The Topeka state journal., 1899-10-28
INTERNAL STRIFE.
Knights and Ladies of Security
Having Trouble.
Members Issue a Circular and
Call a Meeting.
GRAVE CHARGES MADE
National officers Accused OF
Gross Mismanagement.
They Issue a Statement and
Threaten Expulsion.

There is trouble in the Knights and
Ladies of Security, the Topeka insur-
ance order, and it is sufficiently ser
ious to threaten an entrance into court
and the possible appointment of 70
ceiver for the organization.
Charges of mismana cement and mis-
appropriation of funds have, been made
against the national officers in Topeka,
and Thomas H. Balm has been retained
as attorney to see that either a COM
plete investigation is consented to or
the matter taken into court. On the
other hand the national officers threat
en- criminal libel prosecution to the men
who have promulgated the charges,
and intimate that all of the interested
parties will be expelled from the or
der.
The national officers are w. B. Kirk
patrick, president; J. NJ. Wallace, sec
retary; w. NJ. Forbes, treasurer, and
DR.. H. A. Warner, medical director
The men who have brought charges
are E. S. McClintock, Ed G. Moore, J.
J. Hit, Rev. S. Palmer, DR.. A. M
Edison, H. w. Pond, Charles Lindsay,
J. NJ. Miller, J. S. Rhodes, E. Horne and
J. w. ShOwalter. With the exception
of Mr.. McClintock and Mr.. Hit, who
recently moved to Kansas city. and Mr..
Showalter, all are residents of Topeka.
The charges made are contained in
! circular letter sent out from Kansas
| City to the officers of the different
| councils of the order. It calls for del
egate meeting to be held in Kansas
| City on November IA for a discussion
of the matter and reads as follows:
1T is currently reported, greatly to
t the detriment of the order, that there
] has been gross iSmanagement of the
! affairs of the Knights and Ladies of
| Security by the present national Off
| GERS in having greatly impaired the re-
serve fund, and still report the same as
| intact and securely invested; in having
| Squandered the peoples money by pay
| ing exOrbitant salaries to themselves;
i in having failed to charge themselves
| with large sums of money received;
with having invested largely in real
| estate and borrowing money to pay for
| the same; with having failed to use
| the per capita tax as promised for the
payment of the Indebtedness of the or
| der, but have contracted larger obIiga-
| tiOnS and pledged the future payments
| of this fund for its payment; with hav-
| ing mismanaged the affairs of the or
| der to its great detriment and to their
| own mercenary advantages; with hav-
| ing at each national meeting called for
! larger assessments. and threatening to
/ make still further increase of assess
! ment at the next national meeting,
| thus increasing the burden, already too
/ Onerous, and requiring larger payments
/ than are demanded by other reputable
| and solvent organizations
| To this letter the executive commit
| tee of the order, which consists of z. G.
/ Miner, the Topeka printer, and w J.
! Combs of EmpOria, formerly police
| judge there, in addition to Messrs
| kirkpatrick, Wallace and Warner to-
| day issued a reply, which will also be
| sent to various councils. In this re-
! ply they make the bold statement that
| the charges were inspired by E. S. Nc
! Clintock, who holds the position of
/ royal prophet of the Ancient Order of
| Pyramids for the purpose of Wrecking
! the Knights and Ladies of Security with
! a view of aiding the organization of
| which he is the head.
! The reply quotes the opening state
| ment of the circular letters. and says:
This preliminary statement is
| falsehood, for it has not been currently
| reported, as the authors well knew
| when they signed their names to it or
by a little inquiry could have known
! The next statement is, In having
! greatly impaired the reserve fund and
1 still report the same as intact and Sc
! curely invested This is absolutely
! false. as may be known by all who care
| enough about the order to ascertain the
/ facts as shown by the reports published
/ monthly in the official paper and the
| reports of the finance committee, pub
! lished quarterly.
1T is next charged, In having squan-
! dered the peoples money by paying ex-
| Orbitant salaries. The national presi-
/ dent and national secretary each are
| entitled by the law of the order to fifty
| cents for each beneficiary certificate
| issued, and the national medical direc-
! tor to fifty cents for each application
| examined. The only salaried officer is
| the national treasurer, who receives $50
per month for his services which was
/ fixed by the national council
I'VE are also charged, With having
| invested largely in real estate and bor-
i rowed the money to pay for same This
| is the only statement in the entire
| charges in the circular that there is a
scintilla of truth in. The purchase of
! the building in the city of Topeka is the
| transaction referred to, but the pur-
| chase was so permanently advantag-
| eOuS to the reserve fund of the order
| that some of the citizens of Topeka
were opposed to it. and charged the city
| with being greatly worsted in the deal
| and discussed the matter through the
/ papers, and along that line were talk
ing of bringing an injunction suit on
| that account to prevent the city max
ing a deed That it was the best in
| vestment of the reserve fund we have
| ever made can be proven by referrine q
to any reliable business man of Topeka
Twenty-Five thousand dollars was in
| fact, borrowed to complete the deal in
| order to secure this advantageous re-
| suit. That money was invested for the
| order. All but five thousand dollars of
| the same has been paid by the accumu-
| lation of the reserve fund and the bal
| ance will be paid inside of three weeks.
| Again we are charged, With having
| failed to use the per capita tax as
! promised for the payment of the in
! debtedneSS of the order This is false
as no Indebtedness of the order exists
except the $1,000 referred to above. for
| which the per capita tax could not be
used for payment.
Again, that We have contracted
! larger obligations, and pledged the fu-
ture payment of this fund for its pay
/ ment.' This statement is without found
| alton and in fact entirely false Then
/ there is a general statement. That we