The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1881-09-16
MONROE, LOUISIANA, FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER Is, 1881.

by him. "a curious condition of affairs
exists here, of which the old policy
holders complain. The new law re
quiring the registration of policies and
the deposit of reserve dund was
passed in 1877, and included only POLL
;cies Issued after that day; indeed, II
was specially provided that the act
should be retroactive. The conse-
Hquence is that the old policy holders,
who have paid the heaviest premiums
into the company have no claim on
the reserve fund. OF tho $50 live poll
cies, less than one-half, 500, are regis.
tered ones. g
The assets of the company consist of
the reserve fund nnd of the notes held
by it. There is no cash on hand, real
estate or stocks. The liqufdation,
therefore, and the amount to be recefv-
ed bypoliey-holders and other creditors
will depend on the value of the pre-
mium notes held by the company,
which cannotnow be estimategi. These
notes were Issued by persons taking
out policies. On these notes they paid
a yearly interest. II the insurer died,
the face of the note was to be taken
from the amount duesto his heirs by
the company. The legal state.of notes
! of this kind has never been determined
in this State, and until it is, il will5be
impossible to tell how the company Is
affairs will wind up. Should the court
pany's assets will be quite large
and its creditors receive considerable
dividends.
Considerable Indignation exists on
the part of the policy-hoiders, partI.
cularly those in the country, OF whom
there are many, against tho late man
agementof the company. Thesepolicy-
holders assert that il must have been
conspicuously evident to anybody
looking Mt tho books of the company
for the past five years that il was bank
rupt, gone beyond all possibility OF
Salvation, and that this fact should
have long since been made known TO
tho world, instead of tho company
continuing to receive premiums MS late
as July uai3 ~
Many complaints have also been
heard about the secrecy long observed
about the financial affairs of the COM
pany. Nothing showing its financial
lstanding has been published for years,
and stock and policy-holders have been
completely in the dark as TO its assets
and liabilities. No report OF its contli-
tion has ever been published, u course
that is usually pursued in other States
nor has its Board of Directors beer
4 made known. When, some years ago
this was suggested, the secretary replied
that it would cost too much TO publisi
the report In the papers. SC fTfgiic b
mentioned that ut the same time th
company was then advertising eXtcn
sively to secure now business. Whei
4 similar request was rTiaeio of the lat,
president, the policy-holder was re
commended TO call Mt tho auditor'
office, where he would bo able to secure
the exact condition of the affairs of Tho
company. 1t need not be said thai
very few persons availed themselves oi
| this offer, SO that, to all intcnts and
purposes, no one on the outside know
anything of the condition of the COM
pany, nor was there any chance afforded
them of discovering whether the COM
pany in which they were investing
their money was in good financial
standing or not.
When the company first started, il
did considerable business in other
States; of late, however, it has been
wholly local company, and nearly all
its live policies are held here.
The holders OF policies were among
the best men in the State. Among the
list of losses paid, the following deaths
shows the character of the policy-hold-
ers; w. III. Harper, Dominique Bou-
ligny, G. II. Slocomb, Con. B. Hood,
Delavigne and others.
Many of the creditors object 10 the
proposed liquidation of the company.
If ii was proposed they say, simply to
close up its affairs, n board of liquida-
ton might well be appointed, but when
a company was bankrupt the creditors
have right to insist upon the business
being wound UP by the court. 1t is
said that an application viii be made
by some of the creditors TO have u re-
ceiver appointed.
The House OF Lords is tho richest
iepislatiye bOly in tho world rPhpr.