The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-11-05


 is one of giants--the results fraught with more interest to the people of this coun- try than any other question now before the American people When the issues at stake and the results involved, arc considered, it is really of greater interest to this country than the question of who shall be President, or which political party shall dominate and control the af- fairs of this republic.
 The surplus and reserve of these three companies amount in the aggregate to over thirteen hundred millions of dollars largely more than the national debt and the practical question s "Who shall control this vast fund and whether it shall be controlled in the interest of the policyholders, or in the interest Of Wall street speculators?" No syndicate of bankers, trust companies or railroad companies can get together for any pur- pose such a vast fund, ana no other il. terest in this country is in position to dominate the interests of this great re- public to the extent that these three life insurance companies can This vast sum represents the hard-earned increment that has been wrung from the sweat of the brow of over sixteen hundred thousand policyholders.
 Two of these companies, the Mutual of New York and the New York Life. are purely mutual; the third. the Equitable. has one hundred thousand dollars ot stock upon which the maximum of per cent may be paid. and the balance of earnings to go to policyholders. How much have they received? Notwithstand ing the fact that the maximum amount of dividends is limited by the charter to [ per cent. 51 per cent. or $51 .000 of this stock was sold for S2.500,0O0. so that the annual dividend on the cost of this stock will be a very small fraction of per cent. It is evident that the dividend on 51 per cent of this stock was not the con sderation. but the fact that the owner- ship of this stock carried with it the control of $l00000000 of surplus and re- serve. Five per cent of this amount Is $2O.0O000O annually. or 800 per cent of the capital stock of this company. Does any body for a moment believe that this was done in the interest of the policyhold- CTS?
 The thirty years of insurance war, led by the elder Hyde of the Equitable against the Mutual and New York Life, while it was waged with all the force and vigor that Hyde possessed and looked like a question of ''the survival of the fittest," only resulted ;n 1evying heavier tribute on the policyholders and getting more dollars from the unsuspecting puD- lie This war, in some respects, re- minds us of what a noted democratic pol itician said about a war Tn the demo- cratic party-"That it was like a cat fight-it only resulted in more democrats Certainly the war between the Equitable, the Mutual and the New York Life only resulted in squeezing more money rom the deluded public and the stupid policy holders. Hyde's motto, that the end justifies the means" seems to have been taken up and adopted by the Mutual and New York Life, as the history of both these companies show that they were only trying to follow Hyde
 Certainly no business in this country has been debauched and prostituted as that of life insurance, while that ol what is known as the old line companies has led the way The benevolent, fra ternal and industrial orders have been apt scholars and quick followers in prac- ticing and swndling their pollcyhoiders. ! The elder Hyde, the founder of the | Equitable, seems to have been the bell Wether'' and leader in the various plans l and schemes to fleece money from the l public and delude and swindle the policy holders The dominating principle wlta him was to get business regardless or cost-but "get it. The other companies claimed that in order to get new business or to even hold what they had, they were forced to follow in the wake or l Hyde.
 Certainly there is no other business | in which the amounts involved are so l immense, and the number of people ih- 1 terested SO large, where so little interest l is manifested Considering the fact that i there are over 100000 policies in torce 1 today, aggregating more than i've thou l sand millions of insurance. more people | interested in it than in any other busl- ness in the world except agrlculture- more money invested than any other line ] of investment in the world-we know practically nothing about it. or us cost. | Still of all lines of business, It IS the l most simple-only one article 10 sell or b,iy. and that at one price, varying only with the age of the insured at the tune his policy Is written No other business i'm the world has piled up such enormous surplus and reserVe-and no other pusi- ness in the world has paid so small d re turn to tie investors. And yet llie m- surance is a great boon to the human | family, and especially so to the hian ol 1 limited means. Without it many widows and orphans would have suffered more than they have. It has not only iur- nished good raiment, but has educated many an orphan child. Of all the invest ments man makes, life insurance IS the most sacred it is the one invest ment that is made wholly and solely TOT his family, in which the only part he can nlay is to pay the annual premiums as | the,. nlature-the only investment that ne makes in which he must die in order To realizc For these reasons 1t Should ne the most sacred trust in the world anu inc men who handle and invest thls great fund should be saturated with the realization that they are the custoulahs of the funds of future widows ana or nhans and that upon their fidelity to l tbeir trusts these dependents are felNlnS for food clothes shelter and education, after inc father or husband is gone.
 With the rich, life insurance is not q nacessitv hut a convenience. The rlch man will take from $50,o0O to Soouo or ura insurance, snying: q mean my Wlfe to have something that she can realize on immediately after my death' without being forced to take it out or my pus- ness" If is also used as a means ot en-
 tailing property. rms ln lnS.aiOe a, under my immediate observaAoh: gen tlnnnan of large wealth, wishing to make eon,e provision for his grandson sent TOT ! tho manager of d large life insurance l comnanv and said to him: "l want to h- 1 s,,,a my son's life for $500000 for the ben eff of my grandson" The policy was written and paid up in full the day II was taken. for ,thc benefit of the srahosoh' stating in event the son died before the maturity of the grandson the hiones Was % to he paid to q trust company 10 pc | held until the grandson was 2l years | old. .,- .,a .
 Tha great struggle for supremacy that | Is now going on between the polleH holders of the two great companies. the | Ne,y york life and the Mutual Life Of New York, is attracting the atteh'ion ol the financial and business world. It means much more than the question or Who silali | control these great companies II poiiSS
 holders succeed. It not only means that l ,,f these cDnlnllleS WILL