The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1881-09-02
UBIQUITOUS
CASES OF DEATH-BED SPECULATION.
H0W Iae "GFaveyard" business ID
Spreading In Eastern PennsyIva.
Ria-rhe Men Epgaged In Gam.
hlinE In Human Life,

WLLIANaPoRT, September 1.-The sptCu-
lahve insurance craze has reached this
city, and while the hawking Of policei is
not done as openly and publicly hercabou
% In other sections OF the State it is CIR
tied on Just as extensively ia quiet way.
The public sentiment in this section h s
been and Is still strongly against tie
"death'nttle" insurance, US it is callCd
here, but the feeling Is gradually dying out,
and already there IL u movement on foot
Tor the purpose Of organizing one or mOe
companies in WilliamspOr. A compar y
Is about organizing in Muncey; also JCI-
sey Shore and Lock Haven and Remove
will soon be represented by home com.
panies. The Danyille Company Is in full
working order and doing u big business
TINS company Is composed Of u number OF
ne best business men Of the place, and
they CLAIM their company pays every dol
lar OF . death loss, Williamsport Is well
represented by agents Of Out.Of.town COM
paniess y won't be long before tho city
will rival the towns further down the river
In this nefarious business.
AT present there Is woman, eighty.
two years old, an inmate OF the Home for
the Frendless In this city, bed.ridden for
years, whose life Is insured for SlO0OOOO
and the policies, twenty In number, are
all held by parties in this city, who, no
doubt are praying for the old woman to
shuttle OIL" that they may realize on their
investment The old woman sail that she
had not the least idea how much she was
insured for, She said an agent had called
at the home to see her about taking out
some insurance on her life and she had au.
thorized him to plaCe u small amount for
his benefit; In consideration OF five dollars,
Yhichamount was paid her ut the time,
but she was not aware whether he had in.
sured for 81 900 or$l00,O0O.
Another case has come to light where u
son, who was impOrtuned bya graveyard"
insurance agent to place some insurance on
the life of his father, IN old man afflicted
with rheumatism. He saw his father and
the old man gave his consent and signed an
application In favor Of his son for 81, 600.
TheappliC iCatlon wassent on the company,
but in 4 few days wAs returned, with the
Information that the company was already
carrying all the insurance on the applicant
they were allowed to place, and closed their
letter BY recommending the agent to place
the;subject In another company, the name
of'whiCh was mentioned The application
was sent to the other company and,
stmnge 10 say, was returned with Il letter
enclosed similar to the one inst quoted
from the first company This thing was
kept up until the old man was Mortified to
learn that his life had been insured for
$4,000 without his knowledge or consent,
His name had been forged to applications,
by whom he was unable to find out. The
old man IL afraid to stir outside OF his
house and lives In constant fear. He I'm
psines all sorts OF traps are laid by design
ing persons to hasten his death, and alto.
gether his lot "is not n happy ono"
Every physician In this city llas been ap-
preached by these graveyard" insurance
tiends for a list Of old people whose days
are fast drawing to a close, and one instance
is known where q physician Stands In"
with an agent and receives q certain amount
OF insurance free for all desirable subjects
he turns over to the agent. learned Of q
case alta small village, several miles south
Of this place, where q physician Offered u
large quantity Of policies for sale, but he
could not find q purchaser as II got nOlsed
around that the policies he offered were
not good risks and he wanted to get rid Of
them. He afterwards turned them over 10
an agent and In h short time all were dis
posed Of The worst case that has yet
come under notice Is that Of IN under
taker who, II is said effected an insurance
on subject when he laid the party out.
Whether this story is true or not there
seems to be some foundation for it, as the
application did not bear the signature Of
the insured; In place Of the signature Il was
signed "her mark" and the undertaken,
after the story got abrOaq, never made any
attempt TO get his insurance.
WILKEsBARRE, Pa, September l.-JOhn
Sheridan, a COaChman, aged sixty.iyG
years, whose body was found Saturday
morning last In hogshead Of rain water,
near therepair shops Of the Pennsylvania
Company, At PttstOn, where he was em-
ployed, was hastily buried on Sunday be-
fore any notification Of his death was sent
10 the county coroner. The coroner was
notified that the persons who had viewed
the body before Its burial saw marks Of
violence on The head Of the deceased. The
coroner has determined TO have the body
exhpmed ior the purpose Of holding
IN inquest
. There is almost positive evidence that
Sheridan was largely insured In graveyard
companies, and this faCt Is what leads to