Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-08-02
THE INSURANCE OF SUICIDES.

900 in the United States, and their OrganlZa-
ton is extending into Canada and other for
eign States. 1t was organized in Louisville
ten years ago upon very simple basis.
Any white man between the ages OF Is and
80, good as to moral character and physical
condition, is eligible. There are three de-
grees, and upon presenting himself for the
third each member pays into the Widows
and Orphans Benefit Fund a tax ranging
from 81 to S4.OO, according to his age, which
is his assessment for life whenever an assess
ment is ordered. The government Of the
order is equally simple, and consists ofSub-
ordinate Lodges, Grand Lodge for each
State, the members of which are chosen by
the Subordinate Lodges, and a Supreme
Lodge, chosen by the Grand Lodges, with
headquarters in Louisville. When a men,
ber dies notice is sent to the Supreme Lodge
and $4,000 is forwarded 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 80, 600 an assessments is levied
on all the lodges of the order. Within thir-
ty days after forwarding one assessment each
lodge must collect another assessment and
have it ready subject to orders from head
quarters.
Such is the plan of an organization which
paid last year to the families Of its deceased
members the sum of So 153, 600. Heretofore
suicide has been no bar to the payment of
death claims, whether the person was sane
or insane at the time 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 in
crease of suicides in the order, agitated a
proposition to cut off all such death claims.
This proposition was opposed, and for sew
eral successive years came up in the Su-
preme Lodge, and was each time voted
down, until at the last annual session, held
in Galveston, Texas, last May. 1t was there
resolved not to pay the benefit of those who
caused their own death. This clause was Or
dered to be insertedin applications for mem
bership hereafter to be issued: "And provi-
ded, further, the death of said is not to be
paid produced by suicide, ,nOmatter Wheth-
erhe then besane or insane" Ever since the
change was made subordinate lodges have
been arguing for and against the new move
with considerable zeal.
A member of a lodge, who, in criticising
his own order, did not, Of course, wish his
name to appear, said: "Does any sane man
suppose for a moment that any one will de-
liberately commit suicide that his family
may receive paltry $4,000? Were it five
or ten times that amount it might be, under
certain circumstances, plausible"
This member held it to be an e.r post .tdctO
law, and one, therefore, which the Supreme
Lodge had no power to pass. "Further-
each death is about q cents, and if private
members of the order are willing to pay
that amount to the families of suicides the
Supreme Lodge can find no fault. This SUBJ
ect was agitated at the meeting of the
Grand Lodge of New York, held last Sep
tember, when the representatives of IA, 900
New York State members denounced the
project. The passage of such laws would
seem to justify a suspicion entertained by
some that the Supreme Lodge was playing
into the hands of the insurance companies.
1t is now proposed to call in all the outstand-
ing benefit certificates and insert the anti
suicide clause in them. / hope old men,
bers will refuse to give up their certificates,
as it is clearly their right to do"
The Chairman of the Committee on Laws
of the Grand Lodge of New York State, said
that he had recommended the action, which
was voted down in the last Grand Lodge
meeting, because he had seen statistics prov
ing that deaths by suicide were far more fire.
quent in their order than in life insurance
companies. He said there was no intention
of making the law retroactive, and that the
Supreme Lodge could not do 50 ifit desired.
THE DIAMOND RATTLESNAKE.-Of all
the snake varieties of which we have yet
any knowledge, the diamond rattlesnake as
it is called, seems to be the most deadly. 1t
grows to length Of six or seven feet, and
is somewhat thicker than mans wrist. 1t
is armed with the Vhitest and sharpest OF
fangs, nearly an inch in length, with cis-
terms of liquid poison at their base. A ter
| of, oct ha f1r
no one, although he will not 60 out of his
way to attack any one unless pressed by
hunger. A description of his movements
by a traveller who has encountered him,
states that he moves quietly along, his
cleaning eyes seeming to emit greenish
light, and to shine with as much brilliancy
as the Jewels of a finished cOquette. Moth
| ing seems to escape his observation, and on
the slightest movement near him he swings
into his fighting attitude, raising his upper
jaw and erecting his fangs, which, in state
of repose, lie closely packed in the soft mus
cles of his mouth. This snake is not so at
tractive as the famous copperhead of North
America, nor so quick to strike, but one blow
is almost always fatal. His fangs are so
long that they penetrate deep into the mus
cles and veins Of his victim, who has little
time for more than a single gOOd-by before
closing his eyes forever. In one instance the
fangs were found to be seven-eighths of an
inch in length, and though not thicker than
q common sewing needle, they were perfo-
rated with hole through which the green
ish yellow liquid could be forced in consid-
cradle quantities, and each Of these sacs con-
tanned about half teaspoonful of the most
terrible and deadly poison.
THE USE OF SPECTACLES.-Nearl all
short sighted persons require two pairs OF
spectacles, and these often differ widely in
focus. Occasionally those used for reading
require to be only half the focus of those
suited for walking. At times the power OF
accommodation is so deficient that three
pairs of spectacles are required to see objects
at different distances, say from reading dls-
should, as a rule, be worn for playing music
to those used for reading. Although, OF
course, the power of adapting the vision or
seeing clearly is, as rule, first lost for close
objects, yet occasionally it is first lost for
distant objects. have known persons who
fancied that their eyesight was seriously
and permanently impaired from being una
ware of this fact. A pair Of short-sighted
spectacles gave them clear vision directly.
Two things must earnestly warn you new
er to do. Never use single eyeglass, ana
never keep a pair of spectacles on your face
that are suited for reading when you are
walking about, or, in fact, one emOment after
YOU have done looking at some near object
through them. Very recently saw gen
tleman in the Charing Cross railway station
wearing pair of reading spectacleS. with
these on he was trying to make out the tlne
by the station clock. This clock is 81 or 4O
feet high, and he was straining his eyes TO
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