The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-12-07
and hardwood floors and daily
baths?"
MODERN WoODMEN
INCREASE IN RATES
Last Fioht Against Il Will be Staged
at TrIennial Meeting to be
Held in Toledo.

ROCK ISLAND, ILL.,, Dec. 6.-Ths
final desperate battle between the
head camp officers and thu ranking
members Of the Modern Woodm On OF
America over the question OF an In
crease In the rates OF insurance IN
the order, which during the past two
years has been marked as the bitter
est struggle in the history Of fra
ternal orders in America, will be
fought out In the seventeenth trfen-
NAL meeting Of the ordsr at Toledo,
o., June 16, 1914. according to an
nouncement OF the executive counc
from the head camp oflicers here The
council having sat the date, is today
making preparations for the biggest
meeting in the history Of the order.
Fully 10000 members will attend,
drawn by the struggle which they
claim involves the very life Of the.
organization.
| in It's present form at the triennfAl
| meeting at Buffalo In 1911. Action
was postponed until the winter, when
SIP scial meeting OF the head camp
was held In Chicago, and readjust-
ment Of rates voted. All the rates
are higher than those hitherto pre-
! va.ling, and those for the older mem-
bsrs Of the order are three to n ne
times higher. Throughout the coun-
try, and especially in the state OF I'LL
nois, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri the
rates were strongly resisted. Several
/ test cases were brought In circuit
courts, resulting in injuncticns
against enforcement of the new rates
on the ground that they were not i'm
perative to the financial safety OF the
order, that since the benefits Of the
organization are mutual and recipro
cal, the rates cannot be enforced
without the consent OF the majority
Of the membership.
The head camp in the summer Of
1913 proposed referendum. submit
ting seven different rate plans FOL
the selection of the membership. Bu
the impression gained currency tina
the referendum was ruse, and ths
result was vote of less than one
, per snt of the members. The execu
tive council had been expected II
take some action on the question a
it's meeting here, but referred 1t Il
the triennial convention. Opponent
:. Of the plan declare the whole pro
posal was move to transform tn,
Insurance. plan of the order from fra
: ternal to "old line" They contsn,
that the question will never be sci
tied until this movement has bee
:. downed. and that this can be don
: only by removing the present hea
:, camp officers and "electing other
who represent the views of the m an
bership." This they will attempt {
: do at the Toledo meeting.
Though the city of Toledo will
:. fillsd with the WoaSmen, the votin
delegation will not be large. Fiv
hundred and fifty members OF th
head camps. Ave hundred member
of the local camp clerks association
! and delegates from the Forester
make up the convention proper. Sc
m onG in importance to the executiy
sessions OF the delegates will be til
Forresters drills, which head cam
officials here estimate will incluc
- five thousand uniformed m sn. Thes
to composed Of drill squads Of sixtee
5e to twenty men from each camp. W
ID live in tented city and maintai
n military discipline Before Tolet
n was awarded the meeting she was r
A" CURED to enter obligations to fu
ed nish a large parking place for IL
camp.
q. Six thousand dollars are to be 81
lg en- as prizes to the winning teams
* the drill United States army Office
lii