HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1929-02-28, Page 2Bulwark of $160,000,000
Protects Sun Life Investments
lique Financial Position of Company Discussed by
President Macaulay in Annual Address
Montreal, Feb, 14. --The phenomenal growth and suocess et the Sun Life
ltesuraice Company of Canada feuds widespread interest each year to the
nnual address of the Preeidont, Mr, T. B. 11i;acaulay,
'1,, The annual meeting, which has just been held, disclosed a continuation of
'Siris expansion, but it was more noteworthy still for an announeeinent, almost
tartling in character, by Mr. Macaulay regarding the financial strength of
i1 a Company. He stated that so carefully had the directors anticipated every
possible auverse contingedreduce the value ofncy in 'the money market that .even a panic which
Woutid llluld
leave nutoucbed and unimpairhe ed thelsliowne tsurplued s iand ons �reserves off dollars the
COmpan1,.
Mr Macaulay dwelt as well in a most interesting and illuminating man-
ner up.m the relative merits of the varied securities in which insurance coni•
Hanle?, invest their funds, and of how traditional views on investment have
altered owing to the cbauged conditions of modern business. He said in part.
"A mere statement of the increases No Magic in 'Bond'
over the figures of the previous year "Consider mortgages. 'What cora-
is impressive. Iu income the increase pang has not suffered losses, and
is $41,972,000; in assets $57,050,000; in sometimes very heavy losses, on its
surplus $9,157,000; in new assurances i mortgage investments? As to bonds,
$112,536,000; and in total in force i some people seem to .consider that
$405,925,000, A company with total there is magic security in the label
'bond'. This popular belief is not
supported by experience. The sura
plus earnings and margins of .many
companies, over and above the divi-
dend requirements of their stocks,
are much greater than the surplus
earned by other companies in excess
of the interest requirements of their
bonds. Few experienced financiers
would claim that the bonds usually
offered are safer than, or even as safe
as, stock of such companies as the
Montreal, Light, Heat & Power,
American Telephone and Telegraph,
Commonwealth Edison, and many
others I could name. The payment
of the interest on the bonds is cer-
tainly no more sure than the pay-
ment of the dividends on the stocks.
In the very unlikely event of the divi-
dend on any such choice stock being
reduced, it would be certain to be
far more than offset by increases in
the -dividends on others. Our own
average interest rate has been
steadily mounting year after year,
due solely to increased dividends and
business equal to these increases
would be a large and powerful institu-
tion, It is but three years since we
rejoiced at passing the mile -stone of
$1,000,000,000 of assurance in force,
and yet already we are nearing $2,000,-
b00,000, while at this moment our as-
Sets
ssets exceed $500,000,000.
"But there is another feature even
more striking and important. Advance
figures indicate that the increase over
the previous year in the new business
written by the combined life •coni
pauies of the continent was approxi-
mately 8 per cent., and the increase
in the combined total in force approxi-
mately 9 per cent. Against these per
gentages let me place the figures of the
Sun Life; our new assurances increas-
ed 84 per cent., while our total in
force increased 27 per -cent.
"I need not further emphasize the
rapid expansion of our business. It is
ut a. continuation, though in acceler-
dting degree; of our normal condition.
That the Company is extraordinarily bonuses received on our stocks .be-
Isopular with the insuring public is Otis yond the rates' payable on those
dent. But people will hardly s' ow so stocks purchased by us in 1923; the
pronounced a preference without red actual cash yield from these in 1928
son. That reason unquestionably is represented a return of 2.38 per cent.
the great strength of the Company, on the purchase price greater than
and its unusual profit -earning power. the dividends payable on these stocks
The earnings announced in the report at the time of purchase, while the
are slightly In excess of 540,000,000; .average value of the rights and
but it is clearly intimated that had we bonuses received during the inter -
desired to do so we could have taken vening five years has amounted to a
eredit for a much larger amount. We further .38 per cent. per annum.
however follow our usual conserve- The BIII Before Parliament
five policy. We always have before ,T will now say a few words about
our minds the possibility of a 'ausiness the Bill we have before Parliament.
depression, which might occasion There has been so much misunder-
heavy shrinkage in market values of standing and misrepresentation about
all classes of securities. Mortgage ft that I think You Would like a plain
securities may at suet a time become statement of the facts.
totally unsalable but that fact is not "The original Charter, granted in
patent; while every fiuctuation in the 1865, authorized the Company's cap!- lain across a Dorset heath, but that , out by the beam of some 1L
prices at which stocks and bonds can tai at $4,000,000. An amending Act instead oY furzebushes there were ten otherthan ours. from the Dassen-
be turned into immediate cash is passed in 1871 contained a somewhat foot Proteas with. 'flowers the sire of berg to Cape llanglclip their serrated
quoted on the Stock. Exchange. ambiguous clause, which has been in- cabbages; the town of Pearl might skyline ran iu a great semicircle at
Securities Heavily Undervalued terpreted in some quarters as limiting have been in the Vale- of Eveshtun, the nearest some thirty miles away,
"T have decided to take. our Policy- the capital to $2,000,000. Five cols where it not for the stupendous poi- 0 the uorth and to the south rising
holders into our confidence in the neat legal authorities to whom we !shed dome of the Pearl Rock and the beyond salt water, and in, the middle
fantastic ridge of the DrakenlVerg.. , beyond 'a plain noless level, and seem -
One had all the amenities of our ing even leas substantial beneath a
familiar landscape, with a lot of pale blue haze- that veiled the crudity
splendid mountains thrown in, 'Here Of black pinewood and yellow sand.—
one cannot get awe - from the !noun- Conal' O'Brien, in "Across Three
tains; except to seaward they bound Oceans."
every horizon, and especially near London “O ParisCape Town, where they rise abruptly
from a level plain, seem to justify (By Airway)
auy height with which the tricks of I:nglanci lies beiow like a, gigantic
the atmosphere may happen to invest picture puzzle;
Royal Devotee of Popular Sport .
ROUMANIA'S PRINCESS AS A LOVER OF SPORTS
Princess Meana, youngest daughter of Queen Marie of Bouraauia, j
twenty-one,.'enjoys an afternoon of skiing at I'redeal in the Carpathian mo
school
tains, where she goes to .
"a
I l CORN: .-
Joyous .tingles By Gifted Rhymsters
Hundreds of contributions are reaching urs that just. hill short
of requirements either in rhyme, rythm .or expression, but we (lope
those who have failed so far will not be discouraged, but like the
historic spider will try again,
Strive for originality in. the idea behind the limerick as well
as in the manner of expression,
The following" are a . few of last week's winner's:—
Salada Tea
A matron who lives in la"':mitt,
ttocolnmends very highly Seluda".
Conte friends whoa you can
To taste nay ,Jupctu,
aiy delectable Green Tea, Saimaa,
MRS. H. 13. helP,:aisle�1TC1ibi1t,
y, Ont,
I3eintrman Pianos
There was a yuuug lady Denied
Anna,
Who wanted to liuve a piano,
Said her Ma it is true
No other will do
But a Ileint;cman Upright for our
.,Anna.
MRS, 11.. M. TAYLOR,
Nipawin, Sask.
•
1st
un -
Table Bay
Even the fost perverse efforts of
man cannot spoil the natural =guile
and pitches his camp; at sunrise he
crosses the mountain and is down in
time to open his office at the appoint-
ed hour. So near is the town; when.
one sits on the ledge of the Table
cence of Table Bay, nor the naturale one seems to be swinging one's legs
beauty of its surroundings. I ani 1 over Oranjeziciit.
temperamentally a stay-at-home per -1 This was the morning before a
son, and I liked the Cape because it South -Easter; one of those hard clear
reminded me of home, or rather of mornings when there is no very defi-
the South of England; it was settled 1 site light in the sky or anywhere else,
and cultivated for one thing; for an merely a sort of yellowness between
other its woods of oak and pine were the dark bars of cloud; but on the
refreshing after mangfoves and palms. purple mountains every rock -face and
The road to Simondiun might -hare gully showed up as clear as if picked
Purity Floor
Tl.iore was an old lady named
Bower, •
Who always used Purity Flour;
She declared the day long
To be healthy and strong
Eat bread made of Purity Flour.
MRS. HENRY COTJLTHARD,
R.R. No. 1, Eugenia, Ont.
Royal Yeast
There was a farm woman named
Mary,
Whose bread was as light as a
fairy;
When asked to explain,
She replied, "It is plain
Royal Yeast Cakes your worries
will bury."
MRS. T. GENOE,
Ceylon, Ont.
most complete way, so that they may
realize how fully our directors have
provided against any contingency of
his kind. You will notice that we
Say that the valuesquoted are those
given by the government department
or lower. There is much in those
two words. They mean that the
values given in the report are ap-
proximately $62,500,000 less than the
actual current values of those securi-
ties on the Exchanges. Then we
submitted the question assure us that
the original authorization was unaf-
fected by that amendment, but ad-
vised us that it would be well to have
the natter put beyond doubt by a
brief clarifying Act of Parliament,
"We do not ask that the capital be
increased; we merely ask that our
right to issue stock up to the amount
originally authorized be freed from
legal ambiguity by a simple declara-
tory clause,
• have the additional deduction from "But why do we require a larger
market values of 520,000,000, referred capital than the present $2,000,000?
to in the repbtt, and also the special "Chiefly for two reasons:
contingency reserve of $12,500,000, "(1) Because the present capital
These items total $95,000,000, and our is manifestly out of all proportion
unlised assets and other margins to the magnitude ot the Company's
raise the amount to $100,000,000. operations. It is absurd that a Com-
pang, whose assets are already $500,-
This means that the market values : 000,000, should be controlled by a
of our securities could shrink by t capital of $2,000,000.
$100,000,000 without reducing curl "(2) Because we wish to ensure
surplus by one dollar. Suck a shrink- I that this great Company shall never
age is of course almost inconceivable. } fall into undesirable hands. We can -
I indeed, doubt very much if even the
rophe f th,Id war'not alter the status of our existing
catastoanoer wor
could produce so drastic a depres- shares, but we can impose restrictions
on the transfer of the new shares standing at Dun Angus, I have looked
sign. nour it did,i we would still ; which will be an effectual safeguard. over the bare blue slabs of Aran,
overintact our Wdivre hardly surplus of ""It has been said that such an down to Galway Bay; but with a dif-
over 554,000,000. We are likely, increase would divert from the Terence. Ono can walk over the
I think, to be criticized for lack of
conservatism. I do not know any
other financial corporation which has
its assets so protected. I imagine we
are more likely to be told that we holders, to receive ten per cent, of
have been too conservative; if so, the profits distributed from the par -
that is a criticism we must endure. ticipating branch. Our stockholders
Our safety margins may perhaps be long ago reduced their share to five
unnecessarily large, but safety must
be our paramount consideration; and per cent. All our contracts for thirty
if, as we confidently anticipate, the Years past have been made on the
margins prove not to be required, agreement that the participating poi -
they will in time be available for dis- ieyholders shall receive ninety-five per
tribution among our policyholders,. cent. of these profits, and that right
And what possibilities for our policy- any of our members cduld enforce in
holden do these margins represent! any court of law."
investment Provisions
"It may be timely to summarize
briefly the provision of our law.
They permit investments in:—first,
mortgages (up to sixty per cent. of
the appraised value); government
and municipal bonds; corporation
bonds secured by mortgage; pre-
ferred stocks of corporations which.
have paid dividends for the'preeeding
five years; and common stocks of
corporations which have paid divi
elands for the preceding seven years,
such dividends being not less 'Haan,
four per cent, per annum or 5500,000
per annum in amount. These pro-
visions avoid the extreme both of
un ise freedom and ot harmful re-
striction,
e-strictk n, To my inind they are
almost !ileal,
,'Our list of assets shows that we
own se entities of large amount in all,
clasees authorized 'by the Act,
"Tor a very, considerable part of
our investments we must, cense•.
quently., look to those classes of tom
mon stocks which are authorized by
our Canadian ,Act. I"' ortunately,When
the sante degree 'of care as is neces-
sary for safety in selecting. mortgages
and bonds is applied to the selection
of common stocks, especially Within
the conservative limits laid down by
the Act, these selected securities are;
in the judgment and experience ot
the thoughtful and well-informed,
among the choicest and safest of all
investments and by far the most
pre#ital)Ce and desirable, "e
Wrigley's Gum
There once was a boy found a
penny,
Who being a Scotty was canng,
So he bought Wrigley's Gum
And he said, "Oh yum yum!
I knew this was better than any."
ELSIE ROBINSON,
Box 76, Prescott, Ont.
them. Its pieces the meadows—rimmed by
I was not able to explore any of ' hedges, roads and streams,
Fit perfectly each into the others.
the outlying ranges, for they are not
yet made accessible by roads and
inns, and any ascent involves a con The oblong fields of Prance, Precisely
siderable expedition, but I spent a laid,
good deal of time on Table Moun- Shading from saffron gold to indigo,
tain... • Are like nothing so much
What a top that was! I looked As a nielticolorcd patchwork quilt.
over great sloping sheets of rock, liarl at'et i'eill's,
fantastically grooved and' tunnelled, p
down to the Southern Ocean; as,
Red Rose Tea
Said a sprightly old man in Toronto,
"I drink all the tea that I want to.
As live drunk but Red Rose
I've not got a red nose—
Wife, put on the teakettle pronto."
MRS. 11. W. Steviuson,
Macleod, Alta.
policyholders profits properly belong limestone of Aran, steeping across
ing to them. This is the exact oppo• the narrow cracks in which lark male -
"Th
site of the uruth,e Insurance Act allows stock -
fern and maidenhair, the Table
Mountain sandstone is split by chasms
ten feet wide and titirt4- deep, choked
with giant heaths and proteas. But
near by the elements hare proved too
strong for the rocks—the mountain
is about the sante height as Snowdon
—and all has been washed away ex-
cept some few isolated fragments,
worn into the queerest shapes, that
stand like Mesozoic monsters on the
level surface of the subjacent slab.
On such levels, on auy place where
moisture can lodge, and especially
on the wet ledges of the cliffs, grows
the most varied flora in the world.
Heaths of forty hinds, brooms, and
proteas of a hundred different forms
on the more exposed tops; then lilies,
gladioli and tall dog -daisies; on this
wide, shady shelf a sheet of arum
lilies, and under the mossy, dripping
of that narrow gully the great rod
orchis, the Disa, pride of the Cape.
All these nature planned on the
moentain; it was roan that planted
the woods, in some places, as it seems
la ine, especially as seen from below,
toe exclusively coniferous; but it was
a Government scheme, aaul.therefore
has an economic aspect. But beyond
this sombre forest, where the spires
Of the spruce rise 'more sp"arself,
through the pale mist of the silver-
leaf and the thinner blue ?faze of the
eucalyptus, and oaks and their con -
Seam sweep down the rocky ravines
and gradually merge into the gardens
"It's difficult to figure flop a playerl of Iiirstenboseh (tawall this side Is a
has reached. a goal when he's Only I reeerve for the protection of the int -
half 'beck," flora) in which the raver and iuor,
delicate plants are tended, there you
The enormous diffienllies' in the way 4 will aee. woodlancls as beautiful es
of preventing war are sttikingiy illus- any in the world. I know, for I Itav
trated by the lamentable outbreak in slept there. In this delightful climate
the highly rsteen1ed Salvation Army. the city matt goes mit in the even -03
•
LOOK OUT
(1Ft-MATC H -'s
YOU'LL FALL
AND HURT
YOURSELF
I CAN'T GET
HURT MR.
ClGARET'T'E^
5AFETy
'MATCH!
Mrs. T. Genoe. No decision has
been reached as to when the con-
test will be closed, Compare care-
fully the rythm of the limerick
with which you won a prize with
the others and you will see just
where they fall short.
Mrs. T. Neal. Sorry we cannot
return any limericks c xbmitted as
they are not kept.
Big Ben Totaa.coo
There lived on the Island of
Thacker,
4 jolly old farmer mined Packer,
Wlio said with a smile,
"Tho 'Weed' that's worth while
Is a plug of this Big Ben `Tobac-
cer' '"
MISS MOLLI.E PATTERSON,
Blenheim, Ont.
Royal Purple
There was an old woman at .Shoos -
ter,
And she had a Very sick rooster;
Royal. Purple, she fed,
And she smiled and she said,
"Now he crows again just like he
use 'ter."
MRS. WARD BULLER,
R.R. 3, Ridgetown, Ont,
Cuticura
A flapper neglected her duty
To her skin—so she lost all her
beauty,
Although all those pimples
Detract from her dimples
Cuticura will cure her—poor cutie!
MRS. HURST,
Buckingham, Que.
Williams' Pink Pills
There was a young Toiler named
Tilly,
Who became white and frail as a
lily,
Took Williams' Pink Pills,
Which cured all her ills,
And now•she's as gay as a filly.
MISS ETHEL McKELLAR,
Belmont, Ont.
There is plenty of enjoyment for,
the whole family if all join in the,
fun of writing Limericks.
Any nationally advertised article.
or service found in this or any''
previous issues of this paper may
be made the subject of a limerick.!
One dollar will be sent for every
Limerick accepted. Give name wadi
address and name of this paper.
Writer Limerick Editor, Assoc'.
ated Publishers, Rooms 421-5, 73,
Adelaide St. West, Toronto, 2.
UP -TO -GATE
Spicier: Won't you step lute my
parlor?
Miss Fly. Not unless you have a
radio, serve cocktails and allow pet-
ting'
Druggists Observe
Bucklers Counh Mixture Week
The week of February 28th to March
Oth is being observed by the retail
eirtiggists of Canada as "Buckley's
Cough Mixture Week."
This week lots been arranged by the
Retail liercltants' Association of
Canada and the Provincial Boards of
the Retail Merchants' Association, in
eo-operation with Messrs, W. H.
Buckley Limited, the nianufactttrers.
.This product'has been on,the,market
for many years and because of its
rapidly 'increasing Laver with Cana-
dians during the last few years, "The
Weak" 18 being f ttured this seasoxi
to feces additiotlal attention on this
line cough remedy.
e For Icy Windows
! : 'who «•:s may hem kept free from'
e, ice during the winter months by rub-
bing .over theism a sponge tlippe . an
i ,leohol,
To a Poet
Many singers, like the phoebe,
Who have little to say,
Declaim in places prominent
The livelong day.
But one I know, a hermit thrush,
With glamour to display,
Even from all admirers
Steals beauteously away.
-Walter Hendricks, in "Spires and,
Spears."
A living -room is just a detour on the,
route from the bedroom to the garage.'
,,.n„ ...,.,,.�«
TF you ever have rheumatism,
lumbago or other pains that
penetrate to the very bones
and joints, ,Aspirin offers such
quick relief, and such complete
comfort that it's folly to suffer,
Deep these tablets bandy in
the house; and carry thein in
your pocket, Then you need.
never suffer long from any
attack of neuralgia, neuritis,
rheumatism, or front a bad
headache, Aspirin is always
a . marvelous antidote for all
Pahl tiiitl has 110 effect on the
heart, Proven, directions for
ninny valuable uses in every
box of genuine .Aspirin. Ever,
druggist has it.
IRIN
Aspirin is a Tradctnarlc Registecred in Claude