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they lived, subscribed to an insurance fund and representatives of
several ,Canadian'cities.came to New Yorktoarrange for the
policies. The Mayor.of Hamilton visited the,Metropolitan offices
and agreed upon the plan with'Haley Fiske. ' '
The Canadian war risks assumed by the Metropolitan Life up to
a year ago amounted to the great sum of $10,811,500. They were
distributed as indicated in the following table: , A
‘ Approx. Approx.
, - No. of . amount of
District. , lives, . insurance
Barrie.’....: . . . . . . . . . . 12 $12,500
Berlin . . 0 394 0 312,500
. Hamilton . 647' 463,000
. Kingston '. . 62 . 62,000
Lachine . . "27 13,500
London . .. , 705 , 561,000
0 Quebec . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . 282 185,500
Ottawa. . . . . . 23 V 23,000
vPeterboro '. .. 70 ‘ 70,000
St. Catherine . . . . . . . . . 278 193,500
Saginaw . . . . . . . . . . . . .' . . . . . . . 7 ‘ 3,500
Toronto . L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , 8,810 8,807,000
VVindsoIj.....'..'..L.....J ..... ...‘ 4196 '- . 114,000
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,513 $10,811,500
Many of these men were membersof the Princess Pat's Regiment,
which was practically annihilated by the Germanswin Flanders last
autumn. ' This regiment started out about 1,200 strong and within
a few daysuafter reaching the firing line, only seventeen members‘
were left aliveand unwounded; Of these, six have since succumbed
to wounds or disease. This regiment was made up of contingents
from various parts of the Dominion. A .
1These untrained Canadian levies, mostly ignorant backwoodsmen,
were flung into the firing ‘line by incompetent English officers, and
> the carnage amongst them has since been still more frightful.
Months ago the Metropolitan had already paid out in death benefits ; H
to the families of Canadian volunteers the sum of $552,000. To
date it is feared the entire $11,000,000 may have been lost. ,
V , The oflicers of the Metropolitan were thunderstrucki when the
returnsycame in. There was no excuse for-the risks they had taken.
Haley Fiske, the man who gets $85,000 a year for his supposed ex-
perience in insurance matters, said in extenuation: >
“The war was then in its early stages and insurance underwriters
' did not. know theiextent to which ‘slaughter could beecarried on by
modern guns. All we had to work with was the mortality tables
from. the Franco-Prussian war. -According to these, figures, it
seemed as though the insuring of a large number of soldiers, even
at theordinary rate,'would be good business and we began to write
- the policies. Thevdesperate fighting at Ypres and elsewhere showed"
that the old tables were by no means adequate."
'Mr. Fiske does not tell the truth. What really deceived the in-
surance underwritersxwas the lying pro-Allies campaign published
by the New York Time: and other newspapers, reiterating day
upon day that the Allies were scoring'victories, that the Germans
were demora.lized,crushed and suing forpeace. ‘ -- V
A‘ great many letters have reached me from Metropolitan Life
policyholders, stating that agents of the company throughout the
,country were trying to create the impression ‘that the Metropolitan
has a separate Canadian company, upon which this huge loss would"
fall. . This is untrue. ,The Metropolitan Life has no separate Cana-
dian company, and the staggering loss, due to thisreckless manage-
ment, falls directly upon"the American policyholders.
The Aetna Life Insurance Company
Another concern which entered upon this extravagant adventure
was the Aetna Life Insurance Company bf Hartford, whose presis
dent, M. G. Bulkeley, gets a salaryof $50,000 a year. The Aetna
wrote $3,000,000 of insurance on approximately 4,500 soldiers. Its
losses have also been proportionately heavy. ,
The other day a call came from the Presidentof the United States
for.the National Guard of all the States of the Union to'be sent
, to the Mexicanborder in the country's defense. Now was the time
in
, .to the call to arms, left their familiesiunprovidecl for. In order to ‘
make their going as easyas possible, the towns and villages where ,
HE”FATHEREAND
for the Wall Street insurance group to show their patriotism. They
had carelessly flung away their policyholders‘ millions in aiding,
-England, by insuring her soldiers at regular rates. Surely they
would now do as much for their own countrymen. V‘
What did they do? They immediately announced that they would
insure American militiamen bound for the Mexican border only on
these terms: Policies limited to $2,000. In addition lo the regular
rate, National Grtizrd:1Ite1t must pay an extra war premimu of from
$30 to $60 on every thousand. Three ycar.t"1:remimn.r must be paid
in advance.
‘Of such is the patriotism of Wall Street.’ For their losses in Eng-
land's cause, the Americans must be made to pay.
In trying to excuse the mismanagement of the ‘Metropolitan,
, Haley Fiske had pleaded in extenuation: "A large number of the
Canadian soldiers who responded to the call to arms left their fam-
ilies unprovided for." : ; . ‘ ‘
Let us see what‘the case was in this respectlwith the American-
National Guardsmen. vWe have seen how the Morgan banking
group "organized the inunitions manufacturing interests of the coun-
try. It was now necessary to keep their plants going after the de-
mand from Europe was declining. - Morgan's Navy League, the
National Security League, the American Defense Society, at once
began to clamor for huge ‘Government appropriations fora larger
army and navy“ Then the great Morgan Preparednesslffarade was
‘ organized. The agents of the Morgan group were systematically
driving the public war mad for a purpose. The trouble with Mexico
‘suddenly became accentuated. The National Guard ‘was called out
to go to the border. Congress prepared to appropriate nearly one
billion dollars in expenditures on the army and navy. So far, so
good. This money is now ready to flow into the capacious pockets
of the war munitions group of Wall'Street, and the army con-
tractors who marched in the Preparedness Parade. ‘
But how stood it with the men who were to go to‘ the front?
Man)’ of these were young men, with families dependent on them.
who had joined the National Guard for the patriotic purpose of
serving the State. These were now unexpectedly called upon to
take the Federal mustering-in oath. ‘ 0
I quote thesdaily newspapers of June 28th: . ' -I i -
Red Bank, N. J.-After the men had refused to take‘ the oath,
therr ofhcers stripped their uniforms from them, took awa r
their equipment, and let them get home as best they could.
few had overalls, several huddled in blankets, one was clad only V
in his underwear and a sweater, while all were barefooted, and
were without hats. '
This treatment frightened other young National-‘Guardsmen, who.
t0‘ 6503136 disgrace, took the oath, deserted their dependents and
wives and children, and were sent to the Mexican border.
Asam I quote the, daily newspapers. this time of July 4tl1:
Guardsmen’s wives, in despair, ask aid. Many bf them needed
‘ money at Once. One young mother had not one cent. She had
spent her last five cents in buying a glassiof milk for her.baby.
,A th 111 '1. r t -
o mggeyeghgngadern w(s)Ir>l:d'ch:ldren had thirty cents--all the
d
‘What Camd W3" Street. the munitions makers, the insurance
8f011P, the army contractors? Their plot had succeeded, their mil-
110115 were in sight. Their miserable pawns could go to'their deaths
for 3“ the)’ Cafedl and if the Guardsmen wished to be insured. 19‘
'1h'3m Day, the extra war. premium; and if their families starved-.‘
‘V113’: 153 them 3DPlY to the Charities Department. ‘I
The Mutual Life Insurance Company .
Charles A. Peabody, director in the National Bank of Commerce.
the Farmers’ Loan and Trust ‘Company and the Guaranty Trust
Company. V0ted for the participation of those companies in the
$500,000,000 Anglo-French loan. He then went back to hisoflice 35
President of the Mutual ,‘Life Insurance Company, where he voted
0 himself his annual 5h13TY Of $50,000 a year, and quietly, against til‘?
Pmtests of the policyholders, whose money pays him that huge
53i"“'Yr he bought for the Mutual Life $3,000,000 in the Anglo-French
h0hdS- These bonds to-day are selling in Wall Street at less thin‘.
the underwriting price. v - , ’ , j . A g
.1 Since then, the Guaranty Trust Company, of which Mr. Peabody
‘9 3 dh'9Ct01'y has taken the principal part in a $50,000,000 loan t0
the Russian Government-thejnost disgraceful and, scandalous 56‘
r
curity issue ever floated in Wall Street. It is now reported that (hr >
" Whll Street life insurance conzpaixies are secretly preparing to 1453
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