The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-10-17
Advertise iuent.1
THE INSURANCE QUESTION.

To the Editor Of the Bulletin:
NY attention has been called to an advertise.
ment in your evening issue Of yesterday, signed
by one :. A. Durand, purpOrting to be an explain
alton Of the Bayly Pond case.
This advertisement is of the most malicious
character and a tissue OF lies.
made out the claim of Messrs Bayly l. Pond
with the assistance Of E. B. Briggs, Esq. That
claim is sustained by the books, its form and
character Endorsed by every leading house III the
trade, and it was made after consulting with eight
of the leading houses assimllating in their bns-
ness to that OF Messrs. BayIy & Pond.
1t Is false that three statements Of loss were
presented. each one differing from the other.
A great desire was expressed to know the ex-
tent of the loss, and 1T the time mentioned, June
49, the settlement of the loss on Isl barrels OF
liquor undetermined, this very individual
having refused to abide by the decision of the
gentlemen called by himself and others to make
the appraisement.
tinued for over week. and finding it useless to
wait longer, handed the claim to Messrs. Bayly
& Bond it then existed, stating that there were
some matters still undetermined, of which the
Insurance Committee were fully aware, and this
fact was written on the sta tement and the state
ment handed, with this understanding, to the
Committee
When the disgraceful dispute over the ISL bar.
rels ceased, and the goods had been sold at auc-
ton and the result known. the final account with
veloped il the interval) was made out and pre-
sented
The figure of 10 per cent gross profit is sus-
taiDed by the books and supported by every lead
ing house in the trade, and the insinuation that
the stock produced by this figure was f100, 900
more than the stock Of any previous year is a
gross, malicious Misrepresentation Of facts.
The stock OF every previous yeay inventoried
on the LIST OF July was always the result Of o
twelve months business. As the stock in and
mi Of fer af tho time Of the fra Nav 90 waS
say $3.50, 900, the result of not quite eleven
months business, it is evident that the sales
average between sl25, 900 ana s150, 900 per month";
that if the business had gone on one month
longer, at least 500. COO would have been sold
out OF the s2590OO, and the stock would have
been less than for several years the LIST Of
July.
The ntiaation that the result of the examina-
ton by the Underwriters disproyes Messrs Bayly
x Ponds claim is false. 1t is we'll known that the
experts employed by the Underwriters have
presley declared that they were not the adj
justers Of this claim. They merely took the
average cost Of article after mixing all grades
together, and then took the average selling
prices found of the a. ticle i'll an imperfect set Of
BLorTERs zone book of $40 pages being destroyed
as near as they could get, without knowing the
quality in each case Of the goods sold, and they
have expressley declared there We're other profits,
the extent OF which they were not authorized to
determine.
Every leading house in the trade have declared
that the process adopted by the committee of
UNDERWRITERS to find the stock in o wholesale
further evidence of the unreliability Of such q
process, two Of our local companies, after full
examination of the claim have settled it in full,
while majority of the others have expressed
willingness to settle upon basis OF sl6o, 600,
leaving the balance to further adjustment.
To show the true character Of this fellow I
will etate that he told me as a secret Ito which
secrecy would not bind myself that Messrs.
Bsyy 4 Pond had vitiated their policies by
having large quantities of extra hazardous ar
tices IN their store, and that he did not want it
known, and WAS wiling to settle upon the basis Of
eight per cent. gross profit, which he positively
stated he knew was very low figure. l am sat-
Isle e. he knew better and therefore lied when he
stated he knew they had these hazardous articles
ON hand and made the statement believing 1
might think it was true and influence Messrs.
Bayly & Pond to settle at once.
The intimation that Messrs. Bayly Il Ponds
books are not properly kept. that they are guilty
OF any illicit traffic or that the trade are engaged
in anything dshonorable or dishonest so far az l
lrlow is malicious aud the extracts from B. NJ.
Ponds testimony is to my knowledge garbled, and
requires the whole and the explanations that
were given at the time to be properly understood.
In conclusion will add that, as Messrs. Bayly
& Pond are compounders, and reduce proofs and
put up box liquors, the attempt to make it appear
that they are engaged in dishonorable or dis
honest practices ID contemplate, and Us infer
the "North British" has been tabooed by our
they have acted wisely in refusing
policies in company employing any one who
would so grossly misrepresent the legitimate
gains on weights and gallonages realized by the
trade.
Messrs. Bayly 4 Ponds stock in the stores
burned amounted in round Numbers to s240, GOO,
about SIS, 900 being st red elsewhere. The saw
ings reduced the loss to S1S1, sos O5.
The honesty Of the claim will not be questioned
by any honest person who will investigate the
subject, and after realizing the character OF
''Durand's" statements and base insinuations,
The public will understand some Of the difficult
ties Messrs. Bayly & Pond have been obliged to
contend with in settlement of their claim, not
their having been sustained in
character and proceedings by the mercantile
W. VAN BENTHUYSEN.
New Orleans, Oct. -, 1874.