The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-03
HARRIS VALUABLE LEGS
A PREsENTIMENT LED HIM TO IN
SURE THEM FOR 100000.
After Years of RaiIrOading without
Accident He Was Run Over by
a Chicago Cable Car.


San Francisco Post.
The story of John W. Hillmon, of insur-
ance fame, is familiar to nearly every man,
woman and child in the United States. 1T
has been printed in every newspaper in
this country Insurance companies believe,
or pretend to believe, that HillmOn is still
alive and that he is smart enough to keep
out of their clutches. Even so, aillmon
is a novice. compared with another citizen
of Kansas. This other citizen is David W.
Hart, of Dodge City. He is not a great
man, but the insurance companies think he
has shown turn of mind at speculation
which would entitle him to membership
in the Chicago Board of Trade. Few men
are gifted with the foresight of seer or
the prudence of a Franklin but Mr.. Hart,
of Dodge City, appears to have BOTH
For many years Hart was on the Atchi-
son, Topeka & Santa Fe between Dodge
City and La Junta, Cal. Re was by turns
a switchman, freight brakeman, passenger
and freight conductor, and, for all any one
knows, an engineer and fireman However,
he passed twenty years on rolling stock. lie
was not clumsy man. He was a small
why, active man, to whom year after year
of railroad work had given certain agli-
ity and dexterity about cars SO adept in
deed, had he become, that in all these years
he had never met with an accident-not
He switched, he climbed over slippery decks
of cars, he coupled up trains. he perched on
brakes he swung from car to car, he caught
flying trains, he missed approaching en-
gines, and, in fact, stared death in the face
in a thousand ways. STILL he escaped UNI
Thus Hart struggled along through life
until he passed the forty-ffth mile post.
He was the father of half a dozen children.
He was frugal and thrifty man and saved
enough money to buy house in Dodge
CITY. He also contrived to buy another one
at La Junta. 1t is not always best for a
Western railroad man to own too much
property in one town. He also saved money
for bank account.
FAD FOR ACCIDENT POLICIES.
Hart believed in insurance, especially in
accident insurance Unlike Hillmon. he did
not care to die to beat an insurance COM
pany. and for the protection of his family
he liked to keep we'll insured in railroad
benevolent associations against accident to
life and limb. AS Hart worked on the Atchi-
son, Topeka & Santa Re road, he in
sured, with other employees, in the Travellers
Association for employees Of that company
so as to receive $685. for the loss of a leg.
He did not stop with that safeguard, but
threw out a few more anchors, or, in rail
road parance, safety signals, in the way
of accident policies. He was insured in the
Engineers Association in the Railway Of
ficials' and Employees Association, the Rail-
the United States and Canada, the Switch
mems Union Benevolent Association, the
Railroad Trainmen's Association and the
Railroad Passenger and Freight Conductors
Association. He also belonged to the Ma
sonic and United Workmen lodges, in which
he had $4,000 in policies. This list would I
strike most persons being fair provision
against all contingencies, but Hart knew
better the value of his own limbs than any
one else. Not that he feared for a moment
that he might in his old age grow careless
ard fall beneath the wheels g, Of his own train;
ment ever in his mind, so he paid his as
sessments.
break in the monotonous life of this rail-
road man. He was selected by admiring
constituency to go as a delegate to a rail-
road mems convention to Boston. The trip
pleased Hart, for not only could he repre-
sent the railroad men in an important con-
vention, but could have a chance to see
the worlds fair. Being a frugal man and
not addicted to drink or bad habits, he
saved up neat sum. and after paying his
insurance assessments was able to start for
Boston with few hundred dollars in his
pocket.
Hart no sooner left home than that dark
presentiment would come up before him. He
had taken a sleeping car out of Kansas
City and as he was whirling along toward
the white city he thought how recklessly
he was exposing himself to the peris of
travel in the hands of crew he knew moth
ing about.
Every railroad horror he had read of for
years came before his vision again as he
lay there in his berth. The tales of careless
his mind despite all he could do, and fancy
conjured up grim pictures of horror. 1t was
in vain that he argued with himself that he
was insured in case of accident. Nothing
could pay for the loss of any of his valuable
members. What were these trifiing policies
to the loss of toe or finger? And as for a
leg, could the national treasury pay for it?
LIST OF INSURANCE.
Troubled and harassed by these thoughts
Mr.. Hart reached Chicago. 1t was with a
sigh of relief that he left the train and
made a straight cut for accident insurance
companies where he enrolled himself under
the banner of their protection. Some con-
ception of the magnitude of his operations
may be CLEANED from a brief glance at the
list of companies he insured in, always
with the provision against the loss of a
leg. He took cut policies in the following
companies:
Pacific Mutual Life-$2O00
Fidelity and Casualty-S50 per week for
twenty-six weeks.
Travellers Insurance-$SO per week for
Interstate casualty-s15 per week for
twenty-six weeks.
London Guarantee Accident Gimited)-
$50 per week for twenty-six weeks.
Aetna Life-$SO per week for twenty-six
weeks.
United States Mutual Accident Associa-
ton $500 for loss Of a leg.
Guarantee and Accident (I4loyd s)-S25
per week for twenty-five weeks.
Accident Insurance Company of North
America and Canada-s30 per week for
tWenty-six weeks.
The Standard Accident Insurance-$30 per
week for fifty-two weeks.
Manufacturers Accident Insurance Com
pany of Canada-S2 900 for loss of leg
Employers Liability Association Corpora
ton u4imited)-$l00 900 for loss of leg
singular circumstance is that In the
previous year Hart, while on a similar trip
| TO Boston, had insured in these same COM
panies and In the same manner, but that
year he was wonderfully preserved and had
n nh IN he
| tons. The policies above enumerated were
| taken out on the thirty-day limit plan, and
| IN case Hart should be killed his heirs would
| this liberal protection TO his life the dozen
| or so companies he was insured In at home
| would pay, in case OF death, about $50 00
But Hart seemed most concerned about has
| legs, although there was no reason to sun
pose there was anything extraordinary