The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-05-05
ssThere Is no Kodak
 but the Eastman Kodak"
 1898 KODAKS
 For sale by The Arthur H. Barnes Co. nssr G'ts Ha,, s,are. 159 Church St.
The Ntna Life's suit.
LFrom the Hartford Times.

ne EEtna 4lIe's NHlt.
 From the Hartford Timesl
 The suit of Insurance Commissioner
 Betts against the Aetna Life Insurance
 company, which was settled out of
 court Tuesday, has attracted much at
 tention in insurance circles and with
 the public. While the company felt
 reasonably certain that it's position in
 the matter would be sustained, it deem
 ed it wiser and more economical to com
 promise rather than continue a long
 and tedious litigation; and also to put
 stop to the practice of it's rivals in
 using the commissioners suit to the
 Aetna's detriment. It was claimed by the commissioner that the charge made
 by the stock department for the par
 ticipating departments share of the
 general expenses was unWarranted and illegal. The amount involved was $141,- 44196. It should be borne in mind that this was a transaction which took place upwards of thirty years ago, and with which the present management had nothing whatever to do. The re- storing of this amount, with interest, to the participating department, mak- ing a total of $317,701, was deemed wise in view of the impending litigation and the annoyance, damage and expense in- cident to it.
 This is the substance of what the participating policyholders get out of the litigation. The order to transfer $1,000000 of assets, together with more than $2,000,000 of certain liabilities, is | not hardship to the stockholders and consequently of questionable benefit to the participating insurers. The paid up policies to be transferred by the terms of the settlement to the partici- pating department were issued prior tc l 1874, hence have been in force upwards of tWenty-four years and of necessity upon the lives of aged persons It should be understood that the issuance of paid-up policies of the class referred | to in the order of the court was dis | continued in the year 1874, twenty-five years prior to the complaint of the l commissioner.
 | In explanation of the charge made by | the stock department it should be stat | ed that when the participating depart ment of the company was organized, ir | 1861, the company had been doing busi. l ness for eleven years upon the stock ! or participating plan. During this time it had been advertising, employ ] ing agents and in other ways creating a name and reputation for the compa- ny at the risk and expense of it's pro- motors. Persons familiar with the business know that a life insurance company cannot be established agen. cies created and equipped, and a name and reputation made for it so that bus. mess can be secured at a moderate rate of expense without great effort and risk of loss as well as large expenditures The value of this equipment to the par ticipating policy-holders was immense as is subsequently, shown from the fact that out of it has grown one of the most successful life insurance compa- nies in the land. The whole organza- tion was practically turned over for the uses and benefit of the participating policy-holders. After the business o1 | the latter department had been running for several years and success and pros perity were assured the company made what it believed was a fair and moder- ate charge for the use of the equipment and organization of the company, as l above explained. This charge amount. ed, as we understand it, to only about per cent. of the premiums collected by l the participating department up to tha time. Any one familiar with the ex. l pense of life insurance knows how mucf more economical it must have been fol | the participating policy-holders to pay I this amount through company vel l organized and with a good reputation { than it would have been to have start I ed in new, as many companies do, a | far greater expense to it's insured Tn, l company believed that this was a req | sonable and proper charge, one whicI | it was justified in making, and still be ) lieves that this view would have beer | sustained by the court, but as the com | missioner thought differently ant 1 claimed the whole amount, with inter l est at per cent. or more, a compro | mise was finally effected upon the ba
 sis of per cent. simple interest.
 The financial standing and the pres | ent methods of business of the Aetnt
 Life are in no way affected by the set l clement. The management can nov | devote it's time to the prosecuting of it 1 successful business, and we have Il, | doubt the wisdom of the compromis l will be demonstrated. The fact tha
 the value of the company's stock ha | advanced upwards of thirty point
 since the settlement is practical evi 1 dence of the wisdom of the compromis
 and fully justifies the judgment O | President Bulkeley.
 | CONDITION OF THE TREASURY Washington, May 4.-To-day's state