The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-14

is nothing visionary in the matter, for
personal investigation has convinced him
of its worth ana practicability.
Something over two years ago Aiexan-
der Miles, one Of the weatkiest and most
successful business men of Duluth, end
Mason H. Seely discussed the fact that it
was next to an utter inpossibility for one
of the colored race to obtain life insurance.
None of tho fraternal orders were open
to the colored man, and the 227 orders OF
that character in the country declined
to do business south of the Ohio river.
Except in certain localities the same
course obtained with the old line COM
panies In other words. it meant that a
section of the land containing about one
quarter of the population Of the United
Safes was cut off from any sort Of life
insurance.
Investigation proved beyond peradven-
ture that the old line companies told only
half the truth when they stated that the
mortality Of the negro race was greater
than that of the Caucasian Of the
masses this is unQuestionably true, the
percentage among the African being from
&c to IS per cent per thousand But
was amazing. 1t took eighteen months
of the hardest sort Of work In searching
Southern cemetery records to obtain the
vital statistics of the insurable class.
When these were compared with those Of
the North 1t was found that the mortaf-
ity rate of the negro was AZ per cent, as
against per cent for his white brother.
1t should be born In mind that these Sta
tistics were taken from a prescribed dis
trict to great extent.
NEW FRATERNAL. ORDER.
Prof. Washington was acquainted with
these facts, and made the pertinent OBJ
servation that insurance and benevolent
organizations apparently did not care to
accept the negro as a risk, not on account
| of the high death rate, but rather on ac-
| count of color. He strongly urged the
! founding of fraternal organization in
| which no account should be taken of re-
| ligfon, politics or color, and which
! should be open to all males who were in
surable. The matter was debated pro
and con- Many were the puzzling ques
| tons which had to be solved, and 1t
seemed at times as though the project
would have to be given up, but In the end
] all of the obstacles were surmounted-
Particular attention had to be given
to the fact that the lower classes OF
both races were densely ignorant and
could only understand the simplest
! things. From this condition grew one Of
the greatest benefits which the new
order-the United Brotherhood-v-.i con-
| fer on struggling youths, sons Of mem
bers. 1t was decided that whenever
pastor In any state of the Union had
! fifty members of his congregation in the
| brotherhood he could call them together
! for the purpose of selecting some young
man to take a four years course at col
lege. The order would pay his tuition,
| the one restriction requiring that he be
| sent to an institution in the common
! wealth in which the council Is located; If
| there be no such seat of learning In the
! state then to the nearest state which
| possessed one 1t has been figured that
the maximum sum for four years
scholarship would be sS90-this scholar
ship fund to be taken from the general
/ fund of the order.
To assist in improving the minds Of
the adult members of the brotherhood
the constitution requires that each coun-
Gil shall maintain a well equipped Ii
byary, to be augmented from time to
| time by the order. and that lectures shall
be given each week on some Of the topics
which are puzzing the public mind. These
| are some of the ways in which 1t is
| proposed to spread education among
| members.
As the negro is essentially wage
Garner, some radically new form of in
surance had to be devised. In the old
line companies the older the assured the
greater the premium. This clearly
would not do in the present. So instead
of piling up the premium 1t was decided
to reduce the face of the policy For