Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-03-13
Friday. March I3, 1908.
HOME INSURANCE COMPANIES

Ahe richmond Tunes very properly
taxes credit for bringing to the attention
OF the people of Virginia the advantages
of having home life insurance companies
We rejoice i'm the success that
mas attended both of the Virginia life in.
surance companies.
III the Times desires To apa;n holm
hichmond, Virginia and the South LET II
advocate at once the organization OF
one or two additional fire insurance
companies in Virginia. Fire insurance
- Tue handmaid OF commerce, is largely
the basis OF all credit, and business men
must have it."
we thank our contemporary for IFS
Nnd illusions to this paper. and assure
~ 'nat the Times is willing to do any
.ning In its power TO promote these
home enterprises.
0ur SUFFOLK contemporary says that if
any one doubts that home insurance
companies would get the needed patron-
age from Virginia and other Southern
states he has only to study the official
statements of the fire insurance COM
pames doing business in Virginia and
North Carolina to find that the prefer
ence OF the people is for the home ;nstitu-
ton.
1t says, also, that in the present state
OF Nirginia's prosperity, farmers. mer-
chants, manufacturers and mechanics
are better of than they have been for
years; the banks have larger deposits
showing thousands of dollars of min
vested capital, and it believes that IL
the subject were properly agitated and
presented to the people they would sub
scribe literally to stock in home COM
panies.
Anis is encouraging as coming from n
sensible and conservative newspaper and
SHOWS an improved condition in public
sentiment. Before the war the South WINS
dependent upon the North for it's man,
uiactured supplies, and our people fell
INTO the habit of sending thither for
practically everything except what could
oe produced on the farm. We seemed tn
nave the idea that manufacturing could
only be done in New England. and even
AFTER factories Were started up in the
south we were suspicious of them. and
gave the preference to the foreign prod
uct- In the same way we fell into tho
habit OF taking out insurance in FOREIGN
companies, and years ago at least one
notable effort to establish Virginia in
surance company turned out most djsas-
trously.
but the people are learning better. and
are forming better habits. We are ,,at
ting To be a great manufacturing com
munity, and we are learning that Tho
nome articles are as good as the best
We are also learning that home insur.
snce in reputable companies is rs good
as foreign insurance.
The great advantage of home insur.
ance companies is that they oryon;za
home capital and keep it here for the
cement oil our own people. The CITY of
Hartford, Conn.,, owes its prosperity very
largely to its home insurance companies
which supply capital for business enter
prises at low rate of interest. The
subject ~ one of supreme Importance IN
the people of Virginia and deserves their
Observation-Disclosures Times.
The foregoing are very timely
remarks on a subject that is becom-
ing more and more of interest to the
people of this State and of the Soutb
generally. While Richmond has two
excellent old line fire insurance com-
panies 1t is not well to lose sight of |
the great work which is being accom-.
piished throughout this State BY
several excellent local mutual COM
panies. We have one which operates
infour counties of the Northern Neck
(the Northern Neck Mutual Fire As
sociation), with headquarters at Irv-
lngton, that has been working for
seven years with remarkable success
and saving thousands of dollars to
our people that had hitherto been
paid out to foreign companies and
keeping other thousands at home for
running expenses. While insurInp
only rural property, dwellings,, barns
furniture and such like (no stores
factories or halls) it has nearly four
hundred thousand dollars in live in.
surance upon its books TODAY. It
has paid out several thousand dollars
during its existence upon losses. but :
at no time has the cost been as much 8
as a rate of two per cent. for five I
years to its policy-holders. 1t places
no risk exceeding 81, 900 on any one
piece Of property, and this safeguard,
with the additional one of HAVING
tirst-class business men at its head !
whose labors are chiefly those of love /
accounts in no small measure for ifs c
wonderful success.
There is today no necessity for !
my Virginian going outside of the j
State to secure protection from fire. n
And this is as it should be.
PEOPLE, and merchants in partlc- a
liar, should not be too easily over c
persuaded that the goods or ma .