Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1920-01-31

Every service man Id perhaps famil
rar with the phrase which frequent
ly forms the beginning Of an Army
citation. Some have pcrchancc rccciv
cd acknowledge OF distinguished
service, others have only heard or
read of them At this time, Uncle Sam
is awarding Il citation to every form
er service man who unsclfishly and
aIdcntly offered his life for the pro
lection OF this country and in behalf
of her principles. For Mcritorious
Service the citation reads, | award
each cN-scrv;cc man Of the fighting
forces Of the United States. the priv
ilcgc OF being insured with me against
total and permanent disability of
death. I went into the insurance bust
ness to offer protection to. YOU in re
turn for your protection to mo. and
! have remained in the insurance bus
mess only TO fulfill my everlasting
obligation to YOU and your depend
cnts."
Men, is this citation worth claim
ing as yours? Uncle Sam offers and
urges but does not hcstow unless rc
qucStcd. Are YOU disposcd To he of
the group so wcll characterized In
the oft-told story OF the man who
made bet that people would not
accept an offer which seemed too
good to be true? You recall, he stood
on London Bridge and offered gold
pieces worth five dollars for n penny
piece. People paused, listened and
passed on. Not one seized the oppor
tunity to secure something for prac
tcally nothing.
Uncle Sam today I'm respect to his
insurance policies. is in n position
similar to that Of tho man on London
Bridge. He is offering YOU for m in
SlEh,' icant cost the cheapest yet most
variable insurance protection in OK
1stencc and he charges you less than
IT costs him solely In recognition of
your services and sacrifices. Men.
the proposition is rcwarding valiant
service rendered. Uncle Sam is allow
ing his war veterans to continue their
Government insurance. This insur-
ance Is offered at less than 1t costs
the Government to run the business.
All deficiencies are not out Of the
FUNDS in the Treasury OF tho United
States.
Nearly $40.000,O00, 900 worth OF
War Risk Insurance was carried by
the d539,0dS service men during the
war. This Is II greater amount than
tho combined insurance written by
all insurance companies in this coun
try. Approximately $4,000 900 900
worth OF this insurance was carried
by the i02.3S7 colorcd service men
who answered the Nations call to
arms. thousands OF coIorcd soldiers
VINO little dreamed OF hcing protect
ed by insurance before the war,
proudly made application for $4,000
of War Risk Insurance. That same
protection Is as necessary In time or
peace. as II was In time Of war. ..ifc
Is always uncertain, and we should
always be prepared to protect our de
pendcnts rs best as We can.
lScgretab!e as it may seem a large
per cent of our colorcd soldiers and
sailors who again are In civilian life
are allowing their War Risk Insur-
ance policies to lapse. Since practical
ly all Of their beneficiaries are with
in tho colored race, think what 1t
will mean to our economic develop
ment IL q considerable amount of
this insurance Is saved. Government
insurance should be especially attrac
tive to colorcd soldiers and sailors.
1t Is known fact, that ordinarily
life insurance companies contend
that the mortality rate among Negro
es Is higher than among white PEG
pie and for this reason, many refuse
to insure colored persons, and those
who do insure us charge higher rat
OF than they do for whites This fact
should encourage former service men
to hold en- to heir Government Insur
ance.
When we speak Of tho advantages
OF Government Insurance we are not
riticfsing the private companies, es
pocially those Of the race. They are
Offering the best policies they can, un
der the law, at as reasonable rates
as possible.
Here are some facts concerning
government Insurance which every
former service man should know and
consider:
BY virtue Of recent ruling made
by Secretary Glass Of the u S. Treas
ury, lapscd policies may be reinstat
ed without paying back premiums for
the first month In which the policy
iapsed and for the month in which
application Is made for reinstate-
ment. IF the policy holder is unable
tc keen the full amount Of the War
RISK Insurance he carried while in
the service. he may reinstatc any part
OF it from $1,000 up to $4,000 I'm
multiplcs OF $500. Reductions may be
made in multiples Of $500 to any
amount, hut not less than $1,000.
The ordinary "tcrm" insurance,
that was carried by our service men
during the war, may be carried at
the same rate five years after the sign
ing OF Peace. At any time before the
expiration Of five years this war
term insurance may be converted In
to or" nF She following:
1. Ordinary Life.