Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-09
INSURANCE.
ACTION SYNOD OF THE GER
MAN LUTHERAN CHURCH.
Effect of Education-Medical Men Not a
Desirable Glass to Insure-A
Successful Career.
Life Assurance Comment.

medical men, which would be more favor
able than to other policy holders. 1t was
expected large acquisition OF business
would be secured by the selected Office and
that this would warrant great reduction
in premium as there would be no inter-
mediary expenses for agents commissions.
The appeal was based on the theory that
the medical fraternity had not the opportu-
nifty TO insure their lives which other men
had, their occupation tending tS deprive
them of leisure time when hearing could
De given to agents. II was also believed
the mortality was less among physicians
than the general class of insured persons,
and therefore, the figures prepared by DIR.
Lyon, showing that at almost every age the
record was against medical lives, will sur
prise those who previously regarded them
aS particularly advantageous to the COM
panies. DR.. Lyon constructed his table by
taking an equal nun Der OF deaths OF medl-
cal and non-medical lives of as nearly as
nearly as possible the same ages and date of
entry. \ more exact and thorough lnveStl-
cation would probably confirm and even ac-
centuate the point made that non-medical
lives are preferable as risks. 1t is likely
further work will be done in this direction,
as the gentlemen connected with the Ian
Get will surely challenge the accuracy of
DIR. Lyons deductions and stimulate re-
search to prove or disprove the statements
made.
It is a matter of regular practice among
life companies to offer applicants, who, for
various reasons. are not deemed desirable
risks for the class of policy applied for, in
surance under some other plan. For In
stance. an intending insurer who would be
rejected on the whole life policy might be
considered eligible for a short term endow-
ment, because of the decreased risk as
stunned by the company, by virtue of the
large amount of self insurance. Some of
the companies ask for the opinion of the
medical examiner concerning the proposed
risk in a question As to whether he thinks
it safe to grant policy OF the KIND solicited,
and if not for what term the applicant
might be insured This action is undoubt-
eddy taken with a view to further the IN
terests of life assurance and widen its field
of operation. but it IS an open question If
the system is good. To express Il positive
opinion as to the length of time person in
fairly good health will live is in itself del
icate task, especially when the case Is COM
plicated by the family history as regards
longevity, etc: but where you undertake
to make q contract based on that opinion
which, emanating from no matter how
skilled or clever physician, is in the ma
ture of things clearly hypothetical, the pos
Sibility of error is great. Judgments of
this kind are constantly passed by persons
who are doubtful of the success of any
scheme for the insurance OF rejected lives,
although at the same time they are asSum-
ing a knowledge of the future in attempt
ing to determine how prolonged will be the
longevity of certain individuals whom they
had never seen and of whom they only pos
SeSs a more or less accurate pen picture. 1t
4 risk is not admissible TO 4 company's MEM
bership under any and all types of policies
granted, it is better to turn 1t down alto
gether.
Commenting on the subject of life assur-
ance in France, we referred recently to the
direct influence the spread of education
seemed to have on the business of the COM
pauieS. instanclng the State OF things as
curious circumstance. 4 contemporary in
Inmates that our statement was at fault, by
SAYING: Life insurance is an attribute of
high civilization. The untaught man can
not comprehend the eXpediency of purchas
ing thing that is only attainable by his
death-frOm which he cannot only derive
no personal enjoyment, but is called each
succeeding year OF his life to contribute
largely from his limited monetary re-
sources to sustain this purchase in Its in
tegrityn Such a statement Is unjust; IL
grievously wrongs the hundreds of thou
sands of men in these United States who
hold policies of life insurance and are yet
unlettered. though their ideas of right
right towards the state and duty to the
families-are coInmendable in the highest
degree. 1t cannot be truly said that be-
cause. from one reason or another, man is
not educated ne lacks perception of
right and wrong, or that his moral
sensibilities are SO blunted that is
incapable of making sacrifice of a part of
his earnings TO secure for the loved ones of
his household a competence if he falls early
in the battle of life. 1t is a special evil
dence of the canvassing ability of some
agents that they possess the faculty of max
ing matters clear to those who lack
education, but have breadth
of understanding which enables
them 10 grasp the salient points as
they are put before them. and from this
class of persons gOodly amount of bust
ness is obtained. The very fact that the
gifted ones among us, the wealthy, the edu-
Gated and the live business men whose
names are power i'll the communities
where they reside. take advantage of life
assurance, is sufficient to induce their less
fortunate breth en to avail themselves of
the same opportunities. Our contemporary
must have overlooked the vast number of
policies held in the industrial companies by
men who earn their living by manual labor
and cannot DO considered as educated in the
strict sense of the word. Still these men
evidence the possession of the higher attri-
butte of civilization in the determination to
protect their families against poverty and
1.-The sings and arrows of outrageous
fortune" Life assurance teaches the les
son of thrift; the habit of saving once ac-
quired other good qualities will be devel-
oped, and step by step progress is made
toward fortune and. in many instances, edu-
cation. for the power of thinking is aug
mented, and thought enables men to plan
the way out OF difficulties which surround
them. The uneducated are entitled to all
the credit they get for what they are and
what they may be made through social in
strumentalitieS. not the least powerful OF
which is life assurance.
We referred recently to the number of
life insurance companies in Great Britain
catering more or less directly to the clergy.
and mentioned that the oldest corporation
in this country was one chartered by the
Peuns and bearing the name of the Presby-
terrain Ministers Fund. Extremes meet
even in this age of liberality of thought
and freedom of action, for we find the Ger
man Lutheran church, through its Indiana
synod, issuing pronunclamento against
life assurance. The synod declares that life
assurance lis inimical to and inconsistent
with :; Christian life Members of this re-
ligious body have been threatened with Sc
we're penalties for belonging to mutual bene-
tit associations and being members of life
or accident companies. Everybody is enti-
tied TO his own opinion and to the privilege
of expressing it provided it does not con-
fiict with the law. So much is granted TO
the humblest and TO the highest, but liberty
is not license. Aristotle it is, we think.
who claims that a man does not belong TO
himself entirely or TO his family entirely,
hut he no OF iS OF