Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1925-03-06

savings that dwindle and at last ar
gone, and OF bills, doctors bills, gro
Gerry bills, rent bills, accommodating
! Can you imagine how the gloom il
! the household would life if an Eagle
committee walked stoutly in eacl
week bearing money to meet the
needs and the Eagle doctor called a:
often as the patient required and nc
mention was made or thought held
of what it would cost?
"The Benefit fund that protects
the sick Eagle is rigidly safeguarded.
Our laws specify that certain per
centage OF the dues must go into the
Benefit Fund These laws require
further that the Benefit Fund can
be used for no other purpose than
the payment Of sick and death bene-
fits, except ii be investment in Sc
curities that can quickly be convert
ed into full cash value. In the years
1888, the Nation passed through
the greatest epidemic in the history
of the country. The Fraternal Or
der of Eagles lost thousands of mem
bers through influenza and had up
on its Aerie sick lists tens of thou
sands of men. Yet not a single fun
eral benefit, not single sick claim
was defaulted. Every Aerie against
which such claims existed, paid the
claims 100 per cent on the dollar.
Since its organization twenty
seven years ago, there has been paid
out in sick benefits to our members
$27,153,53S. For funeral benefits
$5,2S1,993, and for medical services
$S,610,727 total of 41,046,259.
There my friends, in those fig
ures, you have the brick and mortar
of our fraternity. Added to this
are individual and unrecorded char
tiles without number, where the
Aerie has learned through the many
channels of brotherhood of some |
special need and promptly |
met it out off other Aerie funds. The
iues are not much, but they go
ong way when pooled in an Aerie
treasury.
Now, on the foundations that /
nave described, the f. o. e. has be-
run to rear another structure, very
in conception, whose spires
md pinnacles have caught the sun
light of public approval. This is
he Old Age Pension Movement. In
o this social reform the Order has
brown all its splendid and gallant
trength. In their intimate contact
18th human needs, the more thought
ul ones have had 1t borne in on
hem that next to being sick and
funds, the most pitiable
light in life is to be old and with
ut funds. The poorhouse looms sim
sterly for more than two million
f humble workers who never have
cen paid more than enough to meet
he simplest daily needs and who as
hey approach 45, SIS, SIS see the door
the factory, the shop, and the Of
ce closing, inch by inch, on their
sar-drawn faces.
This is not sentiment!
"Innumerable investigative COM
Iissions of the State legislatures
ave collected experience data show
~ conclusively that poverty In old
ge is on the increase and not to be
scrfbed to any personal Sinking of
uty, but is chiefly due to the prac-
ce in industry of scrapping the
orker grown too old.
Our campaign to secure justice
,r aged workers was begun three
ears ago when the Grand Aerie of
ne F. o. e. appointed a National
Id Age Pension Commission and
appropriated to its use
he interest, amounting to a sub
antial number of thousands OF dol
RS annually. on a permanent fund
I the Grand Aerie. The plan of
he work has been to set the facts of
d age poverty before the public in
meetings, by the distri-
ltion of commanding literature,
Id by the enlistment of the major
arties and their candidates on the
de of legislation to establish old
ye pensions in each of the States.
this we have succeeded to such
! extent that we no longer have
ly doubt of the outcome. Three
ates now have old age pension
VS. In twenty-eix other States bills
e pending.
THE victory of the Old Age PEN
on in Montana, Nevada, and Penn
lvania has fired the Eagles with a
al that cannot die. Governor Jo-
phi M. Dixon, of Montana, in an
Idress to great gathering of
lgles following his signing of the
II uttered words that will live in