AUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS.

The following is a list of automatic sprinkler systems, with the names and addresses of their manufacturers:

BARNES Charles Barnes, Cincinnati, O.

BUELL-Charles E. Buell, Springfield, Mass.

CLAPP-Clapp Automatic Fire Extinguisher Company, Chicago, Ill.

DRAPER-George Draper & Sons, Hopedale, Mass.

FOWLER-Thomas Fowler, Lawrence, Mass.

GRAY-Insurers' Automatic Fire Extinguisher Company, New York.

GRINNELL-Providence Steam and Gas Pipe Company, Providence, R. I., manufacturers; agents, Automatic Fire Alarm and Extinguisher Company (Limited), 413 Broadway, New York; 111 Milk street, Boston; 49 South Fourth street, Philadelphia; 64 Fifth avenue, Pittsburgh. GUNN-John Gunn, Webster, Mass.

HARKNESS-Harkness Fire Extinguisher Company, New York.

HILL-John Hill, Columbus, Ga.

HOPEDALE-James R. Gray, Ayer, Mass.

KANE-Kane Automatic Fire Extinguisher Company, Philadelphia, Pa.

KERSTETER-C. W. Kersteter, Chicago, Ill.

MACKEY Manufacturers' Automatic Sprinkler Company, Syracuse, N. Y.

NAGLE-A. F. Nagle, Chicago, Ill.

NERACHER-Neracher Automatic Sprinkler and Piping Company, Cleveland, O.

NEW YORK AND NEW HAVEN-New York and New Haven Automatic Sprinkler Company, New York.

SHAFFER Shaffer Automatic Sprinkler and Fire Alarm Company, Milwaukee, Wis.

SOLLY-Bancroft & Bro. (Agents), Philadelphia, Pa.

SWEET-W. H. D. Sweet, Albany, N. Y.

TURNER-Thomas J. Turner, New York.

WALWORTH-Walworth Manufacturing Company, Boston, Mass.

ANXIETY REMOVED.

"The great man,” says Emerson, "is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the serenity of solitude." "How many of the troubles of life," asks Sir John Lubbock, "are insignificant in themselves and easily avoidable?" One of the troubles, or, rather, one of the burdens of life would be removed by means of life assurance. Business life imparts so many difficulties and requires so much concentration of mind, that a man should lock up all his domestic troubles when he leaves home for the counting-house or the workshop. He cannot afford to carry them about with him from door to door, from street to street. His duty to himself, to his family, to his business, to the world, demands entire consecration to the work in hand. The burden upon his back and the load upon his mind concerning his wife and family could be removed by means of a life assurance policy. Why not throw the burden overboard to-day?

INTRODUCTION.

THE reports of the insurance departments are so numerous, and the information contained therein so diversified, that it is a difficult task to pick out the facts in detail regarding every individual company doing business in this country. The active competition in the life insurance business has resulted in the flooding of the country with leaflets issued by individual companies and agents, in which particular claims are urged and invidious comparisons made, often at the expense of the truth. It is the purpose of the following series of exhibits to show every material point given in the sworn reports of the life companies to the various insurance departments, to deduce certain accepted ratios therefrom, and to show the rank of every company relative to each of the several features given.

The New York Insurance Department report is the standard used, although in the case of those companies that do not report to that department, the reports have been obtained from their respective home States. The figures of every company are official, the ratios, however, being prepared especially for this publication. Every company is shown squarely upon its merits upon the authority of their sworn state

ments.

The success which this publication met with last year is an evidence that policyholders and agents generally are glad to avail themselves of an opportunity to obtain a clear and unbiased analysis of the standing of the life insurance companies in which they are interested, coming from an entirely impartial source. The work has been much extended and improved; the friendly criticisms made of last year's work have been duly weighed, and several new exhibits added, which cannot fail to greatly increase its value in the eyes of the insuring public.

The Exhibits are self-explanatory, being merely a synoptical reproduction in convenient form of the official reports of the companies, with deductions therefrom. In order, however, to bring out more clearly certain points which might, perhaps, be unintelligible to the ordinary policy holder or insurance applicant, a few concise notes have been added, which will doubtless prove of value to those who seek to get at the whole truth.

It is to be remembered that one set of ratios does not indicate the comparative standing of any particular company. It is only by an examination of all that a comparison can be made, and even then perhaps only by a comparison with previous years. For this reason we have presented in each exhibit a comparison with the figures and ratios of the preceding year.

As may easily be imagined, the labor involved in compiling these exhibits has been one of great magnitude and largely, it must be confessed, a labor of love. We trust that this fact will be appreciated by life insurance agents, policyholders and intending insurers, for whose benefit the work is specially designed.

NOTES.

EXHIBIT I. Since the beginning of the current year the American of Philadelphia, Pa., has been placed in the hands of a receiver; the Commercial Union has associated with itself the National Alliance, an assessment company; has had its name changed to Commercial Alliance, and has increased its capital to $250,000; its secretary is now A. C. Hunt; three new com. panies are reported as having either commenced business, or being in process of organization; they are the Bankers and Merchants of New York, formerly an assessment company; the Home Life of Salt Lake City, Utah; and the Provident Life of Wheeling, W. Va. This last is an industrial company.

EXHIBIT III. The item of Assets Not Admitted consists of assets whose value cannot be readily ascertained by the insurance commissioners and are therefore disqualified, although they may be perfectly good investments. Agents' balances, bills receivable, furniture fixtures and safes, advances to agents and commuted commissions are included in this item. The departments also deduct an average loading of twenty per cent of the deferred and unpaid premiums. These amounts are also included in this column.

EXHIBIT IX. Many companies take notes in part payment of premiums, upon which interest is paid, and others loan a part of the policy reserve to their policyholders. The amounts of such notes and loans are, of course, deducted in the final settlement of the policies. The following shows the total of such notes and loans for the year 1888:

The above makes a total of $19,055,986, consisting of $15,603,178 in Premium Notes and $3,452,808 in Loans to Policyholders.

EXHIBIT XII. The item of All Other Assets is made up chiefly of interest and rents due and accrued.

EXHIBIT XVI. Many companies now transact a large part of their business on plans which involve the deferment of dividends for periods of ten, fifteen or twenty years. This is generally known as the tontine principle, and the departments require companies transacting this class of business to report the surplus specially reserved for it. All the companies marked d in this exhibit issue policies, though under varying titles, which embody the tontine principle.

EXHIBIT XVII. The heavy decrease in the assets and surplus of the Phoenix Mutual was caused largely by the retirement of its capital, which was purchased by the policyholders of the company.

EXHIBIT XVIII. The Net Assets are obtained by deducting from the admitted assets all indebtedness outside the amount set apart as the reinsurance reserve.

EXHIBIT XIX. The heavy Ratio of Assets to Liabilities of the first eight companies is caused partly by the fact that the companies are young and possessing $100,000 or over, the assets are large, while the liabilities are relatively small. Three of the companies transact a term business almost exclusively; under which plan the reserve required is comparatively small.

EXHIBIT XX. The following amounts paid for reinsurance have been deducted from the new premiums of the companies named: Etna, $708; Berkshire, $18,422; Brooklyn, $2254; Connecticut General, $2602; Equitable, N. Y., $762; Imperial, $137; John Hancock, $731; Manhattan, $344; Maryland, $10,675; Massachusetts, $45,684; Metropolitan, $78; Michigan, $7468; Mutual of Baltimore, $337; Mutual of Kentucky, $252; New York Life, $84,330; Pacific Mutual, $829; Penn Mutual, $4628; Phoenix Mutual, $2078; Provident Savings, $11,412; Prudential, $1982; State Mutual, $1662; Travelers, $12,841; Union Mutual, $1625; United States, $2923; Vermont, $613.

EXHIBIT XXI. The column of Other Receipts is made up of such items as Discount on Claims paid in advance, Policy Fees and Sundries.

EXHIBIT XXIV. The following aniounts were paid out in Annuities by the respective companies in 1889:

This gives a total of $1,556,043, which makes the footing of the column "Matured Endowments and Annuities" read Matured Endowments, $9,075,922; Annuities, $1,556,043.

EXHIBIT XXXVI. The amount of Interest Earnings given here do not include the items of profit and loss, but only the actual interest and rental receipts.

EXHIBITS XXXVII.-XL. There is much uncertainty as to what is the really true basis for comparing expenses. Some companies claim that one ratio is the best, because it suits them, while others prefer a different ratio entirely. In these exhibits some of the chief methods are given. Exhibits XXXVII. and XXXVIII. consider the effect of the total expenditures other than payments to policyholders, while Exhibits XXXIX. and XL. show the ratio of expense after deducting such items as are not under the immediate control of the company, for instance, dividends to stockholders, taxes, expense on real estate and profit and loss.

EXHIBIT XLI. In considering this table, it must be remembered that the greater part of the business now transacted is on plans embodying the Tontine principle, under which dividends are not distributed until the end of periods, varying from ten to twenty years. As only two companies are paying matured policies of this class, and a very small number at that, it follows that the amount paid out in dividends by the majority of the companies is comparatively small. Then, again, there are large numbers of policies issued at lower rates of premium on the non-participating plan. The industrial companies do not pay any dividends on their business. A study of this exhibit, in connection with the increase in surplus in Exhibit XVII., will give a clear idea of the dividend earnings of the several companies.

EXHIBIT XLII. The Not Admitted items of assets added to the Admitted Assets and Surplus give the Gross Assets and Surplus of this table.

EXHIBIT XI.II. In the case of young companies having capital stock, the Ratio of Total Benefits to Premium Receipts naturally is rather high. The date of commencing business and the amount of capital stock should be considered in this connection. The industrial companies being of necessity conducted at a high rate of expense show a comparatively low ratio.