The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1864-10-03
The Mutual Benefit Life ms. Co. VS.. The
essaa N. Y. T,ifa b

N. Y. Life. @t
The great length of Mr.. Kimball's communication
will oblige me to answer in circular. which is al
ready in print; meanwhile abstract Of the whole
may serve to disabuse the public
The FIRST charge made by Mr.. X, is that did not
surrender the agency CT the New York Life at a
great pecuniary sacrifice; my answer to which is
two fold lst.I never said that L did. End, it is
true nevertheless; and now aver, and am read to
prove. that sacrificed four-dfths of my yearly in
come on my Life business by making the change
complained of; and that made this sacrifice for
two reasons: first because of the superior aduaa
tages Isaw in the Mutual Benefit system for the
sured. and secondly because beeved--and my sue
cess thus far has fully justified my belef-that In
the end, the exchange of agency would be much
more advantageous for myself 50
The End chargs is, that, after claminga triumph
over Mr.. Neal in our newspaper controversy Of last
winter, have been suddenly converted by review
ofthe same arguments. To which answer, 1st that
my part of the controversy with Mr.. Neal was con-
fined to one aingle pointviz the expenses of the N
Life, about which he had been misled, as he ac
knowledged and that most carefully avoided every
other position taken by him. because l foresaw the
result; and that facts and not review of his argu
ments have satisfied me. of the rast advantages
the Mutual Benefit Co. offers to its policy holders
over the New York Life. as will appear by the
statistics, given below. the highest official author
ity, alike disinterested and conclusive.
3 He says furthermore, or implies. hat by claiming
to have been further enlightened by later official
reports seek to misead. To this charge say that
inasmuch as the MassaohusettsiC commissioners make
mp their report to the LIST of Nov while that of the
N. Y Commissioner IL made up to the lat of Jan'y;
the first being published in March, and the last not
until May or June, could not know in December
'63 officially what has become but too evident since
June 81; Tor example. that the percentage of er-
penses on income in the Y. Life is 1912, being
s.ss per cent more than III in the Mutual Benefit,
and in fact nearly double! nor di know upon au-
thorty not to be questioned, till these reports ap.
peared. that while the New York Life had issued
lls4 not 'lss6p more policies han the Mutual Bene.
it, within the year that the actual amount insured
By the Mutual BeneHt Co was nearly $685. 900 more
than the amount insured by the N. Y. Life-showing
that capitalists and men Of subsistence ioerc giving
theprgerence everywhere 10 the Mutual Benefit sys-
tenn. The following abstract from the last report Of
the N. Y. Commissioners may help cure the strange
halinsination which Mr.. X. appears to be laboring
under. (r- 49,
No,pol. issued Amt: insured. y
spHfsvfsa in 1858. in 1853
Mutual Benefit sstL Sll $40 392 90
Furthermore, in the card be complains of are
mentionedu under seven or eight different hesds the
statistical for the conclusions had arrived
at whcbIare lkelyto be satisfactory to men
of business and foresight. All but two of these he
passes over In absolute silence; and these two hs
labors TO show that am wrong. But how! he charg.
with error Of 1852. III 90 in stating the sin
come from interest in Iss3"-and attempts TO prove
the charge by quoting not from che latest, the N T.
report but from one of an earlier date. For part
of this item. however which does at appear IN the
abstract of that report was obliged to rely the
last annual report Of the Directors" Mr. X. will
not question such evidence Among the items Of in
for 1858 the N Life Co. in their report for
January LIST, 1861, gives the following amount of
interest received and accrued, 1868.
and the Mutual Benefit, ,h5ssq
Amt interest recebSed, 1868, 1918, 2, 2,06
Amt interest accrued in 1858, l2i.274,7s
as5es91 Total $440, 546,75
Showing the truth to be exactly as / stated It; Mr.
X. in his criticisms having left cut entirely the
amount of accrued interest
So with regard to expenses. the second point made
by Mr.. h. Hs dRrss not deny thai the expenses of
the N Y. Life are within thFes-qusrters of per
cent of being escctty double the expenses of the
Mutual Bensht Goa fact ofitsef sufficient to put
any man of common sense upon thorough investi-
CATION since the productiyeness and to certain ex-
tent the safety OF his Investment, will depend upon
the exf enses Of administration; but he by quoting
from the earlier Massachusetts report instead of the
latest N. Y. report, eadeayorsto convict me of
ror; and this although had givsg my authority for
what said. 4 -a
says Mr. K, con the point of Dividends, have but
little to say" Indeed!-nor do 1 much wonder,
SINCE after ALL that is the question between us-the
very gist OF the whole controversy. And the little
that be does say Whist does it amount tor Take his
own language. "rhe n. ! Life declared So per ct
the last year, and could have largely Increased the
same, had they deemed it wise to do So" Bpdoubt,
eddy, eff hey had deemed 1t wise" to divide Their
capital any part of their capital they might have
done and taken the consequences But the question
is of comparative ability depending upon actual
sspus. Take the latest official reports this very
point, and sec how dangerous question Mr.. X. has
managed to slpr over with ? "on this pspt I have
but little TO say"-They stand thus;
Mutual Beneft-net surplus, 81, S26, 102 46
New York Life, 2S4 627, 81
Showing difference ia the amount of hnatyided
surplus of Sl6414 SO in favor the Mutual Ben
sftCo.4sle q
out OF this question abont dividends grows the
question of cost to the assured. have undertaken
to show that by the Mutual Benefit system it will
cost the assured less every 500 Of the pre-
MUM he has to pay, than to insure in the New York
Life, the dividends of those two companies being
for the last five years as followss-
s-'e saA'.a9,oeo ,os, 1890 roo, ,s.
Nut Bent az ur etla6 pr ct "a m s0 mr. ctlso ~ 90
N X Life 81 pr cisO pr 80 pr Ct IS pr cts5 pr ct
and this aiviaapds,n tho Mntno, panas. ,o,.a -
only declared wear Int ooId vear.. +nst - ~.
istdividsnd is always paid years from the
tne new iork Lie averages s's and hdf gears