Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-09-19
Head Consul Northcott and 9th.
ers Lecture on Frater.
nal Insurance.
LARGE AUDIENCE AT THE ILLINOIS
Errors in Foundation of Woodcraft
Pointed Out and Adoption
of Remedy Asked.

rate REIMBURSEMENT question by w. y.
Northcotf the head consul, and +. T..
Murphy and y. Il. Talbot, respective
Iy chairman and member of the board
of directors. and arranged under the
auspices of the Woodmen of Rock
Island and Moline.
The main address was made by
Lieut.. Gov. Northcott The rate
question is a complicated one and in
wolves too many long columns of fig
ures to form an ideal theme for an
address before a large audience. But
Mr.. Northcott threw his whole soul
into the effort and not Only succeeded
i'm making the entire problem so clea :
that anyone of ordinary intelligence
could understand. but he held the
rapt attention of his auditors and at
times awakened enthusiastic APP
plause.
The meeting was called to order
shortly after s o'clock by Mayor
Knox. who presided during the even
ing. In opening the program the
mayor invited close attention To the
discussions that were presented. hold
ing them to be of the greatest import.
Interspersing the addresses there
were numbers by the Hampton Man
dolin club and the Svea Male quartet.
Head Consul Makes Long Address.
The head consul spoke nearly two
hours. He had on the stage the ia
| bles that have been compiled at the
head office in this city with such an
Expenditure of labor and research
setting forth the experience of the
] I L :
phases of the insurance question.
| References to these aided greatly i'm
making clear the fundamental prin-
ciples involved and the remedies that
are open for the correction of exist
ing defects.
After referring to the fact that
Woodcraft was born in this vicinity
and that the members here have
therefore prior right in determining
the policy of the order. the speaker
went to the foundation upon which
the society is founded. This. he de
clared. is made up of brotherly love
and organization. In other words.
fraternity and business. The frater-
nal part. he showed. is sound in every
respect. but the latter involves in the
aggregate an obligation on the part
of the membership to collect and pay
to beneficiaries the sum of 81 100. O0O,-
900. This is one of the greatest con-
tracts ever undertaken. The defec-
tive portion of the foundation, the
governor claimed, is that which does
not compel the payment by each
member of the cost of his insurance.
FraternaI Insurance is Young.
Gnino hack tn the history nf other
fraternal insurance societies, the
speaker pointed out that it has been
but "a years since the system had its
birth, and owing To the shortness of
the time there is little wonder thai
perfection has not been attained.
Then he told of the crudeness of the
knowledge on the question that eN-
listed when the Woodmen society was
formed The fact that the society
had lived and thrived i'm the past was
shown to have been due to the main
tanning of p per cent increase an
nually in the number of members.
nearly all young and sound. y table
was. used to show that at the end of
10 years the addition of over 1,000,O0O
members annually will be required to
keep the order in it's present condi-
ton. DOuble-headerS were shown to
have proved disastrous in driving
away the younger members. \ syS-
tenn i'm which the old members are
taxed what their insurance actually
costs, it was made clear, would drive
out the men who have built and made
the order what it is.
Then the speaker exhibited the ia
II IL 70 h.
step rate and the table that had re-
ceived the recommendation of the re-
adjustment committee for small
reserve to take the burden from
shoulders of the older members. All
were explained with great clearness
and the head consul, while not de
claring in favor of any plan, asked
that the mbership instruct the del
egates to the next head camp at In
dianapolis to work for some plan that
will be adequate to place the order
upon a sound and safe basis that shall
insure it's perpetuity.
Director TaIbot's Address.
Director a. II. Talbot was the next
speaker. He said that he would not
attempt lengthy address in view of
the admirable manner in which the
head consul had presented the ques-
ton. However. he wished to MAKE
reference to the way in which the
sentiment in favor of some form of
read iustment has developed since the
Recommendation of the committee APP
pointed at the last head camp has
been made public. He believed that
80 per cent of the members now clear
ly see the necessity of increasing the
rates. Mr.. Talbot also entered a Vig-
orous denial to the allegation on TN"
part of some that the head ofhcers