Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-07-25
THEY'RE SHORT lived.
State Insurance Examiner Max
Beehler Talks About the
Fraternal Societies.
Thinks Low Rate Companies
will All Come to Grief
Sooner or Later.
Predicts Disaster to the Orders
Whose Rates Are Based On
Growing Membership.


Manchester, state insurance examiner of
Iowa, was in the city yesterday. ON his
way home from q. trip to Omaha, and
made friendly calls at a number of the
insurance offices in the city. When seen
at the Garretson hotel Mr.. Bee'hler
stated that within the past year he has
examined two Sioux City insurance
companies. The Laboring Mems Co
Operative company and the independent
Workmen of America, and that while
he believes the affairs of the companies
are being honestly conducted, thru ig-
norance the books have not been as
strictly kept as they should have been.
Mr.. Beehler, in speaking OF insurance
companies in general, and fraternal So
cieties In particular. said:
There are fifty-nne traternal socie-
| ties doing business in Iowa. five less
than last year. and of that number
! many are exceedingly shor.-lived. and
some would never better been born.
| The purpose of a number OF companies
seems to be to furnish cheaper .nsur-
] ance than the next one. and looking at
4 them from the standpoint of an sXper-
! fenced insurance man. cannot bu, feel
confident that some of them will come to
4 grief "A fraternal order cannot stand
| unles it raises its rates sufficiently high
| to cover the premiums which are bound
to require payment at some time IN the
! future They Will also have to be more
careful about the physical condition of
/ the members taken in The fraternal
| orders have done great good for widows
! and orphans, but the only hope of the
! members can be to die before the COM
/ pany does.
The Modern Woodmen of America
| which has membership of 100000. and
4 ia the largest in the world, is bound tc
meet disaster some time. and Head
| Consul Northcott has warned the mem
be,s of the fact, yet they have taken
! no steps to raise the rates. They mad.
| a great mistake when they failed to dc
SO at St. Paul. So many of the mem
| beers are in poor circumstances that il
| the rates are doubled they will i'm
mediately go into a cheap company, as
! they are too Ignorant to look at tn.
! matter from a scientific point of view
and realize that the best insurance Is
/ the costlest.
/
companies in the state having the larg
est number of members are the Roya
4 Arcanum. Independent Order of Forest.
ers. Modern Woodmen of the World ant
1 knights of the Maccabees. The For
esters have three times the rate of in.
surance that the Modern Woodmen have
and the other three are higher"
Asked concerning the recent trouble
! in the Modern Brotherhood of America
/ which has resulted in the calling of a
4 meeting of the supreme council at Sioux
4 City on Oct. %. % and "a to expel SUI
preme Secretary A. c. Elliott of Upton
and elect his successor, MIR. Beehlel
4 said:
When saw one of the warning let
4 tiers sent out to the members of the
/ order by Elliott, telling them of the
! gross extravaganza maintained in the
| order by the board of directors. de.
/ cided to nvestgate, and found tina,
! Elliott had been as guilty of anything
! of the kind az any one else, as he was
! one of the directors and an officer. anc
had never complained on single bill
paid also found that instead of hav.
| ing $4,000 debts, as he stated, the com
4 pany had $4,000 more, and ! asked him
why he did not give the correct figures
found that Treasurer Greer has beer
negligent in allowing $4,000 from thrct
/ different funds to lie idle
Since Examiner Beehler has made af-
fidavit of his findings the board of di-
rectors is sending out to the members
typewriter copies of the findings and
of resolutions passed. condemnlng Sec.
rotary Elliott as unloyal to the order
and unworthy of membership. Sucr
copies have been received by Sioux City
| members.