The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-08-03
Correspondence OF the Herald.

NEW YORK, July 3O, 1851,
No mordern fact illustrates more strongly
the absolute importance of the press than
the unquestioned and ever advancing
omnipotence of mighty life assurance associa-
tions. These discovered that their first
necessity involved the suborGnation of the
press to their purposes, and ii followed that
each life insurance corporation based its
operations on a stable, continuous and most
liberal scheme of advertising. When
a publisher now and then has dared to suggest
doubt as to the wisdom of the principle on
which the business is based he was silercod
by the threatened withdrawal of patronn- >
and astute agents and hired advocates Of
their magnificent schemes of public wrong
have only uttered fresh jeremiads over the
grave Of those who died young and left life
policies to sooth griefs and wipe away tears
of heartbroken widows and other
kindred. 1t has come to this
at last, that even Christians, when
hearing of Il good mans transit of the river
of death, ask first, whether decedent left q
life policy, and then whether his soul was in
sured by saving grace.
now THE PRESS Is sILENCED AND TuE
COUNTRY pLUNDERED.
But money corrupts the best of u.s. and
it is not amazing that a lifelong manager,
actuary and agent of life companies has said
that 'the world would be shocked and hor.
rihed beyond measure if 1t were only known
how often it happens that people, having
their lives insured, mistake arsenic or prussic
acid for other harmless drugs" OF course the
error is always tho fault of some stupid
servant, but it is nevertheless fatal and brings
cash into the Golfers If the surviving mem
bers of the interesting family. A physician
is protlered for skill in poisoning, and life as
surance becomes school for this Borgian
fine art An insurance actuary said not long
ago, to the president of his company, that on
no terms would he insure wife of forty years,
who, besides growing old, was ugly and a
termigant A policy issued, even
for $500, would result, before second pre-
MUM was paid, in total loss. A doctors
fees were more than quadrupled because the
patient insured for $4,000, died very, very
hard AID very suddenly, and we have heard
thoughtful people say that it is strange that
good government suffers an army of
shrewd takers to go about the country pro-
posing rewards for skillful murder, and
premiums for supreme skill in the use of
poison. Those who would inherit farms
and other property, reared and trained in
habits peculiar to agricultural life, are not
tempted by the glare of gold and by the
necessity for the suspension Of an annual
outlay on account OF premiums to do muir
der, that they may acquire sudden riches,
but the benetciarles of the death of the
insured are constantly driven, by the de.
mands of the great corporation, ever thr at
ening forfeitures of policies, to do feuest
crimes.
AN IssUFFERABLE CALAMITY.
But these evils might be tolerated, seeing
men and women commit suicide that thew
may evade the necessity of paying premi.
ums and leave large legacies to those they
love, and seeing Others do murder because
the assured could no longer pay premiums,
and even because large sum of gold was
proilered for determination offs life. Seeing
all these vices of life assurance it might still
be tolerated were it not financially runous,
The prohtableness of the system is sectional,
Every published report of the great insur-
ance corporations illustrates the fact that the
profits are all on one side of the account cur.
rent between the people and the insurers O,
the people.
WHAT CYRUS FIELD THINKS OF 1T,
Cyrus w. Field, one of the founders of the
Equitable life company, said in his speech
to his eight hundred agents at dinner a,
Delmonico's, that the original capital of the
concern was about 100000. Now it il
about forty millions. Somebody has paid i,
up, but those three or four lucky fellows who
organized the scheme, own II and use /,
not only that they may derive enormou,
dividends from watered stock, but that stock.
holders may be quartered, as holders of in
geniously devised sinecures, upon the corpor
alton and draw salaries of S25 600 each. The
The New York Mutual plucked an old gen
tlemen OF Mississippi of about $1,000. Be
fore his premiums were due he delivered nj
papers to the company's agent. that ht
might take paid up policy. The agen
neglected the matter and the time for IN,
payment of the premium having passed. IN,
policy was declared forfeited and the 81 o0(
constituted profits of tho benevolent an(
cody men on Wall street. While Secreter,
Sherman was twisting the thumbscrews n
contraction, debtors were wholly banlrup,e,
and creditors enriched as never before bv
government. Property lost salable yslue IN,