New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-03-22

Tontne that Is the iniquity OF Tontne: that INC 's
upon which ask the Judgment not OF specuia'os, NV
Of men who seek to win money for which they renaor Nv
service put the Judgment Of who have families W
and ara asked to put protection ut
and therefore at gambling hazard. for the cnance VI
personal profit
roNTINI, sKMI-ToYTINE AND DISTRIBUTION Plan
ALIKE WICKED.
But these gentlemen say that most OF tncir
now not on the Tontine but on the SEMI ii
Tontine and nve-year distribution policies, W mn.
which, not only part Of the reserve, but al Oh INC
plus Is forfeited, I'm Of Lapse. 1t Is not INC
that the diminutive size Of the issue has peen
extenuaton OF the guilt But II the half Tontinos ais
right ana good why are not the whole ones as nv
twice as good 1 have before me an ohcia S'''o",o
by one Of the three companies represented IN tnesc
views, the New-York Life, giving one Oh i'' Ao 49,.
members In en-year class just coming 10 oose WV
results OF that ten years earnings OF surplus ana
ur of I'm his class They tell him his share OF
the winnings from BOTH Ia just SO per cent Oh 9
premiums paid-the Connecticut Mutual mas earcu -
larger surplus In that precise period without Aon'N
winnings. The amount stated as his surplus ous"' "
buy paid-up insurance for OF least $2,Ooo. lhc9 ~
earn an average Of 33 per cent surplus for their
classes 1t Is easy to something Of what hall Ioho
means. A man going In at forty ON twenty-yea yen
period ON an annual premium life policy for SlVooV'
would In say fifteen years have paid In S469oi do poi
cent of which Is SI565 surplus already earned by '
premiums; which ought TO give his i"'
at least $500 or $4,000 OF paid-up inso
ance; and this much ut least his Iamiiy io'o'
to the pool II he then lapses. Why should thoy
lose this much The money he has paid In ana
which has been earned and above the COST Oh us
insurance for $4,000 which has been fully paid ior ne
company has no need OF tho 81, 66o In conneolion wan
$4,000 insurance for two reasons: hrst' because %
money paid in or earned, wholly in excess boh OF INC
cost OF his $4,000 and OF the reserve on It, and naVhs
secondly because the risk for $4,000 having ceasea
that surplus OF 81 sos has not the remoest conneooon
with that risk; that Sl565 becomes at once u'torD
foreign to any legitimate purpose OF the company con"
nected with that risk The company has not the sshe
use for It, And 1t Is money paid In In excess Vi 'o
cost of and reserve the $4,000; as u.s. therefore,
money for which the company can give no service con-
neoted with that $4,000, II ought naturally 10 10
returned to him; and just naturally the very
recessv OF the nature OF CASE II the company pro-
poses to keep It, 1t ought tn render therefor inc
was organized to render to give that whch the moho'
was originally demanded and paid for TO witt Insurance.
The moment the policy lapses, the surplus and tho
reserye are on the same natural footing: heJ are no
longer necessary the company for Its risk has ceased
It's only lust right retain them can lie In ts readiness
to give at once all the padup insurance. they VIII puy'
to render for them. Therefore, neither surplus nor
reserve ought be lost to the man or MS fany u MS
policy lapses they not be lost from any necessity
the hazard OF loss the chance OF lapse to expos"
them 10 loss needessy deliberately. wilfuy; ana puts
alan nj like needless deliberate hazard the loss 10 the
family OF the rad-up insurance which tue surplus anu
reserve can and ought u pay for II retained ihefe Is
therefore, the slightest difference IN theF hac'
between TontInc semiT0ntine, or anything else into
which the Tontno principle enters Tho difference Is
only In size.
Another special plea put forward by these gentlemen
IA that the holders OF Tontue policies persist In the pay
mens and do not lapse much as others Perhaps inc
development OF persistence Is sufficient Ju'uncaon Tor
poker or any other needless hazard OF money the
PLAYERS do not usually stop until they have exhausted
their pockets.
EXCESSIVE NUMBER or ToNTiNE LAFsEs.
No one but the officers have any means OF knowing
how the Tontine non-Tonno policies In the same
company compare with each other In persistence ont
there are facts contained In tho Department Reports
which give curious look 10 this plea OF superior per-
sisence lake the Equitable, for instance; on January
1870. It had In force Sl3L223.s6I; 10 January /.
lss5-nfteen ycars-it wrote the enormous fnrn OF
SOL 8 567, lI5 the two items aggregate s7i7ssoo'Oi
out of this tho luable has lost aside from It's deaths
expirins torn poirios and maturing enaowment-. iha
sum of 800 0O7 by lapse. etc or o. per ecu, OF
that aggregate; leaving In force January 1881 INC
ann If 5000 400 III. At the same date January l.
szo the Connecticut Mutual had In force sl173o0o2l.
aud issned in the fifteen years Sl70l257l0; an aggro-
gate of 1856 3O out OF which II lost In that te oy
Inse etc $3.50 900 $50; only "a per cen, OF the
aggregate against 535 per cent by the Equitable han
the Eauahle business persisted during the last hieen
years as well as the Connecticut Mutuas It would now
have IN force S375.750.0l2 instead OF s3o0.iOoli or
s66 3aOsu moro than they have or. In other words
~ the perstence Of the Equables business had been as
GOOD IA that OF Connecticut Mutual IL would be more
than one-nith larger than Is II that be the persist
ence OF business Nth Tontlnc. what can have been tho
perstence before Toutine and OF the non-Tontne bus
laav gaa ~ M A
calculated upon In the estimates" OF Tontne proh'S
upon which this business has been gotten
Mr. Alexander speaks OF tho Tontne principle rs
judIcous penalty for Withdrawals v" and ascrioes It's
familiarity With the people tho alleged fact that 1t
meets their ideas Of Justice
HE "PgSALnEs" OF ToNTISR
But, Mr. Alexander the penalty" whioh even semi
Tontine imposes is many times greater on the average
than the injury the company suffers by tho withdrawal
We know the money value OF that injury very nearly ut
least: and can easily surrender charge which covers
H. far less than your penalty" Why then should you
npose or seek TO impose penalty" smart money,
exempary darnases what has your company to do with
disciplinary measures over your insured . Have they
taken Tontne for the sake of ts discipline or because
NJ their hone OF sharing the estimated profits from
the -judlcous penalties" TO come out OF other men,
which your agents carry in their pockets But your
nenalty" falls usually the family already crieyonsy
disciplined by the necessity which compelled the apslng
OF your policy Is that judicious y
THE DISTRIBUTION PLAN EXAMINED
Mr. McCurdy protests that the Fye-year distribution
pocy OF the Mutual Life cannot properly be called
rontne policy" Why It cannot properly be called So
he does explain; why II is not OF the nature OF
Tontoe he has felt called TO engage In controversy
which cannot affect his company II this policy Is not
T,ntine The Mutual LIES Flve-year distribution
policy" Ia semi-rontine with only hve-year PERIOD
that is the only difference, five years instead OF longer
periods sort Of homeopathic Tontlne that cannot be
denied In circular issued by the Mutual Life descrip-
tive Of this policy 1t All the advantages claimed
for what is called Tontine insurance embraced In
this policy without tho offensive, speculative ana
gambling features" VIII Mr.. McCurdy explain how
llilers In prlneIpe. Other Mlse than In