Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-07-11
TEE INSURANCE. OF SUICIDES.
The knights of Honor Divided
ON lhe subject OF Paying
on Such Deaths,
New York Herald.

The Knights Of Honor number
about 10000 in the United States,
and their organization is extending
into Canada and other foreign states.
1t was organized in Louisville ten
years ago upon a very simple basis.
Any white man between the ages of
Fl and 10, good as to moral character
and physical condition, is eligible.
There are three degrees, and upon
presenting himself for the third each
member pays into the widows and
orphans benefit fuod a tax ranging
from 81 to 81 80, according to his age,
which is his assessment for life
whenever an assessment is or.
dered. The government of the
order is equally simple, and con-
sists of subordinate lodges, a grand
lodge for each State, the members of
which are chosen by the subordinate
lodges, and supreme lodge, chosen
by the grand lodges, with headquarters
in Louisville. When member dies
notice is sent to the supreme lodge and
$4,000 is followed to the relatives of
the deceased member through the
lodge to which he belonged. When
the treasury gets so low that it can
only pay one more death claim of
$1,000, an assessment is levied on all
the lodges Of the order. Within
thirty days after forwarding one as
sessment each lodge must collect an
other assessment and have it ready
subject to orders from headquarters.
Such is the plan OF an organization
which paid last year to the families
Of its deceased members the sum
OF $2,153,000. Heretofore suicide
has been no bar to the payment of
death claims, whether the person
was sane or insane at the tins
Of taking his life. In ordinary
life insurance the death claims
of suicide are only paid when it is
proved that insanity led to the act.
Some members OF the knights of
Honor, alarmed at the increase of sui
cides in the order, agitated q PROPOSE
ton to cut off all such death claims
This proposition was opposed, and for
several successive years it came M in
the Supreme Lodge and was each time
voted down, until at the last annual
session, held In Galveston, Texas ,ast
May. 1t was there resolved not Ia
pay. the benefit Of those who caused
their own death. S
This clause was ordered to be inser-
ted In applications for membership
hereafter to be issued: And provided
further, the death of said -. Is
not produced by suicide, whether he
then be sane or insane" Ever since
the change vas made the subodinate
lodges have been arguing for and
against the new move with consider,
able zeal,
"A momber ola Williamsburg lodge,
who, IN criticising his own order, did
not, OF course, wish his name to ap-
pear, said: docs any sane rsan sup,
pose for moment tbss Aay one will
deliberately ccmhFt suicide that his
family Lay receive a paltry $4,000?
Were it five or ten times that amount
1t mig hit be, under certain circupstaa.
ces, plausible"
This memhey h2d 10 10 be an ex
post faoso law, and one, therefore,
WHICH the SWpEeme Lodge had no
power to pass, "Eurthermore no
said, "tho pro rata assessment for each
death is about "a cents, and if private
members Of the order are willing to
pay that amount to the iamilies Of
suicides tho Supreme Lodge can
tnd 20 4allt, This subject was
$gitated at the meeting of the Grand
hodge Of this State, held last Septem.
8eE when the representatives of
1900 New York State members IA.
nounced the project, The passage of
such laws would seem u Justify sus-
picion entertained BY some that the
SupreWe hodge was playing into the
hands OF the insurance companies. II
is now proposed to call 10 all the ont
standing benefit certificates and insert
the anti-suicida clause. 10 them, 7
hope aid members will refuse 10 give
up their certificates, a. IL Is clearly
their right to do,
Mr.. Henry P. Lippold, who was
chairman of the committee on laws Of
the Grand Lodge OF this State, said
that he had recommended tie action,
which was voted down in the last
Grand Lcdga tnseling, because he had
seen statistics proving that deaths by
suicide we're far more frequent in
their Order than in insurance eompa>
MES. He said there vas no intention
OF making the law retroactive, and that
tho Supreme hodge could not DO so if