occurs to me this convention should not adjourn without taking action on the remarkable work that has been done by our President, Theodore Roosevelt. Therefore I move you the adoption of the following: Whereas, It is the purpose of the business of life insurance to ameliorate the conditions of mankind by every proper means and to co-operate in the bearing of one another's burdens; and, recognizing what the promotion of peace means to humanity at large; therefore, be it Resolved, That we, the representatives of the National Association of Life Underwriters, in convention assembled, desire publicly to acknowledge and commend the course of President Roosevelt, whose efforts to further the conclusion of peace between the warring nations of the world have recently been crowned with success. Col. Goulden-Mr. President, I move the adoption of those resolutions, and that a telegram be sent to his Excellency, the President, at the present White House, Oyster Bay. The motion was carried with great enthusiasm. Mr. Scott-I move that this session be made continuous till the end of business. The motion prevailed. Col. Vrooman-May I enquire whether any provision is made for the publication of the essays which have received honorable mention? President Dolph-No, they are not printed. Col. Vrooman-Our good friends who wrote those have expended much time and thought in the preparation of these papers, and according to the reports of the committee they must be of value. It seems to me it would be courtesy to them to have them published as a part of our proceedings, and I so move. The question was put and the motion prevailed. The following are the essays which received honorable mention, and which are here printed in accordance with the above resolution. Essay Number 383-2,683 written by Willard H. Lawton, Philadelphia, Pa. Without loyalty-loyalty to company, to policyholders, to general agent-no agent can be considered as successful in the highest sense of the word. In life insurance, as in other lines, the man who changes employers frequently is apt to be regarded askance. Something must be wrong with him. His enthusiastic advocacy of one company today causes doubt and distrust when contrasted with his equally enthusiastic encomiums of another company last week. The foundation of an agent's success is the confidence he is able to inspire in his own statements. Hence, leaving out the ethical aspects of loyalty entirely, it is a matter of practical bread-winning to an agent to be known as thoroughly loyal to his company. Such an attitude of mind, however, does not presuppose the miscalled loyalty which admits of no criticism of one's company. No company is perfect, and the obstinate young agent who allows himself to get into a heated argument over the merits of his company may win a reputation for loyalty perhaps, but hardly for tact or common sense. Moreover he is not likely to win the business. Better far to adopt the candid attitude of the old song "With all thy faults I'll love thee still!" Be loyal to the policyholder! He regards you as his representative with the company, he looks to you for honest advice, for redress when things seem wrong. Home office clerks and officials are human; they do not always understand, and sometimes write in answer to honest questions and complaints snappy replies that may seem witty to them but which hurt the recipient. Loyalty to the company requires the agent to uphold its decisions, but loyalty to the policyholder equally demands vigorous protest when he is not being treated fairly. This, however, does not imply that the agent shall uselessly demand from the home office favors that he knows are impossible, merely to give his client the idea that he, the agent, is making a strenuous fight in his behalf. In the first place, it is disingenuous and dishonest; in the second, it will sooner or later shake the policyholder's confidence in the agent's standing with the home office, to say nothing of the hopeless reputation which the agent will acquire of being a "crank." The agent will best show his loyalty to both company and policyholder by taking the time and trouble to explain why the company's rules are just and fair to all. Loyalty to his superior in the field, his manager or general agent, may not be absolutely requisite to an agent's success, in the lower sense of that term, but no self-respecting agent can afford to do without it. Loyalty of this type does not mean a blind following of a leader who may be sacrificing the interests of company, policyholder and agent to his own ambition. There is something fine and touching to be sure in the loyalty of Old Adam when he says: "Master, go on, and I will follow thee To the last gasp with love and loyalty!" but the loyalty of the personal servant is not the loyalty demanded of a self-respecting American agent. That loyalty which faithfully carries out the ideas of the general agent, which scrupulously refrains from placing "brokerage business" where the highest commission is paid, save in such exceptional cases as a manager may approve, which turns a deaf ear to the siren voice of the "lightning special" offering a secret bonus for good prospects that kind of loyalty is what the general agent relies upon as a tower of strength. Above all the agent should be loyal to the institution of life insurance, pure and simple. Amid the myriad complicated propositions of gold bonds, investments, and what not, he should keep clearly in mind the ideal of life insurance as protection for the helpless and be loyal to that ideal. To forget this, to offer life insurance merely as a possible money-making scheme is high treason. Better sell bonds, stocks or mining shares at once and be done with it! As Such loyalty is needed and should be warmly encouraged in every agent. It will develop in him a strength of mind and will power, a self-respect and confidence that will carry him to the highest success. an agent he will gain and hold the respect and good will of his company, his clients and his general agent. As a general agent it will make him a power in the community, a strong influence in the councils of his company, and above all a loyal friend and helper to his own agents. He may never become a millionaire, he may not become famous in the life insurance world outside his immediate circle; but when he retires, or death strikes him down in the midst of his work, his agents and policyholders will ever speak of his day as the agency's golden age; and his company's officers will in the fierce struggle for pre-eminence in future years sometimes look back with a sigh for the loyal support that is gone. Essay Number 999, written by W. G. Harris, Worcester, Mass. The desire of men to preserve inviolate the integrity of a corporation with which they are connected, represents faith in the qualities of, and loyalty to the principles of its organization and maintenance. History is replete with examples of loyalty as a factor in the development of the vital principles of religion. Every form of religion has been nourished in infancy and promulgated in maturity by the allegiance and loyalty of its followers. Loyalty is a form of worship bestowed freely on the tenets of the favored creed. Mahomet with his flaming sword, Luther with his theses, Napoleon with his armies bowed themselves before the tremendous growth and expansion of their ideas to which they were so loyal. In our own time what but the unswerving fidelity of a Lincoln to his proclamation, or a Pasteur to his laboratory, or a Phillips to his platform could have achieved the development which later came from their ideas? Loyalty is the greatest factor in the development of the citizen. The growth of our American prestige has been due to the loyalty of our citizens. Steadfast allegiance to the principle of no taxation without representation has gained for us our democracy. Fidelity to the Munroe Doctrine persuaded the Spainards of the independence of Cuba. Unfailing belief that every man has the right to life and the pursuit of happiness gives us our suffrage at the polls, somewhat shackled at times, it is true, but still a step in the development of the best form of government. Fidelity to the highest aspirations that beat in the human breast has been observed to be the greatest factor in the development of the great poets. What but implicit faith in God's omnipotence could have induced Robert Browning to write: "The morning's at seven, The hillside's dew-pearled, All's right with the world." Where can be found a more conclusive proof of loyalty as a developmental force than in the great business world? The eagerness with which mẹn give and receive credit in commercial transactions is but a form of faith, belief, confidence, sustained by that inborn loyalty to the signature, the word of honor. Behold the wretchedness of misplaced confidence or the betrayal of trust in any business institution! If then in the broadest sense this loyalty, fidelity, allegiance becomes so important a factor in the intellectual, social, and business world, with what precision and certainty can we apply its principles to the development of this business of ours where company and policyholders, agents and prospects depend so entirely upon each other? Loyalty is then the greatest factor in the development of an insurance agent because it tends to keep the agent with the company and gives him a permanent income by allowing him to build up a renewal business. We have heard men remark that they would not feel at home in the business if they were obliged by circumstances to solicit for other than their own company. Investigation has proven in nearly every case that the agent has built up for himself a clientage of admiring and respecting policyholders, who seek his advice on insurance questions and give him their business. What other factor than the loyalty of the agent through a life-long service to the company could have established such a competence for his later life? Where can the agent be found who has shifted from one company to another many times and has kept his self-respect or his renewals? So much for loyalty on this point. Again, a consistent line of argument in displaying the |