, 1878-08-29
A Strong Company.

Perhaps there is not in the world city
where more people invest in mines, real cs.
tate and life insurance for its size than San
Francisco. A certain old gambler, in whose
ears the cry king wins; queen loses. Last
turn, gentlemen" was still ringing, being
once asked to insure his life, replied, "Ill be
doggoned II | ever play in a game where
have to die to win" They say that Califor.
mans are all, more or less, gamblers. Yet it
Is safe to assert that forty.nine out of every
fifty of our better class of citizens are insured
in some one or other of our numerous life
insurance companies.
As type of the better class Of mutual life
insurance companies doing business in our
city, the writer has taken for his model, not
the foot of Hercules, but the head of Hercules
the Mutual Life Insurance Company of
New York, the Oldest and most respectable
company of them all, The Mutual Life In
surance Company of New York first com
menced business in our State in 1856, Up to
1874 everything went pleasantly.l The com.
pany never disputed claim that HAS shown
to be just and right. The rule was, and is,
to give the benefit of any doubt which might
exist to the claimant, even in cases which
might be successfully resisted, and the result
of this liberal and equitable method Of doing
business was to make 1t the most popular
OF all the life insurance companies on this
coast
In 1874, with the mistaken idea that some
legislation was needed In the interest of pros
pective policyholders and ignoring the in
terests of some 25,O0O existing policies in the
State, the Legislature Of the State of Caifor.
MIA passed the act which II was utterly i'm
possible for the Mutual Life to comply with
without violation OF the original charter,
which would have worked to the injury OF its
hosts Of policyhoolders here and in other
States of the Union. The principal clause
Dhlaptpu hn al
Agent directly responsible for all the acts of
his subordlnates, without allowing him to
rigidly prescribe their duties. The result OF
the passage of this act was that all the large
Eastern companies left our State. The Mu-
tual Life, however, in order to guard the iu-
terests Of its policyholders in California re.
tanned the Office in this city, and although
unable to comply with the law without in
justice to @elf, and consequently unable to
obtain new business through the cxertions
OF A. B. Forbes, General Manager of the Pa.
citc coast, and his assistants, no loss what
ever occurred TO the policyholders from the
action OF the company. Like many other
laws passed by thH California Legislature,
this insurance law Of 1874 was found to do
more injury than good, and the last Legisla-
ture modified IL to such an extent that the
Mutual Life Insurance Company OF New York
can, under its charter, comply with 1t, and it
has once more resumed business. 1t is the
first company TO return under the new act,
and no doubt the other Eastern companies
will follow. During the four years that Mr..
Forbes has conducted the business for the
benefit Of the policyholders all claims for
death and for matured endowments have
been paid; orders for cash values and paid
up policies attended To and all the business
pertaining TO such matters was regularly car
TIed on free OF cost to the claimants. During
the four years OF tho legal prohibition the
company has paid through its agents for
death claims on the Pacific coast over
ONE MILLION DOLLARS,
besides paying for matured and discounted
endowments ever s900,0O0. Policies were
not allowed to lapse through any want OF
agency facilities and yet the company was
debarred from receiving one cent in new
business, Some OF the smaller companies
complied with the law, but inserted in their
policies clause which literally amounted to
beating certain old gentleman around the
bush. Since the year 1S49 the company has
paid on the Pacific coast, and chiefly in the
State O. California, go claims, amounting TO
S2.590,000 in all, u clear proof that the modif.
cation OF the laws, which allowed II to do
business among us once more, was wise
and just one. The list OF members Of the
company living on the Pacific coast who have
have been paid, shows that they assured pay
to the company for the past four years pre-
miums, amounting to 1862 T4l 36, and that
the company paid back to the heirs 650060
in dividends alone, making the actual cost Of
insurance, 81 10, ,S247O, only s2s62iSB7. The
policies with premiums paid range, on the
Pacific coast, from 5 900 up to $4,000, which
is the limit OF the company.
THE RISE or MUTUAL INSURANCE IN AMERICA
May be dated from February, 1872 The Eng
lish life insurance companies were then
transacting large aud profitable business in
New York The premiums they charged
were higher than those charged Dy the same
companies in England. In word, the Eng
lish companies thought that the risk was ad-
ditonal when taken in the United States, and
the rates were so eXorbitant that not only
were their own policyholders. complaining,
but their business was necessarily restricted.
A few gentlemen met together somewhere in
February OF that year, and determined to or
ganize American life Insurance on the basis
Of purely mutual company, the purpose
being that the company should be conducted
solely in the interests Of It's policyhodcrs,
TO whom in their collective capacity should
belong all their assets, all the profits to be
divided among them, and no stockholders be
allowed to control the company or to take
any pOTJlOn VI lLS surplus. lHcy HAu no
money, and it can now be said with pride this
company, organized without capital, has now
a capital over SlO,000000 greater than that OF
the Bank OF England, and is an institution
with the largest cash assets of any in the
world. The Bank Of England has a capital
Of S73,7G5,0O0, estimating one pound sterling
as S5 Of our money, while the capital OF the
Mutual Life, with its humble beginning, is
now sS5,0OO000. In comparing this Ameri-
can company with the British life insurance
companies, we find that the oldest tand largest
Of the latter, which has been in existence for
ll3 years, has only capital OF f23OO0,0OO,
against the tS5O0O,O00 Of the Mutual Life In
suranCe Company Of New York.
The great success OF the company is owing
to the fact that its President, Frederick s,
Winston, and its Vice President, Richard A.
McCurdy, have been unceasing in their devo.
ton to It's interests The former gentleman's
name has been indissolubly connected with
the progress of mutual life insurance in
| America for over quarter OF a century, and
to his personal attention TO every detail the
wonderful success Of the company is due. or
late years he has found an able cOnfrere in
Richard A. McCurdy, who has also been con-
nected with the company for many years.
The principal features of the management Of
the Mutual Life are, that 1t has no premium
notes, no loans upon collaterals, no railroad