New-York tribune., 1874-12-23
PERILS AND POLICIES.


1t is Mt Jolly rcadlng 1t isn't scasonabe!
1t is dismnly discouraging-tlat is if you
plcase to take it in that way-to find out
what a variety of fatalities may happen TO
men. Here is List of Death Losses paid by
an Insurance Company just to show what
lively business it is doing, and 1t is enough,
if wo are nervous, to fill us chokcfull OF COM
fortress apprehension. deceased gentleman
who succumbcd to ga poisonous bite" cost tho
Company 81 900; there is a $4,000 case of kill
ing bv "thc bursting of a wheel !" q man who
"rcll ON n knfen put his underwriters to an
expense of $4,000; another man who fell
"from a stecplc" was settled for at $4,000;
and sill another who was "translixed by an
"iron barr was "a loss" to an equal amount.
Down in Ncw-Jers"v, tree fell on party
insured for $4,000; and singularly enough,
away off IN Mississippi another tree fell on
another party, and took $2,5OO more out OF
the Company. A Baltimore man was kicked
by horse (s1,OOo). In Ohio, a lady was " shot
"by her husband" ($5OO. A pOwder-mill ex-
plodcd at place appropriately called Hazard
vile, and destroyed two policy-holders at
$1,000 apiece. In Canada $1,000 loss is thus
succinctly explained: "Crane fell on his head"
The loss of the steamboat Mctis cost the Com
pany 5000 in two poncies. NJ. b. of Penn
sylyania (&1,OOO) was clicked by mule" A.
B. in another State "was chOked to death"
(s2,OO0). "BOwn up by nitro o-glycerinc'
"s1 125;" "shot by a burglar, s3OOO;" "plank
(" fell on his head, S1,OoO;" drowned while
"fishing s5,O9O;" fatally cut by glass :l,OOo;"
"derrck fell on him, $4,000" "killci by fire
",n colicry. 81 1,OOO;" "killcd on a walk,
"S1 900 :" shot by drunken man, $2,OOO;"
"impalcd on Il cart stake so,00O;"-and so on
with q whole catalogue of killing! 1t is very
striking as well as crushing and disintcgraing
and frac.uring and so forth and yet there Is
nothing new about it. If it were not the rule
to q certain extent, how could that Company
do business, and support Il small army Of Off
GERS and agents, and occupy handsome apart
mcnts, and advertise expensively, and keep
busy two or three job printers, besides paying
back dividends to the assured 1t is all be-
cause this is a most accidental and ab5urdly
uncertain world.
Now, from ono point of view, it is sorry
enough to glance ut these solid columns of
casualties, too somber for even q surgeons
light reading. There never was such an op-
portunity of airing a great quantity of moldy
morality, not one morscl of which we intend
to bring out on the present occasion. For
several reasons we are disposed to regard the
exhibit as IA cheerful and heartenng one. In
the first place, it argues strongly for the gen.
eral prudence and common sense of the hu-
man race that so many of these unfortunate
people were insured. 1t proves that they
were vulgar enough to love their wives and
children, or at least that they did not care
lessly and culpably disregard the claims of
their creditors The provision which man
makes for himself as to this life, may have q
faint of seltishncss in it, for if others are to
enjoy his savings, he at least is to enjoy their
endowment; but where will the insured be
when the gentlemanly agent OF the Company
shall call to settle with his widOwi We have
read great deal about Life Insurance, and
We have seen o great many arithmetcal cal
culations; but we really do not think that
credit enough has been given to the wise and
affectionate men (deceasedD who took ont
the policies and who paid the premiums The
enormous and impressive lcdgers of q large
Life Company give you better opinion of
human nature. They are pleasant to look
upon, especially after listening to the doings
of Divorce Court or reading of the last So
cal sensation " in the newspaper.
Again, it is only when all these dreadful
accidents are grouped, partly for the purposes
of wholesome warning, that they are really
dlsheartenng. When we come to think it
over, we find that the average is on the side
of safety and not of fatality. Take, for ex-
ample, the case of the poor man who became
an example through the "kick of a mule"
The census returns will give you the number
of mules -four footed, we mean) in the United
States. Reckon your chances of being kicked
by any one of these mules, and you will find
il infinitesmaly small Compare the number
of those who travel by rail with the number
of those who are killed by railway accidents,
and You will start upon your next journey
without any melancholy forebOding. In point
of fact, nobody does burst into tears upon
purchasing his ticket. Nobody expects COL
lision, and the reason why nobody expects it
why every body calmly reads his newspaper
while travelling at the rate of sixty miles an
hour-is that the chance of collision is mt
really worth being anxious about. This is the
literal, mathematical truth If it were greatly
otherwise, nobody would travel by rail ex-
cept under pressure Of the direst emergency.
OF course we do not make suggestions like
these without q full sense Of unavoidable dan
gers, nor without dr'y estimating tho uerils