Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1896-08-15
INSURANCE AGENTS SEND a LET
TER TO JOHN a. M'CALL
Assets They Claim. Would BE DOu-
bIed if the BimctaIIic stand
ard Is Adopted.

NndllUlGI, II, N 4 ACSlOAl ~ ~
Samuel schany and J. A. Stafford, agents
for the New York Life Insurance Com
pany. have addressed the following let
ter to John A. Mccall, president OF the
company:
Dear Sir: The official agency bulletin
of the company, under date of July 20,
1896, in large, red letters, says: 'TaIk pol
icy and Lot politics. This is indeed eX-
eellent advice, and could be applied by
some people other than agents. We have
assiduously talked policy and not poll
ties until few days ago, but since the
circulation of your letter of political adj
vice to policy-holdeTs, we find our Yoea-
ton gone, and are forced now to talk
politics, not policy. What is right in the
president of the company can not DE
wrong in its representatives., so far as
the company's interests are concerned,
and it is our excuse for addressing you
this semi-politcal letter.
LAS policy holders in and agents and ad-
vocates of the old reliable New York
Life Insurance Company we are, OF
course, deeply interested in everything
that pertains to it's success, and we
would not willingly vote at the coming
election in such manner as would unfaV-
orably affect the company with which we
are associated. We write to ask for in
formation and answers to the following
questions that we may be able to cast
intelligent ballots ourselves, and possibly
influence few others to do likewise. in
your circular letter to policy holders,
with copies Of which we were not favor
ed, and therefore as policy-holders we
Sao cit IN IA nj
lions and over of insurance in force which
must be paid some day, and you ask in
what shall it be paid--1OO-cent dollars CT
scent dollars?
THE sum is almost too large to handle
conveniently, so we take the New York
Idfe's share of this which, on January
/, 1896, was $799 OF, 900. To represent this
outstanding insurance account, the COM
pany has fund of $174, 791 ,99O,54, of which
80, 038, 80 is surplus or profits, the bal
ance, $3.50, 1853, 265 with the exception of
a few items), In policy reserve. Assume
ii all to be reserve. That amount, with
compound interest at 4 per cent, on the
basis of mortality tables accepted by the
company, will be exactly adequate to pay
TO the policy holder at death or maturity,
dollar for dollar, the amount of his policy,
and leave the surplus S4, OBS, GIT. SO, abso
lutely untouched, even if the company
had ceased to do any business since Jan
uary l, 1896. The question naturally
arises is, in what class of securities Is
this sum invested? Is it not all or very
nearly all, in interest-bearing gold bonds
and first mortgages with comparatively
small amount in real estate absolutely
owned by the company? We take it for
granted it is
Now, what proportion of the out
standing insurance does the company
specifically agree to pay in gold for eV
cry such contract issued by the COM
pany? Does ii not stipulate that premi-
ums must also be paid in gold? If So this
small percentage of the business will
have no effect whatever, for the company
could just as easily agree to pay a GER
tain weight in diamonds, for proportion
ate premium and interest in diamonds,
The gold policies (of which but one Cor
$1,000 has been written by this agency
force during our several years connection
with the company and that one for an
Englishman), will certainly take care Of
themselves.
The vast majority of the business
however is payable In dolars-just plain
everyday dollars-the company pays
them in dollars. If the dollars received
by the company have been converted in
10 gold or 1O0-cent dollars, and the com
pany pays its policy holders in so-called
s3-cent dollars, cannot the company we'll
afford to pay policy holders almost twice
as much as their policies call for? The
company will certainly make a profit
OF Al cents on every dollar, ana what is
10 become of this profit of AZ cents on
every dollar? 1t must go into the surplus
and being a purely mutual company this