Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-01-16

| sacrifice, and whenever investigation leads rs
to believe, as In few cases II has, that there IL
no reasonable prospect Of an advance In prop
erty equal to the interest on Its cost, the man
ayers desire In all cases, and have 90 acted to
part with the property at once and TO submit
| TO the loss. Fortunately these cases have, 20
far. been found to be very few. There IL
another class Of cases In which q reasonable
| estimate of probabilities leads us 70 believe
that the property, which, If forced upon the
market, would not fully compensate the COM
pany for its advances, will. II treated with COM
mon sense by party abundantly able to re-
| tain II, yield more than the company's invest
ment in it
Turning now from matters of theory 70 actual
| facts and history, the company has sold, for
$4,662, O41.74, real estate which cost 1t by the
face OF the foreclosure DEGREES, (Which Is the
uniform treatment by the company of the term
| cost Of real estate,) $4,26s, 597.72, yielding q
| net profit Of $3.50, 194.O2. This property was
valued by the Insurance Commissioners In
1879 at S3,559.444.23, or 81, 292. 597.51 less
than 1t realised, and 500, 153.49 less than 1t
cost the company. It 10 also an important fact
| that the largest element Of this gain Is derived
nom the sales during 1885. AS to the rest Of the
companys real estate we fully believe that 1t
Will realize its cost and we have strong hopes
that the rate Of profit will be as large as II has
been upon the portion already sold. This item
OF real estate, large as 1t is, is by no means a
dead one. The rental received from It in 1884
exceeded 40 per cent upon its cost; and
while we cannotgive complete figures for 1885,
because they are not yet at hand, it is believed
| that the percentage for that year will be even
more gratifying. II you will compare these re-
suits OF sales and rentals with the results OBJ
tanned by the savings banks of Connecticut,
New York, or Massachusetts,, or by the insur-
ance companies of any part Of the country, we
| feel confident that you will be assured beyond
all reasonable ground of fear. that the Connec-
ticut Mutual has suffered at least as little as
any other financial institution in the United
States on account Of its large real estate loans.
Our uniform system, as we have said. is to
enter at cost value the total amount, as appears
by the decree of foreclosure. This is the method
required in the returns of our own end all COM
panes to the several departments
This Is enough to say about the company's
real estate, but We ought to add, that far as
the facts demonstrate anything, they have DEM
| onstrated this, that the hopes OF the manage
ment, expressed in all our reports to you in
these late years, to the soundriess of our real
estate, have so far been much more than re-
allied, while the apprehensions and gloomy
forebodings expressed upon the same subject so
many times in the columns of the Insurance
Monitor have, so far at least, proved to have
been i'll founded. $50 .: El'!&
In regard to Mr.. Hines second ground of crit
icism, as to the ineficiency of the executive and
the decline in amount of new INSURANCE bus-
ness, we have only to say that in our opinion
there are many reasons for that result. We
believe it to be chiefly attributable TO these
three causes:
FL st-The determination of the company to
reserve for surplus part OF the premiums which
through the pressure of competition in dull
times of insurance was being added to the COM
missions Of soliciting agents. In insisting that
these commissions should be fair, but not ex-
cessive, Col. Greene has been active and, ia this
respect, he has fairly represented the unani-
nous sentiment of this board.
Second-Col. Greene has believed. and has so
endeavored to shape the insurance policy of the
company, that its contracts should be of char
acter demonstrated by the wisdom and expert
ence OF the science to be sound and liberal, and
exposed to the least possible degree of loss by
forfeiture. In this Col Greene has represented
the unanimous sentiment of this board: and
Ihnd-To the continued abuse, ridicule and
unmeasured attack of certain prominent insur-
ance Journals, of which the Monitor has been
the most conspicuous aXampie, in articles " hich
nave found wide dissemination at the hands
of interested parties and which have aya lied to
alarm the sensitive mind of the community.
We cannot close this communication without
congratulating you upon the satisfactory con-
diiton of the Connecticut Mutual. You will
soon receive its annual statement Upon the
accuracy of its declarations you can depend.
Its solid assets, its small expenses, its liberal
surplus, Viii be to you source of qualification.
" hen the certain event, which must come to
you, and whose certainty led you to seek this
company's guaranty and protection, shall come
you are safe in the assurance that the provision
OF your prudence will be promptly available to
the objects of your love.
Our charter enacts that the undersigned,
your directors, ''shall at all times superintend
and manage the funds, property, and effects of
the corporation
That trust, with strict attention and with
such ability as we could bring to its perform
| ance, we have endeavored to fulfill. For six
years our company has been the target of ma
licious and mercenary abuse. Its very solvency
has been attacked by its enemies. was too
strongly fixed in the esteem and affection Of its
policy holders to be crippled by he attacks.
we have sought to preserve your property,
with what success this communication and the
next annual statement will show you. We
have not sought new business at extrava2ant
rates nor by any methods whose temporary
popularity seemed to US to be mistaken. We
have endeaVored to protect the vested rights
of the assured, and to welcome such new ap-
plicants for the benefits of life insurance as
desired the conservative contracts which We
| continue to use, believing them to be the best
The increase of new business by an excess of
40 per cent over the new business of last year
will not be unwelcome to you. But whether
new business comes or goes we shall be true
to our sense of honor and duty, and shall seek
to protect with such best wisdom as we may,
and, at any rate, with pure consciences, the
great property which you have committed to
our keeping.
HENRY c. ROBINSON,
THOMAS SISSON,
EBENEZER n. KELLOGG,
EDWIN s. TYLER,
FRANK w. CHENEY,
WILLIAM B, FRANKLIN,
CHARLES ]. BISHOP, pfa7
JAMES ]. GOODWIN, y" So
EDWARD NJ. BUNCE,
CHARLES NJ. BEACH.
HARTFORD, Conn.,, Jan. 8, 1886.
Mas M. A. CoNsEL1Y.
No. EAST SIXTEENTH STREET. NEW YORK,