The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-01-09
THECONyECTICUT MUTUALLlFE INSURANCEt0.
The True Inwardness of Greenc's
Assault.
A Letter from C. G. Hire of the Insurance
Monitor" the Oldest Insurance
Journal in the Country.
OFFICE OF INSURANCE MONITOR,
1877 BROADWAY,
NFy YORK Januarv 1896


New YORK. January 3, 1886. }
HENRY c. ROBINSON Esq, Director Connecticut
Mutual Life ms. Co., Hartford, Conn.:
Dear Sir-The correspondence between
Messrs- Greene and Patterson, published yester-
day and today. and the important interests to
which it is collateral, induce me to write to you
and to the other directors of the Connecticut
Mutual. I am advised by those who think they
know, that miscalculate your power in the
premises, that Mr.. Greene holds the proxies, and
instead of being your servant is really the OPP
posite; but will take the chances of error in
that statement and say what think ought, at
venture. n
have criticised the Connecticut Mutual, and
shall continue to critcse it, because the facts Of
its recent history furnish evidence which is con-
elusive to my mind of the incompetency of its
management and the falseness of its public
statements will conine myself to those two
points in this communication.
OF my own personal knowledge I state that
you are carrying in your real estate schedule
property to which you have no title-not one or
two, but multiplied examples where defective
title at the outset. misdescription other cloud
has ultimated in making that schedule false in
numerous and important particulars.
To much greater extent Is it false IN the
absurd oyervaluations which it contains. Under
the cover of cost value" properties are entered
at the aggregated amounts of the original loan,
plus defaulted interest and cost of foreclosure,
which are not now and never were worth
respectable fraction of the sums they represent.
Several of these present the appearance of bare
faced swindles upon the company, never
having produced single payment of interest;
parties having apparently unioaded undesirable
property on you and pocketed your money! Ii
you choose to visit me at my Office, bringing
copy of your schedule of real estate, | will
point out chapter, verse and line. believe that
schedule is lie to the extent of at least 81 000
600, and believe have the facts in my posses
sion which will be conclusive in that direction
to any person who will carefully examine them
| shall publish them in duo time. Further de-
tail il unnecessary here, but ample details are
available to you if you choose to acquire them
In regard to the ineffciency of the present
management, one need only to examine the sta
tistical history of the company as recorded in
the annual reports to ascertain that It is not
very many years since the Connecticut Mutual
stood at the head. not only of American compa-
MES. but of the companies of the world. 1t was
doing larger business and enjoying larger
premium income and wider popularity than
the Mutual Life of New York, and was q great
company before the Equitable was born, and
the way was clear for it to maintain that SUI
premacy and retain to Hartford a lead in life
insurance even more notable than has been main
tanned there in fire. Instead of that, more
than $50 900 900 of risks have run off your books
in excess of what has gone on, since Mr.. Greene
became secretary, and four years after that date
decadence began which has continued ever
since and throughout his entire presidency with
out break, and the very year he became secre-
tary your premium receipts began to fall off, and
from that day to this there has never been
year in which they equaled the premiums of the
year preceding, and they were at the date of the
last published report So, l34. 362 less than they
were fourteen years before, in 1870 when he be-
came assistant secretary. These are merely
couple of broad underlying facts. / need not go
into Details of which there are many, all discred-
liable to the company and condemnatory of the
management In my opinion Mr.. Greene has
been blight upon the company from the day he
entered its doors. / regard him as a mis-
chievous crank who Yields a nimble pen and is
impelled by an imperial vanity to the commits
sion of acts in furious to the company which en-
ploys him, and controlled by an equally imperial
obiquity which involves him in the neglect of
obvious duties, and my plain exhortation to you
is to sit down on him-promptly and heavily!
He is at present threatening to precipitate a con-
hict which must inevitably result injuriously to
your company, and which can serve no other
purpose than to afford him an opportunity to
posture as high moral reforner, while be inn
puteS uncean motives and unrighteous acts to
his superiors in the business. /. therefore. as a
policy holder of twenty two years standing, beg
to call your attention to what seems to ME to be
your very plain and imminent duty.
1t is more than thirty years since my aonnec-
ton with Hartford insurance companies began,
and you are at liberty to show this letter to any
of the older members of the profession in Hart
ford-as we are personally strangers-and ascer
tain their opinion to my reliability, and
whether would be likely to utter such letter
as this without probable ample reasons for so
doing.
l take the liberty of further remarking that it
may pay you to follow these matters up. It is
possible that am truer aud more consistent
friend Of the company than some who stand in
closer relations to it, and that / may at the
present juncture be in position to do it gen.
uine service Yours respectfully,
c. C. HNE.
P. 81 had not, at the time of debating the
above, discovered Mr. Greene's second letter.
He appears to have already 'precipitated !"
Contrary to my original design. shall give this
letter to the public. as I think his game of
cuttle-fsh has been played long enough, and
people should know something of the true record
Of the charlatan who is humbugging them, be-
Jogging the truths of life insurance wasting the
money that he is paid to protect, and bringing
contempt upon an honorable and useful calling.
c. c. II.
You'll And her smiling night and day,
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