The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1897-01-16
SOME INSURANCE YARNS
MEN WHO DIED QUICKLY AFTER
SECURING Policies.
Grocer Had Been Taken as n Risk,
and Was Killed on the Day the
Papers Arrived.

The high Importance of life insurance
years and policies are held by so macy
thousands now that it is scarcely strange
that there are many wonderful stories
in this connection, says London Tid-Bfts.
A very remarkable thing occurred to
Sheffield grocer a few months ago. Iav-
ing wife and three children dependent
upon him, and not making an income
much more than sufficient for current ex-
penses, he decided to take out an insur-
ance upon his life for the protection of his
family against restitution in the event Of
their being suddenly robbed of his sup
port. He applied to good company,
went through the usual formalities, and
awaited the result.
A few days later, after having closed his
shop for the night, he was sitting in his
parlor over the shop, when he heard the
postman's characteristic knock. He threw
down his paper and hurried downstairs.
When in the middle of long, steep flight
his foot slipped, and he was forcibly pre-
cipitated down the remainder of the stairs
into the hall below, where he struck his
head heavily against a metal letter box,
which caused concussion of the brain,
from which he died in the course of a sew
days,
The extraordinary feature of this story
which sounds like the daring fiction of a
penny-a-liner, is the fact that in the let
ter box at the time of the accident was
the life insurance policy for which the
grocer had been negotiating. 1t had just
been delivered by the postman, to whose
knock he had responded. In point of ex-
traordinariness this story, which is
placed without the pale of suspicion by
its source, would be hard to beat.
There are many similar cases of poli-
cies being taken out at the 18th hour, as
1t has proved. Only last summer a gen
tleman who was on the following day
to have started on mountaineering tour
through Switzerland went to a big Lon
don insurance company to go through
the final formalIties and get his policy
This was done, and he left the office,
which is situated in a thoroughfare
where the traffic is seriously congested
Turning straight out of the office, without
looking where he was going, he ran into
the horse of a hanson, by which he was
knocked down and fatally injured
A strange case, illustrative of the value |
Of newspaper insurance, which has become |
so popular of recent years, was that of a |
country carpenter. He had just knocked |
off work near a country station, and was |
lettering about talking to the porters,
when a train came in and stopped. From |
one of the compartments directly oppo-
site the carpenter a gentleman alighted, |
leaving paper upon the seat. The man |
mentioned the fact to him, and, being in |
formed that it was no longer wanted.
he took possession of it himself to read
over his evenings pipe. He slipped it
into his pocket, and. after a few more
remarks to the porters, went off home.
making his way along the railway, which,
in the country, is a much more common
thing than is supposed.
About half way home he was overtaken
by train, knocked down and killed IN.
stantly. His wife very promptly-it is re-
marka.ble how prompt people can be under |
these circumstances-put in her claim for
the insurance, of which the paper the
deceased carried was the policy, and
proved her kinship.
There is a strong vein of the pathetic
running through the following story: A
commercial traveller, who traded for a |
London soft-goods firm, had, with wise
Judgment, insured his life on his marriage,
and had kept up the payment for % |
years, in the hope of providing for his |
wife and five children against his death. |
After 20 years financial difficulties, which |
only changed to go from bad to worse.
his making one of the payments.
which, of course, caused the policy to fall /
through.
Within week of this the traveller was
seized in the street by a spasm of pain,
md died of heart disease almost imne-
lately, leaving his family in state bord-
sring upon restitution, which he mad for
70 many years struggled to guard against.
Che facts of this sad case were brought
before the insurance company, which act
ID in a most generous manner by return
ng to the widow all the money paid in
premiums by her husband. Still, the irony |
II fate has a fine illustration in this story. |
ELIOT'S MATCHMAKING,
His HnhVnNy V.RnHa |