The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-07-30
.FRATERNAL MEN
 WELL PROTECTED
State Secret Benefit Societies in 1912 Had $96, 6,39O,9SS
 to Meet Contracts
BIG INCREASE IN BUSINESS
Remarkable Growth Along Gen eral Lines Shown By In-
 Surance Report

In the forty-e eighth annual report of the insurance department to Governor Baldwin, relating to secret or fraternal ton Mansfield says:
 ''In 1895 this state passed a, law giv- ing the insurance commissioner super vision of fraterna1 societies The prop oSition to give the commissioner super vision of these societies at that time met with considerable opposition. Since then the relation between the insur- ance apartments and these societies has been better understood and much more friendly.
 @In 1911 a bill called the Mobile Bi1l' was introduced into the legisla- ture, but no action was taken there on. This bill was the result of the joint action of the insurance coTnmis- sionens and representatives of 8 very large proportion of the fraternal soci- cities doing business in the United States. Last December some further amendments to the so-cal1ed Mobile Bill were made result of the joint action of the societies and the com missioners, and a new bill incorporat- ing those changes was prepared and came to be known as the New York Conference Bill This bill is in force in some twenty states, and by the ac- ton of our general assembly is now the law of Connecticut. No opposition thereto manifested itself at any time, and ga far as know the fraternaI so- cieties are in substantial accord as to its merits and operation. It differs from the law of 1895 in a few impor- tant particulars, among which are those requiring valuation of their cer- tihcates under certain conditions named in the act, and the establish naent of reserve funds
 ''In order to show the growth of the business of secret and fraternal socie- ties, have adopted the same general form of comparison as was used in the report for 1912. The first report under the act of 1895 was published June 10, 1896, based upon the business done dur ing 1895 by twenty eight societies. In the present report the statistics are based upon the returns of ffty-three societies. Since 1895 the assets have in creased from $50, SIS, ,e1S.4O to $110 295,- 804.14. On December 31, 1895, the sur plus of the reporting societies was 3D., 251, ,061.2 .24, whereas the balance to pro- tect contracts is $96, 390, ,938.50. To show the aggregate operations of the socie- ties reporting here, the following state ment covering their transactions for 1912 has been prepared by H. Pierson Hammond, the actuary of this depart ment.
 t'At the end of 1912 the total assets of the secret or fraterna societies un- der consideration amounted to $110- 295, 5,304.44, being an increase over 1911 of $14, ,919, ,348.35; the total liabilities were s1S, ,904, ,315.e4. an increase of $1,- 833, ,175-59 over 1911; the total balance to protect contracts was $96,SS0, ,9s8. 50, an increase of $1S.5s6, 172.76 over 1911; the number of members was 4,3S1, ATT, an increase of 32,669.
 ''The total amount paid by members in 1912 was $S S62, ,4s6.Ss more than in 1911; the income from all other sources in 1912 was $570, 257. .62 more than in 1911; the.total income for 1912 exceeded that of 1911 by $3,932, ,74451 The dis bursements show that the amount paid to members was $53, SIS. .24S.69, or $3, ,455, :, s74.e .e4 more than in 1911; the amount paid for expenses was $321.693.o9 more than in 1911, and the total disburse- ments were $s;6z7, ,74o.e1 greater than in 1911"