Year: 1877

Prosperity-$1 4 500. 900 600 of


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Com


panies--A Literary Ceterie--A
Magical Tree. y 0sTl aus


To the Editor ofthe Observer
HARTFORD, August 81, 1871.
Well, in spite of my reaen


promise to play truant no more
find myself this morning agair


away from that busiest Of islands


a1d surrounded by the Ito me-


novel attractions ofthis venerable


but comely and vigorous little


city. And very interesting spot


it is, from whatever standpoint il


be regarded. Nowhere else in the
Nutmeg State or out of it is the


greensward greener or the shade


Of the grand old trees more crate


fnl. In few other American cities
are pleasing evidences of wealth
and culture more plent fll. With


hardly another is there more Of


historic interest associated, while
as a moneyed center | doubt if


there is another town OF eqnal
size on the globe that can com


pare with her-a fact OF which hei
citizens seem justly proud. La
fact if the average Hsrtfordite has
one prominent amiable weakness
it is for impressing outsiders with
the solidity and magnitude of his
eity's financial operations. To
this end statistics are kept lying
around loose in order that even
the most transient visitor need
not depart ignorant of the wealth
OF the Connecticut capital. Nor
can it be denied that these statis-
tics justify the prominence given
them. For example i had not
been an hour in town before stag.
gered under the knowledge that
this little city of $4,000 inhabi-
tants is worth in real and person
al property considerably upwards
Of two hundred millions of dollars
1t is not an everyday affair for a
New Yorker to ieel like taking
back seat on questions of material
prosperity, but here there is no
escape tor him; for, torture the
figures as we will, they still leave
Manhattan away behind. New
York with twenty times the pop
ulation has only five and one
half times the valuation of Hart
ford.


These figures must seem Of
doubtful credibility to any one
who forgets Hartford's position as
the insurance center OF America.
Over one-half the enormous prop
erty represented by the numbers
above quoted belo' g to the fif-
teen or twenty companies having
their home in this favored spot
Everybody knows more or less
about the Hartford companies,
but everybody does not know per
haps that the amount which they
now have at risk on buildings
and lives is a billion and halfof
dollars, or more than the total
estimated value of New York city,
American Fire Insurance may al
most be said to have been born
here, the history Of at least two
of its still fourishing companies
dating back to the first years Of
this century, and here it has
seemed to thrive more than else
where. Life insurance too has at
tanned a wonderful growth, and,
with the exception of the late un-
fortunate trouble with the Char
ter OAK, Hartford Companies have
stood the shrinkage of values and
depression Of business.
better than any similar
institutions in the country. Want
Of confidence in life insurance il
not as manifesAin Hartford as in
cities more remote from the Home
Offices. f


The Ktna embraces both the
"stocA" and mutual plans Of
doing business. Let Us now look
at the Connecticut Mutual, an In
operating purely on the
latter basis, and see whether or
no the public may feel safe in
putting premisgRs into its hands.
Here is another company, which
was born during he infancy of
life underwriting in this country.
and after thirty years Of business
during which il has grown TO be
the second life company in the
world 10 point Of size, it can make
the rare boast that the finger o.
suspicion has never once been
pointed at either its solvency or
its conduct What words Of Iaud
ation could be more eloquent
than those facts, hacked by the
tfty millions of assets which the
company possesses and which.