Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1870-06-10

Letter of Geo. W. Tinges, Esq, of Ba
timore, to F. S. Winston, President of Il
Mutual Life Insurance Company of Ne
York
With such IMAM as Winston, can tt
Mutual" of New York, be anything but
big thing, particularly in the theiving line
The following is copy of the letter fro,
Tinges to the Board of Trustees of th
Mutual Life Insurance Company of Ne
York :
GENTLEMEN-In the month of March
1855, while actively engaged in mercantil
business, was induced to accept tn
agency Of your Company, for the city c
Baltimore, at the request of my persona
friend, John Il. Swift, Esq. Of your city
then a Trustee and President, pro tenn. q
your corporation. | continued to act a
your agent, devoting all my spare time t
the increase of the business of your Com
pany, employing sub-agcnts and advertis
ing, at considerable expense to myself.
was understood as the rule Of the Compan,
at the timesI accepted the agency, that, a.
long as policies eaisted, your agents wer.
entitled to a commission of five per cent. or
all premiums for renewal Of policies issuee
through them, unless such premiums were
paid to other agents, when one per cent
would be allowed to such agents and foul
per cent. to the agent through whom the
policies were issued | made considerable
additions, to the number of policies of the
Company, and the business was conducted
satisfactorily with your President, F. S
Winston. Esq, with single exception Of
a difference Of opinion as to return pre-
MUM, } until April, 1861. when the unfor-
tunste events OF the 10Th of that month, in
our city, led me to write my letter of 25lh
April, 1S6l-the teginning of the cores
pondenoe hereunto annexed Mr.. Carev,
your second agent here, had, it appeared
written a similar letter
Begging your particular attention, to
that correspondence, resulting, as it did. in
Mr.. Winston's Withdrawing my agency,
and forcing my wife to surrender very
valuable policy, (No. 6,6S1,) l desire now
to present my claims upon the Company to
youl COuoluCioGiOu
II have endeavored heretofore to bring
my case before you, but without success AS
far back as May 30th, 1861, / attem pted
through Mr.. John H. Swift, to have the
matters then in dispute submitted to you.-
But Mr.. S. replied that he was no longer a
trustee.
again, in September of the same year,
when Mr.. Winston notified me that NV
commission was revoked, l express wish
to have our whole correspondence laid be.
fore you. Mr.. W. took no notice of nv
request.
The matter was kept in allegiance until
March 29th, 1867, when I wrote to Mr..
Winston asking for settlement of my claim
for commission. To this your secretary re-
piled !: There is nothing to your credit on
our books I wrote again on 30th March,
but up to this date have received no reply.
"My claims upon the Company are as
follows, viz:
"1st. The adjustment Of my account and
payment of what is due me on renewal pre-
miums up to this date, and an equitable set
Element for future premiums and
"2d. The restoration of Policy No. 6,6S1
to the condition it would be in if it had not
been surrendered adjusting the money
paid for surrender, the premiums and divi-
dends; or the payment to me Of ten thou
sand dollars, as equitable damages, in lieu
of both the above.
Il was about taking steps, under legal
advice, to enforce my claims against the
Company, when, in correspondence with my
friend Mr.. Swift, [ was lead by him to be-
lieve that if laid the whole case before the
Board of Trustees, you "would do what is
right in the matter"
cat this point, will anticipate what
Mr. Winston may lead you to think is an
estoppel at the first item of my claim, viz !:
by relying upon printed circular, issued
in 1859, which he calls Contract" in
which the Company reserves the right to
discontinue agencies. Although this was
issued in 1885, it was dated back to Aay
lst, 1888. {My appointment was in
March, 1859 Any Company has the
right to discontinue an agent ,oithout u
reservation. otherwise it would have no
protection against defaulting or dishonest
agents. But such reservation or withdraw
al does not annul the recognized right of
the agent to his commission on renewal nre-
miums.
Moreover, as late as March 80, 1853,
Mr.. Winston wrote to ne as follows =
Commission is allowed on frat year, ten
per cent, and on renewals, 1iue per cent, as
long as the party ziues.'
Besides, it is a fact, beyond dispute,
that it has been the custom Of your Compa-
ny, up to the present period, to settle with
discontinued agents-when dismissed 70,
any causs-by allowing or paying the com.
mission on an estimated sum for renewal
premiums.
GAS far as I can learn by diligent in
! qViry, am the sole exception amongs
your agents. On this subject my informa
ton comes directly from your office in New
York, and from agents themselves and i
will be admitted by Mr.. Winstan, I do no
doubt
cas- to the second item Of my claim
which is the more important, viz: tho res
toration of my policy, I can say little NOR
than to refer you to the correspondence
herewith submitted. have reduced thi
to the smallest space could, by emitting
all busineaa details, and / would gladly hav'
! omitted more, but for fear that Mr.. Win
ston would have complained that had mad
an ':ea' paafe statement" [ have, there
fore, given you all my own most ofensiv,
remarks, written, as they were, under tht
most aggravating circumstances-for which
you will doubtless make due allowance.
desire to call your particular attention
to the main points of the annexed oorrespon
denee, Wig, my strong desire to have The
faith Of the Company kept with the policy