The daily gazette., 1879-01-30
From the Delaware Republican.
THE ID. b. NJ. INSU RANCE CO.
The Company Defended Jy its Vice
President, DR.. j. X. Tdnfun,

| MEssRs. EDITORS Permit me through
the columns of your paper to show the
public one Of the most formidable at
tempts to drive a rival from the field OF
bus iness that has ever been known in
this community, and it were far better
for all the actors in this drama If it could
be buried up in the waters of oblivion.
! call 1t drama, for it seems more like
tale Of fiction than reality.
| In order TO make full and compre-
hensive explanation of the above it will
be necessary for me to 90 back to the 4th
OF March, 1875, when the Legislature of
Delaware passed an act Incorporating the
Delaware STATE Mutual Insurance Com
pany. On May 4th, 1875, the corporators
met in Wilmington and elected nine
directors; that evening said directors
were notified Of their election with a re-
quest to meet OH the following day at 4O4
| Market street. Let me here remark that
up to this time but few if any of the direc-
tors knew of such an enterprise being
started. May the 9Th, said directors met
| as requested, to see what was on hand
and after considerable discussion, it was
decided to go into an election for officers,
which was done. After the trans action
OF some other business the directors adj
Journed. l have omitted all the names
OF the gentlemen in obtaining charters,
corporators, directors and officers to avoid
lengthy detail, several of the officers and
directors resigned and the Company did
not fully organize and get ready fol-
business until July the 18th, 1915, when
the following officers represented it:
President, WIN. Bright; Vice President.
j. X. Tantnm; Ire isurer, NJ. NJ. Child
Secretary, ID. T. Hawkins AMI about a
| score OF good men as Directors. Imipht
here add that the feasibility or necessity
OF starting another Insurance Company
IN this city had been fully and frequently
discussed and after careful and mature
dellberation 1t was decided that there
was room for another company and when
that decision was made but few of its
officers or directors turned back or loiter-
ed by the way. The President worked
with a will and soon the little acorn that
had been deposited beneath the genial
soil of Delaware sprang up; we examined
the slender stalk and found it healthy,
and soon little branches began to make
their appearance and it gave promise of
a rapid growth. To avoid cumbering
you with details that are not necessary to
the matter at issue, will skip the interim,
from July the 12lh, 1875, to October the
I'd, 1877, except to state that the Young
oak had been growing during all this
time and now was quite a slightly sap
ling.
On October I'd, 1877, the Board of Di-
rectors was called together TO consider
the question of consolidating or uniting
our Company, the Delaware State Mu-
tual Insurance Company, with the Della
ware State Fire and Marine Insurance
Company, OF Delaware City. After a
careful and exhaustive examination on
October 18th, 1877, it was decided to
unite the two companies and make one.
but to be determined in the future as to
which name should be adopted and float
at our mast head, and caused considera-
BILE discussion, and for several reasons.
on October 13, it was decided that we use
the name of the Delaware Stat. Fire and
Marine Insurance Company.
Then it was that the hydra-headed
monster jealousy began TO make its ap-
pearance but the little acorn had now
grown to be young oak, comely and
slightly to look upon. About this time
the editor OF the Erery Erening and
Commercial began to attack the company
with publications as to its solvency. The
officers talked the matter over and thought
it best to make no reply to it, conscious
of the companys financial condition, and
we concluded 10 treat him with silent
contempt. But the attacks grew more
frequent and the charges stronger, until
we were denounced as robbers of the
peoples money, and perjmers. Finally,
he nounced that a committee of three
gentlemen had examined our company,
one from each local company, here, viz.
the Farmers, New Casle and Delaware
said committee gave statement of our
condition, and he published to his commu-
nifty and the whole country that We were
lnsound and unsafe, and utterly unwor-
thy the confidence and cooperation of
their respective companies, while at the
same time we were in a better condition
financially, had more assets to our la
bill les, than either one of the above
companies, as the examination just made
clearly proves.
Not one of that committee had ever
been in our office to our knowledge, but
how that examination was made we and
the public will forever be in ignorance.
Our company's repution now stood in
the ba 'ance and our characters that we
had been life time in establishing had
followed suit, and we called in a Com
mittee of your best citizens to examine
us properly who have carefully gone over
our books, and now look at their report
published in this paper. They state that we
lave $l19,250 in securities ofwhich $56,-
$4,000 from their personal k1owleged
they know to be first class, the blance of
S62, TOO, they cannot place value upon,
because the lands are loca ed at a dis
ance, and the committee had not the
time to go and examine them, however
they give us in assets $546,601 dollars
and place the amount of our risks at l.
509,506 dollars making the ratio of as
SETS to liabilities 16 4-l0 per cent. Now
let us examine the other local companies.
We will take up the New Castle county
Mutual Insurance Companyfirst In their
last st ,tement they published that they
had So, l64 11-100 dollars In Bonds,
Mortg ,ge,, Stock, Real Estate, &c. How
man, of those are fl st-class we cannot
say, for our committee has not ha the
opportunity to examine them, so we
must accept them at the company's
statement.
They have IN premium notes $273, ,002,
and amount at risk $4,245,7g3, making
the ratio Of ass is to tler liabilities 7 10
uer cent, Tue Delaware Fire ha va the