should be given the widest publicity through the pulpit, the school and the press. In the great majority of instances, life insurance is the only recourse open to the man of moderate income who finds it difficult or impossible by force of circumstances to accumulate a savings fund for those dependents who may outlive him.

The growth of life insurance implies an increasing development of the sense of responsibility. The idea of providing only for the present must give way to a recognition of the fact that a person's responsibility to his family is not limited to the years of survival. Emphasis should be laid on the "crime of not insuring," and the finger of scorn should be pointed at any man who, although he has provided well while alive, has not seen fit to discount the uncertain future for the benefit of a dependent household. As already explained, life insurance is the only sure means of changing uncertainty into certainty and is the opposite of gambling. He who does not insure gambles with the greatest of all chances and, if he loses, makes those dearest to him pay the forfeit. That the gamble is a risky one is easily demonstrated by any mortality table, and even if life is granted until age 50, let it not be overlooked that less than one in ten of our population succeeds in accumulating a reasonable competence, and that through reverses a great majority of this limited number lose the same by the time that age is reached. Woman's rights as well as her duty in the matter of life insurance should, also be emphasized. She should be taught that it is not only her husband's duty adequately to protect the family, if that is at all possible, but that it is also her duty, if necessary, to use her persuasive powers to get him to act, and if that does not avail, to insist on action as her right. Not only has she a right to personal protection, but her rights as regards life insurance are further increased by her interest in the children which are as much hers as they are her husband's.

In addition to the advantage of life insurance as a direct protection to the family, it also benefits the policyholder personally in a number of important ways. Six advantages de

serve special mention in this respect and all, it should be noted, redound to the benefit of the policyholder's family by qualifying him better to meet its obligations and to protect its comfort and happiness.

Eliminates Worry and Increases Initiative.- Writers have frequently asserted that life insurance is not to be regarded as a producer of wealth but that its function is merely to distribute funds from the fortunate to the unfortunate. In reality, however, life insurance will be found to be a powerful indirect force in the production of wealth in that it relieves the policyholder of worry and increases his efficiency. Constant worry is one of the greatest curses that can fall to the lot of man, and life insurance, if universally used, would lift that curse from innumerable shoulders. The knowledge of an assured estate from the moment the premium is paid will enable the insured to feel freer to take the initiative. Let us assume that the head of a family is the possessor of $10,000 and is afforded an excellent opportunity for the investment of this capital in a business pursuit. If it were not for life insurance the owner of this capital could not safely afford to invest this sum and assume the speculative hazard connected with most business enterprises because of the fear that this capital might be lost, and that in case of premature death no provision would exist for those dependent upon him. Life insurance, however, furnishes a hedge against such a contingency and assures the prospective investor in this instance that in case of his death and the loss of his investment, the insurance company will reimburse his dependents to the extent of $10,000. By thus removing a load of care from the mind life insurance promotes efficiency and makes life happier. For this reason life insurance should be regarded by the average man as one of his most treasured possessions, and premium payments should not be looked on merely as an expense to be grudgingly borne. It may safely be stated that the possession of an adequate amount of life insurance causes the average policyholder to eat better, sleep better, feel better, and as a result of these, to work better.

Life Insurance Makes Saving Possible.-One constantly meets with those whose argument against life insurance is that they prefer to save. The habit of saving should by all means be encouraged, but it should be borne in mind that the saving of a competence involves the necessary time to save, and that life insurance is the only certain method to use as a hedge against the possibility of the saving period being cut short. A policy of saving can yield only a small amount at the start, while a policy of insurance from its beginning guarantees the full face value and thus safeguards the policyholder against failure through early death to have sufficient time to save adequately through other channels. Thus, if one is able to save $500 annually it will take nearly fifteen years to accumulate a fund of $10,000, assuming that the accumulations are safely invested annually at 4 per cent. compound. interest. Yet the resolution of the head of the family to protect the home with such a savings fund is contingent upon his surviving the full period, and may be defeated by death before the savings have reached any appreciable sum. To depend entirely on saving as a means of providing for the future of the family is, to say the least, a highly uncertain policy to pursue. The first requisite in providing for the future support of dependents is absolute certainty, and this can be secured only by using life insurance as a hedge against the possible failure to continue the annual accumulations to the savings fund because of early death. Through life insurance the suggested fund of $10,000 can be assured in any case. Upon death the insurance company pays the face of the policy, while in case of survival the insured is given the necessary time to accumulate a competence.

Moreover, the roseate views which so many hold concerning their resolution and ability to accumulate and keep should be tempered by a frank statement of the distressing facts as they actually exist. Eighty-five per cent. of this country's adults leave no estate at all, and about one-third of the widows in the country lack the necessities, and 90 per cent. the comforts, of life. The habit of saving, as already

stated, should be encouraged, but the foregoing facts clearly indicate that it is unwise to practice saving to the exclusion of life insurance. Both should be practiced, and, if only one is possible because of limited means, insurance should be selected because of its much greater certainty in leaving a stipulated fund for the support of the family whenever the breadwinner's income-producing capacity is cut short by death.

Furnishes a Profitable and Safe Investment. In addition to guaranteeing an estate at once, life insurance contains an investment feature which is absolutely safe and which reaches large proportions in the later years of the policy. With the exception of a few types of policies only, life insurance represents an accumulation of savings admirably adapted to put small sums of money to prompt and profitable use, and in this respect has been aptly defined as "compound interest in harness." As will be explained later, nearly all types of life-insurance policies gradually accumulate a so-called surrender value which may be withdrawn by the insured if he decides to discontinue the policy. This value, as will be shown later, represents an accumulation of a portion of the premiums paid by the policyholder which the company promptly invests at an assumed rate of interest; and in mutual companies the interest earnings in excess of this assumed rate are returned to the policyholder. In other words this value of the policy represents savings left with the company. Past experience shows that on the average life-insurance companies have earned on the savings left with them by policyholders the largest interest returns consistent with safety. Owing to the mathematical and scientific character of life insurance and the stringency of government supervision of the companies, there has not been a failure of a large and wellestablished life-insurance company in the last quarter of a century, and this is true despite the fact that we have witnessed three severe financial panics during the last twentyfive years. Nearly every company devotes the greatest care to its investments, which are spread out over such a large number of securities and other forms of property that a loss

on one investment will be fully counterbalanced by profits on another. The investments of nearly every large company are in the special care of investment managers, and the skill with which they are made may be illustrated by the experience of one of the largest companies in America, which, valuing its securities at the lowest quotations prevailing in the severe panic of 1893, could still show an excess of $20,000,000 over and above the purchase price of those same securities. Moreover, an examination of the present earnings of life-insurance companies, shows that the great majority make between 42 and 5 per cent. on their total assets, while in some instances the returns exceed this amount.

Not only does life insurance thus furnish a profitable and safe investment, but modern policies also make it possible for the insured to arrange for the safeguarding of the proceeds of the policy upon his death for the benefit of his beneficiaries. Too frequently the competence which a husband • or father has provided through saving or insurance is quickly lost by the heir or beneficiary through speculation, unwise investments, or excessive expenditures for unnecessary comforts. Such a contingency should always be contemplated by the insured and may be prevented in various ways. Modern income policies, especially, furnish a guarantee against such a contingency by providing that the beneficiary shall, following the death of the insured, receive during the whole of her life, or for a designated number of years as the case may be, an annual, quarterly or monthly income of a stipulated sum. Or, instead of having the proceeds of the policy paid in one lump sum upon death, the insured may arrange to have the company retain the sum upon the maturity of the policy and pay the same in a designated number of installments. Again, the proceeds of the policy may be left with the company for safe-keeping for a designated number of years.

Forces and Encourages Thrift. Not only does life insurance render safe the insured's effort to accumulate a fund through saving by hedging him against early death, or itself furnish a profitable and safe investment, but for the great