New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-07-26
ter investment than that made In educat'ng the
children Of the people
A GREAT SOCIAL PROBLEM.

This Is doubtless one Of the greatest countries
in the world for secret societies. Pretty nearly
everybody seems to belong to some order ana
to be wearing some badge or button. Ola Worid
orders of knighthOod are nowhere compared
with these In point Of numbers and high-sound
ing names. They exist In every part OF the
country and in every walk OF life. There IS
scarcely village or hamlet In which lodge
Of some kind is not to be found. The secrecy
Of these organizations Is largely imaginative
vet It, together with a certain amount OF cere-
mOny and pageantry serves to give them
solidarity and permnnency they would not
otherwise have. There Is. moreover, no ques-
ton that they beneficent feature or Amerl-
can society They promote fratcrnal feeling
among their members. they afford n certain
amount Of intellectual, aesthetic and social
culture, they encourage thrift and mutual nep-
funess. and many Of them provide convenient
and trustworthy means Of life insurance for the
benefit Of the families of their members.
This insurance feature is indeed, one OF the
most striking and most admirable OF ALL and
the extent 10 which it has been carried Is lit
orally bewilderng to those not familiar with IT,
There are, according to the latest available re-
ports, no less than ninety-One fraternal orders
doing mutual insurance business. They have
a total membership of 2,017,374. And the total
amount Of insurance In force Is $35767OOiSV
That makes nearly S1,SOO insurance for each
member Most. perhaps all, Of these societies
are strong and trustworthy beyond question
They are paying out millions OF dollars every
year for the benefit Of their members. or or
their late members families The good they
are thus doing is incalculable, the more so be-
cause, on the whole, the bulk Of their member
ship is in the less wealthy part OF the popula-
ton. Wage learners, farmers, small shopkeep-
ers. are saving each few dollars year from
their incomes to secure provision for old age
and sickness or for their widows and orphans,
and the $500 insurance, when 1t comes, Is
more to its recipients than vastly larger sums
TO those who have never known the need Of
saving
And now these 2O17 374 men are asked to re-
nouncc relinquish abandon, nearly one-haf or
that to which they are entitled. They have
been paying in their assessments in dollars
worth one hundred cents each, and they are
asked to accept their insurance In dollars worth
only fifty-three cents each. That is what the
Chicago Convention demanded Of them. That
is what the Chicago platform calls for. That
| is what the Chicago candidates would bring to
pass If they were elected and invested with
authority Every member Of a fraterna order
who votes for Bryan and Sewall will vote to
have his insurance-the insurance for his wife
and chldren--reduced nearly One-half. He has
been telling his wife that his life Is insured for
81 900, and he now votes to have her receive
at his death only $3.50
That is exactly the nearing OF free coinage
of silver to every one Of these 2,01I.3I4 men,
beers of fraternal orders. What they will do
about it Is n grave social problem. 1t Is no
light thing to destroy at a stroke S15OOOOOOOO
of the property Of the people. That is what
free coinage would do. These 2,O11,314 men
are creditors There is owing to them or TO
their heirs. contingently. the sum OF 500 TO-
7s9 1t is being honestly paid In instalments
The whole of It will be paid when 1t falls due
But now Mr.. Bryan and the Free Silver party
demand that it shall not be paid In full, that
only tifty-three cents shall be paid on each dol
lar. and that these 2O11314 men. most Of them
comparatively poor men. shall be robbed OF the
gross sum of 81 GS1 091 .610-a sum half rs large
again as the entire National debt. What an
swcr will the membership Of these fratcrnal
| orders make to this monstrous proposition!