Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 January 1893 — Entrapped [ARTICLE]

Entrapped

A correspondent sends to the Youth’s Companion hn account of a rocent occurrence that carries with it its own lesson. A young man in a small town became a member of an “endowment” society—one of the mushroom “fraternal orders” of which there have been so many during the past few years. “Ye’ll never see yer money again," said spme of his friends, who thought he was"a fool to believe the promisos held out. “Oh, yes. I shall. You see." Sure enough, he did see it again. After paying out about S4O altogether, for admission and assessments, his certificate matured and he received SIOO. Then those who had sneered at him snd predicted (hat ho would lose all hastened to join so prospoious an order. They paid the first fee and one or two assessments, and then a court ordered the affairs of the concern to bo wound up. There was not on hand half as much money as would bo needed to pay baok to the members what they had invested, to say nothing of interest or profits. A part had gone io redeem a few certificates—lust enough to lure In new members; another largo part in comfortable salaries to the officers. Borne of the endowment societies have not yet heeomo bankrupt. But they are all founded on a fulso principle, and are sure to come to grief in the end. For they could keep their promises only in case a large proportion of their members became discouraged and dropped out Then, of course, the more promisos It keeps the sower will be the people to be discouraged, and thus the moro certain will be its failure to pay batik all its members. Beware of the man who promises you something for nothing.