The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-12-01

tranquility Of mind are conducive Il
longevity. Consequently agriculturisti
are welcome patrons among life insur-
ance companies. Physicians are irreg-
ular In their habits and some Of them
lovereat and overdrink. Half the law
4 yers are starving to death and the 9TH
er half get tat from the lack Of bodily
activity and an unwise indulgence al
the table. They are not, therefore. a.
long-lived as are preachers and farm
ers."
There 10 not much chance for work
ingman to get insured in a strong. old.
line company" Mr.. Phelps replied to one
OF my questions. The premiums are
higher than he can AFFORD to pay. He
can obtain Insurance. however. with the
big industrial life companies, which are
good and solid, and with the swarm OF
industrial accident companies, at least
few Of which are. or were, very bad
| God pity the man who gets tangled ur
| with the latter kind. Public investiga-
| lions have shown that the practices OF
] the bad Industrial accident concerns were
1 Infamous. An adJustor Of one OF them
| wrote as follows to the main office:
Smith had policy for $500, but there
wasn't a crust of bread in the house;
widow accepted 800 when told her that
would be better than a lawsuit and
nothing in The end
What have you learned about
womenT'
That the average age at death in this
country is slightly higher with females
| than with males. The twelfth census in
1900 showed that the widows in the
United States outnumbered the widow
than n n L
ways protects the females Nowadays
the large companies insure women as
readily as men, but the moral hazard
is considered Moral hazard is a pro-
fessional term. ! can define II by say
ing that an employer would not be per
mitted to insure twenty of his work.
men and have himself made the bene-
ficiary because his motive might be
suspected of being mercenary. The
elemental principal of all insurance
fire. accident, and life-is that only q
part OF the loss sustained shall be made
good. That leaves a margin Of safety.
A life insurance company invariably
asks: What is the interest OF the bene-
ficiary?'
"A man takes out a policy in behalf
OF those who are dependent on him for
a livelihood. The interest OF the bene-
ficiary in such a case is clear. A wom-
own could, consistent with morals and
commercial methods, insure her life for
the benefit OF her children, her sisters,
or her mother. But IL she had no income
or business and some one else paid her
premiums the question would arise: Is
the moral hazard sound2' That would
open. you see, an interesting field for
investigation
Temperance lecturers" / said, state
n1RnhAI % EfTlfnw
Americans every year,"
Wild suessers and slovenly takers are
always abroad in the land. 1t happens
that recently completed the first serious
lrq'Iiry ever made in this country con-
CO rning the mortality Of alcohol I was
assisted by the figures Of the medical
directors OF several important life and
casualty insurance companies and by
the statistics obtained in the registra-
ton area Of the United States. that is,
in seventeen States. in the District of
Columbia and in seyenty-eight cities of
those States outside the region where
vital records are scientifically kept. The
area contained about SIS per cent of
the estimated population OF the country
in 1905.
There are log causes in which alcohol
directly or indirectly may play a part IN
male deaths at adult ages. My investi-
boHNAt NcNNAAA6 sNaA Aseop iF-AAdCN
S20,l3O deaths among males, 1876. SIS OF
which occurred among men between
twenty and seventy-four years of age
or the S2o.13o male deaths, / found that
l22,570 were brought about by eleven
causes or groups Of causes namely
Brights disease, tuberculosis OF the
lungs, heart disease, pneumonia, cir
rhosis OF the liver, apoplexy, alcoholism.
suicide, diseases OF the arteries, certain
accidental injuries and paralysis, OF
these. between the ages OF twenty and
seventy-four. c6,507 were presumably due
in whole or in part to alcohol. 1 also
found 6,3+6 other deaths which were by
presumption caused by alcohol directly
or indirectly.
Thus my figures showed a total 5,S3
male deaths in the registration area OF
seventeen States, the District OF Column
bia and seventy-eight outside cities. BY
process Of calculation, which is too
long TO outline in a newspaper inter
view, / learned that the possible alco-
holic mortality in the non-registration
area was 1859. or a total OF S. S97 deaths
Of both sexes for the entire country.
Il found by ascertaining the general
drift OF expert medical opinion that for
every five male deaths, in which alcohol
enters as a causative or contributory
factor, there probably is not more than
one female death. In all, throughout the