Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-02
THE ROYAL BENEFIT-DRAKE CASE
Statement Of the Controversy on Be-
half of the Society.

To the Editor of The Evening Star:
The recent friction between the Royal
Benefit Society and the superintendent of
insurance has been productive of so much
correspondence between the society on the
one part and the District officials on the
other and of SO much newspaper comment,
that the not unnatural result has been that
there seems to be no little confusion in the
public mind as to the exact status and real
point of the controversy in the premises.
The superintendent, it will be recalled as
sumed to prohibit the society from contin-
uing to transact business in the District of
Columbia. In turn the society, through GER
tain of its officers, presented various charges
against the superintendent. and, while these
charges were pending, l stated its case to
the Commissioners for their attention with
out regard to the charges, and, following
my advice in the premises, the society
thereupon withdrew the charges from the
consideration of the Commissioners.
This action has been construed by some
a Vindication of the superintendent from
the charges in question. The society never
intended nor contemplated this construction
of it's action. 1t meant, and wishes to be
understood only as doing with it declared,
namely, as withdrawing the charges from
the consideration of the Commissioners. The
right or wrong, justice or injustice of the
charges are not now insisted upon, and the
Commissioners have been notified accord
ingly, and the Commissioners have been
asked to consider the company's case as
though those charges had not been made.
This IS the meaning and extent of the So
ciety'S action in the premises, and whatever
merit or demerit there may be in the
charges is not now a matter of concern to
any one involved The companys case is
before the Commissioners as though the
charges had not been de; that is ALL
The superintendent has assumed to deal
with the society as though it were subject
TO the provisions of sub-chapter 3 of the
Code of Law for the District of Columbia.
The societys position is that it is subject
only to the provisions of sub-chapter IL of
the code. AS stated by one of the Commits
sioners, the situation is simply this:
Sub-chapter 5, in section 655 of the code,
contains the following plain provision:
Nothing herein contained shall be held
to interfere with or abridge the rights of
or apply to any fraternal beneficial So
cities, orders or associations under the
act of Congress entitled AN act regulating
fraternal beneficial associations in the Dis
trict of Columbia approved March 3, 1897,
the provisions of which are embodied in
sub-chapter u of this chapter, except that
the superintendent of insurance herein
provided for shall be substituted for and
perform all the duties in said act of Con-
gress assigned to the assessor of the Dis
trict of Columbia
AS stated in this sub-chapter g. the pro-
visions of the act of March 3, 1897, above
noted. are embodied in sub-chapter II of
the code, which, by section 749, provides,
as to every fraternal beneficial association
that
"Such associations shall be governed by
this sub-chapter. and shall be exempt from
the provisions of insurance laws of the
United States relating to the District of
Columbia, and no law hereafter passed
shall apply to them unless they be ex-
pressy designated therein"
It is uncomfortable that any mind can
misunderstood these two plain declarations
of the law, or that anyone reading SUBJ
chapter and sub-chapter II together can
tor L.. ,%Jx ~{,,s<1 -
ternal beneficial associations in the District
of Columbia are governed by the provisions
of sub-chapter II. and by them exclusively.
These provisions of the law would seem
to make the society's position unanswer-
able: and it Is to this point that the atten-
ton of the Commissioners is asked, wholly
without regard to any charges that may have
been or may hereafter be presented against
the superintendent in respect of his appre-
hension and administration of the duties
Of his Office. HENRY r. DAVIS.