fire.

Reliance, Philadelphia.
Rochester German.
Royal, Liverpool.
Scottish Union and Nat'l.
Security, New Haven.
Springfield Fire and Marine.
Spring Garden.
Sun, London.

Union, Philadelphia.
United Firemen's.
United States Fire.
Westchester.
Western, Canada.

The following is a list of the standing committees and the names of the chairman of each:

Plymouth Co. (North),. G. W. Hinkley.

Southern Berkshire,....J. B. Knox.

U. C. Crosby.

..C. H. Rice.
.Amos Sherman.
.C. M. Slocum.

G. H. Allen.

.O. B. Chadwick. ..............G. W. Hinkley.

+ In consequence of the passage of the law in Maine, in 1893, forbidding the existence of compacts to make rates, the Exchange has relinquished control over the local boards of that state, nominally, if not practically, and all Maine committees of the Exchange have been discharged, though the chairmen of these committees are retained, and organized into a committee for advisory purposes. The local boards of the state will continue to uphold Exchange rates, without connection with the Exchange.