Rock Island Argus., 1902-04-26

history of the Great Fraternal Beneficiary
titled With

HEAD CONsUL-WilIiam y. North
Il Il colt, Greenville, Ill.
Head Clerk-Charles W. Hawes,
Rock Island.
Head Banker-R X. Smith, Brook
field, Mo.
General Attorneys. W. White,
Rock Falls, ILL.,; j. G. Johnson, Pea
body. Kas
Editor Modern Woodman-F. o.
Van Calder, Rock Island. Ill.
Head Adyiser-Dan b. Horne, Dav-
export. la.
Head haplain-Joscph L. Churm,
Waupun. Wis.
Head Escort. ID. Elliott, Seattle,
Wash.
Head Watchman-H. NJ. Smith,
RichIand. Mo.
Head Sentry-Alfred) Bates, Mime
.upolis. Mimi.
Board of Directors-Edward T.
Murphy. LeavenwOrth. Kas.; George
w. Reilly. DanviIIe, H.; c. G.. Saun-
ders. Council Bluffs, Ia; Benjamin ID.
Smith. Mankato, Mimi; \. r. Talbot.
Lincoln. Neb.
Camp first organized at
Lyons. Ia. Jan. ,, 1883
Number charter MEM
bers first camp. 80
Total membership in
good standing Nov. ].
1901 ........... 657,316
Number local camps i'm
good standing Nov. /,
lgOl lO.Oig
Total insurance in force
Nov. l. 1901. 1..........S 1915, ,2OO. 800
Paid To beneficiaries Jan.
). 1883. to Nov. /. 1901. -. GIBBS so
Sifted down to figures and comput-
ed in dollars and cents the above is
the concise history of one of the
greatest fraternaI organizations ever
known To history. Indeed. it is not
an eNaggeratiOn To say that the Mod
ern Woodmen of America is the
greatest in all history. taking into
account its comparative youth and
its marvellous increase from 22 MEM
bers ON Jan. ). 1883. to over 6j7,316.
Orders Organization.
Modern Woodmen of America was
organized at Lyons. Ia. by Joseph C.
Root on Jan. ). 1883. and received its
NHdA AibAli AIt SAdlt VI lliliiOlS
May ). 1854. Its early history was
marked by a successful growth until
the year 1889 when dissensions in its |
ranks led to- the retirement from !
office of Mr.. Root and his followers |
and the election of an entire new set |
of officers at the re-organized meet |
ing held at Springfield in 1890. vt the |
Springfield head camp the society was |
entirely reorganized: new methods |
of transacting business adopted; w. !
y. Northcott elected head consul.
{. W. Hawes head clerk. with a new
board of directors, composed of Mil
ton W. Mathews. c. T. Heydeck-
er. John G.. johnson. John w. White
and Adolphus Il. Talbot. All these
gentlemen except Mr.. Mathews and
Mr.. Heydecker still hold office in the
society, and the history of the organ
ization since 1890 has been one of
continued success. rs the figures at
the head of this article Indicate.
In the United States there are
more than 6.jOO.OOO members of Sc
cret. fraternal and fraternal benefit
societies During the year 1900 the
average gain in membership made by
80 of the leading fraternities was 21
per cent. The net gain made in 1900
by the Modern Woodmen camps was
1O9, ,497 members, or 90 per cent, and
the net increase in the number of
WOOdmen camps was 1.796. Not n
single fraternity in the world made
40 per cent of this gain during the
same period. During the year 1900
40 of the leading fraternal beneficiary
societies disbursed $4,000, 900 in death
benefits. OF this amount Modern
Woodcraft disbursed over S4,274 500 |
in payment of death claims. Fra
ternal benefit societies like the Mod |
ern Woodmen. which pay death ben
efits. can trace their American par
cntage back only 10 1868, when the |
original mutual assessment tfrater
mel insurance. society. the Ancient |
Order of United Workmen. was or
ganized in Meadville. Pa. by John
Jordan Upchurch. There is a dis
tinction between purely fraternal |
and fraternal insurance or benefit |
societies. While the fraternal -bene- |
fit societies are fraternaI in every
sense of the word. the purely fra /
ternal societies, like the Masons, do /
not furnish insurance to their mem
bcrs. as do for instance. the Wood
men. Societies organized on the fra
ternal benefit plan today have over
100000 members. The Modern
WOodmen prefer to call their insur-
ance "fraternal protection" They
do not issue insurance policies, but
benefit certificates and the many
hundreds of millions of dollars worth
of certificates all the societies an
nualIy write and maintain may be