Show ata BEER DRINKING ANO RISK washington correspondence in dl anapolis telegraph german how far does the consumption 0 ardent spirits and malt beverages affect a mans acceptance as a risk by the great life insurance companies oc the united states to a large extent this most interesting question has been answered by the companies themselves twenty of the largest and most noted companies of the country have written answers to questions asked them on this point the correspondence with the life insurance companies was brought out by the frequent statements by prohibition orators that the life insurance companies considered a beer drinker a worse risk than a whisky drinker the telegraph resented this and asked its washington correspondent to secure the facts correspondence twenty of the largest companies brought answers from their medical directors some of the companies answer that they have no settled policy some of them request that their answers be not printed but a number of them are frank and outspoken and do not object to the publication 0 their information ira general way all of them object to excessive drinking either directly or by saying that they have no objection to moderate drinking emphasizing moderate some of them say that they consider in every individual case what moderate drinking is but three of them the massachusetts mutual the equitable of new york and the prudential adhere to an ashes limit which is one and a halt ounces of absolute alcohol dally or about as much as there Is in three or four pints of lager beer prof francis B anstie the correspondent explains is an english authority well known in the medical world especially through his extensive investigations on the subject of toxicology tox cology and his work on stimulants and narcotics he considers alcohol it taken in small divided doses and diluted so as not to be greater than 10 per cent in strength as a food and that one and one half dunces taken daily in this was disappear entirely in the body that Is aro consumed by it as other food is he shows that it will prolong life beyond the period at which it must cease it no nourishment or water only had been given and that it liaa repeatedly supported life in acute diseases when no other food could be given to or was taken by the patient among the companies that answer frankly and without reserve Is the prudential its medical director dr edward H hammall says that a moderate indulgence of lager beer is in no way harmful to a healthy individual by the term moderate we asean a glass at meals or perhaps four or possibly six glasses within twenty four hours anstres limit of safe indulgence in beverages is one and one half ounces of absolute alcohol this is represented in tho case of lager icer by possibly three pints or two quarts per diem A life insurance company is not a temperance organization the average life is acceptable and the average man uses lager beer dally IE the writer mistakes not tho german families serve at the ta bleto the children a glass of beer as a daily beverage they regard it as we regard tea or coffee A moderate drinking of beer does not interfere with the acceptance of applicants tor life insurance it is only the immoderate use that prejudices the applicants chances one of the large western life in companies makes this statement we have taken the records of the company in a general way concerning the use of stimulants and find that the difference between the mortality of the abstainers abstain ers and those who use beer and light wines moderately the class we insure is small while tho mortality in the class of persons insured who used ardent liquors was 1374 per cent greater than the total abstainers abstain ers the equitable life of new york has this to say 1 I am directed to say that this society does not discriminate against a person who uses beer moderately it be Is all right in every other respect we would consider such a man a first dasa risk we draw the line at a dally allowance of one and one halt ounces of alcohol which is about the amount contained in tumblers of beer our experience shows that where policy holders after receiving their policies have become addicted to the use of beer and alcoholic drinks in excessive quantities the death rate was much greater than normal the phoenix mutual of hartford conn says the drinking 0 beer intemperately does not inter acre with our acceptance of the application of a man for a policy the mutual benefit of new jersey says we have not considered ibe moderate use of beer as prejudicing a aalt and in deeding upon what is moderation we are influenced by the applicants build occupation environment viron ment the germania life ot new stork say ve of course propose to write only on risks who indulge mod brately 1 these beverages and do not hank that our favorable mortality experience peri ence would have been had w confined our writing entirely to total the tenor of anese latter anavera Is almost typical for an of the twenty 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