The Topeka state journal., 1905-11-17
he IS FOR KANSAS.
President De BOer of National
Life Believes in This State.
His Company Has Four Millions
Invested Here.
PAYS TOPEKA A VISIT.
Thinks Insurance Investigation
Will Bring Better Laws.
Also Establishment of Many
New Companies.
PAYS TOPEKA A VISIT.

Gas a result of the sensational life
insurance exposures in the east, look
for the enactment of new laws to bet
ter protect policy holders; for the
resignation of a number of men who
have stood at the head of big life in
surance concerns, and for the estab-
Iishment of a number of new COM
panies which will try to write life in
surance on a much cheaper basis and
which will go to the wall within a
few years"
This is the idea expressed today by
Joseph A. DeBoer, president of the
National Life Insurance company, of
Montpelier, Vt, who is in Topeka to-
day comforting with his fiscal agents,
the Merriam Mortgage company, con-
cerning the $4,000 600 in Kansas
securities which the National Life
holds.
The National Life of Vermont is
sort Of a Kansas annex; it has pinned
it's faith to Kansas, and by its vast
investments in Kansas farm mort
cages has done much 10 restore east
ern confidence in the financial sta
bility of Kansas. In the little city of
Montpelier, where the National Life
has its headquarters, over $4,000, 600
worth of Kansas farm mortgages and
Kansas bonds are held, a per capita
Of about $1,000 for every man, woman
and child in the city.
Incidentally it might be mentioned
that Mr.. DeBoer Is, SO far as known,
the only president Of a big eastern
life insurance concern who makes it
his personal business to make an an
nual tour of the west comforting with
agents and looking after the financial
interests of his company.
'I have been on the road four
weeks" said Mr.. DeBoer today. 'EsI
have talked with 800 representatives
of the company. I suppose it is a
little unusual for a president of a life
insurance company to undertake this
work, but it has been my policy to do
SO ever since assuming the Office, and
have Travelled about $4,000 miles in
carrying this policy into effect.
Kansas securities suit as as a form
of Investment; we know of nothing
better Out of the millions of dollars
we hold in Kansas paper, I do not
know of one dollar in arrears. OF
course we exercise care in placing
our Kansas Investments have con-
yinced many people that Kansas is all
rialat When we tell people back east
that we have $4,000.0oo in Kansas
loans, and that every payment on
these loans is met like shot it goes a
long ways to rehabflitate Kansas in
the eyes of eastern investors.
Yet people abuse life insurance
com tDdn4GSy ana say I0dL I0GX are
running the country! They condemn
the whole business because it happens
that it has some warts upon it, in the
person of insurance officials who
make unwise investments of company
funds. The life insurance com panieS
are doing a great deal for the country,
in spite of the faults of few of
them. Right here in Topeka you have
an example of what life insurance
can do for a community. Here was
IA fcr fs7-ri INV
who had he come back here restored
to health would doubtless have been
able to straighten out his tangled af-
fairs, and bring every one of his cred
itors out without loss. But he met
an untimely death, and imagine what
q state things would have been in had
it not been for his life insurance. But
here come the life insurance com
panies, and pay up every dollar,
enough to satisfy all claims against
the First National bank. 1t is simply
done by the cooperation of eight mil
lion policyholders throughout the
country, who cooperate to help the
depositors of the First National out of
their difficulty
''As far as my own company is con-
cerned, this insurance investigation is
not injuring US in the least. Our busi-
ness for the past ten months has been
larger than ever before in the history of
the company"
Mr.. DeRoer is big, brainy man, who
graduated from Dartmouth college, and
started. in life as a school teacher. Hav-
ing a genius for mathematics, his at
tention was turned to the work of life
Insurance actuary. He studied the bus
mess with the company of which he is
now president. He soon held the posi-
ton of chief actuary for the company
and while in this position demonstrated
to the directors that he was a live
wire" BY his galvaDfc influence the
old and sturdy National Life took on
new energy and on the death of the
president of the concern, De Boer was
chosen to succeed him. Twice has he
been rendered the governorship of Yer
mont and declined.
While in Topeka, Mr.. DeBoer was the
guest of z. B. Merriam, c. b. Merriam
E W. Thompson, the general agent of
the company, and Geo. NJ. Noble. He
will leave this evening for Oswego,