Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-09-17
[CoNTNUED.l
INSURANCE AND SILVER.

INSURANCE AND SILVER.
What Is There In the SoIicitude Of the
Managers For Their Policy Holders?
The champions of the gold standard
are now very much exercised at the
thought of having insurance policies
paid in cheaper money. tits singular
circumstances that almost every argu-
ment (?) in favor of maintaining the
present monetary standard has in view
the interests of those classes which are
in the enjoyment of exceptional advan-
tages. The owners of fixed incomes, de-
positors in banks, creditors generally
and holders of insurance policies are OBJ
jects of especial solicitude with those
who oppose the free coinage of silver.
Life insurance is usually payable to per-
sons other than the insured However
| coed and meritorious these people may
| be, there is no equity whatever in their
| behalf which entities them to be paid
in appreciated dollars. In many cases
! the policy comes to the payee as mere
bonus for which he or she has given ab-
solutely nothing. 1t is very true that
the benefciaries Of such policies should
be fairly treated and not be defrauded
with "cheap" money. But ii is not pro-
posed to defraud them with "cheap"
money. The hub of the whole question
| is that under present conditions, with
money constantly appreciating, insur-
ance policies are now being paid with
money more valuable than the money in
circulation at the time the policy was
issued and more valuable than that in
which the premiums have been paid.
If this concerned nobody but the pol
| icy holder and the insurance company,
the silver men would give themselves
no trouble about it, but in fact rising
| measure of value concerns everybody,
| just as enlarging measures of weight,
length and bulk would While the
payee of an insurance policy is benefited
by receiving money of augmented value,
other classes are ruined by being obliged
to meet their obligations in such money.
| The latter are entitled to much more
| consideration than the former, first, be-
cause their necessities and sufferings are
greater; secondly. because they are much
more numerous, and, thirdly, because
they are the victims of the first wrong.
This was the change of the standard
from that of gold and silver together te
that of gold alone. If this primary
wrong cannot be righted because few
innocent persons might lose something,
then it would be impossible to evel
change any vicious monetary law, how
ever destructive to the best interests o.
the country, for all such changes injure
somebody.
In considering policies Of insurance
there is another point that must not bt
overlooked. While it is a very nict
thing for the beneficiary to get "bis
dollars '--vdollars of high value-thi
same appreciation of money makes i
harder for the insured to pay the pre-
MUM and thus keep the policy alive
1t is matter of common knowledge tina
in seasons of monetary stringency hun
dreds and thousands of persons are un
able to pay the premiums and ar
obliged to allow their policies to lapse
They either lose the entire amount pait
in premiums or are driven to the neces
sity of surrendering the original polio.
and taking ''paid up" one for a mer
fraction Of the sum actually paid in
Such cases are not isolated and occa
sional. but ON the contrary they max
up very considerable fraction OF th
total number of insurance policies take
s ont Every case of the kind involves
Q hardship and wrong, which find n
compensation Or offset in the fact ths
some widow or orphan receives paymer
, in appreciated money. National b
6 metallist
! "1Iy Country Pirstr"