The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-08-03
Florida AS A Field For" The
Life Insurance Man

Frederick Hoffman statistician of the
Prudential Life Insurance Company,
an authority on such matters, that
there are eleven policies to every ten
insured persons. On this basis there
are $4,000 persons in the State in
sured in life insurance companies,
or about Is per cent Of those insur-
able from the age and race point of
view. Let me impress that point.
Eighty-five per cent of Florida's
white population of an insurable age
is not insured, though insurance COM
panies have had their solicitors at
work here for years. Nothing has
been said about the increase in the
population of the State. The last
census shows that the population in
creased 225 per cent during the five
five years preceding. This is the
gross increase.
"The important feature from an in
surance mans point of view is that
| the percentage of white to colored is
rapidly increasing and so the ratio of
insurable persons also increases. n
the south and south central sections
of the State the ratio of white to
black is S4 per cent Florida has
been called the play ground of the
nation and it is an ideal play ground,
a real resting place for tired nerves
and strained bodies. It's waters,
fresh and sat, are full of fish. fish
that may be caught with hook and
line. It's woods and fields are full of
game-deer, turkey, fox, quail, etc.
In winter the lakes are averitable
paradise to the hunter with thous-
ands of ducks and geese
But above all this. Florida is rich
in undeveloped possibilities. We do
not usually think of Florida as a
manufacturing State and yet the cap
ital invested in factories of various
kinds, on December 81, 1915, amount
ed to $67,611,774. Over 100000, 900
cigars. valued at $1S,S11,491 were
manufactured in Florida in 1915,
S,SS421S gallons Of turpentine valued
at 3,354,114 was produced, notwith-
standing the fact that there was
practically no demand for naval
stores at that time.
Our Food Production
We do not regard Florida as a
mining State, and yet she produced
in one year minerals valued at S1O,-
646'62S. OF phosphate rock alone
2,545'276 long tons, valued at $685..
OS4, were mined in the year 1913 the
bulk of this being exported OF this
quantity there was used not more
than $4,000 to $4,000 tons.
Just at this time the thought of
the world is turned to food-grain,
meat and vegetables-and it is here
that Florida stands out from her
neighbors. The area of the State is
approximately S5,OOO,OOO acres OF
which 100000 acres are in cultiva
ton and yet the farm products of the
past year were valued at SS4,335
Near Hastings, ST. Johns county. this
State there was produced and sold
over $5,0O0,0O0 worth of Irish pota
/. toes. This very same land is also
producing crop of corn or sweet no
: tatoes this year. And so nigh
, go on showing the almost incredible
: duced and shipped every1w-co-s
l quantities of fresh vegetables pro
1 duced and shipped every spring-th,
strawberries, the melons, the cucum
bers, the tomatoes, etc.
important also is the fact tha
: Florida is cattle country. Their
are now in the State more than a mil
l. lion head Of stock cattle. cattle tha
feed on the ranges and pastures tn
year around. The mild climat
s makes it unnecessary to house O
r iced them. There are no sno,
storms. no severe freezes to kill then
r. More and more the formers of Flo