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THE ATLANTA WEEKLY SUN, FOB THE WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7, 1872.
THE , DAILY SUN..
Wednesday, January 31st, 1872
The Coming Campaign.
| The Louisville (Ky.) Ledger, in a late
issue, spoke in the following language:
“If the Democracy succeed in the
“ coming contest, they must have repre
sentative men in the van—men of abili-
“ ty, firmness and daring, in whom the
“ masses have confidence. They do not I
“ want namby-pamby, milk-and-water
“conservatives, but men who oppose er-
“ror, fraud and corruption because they
“are wrong, and are not afraid to call , .... vcnnmmiq
“things by their right name* The Demo-1 ^ -nperstabon that certain^ c no mous
“cratic masses want bold, resolute, deter- reptiles lose their sight in Dog XJ J ,
“mined leaders; men around whom they and bite wildly, with extended fangs, at
“ can gather with enthusiasm, and who ever y noise near them ? That is Clews’
‘‘they know will not go back upon those m jufit now; a blind snake in dog
“ eternal principles which deal ont equal cou 6 - J . . , , '
“justice to all. Our public affairs have | days, striking at every thing he bean,,
“too long been under the control of the | We have before us a copy or the Isew
CLEWS TURNS DESPERATE.
He mnkci n Personal Assault on Dr. An
gler—Acknowledges tbat be Acted upon
tbe False Recommendations of tbc
Plundering Fugitive Bullock, in Pref-
crance to tbc Truthful Warnings of
Dr. Angler, wlio Has not lied for Safety,
but is at bis Post Sustained by the Peo
ple—He thus makes Himself a Willing
Party to the Wicked Scheme of Robbe
ry which He and Bullock and the Ring
were t arrying on. ''."I "■ *
Reader, did you ever read or hear of
1 bold, bad men who surround Grant.
“ The people of all parties are groaning
“under the burdens that arc placed upon
“them, and, like the restless charger,
“ are chafing in the harness and anxious
“ for an opportunity to cast it off and be
“away. Give them men whom they
“know in heart to be opposed to the
“ Radical plague, which now afflicts the
“country a thousand times worse than
“ the small-pox, and who will fearlessly
“expose its men and measures and acts,
“ and they will follow on to certain vic-
“ tory. ”
This is a striking illustration of "mul-
tum in parvo."
If the Democracy in the coming elec
tion would achieve a victory and redeem
the country from misrnle, they must
commit their cause to the hands of no
men of the “namby-pamby, milk-and-
>water” order, but to those “who oppose
error, fraud an< l corruption because they
are wrong, and are not afraid to call things
by their right names." A. H. S.
SUN-STROKES.
—That old negro has died again. This
time in Wilmington; age 110.
— Helmbold’s store is reported to be
in the hands of the Sheriff.
— Gainesville may be the healthiest
place in Georgia, yet the railroad fever
is raging terribly up there.
— Victoria, wife of the German Prince
Imperial is—well, she hopes it will be a
Prince.
—Rev. Mr. Tyler, in the Congregation-
alist, calls Dr. Livingston “the lion of
travelers.” An African lion, of course.
—Dr. DeSola, who recently opened
the House of Representatives with pray
er, kept his hat on during the service, ac
cording to the Hebrew custom.
—“What will Grant do?” asks the
Nashville Union and American. Take
anything you choose to send him, my
dear.
— In the Kentucky Senate, the vote
on the Cincinnati Southern Railroad bill
was 19 to 19. Lieut. Gov. Carlisle gave
the casting vote in its favor.
—The poet has said something about
the “winter of our discontent;” but with
in the past few days, a great many who
are not poets have expressed their dis
content of winter.
—Mr. B. H. True, of Madison, has
become “Corresponding Editor and
General Southern Commissioner” for
The South, a weekly journal, published
in New York.
— Both branches of the Missouri
Legislature have passed a bill authorizing
the payment of the Gold Bonds of the
State in Currency. The Governor dis
approved the bill on the ground of its
unconstitutionality. The veto message
is to be the special order in the Senate
to-day,
—A friend, in looking over the records
of the coleur du rose days of his life, finds
the following. It is pleasant, perhaps, to
remark, by way of preface, that now the
sweetness of the “blossoming” is in
creased by two other “violets,” younger
but not less sweet:
Violet.
Tliero is a violet which blooms
Not only in the Spring;
But all the year this charming flower
Is sweetly blossoming.
This precions violet is mine—
It is of me a part;
For it, this sweetest of all flowers,
Has grown into my heart I
The Committee to inquire into the fair
ness or unfairness of the State Road
Lease adjourned on Saturday evening
last, but will assemble again a short time
before the meeting of the Legislature in
July.
Dk. Prophitt’s Medicines.—We ask
special attention to the advertisements
in our Local & Business column, of Dr.
Prophitt’s Liver Medicine, Anti-bilious
Pills, and Pain Kill It. These medicines
have long been popular. See the reduc
ed price of the Liver Medicine.
Our Economical Governor. — We
learn Gov. Smith has appointed Dr. Ed
ward A. Flewellyn, of Upson county,
Superintendent of Public Works, and
Keeper of the Capitol Grounds and other
property at the seat of Government. He
has combined the two offices and ap
pointed a man to discharge the duties of
both, at the salary attached to only one
of them.
Here again we have evidence of the
economical bent of the mind of our new
Governor.
Dr. Flewellyn will be remembered as 1 pose ?
the Medical Director of the Army of J he
Tennessee, where he was known far and
wide for faithful discharge of duty, great
economy, perfect system and unflagging
industry, and most rigid scrutiny. He
is the man to stop any leaks about the
Capitol; to inspect all public institu
tions, and look after those railroads
which have received State aid. He is a
man of high character and decided intel
ligence.
York Sun of the 25 th instant, containing
a long letter from Henry Clews & Co—
too long for publication—but we will give
a fair idea of the contents of this veno
mous article.
Our readers will recollect that Dr. An-
gier, our State Treasurer, in his late
Report made certain statements con
cerning the conduct of Clews & Co.—
the same that have been made in our
columns time and again. Clews, in hia
letter to the New York Sun, now before
us, thus sums up Dr. Angier’s charges:
1 That as agents for the State,we negotiated bonds
issued in violation of law after being informed by
the Treasurer of their illegality.
2. That refusing to answer inquiries made by the
Treasurer, we showed ourselves as conspiring to de
fraud the State.
3. That our commissions for our services were
excessive, and double what others would have
charged.
4. That we have not boM the bonds at all, hut have
merely asserted their sale for our own purpose.
Clews thinks he finds a contradiction
between the 1st and 4th charges, which
Angier’s letter to the Sun, in reply, (a
copy of which we have procured and
publish herewith), very properly answers.
He then assaults Dr. Angier’s personal
character—referring to, and quoting,
charges brought against him by Bullock
for the purpose of weakening bis official
standing, so that he and his thieving
gang might have no obstacle whatever in
the way of their wicked schemes, and
which a committee of Bullock’s bayonet,
peculating, so-called, Legislature investi
gated—with all of which the people of
this community are familiar, and need
not be further noticed. Bullock tried to
disgrace Angier. He failed! The screen
he erected behind which to hide his own
infamy,was no screen at all; and Clews
knew it well, when penning a re
hash of those stale old charges!
He is taking up the old, filthy, worn-out,
cast-off shreds of Bullock’s apron*to make
a “fig leaf’’for his own wear. It is a
miserable shift. It don’t hide a particle
of bis disgusting nakedness in this con
troversy.
After trying to “wrap himself withal”
in this narrow, tattered, slimy “cover
ing,” to his own seeming satisfaction, he
exultingly exclaims:
The above charges having been clearly established
against Angier, proved to us that he was an untit
representative of hi 8 office, and a person to be avoid
ed, whether in official or individual capacity.
That’s it precisely! Clews was piling
up claims against the State and taking a
gambling hazard; which he hoped would
turn up right and bring hint piles of gold,
by confiding in Bullock, acting on his
suggestions, and complying with his re
quests. If he had heeded Dr. Angier’s
warning, his claims against the State
might have been more legitimate, and
his transactions would have had less of
the smack and riDg of the gang with
which he seems to have been associated,
and whose plundering schemes he seems
to have favored and assisted; but they
would not have been quite so large! Again:
The Legislature of the State also, after the report
of its Committee of Investigation, having adopted
the same view, toofe measures reducing the respon-
sibUities and duties of the office of Treasurer of the
State to a mere clerical position; thus tying, as it
were, the hands of the Treasurer, and while not ac
tually removing him from office, rendering his posi
tion as of little moment in the Commonwealth. They
adopted this course in preference to impeachment
and removal, as being the most speedy and effectual
method of rendering him innocuous. In accordance
with the legislative action, and by express direction
of the Executive, we confined our communications
to the Executive Department, from which aU our
directions were received.
There it is again! Angier refused to
indorse the bonds of the Brunswick and
Albany Railroad, of which Kimball and
Clews were chief officers, unless they were
issued according to law J and he notified
the world that Bullock was issuing State
bonds with his (Angier’s) name forged to
the coupons, and without the proper reg
istration in the Treasury. This inter
fered with the schemes of Bullock, Clews
& Co., and they took the business out of
his hands. The Doctor’s course render
ed the bonds unsaleable. It brought sus
picion upon tbe whole transaction. Mr.
James notified Clews (and he was noti
fied otherwise) that if the bonds were
brought to the Treasurer for his signa
ture, and the law complied with, he
would sign them; and that if this were
done, the suspicion which rested upon
their validity would be removed, confi
dence would be restored, and they could
be sold for a fair price.
Why did Bullock issue these bonds at
first, and put them in Clews’ hands to be
put on the market, without consulting
Angier, without liis knowledge, and also,
with forging and lithographing his name
on the coupons ? Why this effort at
concealment, if not for a dishonest pur-
Clews need not tell us that
If Clews had been honest—if he had
been in favor of doing only aiair and le
gitimate business—why did be not, at that
point, return^all of Bullock’s bonds to
him and refuse to have anything more to
do with them till they were freed from
all suspicion ? Suppose it had been
true that the developments in relation
to Angier had shown, as Clews says, that
he wa3 “unfit” for his office, and “a
person to be avoided;” still his active ex
posure of Bullock’s rascally proceedings
and unlawful conduct, had created suspi
cion. Angier had offered to remove all
that suspicion, by registering and sign
ing the bonds if they were presented to
him for that purpose, and were lawfully
issued, and their proceeds properly ap
propriated. Still Bollock refused to
have them presented, and Clews failed
to ask or desire it. to be done, though ha
knew it would remove the suspicion, amt
make the bonds saleable for a fair price.
He was so advised and urged by Mr. James;
yet, he clung to Bollock’s advice, contin
ued to hold on and pretend to try to
sell the suspicious bonds and ruu up his
outrageous account against the State—
thus bringing the credit of Georgia into
disrepute, and showing, in our opinion,
that his objects were, not legitimate—his
intentions not honest—and that his aim
was to defraud, and pocket his share of
the plunder.
No; Bullock preferred that Angier
should never see or know how these
bonds were being issued and used; and,
doubtless, Clews shared this desire in an
eminent degree. Clews’ conduct — his
silence—his adoption of Bullock’s coun
sel, and all the circumstances—satisfy us
that he did not want the bonds made sale
able, and that he did not desire the business
to be transacted squai'ely, legally and hon
estly ! Such a course would have made
his account against the State less than
it is !
As we remarked before, Mr. James as
a witness for Clews, proves too much;
and it only shows the desperate straits to
which this public vampyre is reduced
when he introduces such testimony. He
can’t escape a public verdict that he was
one of the chief actors and manipulators
of a Robber Band. The sooner he closes
his mouth, “ hangs head in silent morti
fication,” and retires out of sight, the
better it will be for him. Everything he
has yet said in his defense has exposed
him to further obloquy and made bis
case worse. "What he has already pub
lished shows that he has nothing valid or
plausible to say in his behalf. His case
is a desperate one, and his letters are but
the attempt to lead a forlorn hope !
"We should not be surprised if he is in
straits—sees the handwriting on the wall
—and that unless Georgia pays his claim
and acknowledges and makes good all the
swindling illegal bonds he has.aod which
have passed through his hands, he is
bankrupt!
Had it not been for Angier’s opposition
to the schemes of this Band, instead of
the amount of Georgia bonds issued by
Bullock and handled by Clews, vhich are
now out, amounting to only a few mil
lions; they would, in all probabil ty, have
amounted to as many millions as Scott of
South Carolina has issued. No doubt
Bullock would have done this and Clews
would have assisted in the work without
compunction ; but would have enjoyed
it with savage satisfaction, if Angier had
been in the “Bing.”
In relation to Dr. Angier’s charge that
Clews refused to answer his inquiries,
Clews says:
Our orders were in all cases received from the
Executive, and even had the character of the Treas
urer been such as to inspire us with uo distaste for re
lations with him, we should have been prevented
from holding communication with him by express
directions which we had from the Executive Office to
refer all inquiries to the Governor’s ,Depart-
ment.
And he winds up his blind strike with
the following peroration:
It is to be regretted that political occurrences
should have brought such a man as Angier is prov
en to be to an official position in which he becomes
the apparently irresponsible head of the finances o.‘
a great State, and where the character of 1,200,000
people is contaminated by his individual disrepute.
We believe that our own reputation is proof against
charges which would show us la^iiing as much in
good sense as in integrity, and that the State of
Georgia, which her Treasurer now so unworthily
represents, and whose reputation he is thus speedi
ly compromising, will redeem itself by severing a
connection which reflects on the public reputation
the personal infamy attaching to its public r< pre-
sentative. Very respectfully,
Hekey Clews & Co.
New Yorlr, Jan. 23,1872.
believed these bonds were is
sued and intended to be nsed for
an honest purpose, and that the
true interests of the State were being
fostered by Bullock. Nobody will be
lieve him. He could n ot but have known
that there was a dishonest purpose—a
swiiidling intention—on the part of Bullock
and the Ring; and thus knowing, he is
one of the gnilty parties in the mam
moth crimes committed against us.
Clews takes it for granted that Dr.
Angier is a very low fellow, ia great dis
repute, and contemned and despised by
our people, and that this finishing blow
will lay him cold forever. Yet, the fact
is that he is respected, and is applauded
for his conduct iu relation to the bond
business by the people of Georgia en
masse, from one end of the State to the
other. He is here with us, at his post,
able to look honest men in the face. No
one seems to think he has swindled the
State, or done the people any harm finan
cially; on the contrary, every good man
in the State speaks well of him.
Clews don’t utter a single word against
his runaway confrere—don’t breathe a
hint in condemnation of his copartner in
this bond business—the self-confessed
guilty plunderer, who dared not remain
to face the people he has so shamefully
outraged by the assistance of Clews. He
justifies himself for treating Angier’s ad
vice with contempt, and regarding as
gospel the representations of him who
has fied from justice. This is the pur
port of Clews’ assault on Angier, and
defense of himself.
The Editor of the New York Sun makes
the following comments on Clews’ letter,
from which it will be seen that he has not
filled the Editor’s eyes with (gold) dust:
A letter from Messrs. Henry Clews & Co. in rela
tion to their bond transactions with the State of
Georgia, appears in another column. It will be seen
that a good deal of space is devoted to anaitack upo
the honesty of -Dr. Angier, the State Treasurer, but
the proofs adduced in its support are insufficient.
Dr. Angier may be mistaken in his views regarding
the action of Messrs. Clews Iz Co., bnt it is only just
to say that his character for personal integrity Btands
very high. He has fought persistently to protect
the people of Georgia from the scandalous robberies
of Bullock and his confederates, and though the lat
ter have made every exertion to get him out of
office on trumped-up charges, their attacks have on
ly resulted in gaining him friends amoDg honest
men of all shades of political opinion.
It seems a little strange for Messrs. Clews & Co.,
to say that Dr. Angier was a person to be avoided,
whether in official or individnal capacity, and yet, to
find them engaged in confidential relations with Bul
lock. But really, this personal matter has nothin g
to do with the merits of the questions at issue, in
regard to which the letter of Messrs. Clews & Co.,
gives a full statement of their side of the case.
Mr. Clews has recently published a letter covering
many of the same points in the Atlanta Constitution.
This letter is sharply criticised in The Atlanta
Son, and in regard to Mr. Clews’ plea that he had
been assured by the Governor, the Secretary of the
State, and tho Comptroller-General of Georgia, at
various times from January to June, 1871, that tho
bonds he received were valid, The Sun quotes
from tho report of Uie State Treasurer, a copy of
which it says, was furnished to Mr. Clews early in
January, 1871, this sentence: “Over four and a half
millions of new State bonds, have beeh issued,which
tho Governor, in his anxiety to keep concealed
from tho Treasury Department, failed to have exe
cuted and registered as the law requires." It also pub
lishes a letter written in November, 1870, to .Gov.
Bullock, by Mr. R. W. Latham, of the house of Jay
Cooke & Co., in whicli Mr. Latham distinctly informs
the Governor that after examining tho different acts
respecting State bonds, he could see no way to make
the bonds a “good delivery” short of the State Treas
urer signing them officially and placing them on re
cord with a full description, as required try law—tho
inference being that Mr. Clews must have been
equally well informed.
The Sun also says that the Governor not only is
sued bonds in violation of law, but that he kept what
he did concealed from the Treasurer as far as pos
sible, and in this The Sun contends that he must
have had the assistance of Mr. Clews. It will he
seen that the controversy has provoked great bitter-
dess of feeling on both sides; and we presume that
it is still far from being ended.
And in reply to Clews, Dr. Angier has
forwarded the following letter to the Sun
for publication, which we copy in full:
State Treasurer’s Office, 1
Atlanta, Ga., Jan. 29, 1872. j
To the Editor of the New York Daily Sun:
Sm—First thanking you for your edi
torial on the attack of Henry Clews &
Co., in your issue of the 25th inst., I ask
the favor of being heard in the statement
of a few facta.
In the indo-sement of a portion of the
bonds of the Brunswick & Albany Rail
road Company, upon which Clews places
such str ss, I was simply complying with
tho act the Legislature making it my
duty to endorse the bonds. It was not
my province to decide whether or not
the act was constitutional. This belong
ed to anotner tribunal.
The over issue of these bonds was after
the act of indorsing was taken out of my
hands and placed in Bullock’s, by his
bayonet Legislature, as I would not de
liver the bends as fast as the Bullock-
Clews i -■ >nd Ring wanted them. This is
the '-ery Legislature that Hullock sought
to prolong beyond tne constitutional
term, through Congressional interfer
ence, in which he had auxiliaries in Clews,
Avery, Kimball, Rice and others of the
‘ lond Ring influence, which wus the oc
casion of my visiting Washington City
so often in the latter part of 1869 and
the first four months of 1870, to prevent
the c abomination of the wicked plot,
knowing full well if this Bullock Legisla
ture .as fastened on us, there was no
hope for Georgia, as it was their purpose
to gratify, to the fullest extent, tbe Bul
lock-Clews ling in their work of plunder.
This is the very Legislature out of
which Bullock selected a committee to
do his dirty work, at least an even por
tion of whom were willing tools ia his
deepest schemes of villainy, and are fit
subjects for Clews to refer to in his de
signs of slander,
As long is Clews had the protection of
his associates in wrongs against the State,
he was silent, and would not even answer
. fiicial inquiries from the Treasury De
partment—fearing, if answered, they
would interfere with their joint gains,
and expose their frauds. But no sooner
had his accomplices—Bullock and Kim
ball—fled, than he immediately sends his
accomplished attorney, Mr. Crosby, to
the Treasurer, who very complacently
and patronizingly informed me that Mr.
Clews much preferred that I should have
the entire charge and authority in settling
his claims in all their details; and I have
no doubt if I had been disposed to sac
rifice the interest of Georgia, and sub
serve the interest of Clews, Clews would
now think Angier “a good fellow.” Quite
a change seems to have come over him
since my report.
Clews undertakes to show a contradic
tion between which he calls my “first
and last clauses,” where I say in the first,
he negotiated bonds, and in the last, ex
press my doubts of his having sold cer
tain bonds.
I should suppose, by this time Clews
would know that a jerson could negoti
ate bonds without selling them. His ex
perience in matters of this kind should
certainly have made him an expert before
this. Perhaps Mr. Johns, President of
the Fulton Bonk, Brooklyn, can give
him some light on this subject. Certain
it is, Kimball managed to get §35,000
from Mr. Johns on §50,000 new curren
cy bonds; that Clews told Johns the new
currency bonds were all right, and that
he was injuring himself and the bonds
too by making a fuss; that Johns, under
the terms of the negotiation, finally sold
the bonds at auction and bought the
§50,000 in himself, for $10,000, which
Clews knew; while, at the same time, he
was protesting that he knew nothing of
the currency bonds, when, besides the
above, he had §800,000 of them in his
own hands, and still has them.
Col. Avery, in the Daily Constitution
of the 21st inst., in speaking of Clews,
makes this statement:
Last August he told me that he knew nothing of
the currency bonds Bullock had issued without
registry, and for substiration for which gold bonds
long before had been issued. He then sought to
impress me that Bullock had retired these currency
bonds. It turns out now that he has $800,000 of
them in his possession, which he refuses to give up,
though according to his rendered account, the State
only owes him a balance of some forty-six or seven
odd thousand dollars, for which he holds as collat
eral $100,000 of the gold bonds. Mr. Johns, of
Brooklyn, held $30,000 of the cnrrency bonds upon
which he had loaned H. I. Kimball $30,000, and says
Clews knew of the loan.
Clews to inquire about the bonds, and at
the same time noticed a fine looking,
portly man in Clews’ office, and inquired
of Clews if it was Governor Bullock;
that Clews positively denied its being
Bullock; that he had his suspicion that
it was, and stayed until he learned that
the identical person whom Clews said
was not Bullock was Bullock.
This statement was made before Col.
Avery, Editor of the Atlanta Constitution;
Mr. Ansley, one of our best citizens,
my clerk and myself.
As regards Mr. Clews’ personal charges
they have been refuted over and over and
I shall not bandy hal'd words with one
who has no regard for truth, which is
proven by more than one witness, and on
more than one occasion.
Nedom L. Angier.
LIFE INSURANCE.
Report of tho Committee on Rates of In
terest—Rate of Mortality—Net Valua
tions, etc., to the National Insurance
Convention, New Tork. October IS ill,
1871.
We have before us a copy of this very
able report, drawn up by our former fel
low-citizen, General Gustavns W. Smith,
now Insurance Commissioner for the
State of Kentucky. Its contents are of
much importance to every member of the
community, directly or remotely inter
ested in a life insurance policy.
In this report, as in all he has written
on the subject of Life Insurance, Gen
eral Smith aims to simplify and popular
ize the “mysteries of the actuaries’ art.”
We extract the following, as worthy of
attention. It must have fallen like a
bombshell in the midst of the actuaries
present:
Professor Elizur Wright, in the intro
duction to the first edition of his valua
tion tables, published in 1853, states it
is important that the principles of lit
insurance should be generally under
stood, and especially that its practice
should be reduced to the range of ordi
nary mathematical ability. He says in
the same connection, “The hieroglyphic
vail which concealed from the common
herd the learning of the ancient Egyp
tian priesthood was thin; and that which
renders a priesthood of professional ac
tuaries necessary for the safe conduct of
modern life insurance is not thick. The
more carefully, then, must it be preserved
by those who have it for a livelihood. In
Great Britain, it is well cared for by a
society of able actuaries, who, as if noth
ing had been settled, vastly magnify the
importance of further scientific observa
tions to ascertain the law of the decre
ment of human life, and original mathe
matical investigations to produce
new formulas to govern its ap
plication. * * * * indeed,
it is not to be expected that men who
enjoy honor and emolument from being
considered the exclusive depositaries of
a science so useful to the world, should
so popularize and simplify it as to re
move the bread from their own mouths,
and the glory from their owu wigs.”
In the above-quoted remarks, Professor
Wright evidently alluded, at that time,
to English actuaries. How far what he
said then may now apply to the existing
state of information on this subject in
the United States, the general public can
judge for themselves, by each person ask
ing himself how much he knows even of
the principles upon which the calcula
tions of money values in this already gi
gantic business are founded. My own
opinion is that, with the single exception
of l rofessor Wright, no actuary in this
country has made areal and well-directed
effort “to popularize and simplify” the
subjeet. And I further believe that in
telligent men are generally, wofully igno
rant of the fundamental principles that
govern the calculation of money values
pertaining to “this mammoth institution
of the age,” “this great financiering
speculation, which has so recently, as it
were, flooded almost the entire conti
nent.”
When he was Insurance Commissioner
of Massachusetts, Professor Wright, in
his report of 1859 to the Legislature, ex
plained in part the simple elementary
principles which lie at the foundation of
the theory upon which the calculations
are made. He continued the subject in
an appendix to his published reports;
but he stopped too soon writing in tbe
style of his report for 1859, as will readily
be seen by an uninitiated but educated
man who will take the trouble to read
the discussion of the subject of “valua
tion of policies,” page 364, of Commis
sioner Wright’s published official report.
The Hon. Albert W. Paine, Commis
sioner of Insurance for the State of Maine,
in a letter addressed to me, dated July
12th, 1871, says: “If you succeed in
stripping the subject of its ‘mysteries’ so
as to address itself intelligibly to the
common mind, yon will effect a great
end. No subject, of so general interest,
so much needs the pruning hand of a
reformer as this very one of life insurance.
The kernels of wheat are covered over
deeply with the bushels of chaff, and he
who succeeds in winnowing them out
will do a great service.”
I received letters of similar import
from other members of this Convention.
The Hon. George M. Brinkerhoff, In
surance Commissioner of Illinois, a mem
ber of this committee, under date July
15th, 1871, said, “Make out report as
you propose, beginning at A and wind-
iDg up at Z; taking a plain common
sense road,” “and don’t turn off into the
‘hazy, mystic mazes’ of the near-by wil
derness.”
And the other member of this com
mittee, the Hon. Oliver Pillsbury, In
surance Commissioner of New Hamp
shire, in a letter dated August 10 th, 1871,
says : “I hope you will try your hand as
you intimate your purpose to do. The
people *fieed light The immense
pecuniary interest now attached to the
subject invites attention, and the times
are favorable for the dissemination of in
formation.”
That the monopoly of actuarial knowl
edge and skill may not longer be in the
hands of a few professionals, who are too
shrewd to “lift the veil” that conceals
their art from the sight of profanes, is
the aim of this report. The author says:
We are satisfied that after a table of
mortality and a rate of interest is desig
nated, the method of calculating net val
ues in lite insurance is simple, and we
believe that, when this method is care
fully explained, it can be fully compre
hended and thoroughly understood* bv
any person of moderate education who will
give the subject a little earnest attention.
We are equally well satisfied that no
I do not desire to prolong this article,
or deal in hard words, or accuse any
falsely ; I will, therefore, give the state
ments made in my office by the aforesaid
Mr. Johns. It was past mid-day when he
visited me. Ho told me he had just ar
rived from New York; that he came all
the way on purpose to see me; that he
had been told I was a man of truth, and
that he wished to learn the truth respect
ing Georgia new bonds. During the con
versation lie stated that he called on * person can form an intelligent opinion
in regaid to this business who will n l
take the little trouble requisite to inW,
himself how tho net calculations nT
made, and to gain a definite idea in
ference to the net premium that must h
charged in order to carry out a life W
ranee contract—the net value of a lir
policy at any time, the cost of insurant
each year, and the amount the insure
has at risk each year. er
A definite and accurate knowledge of
all these things is just as essential to 1
life insurance officer as a knowledge at 7
the method of calculating interest on 01
note is to a bank officer. But it does nnf
necessarily follow that a person who
knows how to calculate interest is a g 00( i
bank officer, or can ever become one
Neither will a thorough knowledge of tho
method of calculating net values in lif!
insurance necessarily make a person a
good life insurance officer. But all niav
rest assured that it is easier to become a '
good bank officer, without knowing how
to calculate interest on a note, than it k
to become a good life insurance office*
without knowing how to calculate net
values iu this business.
It is true that it is not necessary that a
person who borrows money from a bank
should kuow how to calculate interest
and it is equally true that a person can
purchase a policy on his life without
knowing how to calculate net values • ffi
either case, however, it is essential that
some parties other than the bank or in
surance officers should know how these
calculations of interest and net values are
made.
We propose to explain the simple
principles upon which these calculations
are made, and desire to say that, in our
opinion, the real difficulties in life insur
ance, after a table of mortality and rate
of interest have been designated, are not
found in these net calculations, but they
lie beyond and consist of such common
place business matters as expenses, profit
and loss, dividends, distribution of sur
plus, and the amount that it will cost a
company in case a policy-holder with
draws to get another into it “equally val
uable to keep.” We, therefore, ask that
you will consider the peculiar nature of
life insurance.
We understand that since this report
was published, the reputation of the au
thor, as authority upon the subject of j
Life Insurance, has so increased as to
cause an active demand for copies of this
Report, and for his “Notes” on Life In- I
surance, written in Atlanta, in 1869. All
the copies of the latter in the hands of i
the booksellers in this city have been j
sent North to supply the demand for
them there.
The “Notes” ought to be introduced j
into our universities and colleges as a
part of the course of applied mathematics.
For when it is considered that the aggre
gate amount now at risk in life insurance
policies in America is greater than the
whole national debt, it is time that bank- i
kers, merchants and business men of all 1
classes should familiarize themselves with
tne mysteries ‘‘(so-called) of the “Actua
ries’ Art. ”
Escaped Thief Recaptubed.—Adam i
Sewell, (colored), who, in 1869, stole a
mule from the Air-Line Railroad Com
pany, and who, afterwards, eluding the
vigilence of the guard, escaped and fled
to Arkansas, was discovered yesterday on j
the street, arrested and arraigned before i
Judge Butt. He was sent to jail in de
fault of bail.
Important Arrests.—We learn that j
the committee appointed to investigate j
the management of the Western & Atlan
tic Railroad, under Bullock’s government,
a few days ago, summoned Mr. Lewis
Scofield, his son, L. Scofield, jr., and
G. W. D. Cook to appear before them
with their books; that they failed to pro
duce their books, and in default thereof,
have been committed to jail by the Com
mittee for contempt, where they are now
confined.
“The Cat.”—This is the significant j
title of a new, humorous, comic, bur- I
lesque, caricature, farcical paper, edited
by the students of the University of
Georgia, at Athens. It is the most accu
rate reflex of college humor we ever saw.
Its editors are : Joab X. Z. Goforem, B. j
S. U.; Obid’hL. Q. Fetchum, R. S. D-J
Special Artist: Ezekiel Caricature, D- J
Y. Terms of Subscription, one year, j
§1 50; one month, §2 50. Motto : ‘‘We
Can Scratch.”
The following comment on the little
“ feline kitten” has been furnished by#
member of the “ immortal sixteen ” '•
“ ‘That do settle it,’ as the old lady
said when she put the egg-shell in tbe
coffee. Ti be dadswiped’ if the paper
isn’t a ‘pluperfect cat.’ Its caterwauling
brings to mind the ‘wail of woe,’ the
‘college smile,’ and gives one of the
‘memorable sixteen’ the ‘dry grins’ at
sight. ‘All is not gold that resembles,’
but then ‘business is business,’ and ‘when
in Rome do as Rome do.’ Who 'busted!'
‘Narry,’ I made a ‘perfect.’ *Here,Bevi3,
here,’ ‘take a swig’to ‘Keno,’ ‘Bill Joue#’
and the ‘heathen Chinee.’ Mr. M-—
where’s the Collegian? The Collegian!— i
a-hem—‘in the JEgean Sea, I believe,
sir.’”
It was W. D. Cook, a member of the
Scofield Rolling Mill Company, who was
arrested and imprisoned by the Commit'
tee for contempt. It was not Geo. W.
Cook, of the firm of Pitts, Cook & Co-i
contractors and builders. We had the
initials of these gentlemen mixed when
writing the notice which appeared 5®'
terday.
We understand that Mr. Cook deifies
the authority of the Committee to i®‘
prison him, and will sue out a writ oi
habeas corpus to test the same.
We further learn that he objected to
produce the books before the Commit^ ;
upon the plea that a witness cannot
made to testify when his testimony } voU A
criminate himself ; and that if his boo>
contained any evidence of wrong
it would be against himself; and tua
if there was no wrong, nothing cou .. ,
gained by the Committee in examini*
them.