Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1904-07-22
An Amosinq Comparison.


of statistics and amuse themselves show
ing what the assets of The Mutual Life
Insurance Company might do under GER
tain conditions. The American Under
writer has made a comparison with the
st. Louis Purchase Exposition. We
quote:
We have notion that if some of The
Mutual Lies big figures were compared
with big things which the general public
has seen, or can see, for itself-for in
stance, with the biggest of the big things
which are in the public eye Just now, the
ST. Louis Expositon-the comparisons
would really startle the ordinary man
who isn't handling, or figuring on, hum
dreds of millions day in and day out.
The Louisiana purchase, which the
Exposition commentaries was made in
1903, just forty years before The Mutual
Life commenced business, and the terri
tory then purchased now includes four
teen states in whole or in part. 1t does
not require a professional geographer, or
an expert surveyor to figure out that
that particular real estate operation was
pretty large one, especially as the
United States paid to France about 3d.
600, 900 for its concession. Well big as
was the operation which the colossus of
Worlds Fairs at st. Louis is now cele-
brating, it was mere flea bite alongside
of the operations of that colossus among
life insurance companies, The Mutual
Life. In 1908, just 100 years after the
Louisiana Purchase, The Mutual Life
received in premiums from its policy
holders more than S60, 000,0 900, and its
total income footed up more than ST., :
600, 600, so that it might have paid the
entire cost of the Louisiana Purchase
four times over out of its premium in
come or paid the cost of the land which
France ceded to the United States and
also paid spot cash for every dollars
worth of the outlay on the Louisiana
Purchase Exposition, and even then had
ten or twelve millions of its income in
1903 left in it's strong boxes.
If any further proof of the Company
magnitude were needed suppose its assets
were reduced to 81 bills, those 81 bills
placed close together on level stretch
of land, and the space covered by the 81
bills compared with the land covered by
the st. Louis Fair At the end of 1903
The Mutual Life had admitted assets of
S401 1921 ,661.66, or in other words, the
equivalent of 401 1921, 661 dollar bills to be
of regulation size, they would cover a
space of more than 2.3 square miles, or
1868 acres. The st. Louis Exposition
covers Just 1910 acres, and consequently
if all its buildings, and lakes and lagoons
were wiped out, the ground leveled, and
The Mutual Life's assets placed edge to
edge on that level ground, they would
cover every inch of space within the
Exposition enclosure, and about a fifth
| DC ha on
closure Were the 40l 1921 ,661 dollar bills
stretched end to end, instead of being
spread out over the ground, they would
reach 46, III miles, or nearly twice around
the globe, and even were they changed
into $50 bills, there would be enough of
them to cover both rails on every mile of
+ the 104S miles of railway track between
New York and St. Louis, and leave a
tolerably comfortable fortune of more
than $40 900, 900 for other uses.
Just one more comparison, that of The
Mutual Life's assets with the distance
around the St. Louis Fair grounds. AS
| the grounds measure about two miles in
| length by one and One-quarter miles in
width, the man who set out to walk
around the grounds and stick close to the
fence surrounding them would have to
cover about 6.5 miles. If the assets of
The Mutual We're all converted into bills
of the denomination of $1,000, and the
collection of saffron-hued $1,000 bills
pasted end-on-end on the fence around
the Exposition grounds, there would be
enough of the bills to make seven rows,
or singularly alluring border nearly
two feet wide, of $1,000 bills pasted end
to-end and side by side, and reaching
completely around the Exposition
grounds, with a few odd millions of
dollars in $1,000 bills left over for Incl
dentals. Surprising there were seven
rows of $1,000 bills pasted end-on-end
around the six and one-half mile fence
enclosing the Louisiana Purchase EX-
position grounds at st. Louis, and every
man who visited the Fair was made to
understand that all that money was only
part of the assets of The Mutual Life In
surance Company, would any further
demonstration of the magnitude and re-
sources Of this colossus of life insurance
companies be needed? Possibly one OF
two of the $1,000 bills might accidentally
peel off the fence, or become mislaid, but
we think The Mutual Life would need nc
further advertising-if any of the $1,000
bills should remain in evidence when the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition was over.
This all very amusing, but The Mutual
Life can do much better than FASTING
$1,000 bills on fence: it puts them into
the homes of the bereaved and the DESC
late