Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1898-02-04
Report OF the Supreme Court OF Honor.

Meeting held at Quincy, ILL.,, Jan. 20
20 and 27th,it would seem to me fit
ting and proper at this time that l make
a report as TO the constitution and stand
ing of the order TO which we belong, and
as found them when in attendance al
that meeting. There were in attendance
at that meeting something like 700 dele
gates from the several states of Illinois,
Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kan
sas, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and
Michigan, and among them some of the
brightest men of the several states.
When l left home my opinion Off l
must say it, of fraternal insurance was
not quite as good as might be, after the
experience we have recently had. l
therefore used every means in my pow er
to secure all of the information | could
get from every source. L met several
men who were charter members of the
order, all of whom spoke very highly of
it and that in their estimation, especially
under the new constitution and bylaws
and ritual adopted at this session it was
destined to become in the near future
the greatest order of its kind in the
world Twas informed that most of the
charter members of this order had been
members of fraternal organization
called the House Forum, doing business
under the laws of the state of Illinois,
and that the officers and board of di-
rectors had so constructed the constitu-
ton and by laws that the terms of the
officers expired before the annual meet
ing. Therefore when the meeting was
called the board of directors reported
that they had elected the officers for one
year at directors meeting, and seeing
that under those conditions the order
would be under control of few men
who might, if they felt so disposed,
manipulate the funds of the order TO
their own advantage.
Some one or two hundred members
withdrew from the Home Forum and
said they would organize an order where
the people would have something to say
about the officers selected TO transact the
business of the order as we'll as the trans
action of annual business, and under
those transactions the Supreme Court of
Honor was organized June, 1895, by the
citizens above mentioned, determined TO
create a society for cheap, safe and re-
1,o1 10
could have the control. By the 10th of
July, 1895, the 800 members required by
the laws of the state of Illinois as
condition precedent to the issuing of a
certificate of incorporation by the insur-
ance department had been secured, and
on the 23rd day of July, 1895, delegates
from the temporarily organized District
Courts met in the State House and
framed the constitution of the Court of
Honor and embraced therein more of the
sound principles of fraternal insurance
than were ever promulgated by any
other body of like character.
From those 700 members represented
in that meeting on the 23rd of July, 1895,
the order has steadily grown in mem
bership until the first day of January,
1897 When the order was one year and
five months old it had issued 12,0S6 cer-
tifcates with total indemnity of $l9,-
6SS 900. The increase of membership
made in that year was greater than that
Il al 90 l,a |
age in existence in the United States or
Canada and its record III other respects
was equally as good.
The Court of Honor began the year
1897 with 12,0S6 certificates written and
11,150 in force In the year 1897,
period of financial depression and hard
times, the Court of Honor has added TO
its membership 7,401, an increase of
about four times as great
as that made by any other fraternal
order in the world at the present time |
During the time from the incorporation /
If the order until the LIST day of January,
1897, there were eleven deaths reported, |
a tOJdl DtHtllU VI S<O,OOO 4,
and two permanent disability losses
TO $1,000. During the year
1897 there were 90 deaths reported ag-
a total benefit of sos, 800 for
the protection of the beneficiaries. Those |
dependent upon the members of the
and seven permanent disa-
hility losses amounting to $4,000 for the
benefit of the important members who
were totally disabled by accident.
In the year 1896 assessments were
levied. These assessments raised suffi.
Gent money to pay all death losses in
full promptly, and leave surplus of
about $500 in the benefit fund. In the
month of December 1896, three death
losses were reported and allowed by the
BOARD of directors and an assessment
was ordered in January 1897, and the
money received under that call enabled
IL o.lo- 80 .l.ooo Lao, -, g. /