The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1910-07-22
MACCABEES IN
SOUND SHAPE
EVEN LOSSES IN NUMBERS
MAKE FOR STRENGTH OF Or
DER-RUMoR OF TROUBLE
is DENIED.

In last Wednesdays Detroit Journal
was printed n dispatch from Port HUI
ron in which was given what purport- /
ed to be the story of the quitting of |
the state Of Minnesota by the Knights |
of the Modern Maccabees, that great |
traternal order that has made Port |
Huron noted among the states, with |
some observations on membership |
lapses and expense accounts.
Exception having been taken To that |
story a Detroit Journal correspondent |
visited the Knights of the Modern |
Maccabees headquarters in Port Hur-
on Monday, and was satisfied from the |
records and conversations with Great !
Commander Lovelace and Great Rec
ord Keeper Stay that the order Is not
financially irresponsible and that
there was nothing to the Minnesota
situation than n difference of opinion
as to what constitutes n liability. the
discussion over which was terminated
by Great Commander Lovelaces with
drawal of his request for a certificate
to do business i'm Minnesota.
Last year the Minnesota commits
soner of insurance made a ruling that
all the possible future liabilities on
our outstanding certificates, that call
for annuity payments to certin MEM
bers between 20 and IS years of age
should he charged on our books as
present liabilities said Great Com
mander Lovelace, who interspersed his
talk with reading of correspondence
with the Minnesota commissioner.
Explains Certificates.
1--WE formerly issued class of GER
tiGcates which provided that the hold
er on reaching the age of 20 years
should he entitled to annually draw
i ITO of the face of his certificate, for
Il eight years, the last 20 per cent, If
all the rest was taken out, being held
as a death benefit January l of this
year we had 436 of these certificates
outstanding, the last of which Will
run. if nothing happens to sooner ter
inmate Them until 1918. There is no
certainty that they will he continuing
liabilities. Many Will turn into death
benefits and be retired as such. To
have charged them on the books as
present liabilities would have given
the order the appearance of insolven-
CIV ana we would not take such q
statement which i'm our opinion would
have been false, as well as injurious
No other of the 81 states in which We
4 are established calls for such an entry
: on our books. No other state except
Z New York calls for any advance entry
: on our books of liability on this ac'
r count and New York goes no farther
s than to require that on January l o
r each year we enter as a liability tn
\ annuity payments to be made tina
\ wear. which we do. All the othe
@ states recognize that this liability II
e covered in the assessments and rates
: We were willing to charge up tn
present years liability for the Min
nesota report or to have the presen
= valte OF the certificates ascertaine'
by a competent accountant and charg
q cd as liability. AS the Minnesota com
missioner insisted on his position an
, we had only 426 members I'm Mime
sofa we concluded that fight in tn
, courts over the ruling was not advis
: able and so withdrew our application
for a Minnesota certificate"
Membership Showing.
i. what of the figures showing los
of membership"
a The loss is mostly i'm one class q
membership and Is healthy loss
all the time making the order stronge
= as a whole" said the great command
! err Formerly assessments were mad
irregularly and according to cost {
insurance. -Four years ago n chang
was made to the uniform standar
rate plan of the national fraterns
congress. but old members were per
mitted to keep i'm a class by them
: selves on the old plan. Under the oil
g plan the number of annual assess
n ments increases and consequent
, there are numerous lapses in thi
class. But in the standard unifoH
rate class there is a continuing mem
- bership gain"
i How do your expenses compar
&c with other orders?"
"Very favorably Our total allow
ance for salaries of officers is $3.50
y annually while the Foresters pay the
! head officer alone $4,000 year. OF
u total management expense is S1.1O p'
capita, while the average for all II
. orders I'm the national fraternal cor
: gress Is s1.S7 per capita"
on Feb. Of this year, lnsuram
Examiner Il. f. Englebert reported
Michigan Insurance Commission
Barry the results of examinations
the Knights OF the Modern IMaccabe'
made by him at intervals between Il
early part of November of last ye'
and the date of the report The co
rectness of all records, accounts al
procedure is attested. The examin
said among other things that the o
age and disability claims were q
checked and several hundred of q
claims were gone into thoroughly al
found TO be correct" The examin
said that the net increase in tot
membership in 1909 was Ss7, compa
ing with a 1908 decrease OF 5,1'
II frhcSo Go,,res show n large membc