The Portland daily press., 1892-06-29

sudden one, just four days before the
second quarterly premium on his life IL
surance policies became due. 1t is
known to be fact that he had no
money with which to pay those pre-
miurns at that time. At an autopsy
held promptly, a number of Col.
Dwight's friends and acquaintance
were present, as well as physicians rep
resenting the insurance company. Five
months after the burial Col. Dwight's
body was exhumed and reexamined and
the life insurance doctors, who then in
spected it, declared that certain gun
shot wound which he was known to
have received at the battle of Gettys-
burg, was nowhere to be found
''These were the preliminary Incl
dents OF contest in the courts which
has had few parallels. But what my
friend, Mr.. Hyde, thinks was the turn
ing point in the career Of his company
had already been reached by him and 1t
in the Dwight case. immediately ON
notification Of Col. Dwight's death,
Mr.. Hyde dispatched one of the tr1sti-
est agents of his company to Bingham
ton, telling him to investigate the case
thoroughly and report at once. Col.
Dwight held $4,000 insurance in the
Equitable Company, a very large sum for
any one company to hold at that time
on any one mans life. While the other
twenty-five companies were making
their arrangements to litigate the
Dwight case, Mr.. Hyde received word
from his agent at Binghamton, consci-
entiousand intelligent man, that he could
find no good reason why the Equitable
Life Assurance society shouldn't pay
the claims without delay. Thereupon
Mr.. Hyde ordered the policies settled,
was, within ten days, sent to the bene-
fciary. So great was the public excite
ment over this case and SO widespread
and numerous were the publications
made in regard to it that the fact that
Mr.. Hyde's company had so promptly
paid such a large sum became known at
once all over the civilized world and
was of the greatest possible value to the
company and to its president as an adj
vertisement. Since then the prosperity
of the company has been uninterrupted,
and it is now writing policies within
few hundred of the 900, 900 mark. Think
of what the 100000 men and women,
mostly men, who hold these policies,
stand for in the life of the world to-day
the energy, the self-denial, the econ
omy, the forethought, the love and af-
lection, indeed, all the best qualities of
humanity which are so saliently pre-
sented In that phase of their character
which prompts them to make these in
vestments!'' {
Mr.. Henry B. Hyde's life Is insured
for, believe, s165,o0o. John B. Stet7
son has $500, 900. Pierre Lorillard, john
Wanamaker, Cyrus w. Field and John
V. Farwell have $500 apiece. George
M. Pullman has 100000, and Cyrus W.
Field at one time had S240, 0O0., An ac-
quaintance of Jay Gould says that the
"Little Wizard" can produce, on an
emergency, policies for s415,oo0 on his
life. William FL. Vanderbilt was at one
time insured for 100000. I believe the
heaviest life insurance ever paid was to
the heirs of Sir Robert Clifton, of Eng
land, who received S1,25o,0oo at his
| death. The duke of Newcastle, the
Fife at one time carried se,S50, 900 life
insurance between them. Empress
Eugene is now living, I believe, on the
interest of the 100000 life insurance
which Napoleon III. left her.
THE soN-IN-LAw ERA.
This appears to be the era of the SOM
in-law. 1t seems to me there are more
sons-in-law just now than are absolutely
needed, and yet the list grows with
amazing rapidity. I refer to the sons
in-law who are that and nothing else
Mr.. Whitelaw Reid, having succeeded
to the position and business left him by
Horace Greeley, would have made some
thing out of his talents and his oppor-
tunities, but the fact that he soon be-
came son-in-law at once insured his
success. The most conspicuous son-in-
law that this country affords is Col. Ell
lott +. Shepard. In this field of en-
deavor he has achieved the most pro-
nounced success, while all around him
thousands have utterly failed. Shepard
was very poor lawyer. with hardly
one case to rub against another, as it.
were, when he met and loved the
daughter of Vanderbilt. From that
moment he gave up all thoughts Of be-
coming a great lawyer and bent all hist
wonderful energies to becoming the
greatest son-in-law the American repub-.
hchas ever produced. In this connection Il
point to Col. Shepard with pride. Had heI
been nominated for vice president I'M
Minneapolis his declaration of princi-,
pies might have matched that Of David
Bennett Hill for brevity and beauty. 81.
am democrat quoth Mr.. Hill; while,
Mr. Shepard cou1ld have said 81 am a,
son-in-law." have always thought that;
Mr.. Vanderbilt was unjust in his char,
acterization of Son-in-Law Shepard
when he said-but never mind what
he said. 1t was unjust and undeserved,
andshould not appear in family news
paper anyhow.
A very interesting son-in-law, and one,
who might have made great success
of it, is Mr.. J. Coleman Drayton. Hav-,
ing married an Astor, one would have,
imagined that he had already accom-
plished his object all sublime; but the,
rnera 1,oar1.iocya cerer,onv 6oee not or,,,