Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1905-12-02
THE INSURANCE SITUATION.

We are amazed to learn upon good
authority that there have developed
two phases of the insurance situation
which seriously reflect upon the hard
sense Of good many presumably in
telligent Americans. G) Hundreds,
even, thousands, are permitting theiI
policies to lapse. This Is so stupied
as to be, from the standpoint of pure
self-interest, almost criminal. There
is no question and has been and can
be no question of the solvency of the
companies. Enough has developed to
prove beyond the shadow of doubt
that the total Of moneys wasted and
not earned that might have been
earned Is a bagatelle in proportion to
the enormous assets. Every dollar of
insurance outstanding is good as colo
whether new policy ever be written
or not. It Is the uttermost folly,
therefore, for any one to sacrifice the
slightest portion of what he has paid
in, To continue the payment of pre-
miums and demand restitution and
reform Is the only sane policy. (2)
Thousands of policy-holders are send
ing their proxies to Thomas w. Law
son. They would better send them to
the devil himself. If the wit of man
were exercised to find way to wreck,
if possible, solvent concern, one
more effective than this could not be
devised. No right-thinking person can
condone proven offenses, but such a
jump as this would be from the fry.
ing-pan, not into the fire, but into the
bottomless pit. That sane beings to
any number likely to prove adequate
to his purpose should intrust their
property and the future sustenance
of their beneficiaries to profession
ally INSCRIPTIONS Spectator seems
Incredible. And yet the danger is
said to be real and imminent. We
hope and believe 1t is magnified by
unwarranted boastfulness on the one
hand and by distorted imagination on
the other. But the interests involved
are so vast and so widespread that no
patriotic citizen should spare any pos
sible effort to save credulous thou
sands from the inevitable conse-
quences of their own rash action. II
it be possibly true that insurance Off
Gals have become so discredited as
to be impotent in withstanding the
force of wave of insanity, 1t is high
time for the formation of a national
thC ihtCiOo VI
the whole people.
Mr. James Hazen Hyde, lately vice.
president of the Equitable Life, did
well by himself and by the commun-
ity in his testimony on November IA
before the Armstrong committee. AS
a witness he was candio, calm, and
sweet-tempered, and he gave, with
apparent willingness, great deal OF
valuable information. No single por-
ton of his testimony exceeded In i'm
portance his disclosures about the
settlement of the lawsuit brought by
Benjamin Odell, while still governor
of New York, to recover losses made
in a speculative investment in ship
building securities. In 1903 the gov
ernor bought some bonds of the Unit
ed States Shipbuilding company. In
stead of going up, as he expected,
they went down. He brought suit
against the Mercantile Trust COM
pany to recover his loss on them.
There was nothing Immediately i'm
proper in that. But Mr.. Hyde testi-
fled that the Mercantile Trust COM
pany, under advice of counsel, settled
the governors suit by paying him
$4,000, and that the consideration