The news & observer., 1905-11-07
THE ROYAL ARCANUM.
DR.. j. Howell Way Gives His Views
About Fratcrnal and ''Old
Line" Insurance.

To the Editor:-AS a personal ad-
mirer of yours and an appreciatiVe
reader of your valued paper / have
more than once felt called upon with
in the past few months since the mat
ter of life insurance has been as prom
inent in the public eye, 10 gently chide
you for some inadvertent editorial ut
terance of yours as tending to show
that you, at times in your always earn
est zeal to espouse the cause of the
under dog in every fight, have appa-
rently exhibited q decided lack of in
formation relative to insurance affairs.
| am personally interested in both ''old
lire, and "fraternal", or lodge in
surance and am one of those indiVid-
uals who believe there is ample room
and abundant opportunity for both
kinds. There are able representatives
of the "Old line" system who it would
seem from recent reports are amply
compensated to care for their inter-
ests The "fraternals'' do not possess
treasures or such opulence. hence
their friends must rally To their sup
port without waiting for paid Sollcl-
tor to present their case.
In friendly spirit | wish to direct
your attention to some of the errors
contained in your leading editorial of
Friday last entitled IAN Unprece-
dented Outrage referring to the "sus-
pension of a council of the Royal Ar
canum at Wilmington. You stated 1t
practically rendered null and VOID
100000 of Insurance." This is not
the case. as every member of the
council is protected for thirty days
after the date of the suspension just
the samc-and as a matter of fact the
payments are always made only for
months insurance ahead in practically
all of the fraternal societies.
Now one not knowing of the meth
DDS of procedure of such societies
would imagine something dreadful had
happened because a council was SuS-
pended Those who read the regularly
issued monthly Bulletin" of the
Royal Arc2nuG1 know there are
number of councils suspended every
month-usually for not getting their
monthly payments . the treasurer Dy
the specified date. When this occurs
they simply hurry the money forward
and the council is acknowledgements
while there is a provision in the laws
IF the society protecting every member
of q suspended C"-0"il for thirty
days after the suspension of the coun-
ell by the Supreme Council.
Now I have no doubt the Whining
ton council VIII be reinstated long be-
forc the expiration of the thirty days
and no one will have suffered by the
suspension
You also note with qualification the
fact that 'Ex-Judge Purwcll, of Char
lotte, has instituted legal proceedings
against the officers who have adopted
rule greatly increasing the assess
ments," and add ''the matter ought to
be tested in the courts" | endorse
both propositions. 1t is most fitting
that a gentleman of the learned jurists
eminence and we'll known professional
erudition should bring such suit.
Friends of the order will thank the
Ex-Judge for 50 doing. Should the
Judgment of the courts favor the gen
tleman. it will be we'll for him and the
order that it was brought 10 the at
tention of the courts. On the other
hand should the decision favor the
Supreme Council of the Royal Area
mum, the well-recognized legal emil
nence of Mr.. BurWell will substanti-
ate the position taken by the Supreme
Council that they had the right to
adopt measures which, in their Judg-
ment were essential to protect the in
forests of the order and to ensure It's
permanency for the years to come.
Now. at the risk of being tedious,
hermit me to call your attention to
the facts relative to the raising of the
Roval Arcanum rates of assessment.
The Royal Arcanum is Massa-
chusetts corporation which began bus
mess in 1877. just at the close or a
ten-year period during which con-
siderable number of "old line life m
surance companies had gone to the
wall---some of them, too, with several
millions of dollars in their treasures.
At this time there were two other So
cieties writing life insurance on the
plan of monthly payments (the A. Q.
T. w. and the Is. of HI. Both OF
these other two societies were issuing
of protection on the pay
ment of a stated sum. each assessment
being the same for all ages up to
forty-ive The organizers of the
ROYAL Arcanum decided to start the
new society with a graded scale of as
for each age and to call for
the assessments only as needed to pay
death claims. From 1877 to 1897 for
twenty years this plan was pursued,
but the number of extra assessments
over and above one each month was
slowly but surely increasing. until In
1897 the number of assessments called
to the Supreme Treasury was II, The
Supreme Council of the order at this
time submitted to technical experts
their tabulated mortuary experience
and from that experience was devised
a table of rates which would, in the
opinion If these insurance experts
ensure the perpetuity of the Royal Ar
canum, prevent the cdlllnR Oh eAlId
assessments, and enable every member
of the order to know just what ne
would have to pay each year for his
projections But the plan failed to Sc
cure a required three-fourths vote OF
the Supreme Council. and after nearly
two weeks work upon this vital issue
the Supreme Council was compelled to
devise a table of rates which called for
considerable increase over the aver
age of the annual payments for the
previous twenty years of the order
existence This new rate OF assess
ment it was estimated would for
time yield actually more money IMAM
the probable death-rate would. require
for the payment of all death claims,
and it was ordered that the surplus
over and above the death CLAIMS
should be placed in an Emergency
Fund.
The announcement of the actlon OF
the Supreme Council raised storm OF
protest all over the country and IN
stead of making a net gain as usual
that year of something like 10 per cent
tho order lost several thousand MEM
herS. The law was enacted in May.
1898 and took effect the following
August. when it was officially an
all fI.xxf