The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-28
SECRET SOCIETIES SUED,
Insurance Commissioner Attacks
Some Mutual Benefit
Concerns.
Complaints Filed to Dissolve MANY
Alleged Fraternal Organi.
cations.

Insurance Commissioner Higgins yester-
day made an attack upon the societies in
this City which he believes have been car
rying on the insurance business under the
guise of secret fraternal organizations in
order to evade the laws as to insurance
companie s. Suits were filed in the name
of the Attorney-General,w who is giving the
Insurance Commissioner every assistance,
against six of these concerns to enjoin
them from transacting the business of mu-
tn al insurance and to dissolve the corpo-
ra tions under which they act.
These alleged fraternal organizations and
their office addresses are: The Supreme
Council of the American Benevolent Lee
gion, Mills building; the Order of the Fra
ternal Argonaut, 500 Market street; the
United Workmen Alliance, 315 Califor-
mia street; the Supreme Council OF the
Royal Fraternal Guardians, 31S Pine
street; the Order of Pendo, Cos California
street; the Ancient Order OF Samarla.
The complaints allege in each case that
the defendant is not secret or fraternal
society or lodge or council which conducts
it's business and secures mem bership on
the lodge system having rituaiistic work
or ceremonies, nor does the defendant ad-
init all of it's members under any ritual
istic work. that it solicits and invites the
public generally to become insured and
issues policies to applicants without their
going through any initiation that the
treasurer has not received the sum Of
$4,000 from 200 or more persons, as required
by law, and generally has not complied
with the law. The complaint is signed by
the Attorney General, with ex-Judgc r.
B. Carpenter and Eugene Bert of counsel.
Mr.. Bert said yesterday:
The law provides that any organization
formed to conduct the business OF mutual in
surance on the assessment plan. before it can
do any business at all must first obtain from
the Insurance Commissioner his license TO do
business in this State. Before this is granted
the society must comply with certain require
ments 1t must appear that there has been
secured from not less than 200 members al
least $4,000, which sum must be deposited with
the State Treasurer. None of these require
ments have been complied with by these so.
cieties and they all claim 10 be exempt on
the ground that they are legitimate, bona-fde
secret fraterual organizations.
Mr.. Higgins said:
/ have been doing a great deal of work
for several months gathering evidence, and
now have plenty OF convincing proof. Suits
would have been filed sooner had not wanted
to get evidence that would make strong cases.
The point about it is that they claim to be
secret societies, with ceremonies and initia-
tons, and are not. We have afiidavits from
men who have taken out policies that they
were never required to go through any initia.
tion and have absolute evidence in each case
OF the issuance of policies to people who have
not been required to do any more than come
forward and pay up their assessments, just as
they would in the Office Of any mutual insur-
ance company.
These concerns are entirely irresponsible
One will start up in twenty-four hours without
q dollar to back 1t and begin preying on the
community. They come and do business for q
while, until they have gathered in lot oil
money, and pass out of existence, and no one
knows what has become of them.
| get letters from people making complaints
of having been robbed. l have known fellow
to start in alone with some dummies to act as
directors, and in thirty days after filing his in
corporation papers have 800 or 400 members
paying in dues. Most of these fellows get some
respectable men to allow their names to be
used without knowing what the concern really
is, and as soon as they find out, they Withdraw.
Someof these societies change their directors
everyfew weeks. 1t has always seemed strange
to me why some of these reputable men whose
names have been used have not come to me.
Out through the country these fellows come
into small towns working them one after an
other, and disappear again, never to be heard of.
The State is overrun with fake seer ct societies
and wildcat fraternal organizations. The
secret societies that are conducted properly are
such as the Masons, Odd Fellows, and others.