The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-07-22
NEW INSURANCE
LAW TO Be TRIED
Massachusetts, Legislature Has
I Plan to Benefit Wage Earn
erS of the State.
SAVINGS BANKS THE BASE
MOVEMENT EXPECTED TO BE-
COME NATIONAL.

Boston, July 2l-With the design of
benefiting wage earners, Governor Guild
of Massachusetts has affixed his sigma
ture to an act which is believed by
many of its advocates to be the most
important single measure passed by any
American legislature in the session of
1907. There is, of course, the public
utilities bill in New York; but this, after
all, was simply the application in the
Empire state of principles of public con-
troll that have before now been recognized
in other American commemorative. There
have been bills in many legislatures reg
ulating freight and passenger charges
on railroads; but these have involved no
especial departure from the policy of re
cent years; everybody, nearly, has long
believed in some form of railroad regula-
ton, and Uncle Sam has already author
lied himself 10 tackle this problem. But
Massachusetts has done novel thing, so
far at least as the. western world is con-
cerned, in permitting the establishment
of new type of life insurance.
Will Be Competition.
On and after Nov 1, 1907, If advantage is
taken of privileges now granted by
Massachusetts, the Bay state wage Garner
who wants protection for his family
through one of the policies of the type
known as industrial is whose
premiums are payable at frequent inter-
Xals-will be able to exercise choice.
AencefOrth there will be competition be
tween two different life insurance sys-
TENS. The WOrkingman may, on the one
hand, yield to urgings TO take out
policy with one of the. insurance COM
panies which do an industrial business
ana which will keep collector perpetual
~ on his heels to gather the premiums
as they fall due. He may, on the other
hand, go to a savings and insurance
bank'-a new title under the Massachu-
sets law-and arrange TO take out life
insurance not exceeding $500, with the
understanding that he is voluntarily to
pay his premiums once a month without
being teased by collector. He may also
buy there an annuity of value not eX-
ceeding S1OO. If he has an account in the
savings department of the bank he may
arrange to have his premiums paid auto
matically, as they fall due.
one OF the greatest advantages claimed
Tor the new system of savings insurance
is, or course, its greater cheapness. The
expense or teasing people into insurng
their lives and Of collecting their prem
1ums from house to house causes this
form of protection to the Wage-earner TO
cost from two to eight times is much as
his weather. neighbOr has to pay for
ordinary life insurance There is, to be
sure, familiar argument to the effect
that the average individual won't buy an
insurance policy unless he is talked into
II by an agent. Some people, however
DeheVe that large enough proportion of
American laDoring men are Industrious
tnrlrty and far-seeing TO do the thing
they ought to do without being eternaliy
nagged about it; there are sober mechan-
les who do not allow the contents of the
pay envelope week after week to be
wholly absorbed by the butcher and the
''bar-kee0.''