Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-12-01
FERGUSON RESPONDS
To Commissioner Hollingsworth Re
garding some Insurance
Questions.

| Office Of Texas COOpcrauVc invest
nent Company, Denton, Tex, NOV. y,
| lSa8.- Editor Gazette: In your paper OF
the Doth inst notice what purports 10
he letter written by Commissioner lol-
linpsworth "a Hon C.. A. Culhcrson, al
| torncy general concerning system OF
business known us cooperative assurance,
or the issuance Of policies which are
nude to mature by an accumulation OF
money paid by all the policy holders for
that purpose, instead OF at the death of
| n named person, AZ life insurance policies
are. On October l2th Commissioner Hol-
| lingswOrih published IN pamphlet foru
i what purporfcd 10 he a letter by him to
| the Encouragement ON the same subject.
/ This letter was distributed, as l am M
| formed. alb over Texas, aud ] have yet 10
| learn of It's being received BY q single ih-
| dividual wLO was not n life INSURANCE
agent. which makes II look more Ike an
| advertisement than an uihclal cohmuh.-
| cation 10 another department oil tho gov
| mont. purticuGrly 80 as IL contained Il
| splendid eulOgy On the Workings ana 81
| fpcls of life Insurance, and as both IL ANA
| the letter In your paper of the 2Oth INST.
| contained many ugly expressions concern
| ing Investment assurance and TIER mana,
| gers, such as fakes the reserve iuni
| is created and held to catch new suck
| ers.' inca who would engage in such
| schemes would not hesitate to violate the
! bylaws or change them, winch they can
| do at any time without the knowledge
| Of tho monhpIs" etc., all Of which is whul-
| ~ uucallrl for Wien such statements are
| made hy street loulcrS they deserve no
| attention, but Mr.. HOllinEswOrtl; is It
| public official and he ought 10 deal fairly
with the people, and an expression OF TINS
| hind deserves notice by reason oil nus ou-
| cinl character and he owes II 10 the peo-
| pie of Texas who have elected Lin 10 do
more than apply such epiihcts and use
| such slang: and ais % citizen Of IcNuS,lud
| having nu interest Ia the common good,
| and as 4 member IF the Texas CO-Opcrd-
| tive Investment company. whicl. IN my
| opinion is conducting rs honest and fair
| q business as any other in the world |
| think that he should either show IN what
particular this company violates csiah'
lished principles Of business, aud how
they are wrong in practice, or ilat he
cease his official clfusive advertisements.
If his charges arc true ! demand that
| he show their truth by argument instvW
| Of abuse, because If they are NOT tgiin
| they ave sandorOus, aud If they are
! true and he cannot explain them his
eifusons will be of no value in enligl'cn-
ing the puoplH. and II he desires 80 con.
tinue these cifusons | demand Of him
| that he shall answer first, If II Is not
true that the Texas Co-Operative In
vcstmcut company pays back to its pol
receipts than any life Insurance com
pnny In he world; second. If life nsur-
| anoe companies can pay annually th'
policies Of ten persons out of each 100
| persons insured. why the Texts Co
| Operative Investment company cannot
pas larger number to its policy holders
in proportion q, IL pay, back ~ larger
per cent Of It's receipts; third, 10 her'
are not many almost iusurluOuutJhle
difficulties in the collections through the
courts Of the country OF life insurance
policies ON nccoWt of tho large number
of conditions contained in the policies
upon which their validity depends, and
| which Il Is almost impossible 10 comply
| with: and III 1t Is not also true that the
only condition In the policy of tho Texas
| COOPERATIVE Investment company Is
that the premiums are paid 90 maturity.
| II Mr.. IIollingsWorth would take The
trouble TO make tables of the invest
mcnf company and some life Insurance
company ON the same plan, and put
them side by side, he would be able To
get some information which he does not
seem 10 pOsscs5, and would impart some
information TO the public, which neither
Of his letters has done, and particular
| Nv as the table made by him Is not such
MS any life insurance company would
make. and which he does not sccm TO
believe is correct, as the hEures ne
! makes nra at variance with the tahlc
he gives. II he will also give a life in
guronce company any number ot poll
cies that he plcaSes with the same ratio
of Increase shown by his table, he would
; show "A much worse state OF facts
through any insurance vVWP0lH Whpsa
business he might attempt to Illustrate.
Iot us soc what the reports of few
~ tho lpnding companies show and place
, fi,o,n NV the side OF the TeXasCo-OperJ-
tiye company plans, and ascertain il we
can their similarity and their respective