The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1903-07-14
TEA AND INSURANCE.
Curious Complications over the Offer
Of London store 10 Wives
and Mothers.

A curious situation has arisen II
London over the advertising scheme
adopted by tea store, reports the New
York Sun. The plan was this
Any married woman who bought tea
in any quantity. however small, from
the firm regularly every week for 81
consecutive weeks became entitled, II
her husband died after that time, to a
lifelong pension. The pension, Of
course, was small
The idea took, and the business Of the
company leaped up to an astonishing
figure. For the first two or three years
the outlay for pensions was almost
nothing compared to the income OF
course, the number Of widows increased
gradually, but for some time in no mo-
ticeable disproportion to the new vol
ume Of business.
The scheme did not very clearly come
under the supervision of the severn
ment insurance officials and the COM
pany had merely to report the status of
its business and the amount of pensions
paid The annual insurance blue book
Of Great Britain contains this year for
the first time the printed statement OF
this plan.
In June, 1900, the firm had a yearly
income from sales of about $750,0OO and
paid to its pensioners more than $780,
600. In June, 1902, the annual sales
were over s2,15O,OO0, and the pensions
s350000 There are now more than
5000 widows who are entitled to draw
a weekly bounty from the company
until the day Of their death and the
average payment is about 50 a week to
each PERSON.
The figures given by the government
show that the amount of the pensions is
slowly creeping up on the income Of the
company, despite the fact that the in
come is also on the rise. Thus far no
attention has apparently been paid in
the workings of the scheme to the fact
that a certain amount of money should
be invested and held in reserve to pay
the annuities already on the books.
The British critics of the plan, main
ly rival merchants, argue that if the
5000 widows are really pensioners on
the books, the firm has liability to
them in the future of not less than s1O,-
100000.
Lately, to extend the business still
further, it has been announced that any
woman already a widow may earn a
lifelong pension by purchasing half
pound of tea weekly for ten consecutive
years. This pension amounts to ten
shillihgs week.
The boom that follows this new de-
parture is expected to hold up the COM
pany's end for some time on the old
plan, but the mathematicians of the in
dustrial insurance companies which
have been deprived of their weekly pre-
miums by the insurance with little
tea in 1t" plan and the tea merchants
who have been deprived of their trade,
both say that the time of failure of the
scheme is not far off for the tea COM
pany
The one safeguard that the latter
has is that only rs per cent. of the prof
lJS OF the company can De useu 10 pay
pension claims. In this case the COM
pany could never become insolvent in
theory, but the pensions would melt
down as the profits declined.
The government in 1900 required the
regular insurance deposit of 100000
from the promoters of the plan, but the
law under which this was done does not
very clearly cover the requirements of
the case. Measures are now being TAX
en- by the London board of trade and the |
insurance interests to have the govern
ment place some restriction and more
responsibility on the tea house for the
liability it has taken upon itself to boom
trade
1t is stated that the company itself is
beginning to feel the strain and will |
welcome a chance of relief even If the |
operation of the plan has to be discon-
tinued with those persons already on
the books.
TOD COT ODEO NTpTc /