Five years later, after the insurance investigations took place, the Mutual Life strongly urged the passage of a Limitation Bill, and, because of the popular feeling developed by the exposure of the improper practices of the companies, this bill was generally approved.

Governor Hughes adopted the suggestion, such a bill was passed by the Legislature, and Governor Hughes signed it.

This bill caused the three great New York companies to reduce markedly the volume of business they were doing; it threw a great many agents out of employment, and materially curtailed the foreign business of the companies--which business was bringing annually a considerable sum of money to this country for investment.

In short, the experiment worked so badly that before Governor Hughes went out of office one of the very last bills he signed was one that permitted the life insurance companies to increase their business each year by an amount representing a certain percentage of the business they had previously done.

This in practice, within a few years, practically annulled the Limitation Bill that had been previously passed.