Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-05-31
INSURANCE.
AN EXTRACT FROM A. LECTURE
BY REV. II. w. r. JONES.
A Helping Hand Extended to the Poor in
Time of Need-It Assists the Wealthy.
A Means of Protection.
DOES INSURANCE PAY2

The following extract from a lecture by
Rev. II. W. +. Jones, one OF the foremost
Presbyterian ministers of New Jersey, is
submitted by Correspondent as reply to
the query, Does Insurance Pay? ut seems
to me-" says Mr.. Jones, ''to be the privilege
and duty of every man, who has others de-
pendent upon him, to insure his life. When
it shall be done-if he has been wise enough
to have ascertained with reasonable GER
taintv that the business association to
which he has committed this important
trust is safe and reliable one, he will not
have to wait until death is near to known
that it pays to be insured. From my
point of view, it begins to pay Immediately,
and 1t continues to pay each day of his life !;
not IN gold and silver, but in that which
ought to be infinitely more precious to
every husband and father: the assurance
that if he should be suddenly called away
from those so dear to him they would not
be left entirely to the cold charities of a
hard and unsympathetic world. His
thought, as he leaves his home each morn
ing to engage in the duties of the busy
world, that he has done what he could to
protect his loved ones, ought to clear his
brain, give buoyancy to his step, and cheer
to a weary life. Such man, too, is an
honorable mamie is keeping the promise
he made at the marriage altar, even though
it may involve much self denial. The sat
isfaction attendant on doing ones duty al
ways pays. This life insurance business,
like religion, pays too, in the daily
tuition in principles of economy, not for
selfish ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, but for the good of
others. The income of the great majority
OF men does not leave much of margin for
mere indulgence in luxurious tastes or
habits: and the probability is, that if the
incentive of the surely coming yearly pre-
MUM were not felt, this margin, narrow as
it might be, would be wasted. or worse
n m nc pyrrt1t
strengthen habits destructive of both per-
sonal and family happiness. Life insur-
ance pays daily too, in strictly personal
sense. 1t is the duty of the examining ply
stefan, in the interests of the company he
repr esents, to discover any actual or proba-
BILE cause OF disease in the person who pro-
poses to be insured. To this end he ey-
amines you-that is, he measures you and
weighs you and thumps you and presses
you. and asks all kinds of questions posi-
BILE and impossible for you to answer so far
as the third generation back is concerned.
To the man undergoing this examination
much of it seems almost foolish, and yet
after it is over, and you are told you will
do you feel all the more comfortable be-
cause the examination has been rigid one.
1t is grand fact for man to be assured
of, that he is sound in body and mind. 1t
pays to know tit helps him in a hundred
ways that only those who possess the ex-
perlence Know any tnlnS ABOUT.
WHAT LIFE INSURANCE is DOING,
Life assurance is remarkable for its uni
versatility. 1t reaches down to the poor, ex-
tending helping hand in the time of sorest
need, when aid is of incalcuable value. It
assists and strengthens the wealthy, en-
ables them by this great system of mutual
distribution Of the burdens of life to accom-
plish things which otherwise, failing the
ability to take advantage of this beuefcent |
scheme, they could not hope to do.
North, South, East and West on this con-
tinent and others, wherever the hand of |
civilization has made it possible for intelli- |
gent people to gather together, forming |
villages, towns and cities, there life assur- |
ance has taken hold.
The theory OF protection to homes and |
families is no new thing. Far back in the |
very twilight of fable, we hear of associa- |
tons having for their object the relief of |
and their families in event of |
death or trouble common to them all; but |
the scientific and practical application of the |
theory on which life assurance is founded |
has been matter of modern time Since, |
however, it was determined, without |
doubt, that for stated amounts a certain ,
sum of money could be guaranteed to the |
family in case OF the death Of the assured |
or in the event of survival to stipulated |
age, to himself. life assurance has grown
steadily and strongly in public favor, be-
cause II mas DSen DEMONS lrdteQ Dy practice
that the principles on which the scheme is
based are right. Silently but surely it has
gone straight to the point, struck at the
vital spot in social arrangement. 1t is be-
yond question that no project by which So
much good has been accomplished in this
direction has made such progress without
creating more trouble to peoples and ma
lions. Yet this great factor in social
has made its way in public esti-
nation, and made IL without the blare of
.rumpets and the clang of arms. It has
played an important part in the develop
nent Of countries, teaching the elementary
principles of economy and thrift to millions,
md so directly assisting in the betterment |
If those who profit by them.
From its very inception the rise and pro-
yress of life insurance in the United States
lave been coincident with the growth of the
their requirement of wealth and
he spread of education. When Patrick
Henry uttered his world famous words:
Millions for defense, but not one cent for
ribute, little advancement had been made
n life assurance, but the idea conveyed by
he great statesman's words has had practi-
al fullfllment in our own times. For the
reservation Of homes many millions are
yearly by tho holders of poll