PERSONALS. A happy New Year. Last year was a nineteen hundred and wonder. Now let us beat it in 1902. Two hundred and forty millions. Thanks. The first year's premiums of the California agency were three times as much as in 1900. Do it again. The old bay State "flourished like a green bay tree." Hurrah for the Massachusetters! Pittsburg beat even its own previous records. Over $13,000,000 of business. Well, we knew it was in the Woods. But why particularize. If we mentioned everyone who distinguished himself, it would be necessary to enlarge the size of the paper. All our records were broken in 1901. That makes another record to be broken in 1902. Let's do it. And Third Vice-President Wilson is home again. "Genial George" arrived on the “Teutonic" on January 9, after a prolonged season of hard work on the other side, giving exhibitions of true American "hustle." And we all say "welcome home." Good luck to the new representatives in Buffalo, Messrs. Whitney & Ames. If all the Buffalo papers say about them be true, they are going to be worthy members of the Equitable Family. Fourth Vice-President McIntyre had a birthday on January 7, and celebrated by taking a half holiday, leaving the office at 4.45. The convention number of the Western Traveler had a good picture of H. H. Loughbridge, a representative in Nebraska. What with author Bradner, and poet Treadwell, the Brooklyn agency is getting quite Lit'rary. Recent visitors to the Home office were J. S. Kendrick, A. Uhlfelder, W. R. Luke, M. B. Ochs, H. Swineford, F. W. Fuller, Major Myers, and M. W. Connors. Superintendent of Agencies S. C. Bolling has appointed the following general agents in Iowa: Charles E. Luce in Waterloo, Bryson T. Hutchison in Fort Dodge, Henry B. Stoutter in Cedar Rapids, W. H. Shearman in Des Moines, D. H. McCarthy in Dubuque, and Charles K. Miller and Ignatz Pick, Inspectors of Agencies. Suc cess to all. "STRONGEST IN THE WORLD" The Equitable Life Assurance Society Of the United States. Preliminary Statement, Jan. 1st, 1902. Outstanding Assurance, $1,175,000,000 A Substantial Increase over the previous year is shown in ALL of the foregoing items. James W. Alexander, President. James H. Hyde, Vice-President. THE EQUITABLE NEWS AN AGENTS' JOURNAL No. 26 NEW YORK, FEBRUARY BEING A GOOD FELLOW The man who has an income of ten thousand dollars a year and spends every cent of it on his wife and family and friends is a good fellow, and is blessed by everybody even after he has died and left not a cent to keep his children in school, to save his wife from going to work for their bread and butter, or to pay his bills scattered around the town. He dies a royal good fellow, with the reputation of living only for his family. The man who takes $1,000 a year off his wife's back in clothes, and $1,000 a year off his own back and off his drinks and cigars and puts it into assurance for them against the time when he is dead, and another $1,000 a year out of other things that make a man generous and lovable, and puts that into a bond every twelvemonth for them, and then dies and leaves them where his children can stay in school and his wife go on living in comfort-well, he is a curmudgeon with a mind not above sordid things. Every time! New York Press. He rises with the morning sun And rescues from the crumbling hours Or he may sink himself as low As evening's sunken sun, If he forsake the dying day And leave the deed undone. -Aloysius Coll, in the Era. 1902 THE DILEMMA OF THE SEASONS. Or else to pull the covers up around your chin at An' the chores you might be doin' sort o' fill your mind with pain, An' so you put 'em off until it's Summer time again. An' when the June time greets us an' the roses blush an' try To hide from truant breezes as they come a-whisperin' by, When everything you notice seems to tempt you out to play An' it's time to go a-fishin' every minute of the day Well, there's no excuse fur toilin' when the skies are warm an' blue, So you guess you'll wait for Winter, when there's nothin' else to do. From the Washington Post. Not for the active and hustling agents of the Equitable does this "dilemma of the seasons" exist. They say in the adapted words of a classic song, "All times are alike to me," and the volume of business turned in shows no diminution in hot or cold, clear or stormy weather; when skies are warm and blue, or when gray and threatening, with the storms of winter. Their profession lifts them above the trials incidental to unpleasant or distracting surroundings, and enables them to accomplish great results in spite of hindrances. LIFE ASSURANCE. Fifth Paper. The Scientific Basis of Life Assurance. (Continued.) In the last article we explained one of the two bases of the scientific development of life assurance; namely, the Law of Average. The other element upon which the development of the system is scientifically based is the mathematical theory of probabilities. This theory had its origin, strange as it may seem, in the solution of two problems connected with games of chance, propounded by a French gambler to the celebrated Abbé Pascal. The abbé was interested, and this led to further investigation by various mathematicians, out of which grew the Theory of Probabilities, which was brought to a high degree of development by the great French mathematician, Laplace. In the case of the single die, referred to before, there are but six distinct ways in which the die can possibly fall, and they are all equally likely; while there is only one way in which any particular face-say the four-can rest uppermost. Now, in the Mathematical Theory of Probabilities, if an event may happen in a certain number of ways, all equally likely, only so many of which shall possess a certain characteristic, then the probability of its happening with that characteristic is expressed by a fraction, whose numerator is the number of ways which would possess that characteristic and denominator the entire number of ways that it could happen. Hence, we say that the probability of the die's resting with the four uppermost is the fraction onesixth, whose numerator is the number of ways that it can fall with the four remaining uppermost, and whose denominator is the whole number of ways, all equally likely, that it can possibly fall. If we ask what is the probability that the four will not be uppermost, we note that there are five ways that it can fall without the four being uppermost, and six distinct ways in all possible casts. Hence the probability of its falling with the four not uppermost is five-sixths. But it is certain that the four will be either uppermost or not uppermost; hence certainty is ex pressed by one-sixth plus five-sixths, or one. Thus the number one is the expression in the Theory of Probabilities for certainty. Suppose that two such dice were cast simultaneously-what is the probability that the sum of their upper faces will be nine? It will be seen by a little consideration that the whole number of ways in which the two dice can fall is thirty-six, and that of these four will satisfy the condition that the sum of the upper faces shall be nine. Hence the required probability is 4-36 or 1-9. Moreover, there are thirtytwo ways in which the dice can fall so that the sum of the upper faces shall not be nine. Hence the probability that the sum of the upper faces shall not be nine is 32-36, or 8-9. Therefore the probabilities are eight to one against the sum of the upper faces being nine. And if gamblers were betting for and against the sum of the upper faces being nine, the one betting against nine should give his opponent odds of eight to one to be on even terms with him. In thinking of this the reader should remember that, although there are only two combinations which together make nine— namely, three with six and four with fiveyet each of these combinations may be reached in two ways, so as to make four distinct ways in all. Thus calling one of the dice A and the other B, we may have A 3, B 6; A 5, B 4; DILDAY & POWELL AGAIN. Kicking Because They are Classed with To the Editor of the NEWS: In the Union Depot of this city is displayed a very conspicuous sign which reads as follows: "Tramps, peddlers and insurance agents not allowed in this building." There is much anxiety here among the assurance people for fear that this will be made general and shut us out of all buildings in the city. The agents have called a joint meeting with the tramps and peddlers and we suggest that you see some of the Equitable's directors interested in railroads, thus making them particeps criminis. They will feel the sting of the apparent insult, as they are connected with the Equitable. We can't see why they class the tramps and peddlers with assurance agents. True, some agents become tramps and peddlers, but no tramp ever becomes an assurance agent. Have you ever shut railroad people out of the Equitable Building? thought they might be retaliating. What would you suggest? We Dilday & Powell. [The sign reads insurance agents, not assurance. This was no doubt done advisedly so that Equitable representatives might enter the building, but to exclude agents of all other companies. We understand, however, that the sign has since been taken down.-ED.] LIFE'S AVERAGE. I never talk Philosophy Like Pessimists an' such, I guess there never wuz a spot An' there aint no use in fumin' When the world seems out o' gear, For music's always in the air, An' love, an' song, an' cheer Jest keeps a feller's spirits up, An' kinder makes him glad; An', come what will, he's bound to think Life ain't so awful bad. Sometimes a feller has to weep, Sometimes he has ter laugh; The shadders an' the sunshine mix, Jest kinder half an' half. New Orleans Times-Democrat. A PECULIAR WORD. The word "habit" is one of the most peculiar in our language. If you take off the first letter, you still have "a bit." If you remove the second, the word "bit" is still on hand. Decapitate that by removing the "b" and it is still a word. Take off the "i," and you find the old "habit" not "t" totally destroyed. |