Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-10-31
Entertainment and Dance Given
by Lodge at Carse
Hall.
BY MR.. RExDALE
Tells Of Growth OF the Order
Songs and Recita-
tions.

eficiary society, which has its SUI
preme office in Rock Island. 1t was
the occasion of the monthly social,
entertainment and dance, and like its
predecessors was productive of a
| highly enjoyable evening. Henry Kra-
mer acted as chairman and introduce
ed the program.
| After a piano solo. Convent Bells"
had been finely rendered by Miss
Blanche Root, the chairman introduce
ed Robert ReXdale, supreme secretary
and one of the founders of the order.
who made Il characteristic speech of
welcome, and told his audience the
story Of fraternity upon which the
| Fraternal Tribunes, as society hay
ing modern ideas, Lased its claim for
! public interest when the order was
chartered in 1897.
The rates of the Fraternal Trib-
unes." said Mr. ReXdaIe, were estab-
| lished at the orders birth nearly sew
en- years ago and at Il time when al
most all other orders in the field were
making great point Of what they
called the 'cheapness' of their insur-
ance. Having then no love for rates
so high as ours, the representatives
of other societies had few words of
encouragement for the newcomer in
he field. Our offense was in preach
ing the doctrine for a higher cost of
insurance than the standard set by
the post norton societies that did
not believe in the reserve fund idea.
But the Tribunes kept the even
tenor of their way, waxing stronger
as the years went by, and cheered on
by the knowledge that some day the
scales must fall from the eyes of the
others. That hope has been more
than realized since 1897, and | need
only refer to the changes that have
taken place in the Ancient Order of
United Workmen. the father of all
fraternals, in the Modern Woodmen
of America. the largest order in eX-
istence, and by lesser societies too
numerous to mention. The sentiment
in the fraternal world that made the
changes possible is deserving of moth
ing but praise, and, in my opinion, is
the best argument that can be adduc-
ed for the perpetuation of the benc
ficiary system.
Protection for Home.
Il am firm believer in the thought
that fraternity and business should
go hand in hand in any system devised
for the mutual insurance of human
life. That is to say. ! am a believer in
the lodge system and what the lodge
stands for. Fraternity has the record
of paying each week $1.0OO.OOO into
American homes. 1t is a stupendous
achievement, when one stops to think
about it.
Mr.. Carnegie and Mr. Rockefeller,
by generous use of their millions in
esta blishing libraries and endowing
universities, have done Il grand work
for the intellectual life, and press and
pulpit unite in hailing them benefac-
tors of the race. But for the last 80
years fraternity in its own unobtru
sive way. and with no praises from
the rich and great, has been eXpend-
ing its millions for the protection of
the widowed and the fatherless. The
records show that more than $500,000,
600 has thus been paid through fra
ternaI cooperation in the interest of
home and loved ones.
'Fraternity's monuments of great
ness are not stately piles of stone and
mortar, not long lines of shining
books, not gold-endowed professor
ships, nor are its praises sung in the
sacred precincts Of the cap and gown.
1t has no place in the thought of mil
lionaires and makes no claim upon
their bounty or generosity. The hun
dreds of millions it has disbursed do
not represent profits derived from gil
gantic combinations. or from Il mo-
nopoly of the earth's products, but
from money that has come from the
masses who toll with brain and Drawn
to keep a shelter over wives and little
ones. Fraternity's monuments are the
modest homes. protected at the MEM
ber's death, that dot the landscape in
every state in this broad land, and the
sentiment they inspire seemingly
brings us to that time when
'AlI mems good shall be each mans
rule,
And universal peace lie like shaft of
light across the land
Or golden globes athwart tie sea,
Through all the cycles of the chang
ing year
Growth OF Fraternity.
1.-The system of fraternaI effort,
while no longer young, shows no sign
of senility or decay. but each year. in
the glare of light as fierce as that
which beats upon throne, it takes to
itself some lesson learned from past
experience. Membership has multi
Piled into the millions. and still the
people have need of fraternity. HUI
manity ever keeps pace with the adj
vancement Of years; the luXuries of
today become the necessities of to-
necessities, the need of life insurance
is obvious, and to get it at cost with
ing the average means. measured by
what a man earns in daily toll, it is
equally obvious that the people must
look to fraternity. Men are crying
new lamps for old, hoping to find
Aladdins treasure-the wheels are
turning always, wheel within wheel