The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1875-04-02
CHEAP LIFE INaURANCE,-
FACTS AND FIGURES.

al oiler states, Wnlch needs To be
better understood and appreciated
than it is by Old Fellows, and
those who ought 20 be Odd Felio VS..
We have been requested by several
persons TO give a more thorough
explanation and illustration of the
system, which we shall now pro-
coed to do, TO the beat OF our ability.
We will remark. that we believe
the Masons have organized q SINH
lar system. Not being a member
OF that Fraternity, we have not ex-
amined their rules hut If the sys-
, tenn is the same, these remarks
relative 10 the insurance
feature in Odd Fellow ship, will ap-
ply equally 10 the Masons.
Any Odd Fellow in good stand
ing; obey all know 1.-The meaning of
thai,) or his wife, W no, upon exam
ination, are found 10 he in good
health, may become a member of
the Funeral Aid by .he payment of
- 30. This money goes to form a
permanent fund, 10 be drawn upon
TO make up deficiencies when MEM
bers permit their names TO be DROP
ped. Then, whenever a member of
WIS ~ d4CS1 HIS HtlE6 are
entitled to receive as many dollars
az there are members of the Assoc.
citation. If there are 900 members,
the amount is $1,000. Upon the
death OF member, each surviving
member is required to pay an as
sessment of S1.I0; the 81 being to
replentish The treasury TO tho
amount that has been paid on the
death, and the 10 cents being TO COW
or The. incidentals of postage, print
ing notices, collecting. etc. In
Kansas, one class is already full,
containing Loo members, and en-
titling the heirs OF a deceased men,
Der 10 $500. Three new classes
have been started-one for persons
under 40 years of age, another for
those between 40 and 80, and a
third for those over J0-and they
are all filling up.
Here are some of lhe advantages
of this system over ordinary life
insurance Take man, for instance,
In the prime OF life, at the age of
40. In any Life Insurance Com
pany, ne would be reqired to paw
SIS per year oil the $1,000, or S57
for $500. This he must pay all at
once, and in advance. 1t he dies
the next day he gets his Insurance,
but gets none of the $57 back.
This Sj7 must be paid regularly
each year, as promptly as the day
comes around, or he forfeits his in
surance. With most persons, it is
often a difficult matter to raise 30
large sum at once. But take this
Odd Fellows plan; the money is
paid step by ster, Sl.lO at a time,
and generally at long intervals
apart, so that ii is scarcely felt.
lie pays nothing in advance, ex-
cept his admission fee 50 5O-his
Insurance is paid from time to time
as deaths occur. If there were no
| deaths in year, he would paw
nothing, and still be insured for
81 500, or whatever other sum his
class represented.
The Odd Fellows Funeral Aid OF
Kansas was organized October, 1869,
Ave years and a half ago. Since
that time there have been ~ deaths,
or less than an average of S for the
year, making say $3.50 for the year
that each member had to pay for his
insurance Is not this little bet
! ter than SjT? And as it was paid
i'll installments, some weeks apart,
was it not still better! Since last
October, the beginning of the in
surance year of this association,
there have been 10 deaths. The
past fall and winter have been
marked by an unprecedented
amount of sickness, and there have
been more deaths in that time than
in any other equal length of time
since the organization OF the associ-
alton. This average will not be
kept up-but suppose it should, the
deaths for the year would be 20,
necessitating the payment of SD,
scattered through the whole year.
Is not even this better than S57 paid
at once! Let us even put the very
worst possible face upon il. Sup
1 pose there were one death per
week during the entire year; that
would cause payment by each
member of $3.50 year. Here we
have only 20 cents more in a year
than il would cost in regular in
surance company, with the advant-
age that il could be paid in INSTALL
ments of Sl.l0 each week, instead
of all in advance. But il can hard
ly be possible that there will ever
DC that many deaths in a year, or
half that many. Yet, when two or
three deaths como together, in =
sickly season, many members be-
come frightened, begin 10 think the
thing. will become ruinOus, and per-
NIT their names TO be dropped from
the association, by refusing to pay
assessments. In the last two wears.
at least two persons of our init
mate acquaintance have pursued
this course, aud in a few weeks
thereafter have died, depriYing their
families of the insurance, when
they needed il so badly.
Grand Secretary Durdett present
ed statistics at the last meeting OF
the Grand Lodge of Kansas, clear
~ illustrating this subject. From
! his tables, we find the following to
have been the membership of the
Odd Fellows Lodges of the United
States for thirty years, with the to-
tai number of deaths:
Years. NSH.6srsLf0 yle1sHS
l1e44 10 1858 l.39i,2Sl 1911
/ 1854 to 1858 I,taLO9G fTIJ6
Il N..T go 49,