Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1870-03-18

think lawyers will agree with me in this
but | may be mistaken.
3. The recent invitation of our agent
in New Orleans, and my prompt accept
ance of the LIBERAL terms offered, places
him in exactly the same position. You
offered what you called liberal terms, and
a reinstatement of the policy at the orig
inal premium, but then you backed out
from that, and asked another medical
examination, which could only mean
that | was to pay HIGHER premium.
Then your objection that / had the
asthma was ridiculous, because there is
nothing in the policy guarding against
my having that complaint or any other
Twelve years of the time that l paid the
premium, | had the asthma, and the &C.
tual cash paid by me, ($l27 per year
with simple interest to this time, think
would amount to more than $4,000. You
have no doubt made $4,000 or $1,000, by
compounding, At all events, it is swal
lowed up in the grand surplus of 81 ,0OO,'
600, and j am glad your agent agrees
that ! am interested to the amount OF
$l40 This is something. 1t is an ac,
acknowledgement that am member OF
the company, and if so, / think ought
to be entitled to small fraction of q
vote in the election of officers; and this
brings me to the consideration of your
beautiful pamphlet, elegantly done up in
a yellow cover, with the words " Purely
Mutual at the head, intended, no doubt,
to humbug such ignoramuses as myself.
1t seems to me that the word Mutual,
without the adverb, would have ex-
pressed all that was necessary. The use
of the word Purely seems to imply that
there is such thing as an impure mu-
tuality in connection with insurance
companies, of which | have no doubt, as
far as the New York Life Insurance
Company is concerned, and | appeal to
the Southern as well as to the Northern
public, if my case does not prove its ex-
istence, in that company, at least.
In this pamphlet, among the advan-
tages you claim for your company are {:
First, that it is a purely mutual com
pany, so that the entire surplus earn
ings over the actual cost of insurance,
is returned to each member. In my
case, this has not been done The second
recommendation of your company is
that it has age. My policy is nearly as
old as your company. Your third re-
commendation is that it has stability and
perpetuity. If it treats its other mem
bers as it has done me, can very well
understand its stability, but the import
of the term "perpetuity' | am at loss
to understand, unless it means the i'm
mortality of corporation withouta soul.
| suppose the corporation will exist as
long as there is one living policy-holder,
and if should happen to be that fortu-
nate man, / should consider myself the
heir of all that was left of the 81 ,000,-
000 Your fifth recommendation of
your company is the non-forfeiture of
policies; but you say my policy is lapsed.
/ should like to know the difference in
the terms, for you have decided all of my
policy 'lapsed' but $40. That means
forfeited as / understand it. Another
recommendation is liberality in settle
ments; and you no doubt boast of
having offered me $500 more than
my policy is worth. | leave it to the
world to judge on that subject but it
strikes me as very singular thing, that
such thing as Lord Coke describes
should offer three times the amount of
what they say an article of property is
worth. ] cannot help thinking that your
offer of $500 additional to the $40 was
intended as bribe to get up one of your
most ancient policies. You shall be
welcome to it after my death, on such
terms as the courts may decide, but |
shall leave instructions to have the case
carried to the highest courts of the
country.
You thought, when you required me
to take false oath as a condition of re-
instating my policy, that you had your
heel on my neck, and so you had, in one
sense; but thank God that better day
has dawned and is Frightening; and, re-
GREETING that did not make this publica-
ton at the time you made this insulting
proposition, i leave it now to the consid-
GRAFTON of all honorable, high-minded
men, both North and South, how far you
are entitled to patronage, and especially
of those who, like myself, were unable to
take such an oath without stultifying
themselves. R. NJ. GAINES.
P. S.-After the foregoing was written,
found the original letter Of Morris
Franklin to DR.. Duncan, which had been
mislaid, and, at the instance Of some
friends, l concluded to make one more
effort to settle the matter, and accord |
ingly wrote a letter, on the 9th of Octo-
Der, to my friend, Mr.. Newman, of New
Orleans, to be shown to their agent, /
stating that would surrender my policy |
on the payment of S250O-one-half of
the amount which / contended they owe
to me or my estate. Mr.. Newmsn re-
ceived note from the agent, dated in /
saying he thought they would
get it settled satisfactorily to me, and
they promised to write 20 me, from time
to time, but / never got anything until
about the middle Of January. when | re-
ceived letter from the agent with a
very long string of balderdash, without
any definite proposition; and the only
thing in it that / condescend 70 notice, is
what suppose was intended for wit
aud that is, that I wanted the $500 as
hush money" They Judge me BY
themselves. They tried to hush me with /
their grand offHer 0s $500, and they did .
actually hush up poor man in Georgia
with sT5, who had paid his premium for