Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 February 1909 — A Dangerous Insurance Measure. [ARTICLE]

A Dangerous Insurance Measure.

The bitterness of the tld line Insurance companies aga'n't the fraternal insurance organ isations has long been known and t ey have no opportunity to beltle, falsify and hinder the fraternal organlzati ns Especially has their attack been directed against the Modern Woodmen of America, because that order h..s been most successful in maintaining a low rate and has met with £ sped "l promptness every death among its benificiaries during ti e yeqrs of its existence. The Modern Woodmen is esse itia’ly the insurance order of the man in moderate circumstances who de-ires to protect his family and those dependent on him, and who would be unable to carry insurance at the rates charged by the old line companies. Its members are the good citizens of evrey community who labor hard to succeed and who accept as a blessing the opportunity to protect their loved j ones at a very moderate rate. The order is secret and embodies framer- j nal teachings that are woithy the highest respect that bind the min' e s together for common good. Upper- 1 most in the teaching is held the duty of a man to those dependent upon him and it is impossible for a man to be a good Woodman and not i feel a loftier motive in life. But, the old line insurance companies I many of them, care nothing for the , welfare of the dependent ones; their ebject is greedy and their lust for gain at any sacrifice. Many of the agents, we are sorry to say, are likewise tempered and solicitors here in Rensselaer have belitt’ed fratr nil insurance end made gross misrepresentations about the Woodmen in their efforts to get insu' ance. These remarks are not directed against the old line companies in su h a manner as to discredit the value of old l'no insurance, and the writer 1 is a firm believer in that kind of protection and investment, but it is I out of The reach of many who do ] not want investment insurance, and | who can carry thrice the protection i for their dependants with less cost in I the Woodmen ban they can in tie ©ld iine companies. Old line insurance can not be diseredited. E very man that is able to carry it should do so, but with the j fraternal insmance, what is to be-j come of :Le families of the men who 1 most need, protection? The Moctm Woodmen of America is no new o; ganization. It has be?n ! doing business for more than a • quarter of a century, and while it j has gone ahead and paid all its honest losses wth brotherly love prompt- 1 ness, and can show a reco d cf faith w ith its policy holders better than can be exhibited by any other insurance company in the world, other companies organized for greed have failed and have dragged into 1 their nets many confiding investors. During the same period the old companies, many of them, have been investigated and their methods of avarice exposed, and there is not a policy holder in the country today who is not himself interested as a I stockholder in one of tl ese companies j who does not believe that the annual premium he is charged is more than it should be. He believed it because he knows that many of the officers of the old line companies are paid fabulous sums for the services they render, and all along the line there Is a chain of extravagant, expense that is charged up to the policy hold-* era. Here in Rensselaer, less than a year ago, William Smith died. He was a Woodman; and during his long sickness his lodge craftsmen from Mt. Ayr made up a fund to assist his alable family. They brought the money here and presented it to the wife in a spirit of brotherly affection. Did any one ever hear of the members of one of the old line companies thus aiding a brother’s family? William Smith died, and his wife received the full amount of his insurance, $2,000. S ave for the Woodmen siie would have been left destitute and a charge to relatives or friends. And now the old line companies, hacked by the actuaries who profess to establish that their mathematical calculation Is a better rate basis than the Woodmen's years of practice, are urgjflg various state to pass laws that will establish a minimum rate by which these companies can insure their membership. We are wondering what the old com- I panies would do If the states were to pass a maximum rate that would reduce the premiums of their companies. The Woodmen order stands ready to Increase its assessments whenever It beoomee necesary, and It has never made an error In the management of Its business, hat it Is opposd to having laws framed by Its enemies, the effect of which would pot It out of s>.£oo,ooo In surplus. Invested In the most approved securities and Is as pond today aa the Rock of Gibraltar. ▲ petition Is being circulated In Us—ilsir and will be mailed after

it has beep, signed by members of the local camp, to Senator Halle k and Representative Brown urging them to watch out for any measure calculated to injure the Woodmen and help to defeat any bill that would make It impossible for the members o fraternal organizations to protest theii loved ones as cheaply as they now do.