The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-11-15
BY HERBERT VANDERHooF.

BY HERBERT VANDERHOoF.
Contrary to the surface belief, disclos-
ures of abuse and waste in several of the
largest eastern insurance companies have
had tendency to quicken interest in life
| insurance and stimulate the business of
the mutual companies and those known
to carry straight lines of policy with I'M
| questionable soundness Of management,
rather than to drive the public off. The
| effect Of the disturbance Is good upon the
whole, since it has by wide publicity en-
lightened the public concerning methods
Of insurance. and so enabled many people
to discriminate in this most vital thing.
| The whole business Is better understood
than it ever was before. The mere rev.
| elation of the vast accommodations of
money. which really belong to the policy
holders has done more than anything
else could have done to pound into peo-
pies minds the fact that insurance is not
at all the kind Of game that you can't
get the best of until you die. Nearly
every company Of note in the United
States has such an accumulation, and in
nearly every one Of them these funds
are actually used for the profit Of the
that the cost of d policy after the first
few years IS largely offset by its partici-
patton in the earnings of money paid on
1T in the form Of premiums.
The storm, in fact, has cleared the air,
and opened new and more ample view
Of the entire field. This is good for the
companies, but it is better for the peo-
pie as individuals and the public as
whole.
Duty OF Every Man.
Fairly stated, 1t Is the duty Of every
man who can get it to take and carry an |
Insurance upon his life in one of the
many forms the companies offer; and
these forms are varied and adapted
to all needs that there are only three
kinds Of people who can't find any to
suit--or who can't be insured. These are
the very aged, the very poor, and people
who are about to die of some disease.
I 10 all others choice Is free; and the
I principal companies are one and all re-
sponsible in the fullest degree. The day
4 When death claim meant a. contest
! passed away long ago. The system has
4 been so thoroughly perfected that when
a claim is presented with the proper
4 proof (and that is easy) Of either accident
i or death, as the case may be, it is paid
! at once, and without bubble, whether
the policy be days or years old. A re-
cent instance was the case Of Sam Shu-
bert, the theatrical manager, who died
Of injuries received in a railway acct
: dent, q few weeks ago. He had paid
one premium each on two policies Gin diff
ferent companies) for $4,000 each, and
family applied after the funeral The case
was in no way exceptional Contested
claims have become very, rare. The COM
and ony the 70 Of a
attempt to swindle leads to question:
90 insurance sur IS no longer in any way a
world, and so far as anything in busi-
ness can be SO, the most benefcent. Few
things. if any, touch so nearly and init
mately the welbe 81 Of families and
10 understood the occupation Of the solicit
tor would fade away, because every man
his application without waiting to be
asked.
What Man Is Worth.
A man who earns thousand dollars
n a year IS worth twenty thousand dollars
2 reckoning his earning power as per cent
z of a principal sum, which is represented
= by the special knowledge or ability that
e. IS him to earn that thousand dol.
y per cent" it would be described
) in business terms. He gets that 5 per
cent out Of Ibis his capital ability Just as
s comes under the bar Of disability either
Il by age, accident, disease, or death, his
{ capital vanishes, and with it the incre-
& ment
81 The man who does his, bounden duty
} takes care to conserve some part of that
) earning power so that it will last after
y of the increment of his earning power
I to provide a substitute for his capital
I ability when or in case it shall vanish so
hi,,ov how
goes 6ankrup f OF Ceases by 1 reason s
haps. but still guaranty against des-
J titution.
I The man who is not prudent enough to
I provide such stay may be all right
I one particular he Is no friend to himself,
{ is menace to his family and a potential
tS ths ez II this e eoantRS
! have been filed for generations with
} such as he, and the care Of them is a
I tax upon all men; It IS part of the
I No man has right to use all his in
I come if that income be above the merest
thousand to five thousand a year, that
) Is, from the decent average to the solid
} middle grade of ease, cannot regard their
} duty squarely if they do not set aside
J as fixed charge one-fifth of their TAX
TO n9 sah befare the snsS aoash
I cent for personal living expenses.
I A man with a thousand year should
{ set aside two hundred and live on the
other eight. The five thousand mar
{ should set aside thousand and live or
four.
y What Legislation Might Do.
All Of which is to say that it is tn,
{ duty Of every man over 81 years of ag.
to carry assurance against his owl
disability or extinction. With married
men this is so true that it ought to b
made compulsory 1t is one Of the thing
I in which sumptuary legislation would no
Il go against the gorge. If in this year o
Il 1905 it could be enacted into law by al
& the states, or by the general government
the year Of 1880, just one generation
& away, would this country without
single poorhouse and with public chart
) ties so reduced in scope and number a
} to be negligible in general economics, in
} stead of the vast drain they are today
p The sum Of misery would have become
minimum, and individual distress anon
( women and children would have dwindle
to that final normal quantity which lif
inevitably impose The happy go luck
kwould have disappeared, with all 1t
train of hardships. and in it's place
} sure degree of comfort, an absence of alb
I solute want, would have become a pre-
vailing rule. hi.
I There are several ways in which ma
may a part of his income to provid
against future want. He may put
aside in savings or buy real estate, {
go into fraternal society or take OF