Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1890-09-04
PAYING CHURCH DEBTS.
A New Way Originated by the Roman
Catholic Church.


Catholic Church.
A new way has been found by the
Roman Catholic clergy of New York to
provide for the payment of church debts
1t is found in what are considered the
profitable provisions of the tontine en-
dowment policies issued by some of the
larger life insurance companies Of this
city. The scheme has been in opera
tion two years, but has been conducted
with such secrecy as to escape public
attention. A Times reporter called up
on the managers of several Of the more
prominent companies before he found
Authorizations of the suggestion that
the authorities of the Roman Catholic
church were carrying policies upon the
lives of regiment or more of their
young men.
In the Office of Broadway company
one of the governing officials, himself
Roman Catholic, introduced an agent to
whom belongs the credit of working up
the scheme. This agent, an Irish gen.
tleman, is also member of the Roman
| CdJHOllC CHurCu. l1e Sdlu.
Some years ago, when the plans for
the Roman Catholic University at Wash
ington were being considered, had a
plan for raising large sum of money
for gift to that object. That plan fell
through, but this one grew out of it.
You know-at least every clergyman of
every denomination knows-how diff
cult it is to raise money to pay off
large church debt
well, by this plan priest has the
lives of few of the young men of his
congregation insured-young men be-
cause the premiums are small-for the
benefit of the church. Generally a
twenty-year endowment policy of the
semi-tontine kind is obtained upon the
life of any young man who is willing to
serve for the purpose and who can pass
the medical examination. OF course,
if young men are willing to pay the
premiums they are encouraged to do so.
But in the great majority of cases the
church assumes the paying of the
premiums, and as outside Of that there
is little or no objection to having ones
life insured, the young men do not hes
itate to consent to the priests applica-
tion.
"When the plan was first broached it
was necessary to get the consent of the
Archbishop to it. He went into an ex-
haustive investigation and considera-
ton of the matter and gave it his
hearty approval. Then l proceeded to
lay it before the priests of such
churches as were in condition to profit
by it. Some of the priests at first felt
that the burden of interest upon the
church debt and premiums upon the in
surance policies would be too great; but
when / asked them if they didn't in.
tend making some provision to pay off
the principal of the debt they saw that
the burden was there anyway, and the
thing to do was to arrange as easy a
plan as possible for removing it.
Under this plan there is saving in
the course of twenty years OF about
forty per cent. on the principal, where
there are no deaths and where the
endowment policies are full paid up
If out of the eight or ten young
men insured in each congregation there
were one or two more deaths in the
meantime the debt would be paid off Sc
much the quicker. 1t is practica
sinking fund for the extinction of tn,
church debt, and is about as easy man
ner of making provision for the paymen
as can be. l can not tell you wha
churches have adopted this plan, bu
there is large number OF them, ant
the amount of the policies reaches u
into the hundreds of thousands of dol
lars No, there is no good reason VIII,
churches of the Protestant communion
should not engage in the same plan TO
the extinction of their church debts
But two life insurance companies hav
as yet issued policies to any exten
under this scheme, but that is not thei
fault. IN. Y. Times.