The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-01-19
Mutual Benefit Societies in France.


From The Times.
By. a decree of the present Emperor the or.
ganization as well as the administration of
societies for mutual assistance in case of need
has been brought into perfect system. OF
course it is only in so centralized Government
where all motive power in every field of activity,
be it political, commercial, financial, or social,
emanates from the same central source, as in
France, that such a system is possible. Never
theless, the great increase in the numbers as
we'll as in the beneficial effects of these societies,
is due to this governmental supervision, which
has brought order and a certain sort of uni.
formity and regularity into their management.
All these societies are under the guidance of
Superior Commission of Encouragement and
Surveillance" at Paris, at the head of which
stands the Minister of the Interior, and TO which
each individual society has to send, periodically,
| complete statements of its working, and the
! Commission itself makes yearly report to the
| Emperor. The last of these reports, that for the
! year 1865, is just published, and appears in a
| late number of the MoRjteur. Some of its
statistical details are of general interest outside
| Of France.
There existed throughout the French Empire
at the close of the year 1865 three thousand
six hundred and thirty-one approved and
| fitty-seven authorized societies Of this kind.
What the exact difference between an sap
! pToVedn and q merely authorized" society is
we cannot positively state, but that the former
must have some exclusive and superior privi-
leges is apparent from the fact that fourteen of
the latter have ranged themselves in the list OF
| approved societies. prelerring that to their
former organization. The whole number of
members of all these societies is 1872, ,498; of
these 96,956 are honorary, and 695, ,542 regular
contributing members participating in the bene-
its OF the organization. Ot the latter 579, 585
are men and 1885, women.
The financial condition of these societies.
based, as they are, upon mutual cooperation, is
a very hOurishing and cOmmendable one. In
the following extracts OF the detailed report we
have reduced the amounts from francs to dol
lars, counting one dollar equal to five francs
The aggregate oftheir whole capitalized earnings
ioots up to the handsome sum of 81, ,966, 1874.
Their income for the year amounted to So $50,
l8O. This large income is made up of the fol-
lowing items:-SubscripHon of honorary men,
bers, S226,8 ,842; Government aid, Sl9, ,llO gifts
| and legaCles, Sl02 9I5; interest on invested
capital, $22l, $685. regular contribution of mem.
bers, $l,762, l34 initiation fees, S7S 369; fines,
500, O29; from miscellaneous sources, 1882, ,252.
Their expenses were as follows: For assist
ance to sick members, 1864, ,374; pay of attend
ing physicians, 1921, 1859; cost of medicines
$3.50, ,239; funeral expenses $l0l, $685. aid e
widows and orphans of deceased members
S54, 206; pensions to those members, from in
trinity or age unable to work, Sl97, ,3O5; ex
penses of administration, Sill ,596; miscella
neous expenses, $l9l, 259; added to the reserve
surplus fund, $l29 937. Total, 81 262 l9O leavin!
a balance of 1926, 1856 to be added to the capital
lied earnings.
One other interesting fact referred to in thi
report is, that there are fiftyseven mutual socle
ties of Vine-growers and laboTers in vineyards
who pay no contribution, but instead of il tn
work of those members who are sick is dis
tTibuted among and done by the others-quite
novel and probably, very useful eXpedlent /
relieve The sick and save them from loss.