Business: Massachusetts Idea

The chief accomplishment of Louis Dembitz Brandeis before his appointment to the U. S. Supreme Court was to get the Massachusetts Legislature to pass a law allowing savings banks to issue life insurance. That was in 1907. Despite the tight-lipped opposition of all the old-line insurance companies, the plan was a thoroughpaced success. There are now 24 Massachusetts savings banks with life insurance departments, 117 more that act as agents. Massachusetts citizens can insure their lives for anything between $100 and $24,000. At the end of 1937 some 160,000 Massachusetts citizens or...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!