Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-07-30
ASSESSMENTS INCREASED
New Rate Plan Adopted by Maccabes
 Convention.

Hartford, July 30.--Jolln F. John- son Of this city has returned from tne convention of the supreme tent. hniglts of the Maccabees of the World, which opened in Detroit, Mich.
 on Tuesday of last week and continues to Tuesday of this week. Mir Johnson
 attended in the capacity of picket of
 the supreme tent
 The order of the Knights of the Mao
 cabees is the third largest of the fra
 ternal insurance orders in this couu-
 try and there are about 3 900 members
 in this state. As the Connections
 membership of the order is large and
 as the other fraternal insurance orders
 in this state also have large member ships. the business of the convention is
 or considerable interest here. Perhaps the most important bust
 ness of the convention is the increase
 Tn rates which was considered. There
 were about 800 members of the
 Knights of the Maccabees from tiiffer-
 eHt sections of the country in Detroit during the convention, protesting
 against an increase in view of the fact
 that the supreme tent has surplus or over $4.OO0,000 which is constant ly Increasing. These protesting me1n-
 bers, however, did not have a vote i'm the convention, but they, held meetings and invited D F. Markey, the su- pren1e commander. to meet with them. He declined the invitation. A resolu- tion adopted by the protestin0 lnem- bers was submitted to the convention. which voted to give them hearing by allowing one of their number to appear The voting strength of the convention was about 100. which in- cluded about 75 elected delegates and officers of the supreme tent.
 The age limit for membership in the Knights of the Maccabees is 51 years. Mir Johnson said yesterday that the table of assessment rates will remain as now until member reach es the age of 55 years, and then he will be required to pay $3 an assess ment on each $1.O00 of insurance he carries. This is known as the age- limit plan. All present members of the order who now object to paying S3 for each $1.000 of insurance on reach ing the age of B years, may take ad- vantage of the 1ife-benefit plan by making application on or before De- cember 31. This plan provides for a new table of rates. The member who goes in on this plan is re-rated under the amount provided for in the table at the age when he became a member of the order. It was said in the con- yention that member who adopts the whole-life plan can be assured of twelve assessments a year without any prospect of his rate ever being inc creased. A man accepting the whole life plan who now pays 60 cents for each $1,0O0 at each assessment will pay $1 an assessment for each $1, GOO of insurance.
 Heretofore the order has taken 10 per cent of the amount raised for the mortuary fund by assessment of it's members, for the payment of manage ment expenses, but in the future all money raised by assessment will go into the fund and each member will be assessed 10 cents month as a per capita tax. for the purpose of paying the management expenses. Tn addi- tion. fraternal tax of 90 cents year will be levied against all members to help out the older members of the or der.
 Men in the employ of steam rail- roads, because of the character of their employment, are barred from in the future Prior to the convention they were accepted as members on payment of 30 cents an assessment in addition to the amount fixed by the table of rates.