The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-03-26
TEN-YEAR-GET-RICH SCHEME
An ASSIGNMENT MADE YESTERDAY
By THE SUPREME OFFICERS.
Statement of secretary VIM. +. Lam
der-A Home
recent Nance Suit.

signed is the effect he hard times has had
on new business OF such an order. VIM. F..
Lander, secretary of the order, said last
evening that the order had fiattering
chances of success until the beginning of
1895. when the new business secured begun
to drop off until it was barely in excess of
the lapses and matured certificates. making
the net gain very small. The next year the
new business amounted to less than the
lapses and Withdrawals, showing a net loss
in membership.
/ order closes its meteoric career with
an odor that savors of Iron Hallism. Accord
ing to the statement of Secretary Lander.
on the first day of this year there were I'M
paid matured certificates amounting 20
about $4,000, with very little assets to meet
the liability. Since that time the additional
matured certificates have increased this
amount to about $7O,OOd The present as
sets. according to the secretary. are about
$1,000, with a possibility Of scaling this
amount to 81, 900 or $4,000.
The assignee took charge of the business
of the order last evening. With the deed of
assignment was a schedule of the property
owned by the order. This includes an equity
lot on North Meridian street. extending fiji
ty feet south of the property of the Merid-
Adi-SlItcl VI f. NuuTCH- his lOI Is NQTln
more than $4,000 and probably more than
So. 1000. the latter amount being what Secre-
tary Lander says was a recent appraisement
of the property, but there is a mortgage on
it which will bring the interest of the
Order of Equity down, TO probably $1,000.
The other assets amount to between 81, 900
and 5000. including $29262 in cash. The or
der owns the furniture of three halls In this
pifN- Uhioh n rants and the rpntcI mats N
fair annual return. Then there is the office
furniture and fixtures. which practically
completes the list of assets.
THE HEAVY LIABILITIES.
The total amount of liabilities is not
known and cannot be until the courts pass
upon many questions similar to those that
arose in the settlement of the Iron hall
claims. The matured certificates call for
nearly $4,000 face value, but all members
have an equity in the assets of the order,
and there are now about seven hundred
members in good standing.
The Order of Equity was launched into
existence July 4. 1889. although 1t did not
formally do any business until the latter
part of October of that year. when four
councils were instituted i'm this city. Since
then nearly two hundred councils have been
instituted, most of them being in this State
anu III ~ dttlOuSH III Siilt d
extended to fifteen States to a small de-
gree.
The order began under a plan of business
that has never succeeded in the past and
never will In the future until mathemati-
clans discover "A way to make ten times 81
equal SlO9; Its plan Was, closely allied to the
Iron Hall system. Two classes of certiti-
Gates were issued. which differed only in
amount and time, the principal being the
same in both. One was for five years and
the other for ten years. but as the former
had been discarded during recent years.
only the figures on the ten-year plan can be
given. The order offered certificates of the
face value of $500 and $1,000. both on the
same terms, except that in the latter the
payments were twice the amount of pay
ment i'm the former. The payments on the
$1,000 certificate were 81 a month, with an
additional assessment each three months,
making a total of So a year TO be paid TO
the order. In consideration of this pay
ment the order agreed that the holder,
after a continuous membership of ten
years. shall receive from the accumulations
amount named in the certificate, less all
benefits previously drawn. The benefits
previously drawn referred TO sick and ac-
cident benefits that were payable, SD a
week for a 81. 900 certificate and S. a week
for a $500 certificate.
THE INGENIOUS CIRCULARS.
The order does not in any manner agree
to pay the holder of a $1,000 certificate the
sum of 81, 600 at the maturity of the certit-
cate, but the printed circulars leaves the
impression that this amount will be paid.
and this impression is heightened by the
fact that the first certificates that matured
were paid in this way. This was also the
case I'm the Iron Hall. All certificates were
paid at their face value so long as there
was money to do so.
According to these figures. on each $1,000
certificate the order would receive So a
year, or 1920 in ten years, which, at 3 per
cent compound interest, would amount 10
about $435. From this amount must neces-
sarily be deducted the cost of managing the
business. which would leave still poorer
picking for those who come in late expect
ing 10 get something for nothing. There Is
no doubt that those first in would get their
there would be enough money under such a
plan TO pay off several hundred certificates
at maturity, but then the amount would
dwindle until the home Office would have
nothing with which to pay. The first GER
tihcates were issued in October, 1889, and
matured in October, 1894. 1t was the be-
ginning OF the next year when the collapse
began to heave in sight. In speaking of
the matter yesterday Secretary Lander
said:
'~The hard times of 1898 and 1894 hurt us,
of course, but We were doing fairly well
until 1895. when the new business written
amounted TO very little more than the Ger
tifcates lost by lapseS and maturity. In
the next year QSy6l the new business Old
not equal the loss from these two sources.
and the result was obViOus-we could not
stand il very long and concluded to make
an assignment now while we had some 3S-
sets to be ditributed.'
The small leaflets used by the company i'm
soliciting new business state that the order
has paid out Sl50.0N in sick and accident
DEMENT'S and $4,000 in claims for matured
certificates. This would make a total of
$3.50. coo paid out. Secretary Lander says
the total number of certificates issued dur
ing the life of the order, has been 200, of
which only 700 are now in force.
EFFORT TO BOLSTER 1T UP.
Since il was seen that TIE end of the
order was only a short distance in the fu-
ture. an effort has been made 10 bolster il
up and place it on "a basis for the retire
ment of the ten-year distribution certih-
Gates. but this came too late. This part of
the order. if managed separately from the
original order. would have been successful.
for it was simply an insurance based on a
stated monthly premium that was sufficient
TO bring i'm enough money to pay all losses
with "A fair margin of profit, provided the
examinations of applicants were rigidly
made. In this department there is a bal
ance of Si65, which remains on hand. with
no claims outstanding. One death loss has
been paid.
Secretary Lander claims that but for the
suit that was brought against the order
April q. 1896. by William ". Nance. TO en-
force the payment of "A 500 certificate
which had matured. the order would not
now be compelled TO make an assignment.
That suit was instituted by Mr.. Nance. who
was a member OF Taylor Council No. 3, OF
this city, and late on the afternoon OF
| April "a William r. Churchman was ap-
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