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

Il. JANUAR
THE CONNECTICUT MUTUAL LIFE
Insurance. COMPANY.
A Statement BY the Board Of Directors
| They Repel the Attack UpOn Col.
Greene-The Company's Strength and
| Its Policy.
10 ne Members Of The Cbnnecsic,a Mutual Lvs
| Lnsurunce Company:
| A letter addressed by Mr.. G. c. Hiue to Mr..
Henry G. Robinson and the other Directors OF
! the Connecticut Mutual "who are not officers
| OF the company" and which, with few omis-
sions, has been given to the public through the
newspapers Of the country, is at hand.
| 1t states that he writes las policy holder OF
% years standing" and begs ITO call your at
| tention to what seems to me to be your very
plain and imminent duty"
| From the columns of his Journal. the I,s,e,.
dncs Monitor, copies Of which have been sent
with marked articles to the several members
| OF this board In the last seven or eight years,
we had supposed that he was not only I'm.
friendly to come OF the executive officers Of the
company. but to the company itself, and that
| he was using his widely-read journal to pre-
vent the company from obtaining new bust
ness. and to weaken the confidence Of Its MEM
L
and claims that he Is . true and consistent
friend Of the company, and he addresses us,
who represent all the policy holders, as one of
our constituency. We hasten to reply to tho
communication, and desire in giving this let
ter, as we shall, to the public, to consider its
criticisms and to state facts In regard to its
statements, which an examination confirms US
| In believing are only q continuation Of the
same criticisms, which at great length and with
great md md
again, he has given to the public in the col
umns OF the Insurance Monitor.
his letter first states am advised by those
| who think they know that miscalculate your
power in the premises, that Mr.. Greene holds
proxies, and instead Of being your servant is
really the opposite; but will take the chances
OF error In that statement, and say what think
ought at a venture"
His letter in this respect, and, as we believe,
III all diners, travels upon complete misappre-
hensfon of the character of Col. Greene. 1t is
probably impossible for him, after having for
SO many years assumed the position OF personal
and bitter attack upon Col. Greene, to believe
that the implication in the sentence quoted
from the letter is grossly unjust to him. The
Board of Directors, who have had for many
years constant official and personal intimacy
with him, know that no man holds high Office
In any company in the country with a deeper
sense Of responsibility to his constituents and
with more modest and sensitive unwilling
ness to force himself, in any manner, upon any
association which is not heartily DESTROYS of his
services. Col. Greene is incapable of using any
power to retain any official position, except
ing the power which he has over the respect and
confidence OF his associates.
The communication goes on to say: 81 will
conhne myself TO two points in this commun-
cation. First, Of my own personal knowledge
state that you are carr lying in your real estate
schedule properties to which you have no
title-nOt one Or two. but multiplied examples
where defective titles at the outset, misde-
scription, or other cloud has ultimated in max
ing that schedule false in numerous an i'm
portant particulars"
The company has had as large an amount at
one time as about S13,OOO,OOO of real estate.
II i needless to say that nearly all this real
ta:e vas the result Of mortgage loans which
ere inreclosed. The loans and investments of
IT, company are not made by its executive
officers. They are made by its Beard of Dlrec-
tors, Who meet regularly once week. who
have had no subcommittee, excepting that in
the last three years, when city loans al fair
rates Of interest have been difficult to obtain, q
co.nmittee to examine applications for farm
! mortgages, being, in the nature of the case for
small amounts, has been appointed. Only two
OF these farm mortgages out of 50, 900 600
placed have been foreclosed, and they not for
| reasons of deficiency in value. Each applica-
ton for a loan has had the express amt special
approval OF the Board Of Directors Unlike some
of the other great companies, our investments
have been chiefly in mortgage securities. In
1875, when the real estate values of the coun-
try were at their highest point, the company
had mOrtgaged loans to the amount of $780,
600, 1000. OF course it will not escape attention
that this point of time was tour years before the
| resumption of specie payment, and that the
values OF the country, as compared with any
subsequent time. were exceedingly inflated.
Nearly all the real estate of the company is the
result OF mortgages made before that time. The
executive and financial head Of the corporation
was then Major James Goodwin, who devoted
his time exclusively to its investments, and
whose prudence and wisdom were held in the
highest esteem not only by his associate Direc-
| tors but by all his acquaintance, who were
confined tothe limits of no one State. In MAX
| ing these loans the Board of Directors. with no
possible interest In them excepting the welfare
of the company, has regularly and uniformly
employed such conservative agents and ap-
praisers of value upon the immediate field oc-
cupied for the purposes of the company's loans,
as were at their best command. The best local
professional talent has been engaged to search
and certify to the completeness OF title, and to
secure proper forms OF conveyance in all in
|
tiOns, after such q commercial revulsion, there
should be no deeds whose title was not con-
| tested In some legal proceeding, it would in
deed be a miracle, but we are happy to say
that no final decision of any court, far as our
examination of the subject enables US to state,
| has yet held the company's title to q single
piece of real estate to be an imperfect one; and
of the nearly 100000 of real estate which
| we have sold since 1879, the company has, in
| no single instance, been obliged to support its
| title by any other imminent than that derived
from the original loan and its foreclosure, and,
| SO far as is known, has been assailed by nobody
on account Of the title to these pieces of prop
erty. It should, however, be said in qualifica-
ton Of this last statement that q sale of one
| piece of property has been made in which the
| original mortagor claims that he is entitled to
the proceeds of the sale In excess of the amount
| found due in the foreclosure decree, but the
company is advised by counsel that the claim
| is purely frivolous.
The communication further says that he ''be-
ieves that (real estate) schedule is lie to the
extent of at least $4,000, OOO," and that 1t is
| false in the absurd overvaluations which it
contains"
Weare we'll aware Of the difficulties In getting
at any accurate valuation of real estate at q
time when the market is not full Of purchasers
I seeking that Investment. It was well said by
his Honor Judge Granger, of the Supreme Court
of this State, in the recent proceedings before
| him against one of our life companies, in which
| its solvency was the question under consider