The Portland daily press., 1895-09-18
A. o. U. W.
Grand Rally Meeting at City Hall
Last Evening.

Excellent Speeches by Supreme foreman
Tate of Nebraska and Grand Master
Higgins of Providence-A Large Audi
ence and Fine M usic.
City hall was filed by large audience
last evening that assembled to ENJOY
very attractive programme. given under
the auspices of the Ancient Order OF
United Workmen.
On the platform were Benjamin u.
Ward, Esq, of Portland, who PRESIDED
Supreme Foreman j. G. Tate OF Ne
braska, Grand Master Workman Higgins
of Providence, R. l., Past Master work
man Thomas, Colesworthy, and willard
of Portland and Perry of Deering, Guide
John e. Mayhem, Foreman George y.
Z. Owen and Recorder E. j. Otis, all OF
Portland. Chairman Ward opened the
proceedings by few appropriate remarks
After excellent selections by the Amefl-
can Cadet orchestra and tho Cec,llan
Quartette, Chairman Ward stated that
Past Grand Master Andrews of Augusta
who was to have spoken that evening was
unavoidably absent He was glad to
announce that they were favored with SO
good substitute as Grand Master
Higgins of the Massachusetts, district.
Mr.. Higgins said that it was a fact that
though the A. o. U. w. was twenty
seven years old, people did not under
stand just what it was. Many believe
that it is made up of laborers while the
fact is that its name, means Workmen OF
all kinds and its membership includes
men of all vocatons from the statesman
to the laborer.
He wanted to say something about in
surance. He wished to declare that the
A. O. u W. is not a great insurance
organization. 1t is simply fraternal
beneficial protective order.
The fact is that when you pay $50 a
year for $1,000 insurance, in some in
surance company, you are paying too
much for your insurance. He said that
$S of that $50 is taken as payment for do
ing the work of the insurance, now If a
man insures for 5000, they use $40 OF the
S150 premium as compensation for insur-
ing him. But it is no more labor to iIt-
sure for $4,000 than $1,000. 1t is just here
that the insurance companies make their
great and glorious gain. Mr. Higgins de-
clared that very soon somebody is going
to ask who owns the great reserve funds
of the insurance companies and he is go
ing to the Supreme court to find out, if
necessary. And when that happens it is
going to make big inroad into the busi-
ness of insurance companies. He quoted
statistics to show that insurance com
panies are decreasing and fraternal
beneficiary associations are increasing.
He spoke at some length of the method
of insurance Of the fraternal beneficiary
associations which does not require
millions of dollars stored away IN reserve
funds, which are doing no good to any
body. He explained the special attractions
of the Ancient Order of United Workmen
as the Oldest and largest Of similar asso-
Citations in this country and the one that
has the lowest rates of assessments for
death claims He emphasized the fact
that in the A. o. u. w. and similar
associations, the man of forty-one pays
no more than the man of twenty one as
a premium for his insurance, if he can
pass as good physical examination.
AT this point, the orchestra played
very charmingly. the Aphrodite waltz.
the quartette sang 1.-The Last Rose of
Summer very delightfully."- and then
Chairman Ward introduced Supreme
Foreman ]. G. Tate of Nebraska, who
was to speak upon the Condition of the
Order'' He spoke at first very enter :
tainingly of Nebraska and very fiatter-
ingly Of Maine He then spoke of the A.
Q. U. ". as the grandest fraternal
beneficiary organization in the world.
He wished to speak of its great funda-
mental principles. The first of these is
charity. He spoke with much eloquence
and humor of those who measure their
duty and call it charity. He declared that
charity is nothing more than duty, that
it includes the support Of all good things
and the preven tion of poverty, as much
as it's relief. That is the Interpretation
that the A. o. U. W. has put upon the
word charity.
He drew vivid picture of the wide
spreading benefits Of this order through
out SO many homes from Maine to Cali
fornia.
He emphasized the difference between
charity as a sentiment and charity as q
Judgment.
The latter means the putting of the
best possible construction on the worst
possible actions and not the reverse. And
charity as Judgment, ripened into action,
is best described by that passage from the
Bible: 'tInasmuch as We did it unto the
least of these my little ones ye have
done it unto Me. 7"
But what is our actions What has the
A. o. U. w. done? We have paid out
$5S, 600, 600 to widows and orphans. We
have paid $1O 600, 900 for the sick and the
unfortunate and last summer when the
drouth dried up the crops in Nebraska, l
went to the grand lodge and they gave
me nearly $4,000 for the relief of the
su ffering farmers. We have paid out
S94 600 this very day What does this