The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30
FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
How Life Insurance Beneficaries
Would Fare Under Free Silver.

1AAN -'NH Il vi ILCf ttb says blldU
President Greene, of the Connect
cut Mutual Life Insurance, has pre-
pared letter to policy-holders,
warning them of what will probably
happen to them under free silver.
The company has about 65, 900 poll
tics outstanding and is purely mu-
tual.
In his letter to policy holders
Colonel Greene says:
"This corporation has never
touched political questions or sought
to influence political action, nor
would it ever do so unless that poll
tical action were dedicated to issue
involving the very lifeblood and
substance of that which we have
here undertaken to do in behalf of
your families and estates. Our con-
tracts with you agree to pay to your
families so many dollars. There
has never been any doubt what was
intended thereby.
1T was the dollar which before
the civil was was worth one hundred
cents, which during the war fuctuat-
ed in the deprecated greenback
currency Of the time, going to
premium Of 195 per cent at one time
and then a greenback dollar would
buy only thirty-seyen cents worth
and dropping back to its normal
place and after the war closed and
our commercial and industrial de-
velopment and the political actions
and evident temper of the people
made it manifest that we could and
should pay our debts in dollars
worth one hundred cents.
eve never supposed it necessary
to provide that you should pay your
premium or that you should promise
to pay your policies in any particu-
lar kind of quality of dollars. But
now comes political party and
avows its distinct purpose to make
a dollar mean three widely different
things:-First, a gold dollar, worth
as bullion one hundred cents any
where in the world. second, a silver
dollar, worth as bullion only fifty
two cents at the present time; third,
all the paper promises OF dollars to
be hereafter issued by the govern
ment only, redeemable in either
100 cent gold dollars, fiftv-two cent
Tor less) silver dollars, or in new
promises to pay at the option of the
debtor or redeemer.
"You do not need to be told that
only the least valuable of these dol
lars would remain in use. The
invariable experience of all the
ages fixes that fact beforehand.
And to leave no possible doubt as
to what the party means and pro-
poses, its candidate for Presidency
declares:-'We are gong to fight
for that which some are pleased to
call dishonest money!
"Should this party so led come to
power upon this platform, the gov
eminent dues, instead of being paid
as now in gold at one hundred cents
or in paper, which it now redeemed
in silver, which silver we could use
IN trade at only its bullion value of
fifty-two cents on the dollar. The
greenbacks being then redeemed
into ffty-two cent dollars, the COY
eminent bonds and their interest
being paid in fifty-two cent dollars,
our national bank currency, which
rests on government bonds, redeem
able in fifty-two cent greenbacks,
and the gold gone from domestic
circulation into international trade
we shall be on the single fifty-two
cent silver dollar basis.
cone hundred cent gold dollars
do not swop even for fifty two cent
dollars of silver, iron or copper.
Fifty-two cents worth of anything
can never buy more than fiftytwo
cents worth of anything else. Then
the purchasing power of your poll
cies will be cut IN two.
"Coming upon silver basis
would intensely stimulate the pro-
duction of silver. The ores are now
easily accessible, in inexhaustible
quantity, from which silver can be
put upon the market at a profit at
forty to fifty cents the ounce, at
which price a silver dollar would be
worth thirty to thirty eight cents,
or less than a greenback was during
the darkest days Of 1864. Under
that stimulus and under such con-
dltions there can be no possible
doubt that the price of silver would
steady decline toward the point
at which 1T can be produced,
which, in some mines, is said to be
already less than twenty-five cents
an ounce, and inventions and i'm
provements have not ceased.
"Should we come upon a silver
basis your policies would for the
present be paid in dollars worth
-, 80 IL, P,o..,