Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-10-28
LOCUSTS AND LICE.
The Rise, Rule and Ruin of the Matri-
mOnial Benefit Association Plague
in the South.
A Complete Collapse of the Frauds
The Inevitable Doom of All Jer-
envy Diddlers.
New York Commercial Bulletin.

| vention So has happened in the case of th.
| matrimonial insurance craze at the South
On October Sd, 4th and 9Th, at the st. Charlie
| Hotel, New Orleans, was held general con
vention of matrimonial and benefit associa
tions, with the full complement of officers anC
fair attendance of delegates. OF course
| there was no lack of self assertion and wind
work OF the euphuistie order.
This New Orleans confsb was the duly ap
| pointed successor of convention held IL
| April at Meridian, Miss, at which some
| fifty associations from seven States wer'
represented, and whose outcome was the APP
| pointment OF an executive committee 10 re-
port TO this New Orleans conference such
suggestions, in the form of resolutions oil
| otherwise, in their judgment should be
deemed expediens for The welfare and per.
petuity of the several associations, and oil
the general convention. Said executive
committee were charged with the 6uty
of enrolling such associstions On the RECORDS
of the General Convention as should signify
desire 10 become members thereof, and
were willing to abide by the constitution and
general regulations OF said convention. They
were also to recommend to each and all OF
the several endowne associations the adop
ton OF the regulations agreed upon in cou-
vention, TO "donate" a certain sum of no less
that $40 monthly to some charitable insti-
tuition OF the country. In his speech at the
opening OF the New Orleans convention, the
president made The following statement:
While all the delegates in the Meridian Conven-
ton agreed that many measures adopted by some
new companies who were not members OF the
dicious yet after mature elaboration it was CON
cluded that 1t was impracticable, if not impos-
s1ble, at that time 70 stem the flood that was
sweeping with resistless force over the land, so
we contented ourselves with placing vigilant ex
ecutiye committees as watchmen on our walls, and
hoped fora change that would restore order out
ofchaos.
Meanwhile, some 200 associations had
come into existence, and were raiding over
the entire South and Southwest. And, in
view of this modern plague of cooperative
locusts and lice, the brethren at the New Or
leans conference were put to il TO find some
way of escape from the inevitable doom of all
Jeremy Diddlers. AS the president happily
phrased it, in addressing the convention:
you, gentlemen, are expected to devise some
plan at this session of the convention that
will restore confidence to the people in the
financial wisdom and integrity of directors
OF matrimonial endowment associations"
1t doesn't matter much now what the con-
vention "resolved" aud ordered" and ffpro-
posed" since, by the time SET for the next
convention, the bottom will have dropped
out OF the entire scheme, and resolutions,
good or bad, will prove to be OF no effect. 10
fact, the bottom would appear to be pretty
nearly out alresdy-if We may believe las
we do very cheerfully) the most recent
statements of the Memphis APPEAL, the
Galveston News, and the Arkansas Gazette, CT
Little Rock. These journals have each done
faithful work in warning their readers of the
combination of farce, fallacy and fraud in
herent in this scheme of marriage benefits"
and no one can begrudge their conductors the
satisfaction they must feel in seeing their
well-founded predictions fulfilled. No lees
is our own satisfaction in recording the COL
lapse OF this organized game of grab. Hav-
ing been the first of the Northern papers to
expose and denounee the whole business, the
Bulletin quite naturally enjoys the opportu-
nifty to also assist in shoveling under the sod
the csdaver OF as thorough-going a swindle
as ever was conceived.
Just where the bubble began to be blown in
the South-whether in Tennessee or Missis-
sippi-is an open question. But the scheme
was really born in Pennsylvania, and came
in as the lineal successor of the grsvey ard
and murdermill concerns which have now
happily become mere memory Of the
infrsgrant sort. AT the North the courts
put crushing foot on the new game at birth,
as being opposed TO public policy on social
add moral grounds; and the insurance press
was reasonably prompt 10 expose the fall
lacy OF its plausible promises. The States OF
Tcnnersee, N iEsissippi5 Texas and ArKansas
have, since last spring, been actually over
run with these observation-disclosures alone
having given birth, it is said, to more than
100 organizations, and at least as many hav-
ing been Graded in Tennessee. From time
10 time we have kept track of the workings
of this nasty novelty, with its "natal" nom
sense and its specious offers of something for
nothing. And even in giving the odd
names of some of them we have &C.
cupied considerable space. But. now
that there will not be much need here
after to record their doings, little room
can be devoted TO what may be considered
an obituary notice of an unusually lively
description. Elsewhere, therefore, will be
found what the Galveston NetCs has 10 say
about ga Bursted Bubble" and which pre-
sents the matter in a way which is both
graphic and spicy. The collapse in Texas,
however, was not quite 60 previous as the
sudden wreck which came upon the Arkan
& as bubbles. The downfall of the scheme
really dates from the last week in
September or thereabouts, when the
"Pawnee" and several other fanci-
fully named concerns located at Little
Rock and other points in Arkansas dropped
down dead one day, as the result OF kind
of "run" caused by matrimonial epidemic.
Then began panic which shook down the
associations like so many cardboard hohses,
and by the score, at that. And there ia little
likelihood that much more will be heard
of this most transparent OF confidence games.
But, absurd as we're the claims and promises
of these schemes, they were, in one respect
certainly, very great successfully took
in and did for" an enormous flock of auls
during the short time that the traps were
set. And never was there better illustra-
ton of mankipd's willingness 10 be cheated,
aud pleasure therein, than in the rise, rule
and ruin of the matrimonial benefit CO
operative assessment craze at the South
What is to rise on the ruins and give exercise
to the wits of these scheming promoters of
insurance humbugs time will tell. Bat it
will be long time before we see again so
successful a swindle created and collapsed
within 80 brief period.