oposing to insure, one third of which is for
claims by death, when income from investments more than pays this
important item.

But it may be said that the surplus returns to policy-holders are
proportionately larger, when claims by death are more than met by income
from investments. This surely is the result that would naturally be
looked for, and which should be realized; but unhappily it is not always
the case. The writer holds a policy in one of the companies referred to
above, and has paid premiums on the same for some twenty-five years.
Judge of his surprise when, three or four years ago, he was called upon
to pay 20 per cent in excess of the premium he had been paying for
years; and when an explanation was asked, the reason given was that the
per cent realized from investments was much less than formerly. Yet this
same company more than pays its death-losses by income from investments.
This is not an isolated instance.

Many readers of this article have, no doubt, _enjoyed_ (?) a like
experience. Is not such a system of insurance fairly open to criticism
in its practical workings?

But perhaps the most astonishing feature of level-premium insurance is
found in the fact that there is absolutely no obligation assumed on the
part of the company, and no power anywhere to enforce an accounting for
the vast sums entrusted to it, so long as it can be made to appear that
it holds securities in the aggregate to meet the legal requirements of a
reserve.

These vast sums of money are paid in by policy-holders without any
knowledge of, or means of knowing, the uses to which they will be
applied. They know, in a general way, that a part of the premium will be
used for reserve, a part for expenses, and a part for losses, but how
much will go for each purpose they have no means of ascertaining. The
company places it all in a common pot, and can put in the hand of
extravagance, of avarice, or of dishonesty, and take out any amount for
personal aggrandizement, or for expense of management, so long as it can
be made to appear that the legal standard of reserve is maintained.
There is absolutely no limit put upon the extravagant conduct of the
business. There is no separation of trust funds from expense account. No
man who insures in a level-premium life company knows whether such
company will use for expenses $5 or $25 for each $1,000 of insurance
which he carries. He has the vague promise of a dividend,--falsely so
called, f