The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-01-25
TgNT|NE COMPARISONS.
How an Advertisement and News
paper Article Show q Wids
Difference.
Tho New York Times Analyses
tho Statement OF the New
York Life.
The Charge That President Beers Is Work.
ing Vwhat Is Generally KnowA
as a ElufE.

The Charge That President Beers Is Work
ing\ vhat Is Generally Knowa
as a Hlnf.
Helena. Jan. 24.-To the Editor: l no
tioed in your issue of to-day q statsmen'
from the officials of the New York Life In,
ssrancs company, showing q settlement o.
tventy-year tontine policies. n follow
inc. taken from the New York Times OF
January II, shows the other side OF the
story: w. =. Ihiibire'
To break the force of the impending con-
domination of his management by the staee
insurance commissioner, President bsers'
Of the New York Life Insurance company
has sent to nearly all the papers q two
eo,nnn advertisement showing the dlVi-
asnds that are to be returned this year on
~tontine policies of the twenty-yeHr class
Th advertisement proclaims the settle
ment of policies on the ordinary life plan,
OF the twenty-year endowment plan, and
also on the twenty-paymsnt llte plan. ana
this text which forms the proclamation
s~utices in the Judgment of President Beers
to Offset the onect of the exposures OF his
management.
As q matter of fact, however. BY means
of this advertisement President Beers HIM
self furnishes additional evidence OF the
gross mismanasement of his company.
What he says in the advertisement en-
phasizes in a startling way the truthfulness
Of one of tho charges made by the former
cashier of the company, Theodore M.
Bapta. Specification IA OF those celebrated
charges reads as follows:
ssThey (the management of the company
have issued books of estimates TO procure
business of tontine policles winch have
boen deluslyc." 1&@
Nothing could more conclusiyely SHOW
the extremity to which the corrupt old man
is reduced than the fact that he 10 com
PEELED to resort to publishing these exam
ples of diyidends,'' for they demonstrate
completely the worthlessness of his prom
ises and estimates, and show conclusiyely
how far tho actual results fall below the ex-
psctations Of his victims. 1t is barely pos
sible that the president assumes that none
of the company's policy holders has re-
tanned through these intervening twenty
wears the books of estimates Oh the
SG$GElktu VA WAikA HVAOJ -
surance.
ProcSsding on the basis of this assump-
ton President Beers doubtless arrives at
thssconclusion that the policy holders are
unable to make the comparisons which SO
easily refute his latter day arguments.
The Times, however, has in its possession
one Of those books of estimates, and Is
therefore able to give q free advertisement
to the '~'examples of dividends" which Mr..
Bcers's management Of the New York Life
Insurance company has secured Tor the
policy holders. These examples" COM
pared with the original estimates form 9
statement which the policy holders Wall
read with interest. y.
Among the statements which appear ~
n1npls l." This ls an example OF an oidl-
nary life policy for $4,000, on which pre-
mi1ms have been paid Of Sl,4O2, and on
which the tontine dividends for twenty
years amount to $990.62, which is 20 per
cent. of the premiums paid. In the 'estl-
mate book'' issued by Mr.. Bears IN 1872,
and in which is given illustrations OF the
dividends which a person then lnsurlDg
would receive at the end OF twenty years,
Mr.. Beers states, on page 8: 10 illustrate
the practical working of policies on this
PLAN, tho following estimates have been
prepared, based upon rates OF mortality,
interest expenses, and lapslng less fayora-
DIG tuIl pG@sS cAp@i1OuoO Aan AAAAo@ooA.
The Estimated dividend oil an ordinary
life policy as given in this book is l5O per
cent of the premiums paid. The rolicy
holders, therefore, represented in Exam
pie ~ of Mr.. Beer's Advertisement had q
right to expect that his accumulated divi-
dends in 1892 would amount to 81, 103. Mr..
Beers advertisement shows that the policy
holdar will receive only $9SO.62, SO that his
"great expectations" have not baen hall
realizod. ns hs receives 81 ,l22,3 less than
Beers promises led him to expect.
Example 9" in Mr.. Beers advertisemen
is of Il twenty-year endowment policy on
which the accumulated dividends amount
to $3,23S.45, which is 66 per cent. Of the
premiums paid. The book of estimates'
which Mir. Beers issued several years age
promised an accumulation OF dividends o.
1853 yer cent. of the premiums paid OF S
twcnty-yoar endowment policy, which, ir
the case of the policy holder mentioned ir
Example 9, warranted the expectation o.
Dtead Of which he receives only TS3. 223S. 45
which is considerably less than one-half o.
what he was promised.
Example 3" of tho advertisement is tina
OF a life policy paid for by twenty annua
payments. In his case the accumulated
dividends, as shown by Mr.. Beers adver
tisement, amount to S4,S2O. 80, which is g.
per cent. of the premiums paid. The bool
of estimates upon which MIR. Beers pro
cured this business clearly stated to tn,
policy holders that there awaited them tn
pleasing prospect Of receiving an accumu
lated dividend OF 16O Dor cent, wEicl
would have amounted to the snuq sum O
$ll, 455. 60, instead OF which the victim ret
only a. 2O.30, being Sc, G35.3O below til
promise of the president.
IN view of theue facts the statement mac
~ u