230 
The  Importajice  of  Insurance. 
A.m.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1905. 
pay  the  premium  upon,  without  the  possibility  of  embarrassing  your- 
self financially.  This  policy  will  come  due  and  payable  to  you  at  a 
time  in  your  life,  perhaps,  when  you  need  it  most,  and  be  invalu- 
able to  you  and  a  credit  to  your  foresight  and  good  judgment. 
Besides,  you  could  not  invest  your  earnings  in  anything  that  would 
pay  you  so  well. 
There  are,  I  understand,  several  kinds  of  endowment  policies.  I 
would,  therefore,  advise  you  by  all  means  before  investing  in  one  to 
investigate  thoroughly  and  ascertain  from  proper  sources  which  is 
the  most  desirable.  In  all  matters  of  this  kind  it  behooves  you  to 
be  prudent  and  cautious,  as  it  is  always  the  "  first  step  that  costs." 
Don't  invest  your  money  thoughtlessly  and  heedlessly  in  anything. 
Remember  that  when  you  part  with  your  money  you  say  "  Good- 
bye "  to  your  best  friend. 
Stocks  are  dangerous  and  often  fatal  to  dabble  in.  Real  estate  is 
uncertain  and  troublesome,  and  unless  you  are  a  good  judge  of  it 
and  understand  handling  it,  is  not  desirable.  Besides,  you  may  not 
be  able  to  get  sufficient  money  together  in  a  lump  at  one  time  to 
make  the  first  payment  on  a  purchase  of  a  piece  of  real  estate.  If 
you  should  happen  to  be  so  fortunate  as  to  have  a  little  stagnant 
capital  you  hardly  know  what  to  do  with,  or  where  to  place  it,  in 
order  to  draw  interest,  and  you  finally  put  it  in  bonds,  mortgages, 
ground  rents,  etc.,  they  will  pay  you  only  4  or  5  per  cent,  interest ; 
so  that  I  cannot  call  to  mind  anything  that  is  better  than  life  or 
endowment  policies  in  good  and  reliable  companies.  This  will 
absorb  your  small  savings  as  fast  as  they  accumulate,  and  you  do 
not  have  to  wait  for  a  large  aggregation  of  small  amounts  before 
you  can  make  an  investment. 
I  have  written  good  and  reliable  companies.  This  is  exceedingly 
important,  as  I  know  from  very  costly  experience.  Assiduously 
avoid  all  cheap  and  unreliable  companies.  The  danger,  however, 
of  getting  into  such  companies  is  not  so  great  as  it  was  some  years 
ago,  as  the  law  and  the  rigid  surveillance  of  the  insurance  commis- 
sioners, under  which  they  are  all  obliged  to  operate,  has  pretty  well 
weeded  them  out  of  existence.  But  I  believe  there  are  still  some 
weak  ones  that  make  a  judicious  selection  somewhat  necessary. 
I  read  a  short  time  ago  one  of  the  most  intelligent,  interesting 
and  able  speeches  upon  the  subject  of  life  insurance  by  the  Hon. 
Judson  Harmon,  Ex-Attorney  General  of  th   United  States.    It  is 
