;i LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY MEMORIAL the Class of 1901 founded by HARLAN HOYT HORNER and HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER SPF^IJVeFIEbD, ILL. 1 -. =5^^/=s ,=^^:^, — -■ .- - ir^i - W^Nf^'A^V^^ ^1 * ^H *^^^ ^^* i v^ ^M Ipl l^z^r^-^^^^ 1 1^ ^=p^i - — -~, ■ J- ■ :T-r : -^- iiii li^sbl ^m »| =^ b \m par: ;! -7 -^ jB^--^^^ j&^^ MARCH-APRIL, 1903. Zhe Neuu-ljorh Isfeois-Letter. ANNALS OF ILLINOIS. 1673. — Louis Joiiel and Jacques .Marquette descend the Mississippi to the mouth of the Arkansas, and on their return descend the Illinois and reach Lake Michigan via Des- plaines and Chicago rivers. 1G75. — Marquette descends the Illinois river nearly to Utica on a mission to the In- dian tribes. 1080. — La Salle, Tonti and Hennepin, with a party of 33. descend the Kankakee and Illinois rivers, pass through Peoria Lake Jan. 3. and erect Fort Crevecoeur on the east shore of the outlet. 1682.— La Salle and Tonti descend the Il- linois to the Mississippi, and the latter to its mouth. Returning, they build Fort St. Louis on Starved Rock, near the site of Utica. 1690. — The Illinois mission occupies site of Kaskaskia. 1719. — Philip Renault, with 200 mechanics and laborers and 500 negro slaves, founds St. Philips, a few miles above Kaskaskia. 1821. — Jesuits establish a monastery and college at Kaskaskia. 1756. — Fort Massac (or Massacre) is es- tablished and garrisoned by the French, about 40 miles from the mouth of the Ohio. 1765. — The French possessions in North America having passed to England by the treaty of 1763, the British occupy Fort Chartres, October 10. 1768. — Colonel Wilkins assumes, by proc- lamation from Fort Chartres, the govern- ment of the Illinois country, and appoints seven magistrates. 1772. — A freshet destroying a part of Fort Chartres, the seat of government is fixed at Fort Gage, opposite Kaskaskia. 1778. — Colonel George Rogers Clark, act- ing under authority of Patrick Henry, Gov- ernor of Virginia, reaches Kaskaskia with a military expedition in July. In October the territory is made a county by the Leg- islature of Virginia. 1777. — Temporary government proclaimed from Kaskaskia by Col. John Todd. 1784. — Illinois country ceded to the United States by Virginia. 1787. — The Northwestern Territory, in- cluding Illinois, organized by Congress. 1800. — Illinois set off from Northwest Ter- ritory. 1803. — By treaties made at Vincennes the Indians cede large tracts of land in Southern Illinois. Fort Eearborn built at Chicago on the site of Michigan Avenue and River Street. 1804. — First permanent settler at Chicago. Territory between the Illinois and Wiscon- sin rivers ceded by the Indians. 1809. — Illinois made a Territory with seat of government at Kaskaskia. Ninian Ed- wards appointed Governor by President Madison. 1810. — Mail route established from Vin- cennes to St. Louis, via Kaskaskia and Ca- hokia. 1812. — Fort Dearborn evacuated by order of General Hull; fort burned and garrison massacred by Indians. 1816. — Bank of Illinois incorporated. 1818.— Enabling Act for State of Illinois approved April 18. 1818. — Convention meets at Kaskaskia, and frames a constitution (August) ; Illinois admitted to the Union in December. 1819.— John Kelly and famJIy, from North Carolina, first white settlers at Springfield. 1820. — Seat of government removed to Vandalia. 1830. — Father of Abraham Lincoln re- moves from Indiana and settles in Macon County. 1832. — Black Hawk invades Illinois with 150 warriors and attacks unsuccessfully, at Apple River Fort (June 6) and Kellogg's Grove (June 26). A. Lincoln a captain. 1834. — Abraham Lincoln elected to Legis- lature (re-elected in 1836, 1838 and 1840). 1837. — Chicago gets city charter. Spring- field made seat of State government; cor- ner-stone of State capitol laid. 1846. — Mormon exodus — 2,000 cross the Mississippi on the ice. Abraham Lincoln elected to Congress. 1839. — Legislature first meets in Spring- field — Assembly in First " Presbyterian Church, Senate in First Methodist, and Su- perior Court in Episcopal. 1840. — Mormons locate in Hancock County and found Nauvoo. 1853. — Illinois Wesleyan University char- tered and opened at Bloomington. 1854.— N. W. Edwards appointed State Superintendent of common schools. 1855. — System of free schools authorized. 1855. — Northwestern University opened at Evanston. 1857. — Illinois State University opened at Normal. (Continued on page 3 of cover.) Z^/ZVCGZ ^J AOG/^ Vol 36. NEW YORK, MARCH-APRIL, 1903. No. 2. COPrRIGHT, 1903, BY THE NEW-YORK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY. SPRINGFIELD AS IT IS. SPRINGFIELD, the capital of Illinois, is a city about four miles in length and three miles in width. Shade trees and lawns give the residential part of the city a park-like appearance. The public buildings are a credit to the city, the State House being unusually handsome and of the modern style of architecture, the total cost being over $4,000',000. Among the other buildings may be mentioned the United States Court House, the Post-Office, the Executive Mansion, the State Arsenal, the City Hall and the Public Library building. Monuments, Churches, Schools, &c. Chief among the historical attractions are the Lincoln National Monument, and the old Lincoln residence which is owned by the State. Churches and schools are nu- merous, modern in style and appointments. There are twenty-one graded schools and a Central High School, completed a few years ago at a cost of over $100,000. In addition to these there are several private institutes, convents and parochial schools. There are four hospitals and several other charitable institutions. Its Free Public Library is one of the best of its size in the country, having about 50,000 volumes. There are also the Illinois State Historical Library of 4,000 volumes, the Supreme Court Library of 20,000 volumes, and the Illinois State Library of 60,000 volumes. Banks and Manufactures. The city has iive national banks, one state bank, and one trust company, with a com- bined capital of nearly $2,000,000. There are several hundred manufacturing estab- lishments in the city, which give employ- ment to several thousand people. The prin- cipal industries are the building trades, printing and publishing, foundry and ma- chine shops, textiles, a watch factory, etc. The city is well lighted by electricity, has excellent water-works and a good system of sewerage. The population in 1900 was 34,159. It was settled in 1819, and incorpo- rated as a city in 1840. The permanent camp of the National Guard and the grounds of the State Fair are located here. THE LINCOLN MONUMENT. THE Lincoln monument was erected by the Lincoln Monument Association in 1869-74. The granite work cost $136,- 550, and the bronze work $70,000. It was dedicated October 15, 1874. The dimensions are: base, 72 1/^ feet square; including the extension of catacomb and Memorial Hall, 1191/2 feet; height of terrace, 15 feet 10 inches ; pedestals for statuary groups, 28 feet 4 inches; pedestal for Lincoln's statue, 351/^ feet; height of obelisk above the ground, 98 feet 41/2 inches. The four bronze groups represent infantry, cavalry, artillery and the navy. Six crypts have been built in the cata- comb for the burial of members of the Lincoln family, and five persons have been buried therein — Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln, their two sons, Willie and "Tad," and a grandson, Abraham Lincoln. Within Memorial Hall are deposited articles used by Mr. Lincoln Che Neuj-lJorh Neujs-Letter. Illinois State Capitol. Photo, by Guy R. Matiiis. or associated with his memory. A few years ago the settling of a part of the foundation rendered a rebuilding of the monument necessary, and this was done by authority of the Legislature, $100,(j'00 being appro- priated for that purpose. Promptest and Fullest Reports. THE New- York Life Insurance Company publishes an advertise- ment in which it says it is trying to do five thing's, one of which is, "To issue ihe promptest and fullest reports." 1. This year the Company's annual report (for 1902) was filed at Albany on January 3, and on the same day the Company gave to the newspapers printed copies of the complete report, just as furnished to the Insurance De- partment, except the policy registers for computing the reserve. A few days later the Detailed Statement in pam- phlet form was ready for distribution to all who would ask for it. This pamphlet contains the balance sheet of the Company; the income and disbursements; the insurance account; changes in important items in eleven years, 1892-1903; schedule of bonds owned (the Company owns no stocks) amounting to over 225 million dollars, with rate of interest and valuation; schedules of real estate owned and upon which mortgages are held by the Com- pany, giving location and valuation; statement of business done in New York State; statement of reasons why one should insure in the Company; .state- ment of the countries in which the Com- pany does business; extracts from ad- dresses of the President of the Company concerning the policy of the present management, and from the Annual ]\Ies- sage of the Presideut of the United States on the value of Publicity. If any other company gives so prompt and full reports they have thus far es- caped notice. Ask for the Detailed Statement of the New-York Life. iUhe Isfeui-ljorh Neuus-Letter. TALKING IN THEIR SLEEP. "You think I'm dead," The apple tree said, "Because I have never a leaf to show; Because I stcop. And my branches droop, And the dull, gray mosses over me grow! But I'm alive in the trunk and shoot; The buds of next May I fold away — But I pity the withered grass at my root." "You think I'm dead," The quick grass said, "Because I have parted with stem and blade! But under the ground I am safe and sound. "With the snow's thick blanket over me laid; I'm all alive and ready to shoot Should the spring of the year Come dancing here — But I pity the flowers without branch or root." "You think I'm dead," A soft voice said. "Because not a branch or root I own! I never have died. But close I hide In a plumy seed that the wind has shown; Patiently I wait through the long winter hours : You will see me again — I shall laugh at you then, Out of the eyes of a hundred flowers." —Edith Th(»nni<, in St. Nicholas. Reaching the People. THE New- York Lip^e Insurance Company publishes an advertise- ment in which it says it is trying to do five things, one of which is ''To have the best, and tJie best organized agency force." It is through its agents that the Company reaches the public, secures its business and pays its claims. Agents are its arms, its hands, and often its voice. Here are .some of the methods by Avhich it endeavors to secure the best medium for reaching the people. 1. It has established Branch Offices in every large city of tlie country, and in many cities more than one. These offices are under the direct and absolute control of the Company. They are man- aged by trained men. They are the Company brought to your doors. Here policy-hold(M"s nmy pay their premiums, make application for loans or for any information concerning their insurance, and here claims of all kinds are paid. That is the policy-holders' side of it. This is the agents' side of it. An agent gets a contract direct with the Company, but reports to the Branch Of- fice in the territory where he works. Here he is brought into personal contact with expei'ienced life insurance men who are ready to give him advice, direc- tion and assistance. His work is exam- ined for errors l)efore it is sent on to the Company. He is relieved of the burden of correspondence with the Company, and can devote all his time and energy to the work of soliciting. The Company seeks the best men it can get for agents. It pi-efers men of reputation in the district in which they woi'k. It delights in men who can work in the same place yeai' after year; men whom their neighbors tru.st; men Avho look upon their work as a profession which they are bound to honor. It is attracting to its ranks more and more college men every year. The Company's agents are forbidden, under pain of dismissal, to allow any rebate of premium to an applicant, be- cause (1) it is contrary to law in many States; (2) it introduces inequality among members of a purely mutual Company; (3) it robs the agent of his proper compemsation and makes addi- tional compensation necessary, thus in- creasing the expenses of the Company; (•4) it brings to the Company a class of policy-holders Avho do not keep up their insurance and whose patronage is a det- riment to the Company. The compensation of agents is so ar- ranged as to reward men who work reg- ularly, and whose business remains on the Company's books during a fixed period. The man who works. etl'ectively, faithfully and continuously receives an increasing income from the same amount of business, with the ulti unite prospect of a fixed income for life. The Company has no room for lag- gards or idlers, none for those who re- bate or misrepresent, none for any ex- cept those who are active, honest, en- tiuisiastic and loyal. Isn't that the kind of men you like to have repre- sent you in youi" business? Isn't that the kind of men who build up and maintain every successful business en- terprise? iThe Keuu-yorh Isfeuas-Letter. Financial Notes. THE United States Treasury now holds over six hundred million dollars in yold — the larf;-est accu- mulation of gold ever held hy any gov- ernment. The total gold in the country on December 1, 1902, was estimated by the Director of the ^Nlint to be $1,241,- 480,498, a gain of about .$67,000,000 daring the year. The world's output of gold for the year is estimated at $290,000,000. an increase of about $27.- 000,000 over 1901. The Director esti- mates that the output of 1903 will ex- ceed $307,000,000, the record of 1899, which is the banner year thus far. The new paid-for business of the New- York Life Insurance Company in 1902, in- cluding old policies revived, was $305,- 695,229, which is high-water mark in life insurance historv. The Director of the Mint estimates the amount of gold in use as money among all nations to be $5.174,400,006, an increase of about one thousand mil- lions — or twenty-five per cent. — during the last six years. The world's stock of silver money is estimated at $3,847,500.- 000. The amount of Life Insurance in force in Ar^erican Life companies is about eight thousand millions— more than all the gold in the world, and nearly as much as all the gold and silver. Dur- ing the last six years the amount insured in American companies has increased about three thousand millions, or sixty per cent. The New- York Life holds nearly one-fifth of the whole amount, and its increase in the last six years has been over seven hundred millions, or about eighty-eight per cent. According to the estimate of Mr. 0. P. Austin, Chief of the Treasury Bureau of Statistics, the total exports of mer- chandise from the United States in 1902 were $1,340,000,000. These figures are the largest in the history of the country except for the years 1900 and 1901, when they were 1.478 and 1.465 millions, respectively. The falling oft" last year w^as chiefly in corn, wheat, oats and pro- visions. The great shortage in the corn crop of 1900 reduced exports not only of corn but also of commodities allied to it. The largest figures which the country's exports ever attained are not equal to the amount of insurance in force in the New-York Life on January 1, 1903, namely, $1,553,628,026. In other words, the Company's risks in force are greater than a year's surplus production of the whole country. Exports of cotton from the United States during the fiscal year 1902 were .$292,000,000. Nearly one-half of the cotton exported goes to British markets, Germany taking the next largest part, with France third in the list of consum- ers. Cotton is still king in the sense that it brings more money into the country than any other one commodity. Next to cotton comes wheat, with an export value of $113,000,000 in 1902. Here again Great Britain is our largest cus- tomer, taking nearly half of our surplus. Next to wheat comes corn when the crop is large, as witness $83,000,000 worth in 1901. with wheat flour a good third, the figures for 1902 being $65,700,000. Ex- ports of wheat and flour are of more value than those of cotton. To say that the United States feeds and clothes the world would be to overstate the matter; nevertheless Ave do a large business in that line. To say that the New-York Life insures the world would be also an exaggeration ; but it does do business in every civilized countr}^ and its new bus- iness in 1902 was more than the value of cotton exported. During the j^ear ending October 31, 1902, there were chartered in the United States 470 National Banks, with $31,- 130,000 capital. This was an average of about one and one-half banks for every day, Sundays and holidays excepted. During the 305 working days of 1902, the New- York Life Insurance Com- pany's new paid-for business, including old policies revived and additions by dividends, was .$305,695,229, an average of over a million a day. It added to its assets for the payment of claims and dividends as they mature, the sum of $32,097,514, or nearly a million dollars more than the capital of the 470 banks referred to. Hay School. Teachers' Training School,. Lincoln Schooi,. High School. A m ■ irTiri'^ r'V /f 1 ' Sl^^^^H r i -^ — ;^^^^^^^H MrC'LF.KXANli SCMCKII, P.i:i riK STfAKT Insi I ITTK.. Cm Paro( HiAL School St. Pkter and St. Paul. St. Agatha's School.' *01d Edwards Homestead, in which Lincoln was married. iThe ]sfeuj-l[orh ZMeuus-Letter. Lincoln Homestead. Photo, by Guy R. Mathis. MR. LINCOLN IN SPRINGFIELD. M R. LINCOLN removed from New Salem to Springfield in April, 1837. He had previously been farmer, flat- boatman, soldier, merchant, surveyor, post- master and law student. He had been twice elected to the Legislature, and one of his colleagues, Major John T. Stuart, who had encouraged him to study law, now took him into partnership. The sessions of the Leg- islature continued to be held at Vandalia until 1839, and Mr. Lincoln continued a member until 1842. During these five years occurred those early love affairs which stirred his nature so deeply that his health was at one time seriously affected. His first love was Miss Anne Rutledge, a young woman of tem- perament and disposition very much like his own, but who died before the engage- ment was consummated. About a year later, when a neighbor (Mrs. Able) was starting for Kentucky, she remarked to Mr. Lincoln that she would bring her sister back with her if he would become her (Mrs. Abie's) brother-in-law. Mr. Lincoln knew the sister — Miss Mary Owens — and he agreed to the proposition. Miss Owens returned with her sister, and Mr. Lincoln held himself bound to pay court to her and to make good his promise if she accepted him. The burden of his letters to her — some of which have been preserved — is first, a desire to do right in the matter; second, a fear that he would not make her happy. She seems to have declined his offer, and he seems then to have concluded that he cared more for her than he thought. Mr. Lincoln was meanwhile becoming well known as a lawyer and a politician. In the Legislature, where his party was in the minority, he twice received the minority vote for speaker of the Assembly, He took an active part in the Harrison campaign of 1840, and was an elector on the Whig ticket. About this time he became engaged to Miss Mary Todd, whose sister was the wife of Mr. Ninian W. Edwards, a prominent Whig from Sangamon County. But the course of true love did not run smooth; there was an estrangement, and Mr. Lincoln declared in a letter to his law partner that he was "the most miserable man living." 8 Che Isfeui-ljorh ]\(ews~Letter. He felt unable to attend the session of the Legislature in January, 1841, and after its close, his friend, Joshua F. Speed, persuaded him to go with him to Kentucky. While in Kentucky Mr. Speed fell in love, and seems to have passed through a period of hesita- tion and doubt before deciding to marry. When he was finally married and wrote Lincoln that he was happy, Mr. Lincoln replied: "The short space it took me to read your last letter gave me more real pleasure than the total sum of all I have enjoyed since the fatal first of January. 1841. Since then it seems to me I should have been entirely happy, but for the never- absent idea that there is one still unhappy whom I have contributed to make so. That still kills my soul. I cannot but reproach myself for even wishing to be happy while she is otherwise." Almost a Duel. During the summer of 1842 some of the young women of Springfield wrote for the "Sangamo Journal" a series of humorous letters, using the local political situation as a theme, and making Auditor (afterward General) Shields the butt of their jokes. In order to make their political jibes more effective they consulted Mr. Lincoln, and he wrote the first article of the series. This led to a challenge from Shields and its acceptance by Mr. Lincoln, after an offer by the latter of an explanation that ought to have ended the matter. Mr. Lincoln in- jected a touch of grim humor into the situation by choosing broadswords as weapons, and for the field a space ten feet long and twice the length of the swords in width, with a plank set on edge in the ground through the middle. The com- batants were not to pass over the plank nor over the line. After reaching the ground selected, a peaceful adjustment was made. A still happier outcome was that these occurrences brought Mr. Lincoln and Miss Todd together in friendly interviews, and that they were married on November 4, 1842. Elected to Congress. In 1841 the partnership between Mr. Lin- coln and Major Stuart was dissolved and a rew one was formed with Judge Stephen T. Logan. Stuart served two terms in Con- gress, retiring in 1843. and Mr. Lincoln became an aspirant for the nomination, which he secured and was elected three years later. During his two years' service he made three set speeches, one to show that the Mexican war had been unnecessarily and unconstitutionally begun by President Polk; one on the subject of internal im- l)rovements, and a third on the political situation, favoring the election of General Taylor to the Presidency. During the second session of this Con- gress he framed and introduced a bill pro- viding for compensated emancipation of slaves in the District of Columbia. Al- though the bill was approved by leading citizens of Washington, including the con- servative Mayor, and by Mr. Giddings, the radical anti-slavery member of the House, it was not permitted to come to a vote. It having been agreed that Congressional as- pirants from Springfield should limit their ambition to a single term, Mr. Lincoln's partner was nominated to succeed him, but was defeated at the polls. In the distribu- tion of federal offices under President Tay- lor, Mr. Lincoln was offered the governor- ship of Oregon Territory, but declined it. Anti-Slavery Agitation. Following his term in Congress, Mr. Lin- coln applied himself assiduously to the practice of law until 1854, when "the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused him as he had never been before." In the au- tumn of that year he made several speeches in support of Hon. Richard Yates for Con- gress. Of the Repeal he said: "Repeal the Missouri Compromise, repeal all compro- mises, repeal the Declaration of Independ- ence, repeal all past history, you still can- not repeal human nature. It still will be the abundance of man s heart that slavery extension is wrong, and out of- the abund- ance of his heart his mouth will continue to speak." Mr. Lincoln was the candidate of his party for United States Senator the next winter, but being in a minority, his friends finally united with five Anti-Nebraska Democrats and elected Hon. Lyman Trum- bull. Reviewing these events, Mr. Lincoln said in the following year: "That spirit which desired the peaceful extinction of slavery has itself become extinct with the occasion and the men of the Revolution. Under the impulse of that occasion, nearly half the States adopted systems of emanci- ilhe Keuj-ljork ]Meuj$-Letter. pation at once, and it is a significant fact that not a single State lias done the like since. Our political problem now is, can we, as a nation, continue together perma- nently — forever — half slave and half free?" In 1856 Mr. Lincoln assisted in the or- ganization of the Republican party in Illi- nois, and was a delegate to the convention that nominated John C. Fremont, himself receiving 110 votes on the first ballot for Vice-President. He made over fifty speeches during the campaign, and when his oppo- nents said the agitation against the exten- sion of slavery would destroy the Union, he replied: "We do not want to dissolve the Union; you shall not." When Buchanan was elected, Lincoln called attention to the fact that our government rests on public opinion, that opposition to slavery extension had a majority of 400,000 votes, and urged a re-inauguration of the good old "central idea" of the Republic that "all men are created equal." "We can do it," he said. "The human heart is with us. God is with us." The Dred Scott Decision. In the following year the Supreme Court of the United States declared in the Dred Scott case that neither Congress nor a ter- ritorial legislature had power to prohibit slavery in the Territories. This placed both the Republicans and the Douglas Democrats in a dilemma. Mr. Lincoln met it by say- ing: "We think the Dred Scott decision erroneous. We know the court that made it has often overruled its own decisions, and we shall do what we can to have it over- rule this. We offer no resistance to it." He called attention to the fact that the decision was not unanimous, nor in accord- ance with the practice of the departments of the Government, in all its past history; that it was based on assumed historical facts that were not true, and claimed that it had not yet established a settled doctrine for the country. Douglas made it tally with his popular sovereignty doctrine by saying that a guarantee of the Constitution re- mained a barren right unless enforced by local legislation and police regulations. The efforts of Buchanan's administration to make Kansas a slave State widened the breach between it and the followers of Senator Douglas who, in 1858, canvassed the State for a re-election. Against him the Republicans nominated Mr. Lincoln, and Mr. Lincoln in 1856. From a tintype now in the possession of Mrs. Paddock, of Princeton, ill., to whom it was given by Mr. Lincoln. Photo, by Guy R. Mathis. This man, whose homely face you look upon, Was one of Nature's masterful great men; Born with strong arms, that unfought bat- tles won; Direct of speech and cunning with the pen. Chosen for large designs, he had the art Of winning with his humor, and he went Straight to his mark, which was the human heart ; Wise, too, for what he could not break, he bent. Upon his back a more than Atlas-load, The burden of the Commonwealth, was laid; He stooped, and rose up to it, though the road Shot suddenly downwards, not a whit dismayed. Hold, warriors, councillors, kings! all now give place To this dear benefactor of the Race. -R. H. Stoddard. the two met in joint debate on seven dif- ferent occasions. Mr. Lincoln asserted that, either the opponents of slavery would arrest its extension and place it in the course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates would push it forward until it became lawful in lO Che Meuu-yorh Neuus-Letter. fcoUTH Front Koom— Lincoln Homestead. Sofa used in parlor where Mr. Lincoln and Dougrlas courted their wives. Chair was Lincoln's. Frame on same contains letter written bv tieorge Washington. Photo, made for Xews-Lettek. Feb. 11, 190;5. by Guy K. .Mathis. all the states. He insisted, in opposition to Douglas" theory of local police regula- tions, that slavery had gone into the terri- tories without it, and that territorial legisla- tures or Congress would be obliged to up- hold constitutional rights. After his defeat, Mr. Lincoln said: "Douglas had the inge- nuity to be supported in the late contest, both by the best means to break down and to uphold the slave interest. No in- genuity can keep these antagonistic ele- ments in harmony long. Another explosion will soon come." Not a Fanatic. Between 1858 and 1860 Mr. Lincoln's efforts were directed agains*^ any obscuring of the real issue before the country, and against following any false lights. He urged that the question of slavery extension should not be ignored, nor local issues magnified to gain support. Yet he was so far from being a fanatic, that when the John Brown raid occurred in 1859, he saia; "John Brown's effort was peculiar. It was not a slave insurrection. It was an attempt by white men to get up a revolt among slaves, in which the slaves refused to par- ticipate. In fact, it was so absurd that the slaves, with all their ignorance, saw plainly enough it could not succeed. That affair, in its philosophy, corresponds with the many attempts, related in history, at the assassination of kings and emperors. An enthusiast broods over the oppression of a people till he fancies himself commis- sioned by Heaven to liberate them. He ventures the attempt, which ends in little else than his own execution." In December, 1859, Mr. Lincoln made several addresses in Kansas, the key-note of which was that, "we must have a national policy as to slavery, which deals with it as being a wrong." He delivered a number of speeches in the eastern states during the following winter, of which his famous Cooper Union speech was a type. The chief points made were, that those who framed Che Keuu-yorh Neuus-Letter. II North Front Room— Lincoln Homestead. Lamps on mantel and table used at Lincoln's wedding. Chair with ribbons was "Tad's." From Photo, by Guy R. Mathis. the Constitution and the amendments thereto never assumed that Congress had no control over slavery in the territories; that if slavery was right it should not be legislated against, if it was wrong it should not be allowed to spread; that those who thought it wrong could afford to let it alone where it was, because that much was due to the necessity arising from its actual presence in the nation. Elected President. The Republican National Convention met in Chicago on May 16, 1860. Its platform denied "the authority of Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of any individuals to give legal existence to slavery in any Territory in the United States." Mr. Lin- coln was nominated for President on the third ballot. After an exciting campaign he was elected by a majority of fifty-four In the electoral college. During the interval between his election and inauguration, seven of the southern States seceded from the Union, organized the "Confederate States of America," elected and inaugurated a President, and enacted laws for raising and organizing an army of 100,000 men. Nearly all the military posts, arsenals, navy yards, mints and custom-houses within the seceded States were seized; the forts that refused to surrender were besieged, and expeditions sent to their relief were fired upon and compelled to turn back. During this interval, as well as during the presidential campaign, Mr. Lincoln was urged to make some public declaration that would stay the progress of disunion. He usually declined, on the ground that he had many times disclaimed any intention of interfering with slavery where it already existed, and that to repeat it would do no good. In December, however, he wrote to Alexander H. Stephens (afterward Vice- President of the Confederate States) asking for a copy of his speech against secession, and in a correspondence which followed he said: "Do the people of the South really 12 Che Keui-ljorh ISfeuus-Letter. entertain fears that a Republican adminis- tration would, directly or indirectly, inter- fere with the slaves, or with them about the slaves? If they do, I wish to assure you, as once a friend*, and still I hope, not an enemy, that there is no cause for such fears. The South would be in no more danger in this respect than it was in the days of Washington." Leaves Springfield. Mr. Lincoln left Springfield for Washing- ton on February 11th. From the platform of the car he made this farewell address to his fellow-townsmen: "My Friends: No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a yo\;ng to an old man. Here my children have been bom, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when or whether ever I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care com- mending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell." On the morning of May 3, 1865, a funeral train, bearing the body of the martyred President, entered Springfield. It had come over the same route traversed by Mr. Lincoln on his way to Washington four years and three months before. Then he went to his work, now he returned to his rest. For a day the body lay in the Capitol, within a bower of bloom, while his old friends and neighbors bade him a silent hail and farewell, and then a procession moved to Oak Ridge, and all that was mortal of Abraham Lincoln was committed to the earth. They read at his open grave his last inaugural address, justifying the ways of God, deprecating malice and invok- ing charity, and then they "left him alone in his glory." —CnviliDxed from " vl S?iorf Lifr of Abraham Lin- coln," h>i John a. NicoUui, Thr Ciiitn'ry Company. Lincoln's Law Desk. The chair once belonged to Daniel Webster. Photo- graphed in Lincoln Honiestead Feb. 11, 1903, for the News-Letter, by (iuy R. Mathis. There are very different kinds of success. There is the success that brings with it the seared soul — the success which is achieved by wolfish greed and vulpine cunning — the success which makes honest men uneasy or indignant in its presence. Then there is the other kind of success — the success which comes as the reward of keen insight, of sa- gacity, of resolution, of address, combined with unflinching rectitude of behavior, pub- lic and private. The first kind of success may, in a sense — and a poor sense at that — benefit the individual, but it is always and necessarily a curse to the community; whereas the man who wins the second kind as an incident of its winning becomes a beneficiary to the whole commonwealth. —President Roosevelt. WIDOWED. * Mr. Stephens was a member of the House with Mr. Lincoln, in 1847-49. My little babe! No cradle song I sing to thee to-night. Across my eyes a bar of blood Has burn'd thee from my sight. And yet. they say, the fight goes on! O, thou who art his son. Should it go on a thousand years, For us the war is done. —F. V. Lewi.s. in Ontlook. London- Che Neuu-yorh Keuus-Letter. 13 MY CAPTAIN! O Captain! my Captain! our feartui trip is done; The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won; The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting. While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; But O heart! heart heart! O the bleeding drops of red. Where on the deck my Captain lies Fallen cold and dead. O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up — for you the flag is flung — for you the bugle trills: For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths — for you the shores a-crowding; For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; Here Captain! dear father! This arm beneath your head; It is some dream that on the deck You've fallen cold and dead. My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will; The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won. Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells! But I, with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies. Fallen cold and dead. — Walt Whitman. In New-York Life Homes. INTO about five thotisand, of the six or seven hundred thousand, homes which constituted the great New- York Life Family in 1902, death came and took away the head of the home. What such a death means in any home none but those who have had experience know. The husband, the father, the bread-winnei' for the family gone— how many hearts stood still, how many sank in despair at the thought ! Yet not quite in despair, in these homes, for the Nev^- YoRK Life followed death, and left an average amount of over three thousand dollars in each. The Company began the year with about six hundred thousand policies in force, and closed it with over seven hun- dred thousand. The sixteen million dol- lars ($15,982,507) paid under policies maturing by death was but little more than half the benefactions of the New- York Life among the members of its great and growing family. The amount paid on the policies of living policy- hokbn-s was over fourteen and a-half millions, making a total disbursed in New- York Life homes of over thirty and a-half million dollars. Over thirty millions more were added to the Com- pany's funds for paying future claims as they mature. It is always in order to call attention to the fact that under the New- York Life's policies one does not need to "die to win." Here were over four millions paid in matured endowments; over four millions for policies surrendered— large- ly policies on life plans having a cash surrender option at the end of fixed pe- riods— ; and over four nnllions in divi- dends. These amounts were paid on policies that gave large benefits in the way of protection in case of death dur- ing fixed periods, and large cash benefits to living policy-holders at the end of such periods. Annuities providing for a fixed life income, gave over a million and a-half more. But benefits under New- York Life policies often begin before maturity by death or the end of accumulation pe- riods. Loans may be had under its Ac- mulation Policies after they have been in force two full years, the premium for the current insurance year being paid. The amount loaned on policies in 1902 was over nine million dollars. These loans doubtless helped many a man over a hard place without obliging him to sell his policy. Money rates at the banks and on 'change ruled high during the latter months of 1902, but policy- holders in the New- York Life were able to borrow on their policies at five per cent. The amount of loans on policies at the end of the year was over twenty- two million dollars. Little Mabel — "Ethel must think you're lots better than any of her other beaux." Mr. Spoonaway (gratified and blushing) —"Why dear?" Little Mabel — "Because she lets me stay in the room when you call, and she don't when the others call." -Stray Storiea. Che isleuu-ljorh Isfeuus-Letter, 15 Photo, by Guy R. Mat his. East Side Court House Square. New-York Life Office. Deaths in a Great City. THE estimated population of the city of New York in 1902 was about 3,600,000, and the number of deaths was 68,795. Deducting those which occurred in the Borough of Rich- mond, and are unclassified, the remain- ing deaths were distributed according- to age as follows: Under 5 years, 24.- 368 ; between 5 and 65 years, 34,290 ; aged 65 and upward, 8,855. The num- ber of deaths in institutions — hospitals, asylums, nurseries, homes for the aged, reformatories, jails, almshouses, etc. — and included in the above, was 17,094. The average death-rate was a fraction over 19 per 1,000, and nearly one-fourth of all deaths occurred in institutions. We are surely a long way off from a healthy people, living under hygienic conditions, when so many cliildren die under five years of age, and when so many others do not live out half their days. The number dying in institutions, of a more less public character, will be a surprise to most people. We have noticed in another article the large sums spent in charity in sustaining these in- stitutions; evidently many who enter them have but a feeble hold upon life— they go there to die. The diseases which carried off the largest number, outside of institutions, were as follows: Pneu- monia, 9,317; phthisis, 7,474; diarrhoeal diseases, 7,723. There were 4,345 cases calling for a coroner's inquest. The suggestive points in these vital statistics are (1) the large number who die very young, evidently because of poverty and lack of care; (2) the large luimber who die in institutions, many of whom are there for lack of means and lack of homes; and (3) the few who live to be 65 years of age. If the reader can find in these things reasons for Life In- surance, he will save us from the charge of getting an argument for it out of an unpleasant theme. i6 iThe Neuu-ljorh Neuus-Letter. THE NEW=YORK NEWS=LETTER. JAMES M. HUDNUT, Editor. Printed bv Wm. H Van Wakt, 6i Elm St., New York. NEW YORK. MARCH-APRIL. 1903. "We Cannot Escape History." IX his {Uiiiujil niessa-io to CoiiLiress in December, 1862, :\Ir. Lincoln urged compensated emancipation, "not in exclusion of. but additional to all other means for restorinii' and preservini? the national authoi-ity throughout the Union." In concluding his argument for the measure, he said: "We cannot escape history. * * * No personal sig- nificance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. * * * We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last, best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, genercuis, just — a way which, if followed, the world will forever ap- plaud, and God nnist forever bless." Suppose we apply the same reasoning to the future of a man's family. He cannot escape history— cannot escape his responsibility for that future— can- not escape responsibility for the condi- tion in which the family will be obliged to live. He will make that future for them very largely by what he is and what he does. This is true entirely apart from the provision he may make for them by Life Insurance; it is true if he lives long, and it is true if he dies pnMuaturely. lie says he is for them — for their support, education— their best interests. The world will not forget this. He knows how to take care of them in case of premature death, and the world knows that he does know how. He knows Life Insurance would do it. "Other means may succeed, this could not fail." It is "plain, peaceful, gen- erous, just." He will either "nobly save, or meanly lose, the last, best hope of earth." His family is that hope— surely nothing on earth is dearer. To save its future by Life Insurance is to save it by fore- thought, by deliberate purpose, by self- (l(Miial — that is "nobly." To lose it by failing to insui'e, will be to lose it by neglect, by letting them take a risk he should pay for, by self-indulgence— that is "meanly." No ; we cannot escape history. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose the last, best hope of earth. Names and Things. THE wi'iter remembers, as a college expei-ience, his surprise, upon taking up a new study, to find so much of it in the dictionary. When he learned what the words meant, he knew considerable about the subject. Now this article is to be a brief ex- planation of three different kinds of life insurance contracts. If you know all about such things, just see if we state the facts correctly and clearly; if you don't, you will never have a better chance to learn. 1. Ax Ordinary Life Policy. An Ordinary Life Policy is a contract in which the Company agrees to pay a cer- tain sum at the death of the person in- sured, whenever that event may occur, provided the policy is then in force. Payments are required to be made by the insured annually, until death. This is the contract in its normal state, but various privileges attached to it may cause it to assume other forms. For ex- ample, if the insured ceases to pay, the non-forfeiture clause may transform the policy into a term policy, good only for a limited period ; or, into a paid-up pol- icy for a reduced amount, good for life. At the end of ten, fifteen, twenty, twen- ty-five or thirty years, the policy will be entitled to a dividend, and the policy- holder is allowed to continue the policy, sell it for cash, or take its value in any one of several other ways. iThe I^euu-yorh ISfeuus-Letter. 17 2. A Limited Payment Life Policy. A Limited Payment Life Policy is the same as an Ordinary Life Policy, except that the payments made by the insured are only made during a limited period— usually ten, fifteen or twenty years. Both "this and the Ordinary Life are sometimes called Whole Life Policies, because they contemplate insurance dur- ing the whole of life. The annual cost of the Limited Pay- ment Life Policy is naturally greater than that of the Ordinary Life, because the whole cost is paid in a limited time. Foi- example, for a man aged 35, the Ordinary Life Policy costs $28.11 per $1,000 annually, until death; the 20- Payment Life Policy costs $38.34 an- nually for 20 years: the 15-Payment Life costs $45.91 annually for 15 years; and the 10-Payment Life costs $61.53 annually for 10 years. Privileges at the end of the first dividend period are sim- ilar to those under the Ordinary Life Policy. If one can afford to pay for all the insurance he needs at the higher rates of the Limited Payment Life Policy, it is often wise to do so, because he may thus, while prosperous, either pay up his policy entirely, or get such an equity in it that the non-forfeiture provisions would continue it as term insurance for many years, or give a large paid-up pol- icy,— in case he should cease to pay. 3. An Endowment Policy. An Endowment Policy is a contract in which the life company agrees to pay a certain amount at death, in case of death during a fixed period, and to pay a certain amount (usually the same) to the insured, in case he survives the fixed period. The cost may be paid annually during the Endowment period, or an- nually during a shorter period. The great value of the Endowment Policy is the provision it makes for old age, after furnishing protection during a limited period. The cost of an Endowment Policy must cover the cost of insurance during the endowment period, and the cost of the endowment to those who survive. At age 35, an Endowment Policy for $1,000, payable to the insured's family, in case of death during twenty years, and to the insured himself if he survives the twenty years, is $52.47 annually un- til the policy matures, either by the death of the insured or by the expiration of the endowment period. What is an " Accuimilation Policy"? This is a general name given by the Xew-Yort' Life Insurance Company to its regular life and endowment pol- icies, described above, issued with the most, and the most valuable, privileges ever embodied in life insurance con- tracts. Ask to see one M THE PATHOS OF IT. ANY sad things happen in a great city — sometimes they concern chil- dren, sometimes women, this time it is a man. We clip it from the "World" of January 24: "Aristide Feron, an aged silversmith of No. 209 East One Hundred and Fourth Street, Ivilled his pet cat by shooting last night. He wrapped the body up in a sheet, placed it at the foot of his bed, and then lay down and drank carbolic acid. He was found dead by a policeman at 8 o'clock. "There were many letters, one to the Coroner, another to his landlord and others to relatives, which told of months of hard- ship brought on by poverty and loneliness since his wife's death three years ago. Since she died the old man had lived alone with the big black cat as his sole companion, and attempted to support himself at a trade in which he was once skilled and made good wages. " 'I want my cat to be buried with me.' he wrote to the coroner. 'My life insurance [for $45] is paid up to Feb. 2. I want to be buried with my wife.' "In his letter to his landlord he thanked him for many kindnesses. He spoke of the landlord having sent him to the French Charity Organization and of getting fifty cents a week from them for fcod. "On this money he had existed for many weeks, unable to pay his rent and little more than able to provide food for himself and scraps for the cat. An account book was found showing how he had spent the money. During the last week, it showed he had spent 10 cents for car fare, 15 cents for life insurance premium, and 25 cents for food. "A letter asking him to vacate the rooms he occupied was found on the bureau." lUhe ]s(euu-lJorh ]^{euj$-Letter. 19 (iH.vrH Lttheran Chikch. First Presbyterian Church. M Photos, by Guy R. Mathis LIFE A CHOICE OF DANGERS. R. and Mrs. Peary, after ail the perils of an Arctic exploration had been safely encountered, were subjected to a railway collision in Nova Scotia, on Monday, and narrowly escaped with their lives. Life is a choice of infelicities. All conditions are the nursing mothers of dangers. —Dailu Paper. At the close of the Civil War, several members of the writer's regiment, who had escaped the dangers of battle, died while on the march from Richmond to Washington, by reason of an over-dose of aconite; another was struck by light- ning while doing sentry dnty. An Ohio regiment, that had marched from At- lanta to the sea with Sherman, and from Savannah to Washington, lost several appeared to be in great danger of it. The man who thinks he can foresee the time of his death, or who thinks he fore- sees any certain length of days yet be- fore him, makes a great mistake. The ..lan who puts off doing a good deed, such as helping the needy, making his will, or insuring his life, runs the risk of never doing it. Life Insurance can least of all afford to wait, because death is not the only thing that may prevent it. A man may lose his health or his money, and so be unable to insure, as surely as if he lost his life. The very reasons he usually urges for not insuring at once— such as good health, long-lived ancestry, healthy occupation, a good business and money in bank— are not only the best of reasons for immediate action, but some of them members by a railroad accident as the are the prerequisites of insurance. Get men were taking the cars for home. it while you have them. Examples might be multiplied from the reports in the daily papers and from individual experiences. People who die in middle life or old age have usually heen near to death many times— or have "Here, Patrick; here's a fat little pig for Christmas roasting." "Thank yez, sor; it's just like yez, sor!" —New York T^imes. 20 iChe ]Sfeuu-l[orh IMeuus-Letter. REGRET. Oh, that wcrd regret, There have been nights and morns when we have sighed, "Let us alone. Regret! We are content To throw thee all our past, so thou wilt sleep For aye." But it is patient, and it wakes; It has not learned to cry itself to sleep, But jilaineth on the bed that it is hard. We did amiss when we did wish it gone And over: sorrows humarize the race: Tears are the showers that fertilize this world : And memory of things precious keepeth warm The heart that once did fold them. They are poor Who have lost nothing; they are poorer far Who. losing, have forgotten: they most poor Of all who lose, and wish they might forget. For life is one. and in its warp and woof There runs a thread of gold that glitters fair. And sometimes in the pattern shows most sweet Where there are sombre colors. It is true That we have wept. But oh, this thread of gold. We would not have it tarnish : let us turn Oft and look back upon the wondrous web. And when it shineth sometimes we shall know That memory is possession. —Jean Iimeloic. NOTES ON SPRINGFIELD. IN May, 1818. Elisha Kelly, an Irishman from North Carolina, in search of the picturesque and the comfortable, camped on the banks of Spring Creek, at what is now the western end of Springfield. The location filled his eye, and enraptured his heart, for he retraced his steps to the old North State and persuaded his father, his brother and a brother-in-law to emigrate to Illinois. John Kelly built a cabin near what is now the corner of JeiTerson and Second Streets, and in 1819 William Kely and An- drew Elliott, the brother-in-law. built near him. In 1821, the Sangamon County Com- missioners designated "a certain point in the prairie near John Kelly's field, on the waters of Spring Creek, at a stake marked ZD, as a temporary seat of justice for the said county," and agreed that "the said county seat be called and known by the name of Springfield." The first plat of the village was made in 1823, at which time there were quite a num- ber of houses. Four men — Pascal P. Enos, Elijah lies. Thomas Cox and John Taylor — had secured the four sections of land ad- joining, and they gave the lots upon which improvements had been made to those who had made them. When the new village was laid out it was called Calhoun, but in 1826 the southern statesman for whom it was named had become unpopular in Illinois, and the town took its old name again. The first log court-house was built near the cor- ner of Jefferson and Second Streets at a cost of $72.50. A jail, also of logs, cost $84.75, and a whipping-post stood hard by. In consideration of its being made the county seat, a number of acres in the best part of the village were given to the county. From this a public square was reserved and the remainder was divided into lots, and sold. A frame court-house succeeded the one built of logs, and in 1831 a two-story brick building was erected in the center of the square. In 1837, when Springfield was made the capital, the square was given to the State, and the court-house was removed, In 1845. a court-house was built at Wash- ington and Sixth Streets, and this was used until 1867, when the county acquired the old State House for $200,000 in cash and a new site for the State which cost $70,000. Springfield was first incorporated as a town in 1832. The town government con- tinued for nine years, and among the trus- tees who served during this time were Abraham Lincoln and his law partner. Ste- phen T. Logan. A city charter was ob- tained in 1840. The city then consisted of four wards, each represented in council by an alderman. In 1854, each ward was al- lowed three aldermen. The first mayor was Benjamin S. Clements. The number of wards was increased in 1874 to six, and in 1892 to seven. North Springfield. South Springfield, West Springfield and Laurel have since been annexed. The proper drainage of the town early occupied attention, and the first sewer was built in 1857. The small streams emptying into Spring Creek have been utilized for this purpose, and in 1898 there were over forty miles of sewers in the city. An attempt to secure a water supply was also made in 1857, by an artesian well. This proved futile, and in 18G6 the present water system was begun. Water is drawn from sources parallel with the Sangamon River about three miles from the city, and after being filtered, it passes into a great well and is pumped thence into the city res- Che Keuj-l[orh Keujs-Letter. 21 ervoir. The reservoir has a capacity of 4,000,000 gallons, and is surrounded by a park of thirty acres. The water-works cost $400,000. Street paving was first begun in 1870, when the streets surrounding the square were paved with wooden blocks. Not much progress was made until 1883, but during the five years following that time, twenty miles of white cedar pavement were laid. In 1888, brick was adopted for paving, and during the next ten years about fourteen miles of the cedar pavements were replaced by brick and about seven miles of new paving were done with brick. In Springfield's early days, transportation except on the rivers was by wagon, and the road from St. Louis passed through the town and on to Peoria and Galena. It was thought that the Sangamon might be made navigable, and a boat was once run up as far as Bridgeport, but the channel was found too narrow and too crooked. Rafts were sometimes sent down the Sangamon to St. Louis and even to New Orleans, but such ventures usually proved unprofitable. The first railroad entered Springfield in 1842 — a road now owned by the Wabash. Six roads, with fifty-six passenger trains daily, now give all needed facilities. The street car system embraces over twenty miles of track and is operated by electricity. Electricity for lighting pur- poses is furnished by a plant which will soon become the property of the city, the purchase being made from the reduced cost of lighting the city, as compared with for- mer prices. —Condensed from the Illinois Capital Illustrated, issued by the " State Register." The New-York Life and All Companies. THE business of the New- York Life Insurance Company is now so large that, as a help to the better comprehension of its mao;nitncle, we have arrang'ed some comparisons between it and the business of all the life com- panies doin; : Val ' 1 "1 W^-^4 Che Isfeuu-yorh Mews-Letter. 23 VICTOR OR VANQUISHED? All I have toiled to do has been done ill; All I have striven to grasp escaped me still; The love I longed to win has passed me by; Mine was the only fault, — unworthy I, The path that others tread, I could not climb ; The joy that others held was never mine: The battle is unwon, tho' close the night. Yet still I've fought, tho' sometimes weak the fight! Yet still I've worked, altho' my work was vain: Tho' I have failed, in naught do I complain, All that I ask is leave to fight again. —Mary N. McCracken, in McClure's Mauazinc. A Great City's Charities. THE city of New York has appropri- ated in its budget for 1903 the sum of $2,728,264.04 for charitable purposes. The counties composing the city have appropriated $194,305.64 to charitable institutions of the State, as their share for maintaining the same. The total amount appropriated for char- ity by the city and the counties in which it' is located is $2,922,569.68. The num- ber of city institutions receiving help is 132, and the number of State institu- tions is 6. The largest amount paid any single institution is $285,436.03, paid to the New York Foundling Hospital ; the smallest amount is $187.50, paid to the Jewish Hospital Dispensary. As most of these institutions are largely sup- ported by private subscriptions, while others doing similar work are entirely so supported, the amount expended in char- ity within the limits of greater New York probably exceeds $5,000,000. The rates of payment to private char- itable institutions, unless otherwise spec- ially provided for, are as follows : In- fants under 2 years, and in hospitals between the ages of 2 and 5, 38 cents per day. Dependent children, 2 to 16 years, $2 per week. Delinquent children $110 per annum. Adult inmates of reforma- tories, committed by courts, $110 per annum. Inmates of homes for fallen and friendless women, $110 per annum. ]\Taternity cases, $18 each. Homeless mothers nursing their own infants, $12 per month. For medical treatment in hospitals, 60 cents per day; for surgical treatment, 80 cents per clay. These one hundred and thirty odd institutions of charity, which care for young children, for the aged, and the sick who ai-e witliout means of support, for poor mothei's with young children, for persons injured in accidents, and, in part, for those needing treatment in hos- pitals, — show how humane and Christian the spirit underlying American civiliza- tion is. A great many persons give much time, attention and money toward the organization and management of these institutions. They do it from a sense of duty and a feeling of real kind- ness toward the unfortunate. Their works are constant examples of the no- blest form of charity. Doubtless we shall always have hos- pitals, but in the perfect civilization to which we look forward there will be no foundling societies, no orphan asylums, no homes for the aged and indigent, no free dispensaries, no reformatories, no homes for destitute children. Every man will care for his own. We get a forcible illustration in charitable work of the truth "It is more blessed to give than to receive." It is much to these poor people, of all ages and conditions, to receive the help that saves them from utter destitution and death; but the givers upon whose bounty they live are surely more blessed — more happy be- cause they have no need of charity. What would not one give to save his loved ones from the necessity of receiv- ing it? Many can do it by insuring their lives. In England, taxes for the relief of the indigent have decreased over $15,000,000 in the last tifty years, notwithstanding the increase in population. Life Insur- ance is encouraged by the English Gov- ernment by exempting one-sixth of a man's income from taxation — if it is expended for Life Insurance. A Purely Mutual Company, Fifty-seven years old, With over $300,000,000 in Assets, With the Largest Income, The most Liberal Contract, The Largest New Business, The Most Insurance in Force, Of any Company in the World — That's the New-York Life. 24 lEhe ISfeuu-yorh Keujs-Letter. THE WAY OF A MAID. She told him not to come, and then Because the poor wietch stayed away. Jeered at the faithlessness of men. She told him that he must not stay. And then, because the poor soul went. Would scarcely speal< to him next day. She told him h(> must never dare To kiss her, and when he obeyed She wept because he did not care. These be the strange ways of a maid That make men old before their time, The mighty, weak; the brave, afraid. — 'Diiiidiixiii (iarrisiiiu '" l'«vh. KEEP THE BOYS AT SCHOOL! IT is much to be feared that, as one direct result of the marked and very positive tendency among the young men of these times toward business careers, a lot of bun- glers and incompetents may be found in the commercial world of the next generation. Almost everywhere boys are being rushed through the primary and intermediate grades of school, with little thoroughness and only the smallest measure of general informa- tion, in order the quicker to get them to "doing something." There is observable among them a very general ambition — most commendable in itself — to get into places where they may earn money. The pay-roll is the great goal for far too many of our American boys to-day, and in the larger cities of the country more especially, where all the good things of life that money brings are the more constantly in evidence and therefore the more tempting, far too many parents encourage their boys to quit school and studies early and get out "into the hustle." A tour of inspection through the counting- rooms and manufacturing buildings of this big town would disclose scores and hun- dreds of bright, active boys from twelve to fifteen years old already started on what all of them believe, of course, to be "busi- ness careers" — an age far too young to get out into the work-a-day world. They would much better be at their books. A real "lousiness career" cannot be laid without solid foundations, and in the years to come this lack of early education and training will rise up to plague them at every turn. There are schools that offer to "finish off" boys and girls "for business" in three, six and eight months. It can't be done. That sort of "schooling" breeds only graduate bunglers and irresponsibles. The American business world wants young men who know something — and it always has places for them. There are instances, of course, where do- mestic necessities force boys out onto the pay-roll at too tender an age. But they are exceptional. Keep your boys at school! No "captain of industry" ever yet climbed up on the ladder of ignorance. — Xi'ic Yink Dnihi Cinnn\irvial. In order that no "domestic necessity" may ever take your children out of school too soon, keep your life insured for an amount large enough to finish their education. That's the least one can decently do by a child. The Best Policy Contract. IN a recent advertisement of the New- York Life Insurance Company it declares that it is trying to do five thing's, one of which is, "To issue the hcsl policfi contract." Perhaps other companies wonUl say that, too, so the New- York Life invites comparisons. Let ns put the matter into interrogative foi'm : 1. Which woitUl you prefer— a con- tract that promises to pay a certain amount on proof of your death, on the sok^ condition that the premiums are duly paid, or, a contract that has this condition and others also? If other con- ditions would, under any circumstances, prevent the policy from being paid, they would be undesirable, wotild they not? No matter what they refer to, they would complicate the question of your pi'otection under the policy. Conditions and restrictions are not put in life poli- cies for fun, btit for a purpose, and that purpose is, under certain circumstances, to render the policy less valuable to the insured. The New- York Life's Accumulation Policy has but the one condition named above, and contains no restrictions what-, ever. 2. Which would you prefer, a policy that is non-forf citable and incontestable fi'om date of issue, or one that is non- forfeitable and incontestable after being in force one, two, or three years? Y^'ou might never wish to avail vourself of Che Keui-ljorh Kews-Letter. the non-forfeiture provisions of your policy— but, then again, you might. Policies without such features would hardly be allowed by law, or be saleable at all; are they not of value, then, diu'- ing' the first years of the policy .' The New- York Life's Accumulation Policy is non-forf citable and incontest- able from date of issue. 3. Which would you prefer, a policy upon which you could secure a loan at the end of the second year, or one which did not give such privilege until one or two or three years later? You might never wish to avail yourself of this privilege, but— if you did, it would be valuable. Policies without loan privi- leges would not be considered the best, because they would lack something valu- able which others have ; and are not such privileges valuable in a policy in propor- tion to their availability .' The New- York Life's Accumulation Policy provides for loans at five per cent, after being two years in force, premiums for the current insurance year being duly paid. 4. Which would you prefer, a policy automatically non-forfeitable, or one which requires you to make application for the benefit within a limited time? If it were automatically non-forfeitable you could not lose the benefit by neglect, oversight or sickness ; if it were not, you might so lose it. Again, if automatically non-forfeitable, and a choice were al- lowed between term insurance for the full amount of the policy, and paid-up insurance for a reduced amount, which course would you wish the benefit to take in case you forgot? Wouldn't it be better to have the automatic feature keep the policy in force for the larger amount ? If you really preferred the other, you could ask for it within a certain time. And once more, if you should die while the term insurance feature was operative, would you like to have a deduction made for so-called overdue premiums '? The New- York Life's Accumulation Policy is automatically non-forfeitable, and if no choice is made, the benefit takes the form of term insurance for the full amount of the policy ; and in case of death while the term insurance is in force no deduction is made for "overdue premiums. ' ' There are other phases of the contract relating to the beneficiary and to the method of payment, wherein the New- York Life aims to give the same as other companies and something besides, but the above is enough to show that it is no idle boast when the Company says "it is trying to issue the best life insur- ance contract." "THE SCHOOLMASTER" SAYS: If you would ride in the chariot of the sun, get up early in the morning. The nation that spends more for war than for education is doomed. Never surrender! What are your little tribulations, to the widow, penniless with her children? Be brave, be patient, be grateful. You will find in the heart of a great city many heroes and heroines whose lives are a sacrifice for those whom they love. If you forget to kiss your wife, she will not forget it. A nation is no greater than its homes, and the home is no greater than the chil- dren. All the conflicts of all the ages have been for the education of a child. The only remedy for oppression in the United States is the ballot, and that is use- less unless it is intelligent and sincere. An ignorant man will always vote for the thing that crushes him. Men who are sincerely interested in the welfare of our nation must teach a doctrine of patience. No great reform can result in a hurry. Nothing will be permanently assured by violence. The whole world is advancing and Amer- ica leads the way. We are better off than any other people of any other nation in any period of history. It is because men are becoming enlightened that men demand more, and the very best will come to all in time. You cannot be warm without sunlight; you cannot be happy without love. There are deserters in peace as well as in war. —The Schoolmaster. Che Keui-ljorh Keuus-Letter. 27 THE DOUBTER AND THE LOVER. I heard the man of science when He rose to voice his doubt: "A little trouble here and there The grave shall blot us out!" His words were grave, his brow was high, He swept belief away, And as I wandered homeward, I Beheld the stars gleam in the sky. And heard a fountain play. Yet, while the doubt was in my breast A lover passed my way And cried: "The lord above has blessed Me with her love to-day!" And as he hurried onward, I Looked at the stars above And heard his song ring through the sky — Ah, doubting man of science, why Not go and fall in love? —Cbicagi) Record-Herald. Life Values. THE suits brought against the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company, for lives lost in the tunnel disaster on January 8, 1902, have established new records in life values. Eighteen verdicts— not all of them for deaths— have been rendered, covering an aggregate of $472,000. The largest verdict was for $100,000, awarded on the life of Mr. AA^illiam Leys. The latest award, made on January 26, 1903, was for $40,000, on the life of Mr. Theodore H. Fajardo. Mr. Fajardo was 34 years old at the time of his death. He spoke English, Spanish, French and Portuguese, and was the confidential clerk of a firm of shipping exporters. His salary was about $1,600 per year. He left a wife and three children. Advertisements of ' ' Collier 's Weekly ' ' recently printed, give a facsimile letter of ]Mr. Charles Dana Gibson, accepting the offer of the weekly to pay him $100,000 for one hundred double-page cartoons, to be delivered during the next four years. This gives Mr. Gibson an income of $25,000 per year for this work alone, or more than fifteen times as much as the annual income of INIr. Fajardo, which would make ]\Ir. Gib- son's life worth over $600,000. :\Ir. Gibson is considerably over 34 years of age, yet who shall say that $600,000 is an excessive value to be placed on his life? A single picture by a modern artist. Sir Alma-Tadema, in the Henry G. Marquand collection, sold during the month of January last in this city for $30,300. Life insurances for $100,000 on a single life are quite common, and in- surances for over that amoiTnt are not infrequent. A fair way to ascertain what amount a man ought to insure his life for, is to find his annual earnings over and above personal expenses, and then ascertain the present value of such a sum received annually for the average number of years which men at his age have yet to live. For example, men aged 34 have an average of about 30 years yet to live, and the present value of $1 per annum for 30 years at five per cent, interest is $15,372; consequently such a life should be insured for about $15,000. In this view of the case the verdict referred to seems excessive; but there are two other things to be taken into consideration : First, the man may have had excellent chances for advancement; and, second, it would not be good public policy to assume that a corporation may go free by simply paying the pecuniary value of a life which might have been saved by better management. The yearly value of farm products in the United States is about five thousand million dollars. The amount of Life Insurance in force in regular companies in the United States is over eight thou- sand millions. If the crops should en- tirely fail for one year there would be a famine; but the people who have in- sured their lives have provided for the premature failure of life, in an amount sufficient to support the nation for about two years. The amount of coin, bullion and paper money in the United States Treasury at the close of the last fiscal year, de- ducting the trust funds held for the redemption of an equal amount of notes of various kinds outstanding, was $313,- 900,000. The assets of the New- York Life Insurance Company at the close of its last fiscal year were $322,840,900. The first is certified to by the Comp- troller of the Currency, the second by the Superintendent of the New York Insurance Department. 28 lUhe IMeuj-Uorh 3Meuus-Letter. THE LITTLE ONE AT THE DOOR. A baby kisses him at the door, And sweetly says good-bye — He hurries away to strive all day Where the money-maddened vie. Time was when he showed no mercy there, Men viewed him with dread before, But his ways have changed and his words are fair, He is pitiless no more. All day through the city's ceaseless roar He hears a happy song That a little one sings as the evening brings The twinkling stars along; There is love deep down in his bosom, where Greed (mly had room before. And he thinks of the care that others bear For little ones at the door. — S. E. Kine)., in Cl,k/ / 415^1 r