New Britain herald., 1929-12-12
URGES RESEARCHES
 TOLENGTHEN LIFE
Du Pont Says Life Insurance Companies Can Increase Span

New York. Dec. 12.-(P}-Joint re- search by American insurance con- panieS to prolong the fife Of the average citizen was urged today by Irenee Du Pont vice chairman Of the board of L. l. Du Pont De Nemours &. Co., in an address at the opening session of the 23rd an- nual convention of life insurance presidets.
 Tt is my sincere belief," he said, that research by life insurance com- panies. had it started 20 years ago, when the Du Pont company had al ready started research in labora- tories, would have resulted in the lengthening of life of the average citizen of the United States by at least two years.
 Admittedly. the two years is a guess, but that it would have been heightened is d certainty"
 Mir. Du Pont, who is a director Of the Equitable Life insurance society of the United States, said that life insurance executives, because the business had been largely mutual ized, had been hcsitant to spend funds held in trust for research.
 Urges Joint Research
 Tt would be we'll" he continued, flor you 10 band yourselves to- gether and undertake joint research. This would be much more effective 4 ..fI InYf eighth Of one per cent per an- mum of your trust funds would fi- nance the greatest research or ganizaton the world has ever ap- piled to specific problem"
 As an example of what results might be expected, he cited the rec ord of the Du Pont company in re. ducing industrial fatalities in the explosive business to one-sixth of what was considered a good record 15 years ago.
 Today it is safer 10 work in a dynamite plant than it is to lay brick" he said.
 Group insured annuities furnished by life insurance companies were recommended as a solution to the superannuated worker problem by Frederick H. Ecker, president of the Metropolitan Life insurance com pany, New York. He said 'paternal : istc provisions by the states should be a last resort here ill America"
 Worker Owns His Energy "The worker" he continued, "i= the true owner of his energies and the employer is a consumer of part of them. It would not be equitable nor would it be in the best inter- csts of either the individual or the would not reflect this joint inter. est, that would not be cooperative | in principle.
 ! Tn this respect the plan of group i insured annuities; already in opera i ton in many industrial organizations and increasing it's field year by year points the way, It places the burden of cost where it belongs"
 John l.. Hardin, president of the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance con- pany, Newark. x. J., said that despite the recent stock marke 1 crash, the American people would purchase $19, 9,S00.O00,0o0 in new life insurance this year. setting a record for the seventh consecutive year.
 Trcmndous Insurance Growth Even more striking,' he said, 'is | the fact that this years new pur- 1 chases will be double the aggre- gate amount of insurance in force on all lives at the beginning of the 1 century. May We not regard this as a true idex to this century's thrif, ! progreSs?"
 George l. Cochran. president O ! the Pacific Mutual Life Insuranc, l company Of California, Los Angeles vas the final speaker before tht ] noon recess.