, 1866-02-06
Insurance nn u Game OF Chnuce-Thn
CuAc or tho Columbian Marine, nj
New York.
fr.nrn thn p1, .,,,9c1nh,. f,-rt.,-1


Tho case of the Columbian Marine INSTR
ance Com pany, Of New York, which has re-
Gently failed, Il one which has it, lessons,
which 1t Is the duty OF ail business men to
improve to their own advantage. Insurance,
We arc told, is science, q science Of chances,
Mathematical certainty. Mathcuaaticlans are
said to have amused themselves before to day
by calculating that If q cannon bali went
through certain part Of a ship how many
thousand chances there were that nnotLey
same % holo. c. and yet tho annals ot naval
battles tell US Of occasional instances wIlere
the chancea> have been vanqu1slcd In 4
very few minutes after the first shot, thus re-
moving entirely from. science al The adyau-
may be with insurance. Under prudent man.
agement md caution in taking risks the per
] centage Of losses to receipts may leave
I handsome profit, but # a wild, reckless bust
ness Is done, for the sake Of business, bad luck
will b yery aPt to Play hsyos With the "ssr-
/ has been Illustrated by the Columbian Insur-
ance Company 1t had large capital, three
| millions OF dollars it was ambitious 10 do
/ great business, and It therefore discarded
| prudence in accepting risks, and insured YES
| sells of ali sorts, from a No. down to third
examined, would have been condemned Us uu-
senworthy.
Under this system, tho receipts we're very
large, being nearly dYe millipus and half Of
dollars in 1sC5. But the losses were also
large, and they havo proved 10 be SO heavy
within the last two years that to pay them
profits, leaving the Stockholders just nothing
at all. When the company first Stopped uay-
ment, the officers assured the STOCKHOLDERS
that there were d million dollar assetS, or
thereabouts. There were also about two
-n141 a.1A Vie r14p pnt data
mined, and which might nearly ali turn out
to be profit. Under these suggestions, the
stockholders believed that 1t would be
wise thing to assess Themselves for contri-
button OF so much per share to renew pur-
tlon Of the capital and go on with business
But when committee cauc to examine into
the character Of the Ho-called 8 assets" they
found TINT they were not tangible. The stock
Of the company, worth nothing if the com-
pauy Was fnsolveHt, represented three hun
dred aad forty-two thousand ttrc hundred
dollars Of the amount, and "c1aims against
Great Britain for losses arising out oil tho dep
relations Of rebel cruisers, represented sl
hundred and thirteen thousand dollars OF th
remainder.
These claims are at present zepudla.cd and
may or may not be paid hereafter, OF tho
United States Will obtain satisfaction for them
by war At all events they are not assets now
upon the faith Of which any one would care 10
pay premium for insurance, 1nu may be clnsa-
ed In the category Of - doubtful debts" The
stockholders themselves, upon hearing thi
Inouruful story, concluded that there was no
hope for them, and the company is to he put
down permanently among the " allied"
The fearful manner In which this compnno
suffered Is shown by the fact that In 1Sti5 th
amount Of "losses paid md allowances lor
bad debts" was four millions ninc hundred
aud ten thousand i've hundred and seventy
five dollars, aud the losses nsccytlincd but I'M
adjusted were one million one hundred and
fourteen thousand and ten dollars, maxim.
total OF disasters, Of six mNlIous and twenty
four thousands ave hundred and eishty-Nvt
dollars, IN twelve months, without reference tc
the run OF luck in previous years. There Ger
taiuly could not have been good management
about state Of affairs which produced such
inauspicious results. The Stockholders blame
the directors, and at the last meeting the,
were callsd for loudly, but dill not appear
II there Is any truth In tho s'sclence'' uf in
surance, the affairs Of this company wert
managed unscientlQeally. The great object
OF the managers seems to have teen to take il
large nmount OF prcmfuns aud nuke biz
dividends. To the latter part OF these lutlc
they faithfully attended, and perhaps no per
sons were more astounded at the failure o
the Columbian Insurance Company than tht
holders Of the stock, whose participation II
the "pruGts" WAS to such j gratifying exten
to lead them suppose they were favorable
SCISSORS Of lucrative and highly success
cOnCefn.