The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-02-21


 Therefore the Connecticut Mutual re- stituency than those who desire to give their families and estates the highest protection at it's lowest possi- ble cost, in furnishing which it stands alone And we deem it our duty to our present great membership to consider their interest first, to do the best we can for them to make their insurance as secure and as cheap as possible, rather than seek to greatly increase their their number by schemes which would greatly increase the cost of their insurance and benefit them in no wise We prefer to draw to us as new members those who de- sire to share in the present low cost Of insurance to our old members and who can appreciate that benefit at it's full value, rather than attract men by speculations in dividends postponed ten or twenty years, of great apparent promise in the far future, the promised or "estimated" benefits of which could, at least, be realized for but few by the sacrifice of the many, and which, by reason of the enormous expense Of the companies floating them, have so far been and must continue to be egre- giously disappointing. Thousands of their old policy-holders know just what we mean.
 The Interest Standard.
 One of the most interesting events, of the year has been the change by a number of companies in the rate of in terest assumed in calculating their premiums and reserves, in which re- spect they have more or less closely followed the action of the Connecticut Mutual sixteen years ago. In 1882 we became satisfied that the rapid in crease of wealth in this country and the increasing confidence of foreign in vestors in our resources were certain to so increase the supply of capital as to cause serious and prolonged de- cline in the rate of interest on conser- vative investments. We were then, as all other companies were, calculating our premiums and reserves on the as- sumption of earning at least per cent. annual interest for all the time any of our policies might remain in force, that Is, for at least seventy or eighty years. We became satisfied that this assumption was not entirely safe, and that 3 per cent. was as high a rate as could be safely assumed for so long a time ahead That rate was accordingly then adopted by us to our continually increasing satisfaction ever since. At the time our action was much criticised as unnecessarily tim i'd instead of really conservative, and our rivals affected to treat it as a mark of weakness rather than pru- dent provision for future strength and safety. But that which we then fore saw and guarded against as the inevi- table result of causes then operating has been so fully demonstrated by time that the way of prudence has be- come clear to all, even to our then harshest critics.
 Sundry Matters.
 It is our usual habit to take up the various items of the years operations and comment upon them in detail But as the effect of these items is fully set forth in our detailed financial state ment herewith, and as the experience of the year has developed nothing of unusual interest or significance re- specting them, we venture to use the space usually devoted to them to call your especial attention to a matter of profound personal interest to every policy-holder in every mutual compa- ny, namely,
 The Taxation of Life Insurance.
 Among the most threatening features of our political life to-day is the dis position of those concerned in various enterprises to turn to the state for aid and also the disposition of legislators to grant such aid either to win popu- larity or to avoid unpopularity. States have no income except from taxes What they give to one has to be first taken from others by taxation. They have nothing of their own to give. IT order to indulge this free-handed re sponse to growing demands, taxation must be increased But increased tax. ation of the voter endangers the politi- cal aspirations of those responsible fol the increase. So to gratify their con stituents who want state aid for some project, and at the same time not tt offend their constituents who art voters, legislators are put under 2 l strong temptation to tax somebody who doesn't vote for the benefit O those who do. Attention is at once di rected to corporations, which are onl! 'soulless" personalities, whose fund: are in plain sight and easy to reach and against which it is easy to excit, such prejudice as to make many peo pie blind to all questions of justice oi propriety, and careless of those wht really compose these corporations, O. where their funds come from and wha they are held for. Not a session of { legislature passes in any state bu more or less measures for taxing or in creasing the taxes on life insurance companies are brought forward and al most always with some degree of sue cess.
 It is high time that policyholder' should understand clearly and precisely how this matter affects them person ally; that whatever their company i taxed is paid by themselves; that th tax is really upon them personally, ant that the company merely collects i from them and pays 1t over to tn state. For a mutual company has n funds except those derived from tn ,,oid in by fife