the
| Total terminations were | $162,326,114 |
|---|---|
| Less those inevitable terminations by death or maturity of endowments | 26,767,873 |
| Waste by lapse, surrender, etc. | $135,558,241 |
| And when we add the lapsed policies which continued in force, under the "extended-insurance" provision | 89,938,500 |
| We have the total waste of | $225,496,741 |
and this, reduced to its actual significance, means that of the total actual terminations, 83.6 per cent. was actual waste and only 16.4 per cent. legitimate terminations, while the great bulk of the last item of $89,938,500, upon which premium payments have ceased, must run off the books in the near future; and this is what goes on from year to year, more than keeping pace with the boasted increase in volume of new business. The public never sees this side of the question.
When I got to this point in my deductions, I was brought face to face with the tremendous expense of acquiring new business. Then I saw the light—why it was necessary to wipe off the books nearly two millions of what were considered good assets, that is, pledges from agents of their renewal commissions against which advances had been made, and