The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-27
LETTERS TO EDITOR
ABOUT INSURANCE.
Guntersvilie Man Says Companies Do
 Not Profit by Lapses.

l certain statements made Dy you III Soui editorial of last Saturday In reference to Deputy Insurance Commissioner Shorters advice to the people of Alabama against lapsing their policies in eastern com l panes. The present agitation of insurance matters has had the effect of causing many persons, deficient in regard to the technical details of life insurance, to express themselves very unadvisedly, and seeing that this course Is calculated to work irreparable injury to the already excited, uninformed, busy public. should cause all public writers and speakers, to indulge in destructive criticism with great l care. This is a vital matter. and no sus- picion of sectional prejudice should be discovered in the public utteranees of those chargeable with giving to the peo- | pie of Alabama the right kind of advice at this time. Apprehension as to the application of the suggestion contained in your editorial comment referred to, causes the undersigned to note somewhat in detail your statements as contained in 1 the same.
 l The commissioner of insurance is, so to 1 speak, the public guardian, in that he is | cal knowledge to efficiently protect them l against unsound principles in this very 1 important and far-reaching business l Your admission that MT. Shorter's ad- vice, ito hold on by the keeping up of premiums" is timely, and if your other statements had been equally considerate 1 of the public's real interest in this mat ] ter. it would fhave been better still.
 1 Your criticism of the deputy commits sioner for his failure to give informa- l ton as to the cost of insurance, is per haps not entirely out of place, but when you state that waste and extravagance" has "been carried to the point that the policy holders of one company paid in l 8 to get $1, and a policyholder of an- other company was taxed 8 while his widow and children get but s1, in re- turn" you simply draw the wrong in- ferences from the source of information accessible, and your statements to this effect should be revised.
 You further state that the "cost of in surance in this country is much too high priced, far outrunning in cost insurance in European countries" which is not the case at all. Premium rates in England | France and Germany are higher than in this country, in fact, we enjoy the lowest premium rates of any of the insuring countries. Most of the Canadian compa- nies doing business in the United States charge higher premium than our do- nestle organizations. The future is full Of hope. and if there is no lowering in the interest rates obtanable in this coun- try, the correction of present abuses, to- gether with some system of decreasing the burden of municipal taxation, should | materially decrease the cost of insurance This is the only thing that can operate to reduce the cost of life insurance for the mathematical premium must be col lected. if our policies surely to be paid.
 Of the many things appearing in the public print at this time derogatory to life insurance methods, not...ng has come under my notice more misleading and further from the real facts in the case, than your criticism of Mir. Shorter for | his failure to mention the eagerness of the insurance companies for lapses" I am at an entire loss to know where you could have gotten authority for this statement. when any moderately we'll informed insurance man in the coun- try can tell you that lapses is source of loss to any and all companies. Your | statements that they have grown rich upon them." and that they 'fatten upon them" will not be borne out by any | of the authorities in this country. If this is true you will prove yourself benefac- tor by informing the public how you obtained the information. Surely from no published report on the question, for that is without exception to the effect, that lapses are a source O. 'osr to any given company. Your criticism of the commits sioner for failure to rannrt in regard to | lapses is altogether out of p'@oe as every one must know that the business that pays is the business that stays"
 The acrimony and inaccuracies contained in your editorial are of far too serious a nature for them to be passed lightly | over. The present disturbed condition of the public mind in regard to this question, | calls for the sober thought of the wisest and most conservative among us, and | nothing should be said or done by any one calculated to result in action by the poli- cyholders of Alabama. that would cause | them to act unwsely in the matter of sur | rendering the most valuable asset that they own in majority of cases. Improper | suggestion at this time tending to lead an individual to action detrimental to the interest of his dependents and future estate, would be very serious matter one that no conscientious man would care to be responsible for, and on tl.s account I am constrained to feebly voice my pro test against statements, the inevitable ten dency of which is to still more unsettled the public mind.
 The demagoEues and politicians will next try their hands at this matter. and it will require all the patience and con l servatism of the best among us to extri- cate this vital question from the oblivion l and debris with which they will surround l it. The opportunities for wise council are at our thresh holds now. Let us not prove 1 derelict to the duty imposed by giving the l wrong kind of advice in these important 1 matters. Yours truly, w. W. SMITH l Guntersville, Ala, December 26, 1905 l
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