Omaha daily bee., 1899-06-08
DISCUSSION ON RESERVE FUND
Modern woodmcn Devote the Day
TO Debate the
Question.

KANSAS CITY. Mo, June Renewed
interest was shown at the second days scs-
sion Of the eleventh biennial convention OF
the Modern Woodmen OF America. Several
thousand belated members of the order had
arrived during the night and today and
questions of Importance developed enthusi-
astic work and discussion The action of
last nights session, which took the prclimi-
nary steps toward creating reserve fund
question which has been fought for ten
years-was discussed freely by delegates
before the gathering met Head Consul
Norhcott had been instructed to appoint
a committee of five to draft plan for such
a fund, and to report today. The report
was made the special business of the day
and 1t proved one for fruitful debate. Long
before the session was called to order the
great convention hall fairly swarmed with
Woodmen, bcdecked in bright badges and
animated to an unusual degree by the
work before them.
Early in the session T. S. Simpson OF
Peoria H.. offered an amendment to the
bylaws in an attempt to secure a reconsid-
Grafton of the action Of the convention yes
terday in excluding distillery and brewery
employees from the order. Several speeches
were made The convention finally for a
second time refused to alter the old rules
and the decision was received with deafen-
ing applause.
The convention decided to exclude from
the benefits of insurance any members who
should in the future become brakomcn or
conductors of freight trains, locomotive fire.
men or engineers, switchmen, yardmasters
yard foremen, miners, mine inspectors, mine
tracklayers, Bosses, jockeys, employees in
factories making explosives. glass blowers
oil well shooters, aeApnauts, sailors, plow
grinders, professional baseball players, pro-
fessional fremen, submarine workers, SOL
diers in time of war or workers in smelters.
An amendment excluding steel workers
was offered by member from Pennsylvania.
After a debate of twenty minutes the words
were changed to steel blasters and the
amendment was carried Nearly thirty
members of the order, it was asserted, would
have been debarred by the first amendment
The following committee on reserve fund
was announced: Il. e. Murphy, Kansas:
John Sullivan Missouri; George Jenkins,
Nebraska, and Harry Franklin Minnesota.
The head camp, by a resolution last night,
appointed w. A. Northcott chairman.
The committee reported at the afternoon
session. The plan that it recommends is
that twelve regular assessments be made
each year. The assessments are now made
only as the money Is needed IN paying the
faces of beneficiary certificates.
The committee suggested that all the sur
plus from the assessments be placed in the
reserve fund. The fund Is only to be drawn
upon when more than the twelve assess
ments are necessary in the year or in cases
Of epidemics of disease. The report was
taken up for debate at once
Head Consul Northcut was the first to
speak on the report. He estimated that the
surplus from the assessments by the plan
recommended by the committee would make
fund of $1,200,000 in a year and suggested
that when this sum had been reached it be
invested in government bonds.
Against the proposal to order assessments
for the creation of a reserve fund it was
argued that the head camp would not be
justified in taking such radical action with
out first having given the 400 900 members
of the order an opportunity to discuss the
proposition and instruct their delegates to
the head camp.
A. R. Talbot of Nebraska offered as a
substitute for the committee recommends
tion resolution providing for the submis-
sion of the question to the membership OF
the society with instructions to the head
clerk to report the result of the ballot to the
head camp at its next meeting in 1901
The substitute resolution was adopted bv
a large majority.