The Topeka state journal., 1897-11-24
OLD WAYS AND NEW.

The city of Duluth. Mimi, after ten
years fight with water company which
it had chartered, has at last forced the
corporation to agree to accept price
for the plant which the people cOnsid-
er as reasonable. Before this could be
accomplished it became necessary to
begin the building of a municipal sys-
tenn. Seeing that the people were de
termined to maintain these rights, the
company managers dropped about
million dollars from the price that they
had been demanding for their plant and
the deal was closed.
Gradually those lines of business
which it has been found necessary to
regulate by law seem to be coming un-
der the complete control and manage
ment of the people The change is slow,
but the corporations themselves seem
intent on digging their own graves. If
less greed4were shown perhaps changes
like that which has taken place at Du-
luth would be less frequent than they
are. That method however seems to be
growing in popularity and instances of
the Duluth kind are becoming more and
more frequent
Such changes of system move slowly
at first and the fact that England is so
far ahead of this country in these mat
ters is probably owing to the fact that
the country is much older and that the
people have had more time in which to
become dissatisfied with the old meth
Cd.
The idea of public management of
business in which d majority of the
people are interested has extended from
the city governments to the national
government. The government now not
only carries on the mail, telegraph, ex-
press and a savings bank business but
it also furnishes through the postoffices
an opportunity for securing life insur-
ance, old age pensions and immediate
annuities, to the limit of 800 each. For
example, if a. farmer in a remote part
of the country desires to insure his life
with the government for the benefit of
his family to the extent of e100 he goes
to the nearest postoffice and fills out a
blank which is furnished him by the
postmaster, and resembles very closely
those which are used by life insurance
companies in the United States. He is
asked about his health and habits, the
longevity of his family and other par
ticulars. If he desires insurance to the
amount of 925 or less it is not neces-
sary for him to undergo a medical ex-
animation, but for insurance over that
sum such an examination is required.
for which he is asked to visit a physi-
clan in the neighbOrhood, to whom he
must pay a small fee. The premium
rates are about the same as charged by
ordinary life insurance companies and
are calculated upon the same theory of
risks and average mortality.
Having complied with the conditions,
the application and the surgeons Ger
tificate are sent with a postoffice order
for the first premium to headquarters
in T
insurance bureau issues a policy and
returns It through the postmaster to
the insured. If the insured person dies
within one year his heirs are not enti-
tied to any benefit from his policy, ex-
cept his death is the result of accident,
but his premium is returned to them.
If he dies within two years his heirs
receive but One-half of the amount of
his policy. These conditions are based
upon the theory that the medical exam
ination was not thorough.
The premium for e5 insurance at the
age of 9 years, which is the lowest risk
the government will accept for that
amount, is IS pence a year. No person
under Is years of age win be insured
for more than e5. The pOstoffice de-
partment will insure to a maximum of
8100 between the ages of Is and So The
premium for a person 25 years of age
for e1OO is a2, or $40 a year, and for a
person of so years. e4 Is Cd.
This system of insurance has been
adopted by the government more for
the convenience of the farmers who are
not within convenient reach of the or
binary insurance companies.
There is also plan of immediate an
nuities for life. Any person so years of
age who has Els, or SIS in cash, can, by
"a
ment, receive a pension of IS a year as
long as he lives. BY paying $50 to any
postmaster a person 81 years of age