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 492 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

been in force. For instance, a whole life policy has been in force five years, we have added 5 per cent, to the death claim, or if it has been in force ten years, we add 10 per cent, to the policy; the same progression holds good up to twenty-five years, when the additions to the claim are 25 per cent, of the policy. Then profits have been distributed in other ways. After a policy has been running for a certain number of years, or the in- sured has arrived at the age of seventy-five years, we give him a free policy. Another form, by reduction of the premium, so that the policy- holders pay on a whole life policy 8 per cent, less premiums than his policy calls for. This can be credited on his premium receipt book, or paid him in cash, at his option.*

Cost of industrial insurance, as compared with ordinary life insurance. — The rates for "insurance by the basketful" have been reduced as shown: but they remain very high. "Life insurance" in the sense of any adequate provision for a family left dependent, is not and cannot be furnished on this basis. Those who can pay by wagon-loads rather than basketfuls fare considerably better, while those who can pay quarterly have little of which to complain — but these are on a relatively high economic plane. Nothing which has yet been done by private companies weakens the argument for compulsory and socialized insurance.

The following statements of a high authority indicate the reasons for the great cost of weekly payment policies. It was asked :

What proportion of the average industrial premium is actually required for the payment of death losses?

Mr. H. Fiske answered:

I don't know that that can be answered exactly in one word. Tak- ing our experience in industrial policies to date, we find that the death claims and the gratuities that we pay in addition to the policies amount to 36 or 37 per cent, of the premiums; the expenses eat up at the end of the year about 35 per cent.; the additions to the reserves required to keep it up amount in sums beween 20 and 25 per cent.; if you will add those together you will find that from which we declare dividends, by subtracting it from 100.

Its expensiveness is caused not only from the fact that the policy- holder is secured by an agent, but also by the fact that the mortality among the insured is much higher Our net premiums are necessarily very

•Mr. Fiske, Civic Federation Speech, 1908.