The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1896-08-28

and its relations to the currency queS-
ton. Some of these corporations have
recently been urging the comfy to
save them from the necessity of pay
ing their policy holders in deprecated
silver. They have said that much as
they might long to pay their obliga
tions in good money. they could not do
it under free coinage. because their as
sets would Immediately shrink to the
measure Of filty-three cent dollars.
The assets of insurance companies
are invested in real estate, in securities
payable in lawful money. Only the
last class of investments would mjuri
ousIy affected by free coinage, even on
the theory that free coinage involved
depreciation. But it happens that
prosperous insurance companies do not
pay their losses out of their accllmula-
ted assets. They make the years pre-
miums cover the years payments. and
have a handsome surplus left. In all
countries and at all times the a@grc-
gate insurance losses are met by the
current receipts The Equitable last
wear carri ed 1913. $50, 1873 of insurance
on SlS3, 1873 $50 Of assets. The Metro
politan had only 80 1906 of assets
for S44l ,315 .367 insurance. The in
surance companies doing business in
the State of New York have collected
premiums since their organization
amounting to 81 ,593, ,l5s, ,l52, and have
paid to their policy holders for all pur-
poses S9s6,693 ,070. This includes
losses, endowments, annnities, pay
ments for lapsed, surrendered and pur-
chased polices, and dividend. 1t leaves
over $780, 900 900 collected by the
companies and not turned to the poll
cy holders.
Now, since all losses are paid out of
current premiums, the effect of de
prcciatien of the currency would mere
ly be to reduce the actual amount of
insurance paid for and receivable with
out affecting the relation between pre-
miums and policies In other words,
if we had the threatened "tifty-cent
dollar" a man who had been buying
50 900 of insurance for 500 a year
would buy 81 500 insurance for $50 a
year. If he wanted to keep up his
policy at the old rate, all he would
| have to do would be to continue his
former payments at their actual value.
The only sufferers in such a case
would be the people who had paid pre-
miums for long time on the gold
standard, and who were too old to take
out additional insurance ut economical
rates. But if the companies are really
as solicitoIs for the welfare of these
JiiIioHS us tiitN licitSS W W. lHSN Sttii
easily protect them from loss by offer
| ing them the privilege of paying their
premiums in gold and having their pol
icies made payable in the same metal
One of our Hanna contemporaries
has chided Mr.. Bryan for ''ignorance"
because he spoke of the interests of in
surance companies as distinct from
those of their policy holders. Most of
the great companies, it observes, are
organized on mutual basis, and hence
their policy holders get anything they
| earn If that were true it would not
| seem to make much difference to the
policy holders whether the recei pts and
expenditures of the companies were
counted in fifty cent, one-hundred-cent
or two-hun,lred-cent dollars. They
would merely be putting their money
from one pocket into another in any
case. Aside from the comparative
tritie of interest on lawful money in
vestments. the only income of the COM
panies that would he affected by Il de-
probation of the currency is that which
is paid by the policy holders them
selycs-.Nrm IorE .joMndI.
|