The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1877-02-10

|
house on one of the avenues, to have
her name published as a prominent
lady, for it establishes her conse-
quece, and only costs her the price of
half a dozen tickets at five dollars
each. Fully one-half of what ought
to be the profit of the ball goes to feed
the vanity of those who attend it |;
that is they contribute fifty cents to
their own vanity and fifty cents to
the poor. Perhaps it is we'll enough
to get fifty cents on the dollar out of
them. But the ball is gorgeous af-
fair. When people dance for charity
they go prepared to do it. No woman
of fashion appeared last night with
less than 900, O,O00.of diamonds on her
person, and the cost of some OF the
toilets ran up long way into the
thousands. The ball cost the people
who attended it probably $3.50, 900,
aud the net result to the charity was
something like SIC, 0,OO0- -$240, 600 for
the world, anil $4,000 for the poor.
The failure of three or four Life In
surance Companies, which will be fol-
lowed in rapid succession by thee or
four more, makes decided ripple IN
financial circles. These events a.e of
more importance than appears upon
the surface. The companies gather
money from all parts of the country,
and hold it here in New York for in
vestment. 1t is loaned ON real estate,
and is presumed to be invested SO
safely that nothing can affect it. The
Life Insurance Companies with their
millions upon millions withdrawn
from circulation, represent an impor-
tant factor in our financial interests,
and ANYTHING that disturbs them dis
turbs the whole country. They are
the depositoFs of the peoples money,
TO q greater extent than are the saw
ing's banks, and their relations to the
people is one of confidence purely.
For the man in the country knows
very little Of the people in whose
hands he entrusts his earnings, and
| he has to take it on faith. Now, when
one Of these companies breaks, and it
is shown that for years there has been
systematic stealing; that the state
| mentk have been cooked /; that the
| assets that never existed have been
| put in that liabilities that did exist
have been left out, and that ths whole
| fraud has been sworn to, and that the
officers created by the State are not
shrewd enough to detect the swindle,
it is calculated TO upIoot things in q
| rather uncomfortable manner. The
Continental was q mass of corruption
ali through, and the Seeurity-Heav-
en- save the mark-was still worse.
The good cOmpanies feel it sorely.
For out in Minnesota, the difference
between the solvent and insolvent
| does not appear, and the result is all
life insurance is discredited. There
have been three failures Of this class
| within a few weeks, and the effect is
an almost entire stOppage Of receipts
from this source. The persuasive
agent finds himself blocked in the
middle of his discourse upon the bene-
fits of life insurance, By the terrible
word Security" and it he survives
that, some one throws Continental
into his face, which finishes him. All
this is wrong. There are perfectly
sound companies, and life insurance
is necessity. There is no more rea-
son for denouncing life insurance be-
cause of three scoundrelly companies
than there is denouncing Christianity
| because an occasional clergyman
makes slip.
A very curious affair eliminated
last week. A young swell belonging
to one of the rich families was en-
gagged to be married to young lady
who possesses more beauty and brains
than money. The young fellow is
fool, as is the case of most young fell
lows who have money in the city, but
the girl accepted him, all the same,
because he was reputed to have an
income of S45, 900 per annum. 1t was
rather comfortable thing to have
fool for husband, for while he could
pay the bills, and keep her in dia-
\ e Al u rv,k