Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1905-11-04

this hemisphere to so constructing Il
their policies that the man approached
by the agent shall be attracted by lib
crafty never conceived or contem-
plated by the law.
The result has been that during the |
past ten years these two companies
have grown in funds from about $780, |
100000 to over $S00,000,0O0; in num-
Der of policy-holders from about $780, |
900 to about 100000, and in insur
ance in force from $1,600,0 100000 to
over three billions. And the other
companies have increased in proper
ton. 1t is not the beneficiaries under
the policies issued by the companies,
even including the Equitable, who are
raising all the howl of today. 1t is the
sensational newspapers and the horde
which follows them; the hysterical
parson, judging in the name of the
Master, as he is commanded not to
Judge; the self-seeking politician with
axes to grind, and the reckless, con-
scienceless financier, who juggles poll
| tics as he does stocks and bonds. 1t
is time that the thoughtful editor and
| thrifty voter of this countryside man
who is a y-holder-awake to the
anu IhC udhSCl " tuC
| ity of American institutions. The tes-
| timony of the officers of the two COM
panies so far examined has been char
acterized by a frankness consistent
with their oaths, and their frankness
has been called Arrogance" by de-
cent paper which usually uses brains,
but which seems to have caught the
infection of hysteria.
M, hoa
the past twelve years he used $150,000
for the purpose of discouraging what
he considered a financial heresy, dan
gerous to the 100000 policy-holders
in this country, and to conserve the
value of hundreds of millions OF funds
belonging to a fraction of that num-
Der of policy-holders. Officers of both
the Mutual and the New York Life
have stated frankly that they are an
nually blackmailed through tax bills,
license bills and restrictive laws by
the legislatures of various States,
and, in the interests of the policy
holders have been compelled to pay
some money to prevent the expendi-
ture of greater sums. And there has
been great bowling thereat. Still,
every insurance man knows the harm,
more or less innocently committed
every year by law making, and the
fact that a certain proportion of legis-
lation is prompted by corrupt methods
has been notorious for years.
Why then shuttle and raise shocked
hands in horror over the public adj
mission of the fact? 1t is so, and it is
the fault of the honest but Indifferent
voter, who is a policy-holder.
1t is up to him to bring about such
reforms in his State as will render it
dangerous for the legislative black
mailer to thrive, and for the dema-
gogic politician to make of his COM
monwealth highwayman through
discriminating tax laws, and thus
fitch money from a concern of which
he is part
We hold no brief for the life insur-
ance official who has been false to his
trust, but life insurance is too mucn
an institution of the people, it enters
too intimately into their material life,
and represents too strongly the high
est ideals of civilization to justify all
this senseless attack upon it by the
reckless and the rapacious. And we
do feel impelled to call attention to
the fact that the men who are now
the objects of so much bitter and I'M
; just denunciation are among the fore
most of those who have made life in
| cnranpn what n ic-thn praatlct no