, 1870-04-07

70 fhe Editor u TAs Chicago 1+ibu1t:
Life insurance ia a thing of confidence, No
other bu4fness ever h4A been, or could BE-, car
red on on Euch grand scale, and be 60 little
UNDERWOOD People pay their money into
savinGs banks, or invest In property. only
when they ase sure they can draw it out ut
x1l-but they pay serenty millions year
into life companies in this country, with tho
positive assurance that they can never Use it,
and only the promise that their heirs viii GET it,
on condition that they pay like amount each
yeaE til death.
So IN in the history Of the business the COM
pausea have not BETRAYED this implicit conf
denee, bnt have pAid their losses Is ag.eed
upon, md accumulated immense SUMS of
noney.
But when business men come to inquire into
tho nature Of this buaineps they discover eoua
strange facts.
In tha dzet place, there seems to be 4 mss-
teky shout the whole thing. They fnd of6cea
and agents. talking about the ''teAessee,- =
"loAding," "valuAsions," " i" contribution hfi-
aands "Tontine system,' "rstu1n p1e-
miumA, DC, and the whole business 80 eryel-
oped IN ve1nacalzr Of its oWn, 30 ltla cl4,r-
II Ind plainly eet forth that an horgs talk
with N sGent, or reading life insurance cir-
e1s1ar. Is sooner fofgostsn than alrsoat any,
thing else Scarcely one MN in ten cA1 ten
III in what cpupAur he IA insured, u on what
plan- He only kaous the pArnens Seem. 10
Grow larger; th&Fe il note to eiga, and inter
e4t to pay.
He did not understand it whc-s he. insured,
md never h.4 since Why should not the
hrsineas BE- dope IS plain and zample Al sny
other? Why ali this myBti6cat1a and ursatis-
| factory explanation Of hidden :hipgs7
Another strange fact seems. to be that this
bue1ness, which Of Ill others Aaorla be honest,
= egesionalx niurr5ese7ted and sAvors
% be life coutrsct often ilss no othsr binding
f11ca than thA word Of IN 1iperate agent, and
tbs FaA contract is entitolr hidden under 4
DOZEN psostcs azad EXCEPTIONS tt1ae render it
valaa1ess. Agents and .satcala1s promise i'm
rn<'1ssls, shile the companies perform rs much
Of wbat Is promised as they: choose ~, for
instance, one conpsnr, with twenty mill
I iors of zstets, whose aEenta md circulars are
most r1ufuse IN statements o. what it's divi-
dEnds to poncy-holsAEa niH -, never declared
these consecutive dividends without change o1
! pl4n in Ill its twenty yeara ot existence Thla
I tts Agents pTo1uised forty ot fifty per cent, il
t haz performed, OF II A|efage, shout t3entE,
Another conranr, with assets noninaI1y At
large, publish that their diyidand5 have AZ.
er7eed 50 per cent since its Organization. while
I premiums received 10 be s35. .956, ,136 IN twcntv
I thtee years; and total disbursements aa diti,
dends Of s5.oes.s .s11. Of about is per cent
Another company, IN about twenty yeats oi
successful business; has received total O.
s16,s73, ,ss, and paid out total ct $50 T6
or about per cent in dividends; md vi It.
esEensars ae profuee in "psonaissa to paT
[ GNidendt-
The result Of this deception (peshaps y.
should ~ It ris.stateuent) is seen in th'
tnpss1 policies. Ihn three companies .bost
referred to loet, during the list seaE, fj;y-oa
Eer cent d their nav noembers- that Is, wher'
they received \ hGn&ted nex ones they. loa
| tify-o"e Old onee. People become dlsguste'