The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-09-09
POLICY HOLDERS AND SILVER.
Pittsburg Dispatch.

The excitement in Canada over the free
silver agitation, as affecting life insurance
held by the Canadians in companies of the
United States, is a very interesting illus
tratiOn of its workings. The principal part
of the life insurance in Canada Is in COM
panies of this nation. The premiums paid
by the Canadians aggregate about $780,
600 annually. These payments for many
years have been taken by our companies
and invested in the United States. Now
theCanadians are moved by the threat OF
free silver to inquire what money their
policies are to be paid in at maturity.
The Canadian policy holders say with a
great deal of force that eevery dollar they
have put into life insurance has been of
gold value. They have paid in the gold
standard and they think it no more than
justice that their heirs shall be paid back
in the gold standard. The life insurance
companies do not deny this, but they say
with equal force that they cannot help
themselves. They have invested their u.s.
sets in mortgages and securities which are
to be subjected to the reduction of stand
ard # the free silver idea is triumphant.
The only resources that they will have 20
pay in are to be silver resources. If they
should use up more of them in order to buy
gold in which to pay foreign policies, IL
would be simply taking away from the To-
| mestic policy holders a share of the as
sets belonging to them and inhicting loss
on them in silver As President Harrison
said the other day. the silver proposition
"coerces integrity" But the explanation
does not satisfy the Canadians. A meet
ing of them in Halifax, the other day,
passed resolutions requesting the compa-
nes to name a cash price for the surran-
der Of all policies, accompanied by plain
declaration that they will take what they
can get and never do any more business
of that sort with a nation whose politics
possess such possibilities of discredt
This, of itself, is not very gratifying
to the patriotic feelings; but it is not all
of it by any means. The fact Is that the
| 100000 to 100000 policy holders of the
United States are in exactly the same po-
sition as the 100000 policy holders of Can
ada, with one difference. The policy hold
ers of the United States have a vote on tho
matter, and those of Canada do not,
Otherwise their positions are identical
The policy holders of the United States
have paid all their premiums on the gold
basis: the accumulation of those premiums
has been invested in bonds and mort
cages; as rule, which applies more close
ly to life insurance than to any other
class of business, these savings of the
mass are loaned to men Of larger property
than the policy holders: and the free sill
yer idea is that the people will be bene-
flied by letting the rich men pay back
their poorer creditors in dollars of less
value than they obtained.
The life insurance policy holders, the
| savings bank depositors. the building and
loan members, the United States pen
sioners, should all understand that they
are attacked by exactly the same COM
pulsory cheat that Is agitating the Can
| adian policy holders. When they do un-
derstand It the infection Of such Injuries