Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-03-07
SEE Their DANCER
Younger Fraternai Insurance So
cieties Fighting Pro-
posed Laws
NOW BEFORE LEGISLATURE
Say Old Concerns Would Impose Re-
strictions They Could Not
Meet.

A gigantic war between two CON
crosses of fraternal insurance socie-
ties of this country, involving also
many similar independent organiza-
lions, has been begun. The scenes
of the biggest battles will be in the
Legislature of 40 states, in which uni
form insurance rate bill will be intro
duced this month. Two bills of this
| nature are now before the Illinois leg
stature.
The bill was framed at the dicta-
ton of the insurance commissioners
of many states. and was accepted at
a meeting last month of the executive
committee of one of the fraternal CON
| gresse5. The extent of the war will
| be realized by the statement that in
voIved IN this great fight are 200 fra
| ternal insurance societies. with G.0OO,-
| 600 members. who. with their beneffc-
iaries. number more than 1000. 0OG
persons. In the last SO years the fra
ternal system has paid to widows and
orphans $S0O,OOO.OOO in death bene-
fits
The two big fraternal congresses at
war are the National Fraternal Con
gress and the Associated Fraternities
| of America. The former is a much
| older organization. 1t was organized
in 1887, has more than t 100000 mem
| insurance and consists of Go societies.
| In 1900 this congress adopted a table
of rates declared to be the lowest that
could safely be used, but at the same
time the congress resolved that the
table should apply only to those or
ders not in the congress. The key
to this peculiar action was contained
in this expression used during the dis
cussion: -"Believing that such legis-
lation would be extremely valuable t.
our societies in preventing the unfair
competition of newly organized socie-
| ties"
So severely was the National Fra
t-rnal Congress criticised that at the
next annual session il resolved that
| the National Fraternal Congress ia
bles of rates should Apply also to or
| dCrs in the congress.
Divided the FratcrnaI system.
The adoption of the table of rates
and the attempt first made to foist it
upon the great body Of small organ
izations divided theE great fraternaI
system. In March, 1901. more than 40
of the newly organized societies not
connected with the National Fraternal
congress assembled in Chicago and or
ganiZed the Associated Fratenities of
America. AS the orders in this con
gross are comparatively young they
represent an aggregate membership
OF approximately 100000. These or
ders paid benefits in 1904 aggregating
500, 100000
The two congresses, however, con-
tain only a little more than half the
entire number of societies. Many or
ders not affiliated with either congress
take marked interest in all that affects
the welfare of the fraternal system.
But the Associated Fraternities of
America is the body that will aggres- |
sively lead in the opposition to the |
uniform bill. Its president. w. r. Ed |
son. has issued a Warning to Frater- |!
nalists," and is sending it broadcast !
into all states. He says:
The representatives of the Associa- /
ted Fraternities of America who at
tended the join conference held in
New York Jan. q and IS refused TO
sign or accept the so called commit
tees bill dictated by the insurance
commissioners committee and signed
and accepted by the executive COM
mittee of the National Fraternal con
gTess.
Shall the old line life insurance /
companies dictate the laws to govern
your society through the state insur
ance departments or shall we stand /
for true fraternal principles by de-
handing that the government of our
societies shall be vested in the mem
bership? The adoption of the Ma
tional Fraternal congress table of
rates in the states of Indiana, Tennes
sec. Ohio, Massachusetts and Maine
has deprived three-fourths of the so
cieties of this country of the right TO
DO business in any Of the above
states"
Radical Changes.
The uniform bill of the insurance
commissioners and the National Fra
ternal congress contains several radi-
cal changes, while the bulk of the
bill reads. abOut like the present law.
One change of a serious nature would
give the insurance commissioner such
authority that he may or may not
grant an annual license
One section is drawn in such a man
aer that a state insurance commission
er may be able to construe il as giving
him the power 10 value a society, but
most important of all will be sections
II and Il. which, if enacted. will es-
tablish the National FTaternal con-
gress table of rates as the standard or
minimum rates in all states. The As
ISOLATED Fraternities of America will