The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-10-25
BILL ART,S LETTER.
Young Men Should Insure Their Lives for
the Benefit OF Relatives.
atlanta Constitution.

would insure it. I would begin at
twenty-one. I would take life policy
for the benefit of my wife or my moth
er or my sister or somebody very near
and dear to me. If [ was poor [
would insure for $1,000, for that
would take only SO twice year. Any
young man could pay that much and
if he died young the thousand dollars
would help his mother or his wife or
his sister so much. Funerals are ex-
pensive nowadays, and a poor man
can't afford to die unless his life is
insured. IF young man who is get
ting from $50 to 500 salary does not
spend anything for whisky or cigars
he could safely take policy for So, 900
and pay S27 twice year. If he was
twenty-five years old it would cost
him only $50 semi-annually-not as
much as his cigars. If his salary was
$3.50 a month he could afford $40 of it
eachumonth for insurance, and that
would carry policy Of 5000. What
a blessing that sum would be to the
wife or the mother or the sister. I
know young man who carries $10,-
900 for his father and mother. They
are old and poor. He supports them
out of his earnings, but fears he might
die before they do and then they
would be helpless. If he outlives
them the policy becomes his own.
Life insurance is the best savings
bank in the world for young man.
He gets it SO cheap. Now, here I am,
old and poor, and am carrying only
1900 on my life and it costs me sl75
year and it is a hard struggle to meet
the premiums. I began only five
years ago. Too late, too late, but I
must hold on until I whip the fight.
I'll whip it sure if I hold on, for old
Father Time is backing me. If l had
begun at twenty-one or twenty-five the
premiums would have been about $40
and the dividends would have paid
that long before this. Heard man
say the other day that he paid on
SO, 1000 for twenty years and now has
paid up policy and draws dividends
on it just like it was stock in a bank.
I wish I had done that when l was a
young man. Wouldn't it be glorious
if had such document for my wife
and the girls.
But if young man seriously objects
to make money by dying for it let him
take out an endowment policy for
twenty or twenty-five years. It will
cost him about twice as much, but he
can, if he lives, walk up to the cap.
tain's office and call for his money and
do what he pleases with it. If he
happens to die before hand his wife or
his mother or his sister can draw it
for him. Every young man should
take out two policies if he can, nefor
life and one on the endowment plan
one for others and one for himself. It
is comfortable thing for a man of
forty-6ve to have paid up policy
that is drawing dividends. 1t is still
more comforting, for widow or Sis
ter or cn1Id to inherit both policies
if he should die before he expected to.
Insuring ones Life for the benefit of
others is the most unselfsh act that
young man can perform. No selfish
or thoughtless young man will do it.
It is like looking death square in the
face, but few young men will do that.
It is the next thing to getting reli-
gion. It is confession Of mortality.
But death is fact and if the young
man weuld stop and think, he would
take a business view of it and leave
the religion out of the question. Let
him ponder upon the fact that not
half of the men at twenty-five live to
be ffty-that half his life is already
gone, that the chances are against
him, that he will leave somebody be-
hind him who has been dependent
upon him and may suffer without him.
Then if he is reasonable man he
must admit that he ought to insure his
life, while it cost so little, and not
wait until it costs so much.
Why not? For forty-four years |
have insured my house and furniture
and no fire yet. The insurance COM
pany has got all that money for good
and yet 1 have taken comfort all that
time. I have slept better at home and
felt better when abroad in knowing
that if fire did come and destroy my
dwelling the loss would be made good.
That fire may never come, but here
is case where death is sure to come
"a death which most cases of man
hood deprives the family of one of its
pillars-perhaps its chief support, and
yet how few of the young married men
are carrying policy for the wife and
children. They are just going it
blind. It looks like defying fate for
young man whose only income is his
wages to live day without a policy.
He can't afford to. Even the rich in
sure their lives as an investment. In
fact if I could make the laws I would
require every young man to take pol
icy for at least 81 900 when he applies
for marriage license. If he couldn't
raise $l0 or $50 to protect the girl he
loved for one year, he is not 6ttep to
have her nor fitten to get Gtten. If
he begun with policy he would be
very apt to keep on. The Ordinary
should be prohibited from issuing a
license unless the policy was produced
and was approved by him. A young
married man has no right to die and
leave widow and one or two children
helpless. A policy of one or Two
thousand dollars would be good doc
ument to court on.
Every man should pay his own fu-
neral expenses and not die a pauper.
There is family pride about such
things and the parents or the widow
will sacrifice everything for the loved
one. The doctors bills, the drug bill,
the burial case, the burial lot, the car
riages, the hcarse and the mourning
all cost money. A few months ago
young man of our town died away from
home. His life was devoted to his
mother and his sisters, but it was not
insured and the express charges and
other expenses have been a grievous
burden. How easily he could have
carried policy Of 81, 900, out of which
he could have been buried and left a
good sum for his widowed mother.
wonder how many of these travel
| inr yO,lnp men carry n nOlicy for their