Martinsburg statesman. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1869-1906, 1905-12-01

pie who thought they were laying up
something for rainy day or for the
support of their families should they,
the husbands and fathers, die. The
developments have been appalling.
The officers and managers OF the big
life insurance companies have not
only been guilty of appropriating to
themselves, members of their own
families or close personal friends
and favorite families, exorbitant
salaries but have suffered the
funds stored up for the widows and
orphans to be the easy spoil Of all the
sharks who by any hook or crook get
their fingers in the treasury. They
have systematically allowed the Re
publican campaign committees to
draw upon that fund each recurring
cam paign for funds to debauch the
voters of the land to say nothing of
the hundreds of thousands of dollars
that have been paid out to al | sorts of
grafters and blackmailers hanging
around state legislatures, especially In
the state of New York. The truth of
the whole matter is that these gigantic
insurance companies are swindlers
from first to last. They charge too
much when they write a policy for an
applicant and they acknowledge it but
they excuse themselves by saying that
the surplus will be paid back in spec
flied time with the increase their money
may earn but the policy holder will
fine tucked away in fine print
somewhere in his poll ~ that he
must settle with the company by its
own figures without giving any ac-
count of the business, and still another
clause is usually added in the small
type which few policy holders read, to
the effect that the company will not
be bound in any way by the st, te aer s
of the agent VINO may lie and nlsrel-
rent, and who usually does to catch
the unsuspecting and confiding pee
pie. o.
invest hundred and thousands of dol
lars in enterprises run on bare CONT
dince even when they know the man
gers of such enterprises to BE- hones<
and worthy of their confidence hut in
the life insurance game you must pay
your money entirely on confidence to
people whom you do not know, to
manage to. suit themselves and trust
them to pay just what they please
without giving any statement of their
| management. In the case of the New
York companies it has been developed
| that the managers of all three of these
gigantic companies were band OF
thieves who have stolen or permitted
others to steal millions of dollars from
the confidins policy holders and the
most amazing feature of the whole
scheme is that in face of these plain,
proven facts there are people who are
still willing to pay their money over
to the rascals.
Please think of a merchant buying
goods from drummer upon a contract
that the house will not be bound BY
One on whichthey have the right to
send what they please and the mer-
chant paying cash in advance
That is exactly what policy holder
does in an old line life insurance COM
pany. The writer is not opposed to
legitimate plans of life insurance. On
moderate means should carry a policy
but for no other purpose than for the
protection for his family and that he
shoeld get 1t at the net cost of the risk
plus the cost of an economical and hon
est management of the company. Never
permit an agent to talk you, reader,
into buying his guilt edge policies His
best policies are always the best for
him, The kind he gets the largest COM
missisn on for selling, but the worst
for the poicy-holder.
For years the agents would talk
nothing but simitontine policies. That
is that the policy-holders should pay
in about three or four times the true
cost of insurance with the idea of
drawing out dividends and that the
dividends would be reserved, earning
more dividends for stipulated term
of years and then by great array of
figures he would make the unsuspect-
ing man see fortune coming all in a
lump as high as mountain, but there
are living witnesses in Martinsburg
who can testify to the unreliabilty of
ihe scheme. There are policy-holders
in this city who have gotten but lit
tie more than half that was promised
them by the agents.