The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1901-07-31
BILL ARP ON INSURANCE.
\ Thoughtful Talk to Young
Men by the Georgia Phi
loSophcr.

for the benefit of my wife or my moth
er or my sister or somebody very dear
to me. If | was poor | would insure
for $1,000, for that would take only 50
twice a year. Any young man could
pay that much, and if he died young
the thousand dollars would help his
mother or his wife or his sister so
much. Funerals are expensive now
adays, and poor man can't afford to
die unless his life is insured. If
young man who is getting $50 to 500
salary does not spend anything for
whisky or cigars he could safely take
policy for 5000, and and pay S27 twice
a year. If he was twenty five years old
it would cost him only $50 semi an
as much as his cigars. If
his salary was $50 month hescould
afford $40 of it each month for insur-
ance, and that would carry policy of
$1,000. What a blessing that sum
would be to the wife or the mother or
the sister. | know young man who
carries $4,000 for his father and moth
err. They are old and poor. He
supports them out of his earnings, but
fears he might die before they do and
then they would be helpless. If he
outlives them the policy becomes his
own.
Life insurance is the best savings
bank in the world for a young man.
He gets it so cheap. Now, here | am,
old and poor, and am carrying only
8 600 on my life and it costs me $40
a year, and it is a hard struggle to
meet the premiums. | began only five
years ago. Too late. Too late! But
| must hold on till | whip the fight.
I'll whip it sure if hold on, for old
Father Time is backing me. If had
begun at twenty one or twenty-five the
premiums would have been about $40
and the dividends would have paid
that long before this. Heard man
say the other day that he paid on
$4,000 for twenty years and now has
a paid-u policy and draws dividends
on it like it was stock in a bank. |
wish | had done that when | was
young man. Wouldn't it be glorious
if had such a document for my wife
and the girls.
But if a young man seriously OBJ
jects to making money by dying for it,
let him take out an endowment policy
for twenty or twenty five years. 1t
will cost him about twice as much, but
he can, if he lives, walk up to the cap
tain's office and call for his money and
do what he pleases with it. If he hap
pens to die beforehand, his wife or his
mother or his sister can draw 1T for
him. Every young man should take
out two policies if he can, one for life
and one on the endowment plan-one
for others and one for himself. 1t IS
IA comfortable thing for man of
forty five to have paid-up policy that
is drawing dividends 1t is still more
for widow or a sister or
a child to inherit both policies if he
should die before expected to.
Insuring ones life for the benefit of
others is the most unseltish act that
young man can perform. No selfish
or thoughtless young man will do 1t.
1t is like looking death square i'll the
face, but few young men will do that.
1t is the next thing to getting religion.
1t is IA confession of mortality. But
death is fact, and if the young man
would stop and think he would take
business view of it and leave religion
out of the question. Let him ponder
upon the fact that not half of the men
at twenty five live to be tifty-that
half his life is already gone, that the
chances are against him, that he will
leave somebody behind him who has
been dependent upon him and may
suffer without him. Then if he is a
reasonable man he must admit that he
ought to insure his life, while it costs
so little, and not wait till it costs so
much.
Why not: For forty four years
have insured my house and furniture,
and no fire yet. The insurance com
pany has got all that money for good,
and yet have taken comfort for all
that time. | have slept better at home
and felt better when abroad i'll know
ing that if fire did come and destroy
my dwelling the loss would be made
good.
That fire may never come, but here
is case where death is sure to come
"a death which in most cases of man
hood deprives the family of one of its
pillars perhaps its chief support, and
yet how few of the young married men
are carrying policy for the wife
and children. They are just going it
blind. 1t looks like defyiug fate for
young man whose only income is his
wages to live day without his policy.
He can't afford to. Even the rich
insure their lives as an investment.
In fact, if | could make the laws |
would require every young man to
take a policy for at least $1,000 when
be applies for marriage license. If
he couldn't raise SIS or $40 to protect
The girl he loved for one year, he is not
Iitten to have her nor fifteen to get
fitten. If he begun with policy he
would be very apt to keep on. The
ordinary should be prohibited from
ssuing license unless the policy was
produced and approved by him. A
Toung married man has no right to die
md leave widow and one or two chill
iren helpless. A policy of one or two
thousand dollars would be good doc
lment 10 court on.