CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS THE GIFT OF THE UNITED TRANSPORTATION UNION Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924002330920 FRATERNITY A COMPILATION OF JHISTORICAIv FACTS AND ADDRESSES PERTAINING TO FRATERNALISM IN GENERAL AND THE FRA- TERNAL SYSTEM IN PARTICULAR. HELPFUL AND TIMELY SUGGESTIONS FOR ORGANIZERS AND ADDRESSES ON VARYING OCCASIONS AND CEREMONIES IN BOTH LOCAL AND SUPREME BODIES. PUBI^ISHED BY THE FRATERNAL MONITOR Rochester, N. Y. 1910 COPYRIGHTED 1910 BY THE FRATERNAL MONITOR H c A3 INTRODUCTION It is not the purpose of this publication to set forth the origin of Fraternity or to follow the winding paths it has followed in its onward and upward progress. The subject is so broad and far-reaching that it would be pre- sumptuous to attempt to give more than a given phase of its adaptation and development within the covers of a single book. Those who would go deeper into the subject should betake themselves to the encyclopaedias or to those studies on sociology which may be said to run along par- allel lines. The origins, purposes and derivations of Fraternal- ism may all be said to, in a general way, hinge upon the conditions prevalent at such times. Adaptations and improvements have very properly kept pace with the ever- changing order of things. Fraternalism is a growth. The societies are all inter-related in one form or another and, therefore, that which is worthy of preservation in one organization possesses an interest for others operat- ing in what may be termed kindred fields. It is not claimed that there is anything new or original in this publication. Its purpose is that of reflecting the best fraternal thought and effort. The addresses repro- duced are intended to broaden the horizon of the fraternal view; to show what those who have stood on its watch- towers think of it and its possibilities ; to sound notes both of warning and encouragement to those upon whom the burden of proper representation may devolve, and to show to the world that Fraternalism is the embodiment of Humanitarianism. PROPERTY OF LJBRARY NEW YO»K STATE SCHOOL INDUSTRIAL AND LA50R RELATIONS CORNELL UNIVERSITY 4 FRATERNITY The Brotherhood of Man is the paramount cry to-day. Both the rich and the poor — the high and the low — are giving heed to its call. Fraternity is the rallying centre — the pivotal situation. If its exponents are alive to their opportunities — if they can give proof of the faith that is in them — the Cause of Man will rise to a higher and bet- ter plane. And, if this publication — setting forth frater- nal purposes and accomplishments — is of assistance in strengthening Fraternal Faith and increasing Fraternal Efficiency, it will have accomplished that for which it was intended. HISTORICAL SKETCH Reference to the fraternal societies of this country is necessarily of a general nature. Many of the organiza- tions not furnishing insurance as a special feature are so inter-related, or their data are so scattered, that anything attempting to give full and detailed information would require more space than can be here given to this subject. Only the principal societies are referred to. The circle of fraternal operation gradually widens as it extends down into those small local and special organizations which owe their existence to the general principle upon which fraternalism or co-operation rests. The various Masonic bodies in the Western Hemis- phere number over 2,000,000 members. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows have in their American organiza- tion, which is not in affiliation with an English order entitled the Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows, about 1,500,000 members. The Knights of Pythias have over 700,000 members. The Order of Good Templars have about 675,000 members. The Grand Army of the Repub- lic has 220,000 members. The Improved Order of Red Men has 475,450 members. The Woman's Relief Corps — an auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic — has about 170,000 members. The Order of the Eagles has over 300,000 members. The Ancient Order of Hiber- nians numbers about 325,000 members. The United Con- federate Veterans has approximately 75,000 members. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks has over 300,000 members. Such other organizations as the United American Mechanics, the Sons of Veterans, the 6 FRATERNITY Ancient Order of Foresters, the Foresters of America, the Ancient Order of Druids, the Knights of the Golden Eagle, and many others, may be safely estimated to have at least 2,000,000 members, so that the entire membership of the many fraternal societies not furnishing insurance as a special feature may be approximately given at 9,000,000. What are known as the fraternal beneficial societies — those furnishing insurance as a special feature — ^have a membership of approximately 8,000,000. They are receiving new members at the rate of one million a year and their net increase may be safely computed at from three hundred to four hundred thousand members annually. The- amount of insurance protection they carry approximates the stupendous total of $9,000,000,000, and they are paying about $100,000,000 each year to the bene- ficiaries of their members. Their assets are nearly $150,- 000,000, and the movement begun a number of years ago in the way of determining by actuarial computation the present value of their future liabilities has resulted in a rapid increase in such assets. Since organization these societies have paid fully $1,500,000,000 in benefits. If to this total are added the benefits paid by the social societies for sickness and tem- porary relief— this sum approximates $500,000,000— it will be seen that during the comparatively brief period of about forty years the fraternal system has disbursed to its members and their dependents the tremendous sum of $2,000,000,000. This work may very properly be said to be in its infancy and, therefore, it is but safe to assume that succeeding years will show even greater results as to the amount of good done members and their depend- ents. FRATERNITY 7 With these general statements as setting forth the vast- ness of the fraternal system and the important part it is destined to play in working out economic, and social con- ditions, the case as to the standing of the system and the proportions it has attained is rested. The succeeding pages will be devoted to addresses delivered by the great fraternal thinkers and speakers of the past few years. These, coupled with carefully prepared papers setting forth fraternal needs and purposes, cannot but constitute a great source of inspiration for those who may be called upon to address fraternal bodies and gatherings on reg- ular and special occasions. It has been the central purpose in the compilation of the material herein submitted to have it cover as wide a range of fraternal operation as is possible. To this end addresses of an upbuilding, admonitory and encouraging nature are reproduced. In addition, there are other topics considered and, all in all, it is believed that the following pages will be found to be a fair presentation of what fraternalism is, what it can do and why it has won for itself such a strong place in the affections and confidence of the people. AMERICAN FRATERNITY A. CHISHOLMj OTTAWA, ONTARIO Far-reaehing and masterful have been the forces and influences which have laid the foundations and reared the pillars of American brotherhood. Its main strength lies in those elements which weld communities into a compact and harmonious aggregation. "There are some words," writes Henri-Frederic Amiel in his "Journal," "which have still a magical virtue with the mass of the people; those of State, Republic, Country, Nation, Flag, and even Church." These words apply with peculiar force to every State in the American Union. The mottoes of its forty- eight states loudly proclaim the principle and spirit of true brotherhood. In Pennsylvania's state m.otto, "Virtue, Liberty, and Independence," there are equal rights for every honest and law-abiding citizen. In Georgia's motto, "Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation," there are liberties and privileges for all men, regardless of creed or class. In Missouri's and Kentucky's watchword, "United we Stand, Divided we fall," there is sounded a note of loy- alty and fellowship which rings true to the death. In the motto of Delaware, "Liberty and Independence" ; of Ver- mont, "Freedom and Unity" ; of lUinois, "National Union, State Sovereignty"; of Louisiana, "Justice, Union and Confidence" ; of Nevada, "All for Our Country" ; of Ore- gon and Idaho, "The Union"; of New Jersey, "Liberty and Prosperity" ; of Florida, "In God We Trust" ; and of Dakota, "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable" ; — in all these mottoes there rings out clearly and distinctly the one dominant keynote of staunch and steadfast brotherhood; a brotherhood that ever seeks to 10 FRATERNITY uphold and defend the right, to help the helpless, uplift the down-trodden, and render equal justice to all. The literal fulfillment of these mottoes of justice and equity, fraternity and freedom, will prove a wall of fire around the people who practice and profess them. The principles they enunciate have ever dominated the lives of America's greatest citizens, and proved the strongest bulwarks of their rights and liberties. It was in the spirit of these mottoes of the States that America extended a welcome to the millions who flocked to the World's Fairs at Philadelphia, Chicago, Buffalo and St. Louis, for these exhibitions voiced, in a peculiar sense, the sentiment of American cordiality, hospitality and fraternity. It was in this spirit of friendship and fraternity that Britons and Americans gathered at the Jamestown Exhibition, a'nd bade the world behold the golden fruitage and the imper- ishable triumphs of three hundred years of Anglo-Saxon brotherhood and Anglo-American supremacy. About thirty-five years ago there gathered in the city of Philadelphia a vast multitude from every land to behold what was probably, up to that time, the most remarkable of World's Fairs. Waving above the noble pile of exhibi- tion buildings might be seen the flags of all nations, and high over all floated the ample folds of the Star Spangled Banner. Underneath this banner the psople of every "nation received a greeting which proved the depth and wholeheartedness of America's welcome. That welcome from the American people had in it the warm throb and thrill and firm grasp of American brotherhood. Seventeen years ago, again on American soil, there assembled from all nations, people of every tongue to behold in the city of Chicago a world's fair greater and more wonderful than that which dazzled the millions which in 1876 flocked to the Quaker City. These peoples from every nation came hither to witness contests that FRATERNITY 11 drew no blood, competitions which dealt no wounds and inflamed no passions ; but rather to behold a rivalry whose noblest aims and triumphs were those of peace and good will. Once more to the people of every land America extended the hand of friendship and hospitality, once more she displayed the ample evidences of her spirit of splendid brotherhood. At this Chicago Fair of 1893 were heard voices that spoke for the world's joy and for the world's good ; voices that rang out clearly their messages of peace, their brave words of liberty, independence and freedom; voices of manly courage, unshaken trust, high soaring faith; but strongest and bravest of all were the voices that spoke in the World's Parliament of Religions for the Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God. Such words as came from the lips of men like Hon. Charles Carroll Bonney, President of the World's Congress Auxiliary, Rev. John Henry Barrows, D. D., the Chairman of the General Com- mittee on Religious Congresses, Dr. Schaff, and Dr. Pen- tecost, can never be forgotten by those who heard them. Some of these words have been carried to every corner of the earth to keep aglow the fires of world-wide friendship and fellowship. These voices in the Parliament of Relig- ions struck the chord of universal peace and good will, and not the least impressive among them was that of the Rev. Dr. Frank Bristol, who in one of his addresses said : Since this Parliament opened all thoughtful, serious men have been living in a larger world of faith and hope. Little things have been diminishing, and great things have been grow- ing greater. . . . Never was there such a bright and hopeful day for our common humanity along the lines of tolerance and universal brotherhood. And we shall find that by the words these visitors have brought to us, and by the influence they have exerted, they will be richly rewarded in the consciousness of having contributed to the mighty movement which holds, itself, the promise of one faith, one Lord and Father, one Brotherhood. 12 FRATERNITY At this notable gathering Spain found eloquent repre- sentation in Pastor Fliedner, of Madrid. He was grateful to America for the reception she had given to him and his countrymen ; he had met with kindness and friendship on every hand; and these are the words in which he expressed his gratitude to the American people : From Spain, which discovered America, I tender a farewell greeting to those who have made America what it is to-day; to the sons and daughters of .the Pilgrim Fathers who left their homes in England and Scotland, in Holland and Germany, and came to this country and here estabhshed liberty from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Shore ; to them I say farewell. They brought liberty to America because they knew the fountain of liberty, even the liberator of mankind, the author of the brother- hood of man, yea, God manifest in the flesh, light of freedom shining into the darkness of slavery. Spain has been down- trodden for centuries by ecclesiastical and political oppression, but now it has regained liberty, and therefore it says its farewell, rejoicing that it is free in that freedom with which Christ makes all men free. God bless free America. Not less impressive and memorable were the words tittered by Dr. Barrows, the Chairman of the General Committee on Religious Congresses, at one of the meet- ings of the Parliament. Dr. Barrows laboured day and night for the success of the Congresses, and his person- ality was everywhere and at all times in evidence. In the following utterance he conveyed to his hearers the real message and meaning of the Parliament which had brought people together from every part of the^ivilized world : I thank God for the friendships which, in this Parliament we have knit with men and women beyond the sea, and I thank you for your sympathy and ever generous appreciation, and for the constant help which you have furnished in the midst of my multiplied duties. Christian America sends her greetings through you to all mankind. We cherish a broadened sympathy, a higher respect, a truer tenderness to the children of our common Father in all lands, and, as the story of this Parliament is read in the FRATERNITY IS cloisters of Japan, by the rivers of Southern Asia, amid tht universities of Europe, and in the isles of all the seas, it is my prayer that non-Christian readers may in some measure ^dis- cover what has been the source and strength of that faith ia divine fatherhood and human brotherhood which, embodied in an Asiatic peasant who was the Son of God and made divinely potent through Him, is clasping the globe with bands of heav- enly light. In the two volumes edited by Dr. Barrows which tell the complete story of the World's Parliament of Religions, one sees a work of monumental industry. It is a work every page of which glows with the flame of world-wide- fraternity ; and no silver trumpets of peace ever rang out to the world a clearer note than is heard in almost every sentence of the sixteen hundred pages contained in these two volumes. The address of President Bonney was one of the most memorable delivered at the Parliament. He spoke to all peoples and for all time when he said, in rela- tion to the meetings of the Congress, "What many men deemed impossible God has finally wrought. The religions of the world have actually met in a great and imposing assembly ; they have conferred together on the vital ques- tions of life and immortality in a frank and friendly spirit,, and now they part in peace with many warm expressions of mutual affection and respect. . . . And now fare- well ; a thousand congratulations and thanks for the co-operation and aid of all who have contributed to the glorious results which we celebrate this night. Hence- forth the religions of the world will make war, not on each other, but on the giant evils that afflict mankind. Henceforth let all throughout the world, who worship God and love their fellowmen, join in the anthem of the angels: 'Glory to God in the highest; peace on earth,, good will among men.' " To the success of the Chicago World's Fair the lady delegates from the United States and Great Britain con- 14 FRATERNITY tributed in no small degree. By voice and pen, by precept and example they gave to the exhibition the full strength of their personality. Some of them displayed a tact and administrative genius which were alike the praise and admiration of all with whom they came in contact, while both in speech and in verse they manifested an intellectual stature rarely surpassed at any one of the congresses. Memory recalls- the Commemoration Dedicatory Ode from the pen of Miss Harriet Monroe of Chicago, in which the forces that have made for America's greatness and brotherhood are recounted, and in which she tells the world how, — Clan on clan, The embattled nations gather to be one, Clasp hands as brothers 'neath Columbia's shield, Upraise her banner to the shining sun. Along her blessed shore One heart, one song, one dream, — Man shall be free forevermore, And love shall be supreme. Others will recall the poem on "The World's Parlia- ment" composed by Laura Ormiston Chant, which proved that while some of the women of the Parliament could delight great audiences by their powers of speech, others were able to entrance their hearers by the spell of their verse. But speech and song alike at the Chicago World's Fair breathed the all-pervading note of brotherhood. The address of Mr. H. Dharmapala, of Ceylon, of David James Burrell on "What Christianity has wrought for America;" of Shaku Soyen on "Arbitration Instead of War ;" of Dr. G. D. Boardman, on "Christ the Unifier of Mankind," and at least a hundred other addresses on topics bearing on Christian unity and fellowship — all struck the key-note of American brotherhood and world- wide fraternity. Said Mr. Boardman in part : — FRATERNITY 15 Every human being in distress, and whom I can practically help, whether he lives in Chicago or Pekin, is my neighbour. As a matter of fact the locomotive and the steam engine and the telegraph are swiftly making all mankind one vast physical neigh- bourhood. . . . Now do you not see that when every human being — ^American, Asiatic, European, African, Islander — regards and treats every other human being as his own neighbour, all mankind will indeed become one blessed unity. If ever great and notable event in the history of a nation gave true expression to 'the pulsations of humanity and fraternity throbbing in the blood of the people, that event was the dedicatory celebration of the Chicago Exhi- bition. The dedicatory ode of Harriet Monroe, the dedi- catory oration of Henry Watterson, of Kentucky, the Columbia oration of Chauncey M. Depew, the inaugura- tion speech of Archbishop Ireland, (in many respects an unmatched production,) and the noble utterances of Mrs. Potter Palmer on behalf of the Women's branch of the World's Congress Auxiliary — all were vibrant with the note of international goodwill, all gave imperishable expression to the soul and sentiment of American friend- ship and American hospitality. From Henry Watterson of Kentucky came words which voiced America's greet- ing to all the nations of the earth, and he did so in a manner which would have well become the lips of a Wen- dell Phillips or a Daniel Webster. Although it is now many years since that address was delivered, its enkind- ling forces are as strong to-day as they were at the hour in which they were delivered. Mr. Watterson said in part : — This vast assemblage speaks with a resonance and meaning which words can never reach. It speaks from the fields that are blessed by the never-failing water of the Kennebec and from the farms that sprinkle the valley of the Connecticut with mimic principalities more potent and lasting than the real; it speaks in the whirr of the mills of Pennsylvania and in the ring of the 16 FRATERNITY woodcutter's axe from the forests of the lake peninsulas; it speaks from the great plantations of the south and west teeming with staples that insure us wealth and power and stability, yea, and from the mines and forests and quarries of Michigan and Wisconsin, of Alabama and Georgia, of Tennessee and Ken- tucky, far away to the regions of silver and gold that have linked Oilorado and the Rio Grande in close embrace, and annihilated time and space between the Atlantic and the Pacific; it speaks in one word from the hearthstone in Iowa and Illinois, from the home in Mississippi and Arkansas, from the hearts of seventy millions of fearless, freeborn men and women, and that one word is "Union." There is no geography in American manhood. There is no section to American fraternity. . . We have come here not so much to recall by-gone sorrows and glories as to bask in the sunshine of present prosperity and happiness, to interchange patriotic greetings and indulge good auguries, and above all to meet upon the threshold the stranger within our gates, not as a foreigner, but as a guest and friend, for whom nothing that we have is too good. From wheresoever he cometh we welcome him with all our hearts, the son of the Rhone and the Garonne, our god-mother France, to whom we owe so much, he shall be our Lafayette; the son of the Rhine and the Moselle, he shall be our Goethe and our Wagner ; the son of the Campagna and the Vesuvian Bay, he shall be our Michael Angelo and our Garibaldi ; the son of Arragon and the Indies, he shall be our Christopher Columbus, fitly honoured at last throughout the world. . . . All nations and all creeds be welcome here; from the Bosphorus and the Black Sea, the Viennese woods and the Danube plains ; from Holland dyke to Alpine crag; from Belgrade and Calcutta, and round to China seas and the busy marts of Japan, the isles of the Pacific, and the far away capes of Africa— Armenian Chris- tian and Jew— the American, loving no country except his own, but loving all mankind as his brother, bids you enter and fear not; bids you partake of these fruits of 400 years of American civilization and development, and behold these trophies of a hundred years of American independence and freedom. These words of Henry Watterson fitly and eloquently represent the fraternal spirit of the American nation, and if any one should ever entertain a lingering doubt as to FRATERNITY 17 the sincerity and cordiality of that spirit, let the words of Henry Watterson silence his doubts for ever ; and let him find additional proof in the story of the Pan-American Exhibition at Buffalo, or of the still greater World's Fair at St. Louis, the magnitude and splendor of which have perhaps never been surpassed. Many pens have portrayed the dazzling scenes, the gorgeous displays, the innumerable wonders of American World's Fairs, but better than the magnitude and splendor of these historic exhibitions, better than the wealth and brilliance of their displays, is the heart of kindness that beats under American banners, the flame of loyalty that burns on the altars of American homes, and the blood of brotherhood that throbs in the veins of the American people. The strength and compass of American fraternity are seen in its deeds of Christian and fraternal benevolence; in the gifts that ennoble and uplift the citizenship of the country; in the vast sums which are given yearly in aid of the poor and suffering, in the cause of religion and education. America's chief glory lies not in her princely palaces, in her commercial triumphs, her scientific achieve- ments, or her colossal industries so much as in her abun- dant provision for the relief of the distressed, for the sup- port of the unfortunate in homes and hospitals, and in acts which have brought comfort, health and blessing to multitudes. These are and must ever remain the most enduring monuments of a country's greatness — ^this is brotherhood in its highest, noblest aspects. Washington gloried not more in a splendid victory of arms than in an act of kindness to a poor man. Lincoln's delight was not so much in the conquest of the South as in the emancipation of the slave. The angel of peace was to Lincoln a far more beautiful sight than the trjumphant gods of war. Jefferson, McKinley and Garfield be- 18 FRATERNITY queathed to posterity the heritage of a noble example, the memory of kind, brotherly deeds, and these are the most valuable, the most imperishable bequests that can be left to any people. Perhaps the finest spectacle in the whole Civil War was, that of Grant and Lee, at the end of the conflict, shaking hands with each other as brothers, as enemies no more. If we may judge great men by their words, uttered in the presence of many witnesses, or printed on the imperishable page, then would we like to judge William McKinley by the tribute he has paid to his predecessors in office. Of General Grant he once said : "He was great in life, majestic in death. He needs no monument to per- petuate his fame ; it will live and glow with increased lustre so long as liberty lasts, and the love of liberty has a place in the hearts of men." It is a trite saying that from admiration to emulation is but a step. It is certain that there was much in common between McKinley and Lin- coln. Both admired what was truly commendable and noble in manhood; both scorned to be mean, unjust,- unfair; courage flashed from every act and word in the lives of both men. Lincoln had no greater admirer than McKinley, who has said of him: — "Lincoln, the martyr of liberty, the emancipator of a race, may be buried from human sight, but his deeds will live in human gratitude for ever." And of Washington Mr. McKinley has also said: — "And so, too, will the nation Hve, victorious over all obstacles, adhering to the immortal principles which Washington taught and Lincoln sustained." McKinley and Garfield were alike in many respects. No two men ever loved their country more ; no two men would have sooner died for the honour of the nation and the glory of an unsullied, unstained banner. Both have uttered words which it is the delight of the young and old to repeat, and which will be quoted in the schools, acade- FRATERNITY 19 mies and books of the world until the end of time. Thei^e is nothing finer in the utterances of Lincoln or Garfield than the words contained in their inaugural addresses. In one of these McKinley said: — "Our faith teaches that there is no safer reliance than upon the God of our fath- ers, who has so singularly favoured the American people in every national trial, and who will not forsake us so long as we obey His commandments and walk humbly in His footsteps." The stately monuments which the American people erected to the memory of Grant and Lee have been looked upon and admired by millions, because they are the endur- ing embodiments of the nation's respect and gratitude ; but the following words from the lips of McKinley will last as long as the most enduring monument : — The army of Grant and the army of Lee are together. They are one now in faith, in hope, in fraternity, in purpose, and in an invincible patriotism. And, therefore, the country is in no danger. In justice strong, in peace secure, and in devotion to the flag, all are one. God bless and prosper the Atperican home and the American people. Upon these rest the strength and virtue and permanence of our nation, which we pray our heavenly Father to ever have in His sacred keeping. We are speaking to-day of the dead rather than of the living; but it may be said of one prominent living American, Theodore Roosevelt, that he has spoken in the language of fraternity to many nations, nations at war and nations at peace, with no uncertain sound. Benjamin Harrison was a really great man and one of the striking proofs of his greatness was his magnanimity. No man was ever more ready than Harrison to say a good word for another, and he knew Theodore Roosevelt better than most men. He pronounced him to be a forceful, ener- getic, and resourceful man of business ; but what he most admired in Roosevelt was his indomitable courage. "He is forceful to the backbone" wrote Benjamin Harrison of 20 FRATERNITY Roosevelt. . . . "there are many who believe that he is too aggressive, but Mr. Roosevelt makes strength of character an object. To him it is the deed and not the word ; the American people love a man who does things. They love a man of capability and honesty. Theodore Roosevelt is better known to every man, woman, and child, because he has always won his fights in the open, and not by secret scheming and combining with the oppo- sition." This is a remarkable tribute from one man to another. But we like best to think of Roosevelt to-day as our brother man ; as the true lover of peace and frater- nity. Herein we see him at his best. It was the fraternal element of his character that made him the peacemaker between Russia and Japan, that won for him the Nobel , Peace Prize, and that enabled him to perform one of the most splendid services ever rendered to the cause of inter- national peace. As we have tried to estimate William McKinley, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington by their own words, so would we like to measure the strength and character of the ex-President of the United States by the following notable passage from his own pen : — Finally, remember to stand for both the ideal and the prac- tical. Remember that you must have a lofty ideal as Abraham Lincoln had, and that you must try to achieve it in practical ways as he tried to achieve it during the four years that he lived and worked and suffered for the people, until his sad, patient, kindly soul was sent to seek its Maker. Remember, also, that you can do your duty as citizens in this country only if you are imbued through and through with the spirit of brotherhood; the spirit that we call Americanism. You can do no permanent good unless you feel, not only in theory, but also in practice, that fundamen- tally we are knit together by close ties, — ^the closest ties, — the ties of morality, of fellow feeling and sympathy, in its broadest and deepest sense. We cannot live permanently as a republic; we cannot hold our own as the mightiest commonwealth of self- governing free men upon which the sun has ever shone, unless FRATERNITY 21 we have it ground into our souls that we know no class, no sec- tion; that east, west, north and south, our people, whatever may be their occupations, whatever their conditions in life, stand shoulder to shoulder, striving for honesty, for decency, for all the fundamental virtues and morals that make good American citizen- ship. It was the passionate love of Wendell Phillips for all things manly, fair, and beautiful that made him the true nature's nobleman he was, and gave him such a supreme mastery over the minds and hearts of his hearers. It was his intense fraternity, embodied in golden words, which made his presence and his speech irresistible. What was said of John Knox can truthfully be affirmed concerning Wendell Phillips : — "He never feared the face of man." The oratory of Phillips displayed the polish of a Burke and the fire of a Webster. His patriotism blazed in almost every word; and he yielded to no man in love of the Arherican banner. His manhood had the strength of the lion and yet the gentleness of the lamb; but the best of Lincoln, the best of Jefferson, and the best of Washington, was also the best of Wendell Phillips, the kindly attitude of the man to all ranks and races ; and perhaps he never uttered nobler words than these : — I believe in the possibility of justice, in the certainty of union. Years hence, when the smoke of this conflict clears away, the world will see under our banner all tongues, all creeds, all races, one brotherhood, and on the banks of the Potomac the Genius of Liberty, robed in light, four and thirty stars for her diadem, broken chains under her feet, and an olive branch in her right hand. Thus did Wendell Phillips predict the "one brother- hood" of a day to come; and it is with such courageous ' heart and tongue that men like him have appealed to great audiences and swayed them as great tempests sweep the ocean billows. With such words of brotherhood did Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Webster move their 22 FRATERNITY countrymen to deeds of love and glory, to achievements of kindness and fraternity. In such words, and in such a spirit, have the best of the American poets sung their songs of freedom and patriotism, of liberty and independ- ence. In such strong and kindly voices have Longfellow and Lowell, Halpine and Stoddard, Whittier and Whit- man given to the world the inspiriting melody of their immortal verse. Theirs has been in speech, in song and in story the voice of true comradeship, the song of best brotherhood ; theirs the glad and sympathetic note which has cheered many a gloomy pathway, lightened many a heavy burden, and banished the clouds of darkest sor- rows. These voices of American brotherhood have helped men to win great victories in the struggle of life, and given heart and hope to many a despairing wayfarer. They have nerved the soldier in the long and dreary march and the sailor in his silent watches on the lonely deep. They have comforted the pioneer and the mission- ary in their weary marches through home and foreign lands ; and they have enabled men and women to fight more bravely than ever for their country and their coun- try's flag. American fraternity has inspired the spirit and the song of Memorial and Decoration Days, and recalled memories which have made beautiful the Hves of departed soldier and sailor. American fraternity has been a shield and refuge to the oppressed and the afflicted ; it has been a wall of fire around the widow and the orphan. It has presented object-lessons of love and tenderness to the nation's millions. It has taught men and women the wis- dom of forethought and thrift, and the noblest lessons of family life. American fraternity has helped to burst the shackles of slavery ; it has made the heart of the captive leap for joy, and throb with abounding gratitude to his deliverer. It has brought to the forsaken and disconso- late glad memories of home and fatherland. It has com- FRATERNITY 23 pelled men to do their best and bravest in the hour of peril and danger, and reminded them of the words con- tained in the national motto: "In God We Trust." It has also impressed upon the American people the true meaning of that message of comradeship which inspired the American poet Charles G. Halpine to write these noble lines : — Comrades known in marches many, Comrades tried in dangers many. Comrades bound by memories many. Brothers ever let us be. Wounds or sickness may divide us. Marching orders may divide us. But whatever fate betide us, Brothers of the heart are we. Comrades known by faith the clearest, Tried when death was near and nearest. Bound we are by ties the dearest. Brothers ever more to be. And if spared, and growing older Shoulder still in line with shoulder. And with hearts no thrill the colder. Brothers ever we shall be. By communion of the banner. Crimson, white, and starry banner, By the baptism of the banner, Children of one church are we. Creed nor faction can divide us Race nor language can divide us. Still, whatever fate betide us. Children of the Flag are we. 24 FRATERNITY ORIGIN OF FRATERNAL BENEFIT SOCIETIES BY C. H. ROBINSON Long before the dawn of history it was the custom of our savage and barbarous ancestors of the Teutonic, Cel- tic, and Gothic tribes, to indulge in funeral feasts, which often became wild orgies. The shadow of these primitive conditions remains in the "wake" for the dead, still observed to some extent. Some historians have formulated the theory that as the tribes became more intelligent and civilization advanced, these feasts, by process of evolution, became gilds in the nature of burial clubs, which, again, in the centuries of advancement, took on the features of benefit societies, substituting instead of the wild feast for the dead, a pro- vision for his decent burial, and a donation to his depend- ent family. Others have attempted to trace the origin of Frater- nals to the Roman burial societies, which certainly existed as early as the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, 117 to 128, A. D. ; thence down through the trades gilds which flour- ished throughout Christian Europe in the Middle Ages, and which, it is claimed, have had their final development in the Friendly Societies of England and the Fraternal Benefit Associations of America. For my own part, I am inclined to believe that such societies of the present day owe their origin neither to the funeral feasts of the savages, the burial clubs of the Romans, nor the trades gilds of the Middle Ages, but are of pure Anglo-Saxon origin, and arose from the same self-governing spirit which prompted the early organiza- tion of "Hundreds," the "Wiggengamote" and the Town Council composed of elders or aldermen. This spirit has FRATERNITY 25 been characteristic of the Teutonic peoples from the earli- est times. So long as the only social organization of the com- munity was that of the tribe and family, man's need for co-operation in securing his safety, his relief in case of misfortune and his decent burial at death, was satisfied by the family and tribal customs and laws ; but, as the tribes separated; as the Saxons, Angles and Jutes in England became commingled by blood and association with the conquered Danes, Britons and others who had preceded them as inhabitants of the country, the tribal governments were broken up and family relations dissolved by the dis- persal of the original families, and ties of actual kinship could no longer dominate the community. There were still, however, wants, social and economic and, to supply these, artificial kinships in the nature of sworn brother- hoods soon began to be organized ; and these subsequently developed into Gilds with rules for contributions and for benefits. Of the organization of the earliest of these brother- hoods or Gilds, no record has come down to our day, but it is certain that they existed in great numbers before there was a King of England, for they are recognized as established institutions in the books which contain the oldest of the relics of the English laws. The laws of Alfred the Great; of Ina, Athelstan, and Henry I., reproduce still older laws, the origin of which is lost in the mists of the past, but in the laws of these kings the existence of the Gilds is treated as a well known fact, and, in them it is taken, as a matter of course, that every one belonged to some Gild. In their inception, most of the Gilds were no doubt merely for conviviality and good fellowship. Social inter- course, however, almost invariably enlarges the human sympathies. The men who met together simply to crack 26 FRATERNITY jokes and sing songs over their beer, began gradually to feel some interest in the happiness and prosperity of each other. If one of their number suffered affliction, the charitable impulses of his more fortunate brethren were stimulated by the discussion that naturally grew out of the case ; and not merely sympathy, but substantial pecun- iary assistance was early afforded ; and thus, by progres- sive steps from humble beginnings, the great Friendly Societies of England and the Fraternal Insurance Organ- izations of America have been developed. These societies have done so much for their members by the befiefits conferred in sickness ; by increasing their self-respect and independence ; by death benefits paid to widows and orphans, thus decreasing the expenditures of public charity, and by general fraternal help, that they now have very strong claims upon the community whose interests they have so largely promoted. To suggest some of the evidence on which is based the opinion of the writer that the English Gilds are of pure Anglo-Saxon origin, and that they were the progen- itors of our modern Friendly Societies and Fraternal Insurance Orders, is the object of this paper. In its com- pilation I have been greatly indebted for the historical facts to the following authors: Mr. Toumlin Smith, whose work on the History of EngHsh Gilds, now out of print, I was so fortunate as to secure in London ; Mr. E. W. Brabrook, former Chief Registrar of Friendly Socie- ties, in his book entitled "Provident Societies and Indus- trial Welfare ;" and to the Friendly Societies Manual by Mr. Charles Hardwick. From all these works, as the best authorities on the subject to which I have had access, I have necessarily made lengthy quotations. While, as stated before, the commencement of the earliest gilds is lost in the dimness of the past, and remains quite unknown ; some very early ones have left records of FRATERNITY 27 their rules and customs which are available to the delver after origins. Indeed, the evidences of these societies in the old English (Anglo-Saxon) times, convincingly proves that the principle of association for mutual help in the affairs of life — commonly but mistakenly thought to be modern — is found, in name and in fact, in the English laws of nearly 1,200 years ago. It existed then, and has since continued a very living spirit in England and Amer- ica, through all the changes of age and circumstance, to the present time, and this spirit bids fair to greatly enlarge the scope of its beneficiary operations for the future. Among the laws of Ina, a Saxon king who reigned from 688 to 725 A. D., are two touching the liability of the brethren of a Gild in the case of the killing of a thief. Among those of Athelstan whose reign extended from 924 to 940, A. D., niay be found the following: "And we have also ordained respecting every man who has given his 'wed' (meaning initiation oath), in our Gildships, if he should die, that each gild-brother shall give a fine loaf for his soul, and sing fifty psalms, or get them sung, within thirty days." The loaves of bread thus contributed were sold and the proceeds used to pay thej)riests for sa}/- ing masses and singing psalms for the repose of the dead. In those days all social organizations were also deeply religious in character, and the rules of all the early socie- ties provided for attendance upon religious worship on the part of the members, and for procuring prayers for the souls of those who should die. The chaplains of many of the societies were regularly ordained priests, and it is curious to notice that while the mem.bers might drink beer in unlimited quantities, and their meetings were usually occasions for this, in many societies the rules pro- hibited the Chaplain of the Gild from frequenting public houses. The constitution of the Gild of Exter, which existed 28 FRATERNITY in Anglo-Saxon times is given in Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxon as follows: "This assembly was collected in Exter, for the love of God, and for our soul's need, both in regard to our life here, and to after days, which we desire for ourselves by God's doom. Now we have agreed that our meetings shall be thrice in the twelve months; once at St. Michael's Mass, the second at the time of St. Mary's Mass, after mid-winter, and the third time on All-Hallows Mass-day after Easter. And let each Gild-brother have two sesters of malt (otherwise beer), and a sceat of honey. And let the mass-priest (Gild chap- lain), sing two masses, one for living friends, the other for the departed; and at the death of a brother each man sing six masses or six psalters of psalms, and at death a five-pence. At a house-burning, each man one penny. If any one neglect the day, for the first time three masses, for the second five, and for the third time let him have no favor, unless his neglect arose from sickness or his lord's need. If any one "misgreet" another (call him names), let him make "boot" (amends) with thirty pence. Now we pray for the love of God that every man hold this meeting as we have rightly agreed upon, God help us thereunto." The word Gild is of Saxon origin, and one of its meanings was "a rate payment ;" later it came to mean a payment in money, from which we have the word "gold." This shows that a regular payment of dues was required by these societies at a very early time. All the gilds, whether religious, social or trades, rested upon another solemn principle; they were sworn broth- erhoods between man and man, established and fortified by a solemn oath or pledge, which was the "wed." The obligation taken by a candjdate for admission in a modern fraternal is the survival of the ancient wed or pledge of brotherhood. FRATERNITY 29- The fraternal order of to-day is then a lineal descen- dant of the Social Gild, which was founded upon the wide basis of brotherly love, mutual aid and moral comeliness without distinction as to calling or class, while the trades unions are probably the off-spring of the merchant or trade gilds, which were of much later origin. A noticeable fact in the history of the Social Gilds is, that nearly all of them admitted to membership both men and women, showing the early recognition of the equality of the sexes in such societies, and it is stated that a can- didate, after being obligated, was saluted by all the mem- bers with a kiss of peace. The participation of the ladies in this doubtless rendered this part of the initiation less- monotonous than the present adjournment of the lodge for a few minutes that the brethren may shake hands with the new member, but the modern custom is doubtless a survival of the kiss of peace salutation. These ancient societies also had an initiation fee, but it varied greatly in kind and amount. The Gild of St.. Benedict required six shillings eight-pence, about $1.70 of our money, but as money had then more than three times its present purchasing power, the actual fee in present coin value, was more than $5.00. St. George's Gild of Nor- wich had six shillings eight-pence for men and three shill- ings four-pence for a woman. In that of Stretham, every newcomer was required to pay two pounds of wax and a bushel of barley. The dues were paid weekly, monthly or quarterly as the rules might require, and no member was. entitled to any privileges or benefits while his dues were delinquent. In addition to the dues and membership fees, as sources of income, it was quite common for wealthy members to make donations or to leave the society a sum- by will ; indeed, in some of the societies the member obli- gated himself to bequeath something to the Gild, if he made a will at all. 30 FRATERNITY These gilds held regular weekly, monthly or quarterly meetings besides an annual Gild-day, when the brethren and "sistern," clad in their hoods or "livery," assembled at the church bearing lights, which then played a conspicu- ous part in all ceremonies whether religious or civic, and there made the prayers for the dead enjoined by their rules, and to consecrate by these acts of fa-ith that broth- erly love and peace which they were sworn to cherish. After making their offerings they went their way; per- haps to a "morn-speech" or meeting at which the Gild- boox would be audited and the money in the "Box" inspected, or, if this were not the custom, they met in good fellowship at the Gild-house around the festive board. The practical mutual charity of the gild-spirit may be seen in the way they expended their funds. Care for the fitting burial of deceased members at the cost of the Gild was constantly taken. Help to the poor, the sick, the infirm and the aged, is shown by their records ; assistance to members who suffered losses or robbery, and to those overtaken by misfortune, if this were not through their own fault or mismanagement, were prominent features in their rules. Weekly payments to poor and unfortunate members are frequently specified in their records. Some- times such were to be visited, and they were frequently entertained at the houses of their rnore wealthy brethren. In some cases loans of money were made from the Box or treasury, upon security ; in others, free loans or gifts are recorded as made to young members of either sex to enable them to .travel in search of employment; and in the Ludlow Gild, the rules provided that on her marriage "any good girl of the Gild" should have a certain marriage portion given to her from the Box, if her father were unable to provide it. Also brethren who were cast into prison were to be visited and aided to get free. FRATERNITY 31 Their charities were not always confined to their mem- bers. The Gild-merchant of Coventry "kept a lodging house with thirteen beds" to lodge poor travelers, and the governor or matron were to wash the feet of the guests. In the Lincoln Gild it was provided by the rules that "on Gild-day as many poor persons as there were brothers and sisters in the Gild were to be fed with ale, bread and fish or meat." Sometimes the gild funds were used to repair roads or churches. Many of the early societies had uniforms or "liveries" which must be worn by the members on Gild-days or in public processions. Each Gild was, for the most part, confined to a single town or city, and in government they were, therefore, democratic; the rules being adopted or changed and the funds disposed of by a majority vote of the members. The presiding and other officers were chosen by ballot on Gild-day of each year, and, any refusing to serve were fined. No cine was admitted to membership unless of good character, and, "if a member became a brawler or thief," he was expelled. They also encouraged industry. One Gild had this rule : "If any man, being of good state (in good health) and use hym to ly long in bed, and at rising of his bed he will ne (not) work, ne (nor) keep his house (support his family), and shall go to the tavern to wyne, to ale, to the wrasling (wrestling), or to the scheat- ing (skating), and in this manner falleth poor, and left his catell in defaut for succor (will not properly feed his domestic animals) and wish to be holpen (helped) by the fraternity; that man shall never have good, ne (nor) help of the companie, neither in this life, ne (nor) at his death : ( No masses shall be said or psalms sung for his soul,) but shall be put off forevermore of the companie." One brother was not allowed to "belie" or wrong another; if he did he was fined by the Gild. Unruly 32 FRATERNITY speech at the meetings was forbidden and peaceable and civil conduct at the feasts strictly enjoined. If a dispute should arise between one brother and another, it was the duty of all the members to do what they could "to bring them at one" (reconcile them), and induce them to settle the quarrel; and not until this was tried by the Council of Conciliation, could the disputants go to law. As to what we call ritualistic or secret work, there is little trace of it in the earlier times, although the use of uniforms or liveries, and the enacting of plays or pageants on Gild-days, seems to anticipate its introduction. It is more than probable that emblematic initiations, signs, grips, etc., were adopted later after the societies had spread to more than one town, for the two-fold purpose of rendering the initiations more impressive, and to pro- tect such gilds from imposters. They were probably bor- rowed or imitated from one or more of the orders of chiv- alry, the Masons, or some of the numerous secret societies which sprang up all over Europe after the Crusades. A recent writer describing an initiation into what is now one of the most prominent of the Friendly Societies, says: "The candidate for membership, a hundred years ago, on being led to the ante-room, was carefully blindfolded and after passing the outer and inner guard, he felt a peculiar awe steal over his senses, in consequence of the solemn and death-like silence which at the time prevailed. Soon his perverted sense of hearing became fearfully awakened by the rattling of huge iron chains and the unmeaning sound of men's voices. In this stage of the initiation ; that is provided he was not tossed and tumbled about among brush-wood, or soused over head in a large tub of water, the bandage was removed from his eyes, and the first object that caught his visual organs was the point of a naked sword close to his heart. As soon as he could with- draw his attention from the Worthy Warden and his FRATERNITY 33 blade, his eyes rested upon a large transparency of Old Mortality, whose ghastly grin would be enough to freeze the warm blood in his veins, while every part of the room was filled with symbols of both holy and profane things, the meaning of which but few could explain.' The dresses of the officers were in keeping with the rest of the mum- mery. The ceremony being over, each member pledged the newly initiated brother in a brimming glass for which the new brother had the honor of paying. (Suggests the eleven cents of the Buffaloes, does it not?) Momus now pre- sided, and the deep wrought fears of the novice were soon drowned in the loud laugh, or the boisterous chorus of a Bacchanalian song." The same writer says that all this mummery has long been abandoned by the reputable orders, and rational advice substituted in its stead. My subject is by no means exhausted. I might occupy your time for an hour or more in reproducing here the unique and often amusing rules for the transaction of business ; for the conduct of members ; for the accumula- tion and disbursement of funds; the quaint character of the benefits sometimes paid; their odd liveries or uni- forms, and the humorous or pathetic records found in the minutes of the meetings of these old time ancestors of our societies, but a consideration of the time which may prop- erly be used in the presentation of a historical paper of this character, warns me to omit further details. I trust, however, that the historical facts which with some labor and pains I have collected for your entertain- ment may be of use to those who may wish to delve into the history of our societies for use in public or other addresses. I trust also, that considering these old societies with their mutual aid; their benefits to members in sickness, old age and distress; their funeral or death benefits; the 34 FRATERNITY obligations administered to candidates at initiation; their requirement for the payment of an initiation fee ; the col- lection of regular periodical dues ; the suspension of bene- fits to a member while delinquent, and their general, although often grotesque similarity to the objects and methods of our own societies, will incline you all to agree with me, that both the English Friendly Societies and our own insurance orders are the natural outgrowth or evolu- tion of the Social-Gilds of the Anglo-Saxon times. THE ENDORSEMENT OF THE CHURCH * Text — Genesis xli. 35. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. 36. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land perish not through the famine. 37. And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. Brethren: The words of my text were the words of Joseph, the president of the first life insurance com- pany the world ever saw. Pharaoh had a dream that distracted him. He thought he stood on the banks of the river Nile and saw coming up out of the river seven fat, sleek, glossy cows, and they began to browse in the thick grass. Nothing frightful about that. But after them, coming up out of the same river, he saw seven cows that were gaunt and starved, and the worst look- * The Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage, who' died April 12, 1902, delivered a sermon on making provision for the future which should be handed down to coming generations alike as a guide to action and a warning against improvidence. FRATERNITY 35 ing cows that had ever been seen in the land; and in their ferocity pf hunger they devoured their seven pre- decessors. Pharaoh, the king, sent for Joseph to decipher these midnight hieroglyphics. Joseph made short work of it, and intimated that the seven fat cows that came out of the river were seven years with plenty to eat; the seven emaciated cows that followed were seven years with nothing to eat. "Now," said Joseph, "let us take one-fifth of the corn crop of the seven prosperous years, and keep it as a provision for the seven years in which there shall be no crop." The king took counsel, and appointed Joseph, because of his integrity and public spiritedness, as the president of the undertaking. The farmers paid one-fifth of their income as a premium. In all the towns and cities there were branch houses. This great Egyptian life insurance company had millions of dollars of assets. After a while the dark days came, and the whole nation would have starved if it had not been for the provision they had made for the future. But now these suflFering families have nothing to do but go up and collect the amount of their life policies. The Bible puts it in one short phrase : "In all the land of Egypt there was bread." I say this was the first life insurance company. It was divinely organ- ized. It had in it all the advantages of the "whole life plan," of the "tontine plan," of the "endowment plan," and all the other good plans. We are told that Rev. Dr. Anhate of Lincolnshire, England, originated the first life insurance company in 1688. No; it is as old as the corn cribs of Egypt, and God himself was the author and originator. If that were not so I would not take your time and mind in a Sabbath discussion of this subject. I feel it is a theme vital, relig- ious, and of infinite import — ^the morals of life and fire 36 FRATERNITY insurance. It seems to me that it is time for the pulpit to speak out. But what does the Bible say in regard to the subject? If the Bible favors the institution, I will favor it ; if the Bible denounces it, I will denounce it. In addi- tion to the forecast of Joseph in the text, I call your atten- tion to Paul's comparison. Here is one man who, through neglect, fails to support his family while he lives or after he dies. Here is another man who abhors the Scriptures and rejects God. Which of these men are the worst? Well, you say the latter. Paul said the former. Paul says the man who neglects to care for his household is more obnoxious than a man who rejects the Scriptures. "He that provideth not for his own, and especially those of his own household, is worse than an infidel." Life insurance companies help most of us to provide for our families after we are gone. But if we have the money to pay premiums and neglect it, we have no right to expect mercy at the hand of God in the judgment. We are worse than Tom Paine, worse than Voltaire, and worse than Shaftsbury. The Bible declares it; we are worse than an infidel. After the certificate of death is made out, and the thirty or sixty days has passed and the officer of a life insurance company comes into the bereft household and pays down the hard cash on an insurance policy, that officer is performing a positively religious rite, according to the Apostle James, who says : "True religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this : to visit the fatherless and the widow in their affliction." When men think of their death they are apt to think of it only in connection with their spiritual welfare, and not of the devastation in the household which will come because of their emigration from it. It is meanly selfish for you to be so absorbed in the heaven to which you are going that you forget what is to become of your wife and children after you go. How can you go out of this world. FRATERNITY 37 not leaving them a dollar and yet die happy? You can trust them in the hands of the God who owns all the har- . vests and the herds and the flocks, but if you could not pay the small premium on a policy, and thus insure their com- fort for years after your departure, what kind of a recep- tion can you hope for among the Father's elect? "He that provideth not for his own, and especially those of his own household, is worse than an inftdel." The great indifference of many people on this import- ant subject accounts for much of the crime and pauperism of this day. Who are these children sweeping the cross- ings with broken brooms and begging of you a penny as you go by? Who are these lost souls gliding under the gaslights in thin shawls? Ah! they are the victims of want, and in many of the cases the foresight of the parents and grandparents might have prevented it. God only knows how they struggled to do right ! They prayed until the tears froze on their cheeks ; they sewed on the sack until the breaking of the day, but they could not get enough money to pay the rent, they could not get enough money to clothe themselves decently ; and one day in that wretched home the angel of purity and the angel of crime fought a great fight between the empty bread tray and the fireless hearth and the black-winged angel shrieked, "Aha! I have won the day." Say some men, "I believe what you say — it is right and Christian, and I mean sometime to attend to this mat- ter." My friend, you are going to lose the comfort of your household in the way the sinner loses heaven — by procrastination. The sky is clear and the sea is placid to-day, but how will it be to-morrow? Do you know if you are strong enough to weather a gale? I see all around me the destitute and suffering families of parents who meant some day to attend to this Christian duty. But on a rainy day the man of the household gets his feet 38 FRATERNITY wet; then comes a chill, and a delirium, and the doleful shake of the doctor's head, and the obsequies. If there be anything more pitiable than a woman, delicately brought up, and on her marriage day by an indulgent father given to a man to whom she is the chief joy and pride of life until the moment of his death, and then that same woman going out with helpless children at her back to struggle for bread in a world where brawny muscle and rugged soul are necessary — I say, if there be anything more pitia- ble than that, I don't know what it is. And yet there are good women who are indifferent in regard to their husband's duty in this respect. And there are those positively hostile, as though a life insurance sub- jected a man to some fatality. There is in this city to-day a poor woman keeping a small candy shop, who vehe- mently opposed the insurance of her husband's life, and when application had been made for a policy of $10,000 she frustrated it. She would never have a document in the house that implied it was possible for her husband ever to die. One day his Ufe was instantly dashed out. What is the sequel? She is with annoying tug making the half of a miserable living. Her two children have been taken away from her in order that they may be clothed and schooled, and her life has become a prolonged hardship. Oh, man ! before forty-eight hours have passed away appear at the desk of one of our great life insurance com- panies, have the stethoscope of the physician put to your heart and lungs, and, by the seal of some honest company, decree that your children shall not be subjected to the humiliation of financial struggle in the dark days of your demise ! It is a mean thing for you to go up to heaven while they go to the poor house. You, at death, move into a mansion river front; and they move into two rooms on FRATERNITY 39 the fourth story of a tenement house in a back street. When they are out at elbows and knees the thought of your splendid robe in heaven will not keep them warm. The minister may preach a splendid sermon over your remains, and the quartet may sing like four angels in the organ loft ; but your death will be a swindle. You had the means to provide for the comfort of your household when you left it, and you wickedly neglected it. "Oh," says some one, "I have more faith than you ; I believe when I go out of this world the Lord will take care of my family.'' Yes, he will provide for them. Go to Blackwell's Island; go through all the poorhouses of the country, and I will show you how God often provides for the neglected children of neglectful parents — that is, he provides for them through public charity. As for myself, I would rather have the Lord provide for my fam- ily in a private home, and through my own industry and paternal and conjugal faithfulness. "But," say some men, "I mean in the next ten or twenty years to make a great fortune, and so I shall leave my family, when I go out of this world, very comforta- ble." How do you know you are going to live ten or twenty years ? If we could look up the walk of the future we would see it crossed by pneumonias, and pleurisies, and consumptions, and colliding trains, and runaway horses, and breaking bridges, and funeral processions. Are you so certain that you are going to live ten or twenty years that you can warrant your household any comfort after you go away from them ? Besides that, the vast majority of men die poor. Only two out of a hundred succeed in business. Are you cer- tain that you are going to be one of the two? There are men who die solvent who are insolvent before they get under the ground, or before their estate is settled. How soon the auctioneer's m.allet can knock the life out of an 40 FRATERNITY estate? A man thinks the property worth $15,000. Under a forced sale it brings $7,000. The business man takes advantage of the crisis, and he compels the widow of his deceased partner to sell out to him at a ruinous price or lose all ; or the administrator is ordered by the surrogate to wind up the whole affair. The estate was supposed at the man's death to be worth $20,000 ; but after the indebt- edness has been met, and the bills of the doctor and the undertaker and the tombstone cutter have been paid, there is nothing left. That means the children are to come home from school and go to work. That means the complete hardship of the wife — turned out with nothing but a needle to fight the great battle of the world. Tear down the lambrequins, close the piano, rip up the axminster, sell out the wardrobe and let the mother take a child in each hand and trudge out into the desert of the world! A life insurance would have hin- dered all that. A PYTHIAN ADDRESS GEORGE B. GRIGGS Man is a social as well as a selfish being. He is both vicious and virtuous. Vice and virtue were innate with his creation, and have ever been the fountain from which flowed the necessities, desires and fancies of the human race. Necessity gave birth to secrecy — virtue to frater- nal organization. If history be true, the first organization of secret societies antedates the birth of Christ, and perhaps the very inception of historic literature. The early periods of secret fraternalism were sorely pressed by the galling FRATERNITY 41 yoke of Church and State. The Church, over all, was supreme. Kings and monarchs trembled at her command. To carry a secret within one's bosom was a sin against the priestly power. The Church assumed absolute control, not only of men's temporal conduct, but also of their destiny beyond the grave. It was decreed iby a kind Providence that right and justice should prevail and, with all the combined, oppos- ing powers of Church and State, there grew into the hearts and soul of men a mystic fraternalism that lived and prospered within the very shadows of the Church, and even entwined itself, like creeping ivy upon a deserted castle, around the very thrones of mighty kings. Around the mystic shrines of fraternalism were pro- mulgated the sciences, philosophy and human happiness. From those shrines emanated teachings of a higher order — teachings that have made men and women better, purer, noble and truer, paving the way to freedom of thought. While those secret and fraternal societies were paving the way for freedom of thought and speech, civil and religious liberty, the Church and State were inventing the wheel and rack for the torture and death of the citizen who dared to be free. Overarched by despotism, the sil- ver star of human liberty could not be seen in the smoky heavens of blighted hope. Every manifestation of intel- lectual thought was suppressed, and every pure concep- tion of human accord was bedimmed by the breath of priestly power. I call to witness the generations of time that the ancient political and religious powers have been the strongest prisons, the most tyrannical sovereigns and the most cruel prisoners of the mind and soul of man. Hoary time holds in its hands the history of ages gone ; when war was the occupation of nations ; when the citizen was the soldier; when the scientist was the prisoner; 42 FRATERNITY when the religious thinker was the heretic, and when poetry was the song of victors and triumphant marches. No longer do men cherish such love of war, nor are they given to such boastings of victory. Universal strife is giving away to universal brotherhood. When the Goddess of Liberty weeps, the English lion moans and the German Eagle droops its head in sorrow. The walls of ancient cities are transformed into temples of learn- ing, and the battleships of nations into commercial con- veyances. But what has brought about this wonderful change? What is the cause? Can the force or power which has wrought this change be any of the vices of mankind? Where may we find the Itey that unlocked the doors to this glorious transformation? Come with me. Let us go back, back, back through the flight of centuries into the mystic ages, long before the manger of Bethlehem was a cradle. Here is the ancient Syracuse, the capitol of that beautiful Sicilian island in the Mediterranean Sea. Syracuse is in all her glory, — war arid strife are the only virtues — chaos reigns within her walls, and human blood flows in her streets like the tides of the restless sea. Here we find, in this charnel house of crime, vice and misrule, the living example of the virtues that have brought about this wonderful trans- formation, this change in the conditions of the world. It is the example of the friendship between Damon and Pythias. Damon was a senator, Pythias a soldier, in Syracuse. They had been schoolmates and boys together. For some ~ supposed conspiracy against the throne King Dionysius decreed that Damon should die. Damon pleaded to be permitted to see his wife and child before his death, but the request was refused. Pythias, the child- hood companion of the doomed man, begged the tyrant FRATERNITY ' 43 to grant the request of Damon, and offered himself as a hostage and a pledge for Damon's return. Listen to his pleading: "Let Damon go and see his wife and child before he dies. Put me in chains, place me in his dun- geon as pledge for his return, and let me die if he do not return." Standing there at the foot of the throne, in prophetic vision, Pythias glanced down the winding corridors of time and saw tyrant and monarch replace tyrant and monarch. He also saw a beautiful garland of friendship slowly evolving itself into a mighty scepter of power, ris- ing higher and higher, only to strike a shattering blow to the thrones of the old world. He saw the selfishness of man slowly melting away from the hearts of men and nations, and the dawn of a glorious, fraternal concord in all things. He saw an age of universal peace, when war would become arbitration, and when poetry would be the song of civilization, sung by a united world to the cadence of free thought and free speech. Cheered by this vision, he begs the tyrant to grant the request. Hear him : "As thou art a husband and father, hear me ; for four hours respite Damon. Do but this, and may the gods build up thy greatness as high as their own heavens." The respite was granted, and Pythias was taken as pledge for Damon's return. When the hour of execution arrived, Damon had not returned. The excited mob now taunt Pythias with the seeming falseness of his friend, but he would not hear their taunts. Proclaiming the fidelity of Damon, Pythias turns to his executioners, to meet his fate. At the last moment, as the headsman's axe is raised to strike the fatal blow, Pythias rushes into the scene, and saves his friend. The shouts of derision from the crowd were now turned to praise of the mystic tie of friendship that bound these two friends. The tyrant looked on in wonderment and, as he looked, the cruel pur- 44 FRATERNITY pose of the hour passed away, and Damon's life was spared. To this glorious example of friendship the ages have looked with fondest admiration, radiating from behind the prison walls of old Syracuse, down through the centuries, like a beacon light, revealing such un- bounded faith, such unparalleled friendship, such remark- able fidelity, it still beams upon the pathway of mankind, leading to a better and more peaceful life. That example of a virtue is the kind that has crumbled the thrones of the old world. It is that kind of virtue that makes our lives happy and our homes bright. May kind Providence speed the day when true friendship shall sit as a monarch upon his throne in the heart of every man, j^uiding, ruling and directing his life. CHARITY Friendship carries with it an element of charity and TDenevolence. Charity, as taught by our fraternal orders, is charity toward the frailties of human nature. True it is, that this virtue is more preached than practiced — more admired than preached. It is a virtue that is calculated to soften the hearts of men and mellow the asperities of human nature. It is the substratum of philanthropy, the main pillar of earthly felicity — the brightest star in the Christian's diadem — the connecting link in the golden chain that reaches from earth to heaven. It spurns the scrofula of green-eyed jealousy — the canker of self-tor- menting envy — the typhoid of boiling revenge — the cholera of damning ingratitude. It is the -sunbeam of living light which sheds its rays into the wilderness of man's perverted nature, evangelizing and fraternizing him and crowning him with simple love and good will for all mankind. BENEVOLENCE Benevolence, coupled with friendship and charity, forms the grandest triune of all the other virtues pos- FRATERNITY 45. sessejl by man. Benevolence is the celestial quality of one's nature, imparting to the giver consolation, and instilling in the recipient the most sacred gratitude of the soul. It falls like the dews of heaven upon the withered flower, invigorating the better nature of man, and calling forth an approving smile of heaven. Benevolence never opens, but rather heals, the gaping wounds of misfortune ;, never ruffles, but rather calms, the troubled heart. What are these three great virtues, and why do I men- tion them? They are the foundation stones upon which, rests the noble structure of Pythianism, and because our membership is required to practice these virtues. In this society, ev?ry member is bound by a sacred vow to a recognition of these virtues and to their practice and cul- ture. This very night thousands of men and women are being inspired by these vows to nobler and better lives.. What myriad choirs; what hosts of orators; what halle- lujas; what marching throngs; what bands of music would be required to proclaim the honor or to shout the glory that is justly due to the promulgators and doers- of this great good in the wicked world about us ! THE ORDER The great order of Knights of Pythias is a secret, fra- ternal organization. Upon the three great virtues hereto- fore mentioned, the structure is reared. Within its walls- there is no room for hostility nor enmity. It is a society of peace and good will, and its members are ever mindful, of the blessedness of peace-making. When hostility- enters a mans' heart there is no room for a Pythian virtue.. Such a man is cruelly disturbed and is filled with a score- of passions — hate, canker, enmity, ingratitude, all breed- ing a tornado of maddened action — a whirlwind of impul- sive passion that unfits him to bear the name of brother. The Order, being founded upon those three great vir- tues, seeks to impress upon the minds and instill into the 46 FRATERNITY hearts of its members the beauty and the benefits of a truly Pythian life— of being noble, brave, and true to every trust imposed, morally, socially or otherwise. It teaches its members to be industrious, sober, reliable, and upright in all the walks of life. It teaches and commands confidence in a brother — forbids the slanderous tongue to malign. It demands that men shall respect the virtue of women, and protect the family of a brother as he would his own. It teaches men to be good husbands, fathers and citizens. He who has learned through Pythianism to be honest, brave and true, is the most happy man. If we but live truly Pythian lives, then let come old age or death, they will each come as the beautiful, rich autumn after a glor- ious summer. Aye, if the heart has been truly pure, it will have learned that there is something better beyond this vale of tears. Faith will have grown into our lives as the blossom upon the bud, and as the flower upon the slowly lifting stem. SENTIMENT AND LIFE INSURANCE BY MOORE SANBORN The Strongest thing in the world is a true sentiment. Mountains can not hem it in, dykes can not stop its flow- ing, distance can not long separate it from its goal of good. It is a leaven of civilization, and at the same time a lever lifting the world. Egotistic, practical people, who sneer at sentiment as a jelly-like something quivering in a lake of tears, are bias brained, with stigmatic eyes and logic askew. All history, rightly read, reveals the triumph of senti- FRATERNITY 47 merit wherever man has trod the bloody way. Conscious or sub-conscious, it has stirred in silence, or at times in storm in all the variant ways of life where inan has strug- gled upward. The love of God — a sentiment — has inspired all the religions of the world. The love of coun- try — a sentiment — has written all the heroic annals of patriotism. The love of our fellows — a sentiment — has pushed all doctrines of the rights, of man, all flowering beauties of educational effort and sociological endeavor, up into the sunlight. The love of home, of wife and weans, of father and mother — sentiments all — are the dynamos of the common and countless sacrifices, heroisms and struggles which sublime and transfigure human Hfe. No man ever traveled far — except downward — with- out some splendid sentiment nestmg at the core of his being, driving him on and ever on. No member of the so-called sentimental sex ever existed, save in some foul shape like Milton's Portress of Hell, Which seemed a woman to the waist, and fair, But ended there, with many a scaly fold, Voluminous and vast. who did not live by sentiment as surely as by oxygen. The power of every living romance; the strength of every deathless song; the beauty of every great poem; the exaltation of every noble life lies in its expression of some sentiment and the world will not willingly let die. Look upon one of the great masterpieces of an artist — sentiment wielded the brush and mixed the colors for its creator. Read a great book upon whose pages the play and passion of human aspiration is portrayed, and you will know that sentiment gripped the thought of him who wrote it. Study the story of a great man's career — let it be that of Washington or Lincoln, whom all the world honors, if you please — and before you have ended, his personality shall be seen as saturated with a sentiment 48 FRATERNITY close of kin to the, sacred. We sometimes boast that ours is a practical age, filled with the strident cries of commer- cialism, forgetting that those on whose shoulders we stand were moved by high and true sentiments as they planned and toiled for days and men unborn. More than this, we are so busy with our buying and selling, our getting and gaining, that we have no time to think- how all that is best in our unmatched modern life is ' conserved and enlarged by the perpetuity of the sentiments dominating our ancestors. Gravitation is no more essential to the placing of the planets than right sentiment is to the stabil- ity of all that our race prizes as fefest and highest. The healthy optimism on which growth, progress, and power are predicated, is fed and sustained by sentiments stronger than steel and more enduring than brass. SENTIMENT IS ALL-POWERFUL IN THE BEST BUSINESS Life insurance has been called "the best business in the world," and it is so, if it is a business at all, because it is most completely infused by sentiment. Sentiment is its life blood, its eyes, its hands, its feet, its tongue, its thought. Actuaries tables, legislation, plans and modes of appli- cation and operation, are only the staging about the real structure. To guard the home and those who dwell therein is the end and aim of all its work. To make sure provision for those we love, is the unselfish cause of its supply and demand. It has grown like religion and democracy to be an important factor in the world's work, because sentiment has focused so much of its power and beauty upon it. Its policy or certificate is the ripened product of sentiment as truly as were the Psalms of David, the Magna Charta, or Lincoln's Proclamation of Emancipation. FRATERNALISM CONTRASTED WITH OLD-LINE INSURANCE While it will be granted by all students of life insur- FRATERNITY 49 ance that sentiment is the causative force behind all its phenomena of expansion, few of my readers probably will utter a ready "Amen" to the assertion that the province where it finds its finest and fullest fruition is in the fra- ternal beneficial societies. Commercial life insurance, as practiced by the companies usually termed "corporations for profit" could not have flourished, without a sense of the solidarity of mankind, as well as the desire to protect the dear and dependent from the wrinkling worries of want. On tliese unshaken foundations their multiplied mil- lions have been gathered. They have lamentably failed, however, to translate the spirit of the sentiments, to which they owe their being, into their work. Their officers have often been like kings, above the power of suffrage to reach them, and drawing their revenue from the people, never mixing with or knowing them. Their agents and managers usually pride themselves on being business men and, pursuing an occupation made possible by sentiments high and true, they spend their strength and time on ratios, dividends, and scores of other arguments as remote from the purpose of life insurance as the Equator is from the pole. The tools with which they work, their literature and expressed ideals, are in the main as coldly commercial as the harvesting of ice on a Wisconsin lake. The spaces of the Seven Seas seem to separate their methods of v/ork and their schemes for success from the warmth of per- sonal interest and the transforming force of association to reach- a common goal. The life insurance company says to the public "Buy of me and I will pay," and it keeps its legal contract and does no more; for those who pay its price. A child of human brotherhood, it shows no disposition to honor its parentage, only so far as it is legally bound to do. It sells 50 FRATERNITY something a buyer needs, and considers its full duty ended, when the goods are delivered. It is a business, not a oSQcial program, nor a flower of altruism. Using the mathematics of mortality with scrupulous exactitude, it purchases expensive financial service, gath- ers its millions, if sufficiently aggressive, becomes a power in the marts of money, planning and caring as little for the persons who purchase its policies as the railroads do for those who buy their tickets. Even in the mutual com- panies, in theory belonging to and operated by their policy holders, practically the same ideas and methods are fol- lowed as in stock .companies,- the only discernible differ- ence being that 'in one an annual "slate" is elected by the use of a few proxies, and in the other by a few stock- holders. Policyholders expect nothing beyond the letter of their contracts, have no personal interest in the management of the company to which they pay their money, and fre- quently do not even take the trouble to remember its name. THE VAST DEVELOPMENT OF FRATERNALISM How different in all but cause are the fraternal socie- ties, which in the brief period of two score years have grown to closely rival the far older companies in number of members, benefits scattered, and promises pledged. Within the coming decade, unless all signs fail, they will be doing more good, even when measured by the stand- ard of dollars and cents, than the legal reserve companies ' with their world wide operations and their hundreds of millions of accumulations. Within a score of years the fraternal beneficial orders have paid over a billion dollars to their members and their families. The ideals and sen- timents on which all life insurance is based dwell as an overmastering force in the fraternal orders and nowhere else. In them there is no line of demarcation drawn FRATERNITY 51 between the cause and the eflfect. In true humanitarian- ism their work follows the spirit of the Man of Nazareth, who "went about doing good," adopting the Good Samar- itan as its patron saint. The fraternity has its secret signs, passwords, grips, and ceremonies, as a bond of union, but its teaching of emphasis is always the brotherhood of man. It is in the same business as the churches, the schools and the hospi- tals. Whether its ritual is literary mincepie, or a monu- ment of striking and sonorous rhetoric, it teaches beauti- ful and uplifting truths that cannot fail to enrich and ennoble the characters of those who hear it repeated. A LODGE A PLAYGROUND AND CLUB Providing monetary relief in the day of disability or death, its incidental benefits of good fellowship with its troop of blessings, pass the power of any statistician to compute. The lodge is a playground, a training school, and a social club. In its atmosphere of a "lend-a-hand" society, moral backbone is manufactured, harmless enjoy- ments cluster, the wings of caste, are singed, and cheer and companionship are freely dispensed to those who need their gracious ministrations. Where the question is always publicly asked: "Does any one know of a member who is sick or in distress," it will easily be seen that much good is done that is never advertised. The order makes its appeal to those who believe in brotherhood and in co-operation for mutual protection and relief. It promises no dividends, fosters no schemes of wresting profit from misfortune, and avoids all attempts at financial aggrandizement. By mutual agree- ment, through mutual control, it promises to pay ; but it also offers food for the dramatic instinct, and by drill, debate, social enjoyments, lectures, and the opportunity of mingling on terms of equality with a great number of men and women in the lodge room, it adds to the zest and 52 FRATERNITY pleasure of life. There is no cure for a grouch equal to the fraternal goat. The splendid sentiments permeating a fraternity are noble school-masters training millions of men and women to be better than they otherwise would be. Ties that bind during life are insisted upon. Loyalty in helping to bear one another's burdens here and now, is the spirit broad- ening and blessing the members of all the sister-brother- hoods. BROTHERLY ATTENTIONS TO SICK AND UNFORTUNATE Let the member of an order fall sick; to his bedside come his f raters to minister to his wants ;. flowers are sent ; the worries and burdens of the anxious family are shared ; the reality of the high teachings of the familiar ritual finds appreciated illustration. The sick man dies; his faithful comrades watch by his bier; attend to the sad details of mourning necessity ; follow him to his last rest- ing place ; place floral tributes .on his coffin ; "weep with those who weep," recite by the grave the words that breathe the common hope of the bereaved ; and later bring to the desolated home the money benefit, for which the company would have charged a far higher price, and would probably have paid by sending through the mail. The company pays the cash it promised ; so does the order, but to it adds the precious bonus of personal care, sym- pathy and affection, The fraternal society is a miniature republic ; it cher- ishes a representative form of government, and does its utmost to emphasize the fact of joint ownership and con- trol. It tries to keep its members fully informed of all financial transactions, and matters of importance to the work of the craft, usually publishing a journal for that purpose, that is sent to all members without charge or at cost. The average member of one of our great orders knows more about "Our Order" than the great cross- FRATERNITY 53 examining ability of Governor Hughes was able to learn of some of the companies which were inquired into by the Armstrong commission. Having been for years in the executive councils of old line companies, with hosts of friends and acquaintances, whom I honor for their integrity and ability, engaged in the building up of legal reserve life insurance, I have no stone to throw at them or their business, nor would I withhold uttering a word of praise for the wonderful achievements and untold benefits of American life insur- ance. Its triumphs of expansion rightly find place among the most valuable and honorable economic forces of the past century. Viewed from the standpoint of a financier or a lover of his race, its work has been a marvelous appli- cation of the finest form of financial co-operation. But to end as I began ; the strongest thing in the world is a true sentiment, and' because the fraternal insurance orders carry such sentiment into all their work and the companies do not, and by their very nature cannot, I believe the former offer the ideal system of life insurance, a system that will grow to be as correct mathematically as it seeks to be fraternally. When the day comes, as come it will, in which the great fraternities put themselves on an adequate basis of payments ; collecting what is abso- lutely required to carry out the benefits provided in their certificates, continuing their economical administrations, and the leadership of true hearted men, who join with clerg3fmen, educators, and scientists, in a willingness to sacrifice something of monetary reward, to help on the common good, they will have won the field of insurance endeavor. Sprinkling the desert of work-a-day monotony with oases of good cheer, and a comradeship whose loyalty lasts through life and beyorfd death, it will be fitted to serve as the perfect vehicle by which sentiments creating insurance 54 FRATERNITY necessity can do their splendid work. "Founded on the deep needs of human nature, cemented by the purposes of an all wise Creator, it was born not for a day, but for all time." Yea— 'Till the sun grows cold, And the stars grow old, And the leaves of the Judgment Book unfold. FRATERNITY— A TOAST GEORGE R. ALLEN Standing before you this evening, holding to the back of this friendly chair for reassurance, I glance at my menu and wonder as I have been wondering for some three weeks past, what I shall say in your presence to-night. The verse supplied by you, Mr. Toastmaster, is com- prehensive enough and if I am to speak of the various thoughts suggested by it, I must fashion after the Ver- mont schoolboy who, being required to write a composi- tion dealing in detail with the several days of the week, wrote this : "On Monday father and I went hunting and shot a bear. This supplied us with meat enough for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday." I am conscious of a sort of fellow feeling for the Penn- sylvania farmer, well-to-do, but economical, who had worn the same suit of butternut for church and going to town and weddings and funerals and festive occasions gen- erally, until the waistcoat bore varied samples of his good wife's skill ; trouser patches bore silent testimony to years of service, the coat resembled Joseph's, and over them all hovered the delicate aroma of his homely occupation., John's folks were back from Kansas on a visit on this FRATERNITY 65 day in question and upon his return from town would be at the old homestead. So, while walking along the street our friend concluded to follow his wife's oft-repeated request and get a new suit. It was accordingly purchased and, driving homeward after nightfall, the good man fell to thinking how surprised mother would be to see him dressed other than in the bedraggled "butternut." When he reached the bridge spanning the creek a mile eastward of his house, he stopped, quickly divested himself of the old suit, threw it over the railing to the stream below, and reached back into the spring wagon for the new suit. But, to his mingled surprise and consternation, that bun- dle had bounced out during the homeward drive. Mother was, indeed, surprised at father's appearance when he stepped shivering on the porch ten minutes later. But, speaking of Fraternity, I read on my card : God hath made mankind one Mighty Brotherhood; Himself their Master and the World His Lodge. Some four thousand years ago a tiller of the soil, incensed because his sacrificial fruits were rejected and the firstlings of the herdsman's flock accepted, in anger struck the other child of his parents to the earth, and in response to the question of the Lord's said : Am I my brother's keeper? Mankind from that day to this has grappled with that question. The warrior rulers of historic empires. Babylo- nia, Persia, Egypt, Macedonia, Rome, all trampling with fearful tread upon their subject's rights, held valueless the life that thwarted their ambition. But Assurbanipal, Cyrus, Rameses, Alexander, and the Caesars, with all their mighty genius, were each alike unable to write across the golden, dawning skies of progress a decree for- 56 FRATERNITY ever banishing responsibility for our brother. Because He whom we as Masons adore placed in the beginning in the human heart a well-spring of affection that bade defiance to despotic mandate. Even while these lived and reigned, wise men were pondering deep upon the mysteries of nature, selecting and handing down through chosen successors principles of life and living whose logical fruition within these walls at this convocation we have been pleased to receive. The philosophy of the world has given no uncertain answer to the question. The Persian Magi, the Egyptian Priesthood, the Grecian Mysteries — each in error, groping in darkness, crawling toward the light — were battling for the cause of the "oppressed against the oppressor," of "toleration against intolerance," of "light against dark^ ness." Or at least were forging the weapons that in other hands, in other lands, in other ages, would deal mighty blows for humanity. Fraternity — a brother love — not the earthquake or the tempest, but the still small voice. It is the most powerful force known in all the earth. Fraternity is not concerned with length of service, but with its quality. Not hand service, not head service ; not lip service, but with all of these making what we call heart service. I would not be misunderstood. Fraternity does not follow service. It precedes it. As the grain of wheat falls into the earth and perishes, followed by the growing grain, so is fraternity the sinking away of self, the uplifting of another. Service is neither the warp nor woof of fraternity, but its proof. A brother's love cannot be hedged about or circum- scribed by rivers, or mountains, or mighty oceans, or state lines ; nor yet by race, religion, or degree of civilization. Witness to this our own beloved order, powerful in two hemispheres, prominent in fifty governments, a livino- FRATERNITY 57 vital, palpitating force that in some form antedated the pyramids, and will exist when Macauley's New Zealander views the mounds that mark the site of England's capital and speculates upon the barbarians that once peopled those ruined walls. And order that has always stood and stands now with flaming sword, the guardian of the mysteries of light and liberty ; whose traditions are sacred to the memory of the Wise King and the fidelity of our first Grand Master ; whose effort has always been for the capture and execu- tion of "Ignorance," "Intolerance," and "Tyranny," the assassins of "Wisdom." Masonry, and I refer to no single rank or rite, early learned and has always practiced the true fraternity that vaunteth not itself. Love seeks not to disclose each good deed done, but likes best the affection of a brother helped. Within a stone's throw of this Temple a costly build- ing is being erected, dedicated ostensibly to the public, through the generosity of a single individual. But over the door must be carved, under the terms of the gift, the doner's name, and each book plate must bear his imprint. This building is one of scores made possible by this manjs wealth, but in each like terms prevail. Yesterday the public prints said that this man so feared to be called into the presence of the Great Archi- tect of the Universe that the word death might not be uttered in his presence. Is he with his millions striving to buy peace for his soul? Is he placing a dollar mark upon love ? These book palaces, thus erected by a manufacturing prince with his individuality thus forcibly thrust into the face of this and all succeeding generations, are not monu- m.ents of self-abasement, but of colossal egotism; they stand as memorials of supreme selfishness, differing in degree, but not in kind, from the Great Pyramid at 58 FRATERNITY Ghizeh. Books are no more to us, if as much, as were "onions and garlic" to Khufu's toiling myriads. It is as if in that priceless parable before referred to we read that before the Samaritan would care for the wounded man, and pay for his lodging at the inn, by con- tract a marble shaft must pierce the sky at the "rocky defile" bearing on its base name and date and detail ; and a bronze tablet with appropriate inscription be placed upon the walls of the hostelry. MEMORIAL DAY ADDRESS * It is a worthy custom that we recognize to-day in this meeting of the members of this Society to scatter flowers on the graves of those who have gone to their long rest, and as I was thinking of this day and of a subject appro- priate for the occasion, this thought occurred to me as one worthy of elaboration: While the ties of home are more binding than those of any fraternity, and while the duty that rests upon the members of the family to keep the grave green is a sacred one, yet the service rendered by the fraternities in this respect is even more permanent than that which can be rendered by the members of the family. I wonder how many here to-day are situated as I am. No one of my immediate family resides at the place of our birth, nor does any member of my father's family reside at the place of their birth. In this country we move about so that the graves of the family are after awhile deserted. The children often find homes in different and distant parts of the country, and the care of the grave, excepting * Extracts from the address of the Hon. William Jennings Bryan at Lincoln, Nebraska, on the occasion of the Modern Woodmen of America's Memorial Day exercises, June 7 1908 FRATERNITY 59 when one of the family returns, is left to strangers. In Mexico they rent a place for the coffin for five years, and if at the end of five years the vault is not re-rented, the bones are piled up in a place set apart for that purpose, and after awhile the bone room is the largest part of the cemetery. We remember that in that great play that immortalizes Joe Jefferson, when Rip Van Winkle came back after a few years, he found that he was entirely forgotten. I once went to an old grave yard in Chicago that had been used less than one hundred years before, and I found it deserted and neglected. • The tombstones had fallen down and there was no evidence of any care. It is strange how rapidly the current of life sweeps on. The fraternity is not made up so much of individuals as it is of generations. Its life links the generations together. One hundred years from now the graves of the Neighbors who have passed away this year will be marked with flowers by those who are then members of the fra- ternity. Just pause and think what that means. It is appropriate that man's work should be remembered by those with whom he works, for man's work is a work with, among and for his neighbors. What a man does alone in this world is very little ; what he does in conjunc- tion with others is very large. A school is not founded by an individual : it is founded by a group of individuals. The school system of this country was not built up by one person or by one family, but by all the people working together. Government is not the work of an individual : it is the work of people united and acting together. The church is not the work of one person; it is not the work of the pastor : it is the work of the members working with the pastor. And so I might take up department after department of the work in which we are interested, and show that the great work which we do in business, in m FRATERNITY society, in the church, in government and in every occu- pation and profession is the work that we do together, , walking side by side, laboring shoulder to shoulder. Thus does humanity bear the burdens of the world ; thus, one in purpose, we carry forward the civilization of the world. Man by himself is insignificant, and a gener- ation by itself is not very important when we measure it against history. Yet, without this individual work, each doing his part, there could be no society. It is proper, therefore, that we, the members of this fraternity, should thus recognize the relation that we bear to each other and perpetuate the memory and deeds of those who have done their part in the accomplishment of that which is being accomplished. Take away one drop of water from a stream and its absence would not be known; but a multitude of these drops make the stream. If you visit the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, you will find that the river has cut its way down through almost a mile of rock. Standing on the bank and looking dovi^n, you see the river about 4,500 feet below, as it struggles in its course to the sea. If you descend its banks, you will find layer after layer of stone, the softer stone at the top, the harder stone as you go down. As you approach the river you find 1,500 feet of solid granite, and for ages that stream has been cutting its way through those layers of rock. Every drop of water that has passed through the chasm has left a record •of its work. While no one drop of water made a per- ceptible change, yet all of these drops together have 'been necessary to accomplish what is recognized as one of the wonders of the world. And just as important in the writing of history and in shaping the course of events are these small and almost imperceptible beings whom we call brothers. Everyone has his part and without every one history would not be just what it is. It is proper. FRATERNITY 61 therefore, that we do our work together, who contribute a common service, should on each Memorial day, drop some flowers upon the graves of our departed brothers as a recognition of that relation that binds us together — as a recognition of our appreciation of what the dead have done. What are they doing who belong to these fraternities ? They are teaching the important lessons of life. In the- lodge room and the Camp we learn that the heart shapes the destiny of man, and that the heart's purposes and the heart influences are the important things in this life. When we meet together we leave that artificial society which builds distinctions upon birth, or upon education, or upon wealth. 1^1 the lodge room and in the Camp, we do not ask a man who his father zuas; we simply inquire what he is. We do not ask what his father has done; we simply ask if he is ready to do the work that falls to him ; we do not ask whether he has received a diploma from some instii u- tion of learning ; we simply ask him if he has studied the science of "How to live;" if he recognizes the ties that bind him to mankind. We do not ask him how many acres of land he possesses; we ask him whether he is possessed of the spirit of brotherhood and whether he counts all as entitled with him to the benefits of civiliza- tion and to the helps that come therefrom. The lodge room and the Camp help to draw us together; they help to unify the world ; they help to teach the spirit of brother- hood. I am glad to be with you on this day. I am proud of my membership in this great fraternity, the greatest fra- ternity of its age in all the world and in all history. So far as we know, no organization of men bound together by the ties of fraternity has ever grown so large or exerted so great an influence in a quarter of a century.- 62 FRATERNITY The fact that it has grown and is still growing, proves that it is founded upon the rock and that it has met the needs of the people. It is an honor to be one of this army of a million men. These men represent the best that is in this land. They represent the common people of this country, and the common people constitute probably 95 per cent, of our total population. There are a few who • have accumulated vast wealth and who do not consider them- selves of the masses, and you may find a few criminals who have forfeited their right to be counted as members of this great brotherhood of the common people; but the common people from whom the membership of our society comes are the ones who constitute the nation's strength. In peace they are the builders of the country — in war they are the country's bulwark. We bring our floral tribute to those who, once with us, have been taken from us, but who shall be long remem- bered. We stand as it were, on this middle ground: Looking back, we recall the day when they were among us, and we scatter flowers over their graves as evidence that they are not forgotten; and, turning from their graves, we look into the future and think, as we must on an occasion like this, that soon our work shall be done; that soon we shall be gathered with them in that life that never ends, our work on earth left to those following us. To-day we may find some consolation in the thought that, as we remember those who have died, so, when our days are numbered, those who still live and still act together as members of our Society will lay flowers upon our graves and, in so doing, indicate that they remember us and appreciate our work. FRATERNITY 63 FRATERNITY H. S. HUDSON My friends, I am a believer in Fraternity — a follower of happiness — and a friend of joy. I am an optimist. I had rather stand with my naked eyes turned toward the burning sun, hoping its rays might penetrate my soul and drive the chill from my heart, than be a pessimist, groping with trembling hands and troubled face through the slough of despond. I want to see the day come when all will be believers in the Brotherhood of Man ; when all humanity will be worshippers at the shrine of brotherly love; when human affection will reach from the cottage on the street to the mansion on the hillside and back again ; when luxury will stop to put a flower on the brow of care; when wealth will wipe the tears from off the cheeks of poverty; when ignorance will seek and see the light of knowledge and cruel and thoughtless words will no longer bruise the hearts of little children. Some day fraternity will make sunshine enough in the world to drink up the tears of grief. It will take fear from out the human heart, and place the badge of cour- age upon the weeping form of widowhood. It will take the hands of avarice and greed from off the home, and bid the wide and startled eyes of orphanhood to no longer fear the darkening clouds of adversity. It will be a leveler of all distinctions and, standing by the sarcophagus of rich and poor alike, it will teach that "kind words are more than coronets and simple faith than Norman blood." Fraternity has illuminated the Valley of Death with the beaming stars of Hope and, in all the desert wastes of life, it has found the paths that lead to the oasis of eternal happiness. Fraternal organizations have made the best 64 FRATERNITY of all the better instincts of mankind. They have taken the pity of one human heart and added it to that of many others. They have taken the good will of one human being and placed it with a multitude of others. They have concentrated joy and happiness, kind words and good deeds and, with these marshalled hosts, have waged ceaseless and relentless battle against all the hordes of misery and death. Fraternity is strenuous labor for the right. It is the splendid effort that vies with the school and the church to do the most towards the betterment of mankind. It is the teachings of the Christ not uttered by the lips but per- formed by the hands. It is not the work of the doctor who suggests, but that of the Good Samaritan who per- forms; not the kindly word, but the thoughtful act; words tremble but a moment on the lips and are lost into nothingness. Deeds are the act of the heart performed through the hands and are as eternal as the universe ; like the morning sunshine laden with the perfume of flowers they touch every life with hope, bring forgetfulness of yesterday and courage for tomorrow. Fraternity is non-sectarian and non-political and, where the church cannot scale the wall of prejudice. Fra- ternity walks unhindered. It teaches knowledge school masters never knew and instructs multitudes who never cared for the unmeaning hieroglyphics of science, the philosophy of right living. Fraternity is the eternal enemy of selfishness and, for my part, I had rather live my life among those who live happy in the present, and hopeful in the future — ^men whose generous hearts and helping hands fill the sky with sunshine and the air with melody — than to be a pampered son of arrogant wealth, clad in the garments of nobility ; fed in the lap of luxury ; living in gorgeous palaces ; drinking the nectar of the gods ; but feeling in my breast FRATERNITY 65 the emptiness of life, and holding in my conscience the memory of selfish acts and ungenerous deeds. Selfishness is a murderer yet unhung. It has incited every riot, and committed every crime since first the morning stars sang together. It has murdered men and women and children ; given birth to every slander ; seared the cheek of virtue ; robbed the cradle and the grave and devastated the hearthstone of happiness. Selfishness is the embodiment of evil. Fraternity is the home of love. One promotes misery, the other fosters happiness. There is a gulf between the two as impassable as the line of demarkation between Heaven and Hell. Where one is the other cannot be, and I had rather have upon my limbs the manacles of public degradation than to have upon my heart the chains of public and private selfishness. I had rather live in a dungeon, with only a memory of God's soft sunshine, the birds, the flowers, the trees, but with a full measure of pity in my heart, than to live in a palace, unmindful of the cry of distress ; the pinched lips of pov- erty; the grief stricken children, their eyes swimming in tears, and the heart-broken cry of bereft parents. I would rather have in my heart the precious joy of one kindly act than to have in my pocket the golden coin of selfishness. Fraternity and fraternal organizations have touched the sleeping conscience of all civilized peoples and aroused them to potent action; fraternal organizations may not have builded the magnificent piles of iron and steel and granite that are monuments of com- mercial greed and selfishness, but they have builded and protected homes wherein "faint dreams like shadowy vales divide the billowed hours of love," and were all the money that has been expended for fraternal benefits and for the preservation of homes gathered together in one mass, it would astound the civilized world. It would build a city of homes the beauty and extent of which 66 FRATERNITY would seem like a fairy tale to the most imaginative phil- anthropists. If there is a person within the reach of my voice, who is absolutely sure that he will lay aside enough of this world's goods to protect his home, his wife and children from the calamity that may come out of the future, to him I have nothing to say. To this man the history of the world and the experience of mankind are as nothing when compared to his own egotism. Who is sure of the future? Who can pierce the veil that hides to-morrow, and who can say that he is absolutely sure that there will be a to-morrow ? Cities that represented the wealth and elegance of their time have vanished in smoke. Moun- tains that reared their tawny heads to the starlit skies have been leveled to the earth from which they sprang. Manly men who felt within their veins the rich red blood of youth have fallen beneath the iron rule of destiny and become spiritless masses of clay. Then who knows that he is exempt from the common destiny that guides us all ? Who can say with any degree of certainty that he can lay aside enough to protect his family from unforeseen calamity? No one, unless he be possessed with the vision of a prophet, and I have not met many of these people lately. You know not many years ago there was a great preju- dice against orders and once in a while you find people in this enlightened age who view them with suspicion. I know in my youthful days, and that is not so many years ago, I used to think every man that I knew to be a Mason was a sort of a side partner of the devil. Some people think so yet. They knew there was a goat nearly as large as an ordinary cow, and hobgoblins and mysterious words and signs and, by deduction, which is a line of reasoning- employed by detectives who never catch anybody, they concluded that the order was in some way inimical to ■ FRATERNITY 67 their best interests. And even to. this day there are people who view with suspicion what they are pleased to term secret societies. But the world has progressed and just as it has discarded the crooked stick for the modern plow, just as the superstitions of the past have faded before the light of knowledge, just as the piano has super- seded the torn tom as a musical instrument, so has the world progressed and the modern fraternal and insurance organizations of to-day, profiting by the mistake of the past, have entered upon a wider field of endeavor, and a more complete method of procedure until to-day ours is the only flag that has in reality upon it "Liberty, Fra- ternity and Equality," the three grandest words in all the languages of rnen. "Liberty!" — Give to every man the fruit of his own labor. "Fraternity !" — Every man in the right is my brother. "Equality !" — The rights of all are equal. I have said these fraternal organizations add to the sum of human joy and, after all, the happy man is the successful man. Happiness is wealth, and that man is a millionaire who has no fear for the future comfort of those whom he honors and esteems. To protect the home which contains those we love is a duty every honorable man acknowledges and assumes. Every act in the life of man testifies more eloquently than words eternal fealty to this duty. Every cent placed in a savings bank, every dollar invested in stocks and bonds, every life and fire insurance policy, — every hour spent in labor — every stroke of the pick — every furrow turned by the plow — all the weary moments spent in poring over books — every call to arms — every drum beat and call of bugle — all the battle fields which contain the martyred ■ dead — every monument to heroism, and all the pages of history speak most eloquently of man's defense of the home, and the man who will not defend the home that has 68 • FRATERNITY cared for and protected him is a dirty scrub who contam- inates the air he breathes. The wretch, concentered all in self, Living shall forfeit fair renown, And, doubly dying, shall go down To the vile dust from whence he sprung. Unwept, unhonored, and unsung. The man of wealth insures his life as a plain business proposition, but the man who labors for his daily bread, and the man without a bank account, the man whose life is one unending round of toil, should insure his life not only as a business proposition but as a plain, unmistak- able duty as well. Among a thousand workingmen, per- haps one-third have homes, and one-fourth a bank account, two-thirds or three-fourths live from day to day, from week to week, unable to save more than a pittance from their daily wages. The man in this condition, who neglects to insure his life to protect his home or his family, is criminally negligent, and fear and remorse will make a hell of his death bed. Young men, insure your lives, protect your homes, do something for those who have done and are doing so much for you. There is no reason why you should not insure your lives, and every reason why you should. It is a mark of prudence. It signifies business sagacity. It places you in touch with the business men of your com- munity. Fraternal life and life insurance broadens your mental horizon, and makes you a man in the eyes of men. An organization of this kind represents the best impulses of mankind. It arouses the loftiest sentiments and the noblest ambitions in every human soul. It is a builder of stronger nations ; of greater empires ; of humanitarian communities, and it furnishes to us the source of that intense patriotism, that optimistic hopeful- ness of the future which characterizes the American FRATERNITY 69 people. It appeals to every heart that has touched the cross of human sufifering. it is the many-htied bow of promise shining through and over all the clouds of sorrow. It is the word of hope heard above the clamor of the mob. It is the crimson light that ushers in the tawny head of morning. It is Fraternity. THY NEIGHBOR H. C. EVANS How insignificant all things else become in comparison with a brave, industrious man who stands upright in the image of Grod; who lives and loves and perpetuates the human race; who with honest purpose bares his breast and squares his shoulders for the duties and responsibil- ities of life. A man who is not only making a living, but who is making a life. Such men constitute the body politic of fraternalism. Fraternalism has its inception in the divine command : "Love thy neighbor as thyself." At least eight different times, in these exact words, is this commandment given. Holy Writ designates it as the second great command- ment, and likens it in importance to the first, and declares that "on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." The poet tells that the angel, in writing down the names of those who loved the Lord, wrote first the name of him who loved his fellow-man. No word in our lan- guage saye those relating to our immediate home and fam- ily is dearer than the word "neighbor." To those who live, or have lived, in a quiet country neighborhood, where peace and quiet reign and the golden rule is the law of action, the word has a special endearment. It is in such 70 FRATERNITY a neighborhood that a favor is asked as a right, and a benefit is bestowed as a duty. Such a people fully com- prehend the divine direction, "Every man shall borrow of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor." Fraternalism does not proscribe or give limitations t-o the word "neighbor." Fraternalism has eliminated space and remoteness of residence. If you have doubt as to who your neighbor is, you may have the answer: Thy neighbor? 'Tis the fainting poor Whose eye with want is dim. Whom hilnger sends from door to door — Go thou and succor him. If you still have doubt, we point you to the greatest authority known among men — the definition given by the Saviour of man. In 'one of his journeys a certain lawyer questioned Christ as to his duties. Christ, gave him the two supreme commandments : "Love the Lord, thy God, with all thy soul, with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself." The lawyer — lawyer-like — asked: "Who is my neighbor ?" The answer was given in the story of the good Samari- tan: After carefully studying the laws of architecture and temple building by which foundations are made firm; by which towers are made secure and domes perfect, Ruskin declared that the laws of architecture and temple build- ing are in reality the laws of character building. As the architect takes the component parts, stone, iron and wood, and rears them into a building, either strong and beautiful, or weak and offensive, so man builds his character. Ruskin says : FRATERNITY 71 1. The soul is a temple more majestic than any cathedral. 2. Principles are foundation stones. 3. Habits are columns and pillars. 4. Facilities are master builders. 5. Every thought drives a nail. 6. Every deed weakens or makes strong some timber. 7. Every holy aspiration lends beauty as every unclean thing lends defilement — the whole standing forth at last builded either of passion or of purposes more precious than gold. Buildings fall and become uninhabitable because the architect puts lying stones in the foundation ; because the architect substitutes painted columns of plaster for mar- ble, and time soon exposes the ugly lie; because the builder puts lying tiles upon the roof. Ships are wrecked upon the rocks because a smith puts a lying link in the anchor's cable. THE WORLD CONQUERING FORCE* Some years ago, on a steamer from Hoiig Kong to Bombay, I fell into conversation with an educated, trav- eled Parsee, who was somewhat of a philosopher. We had just left China, with its tangled mass of humanity, overflowing to all the nations of the earth ; and we talked of the race problem in the Orient, with its myriad com- plexities and the forebodings they bring as to the final clash between Mongolian and Caucasian. * An address delivered by the Hon. Lee W. Squier^ President of the Associated Fraternities of America, at the dedication of the Temple of Fraternity on the Louisiana Purchase Exposition grounds, St. Louis, Missouri, October 24, 1903. 72 FRATERNITY "You Anglo-Saxons," said he, "are destined to rule the world. My father was an astrologist — a student of the stars of the moral firmament that guide our poor humanity in the bitter blackness of the world's live-long nights. "Men, tribes and nations, like Greece under Alex- ander, Rome under Julius Csesar, France under Napoleon, have followed a star, that century after century has flamed athwart the heavens like a comet — War. But this star ever sets, leaving men and nations no nearer the goal of universal sovereignty than when it first arose on the black- ness of the night. "Others, like ancient Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, Athens, Rome, under Augustus Csesar; like the Italian civic prin- cipalities of the Middle Ages ; like Germany and France of the present time, have followed another star, that ever and anon shines with a glory of brightness — Mental Cul- ture. But this star, though shining with varied bright- ness adown the centuries has made but little impression upon the world's universal night. "Others have followed the star that 'makes the dark- ness light about them' — all nations seeming to take delight in this effulgent constellation. My own nation of India," continued this scion of ancient learning and devotion, "has for centuries trod the narrow path of light radiating from this star — Religion. We have ever basked in its pale, yellow light, delving into the mysteries it has shown us of origin, existence, duty and destiny, with the fond hope that with these mysteries solved, we should be hailed and reverenced as the natural, undisputed leaders of the world's progress unto the perfect day. "But alas ! we have no leadership. Our learning, our piety, our devotion have gone for naught. India is for- gotten. But wherever you Anglo-Saxons go, there fades FRATERNITY 73 the night, there dawns the day. You are marching around this worid, transfigured in a golden light that leads you to universal supremacy. It is wonderful. It is splendid. But it is a mystery. I bow in ignorance and awe. I would like to walk in your light." A few weeks later, I stood on the crest of a hill in Palestine where "Shepherds watch their flocks by night" now as they did nineteen hundred years ago. On that sacred, historic soil, amidst those craggy, jutting lime- stone rocks, looking down on the olive trees of the valley, the voices of the Past seemed to whisper to me the name of the star that is leading our Anglo-Saxon race to such speedy and splendid world conquest. And I longed to shout across the lands and seas to my Parsee philosopher the solution of the mystery before which he bowed in ignorance and awe. I seemed to hear the Divine voice, the still small voice in the Garden of Eden, in the midst of the gloom caused by the first murder, "Where is thy brother ?" In answer how pitiful is the excuse of war, selfishness, ignorance and bigotry — "Am I my brother's keeper?" Again from far off Egypt, midst the strife among the brickmakers, I seemed to catch the echo of the divine law- giver's exclamation, "Ye be brethren. Wherefore do ye strive ?" Again amidst the strife and barbarity of civil war, in the Holy Land on which I stood, I seemed to hear the voices of David and Jonathan in their secret midnight love-feasts between the opposing camps, whispering the common language of eternal brotherhood, in their love that surpassed the love of woman. And again it seemed to me as I stood on that hill- top, not many miles from the blue waters of the Mediter- ranean, that from the ruins of the not far distant city of 74 FRATERNITY Syracuse, came the echo of the voice of the old Dionysius, the tyrant, as he expatiated on the amazing brotherhood of Damon and Pythias, and because of their fidelity the one to the other, asked that he be admitted to the sublime fellowship. And then, as I stooped and looked into the stone recess called a manger in the ruins of the stable of an inn, it seemed to me that the light of the star, which the wise men of the East followed, illumined anew the sacred spot where the Son of God took upon himself the form of man, because, "He was not ashamed to call us brethren." The spell was upon me. I followed this star of Heaven, tracing the steps of this Elder Brother as he went up and down the land of promise, teaching and exemplifying the truths of universal brotherhood. I lingered where tradition says He taught the lesson of the Good Samaritan ; I went into that upper room where tra- dition says He washed the Disciples' feet and gave them that divine example of the elder brother, doing the most menial service, because of the brother-heart within Him. I tarried on the hill where they say He gave that match- less Sermon on the Mount, in which He announced the rule of conduct in the brotherhood he was founding — "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them." I pondered over the place where it is said He was asked, "Lord, when saw we thee an hungered and gave thee meat? When saw we thee athirst and gave thee drink ? Or naked and clothed thee ? Or when saw we thee in prison and visited thee?" And I seemed to hear His summing up of all charity, its source and sub- stance — "Verily I say unto you, that inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Thus I saw how the star in the East, the star of uni- FRATERNITY 75 versal brotherhood, arose upon the blackness of the world's universal night. Bishop Berkeley once said, "Westward the star of empire takes its way." I followed it. I traveled over Europe and thought of the guilds among the serfs ; of the brotherhoods among the squires and knights and of the varied societies among the craftsman and tradesman of the Middle Ages for protection and help amidst danger and suffering. I went across to England and saw the light of this star of universal brotherhood shining even more brightly in the hundreds of friendly societies with their century records of grand achievements. Then west- ward still I turned my face, towards my native land, which I had not seen for years ; and here I find millions of my fellow men organized under the inspiration of our divine Brother and crowding the years full to overflowing with their compliance with His requirement, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me." "Westward the star of empire takes its way." Here on the grounds dedicated by the greatest nation to com- memorate the addition to our national domain and the development of a mighty empire, we to-day dedicate a temple that shall stand to the world a material expression of that mighty principle of brotherhood which has made our nation the greatest among the peoples of history. These material expressions are of inestimable value. The mind of man is so constituted that it can grasp the spiritual only through the material, the ideal through the real. Emblems and symbols are an inspiration to his faith, a help to his devotion. Hence come pilgrimages. I have witnessed in all parts of the world the magic effect of religious, scientific, political and educational pilgrimages. I have seen cara- 76 FRATERNITY vans of devotees creeping through the sands of the desert, crawUng over rugged mountains, unmindful of torrid heat and frigid cold in turn, pushing on and ever on to visit some poor little shrine, to pray and dream beneath the shadow of some crumbling temple and thence return, over the same weary wastes, with higher aspirations, nobler resolves and steadier purposes in life. At sun- down I have witnessed a whole city full of people stop all work, business and pleasure, and like one man fall on their face toward Mecca and pray, as a magic name rang from tower, turret, mosque and minaret, "Allah! Allah!" I have seen a poor Russian peasant, clothes threadbare and tattered, feet shoeless and bleeding, face pinched and body starved after six months' walking from his native village to the Holy Land to visit the ruins which somehow symbolize the foundations of his faith; and in deepest sympathy have I looked at his rags and suffering and asked him, "Is it worth it all?" And instantly, a light almost divine shone from those sunken eyes and illumined that wan face as he answered, "Worth it all? I would travel twice as far and go through thrice the privations, just to kiss the stones on the streets of the Holy City." Yes, the material symbol is an inspiration to faith. The outward emblem is a proof of the inner reality. On leaving Japan some years ago, there was presented to me a box, finely inlaid with choice woods and beautifully decorated — a model of construction and beauty. On opening it, I found within a smaller box, also perfect in its beauty and construction. Within this, I found another ; and so on until I had opened nine of these splen- did works of art. The tenth was a little cube which I could hold in my hand. It was likewise a perfect struc- ture. But on opening it, I found within a precious stone upon which was graven the image of the Mikado. FRATERNITY 7T On these grounds the world will find magnificent art palaces and splendid buildings showing forth the triumph of the world's progress towards the true light of perfect civilization. It is significant that these great buildings all cluster around this hill, and that the center of all this magnificent display is this Temple of Fraternity — the precious jewel bearing the image, in its meaning, of the Son of God, our Elder Brother. This Temple will illus- trate the work which the brotherhood of man has accom- plished, through hospitals, the rehef of the distressed, the rescue of the perishing, the care of the dying. This temple is the material emblem of that force in modern civilization, which in the end triumphs over war, selfish- ness, ignorance, superstition and bigotry. This temple is but a symbol of the countless homes which have been reared and saved in the sacred name of Fraternity. How proud will be the multitudes that visit this Temple. Proud that they are brothers ; grateful for the epoch in the his- tory of the world in which the work of Fraternity is first symbolized in an appropriate and special palace like this. With what inspiration will they return to their homes and firesides, their towns, and villages, their lodges, camps and councils. The world-conquering force of Fraternity will receive from these pilgrimages to this Temple a mighty impetus and increase of its beneficent influence,, which will soon envelop and enfold all races and nations. As I stood by the recently excavated corner-stone of King Solomon's temple on Mount Moriah, in imagina- tion I saw the members of the first operative lodge of our- universal brotherhood toiling ceaselessly day after day,, month after month and year after year, until at length that great temple was completed in all its majesty and glory — ^the wonder of the world. Without sound of hammer or chisel was it reared. Silently, like a divine- 78 FRATERNITY mystery, it arose to its glory. This Temple, which the fraternal hosts are building on these grounds, will be but a symbol, a material expression, of that immaterial temple of Fraternity built by the life and heart of the millions following the star of universal brotherhood, shining brighter and brighter unto the perfect day — a temple not made by hands, eternal in the heavens. PYTHIAN JUBILEE ADDRESS HON. ALBERT J. BEVERIDGE Brothers : It would be indeed a stony heart and a dull mind which would not l)e keenly sensible of the far too partial words which our Grand Chancellor, brother Mer- rill E. Wilson, whom we all admire and who deserves our admiration, has used in introducing me. No man can look upon this amazing audience without sincere pride in his membership in this Order. I can not but think that this mighty assemblage is not an accident; I can not but feel that there are profound reasons at the bottom of this Order's existence. It is these reasons which most interest me to-night, and which, with your permission, I will use as the theme of my address. All of human life and history are stages in the devel- opment of the noblest things in the character of man. All war is merely murder which does not in some form serve civilization. All industry is merely selfishness if the shuttle does not weave into the fabric of prosperity a strand of the finer qualities of the human heart. All education is mechanical and lifeless which does not work out in the soul of the student the true, the beautiful and the good. Civilization is not civilization if it does not pro- FRATERNITY. 79 duce as its principal result men and women who are unsel- fish, sweet and truthful. It is upon this fundamental verity that our Order is founded. We have taken the best of human conceptions and made them the reason and principle of our existence. Friendship! Charity! Benevolence! Concentrate all the thought and effort of the past and these three things are the best and final product. It is the vitality and glory of our organization that, taking these for our creed, we have made it our business to spread them by systematic, organized effort. So it is that our Order is a twentieth century propaganda of righteousness. This is why we have grown so signally and so soundly in so brief a time. I do not say that all of our hundreds of thousands have carefully thought this out, and, on well reasoned conclusions, become our brothers ; but I do say that it is the instinctive recognition of these fundamental truths which is drawing the Nation's young manhood to us. For this Nation is a good nation; a nation of good men and women; God-fearing, believing, hopeful, char- itable. The heroes of the American Republic have been not necessarily its ablest men ; but always they have been types of its best men. The great virtues we seek to make practical. As I understand this Order its whole spirit is unselfishness. We seek to reduce the eternal truths to actual living and doing. We do this by the methods of the time. The principal characteristic of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is organization. Men are banding together; that means fraternity. Industries are consolidating ; that means the application of universal system to business, and in the end makes for indus-trial peace. So we Knights of Pythias obey the spirit of the times and organize with military solidarity and discipline, not for war, but for brotherhood. Even the gospel of the Master can reach 80 FRATERNITY the masses of men only through the careful organization of the church. And so we see that even religious disci- pline constantly becomes more rigid, while creeds stead- ily become more tolerant. Think what it means to this Nation to have more than half a million of the flower of young manhood dedicating their lives in a pfactical way to these generous and fra- ternal ideals. Think what it means to have these lofty views of life and conduct forever written upon their con- sciences by a profoundly impressive ritual ! Think what it means to have this ritual — this dramatic instruction in the highest conceptions of the human character — strength- ened by a solemn oath. Think what it means to have all this followed by a continuous and permanent reminder of its meaning through the work of each night at the lodge room and through the powerful teaching of our daily walk! Speaking merely of the effect upon the Nation, the Republic would be better off if there were a hundred such organizations as the Knights of Pythias. - Every order which makes men live better lives also makes the Nation to which they belong live a better life. The great, andent, universal Masonic Order, the powerful, vigorous, benefi- cent Order of Odd Fellows and all kindred associations which teach men brotherhood are pillars of strength to the Republic. The beginnings of secret orders were in the cause of liberty and to fetter the hand of tyranny. They began with the close association of the best minds who dared not freely express their thoughts, in order that in the safety of the secret chamber they might have that intellectual freedom denied them in the open. At a period in the world's history when learning itself was treason, the sciences were cultivated and the world's accumulated knowledge was preserved by secret organizations. So, FRATERNITY 81 while they did not produce free institutions, free institu- tions were the realization of their original purpose. Thus, organizations like our own, or like any one of those that I have named whose foundation stones are loyalty to our free government and that broad human charity that would extend fraternity all over the globe, are elements of strength in sovereignties of the people. But where secret organizations are formed for other purposes, where they become propagandas of anarchy rather than of liberty, of destruction rather than of human friendship, their very secrecy makes them all the more evil. What a republic needs and what it must have if it is going to endure, is the habit of calm thinking among its citizens, a broadness of mental view, a largeness of con- ception of what life is for and the real purpose of the nation in the world's work and in history. Our Order gives this ; and therefore is a source of strength to the Republic. Every other order that does the same is another spring from which flows life-giving and perennial streams throughout the land. No human mind can estimate the far-reaching effects of a single good man's daily deeds among his fellows. The deed does not die with itself. It sets all the universe in motion. It inspires other acts kindred to itself, and these in turn produce still others. How much more, then, does a great order benefit our land, and, indeed, all humanity ? Its work is not the righteous living of a sin- gle life. Its labors for the higher things embrace the combined and organized efforts of hundreds of thousands. So it is that not Newton, or Hamilton, or any math- ematician who ever lived can compute the benefit to man- kind wrought by the great Order of which we are proud to be members. So it is, too, that we are not content to confine the blessings of this Order to ourselves alone. We reach out a loving and helpful hand to every man of 82 FRATERNITY spirit, character and fine impulses throughout the whole United States, for the Knights of Pythias are as yet exclu- sively American. Our six hundred thousand men are of our own land and blood and tongue. Our Order was founded while civil war made men forget for the moment that friendship, charity and benevolence, which we pro- posed to preserve, restore and cherish. So we are an American Order, blood-baptized and consecrated to peace and good will among men. A million members is our mark to-day ; millions of members will be the mark we set for to-morrow. And all this, not for power, or lust of gold, or armaments, or even for the material c6nstruc- tiveness of peace. No, all this only for the spread and strengthening of pure and beautiful character among the children of men ! A LODGE OF SORROW* JOHN A. LODOR This is one of our festive days, and we are wont to commemorate it in honor of one of our Patron Saints. With us, however, it is a day of mourning — a day set apart to pay the last tribute of fraternal affection to the memory of our brethren, whom death has clasped in his icy embrace during the present year. The day itself — our custom of observing it — and the special purpose for which we are now convened, all com- bine to remind us of the beautiful and significant Egyptian custom of placing a skeleton at the head of the festal board. There, in the midst of life, and mirth, and feast- *An Address commemorative of their Fraternal Dead of I860, delivered before Halo Lodge of Caliaba, Alabama, Decem- ber 27, 1860. FRATERNITY 83 ing, sat the ghastly herald and emblem of Death. Silent and motionless amid the general joy, most eloquently it reminded those present of their mortality, and uttered, in language not to be misunderstood, the mournful Truth, that there is a time for all things, and among them a time to die. No flight of fancy — no stretch of imagination was required to comprehend the force of the lesson taught by that grim monitor. It was the stern prototype of Death, presiding over an assembly in which mirth, joy, love, youth, beauty, age, wit, genius, rank and wealth, though all were there, yet each one for himself, bowed in homage before that symbol, whose presence announced the fact, felt and recognized by all, that they too must die. Our festive day is turned into a day of sorrow. We, too, have a skeleton in our midst, and he points with his long, bony, fleshless finger, to the vacant places in our fra- ternal circle — most unfeelingly he presses upon our bleed- ing hearts, causing them to flow afresh in remembrance of the loved and lost, v(;hom his Grand Master, Death, has taken from among us. But a twelve month since, within the precinct of our lodge, our ranks were filled — our mystic circle was com- plete. We entered upon the New Year, with the future spread out before us, bright with all the gilding of Hope. No dark cloud was visible in our sky — no note of danger was heard upon the wind — no shadow of gloom appeared to warn us of the approach of Death, or startle us by his proximity. In the vigor of youth — in the pride of man- hood — in the strength of age — united by our mystic tie — hand in hand and side by side, we entered the year together. Now, at its close, we pause to look around us, and note the events which have marked its flight. Place after place is vacant by our side — our circle is broken — our brethren are gone — our lodge room is draped in sable weeds, the mute symbol of our grief, and when we ask for 84 FRATERNITY our absent brothers, we bow our heads in -sorrow as the mournful dirge rings in our ear and imparts their fate- tells us that the silver cord is loosed— the golden bowl is broken— the pitcher is broken at the fountain— and the wheel is broken at the cistern. Once, twice, thrice, yea, even six times, has the shaft of the insatiate archer stricken down a brother by our side. Again and again were we called upon to suspend our daily labor, and bury our dead. Again and again was impressed upon our heart and reiterated in our ear, the solemn lesson that from earth we came, and unto earth we must return again. It is not for those who had lived their three score years and ten — not those whose heads were silvered o'er by age, for whom we are called upon to mourn. It is for the young and middle aged. For those to whom life opened with apparently a lengthened vista, and whose future was sparkling and bright with all the* rainbow hues of Hope. Death is at all times terrible, even when he gathers into the coffers of the ^rave, those who, like the ripened harvest, had passed through the spring, summer, autumn, and advanced into the winter of life : but oh ! how start- ling it is to see those who had just entered upon its spring, laid in the silent tomb, and know that their career is ended ere it is well begun. ***** One after another we have seen our brethren gathered to the tomb, and we have mourned for them and for our- selves. Now, this dear friend — this dear brother, is added to the number. Verily, the cup of our affliction is filled — filled to the brim, and in all its bitterness we are compelled to drain it to the dregs. Would that we could do justice to his memory, and properly, express the high meed of praise so justly his due. We can only say FRATERNITY 85 None knew him but to love him Nor named him but in praise : That his loss to his family — his host of friends, and this community, is irreparable. A place is left vacant that will not soon be filled. A bright light of the fireside — the social circle — the sick chamber — and the lodge room, is utterly extinguished, and the sad wail of lamentation for his death, vibrates and finds an echo in every heart. Sad was the fate of our friend and brother, and deeply do we regret it. Kindly will we remember him, until our hearts have ceased to beat their "Funeral marches to the grave." And now our task is almost ended. We have not the temerity to inquire why, oh why! are we thus afflicted? We try to yield with humble submission to the will of Him who doeth all things well, satisfied that it is for some wise purpose He has inculcated these sad lessons of mortality upon us. It may be as a warning to us, to set our house in order — a notice to us, to prepare for that dread hour when we too must enter the dark valley of the shadow of death. It may be an unpleasant, yet surely not an unprofit- able reflection, to remember the Egyptian custom to which we have already alluded. We stated, we had a skeleton at our festal board. It was an error, for we have six — six vacant places are by our side — six voices from the tomb are ringing in our ear — six grassy mounds tell us the saddest of all sad stories — that of man's mortality. Clear and distinct as did the Egyptians impress the idea of death upon themselves, it is yet more clearly and vividly im- pressed upon us. To them it was presented in a single view — to us, in varied forms. Youth and beauty — man- hood in its strength, and wisdom in its pride — to-day they are ours, to-morrow, they share the bed of the earthworm. 86 FRATERNITY Alas ! for the pomp and vanity of human Hfe. What is it all worth, when we view its termination? 'Tis the glance of an eye, 'tis the draught of a breath From the blossom of health, to the paleness of death. From the gilded saloon, to the bier and the shroud. Oh! why should the spirit of mortal be proud? How frail the tenure hj which human life is held — how often we witness its abrupt and awful termination? Untold examples are ever before us, in the chapter of casualties, by> which we see in an instant all ranks lev- elled — all distinctions done away. Young and old — rich and poor — the proud and the humble — the prince and the peasant — the master and the slave, all with their lives, yield obedience to the despot. Death, and at his command, . assume their places among "the pale nations of the dead." Over the living. Death reigns supreme. All nature tells man the story of dissolution. On every page of her volume it is illustrated. In every form it is presented to view, and pressed home upon him in every manner. Even the spider's web affords us a lesson on which we may muse and meditate. Who has not looked upon it with surprise and admiration, as he noted the numerous gossamer threads, radiating from a given centre, with the most beautiful regularity, in every direc- tion, and these are crossed and recrossed, over and over again, by many parallel lines, which' to wondrous beauty gives it greatest strength. How light, how airy, how artistic, and how beautiful this web ! and yet it is the frail- est of all frail things; a wave of the hand, and it is brushed out of existence for ever. It finds its parallel in human life. Youth is its radiating point; the ties of home, country, kindred, love, friendship, wealth, beauty and power, are a few of its radiating lines — the warp of life. The pleasures, joys and amusements which surround FRATERNITY 87 US, interwoven as they are with myriad hopes and fancies, are the parallel lines — the woof in the mystic web which combine to make life beautiful and existence desirable. Should the finger" of death touch it, in a moment it turns to ashes ; but if for a time it escapes such a fate, as antici- pations end in disappointment, as hopes fade away, as joys perish and give place to grief, as pleasure is sup- planted by sorrow, as friends and kindred fall by our side, thread by thread of the web is broken, its beauty destroyed, its strength gone, the wreck of a once young and hopeful life, toils on with a sad and heavy heart, craving only a sweet slumber in the bosom of our mother Earth — a resting place, where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest. While our brethren have passed away to their long home, while we commemorate their virtues and their worth, and embalm their memory in our hearts, we have yet another duty to perform, and it is one we must not, dare not, ignore. It is to remember kindly the sorrowing kindred, the fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, the widows and orphans of our deceased brethren. While we mourn over our loss, we must remember theirs. It is heavier than ours. The manly form, on which the father and mother leaned with confidence to sustain their faltering footsteps to the grave, he whom they would have near them in their last hour, to close their eyes in death, and shroud them for the tomb, has gone before them, and they are left in all the dreariness of a desolate old age, to pursue the weary remnant of life's journey, alone, to the grave. Have we no sorrow- — • no sympathy for such a grief as theirs ? The brother and sister, whose hearts were filled with fraternal love for him who had been nourished at the same maternal fount, who had shared all the joys and sorrows of childhood, the hopes of youth and manhood, have seen the form of him 88 FRATERNITY they loved laid in the bosom of our common mother. Again, we ask, have we no tears, no sympathy for such a grief as theirs ? The widow and the orphan, how shall we speak of them ? How shall we measure their loss and their grief? The husband wedded in early manhood, he, who, before God's holy altar, had sworn to love, cherish, and protect the trembling and fragile form by his side, who had traveled along the path of life her safe protector and her guide, whose heart had beat in unison with hers^ and shared her every joy and care, is now no more. The oak is stricken down by the thunderbolt, and the ivy is left without a support, clinging still, not to the oak as in days gone by, but, to the sweet memories of the past — the shadow, merely, of a shade. The widow is left deso- late, broken hearted and alone. The orphans, poor, little, helpless innocents ! The father, in whose smile they lived, whose presence made their young hearts bound with joy, whose labor furnished them food and raiment, who guided their youthful steps through the perils of child- hood, and whose pride, as well as duty, it was to educate them for their future usefulness, is gone, forever gone. They have no father save Him in heaven. Again we ask, have we no tears to shed for them — no sympathy for such a grief as theirs? May God in His mercy help the widow and the orphan! May He be a Husband to the widow, and a Father to the fatherless. If there be a single Mason present who has forgotten or neglected his duty, we admonish him at once to clear away the rubbish that chokes up the fountain of charity in his heart. Smite its adamantine walls, even as Moses smote the rock in the wilderness, and let its pure, sweet waters gush forth free and unrestrained. Every heart has within it the elixir of life, the fountain of perpetual youth ; give it, oh ! give it fair play, and its owner will FRATERNITY 89 never shrink into the avaricious miser, wliose God is seen on every coin he grasps. One by one, have our brethren gone to the tomb. They have finished their pilgrimage on earth, and now inhabit the silent city of the great King, Death. We are traveling the selfsame path they trod, and our journey has the same destination. Every second draws us nigher unto it, and at any moment we may arrive there. No human power can avert it. It is the crowning point of human life, the moment, at which man stands upon the verge of two worlds, when he takes a swift, rapid and comprehensive view of his past career, and endeavors to comprehend its just value as a preparation for that eternal world on which he is about to enter. With the certainty of our destination before us, with the knowledge of our speedy arrival there, it surely behooves man to prepare to meet his destiny. And how shall we prepare ? We do not propose to trench. upon the province of those whose duty it is "to point' to heaven and lead the way," but, as a mason, we feel at liberty to point to that God in whom every mason heretofore declared he put his trust, to those great lights to be found upon our every altar — the Holy Bible; that inestimable gift of God to man, the rule and guide of our faith, is there; there too, we learn to square our actions with all mankind, and circumscribe and keep our passions within due bounds. In a nutshell, our whole duty is placed before us, and the injunction is ours, to perform it with regularity. The standard of Masonry is a high one ; but, oh ! how few live up to it, how many fall below it — and some, we say it "more in sorrow than in anger," there are some, whose lives are a libel upon the institution of Freema- sonry. Hold up before you, my brethren, the mirror of Truth, and scrutinize your image as reflected in it; test it by plumb, square and level, and satisfy yourself, if you 90 FRATERNITY can, that you still stand before your brethren and the world the just and upright mason you once appeared to be. If the examination be unsatisfactory, at once repair your moral and masonic edifice; repair the wrong you have done yourself and your brethren. Let the Cardinal Virtues be ever your guide. They are Temperance, Pru- dence, Fortitude and Justice — the Masonic North, South, East and West. Let these bright virtues mark your lives, your habits and your conversation. Let Temperance be your North Star; ever behold it, beautifully represented upon the masonic chart by a youthful virgin leaning against a broken column, with a pitcher of Water by her side — Water, cold Water, be it observed, pure, sweet and fresh as that found by Hagar in the desert. Each of these virtues will impart their own impressive lesson, and lead us straight into the beautiful path of a mason's life. However sadly we may have erred hereto- fore, however widely we may have wandered from the true path, we shall yet find that our brethren will cast the mantle of Charity over us, and become oblivious to our faults, our follies and our sins; even as we have cast it over the memory of our departed brethren, and have for- given and forgotten theirs. Their voices, sweet with the' tones of Brotherly Love, strong in the power of Truth, will come to our Relief, and guide us back to the path of rectitude. When the fraternal grasp is given, and the strong arm thrown around a wayward or an erring brother, to support his weak and faltering footsteps, when good counsel is whispered in his ear, when his most hidden thought is safely deposited in a brother's faithful breast, when he remembers that on bended knee a voice is raised to heaven in his behalf, surely, with such aids as these, such love as this, the wayward and the erring will no longer refuse to return to the path of duty, of FRATERNITY 91 safety, and of honor. It is a broad, clear and beautiful way, embellished with shade trees and flowers, and the air is fragrant with sweet perfume. It leads us through all the chambers of our mystic Temple, where we are taught the great lesson how to live, onward to the Temple of Christianity, where we are taught that other lesson, how to die. For full well we know 'Tis not the whole of life to live Nor all of death to die. Here igain we must pause, or encroach on the prov- ince of others. By traveling the path we have feebly endeavored to point out — ^by learning the all-important lessons how to live and how to die, we may take the acacia, our own beautiful emblem of immortality in our hand, and while yielding obedience to Death, we can still enter the tomb and find its dark precincts illumined by the Christian's Hope — its portal, but the door opened for us to a better and brighter world than this. Thus we fondly hope our brethren have found it; thus we hope that we may find it, for Death's but a path that must be trod If man would ever pass to God. MASONIC IDEALS* GEORGE R. ALLEN If you will kindly permit me to use the language of the New England minister, I suggest to you that, if you forget everything else I may say in your presence to-night, do not forget the excerpt which I quote found * Response to toast at banquet of Kansas City, Kansas, Masonic lodges. «2 FRATERNITY upon the program placed by your plate. It comes from Mrs. Browning, one of those rare women who seem in some way to have caught the gleam of poetic vision in rare degree. She realized and voiced the truth that the mind of man controlled his destiny. Her language is this: 'Tis not what man does that exalts him, But what he would. Masons ought of all men to be the most responsive to the thought of the controlling power of ideals. The rsplendid bodies of men that in all ages have exercised a more or less controlling power over the affairs of the world have been those whose ideals have been formulated and imparted to them, in part by the followers of those -who in the building of the Temple gave the world the splendid ideals which we know as speculative Masonry. And yet, while our worthy toastmaster has spoken of the value of ideals in the speculative and abstract, and Tve have heard something of the wonderful power and influence of the Rite, I think there is something more in ideals than that. When you make the final analysis of all those things that yield tribute to our every day comfort, they are but the ideal of some man, somewhere, sometime, who moulded aU his powers of body and mind round a single concrete conception, which was to him his ideal. And yet something more than mere life is required to enable the fruit of ideals to manifest itself. Capacity to profit and reap benefit must be within or ideals are as "barren of benefit as the wastes of the desert. One of the farmers- of our Kansas fields may place his choicest calf in a pasture with blue grass knee deep ; he may in these days of general prosperity ransack the art galleries of the world and rob them of their treasures, and hang on each fence post surrounding that pasture a masterpiece of FRATERNITY , 9* painting; he may group the statuary of ancient Greece afid Italy along its streams and beneath its shade trees;, he may place the literature of all the ages within con- venient access, and that calf will remain but a calf. But with that farmer's child it is different. Give the boy or girl the ennobling and uplifting influence of paint- ing and statuary, of books and all the softening and civil- izing tendencies that work for good, and you develop the- powers of body and mind that make the individuality what it was intended to become. And in this is found- the secret of the tremendous influence of our order. Whatever the world owes to Masonry, it owes because Masonry as an institution has never been satisfied with the products of a day and generation. We live more to-day in a year than our ancient brethren lived in a cen- tury. And yet, whatever we have that is worthy of preservation is but itself the product of the ideals for the perpetuation of which was formulated this noble order whose devotees we are. If you are inclined to think that Masonry has reached its zenith, that the futvire ages will know nothing more- of the order than we now know, permit me to suggest that possibly those who met first upon the tessellated pavement may have been of like opinion, and we know now how weak and feeble, indeed, must have been their conception of life, living, and its attendant responsibili- ties compared with those we enjoy. Not a single inscrip- tion upon the walls of the Masonic Lodge but that is pregnant with meaning; not a device upon our regalia or paraphernalia but that has its own meaning and sym- bolizes its own ideals to our mind. I am reminded of a story of an old southern negro= who tells his experience in a haunted house. It runs something like this : "Mars John axed me tother day ef S4 FRATERNITY I wuz borned to see evul, and I sed I spected I wuz, coz I had seed a powful sight of it in my day. En den he says 'y\m' sez ze, 'ef yoii'll go an spen' de night in dat house whar dat ol' Simpson woman died at las' week, I'll give yo five dollars in the mornin'.' I sed, 'Yassur, I'll do dat in er minit'. I've done hearn of hants and hantees but I never heard jit, what da dun hut nobody. So long 'bout night, I git me some lite wood and a lamp an' I goes over dar, and, goes in and builds me a fire and lights 'e lamp, and was jes a settin' dar athinking how easy I gwine mak' dat ar five dollars, when I heard a noise at de do'. When I luk aroun', I seed a big black cat a comin' in. He was just about dat high, an' he had his tail sticking up in the air, jus' like a broom han'le. He walk erround me en I foller him wid my eyes, en den he jump on de table and- look at me, en say: 'Mister dey aint nobody here but you and me, is dey?' I sez, 'No sur, en de aint gwine to be nobody but you here in a minit'. Wud dat I runned outen de house, en down thro the f runt yard, en tuk the gate wid me, and after I went f ru dat, I runned erbout er ten mile, when I gotten, out uv bref, and wuz layin' down on de groun' tryin' to git me bref back, when erlong cum er man whut had his haide cut off ^ en he had his haide under his arm, so, en he walk all erroun' me en look at me an say, 'Hi dar, Nigger, but you suttinly kin run some.' I sez, 'Yessur, but you aint seed nothun' yit; jes' watch me now.'" And thus, my brethren however much we may glorify the achievements of our order in the past ; however much we may feel that its accomplishments in this day and generation are of the highest order, we must remember that in all the years that shall follow, we may say, and our successors may say, to the world, "You aint seen nothin' yit ; just watch me now." This great and puissant FRATERNITY 95 society must in the future as in the past stand in the very forefront of progress, striving continually to live up to the ideals that have made it rock-ribbed; whose every touch has been that of life. I said in the beginning that Masonry was an ideal; that its chief glories are idealic; that it proves it worth to live by the fruits of its existence scattered broadcast upon every hand. It claims nothing of the divine in its origin. It does not now seek, and it never in its history sought to supplant the church. It wages no warfare with any institution of mankind that seeks the elevation of the race. It joins hands with every effort for the enlighten- ment of mankind. It stands as the foe of all those things that tend to degrade men. It stands for purity of life, for freedom from evil, for abhorrence of every wrong deed. It knows no darkness but only light. No man can live as high a life as his Masonic ideals inculcate. In this is found one of the reasons for the perpetuity of the order. If it were possible for you or me, or for any brother anywhefe, under any circum- stances, to measure in full degree within the compass of human life the full teachings of the order. Masonry would die to-morrow. Indeed, it would have died ages ago. Masonry stands as the chief exponent of esoteric teachings on non-sacred origin. It asks only of the world the privilege of promulgating its doctrines along its own lines, which are "friendship, morality and brotherly love." It concedes the weaknesses of men, and seeks to sustain them against their own evil inclinations. It asks from the world naught in return for the blessings, con- ferred by its existence save the privilege of promulgat- ing its beneficent existence. The Temple, in the erection of which our order had its legendary inception, and upon the tessellated floor of 96 FRATERNITY which our first brethren were accustomed to meet, was an ideal. Splendid example of eastern architecture. Its golden walls and brazen columns, its porticoes and spa- cious courts teeming with the national life of a busy peo- ple. Real though it was to the Kingdom of Israel, it was yet in the larger sense but an ideal. Erected under the direction of Deity as a place that should symbolize His care for His people and contribute to their national life by creating a centre around which their choicest memories might cluster and for the preservation of which they might brave the most desperate conflict, it was repeatedly destroyed by the rude hand of war, and as often arose, phoenixlike from its ruins. Perhaps not for a thousand years has it been possible for a living person to place his hand upon a single stone, of all the rocks of earth, and say with assurance, "This was once a stone in the wall of the magnificent Temple." And yet no person of thought can be found anywhere who will say that the Temple of Sol- omon was ever at any period in the history of the world a more potent influence for good than it is in these open- ing years of the Twentieth century. And why ? Because it is and was an ideal, marking a milestone upon the path of human progress. Little did Jebus think, when in the infancy of the race,, he selected that smooth piece of volcanic rock upon the summit of Moriah as the foundation of the crude altar he erected, and around which his sons and daughters and bond servants gathered for some form of barbaric wor- ship, that that spot of ground should become the most noted one in history. He and his have perished, his name remembered only through the transforming and vivifying power of an ideal, with the formation of which he had nothing to do. It has become eternal. That Temple is eternal, not because Solomon, King FRATERNITY 97 m of Israel, builded it, or because Hiram, King of Tyre, assisted in its construction, or because the most skillful artisan of his time, "skilled to grave in gold and silver, in iron and brass, and to find out every device that should be put to him drew its plans upon the trestle board." It is eternal because of the idea it was designed to illustrate, the ideal it symbolized in the larger sense. That Temple marked the setting of the sun of Polytheism, or many Gods ; it marked the dawning of the idea of monotheism, or one God, the great central force in nature, the Creator and Preserver of his universe. The idea symbolized by it, expressed in a phrase is, "The Fatherhood of God ; the Brotherhood of man" ; expressed in a word it is Equality. No conception of the unity of the race is comprehen- sible that involved the idea of plural force in creation. A single central power, responsible to its creatures, is neces- sary to fulfill the natural law of creator and creature. The Supreme Architect is possible only as we conceive his unity of being and his singleness of purpose. What mdnd can understand two fathers in a natural sense? We who stand to-day as the successors of those early brethren who formulated the ideals under which we work, and to which we acknowledge allegiance cannot lose sight for a moment of their true significance. Opportunities and responsibilities have increased hand in hand. The ideals of the founders of the art have been realized only in part. In one sense they can never be realized, because they are as limitless as eternity itself. The institution- they gave the world inust stand at all times in the very forefront of progress planning for and accomplishing greater things in the future than it may have enjoyed in the past. Masonry is conservative, but if I read its ideals aright I understand that it countenances no dead line the cross- 98 FRATERNITY 'ing of which is death. Upon the contrary I understand that the Mason who truly gathers the lessons his lodge . would teach him must be one who knows no rest, no sat- isfaction with things done, who catches a gleam of the transforming power of the high ideals placed before him, and lets each succeeding day in his life mark some fruit of the teachings whose devotee he is. RESPONSE TO ADDRESS OF WELCOME HON. JACK BEALL I came for a little while to sit at the feet of the men- who have founded this Order, who have been with it dur- ing the years of its growth, to learn from them, and not with any thought or expectation of instructing or enter- taining anyone else. I was on the program last night, and think it would be better for some of those brothers who then had no opportunity to address this convention to do so rather than myself. I am very much gratified to learn of the encouraging state of this fraternal organization. I am a great believer in these organizations for more reasons than one. I believe in them because I believe that they teach a great and important lesson that this country needs to learn now, needs to understand now as, perhaps, it never needed it before ; that the world ought to understand as it has never understood it before — that, in spite of difference in class, if there be classes, or difference in station of life ; in spite of differences of vocations and professions ; in spite of all these things, we all, at last, belong to the same great fam- ily — ^brothers in truth and in fact — and our destiny is indissolubly linked and connected one with the other. I FRATERNITY 99 believe that it is important that this lesson be taught and impressed, and taught and impressed again, upon the hearts of the American people.' I believe in these organ- izations for another reason — because they give protection to those who are most in need of it. Not only do we as members of the organization con- tribute our part to the upbuilding of the organization, but the organization in turn helps and strengthens us, making all of us better citizens, making all of us better husbands, better wives, better fathers, better mothers, better broth- ers, better sisters, better in every way. I heard a story one time of an ancient city that employed a cunning artist to create a statue of the most beautiful woman of the land. It was erected in a public place and stood there a thing of grace and of beauty. One day a little, ragged, unkempt girl came to the public square and looked with admiring eyes upon the figure. Her dress was torn, her hair unkempt, her face dirty. The next day she came back and looked again at the fig- ure and her face was cleaner. She came again and her dress was tidy and neat. She came again and her hair was combed. She came again and again, and as the years went by and that girl grew to womanhood, it was said that she resembled all the features and form of that beau- tiful statue of the most beautiful woman of the land. The influence of that inanimate thing left its impress upon the heart of that little girl as years went by; she modeled herself after it and became like it. So it is in these great fraternal organizations. When we contemplate the great principles that underlie and support them, when we devote our minds to the consideration of their beautiful teachings, the spirit and sentiment of them permeate our own being, and we, unconsciously perhaps, learn to model 100 FRATERNITY our lives more and more after them and become filled with the spirit that animates these great organizations. I believe in them because they are helping to make this old world of ours better than it has ever been before. I believe the world is getting better ; I believe that there is more charity now among men than ever was before ; I believe there is more consideration and love for our fel- low-man. I believe there is a greater disposition to extend the helping hand to those who are down, to lift them up to a higher and purer atmosphere than they have ever lived in before. I believe this condition is largely true because this spirit of fraternityship is being taught and instilled into the hearts of all of our people. The lesson is being learned that it is not wealth, that it is not power, that it is not high position, that it is not social prestige that is to determine the status of humanity in the future, but it is the higher and truer things — greatness of mind, of ideals, of aspirations, of hopes, that are to uplift and to make this world better. The very essence of all fraternal organization is the spirit of love taught by Him who died upon the cross. He taught the sublime and divine lesson that the world is beginning to recognize, to understand, to endorse and live up to. I heard another story ; read it somewhere, of a mother, a great lady of the land, who was about to start upon a long journey. She had three sons. She asked them to give her before she left them some token of their affection and love. One of the sons brought to her a beautiful tab- let of marble, with her name chiseled upon it. Another brought her a piece of finest gold, with her likeness engraved upon it. The third son came to her and said : "Mother, I have no tablet of marble, no likeness of gold to give to you, but I have a heart ; upon that heart your FRATERNITY 101 name is written and your likeness engraved; that heart, full of affection, will follow you wherever you may go and be with you wherever you repose." So it is in this world of ours to-day. It is affection that fills the heart of man towards his f ellowman ; that is making the world greater and better than it has ever been before. It is not the towering monuments that we erect to those who have done great deeds ; it is not the great institutions that men, endowed with great wealth, have been building, that are doing the great work in uplifting humanity and inspiring it with nobler ideals and higher actions. It is the golden thread of sympathy and love and affection that reaches from one heart to another, reaches from one brother down into the depths, touches and is twined about the heart of the fallen one, lifting him up, making the world more beautiful than it has ever been before. From the depths of my heart I say to you may the God of mercy look with favor upon these great fraternal organizations that are lifting up His fallen children and instilling into their hearts purer ideals and inspiring their lives with nobler ambitions than ever before. FIVE ELEMENTARY CHARACTERISTICS ABB LANDIS Nothing is more significant of the standing and importance of the fraternal beneficiary societies than the recognition of them as competitors by the regular life companies and the attention accorded them by the insur- ance commissioners. Further evidence of the importance of fraternal bene- ficiary societies is the existence of some two hundred of 102 FRATERNiry them, with more than seven million members and prom- ised benefits exceeding eight billion dollars. In these circumstances it is appropriate to have a clear and comprehensive presentation of the distinguishing characteristics of fraternal beneficiary societies, together with some references to their history, their strength, their weakness, their opportunities, their relation to the State and to society, and in what particulars they differ from or resemble charitable and benevolent organizations, pure fraternal orders, open assessment associations, and the regular legal reserve life companies. All of these subjects cannot be fully treated in one paper of moderate length. In this first paper it is thought best to consider the "Five Elementary Characteristics" of fraternal beneficiary societies, which may be designated: Co-operation, Fraternity, Constitution, Object, and Permanency. CO-OPERATION In order to form a society, the first and absolute requisite is co-operation of a number of persons. The very essence of co-operation is mutuality. Unless aims, purposes, interests, efforts, and management are upon a mutual basis, there can be no effective co-operation for the general good of the association, whether in a social, fraternal, or financial way. Co-operation means the act of working together to one combining for a certain purposes- joint endeavors- concurrent effort. These definitions, in their widest sense and in their FRATERNITY 103 application to co-operation in a fraternal beneficiary society, signify the combined activities of many persons under a voluntary system of mutual helpfulness. "Work together" is the literal meaning of co-opera- tion; and it obviously fails when there is "pulling apart," or division, dissension, disorganization, or desire to for- ward selfish designs to the detriment of the general mem- bership. Complete co-operation is the fundamental and foun- dation principle upon which societies are based. It is the first and absolutely requisite elementary characteristic of mutual association. FRATERNITY Second to co-operation and mutual association there must be fraternity in a fraternal beneficiary society. With- out fraternity the society would be as the play of "Ham- let" with the role of the eccentric Dane omitted. Fraternity is not proved an existent fact by formal greeting as a brother. ^ There must be sincere regard for the welfare of others and unfeigned pleasure in their fellows'hip. Individual interest may (and it does) influence the lawyer, the doctor, the merchant, the grocer, the tailor, the butcher, the barber, the regalia manufacturer, and other craftsmen, to seek association and personal acquain- tance with each other and with waige earners and bread- winners generally through the medium of the lodge room ; but the desire for private gain and advancement must be subordinated to that of mutual good ; otherwise the name "fraternity" will be a cloak for deception and sordid sel- fishness. Fraternity must be coupled with co-operation if joint endeavor is to be most effective. 101 FRATERNITY In a purely business enterprise it is possible to have successful co-operation by mutual agreement among per- sons who are entire strangers to each other, and no mutual ties to bind them together except the provisions of a writ- ten contract or by common patronage. Instances of such are fire, marine, and life insurance companies; building and loan associations ; savings and commercial banks ; etc. Mutuality in such institutions is confined to concurrent effort, with no other end in view than the accomplishment of an individual purpose only obtainable through com- bination and co-operation. Fraternal co-operation is the perfection of mutual association in joint endeavor and concurrent effort. Co-operation supplemented by fraternity gives added power to mutual association, as demonstrated in the pop- ularity and vitality of beneficiary and friendly societies. Members of fraternal beneficiary societies are not strangers, though 'they have never met. They know and recognize each other by virtue of the bonds and vows of fraternity. As citizens of the same country will march under a common flag to a common death for pure patriot- ism, so members of the same fraternity will stand by their society and their associates through pure love and loyalty. In this lies the superior strength of the fraternal bene- ficiary societies over those co-operative organizations where the fraternal bond is missing. Members of these societies have a higher aim and a nobler purpose than that of mere personal gain, financial advantage, or- con- servation only of family interests. Philanthropy, charity, benevolence, and all of the higher traits of human nature are developed by fraternal co-operation. Since, in our state of interdependency of interests, it is impossible for a full and rounded man to live for him- self alone, the highest attainment and the consummation FRATERNITY -105 of an ideal relationship result when he is placed in asso- ciation with his fellows under conditions which enable all to work together harmoniously as brothers in a com- mon cause. Fraternal consideration is the exemplification of the Golden Rule, and necessarily must exert a powerful influ- ence toward the perfection and effectiveness of any mutual and co-operative activity and effort. CONSTITUTION There must be organization and system and intelligent direction in any joint endeavor, according to well-defined rules and well-digested regulations, if certain and con- tinued success is assured. It is as an army without a general, a State without a Governor, for a society to have no directing and controll- ing power. But, to be thoroughly and mutually co-opera- tive, the authority for directing the affairs of the organiza- tion should be consonant with prescribed provisions clearly set out in a constitution framed to give the fullest expres- sion to the will and intent of the members. There can be organization, system, and direction with- out a constitution prescribing rules and regulations for the guidance and restraint of managing officials, as in the case of a life insurance company ; but invariably the gov- ernment and control of the organization become oligarchic and autocratic when the power of officials is not limited and restricted by constitutional provisions, the violation of which annuls their authority and renders void any act that is ultra licitum. A constitution is an absolute necessity for a fraternal beneficiary society intending to have a representative form of government with supreme control retained by the mem- bers ; indeed, in most of the States a fraternal beneficiary 106 FRATERNITY society could have no legal standing without a constitu- tion. The advantage and benefit of such are so patent that specifications are not here required. OBJECT Without some definite object, some fixed purpose, there could be no basis for mutual and fraternal co-opera- tion. This is a self-evident fact which needs no elabora- tion. However, most societies have more than one object ; and there is room for discussion when there is multiplic- ity of purposes. In a later paper the proper objects of fraternal operation will be reviewed. It is now pertinent to indicate the comprehensive scope of the average beneficiary society by quoting from the declaration of principles of a grand lodge of one of the oldest and larg- est of these organizations : OBJECTS. 1. To unite white male persons — regardless of nationality, political preferences, or denominational distinctions — into a fraternal brotherhood, the members of which recognize and believe in the existence of a Supreme Being, the Creator and Preserver of the universe. 2. The adoption of such secret work and means of recogni- tion as will enable the members to make themselves known to each other wherever the order may exist. 3. To embrace and give equal consideration to all classes and kinds of labor, mental and physical; to endeavor to improve the moral, intellectual, and social condition of the members; and, by wholesome precepts and fraternal admonitions, to inspire a due appreciation of the realities and responsibilities of life. 4. To hold lectures; read essays; discuss inventions and improvements ; encourage research in art, science, and literature ; and, when practicable, establish and maintain libraries for the improvement of the members. 5. To create funds in aid of the members during sickness or other disabilities, and, generally, to care for the living and bury the dead. FRATERNITY 107 6. To pledge the members to the payment of a stipulated sum to such beneficiary as a deceased member may have desig- nated — subject, however, to such restrictions and upon such con- ditions as the laws of the order may prescribe. PERMANENCY Were the fraternal beneficiary societies, like the open assessment associations, to pass out of existence, one of the most potent influences for good would be lost to the human race. It were a useless fear to anticipate such a catastrophe. It would be as reasonable to predict the failure of the church, to prophesy the subversion of human nature and the eradication of all kindness and sympathy and love from the heart, as to set a limit to the future existence of the fraternal beneficiary system. The germ of fraternal co-operation was planted so long ago and its roots have become so imbedded and inter- woven into the very fabric of human institutions that with its destruction would disappear the establisheci order of our social and civil customs. That individual societies have failed and that others may fail will not be disputed. Such failures are not a discouragement, nor do they presage the failure of the fraternal beneficiary system. Final success and improved methods and perfected operation are built upon the ruins of previous effort. We learn from mistakes and profit by errors. By the mariner who has wrecked his vessel upon the hidden rock we are directed into the channel ; by the man who has tried and failed we are warned against imprac- tical schemes. Improvement and progress and development follow failure. Servile imitation is the reward of success. 108 FRATERNITY In every line of mutual co-operation there have been failures. Hundreds and thousands of them! , Mutual insurance companies of every description! Savings banks, building and loaii associations, and all manner of co-operative enterprises ! Nothing has come perfected from the human brain. The heart moved men to friendly thought of their unfor- tunate associates, and the mind imperfectly devised ways and means of relief. Trial and experience, experience and failure, failure and improvement, improvement and pro- gress, progress and perfection! Such is the slow devel- opment of man's strenuous endeavor; such is the course to the goal from the beginning to the end of his thinking. Of course there have been failures of fraternal bene- ficiary societies, as there have been failures of life insur- ance companies. The insurance system is not yet perfect, nor are men infallible ; and there will be more failures of societies and companies — all of which means improvement and progress and ultimate perfection. Failures are unfortunate circumstances in respect of those who thereby must suffer and sacrifice. For the great majority they are most important events in teach- ing how to avoid errors and how to correct mistakes. Human progress always gives pain to somebody. To move forward, the halting and the lame and the weak must be pushed aside or trampled under foot. Even the word of God has come to the hearts of -the unconverted through means of the sword, the ax, the guillotine, the torch, and the horrors of the Inquisition. A few failures, more or less, signify nothing as to the permanency of the fraternal beneficiary system. How- ever, there is this consolation to its advocates: Fewer failures have occurred among fraternal orders than among any other kind of mutually co-operative organizations. FRATERNITY lO* The strength of fraternity has sustained them in trials that would have wrecked and ruined other co-operative institutions without the fraternal spirit to support them. As a truth, it should not be said that any fraternal' society has ever "failed," because failure is generally con- strued to mean financial foss. Where these societies have gone out of existence there has been no financial loss. Every member has received all that he has paid for. He has had his protection, and he has only paid for his pro- tection. Millions in funds have not been accumulated to be lost by failure, as in the, cases of the failures of the "old-line" companies. It must also be remembered that when one of these societies goes out of existence, it leaves, no young men with dependent young wives and children without protection; for there only remain the aged, the great majority of whom have no dependents, and their assessments generally are paid by others as a matter of speculation. If "failure" is to be construed to mean finan- cial loss, then it must not be said that any fraternal society has "failed," but that its existence has ended in decay,, dissolution, death. Where societies have become extinct — "failed," if you please — the minimum of injury has resulted, invaria- bly preceded by the accomplishment of untold good. There was the American Legion of Honor. It "failed"" after twenty-six years of operation and after the distri- bution of forty-three million dollars for the support of widows and the maintenance and education of orphan children. It "failed," but not before making a glorious and imperishable record ; it "failed," but not in dishonor ; it "failed," but not without teaching an invaluable lesson concerning methods and plans for perpetuating similar organizations now turning toward permanency. No, "failure" should not cause discouragement; 110 FRATERNITY defects in methods of operation should not produce despondency; while criticism should be turned to profit and competition should whet determination for improve- ment and success. CREATIVE FRATERNALISM (From The Fraternal Monitor.) In talking with a fraternalist who is a recognized leader in our institutions, existing conditions and their trend came up for review. The Monitor suggested that too much turmoil and agitation were conditions precedent to efforts of a progressive nature and that results along this line were minimized in this way. It was observed that too much consideration was given to matters of a detail nature and not enough to those having to do with the system in its entirety. Inter- nal situations were allowed to dominate rather than those having as their central purpose results for the perform- ance of which organizations exist and for which mem- bers identify themselves with them. In other words, there is not enough of creative fra- ternalism in evidence. There is not that comprehensive view manifested which gives details their proper place and which makes the ends aimed at the main considera- tion. Briefly, to use a Biblical phrase, "we strain at a gnat and swallow a camel." Is it not worth our while to give at least passing attention to this view ? DIFFICULTIES EXAGGERATED. Are we not making the burden of our songs matters of a comparatively insignificant nature? Are we not impeding the onward progress of our great system by attempting to thresh out details which carry with them FRATERNITY 111 a solution for the problems they create? In the lan- guage of Newton, are we not playing along the shores of fraternal operation while the great ocean of its pos- sibilities lies before us? Should we not set sail on this ocean duly equipped for the voyage we have in view and possessing as an inherent power that liberty of action permitting us to conform to conditions as they present themselves ? It was a man of ripe experience who observed to his son that, "I have had to contend with many difficulties in my life, but the majority of these never happened." So it is in the conduct of our fraternal institutions. They may plan in a manner covering the most remote of details and they meet all sorts of fancied difficulties in advance, but in actual operation they will find that the majority of the things for which they have made provision "never happened." What we need to-day is a creative fraternalism — a fraternalism which has as its central purpose the promo- tion of the best interests of its members and the protec- tion of its dependents. We need a fraternalism that real- izes that the future is fraught with problems of an uncer- tain nature; we need a fraternalism that has as its cen- tral purpose the solution of such problems in the best possible manner; we need a fraternalism that does not cavil at technicalities and does not brook opposition in carrying out the purposes for which it exists. AVOID PETTY TRAMMELS. When one ponders over the comprehensive purposes for which our institutions exist, he cannot but be impressed with the difficulties bound to arise in the way of forecasting their future or of deciding their limita- tions. In a degree, they are republics to themselves, organized for mutual well-being and behoof, and they should possess powers sufficiently broad to permit them 112 FRATERNITV to adapt themselves to the ever-changing order of things. They should not be limited to hard and fast rules which may he applicable to-day and obsolete to-morrow. They should not be so hemmed in by petty trammels and envi- ronments that they are able to perform in but a limited way the purposes for which they exist. The Monitor believes that we have given too much attention to matters having to do with the internal affairs of individual societies. It believes that these have been given too broad publicity. It is of the opinion that con- ditions in common with all institutions of human crea- tion — in common with humanity, for that matter — ^have been given a degree of publicity that makes them assume abnormal proportions as compared with other affairs of life. It believes that, in a degree, those who have been on the watch-towers have had the perspective of their vision so distorted that they could see but difficulties and obstacles to overcome rather than the glorious promise awaiting those who have the courage to do and per- severe. THE HABIT OF CRITICISM. The habit of criticism, in common with all other habits, grows with use. By dwelling upon one particular feature or subject, one becomes so permeated with its importance that there is danger lest he allow this to over- shadow in his own mind that of other elements or con- siderations having equally as much to do with the propo- sition in its entirety. The fraternal system is so broad and comprehensive that it requires a broad and comprehensive mind to even grasp its possibilities. One inclined to a particular line or adaptation is apt to regard these as paramount to all others. There is need for specialists in fraternal work. The service they have to perform is an important one. Like- FRATERNITY 113 wise, it is important that they be limited to the special field on which they have particular information and that they be not allowed to have this obscure other situations or considerations equally as important. There is a tendency on the part of the specialist to magnify the importance of that to which he gives partic- ular attention. Other factors are not accorded that thought to which their importance entitles them. He loses sight of general conditions. His particular aim is to set forth accurately that which is under his particular observation. Whether or no other elements equally as important are given their due share of attention in the general proposition is something concerning which he has but a hazy idea. The fraternal proposition is a many-sided one. It has divers and diverse interests to employ and harmon- ize. No particular one will work out successfully unless the other receives the attention to which its importance entitles it. All must be considered as regards their rela- tion to the whole, and it is just as much an error to neglect one at the expense of the other as it is to neglect all of them. A CREATIVE SPIRIT. What is needed to-day, above all things else, is a crea- tive spirit in fraternal ranks — a spirit which embraces the general purposes and possibilities of the cause and which makes the various elements interwoven with it to do their proper share of service in bringing efforts to a successful issue. There is needed that spirit of earnestness and enthu- siasm which brushes aside obstacles created either by actual conditions or by a biased view of them. It needs a spirit of accomplishment which judges the proposition by its results rather than by the various elements inter- woven with it. It needs a spirit which brooks neither 114 FRATERNITY unnecessary restraint or delay — a spirit which carries opposition before it or makes it do service in its behalf. As has been said, there is danger lest the various problems we have encountered in the onward march of our system become so distorted and exaggerated that they become a serious menace to the future. Such con- ditions have existed in all undertakings and, unless the abnormal is experienced, will continue to be in evidence in one form or another in the future. We should only regard them in the light of factors having to do with strengthening and adding to the effec- tiveness of our undertaking. At no time and under no circumstances should they be regarded as a bar sinister to progress, or as an element that menaces existence. The Monitor does not wish its observations to be interpreted as a criticism on fraternal exponents gen- erally, or as a reflection on the progress they have made. On this latter score the results themselves are in evidence. They show progress of a most pronounced nature. They set forth attainments eclipsing all previous efforts. They set forth in most emphatic terms what can be accom- plished when criticism and earnest efforts are put forth. NO OCCASION FOR PESSIMISM. There are those in a more or less envious frame of mind who point to progressive effort in terms of criticism. They forecast the time when it will be impossible to keep up such ratio of progress, and otherwise they evidence that critical and captious spirit utterly out of joint with the tenets of fraternalism. It is to such that these com- ments are directed. There is no occasion for a pessimis- tic attitude or for carping criticism. Rather, the time is here when we should set our faces resolutely forward and when we should look toward present accomplish- ments and future prospects rather than toward past dif- ficulties. FRATERNITY 115 We need creative fraternalism. We need those who have the mind and power to plan even greater things for the future. We need those so thoroughly entrenched in the principles of fraternal operation that they regard each difficulty met and overcome as but a stepping stone to greater accomplishments. It is such who have made the present magnificent fraternal record possible. These are the ones who will bring about greater results as the years roll on. STRONGER THAN EVER. Much of the criticism with which fraternal operation has been visited the past few years is due to the pessimis- tic notes sounded by many of its champions and leaders. The opponents of fraternalism get the basis for their attacks from such an attitude. They enlarge upon results and use their imaginations to picture ends of a most dis- astrous nature. Largely, their arguments are based upon those of fraternal exponents who have allowed their ardor to cool and who have interpreted their own misgiv- ings as conditions indicative of future trouble. We have but to look at fraternal achievements to realize how utterly at fault are those who mould their prophecies along such lines. The system has gone for- ward by leaps and bounds. It was greater, larger and stronger a year ago to-day than it was a year prior to this. It is stronger and better fitted for its undertaking to-day than it was ever before in its history. Each month adds to its strength and to the good accomplished. What we need are those who can use present conditions as a basis upon which to build a greater and broader frater- nalism. 116 FRATERNITY PROTECTION AS FURNISHED BY THE ANNUITY SYSTEM OF INSURANCE BY A. T. STEVENS As Fraternalists we are all deeply interested in the one great central idea and purpose that has called our organizations into being, and that is the best plan and method of furnishing the fullest possible measure of aid and protection to the members of our societies, and their beneficiaries. Fraternalism in the United States has a wonderful record to its credit, in its brief existence of about a third of a century almost one billion dollars having been paid in benefits to members, their widows, orphans and other beneficiaries. No man can ever tell the amount of mis- ery and suffering this money has prevented, nor words express the good that has been accomplished by it, and yet we are still inquirers, still striving to attain to greater perfection in furnishing complete protection to the loved ones of our own families, and to the families of our brother members. And we find that to this end the various societies are devising new plans and methods, as experience develops the need of improvements upon the older ones in use. WHAT IS LIFE INSURANCE PROTECTION? We often hear and use the words "Life Insurance" and "Protection," but what do we understand by "Lifej Insurance Protection ?" As commonly understood to-day it means that a man takes out a policy of insurance, or certificate with a Fraternal society, on which he makes payments of so much each year, or each month as long as he lives and then at his death, his wife or other bene- FRATERNITY 117 ficiary will receive from the company or society the amount of money called for in his policy or certificate, and it is a very common expression often heard, that "Mrs. A. or Mrs. B. has insurance protection to the amount of $1,000 or $5,000." This expression is correct and proper as to the amount of insurance, and also to the extent of the amount named "Mrs. A, or Mrs. B. is presumed to be protected," but does this satisfy the fraternal heart that "Mrs. A." or "Mrs. B." is, or can be fully and permanently protected even with this amount of insurance money? Does it not rather raise in our minds the question whether the "Life Insurance Protection" we desire for the loved ones of ouf household can be measured or secured by the thousand dollars unit value? If not, is there any other system or method by which greater protection can be assured? We believe that it is the sincere desire of every man who procures "Life Insurance Protection" for those dependent upon him, that the protection shall be as nearly as possible similar to that he has furnished to them during his life time. He would if he could so arrange that his loved ones should never know want, and should never become dependents upon any persons or charitable insti- tutions, but should be always cared for by the provisions he is able to make in their behalf. It was from such feelings as these that the "System of Protective Life Insurance" was evolved, and it is only by carrying out as near as possible these desires that the fullest measure of protection can be assured to the beneficiaries. ONLY TWO WAYS. Generally speaking, there are but two ways of making payment of insurance money to the beneficiary. One is that form which is in most common use in this country, where at the titne of the death of the policy or certificate 118 FRATERNITY holder, there is paid over to the beneficiary in one lump sum the amount called for in the policy or certificate held •by the insured. This payment completes the transaction so far as the society or company is concerned, they having fully complied with all the requirements and terms of the insurance contract. Insurance money paid over in this way may properly be termed as "provided capital." That is, the insured has left for the benefit and protection of the beneficiary a fixed amount of money which if sufficient to invest may produce an income for the support and maintenance of the beneficiary, or which if used by proper and careful management, may supply her needs and wants. The other form is known and designated as "annuity" or "income" payments; under this plan the beneficiary does not receive one large sum upon the death of the insured, but only receives a certain specified amount required to be paid at that time, and thereafter at certain stated periods, either annually, semi-annually, quarterly or monthly, covering a number of years or during the life of the beneficiary, will receive these stated amounts until the conditions of the certificate or policy have been ful- filled. When the payments to be made on any "annuity" certificate are for a certain number of years or months, it is designated as a "Limited Annuity Certificate." If the payments are to be made during the life of the bene- ficiary it is known as a "Life Annuity Certificate," or as designated by the insurance companies a "Continuous Installment Policy." We have learned by experience that under no system or plan can the fraternal societies furnish insurance or protection below cost, and the system of annuity insur- ance is not exempt from this demand for "adequate rates of contribution." FRATERNITY 119 Some of the chief objections that are urged against the plan of protective insurance that furnishes in one large amount a sum of money or "capital" for the bene- ficiary are: While it places in the hands of the beneficiary a suf- ficient amount of money to provide for a livelihood for a time at least, it does not and cannot ensure that the bene- ficiary will always be provided for and protected by this money. The beneficiary may live for many years, or by reason of physical disability may be barred from earning a livelihood, and the amount of the insurance money may not be sufficient, even with the most economical use, to furnish the required protection. In many cases this "precious insurance money" has been lost by ill-advised investments, sometimes wasted by extravagant living, or false ideals, sometimes loaned to impecunious friends or relatives, without security, and no possible hope of its ever being repaid, and in many other ways it has been lost or dissipated. It matters not by what means this "protection" is lost or squandered, in each and every case it fails to aqcomplish that for which the provider intended it; the provider is gone and the provision can never be made again. The loss of insur- ance money received by beneficiaries in large amounts, are not in rare and exceptional cases, but are sufficiently numerous to cause Fraternalists to give this subject serious consideration, and if possible find a remedy. In fact, so many instances have occurred that only a few years ago a former insurance commissioner of one of our largest States, in making a plea that there be added to his office a bureau for the investment of insurance money of the beneficiaries of the State, made this state- ment: "That of all moneys received from insurance companies, the beneficiaries have within five years from 120 FRATERNITY the time of receiving it lost or parted with the greater portion of it." ANNUITY LIFE INSURANCE PROTECTION. Without going into a detailed history of the "annuity" or "income" system of protective insurance, how natural and fraternal was its beginning, born of love and sym- pathy going out to the helpless widows and orphans of brother fellow-craftsmen, with a true desire to render them aid and assistance. How simple, effective and last- ing was the remedy suggested and applied. The wages of fellow-workmen had ceased with their death, and these widows and orphans needed the wages for their sustenance and support. This was the condi- tion that confronted these men, and the hearts of the liv- ing fellow-workmen answered, "We will join ourselves together, and contribute from our earnings, and pay over to these helpless and dependent ones the amounts neces- sary for their comfortable support, at just such times as the provider brought to them his wages ; in this way we will always know that they are provided for, and then when we are called away by death our Jiving brothers will see to it that our own loved ones are also cared for." This was the birth of "True Fraternalism." There were no eminent actuaries to mystify these pioneers of "Protective Life Insurance" with puzzling figures, and estimates, no supervision of insurance departments nor other impediments to hamper them in their good work of love and benevolence, and as the years rolled by they grew in power and strength and numbers. There are well authenticated records of "Widows' and Orphans' Aids," "Widows' Funds," "Guilds," and other societies that have practiced this plan for almost two centuries, furnishing "permanent protection" to the widows, orphans and other dependents of deceased mem- FRATERNITY 121 bers, which not only proves that this system antedates all other plans for the protection of the "home and family," but also demonstrates that these societies had learned the true secret of fraternalism. How many thousands or millions of dollars were paid to beneficiaries by these earliest pioneers will never be known, as it was not a part of their business to keep a strict account of what any one beneficiary received, but it was their chief business to see that not one of those whose welfare depended upon them should ever be neg- lected or forgotten. The larger number of present-day "Annuity Societies" are located in England and Scotland, although there are many in France and Germany and some in other Euro- pean countries. Some of these societies claim existence for several hundreds of years. A number of the Brit- ish societies have fairly intelligible statistics, covering from seventy-five to one hundred and twenty-five years. The general plans of these societies are similar, the rates of contribution and amounts of benefits varying with the different societies, according to their purposes and objects. Provisions are made by these societies for the payment of the following benefits: Annuities for life will be paid to a father, a mother, a wife (unless she remarries), or a physically disabled child. Children who are not physically disabled may be pro- vided "Annuities" until they become of legal age. For other beneficiaries the "Annuities" are limited to a certain number of payments, or years. Provisions are also made for the member himself in case of total disability, or old age, usually one-half of the amounts to be paid to the beneficiary after his death, for total disability, and the full amounts as an old age disability. 122 FRATERNITY "Annuity" benefits are estimated at so much each year, and payments are made on account of them, either annually, semi-annually, quarterly, or monthly, according to the rules of the different societies. Some of the Scotch societies claim records of "Annui- tants" who have received benefits for more than half a century, many "Annuitants" who have been paid for more tlian forty years each, and a vast number who have received benefits for shorter varying periods, and we believe that it has never been intimated or reported that one of the least of these beneficiaries has ever been over- looked or neglected. The "Annuity System" as practiced in England and Scotland was, we believe, introduced into this country about twenty-five years ago under the Fraternal Plan, and the certificates issued contained all the provisions of the British societies. Other societies have been organ- ized in recent years which contain many features of these societies, with some variations in the provisions made to the beneficiaries ; one of these features is to issue a "Lim- ited Annuity Certificate" to every member which calls for a certain number of stipulated payments covering a num- ber of months or years, and in cases where "Life Annui- ties" are granted, the "Life Annuity Certificate" is issued. Supplementary to the "Limited Annuity Certificate," that is, there will be paid on account of the "Limited Certifi- cate" a certain number of payments to all alike, this gives a specific amount of insurance on the installment or income plan, and then where a "Life Annuity Certificate" is held in connection with a "Limited Certificate" the payments on account of the "Life Annuity Certificates" commence after the payments have all been made on account of the "Limited Certificates," provided that the beneficiary be then living, and in case of a widow, she FRATERNITY 12S still remains the widow of the certificate holder. These societies are constantly growing in popular favor. Some of the older societies have added "Annuity" or "Install- ment" certificates, and others have provided that the insured, or beneficiary under any certificate may, if they so option, have the amount of the certificate paid in "installments" covering a period of years. In addition to these movements among the Frater- nal Societies, the Old Line Life insurance companies have been conducting a campaign for some years in favor of insurance on the "Annuity" or "Continuous Install- ment" plan, and by these things we observe that this sys- tem of protection is receiving much attention in the insur- ance world. Many incidents could be related from experience where the insurance on the "Annuity" plan has been an unmixed blessing to the beneficiaries. It has often saved the widow from being the target of an adventurer, as there could be no money he could get his hands on, as by remarrying the widow would lose the income. It has proved to be the one thing only, that many widows could count on, even when they supposed that they had other resources that would not fail them, because there was no way that any person could deprive them of this sacred protection. ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF ANNUITY INSURANCE PROTECTION. There are many arguments in favor of "Annuity" or "Income" insurance for protection, but we shall only briefly state a few of them. First, it is the most natural form of protection in the world. The insured, who has always protected the loved ones by his salary or wages is called away by death, but the demands for food, and fuel, and clothing and the other 124 FRATERNITY necessaries of life, still continue with his family; the society steps in to replace the provider, and there is paid over to the widow a certain amount of money — not a large sum — with which she is to provide the necessaries of life for a month, or perhaps for three months, or six months. She understands that this money is to take the place of the wages formerly brought home for these pur- poses by her husband, and she knows just what to do with it. She does not need to advise with any person as to its use, and so provisions are made until the time when she receives another amount equal to the first, and for the same purpose, and to provide for the same length of time, and so it goes on, sometimes for years, sometimes during the life of .the beneficiary. "Pay-day" comes not once, but many times, and the dependent ones are pro- tected and cared for. Second, the "Annuity System" is the most elastic form of protection known, and enables a father, a hus- band, or children to provide just the protection they desire for the loved ones ; "life incomes" for a father, a mother, or a wife; "incomes" for children, to furnish the means for their care and education, until they are equipped to fight in the battles of life ; "incomes" for other dependents for the term of years desired. Third, the insurance money cannot be lost or wasted, bringing distress and disaster to those dependent upon it. If one installment should not be rightly used, it will only be a short time until another installment is received, mak- ing it utterly impossible to suffer much from ill-advised or foolish extravagance, such as would be the case if the insurance money were in one large sum, and should be lost or wasted. Fourth, the "Income" is the golden ideal of every true man, and if he plans and labors to any purpose at all in life, it is to reach a time, — ^perhaps in old age, — when by FRATERNITY 125 his labor and thrift he shall himself enjoy an "Income" without being obliged to toil from day to day. And if a husband, the anticipated joy is greater by the thought that his wife, who has stood so nobly with him in the battles of life, shall enjoy with him this surcease from toil and labor ; and when the true husband realizes that death may prevent him from ever enjoying this "Income," how natural it is for him to try to make sure that if he fails to realize the golden dream, he will at least provide so that his wife may enjoy the "Income." Fifth, "Life Annuity" protection makes the bene- ficiary independent, and forever takes away the bitter thought that the loved ones shall become dependents, or a charge upon any persons or charity, even though they live to a very old age. Sixth, more insurance can be provided at the same cost where the payments are made to the beneficiary on the "Annuity" or "Installment" plan than can be fur- nished in one lump sum payable at the death of the insured. Seventh. — Under the "Annuity System," that frater- nal feeling that goes out to the brother member is kept alive by being in constant touch with his beneficiary after his death, sometimes for many years, and the fraternal spirit may be often invoked, or shown in many ways, — by counsel, or advice, or other service, and often smooth out for the dependent ones, many of the rough places in the journey of life. Much more could be said in favor of the "Annuity System" of protective life insurance, and we sincerely believe it to be worthy of the greatest consideration by the fraternal societies of our country, for we believe that our organizations are destined to work out and develop the best and highest forms of protective life insurance the world has ever known. 1^6 FRATERNITY A CASE IN POINT BY CHARLES H. COONS This is a brief chapter from the life story of three men — a wise man, a wiser man and one not so wise. Since I do not pretend to be a student of philosophy you will have to draw your own conclusions as to which was which. I have named my three men, Brown, Black, and Green — not because I think it will add color to the narra- tive, however. Nomenclatorial perfection is hardly to be expected in a homely homily like this. I presume you have all read of the thrifty German citizen who wanted the street railway company to increase the fare to ten cents. He said he would save more money when he walked. This was left-handed and illogical reasoning; but a whole lot of people get their thinking caps on crooked occasionally. Wait until you read about Brown. But, as the novelist would say, we are digress- ing. Brown owned and operated a swell shoe-shop on a swell thoroughfare. The panes of plate glass were a little larger than any on the block. The electric lighting for the roomy show windows was conspicuously elaborate and good. Suspended over the sidewalk was a massive sign with large letters of fire. The windows were unde- niably "dressed" by expert hands. Within were rows - upon rows of boxes carefully arranged upon shelves of solid oak. The floor was handsomely carpeted and the long tiers of seats cushioned with costly leather. The cashier's window was like that of a bank — the kind of bank that frowns upon a small depositor. The brass was burnished daily by a negro in full uniform. FRATERNITY 127 When Brown was not strolling about surveying the lux- urious surroundings with pride and self-satisfaction he was seated at his great mahogany desk in the private office. An air of elegance pervaded the entire place, a fact which could scarcely escape the notice of the cus- tomers. Possibly some of them may have thought Brown was accumulating wealth rather rapidly and that when they purchased shoes at his establishment they were con- tributing as much to the brass fixtures and the liveried negro as to the real value of the footwear. A square below and on the opposite side of the ave- nue Black kept another shoe store. The electric lights in his show windows were not so numerous as his neigh- bor's and there was no flaring, fiery sign to illumine the darkness of night. On either side of the entrance appeared the proprietor's name in modest gilt letters. The goods in the windows were tastefully arranged, though there was no regal display of purple plush. Each article bore a neat, plain pricemark to catch the public eye. Within were comfortable accommodations for patrons. The clerks were neither unadept nor discour- teous, even when they were busy, which was nearly the entire time. There was a snug little office at the rear, but the burnished brass and the concomitant burnisher were not in evidence. The customers were satisfied and Black was wont to remark that his large increase in trade was due to this fact — the purchasers told their friends. Now let us see about Green. An honest, every-day business man, he has made friends as well as a compe- tence, and he has enjoyed life. For years he has bought his shoes of Brown. He could not have told you why, except that it had become a habit with him. Brown was not an intimate friend — barely a business acquaintance, in fact. Furthermore, his prices were too high and Green knew it. Possibly he may have taken a little pride in 128 FRATERNITY his ability to pay $8 for a pair of shoes, though he would hardly have admitted it. More likely he would have passed it off by saying "Brown needed the money." One day Green was waiting for a car at Black's cor- ner. It was raining steadily and he took to the friendly shelter of the shoeman's awning. He had thrown Black for some time in a casual way — ^had served with him on a Board of Trade committee on one occasion. By the way, Brown did not belong to that body, thought Green. "By Jove," he mused ; "that pair of shoe marked $4 looks exactly like the pair I have on. Wonder if I am paying twice too much to Brown." He stepped into the store. Black greeted him personally and in a cordial manner and — sold him the shoes. "You can't beat them, I don't care where you go," said Black. "The style and fit are perfect and I will guarantee the wearing qualities. Good-day, Mr. Green." Green went home and told his wife. "Catch Brown giv- ing any personal attention to his customers," she said; "he is too fond of the gilt cage you have been paying for during the past ten years !" Six weeks later Black and Green chanced to meet. The former extended his hand. "How are they wear- ing?" he asked. "Fine; couldn't be better," replied Green, putting out one foot for inspection. "Let's go and get a cigar," he added. It was evident Brown had lost a customer. Some time after Green was passing Brown's store just as the proprietor came out. Both nodded. "By the way," called Brown; "it has been quite awhile since I saw you in the store. Anything wrong with the last pair?" "No," answered Green ; "I bought the last pair else- where. Was stricken with a little fit of economy as it FRATERNITY 129 were. I gave up $4 and saved $4. Paid a visit to your neighbor Black." "You'll be sorry for your bargain counter arrange- ment," retorted Brown; "That fellow can't sell goods at those prices and live. It is an utter impossibility. He can't pay his help." "You may be better posted as regards his business than I am," said Green, with a little acerbity; "but I am willing to wager he pays his bills. He does business enough, that's certain, and if he gives everyone the value he gave me that accounts for it. It has just dawned on me that people won't always pay two prices for anything, Mr. Brown. They eventually get wise, same as I did." Brown lost his temper. "I tell you he can't last. The sheriff is bound to get hinj. My prices are right and he ought to have better sense than to cut away below me. He—" "Hold on!" cried Green, angry in spite of himself; "I want to tell you a thing or two. I passed over your remark about 'bargain counter' and paid no attention to your imputation of Black's dishonesty. But your last sentence lets the cat out of the bag and shows plainly what you are kicking about. Black has tread on your toes because he has dared to cut under your prices. He sells cheaper than you and because he does not rob the public he is no good. Who pays for the swell fixtures in your store ? Who pays for the liveried lackey ? I do, Mr. Brown, I and the other fools ! And because an hon- est chap is willing to make a dollar on a pair of shoes instead of hogging five his stuff is no good and he is a crook! And if I ever again pay you $8 for a pair of shoes you ought to sell for $4 you can set me down as a truant from some school for the weak-minded. I hope I have made myself plainly understood. Good-day, Mr. Brown." 130 FRATERNITY But Mr. Brown did not deign to answer. He had now lost a friend, as well as a customer ! MORAL. No doubt you have all heard about Mrs. O'Toole, who had a very deaf husband. When she heard he had been arrested she said she was very glad because he would get his "hearing" in the morning. "Old-Line" Brown is the Mr. O'Toole of my story. He is deaf to the rights of his patrons and those who would become patrons if they did not know they would have to pay twice too much for the goods. "Fraternal" Black represents Mrs. O'Toole. He knows Brown is meanly jealous of him and outspokenly malicious because of honest business competition. He- is always glad for a "hearing" on the merits of the case. "Insuring Public" Green stands for the judge and his understanding and decision is proper and in keeping with fact and logic. If anyone gives you the old story that only the exor- bitant priced system of insurance is safe tell them the story of Brown, Black, and Green. BRITISH BROTHERHOOD A. CHISHOLM, OTTAWA, ONTARIO In no country in the world have the fraternal orders taken deeper root than in the British Isles. Even in the early age of Pict and Scot, Saxon and Celt, a spirit of strong fraternity prevailed which stood them in good stead in the hour of danger and battle. The whole history of Freemasonry, Oddfellowship, and other leading frater- nities in Great Britain furnishes an imperishable proof of the steadfastness and rapidity which have characterized FRATERNITY 131 the growth of these fraternities on British soil. The fra- ternal societies of England and Scotland will compare in strength with those of any kingdom or continent; and they all stand for the true, the upright, the just and the houorouble in manhood and in nationhood. There is not a pledge nor a watchword, not a sign nor a symbol in the fraternal societies of Great Britain which does not appeal to man's better nature, which is not calculated to inspire his highest ideals. Wherever the words Liberty, Benevo- lence and Concord are heard, wherever the square and compass convey their lessons of Faith, Hope and Charity ; wherever the words Friendship, Love and Truth cheer the heart and brighten the pathway of the brother in adversity; wherever the passwords and watchwords of the fraternal orders knit Britons together as steel is welded to steel or iron to iron; wherever, in brief, the insignia and the music of British fraternalism are seen and heard, there, too, shall be found the greeting and the grasp of truest sympathy, the smile of loyal comradeship, the marks of a friendship that is true, faithful and gen- erous to the core. The most powerful chord that vibrates to-day in the song of British national life is that of Brotherhood. Take that one chord out of the national music, and the strain seems pulseless and cold. It is this deep-seated, whole- hearted spirit of kinship, knitting together Britain and her Colonies, which, more than any other element, con- tributes to the unity and solidity of the Empire. That Empire is a great human chain composed of many mil- lions of living links. It is this sentiment of brotherhood which makes the Empire great in peace, and terrible in war, which makes it impossible for a slave to tread on British soil; which inspired these memorable words of John Philpot Curran: 132 FRATERNITY I speak in the spirit of the British law, which makes lib- erty . commensurate with, and inseparable from, British soil ; which proclaims even to the stranger and sojourner, the moment the sets his foot upon British earth, that the ground upon which he treads is holy, and consecrated by the genius of Universal Emancipation. It was this love of freedom and this recognition of the claims of brotherhood which constituted the great- ness, the nobility and the fearlessness of men like Hamp- den and Pym, Cromwell and Wilberforce. What these men were ready to do and dare in their day, Britons now living are prepared to do should occasion arise. The valor which a few years ago adorned the prestige of Brit- ish arms on the banks of the Modder and Tugeulo, and at Kimberley, Mafeking and Ladysmith, was not one whit different from the courage which won Magna Charta for the British people, and gave the Declaration of Inde- pendence to the American nation. The flame of brother- hood that glows to-day in the breast of a Chamberlain or a Roberts, a Roseberry or a Kitchener, is of the same tem- per and spark as that which roused the lion in Cromwell, and King Richard, and enabled Cranmer Ridley and Sir Thomas More to walk cheerily to their heroic deaths. The great Indian Empire is maintained to-day by the spell and power of British brotherhood. The fire of British guns and the stroke of British swords have done much to win British territory in India, but the sceptre of British kind- ness and the spirit of British conciliation have done much more to solidify and strengthen the foundations of that vast Empire. Every citizen within its broad boundaries who proudly asserts "I am a Briton" is covered by the shield of British brotherhood, in the same way as he who declares "I am an American" has behind him the strength of a nation of more than ninety millions of people. Edmund Burke never uttered anything finer than these words : — FRATERNITY 133 Our hold of the Colonies is in the close affection which grows from common names, from kindred blood, from similar privileges and equal protection. These are ties which, though light as air, yet are strong as the links of iron. The Dominion of Canada will always cherish the remembrance of men who have represented her brother- hood ideals, men like Sir John A. MacDonald, Hon. Alex- ander Mackenzie, Hon. Joseph Howe, Hon. D'arcy Magee, Hon. George Brown, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, and a score of others whose names gleam on the page of Cana- dian history; but there passed away, on American soil not long ago, another Canadian, a man of Indian blood, whose memory the Dominion of Canada will treasure with equal pride and lasting respect. This illustrious man, Dr. Oronhyatekha, will always rank among the fore- most of great Canadians, but especially as one of the truest and best types of British brotherhood. No more convincing proof of the esteem in which he was held by Americans (as well as by his own countrymen) could be adduced than the fact that some years ago he was chosen to fill the honoured position of president of the National Fraternal Congress, which then met in the city of Boston. It was a significant tribute to the greatness of this man that he was elected to preside at a meeting which repre- sented fraternal societies numbering millions of members and a total insurance in force of over four billion dollars ! Few men have had a more unique history than this famous Indian chief. Born in the province of Ontario some sixty-eight years ago, a full-blooded Indian of the Mohawk tribe, educated in Canadian, American and Eng- lish schools, he rose to a position of eminence which made his name familiar to fraternal circles throughout the world. In his lifetime he mingled with many of the lead- ing men of his own and other countries, contracted friend- ships with people of every rank, from the king on the 134 FRATERNITY throne to the humblest citizen, and achieved distinction by abihties rarely matched, and by a personality which con- verted enemies into friends, his bitterest opponents into his warmest allies. He lived to obtain the highest degrees and honours in the gift of the societies to which he belonged, and none of these was greater in his estima- tion than his election to the presidency of the National Fraternal Congress at Boston. Perhaps no words ever uttered by him at a public gathering are more memorable than those contained in his presidential address on that occasion. They constitute the best evidence of the broth- erhood spirit that animated his whole career, and domi- nated every act atid word of his prominent life. Although he' had delivered many similar discourses in his lifetime, yet one is prone to turn to the words of his address to the National Fraternal Congress at Boston as the most typical and forceful that can be cited to illustrate the character and sentiments of the man. At this Boston meeting Dr. Oronhyatekha said in part: Does not your heart swell with a just pride, and your blood course through your veins with increased volume and force when you think of these figures and remember that you have had a part in this great work, and that your own contributions have macfe up in part the millions that have been distributed among the helpless and aflflicted by the fraternal benefit societies? But when you come to estimate the relief given to the sick in the way of free medical attendance and free medicines, the watching and nursing by the bedside of the sick, the help given to fellow- members in distress, in money and in kind, in the securing of employment, in the payment of dues and assessments to prevent suspension, and in the moral and material aid given in a hundred different ways, known only to the lodge men and the lodge women, all of which, if estimated in dollars and cents, would amount to a far larger sum than the millions given in the sched- ule as having already been paid to the aged and disabled mem- bers, and to the widows and orphans of the land, you must be more than mortal if your heart does not bow in thankfulness FRATERNITY 135 to the Supreme Being, in that you have had a part in such a heavenly work. A system that brings forth such results is wor- thy of the attention and consideration of the world's best minds. These are the words of a man who devoted many of the best years of his Hfe to the cause of world-wide fra- ternity, who, as Mason, Forester, and Good Templar, opened the big heart and the broad hand of brotherhood to his fellowmen, did his utmost to shed light and happi- ness upon the homes of the widow and orphan, and at the same time to tighten the bonds of unity, goodwill and fellowship which bind the people of the British Empire to those of the American Commonwealth. And he did his work, and fought his battle, in a spirit which seldom failed to command the respect and the admiration of the British and American people. In the Memorial which was framed by the Executive Council of the Order of which Dr. Oronhyatekha was Supreme Chief, a remarkable tribute was paid to his mem- ory by the faithful band of brothers who were associated with him in his great work. That tribute contained the following words, as noble as ever were recorded in honour of a distinguished man : No granite pile need be erected to keep his memory green, for he hath carved his monument with his own hands and fash- ioned it with his masterful brain out of a more enduring mate- rial — the hearts of that numberless throng who have felt his brotherly touch. "He lives in glory, and his speaking dust has more of life than half its breathing moulds." He put aside his well-formed life's ambitions to acquire fame in a noble profession, in response to the call to an unselfish duty made by his fellows, and with his own hands rocked the fraternal cradle that con- tained the infant organization that struggled for life and which was destined to make his name all but immortal. A fit summary of his life would be found in those eloquent words of another: "This brave and tender man in every storm of life was oak and rock, but in the sunshine he was vine and flower; he was the friend of all heroic souls; he climbed the heights and left all 136 FRATERNITY superstition far below, while on his forehead fell the golden dawning of a brighter day; he loved the beautiful, and was with colour, form and music, touched to tears ; he sided with the weak, the poor and wronged and lovingly gave alms; with loyal heart and with the purest hand he faithfully discharged a,ll trusts." On Sunday evening, March 3rd, 1907, at Savannah, Georgia, as the sun went to rest, this tired child of the North went home to the rest he had so well earned. But Dr. Oronhyatekha was only one link in the great chain of British brotherhood. One finds to-day, on every shore of the British Empire, this spirit of brotherhood represented in the St. George's, St. Andrew's arid St. Patrick's societies. These societies are constantly cher- ishing those ideals, and maintaining with solicitude the traditions which have ever made for the strength and sta- bility of fraternity. At the same time they keep ever green and beautiful the fondest recollections of home and motherland. In the lodge rooms of these societies the Englishman, Scotchman, or Irishman never fails to find the greeting and the welcome which assures him he is among friends; never fails to find there the flag of his country, and hear the songs of native land. There, too, he will be seen wearing the jewels and badges of British brotherhood. In these halls, by song and speech and story will be kindled in his bosom the stirring recollec- tionsj the undying memories that are associated with the Rose of England, the Thistle of Scotland and the Sham- rock of Ireland. The spirit of British brotherhood glows in almost every page of the nation's annals. About a hundred years ago it spent twenty millions sterling for the abolition of the slave trade. It moved the hand of William Wilber- force to strike his hardest blows in the British Parliament for the abolition of slavery. The triumph of Wilberforce won the applause of the British nation and an honoured burial in Westminster Abbey. FRATERNITY 137 It was the spirit of British brotherhood which incited John Howard to visit the prisons of Great Britain and Ireland, and to endure hardships and bring about reforms of the greatest magnitude and influence. It was this spirit of brotherhood which impelled him to visit the lazarettos of Europe, and to die the most glorious of deaths in an act of devotion to his suffering fellowman. Men like Carlyle and Dickens, Wilberforce and Gladstone achieved triumphs which startled the whole world, not so much by the brilliance of their intellects as by the dynamic forces of brotherhood which inspired every word they wrote or spoke. When all the world beheld the continent of Africa steeped in hopeless darkness, a Scotch lad, imbued with the missionary spirit, penetrated the depths of the Dark Continent, and gave his life for the cause of missions in that land. Thus British brotherhood saw one of its great- est missionary triumphs in the life and death of David Livingstone. Some thirty years ago a man of Canadian birth, who first saw the light in the village of Aylmer, in the province of Quebec, conceived the'need of rousing the youth of the churches and cities to a more strenuous religious life. Through the efforts of this one man, (Dr. Francis Clarke,) the Christian Endeavor Movement was born, a movement which now unfurls its banners to the breezes of every country. Over fifty years ago the late Sir George Williams saw there was a work to be done for the young men of London and the Empire, and British brotherhood produced the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciations which now girdle the globe with their chains of brotherhood and love. Over forty years ago the wail and the death struggle of Britain's submerged Tenth reached the ear and the 138 FRATERNITY heart of General Booth, and the Salvation Army of to-day, working its triumphs of love and sympathy in every corner of the earth, is the imperishable evidence of the brotherhood of General Booth. These are but a few of the many, great and distin- guished names which are synonyms for British brother- hood, of men who have reared the pillars of empire, upon the foundations of righteousness and won a nation's gratitude. The songs of a country are among the enduring emblems of its spirit of fraternity. British brotherhood produced Scots Wha Hae, Rule Britannia and God Save the King. If American brotherhood produced Emerson and Longfellow, Washington and Lincoln, and "The Star Spangled Banner," British brotherhood produced Thomas Carlyle, Walter Scott, Robert Burns, and the "thousand- souled Shakespeare." The bead-roll of Masonic annals glows with the names of some of the world's greatest statesmen, warriors and poets. Not very long ago a concert was given in the Royal Albert Hall, London, in honour of Robert Burns. The audience numbered thousands ; the hall was crowded by people of all ranks from all parts of the United King- dom, including members of the Royal family. The occa- sion was a marvelous testimony to the worth and the brotherhood of a great Scotsman. And the Masonic fra- ternity may well take pride in the name and memory of Robert Burns, who, in his day, was one of the greatest and most popular of Scottish Masons. Burns was a mem- ber of Lodge Canongate, Kilwinning, No. 2, of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Until this day there is a place in the lodge room known as Burns' Corner, which is always held sacred to his memory. In this very lodge-room his anni- versary was celebrated not many years ago ; and on that occasion it was said that "Burns the man was but the husk FRATERNITY , 139 of Burns the poet, whose spirit had filled the world, and bound nation to nation by extending to infinity the foun- dation stone of the Masonic Order, 'the Universal Broth- erhood of Man.' " Certain it is that among all the kings, princes, states- men and illustrious men of the world who have adorned the ranks of Freemasonry, not one of them occupies a higher place than the humble Scottish ploughman who wrote these words : A king can mak' a belted knight, A marquis, duke and a' that, But an honest man's aboon his might, Guid faith he maunna fa' that: For a' that, and a' that. Their dignities and a' that, The pith o' sense, and pride o' worth, Are higher ranks than a' that. Then let us pray that come it may. As come it will for a' that. That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth, May bear the gree, and a' that; For a' that, and a' that, It's coming yet, for a' that. When man to man, the world o'er Shall brothers be, and a' that ! At the yearly gatherings of British fraternal societies there is ever felt the throb of international friendship, and equally honoured and respected by the membership of these societies have been the names of the late King Edward and Theodore Roosevelt. The Atlantic Ocean has never been broad enough to prevent these two rulers from clasping hands across the seas, and sending to each other their messages of hope, faith and friendship. It is. this deep-seated, rock-anchored brotherhood of kings, presidents and people which brings more closely together. 140 FRATERNITY which knits heart to heart as well as hand to hand, which transmits across the wide seas the sentiments and the melody of unchanging and undeviating fraternity. It is this tie of international fellowship which has bound together, constantly, and indissolubly, the Sons of Eng- land, the Sons of Scotland, and the Sons of Ireland to each other, whether living under British or American T)anners. Hand in hand, and shoulder to shoulder they march and fight together, performing their deeds of mercy and love, weaving their crowns of faith and gratitude, rearing their monuments to the great and good, and sing- ing the praises of the men and women who have rendered heroic service in seasons of storm and stress, in times of danger and death, and this they will continue to do until .the end of time. British and American fraternities are now being knit together by ties stronger than steel. In the nineteenth century four names have pre-eminently represented the brotherhood spirit on both sides of the Atlantic, names revered alike by Britons and Americans. These four names are George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Robert Burns, and Sir Walter Scott. One of these, the humble ploughman, born on the banks of Ayr, has penned words whose fires of patriotism and fraternity have blazed in the hearts and homes of his countrymen ever since his death. Sir Walter Scott may be said to have struck the note of brotherhood in every one of his books and poems, so completely have they taken hold of the thought and spirit of the British and American people. Abraham Lincoln so perfectly combined in his life and character the ideals of freedom and fraternity that the very mention of his name sends a thrill through the hearts of his country- men. George Washington sounded the same depths of liumanity and manhood that made Burns, Scott and Lin- FRATERNITY 141 coin the darlings of the people ; and among all the names, of the present day, the mere mention of which brings; Americans and Britons closer together, none is more potent than that of George Washington. Washington is regarded alike by Englishmen and Americans, as the bril- liant statesman, the strong nation-builder; the man who was the saviour of his country, the magnificent fighter, the great patriot and the staunch friend. It was the brotherhood spirit in Washington which impelled him, when he decided to resign the office of Commander-in- Chief, to pen these memorable words : "I now bid a last farewell to the cares of office, and all the employments of public life. * * * and I make it my earnest prayer, that God would have you, and the State over which you preside, in His holy protection ; that he would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government — to- entertain a brotherly affection for one another; for their fellow-citizens of the United States at large, and particu- larly for their brethren who have served in the field ; and,, finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dis- pose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion; without an humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation." The thread of gold which runs through these sentences is the same as shines in the utterances of every great American or Briton who has truly loved his country and his fellowmen, and who has delighted to. designate a fellow-countryman by the name of "brother." Washington had long been accustomed to the language of fraternity. He was a Freemason, and never vipon its distinguished beadroll has there been a nobler name. Lin- coln, Grant and Roosevelt have in like manner voiced the- 142 FRATERNITY spirit of fraternity ; and it is safe to say that every promi- nent American of recent times has done his utmost by pen and voice, by precept and example, to bring the British and American nations nearer to each other, and to bind them in the strong bonds of brotherhood. Mr. Andrew Carnegie has written and spoken notable words in his lifetime. As an eloquent exponent of Anglo- American friendship he has rarely been surpassed. It is the fraternal spirit in this man, as it is the fraternal spirit in Lord Strathcona and Lord Mount-Stephen, which makes them the benefactors of their fellowmen, and the pride of the country which gave them birth. It is not their great wealth which has brought them honour and reputation; it is the consideration they have shown to their less fortunate and less favoured brothers. The language of the Scottish bard is as true to-day as it was a hundred years ago : The yank is but the guinea's stamp, The man's the gowd for a' that. As long as the torch of brotherhood burns, so long will the British nation be found bearing that torch, side by side with the people of the United States, and with every citizen of the world who is willing to cherish for his fel- lowman a spirit of kindness, courtesy and sympathy. As long as American banners stand for the guardianship of the unfortunate and oppressed, so long will the folds of the Union Jack be flung to the ends of the earth as the emblem of justice, of protection to the wronged and the downtrodden. It is not too much to predict that while the ages run, these two flags. Starry Banner and Union Jack, will be found displaying to the world their united colours as a guarantee of peace, friendship and brother- hood between the two nations. That true friend of the British and the American people, Andrew Carnegie, never uttered nobler or more FRATERNITY 143 stirring sentences than those contained in his address de- livered on the occasion of his being presented with the Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers, about seven years ago. "I stand before you," he said, "as a rep- resentative of both the old and the new, being neither exclusively of one or the other, yet of both — a Scottish- American — one my native and the other my adopted coun- try. I like to think of them as mother and wife, both to be greatly loved. Such they are to me. I never see the two flags entwined as I see them before me now without finding the lump in my throat. It is many years since there first floated from our castle in Scotland a double flag, the Stars and Stripes and the Union Jack, sewn together. It floats there now, a symbol heralding, I "believe, what is to come. Even to-day the position justi- fies such a flag. When yachting on the Mediterranean one calm morning I found only a single flag displayed. I said to the captain, "What is the matter with the united flag?" "Sir, there isn't wind enough to-day. In calm seas the united flag droops, being heavy." A stiff breeze came in the afternoon, and I came on deck to see the united flag unfurled to the breeze like a thing of joy. It is the day of storm and danger that will bring out that united flag, and woe to those that stand against it. ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS* Since that winter's night when you told me of the arcana of Odd Fellowship, I have acquired. the right to make a lot of distress signs recognizable in a good many brotherhoods, but none of them are more valued by me * Address delivered by Hon. George R. Allen of Kansas City, Kansas, on the Anniversary of the Institution of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. 144 FRATERNITY than those given in that first instruction received at the hands of your officers. I always feel when I am in a gathering of Odd Fel- lows and their families and associates that I am mingling with men and, women who have an adequate conception of the duties and responsibilities of life ; those who realize that in this day and generation it is not sufficient for a man merely to so live and act that he may escape the doors of the penitentiary; and at each succeeding even- tide congratulate himself that on that day at least society through the law laid no heavy hand upon his shoulder and banished him for his misdeeds from its presence. Rather, that I am in the presence of those who know and realize that the welfare of every individual is closely wrap- ped up and identified with the welfare of every other indi- vidual with whom he associates. That no man, no matter how broad his shoulders and how undaunted his courage, can stem single-handed the adverse currents that beset him without learning that, by uniting his efforts with others and joining hands for the overcoming of obstacles, ordinary and extraordinary, he may struggle with the assurance of splendid success for his portion. Let me give you this story to illustrate the thought I have in mind : The other day in one of the smaller cities in the southern part of our State one of those weary, dis- reputable looking fellows who come into town along the railroad track and leave it by the same route — drifting upon the stream of life without thought of anchor or hope of harbor — ragged, dirty, disreputable looking and hun- gry, the fellow walked up to the door of a house and rapped. Now it chanced that in that house there lived a woman, a good woman, one of those, however, found even in Kansas, whose kindness is flaunted in the face of the unfortunate; who do good merely to be seen and FRATERNITY 145 known of men; who have no charity in their heart; no sympathy in their soul; who care nothing for the unfor- tunate, and do nothing for them except as driven under the lash of public sentiment. This woman opened the door, looked the poor fellow over from head to foot, heard his request for something to eat, and tried to freeze him with a look, and said, "Stand there. Sir." She then went back into the pantry and in a minute returned with the hardest and dryest piece of bread the house afforded. Just a great, dry, hunk, two weeks old, and she handed Jhe poor fellow a chunk with these words, "Not for my sake nor for thy sake, but for the Lord's sake, do I give you this bread." Now, it happened that the poor unfortunate was one of those fellows, well educated,, intelligent, but for some reason, lack of stability, common-sense or other essential wholly unable' to successfully fight the battle of life. Without moving he reached out his hand, took the bread, straightened up and in the same tone of voice replied, "Madam, not for my sake nor for thy sake, but for the Lord's sake, put some butter on that bread." And I am quite certain that when I am mingling with Odd Fellows and their families and associates I am asso- ciating with those who are in a sense the butter upon the bread of humanity. Those who are doing their part to alleviate the conditions of those with whom they come in contact; whose endeavor it is to make the world a better and brighter place in which to live. But I am well nigh forgetting that this is an Anniver- sary — a sort of birthday festivity. And it is proper that, even at the risk of repetition, something be said about the early days of this society. I have noticed, and so have you that the history of any people, or any movement social or otherwise, is simply in the main a record of the lives and activities of those chiefly concerned. An ulti- 146 FRATERNITY mate analysis reveals — that common-causes and ordinary efforts to check, divert or assauge existing conditions — sometimes lead to results far' beyond the wildest imagin- ings of the pioneers in the movement. This is startlingly true in the history of the magnificent order under whose auspices we are gathered this evening. At the close of the war of 1812, fought about a third of a century after the war in which we had gained our freedom from the English throne, there existed in this country a deep and bitter prejudice against England and Englishmen. This feeling manifested itself nowhere more than in the city of Baltimore, where the hardships of a predatory warfare had been most grievously felt. Their business prostrate ; manufacturers destroyed ; their ships, then the best and fastest in the world, had been for more than three years driven from the ocean. The national capital-; thirty miles distant had been pillaged and burned by a marauding band. Under these circumstances the few English emigrants who came were treated more as enemies than as friends. It mattered not that they spoke the same language; held the same forms of religious ceremonies sacred; were imbued with the same love of civil and religious freedom, and in great measure had been subject to the same gen- eral form of judicial and governmental administrations. In a word, where all circumstances existed which should lead men to be brothers, and insure kindly welcomings and fraternal greetings the very opposite existed. At this time and under these circumstances two young English mechanics, one of whom had been in this country but six months, the other a little more than a year, became acquainted. The unjust and repellant treatment to which they had been subjected because of their nationality had burned into their hearts and, smarting under the sting of ostensible inferiority, their friendship quickly became FRATERNirV 147 more intimate than is common between strangers upon short acquaintance. In casting about for a means to make their lives more endurable, if not enjoyable, they determined to find others of their countrymen whose situation was like unto theirs. Individual inquiry having failed, they inserted an adver- tisement in a weekly newspaper, asking- any young Englishmen who cared to do so to meet with them at an Inn, on March 2nd, 1819. At this meeting they were joined by two others who had chanced to read the little notice. These four then parted with an agreement to meet again thirty days later. They advertised another meeting in the same paper for the same place and this time they were joined by the fifth man. These five, after consideration, decided to form an organization for mutual helpfulness patterned after something they had known in their own country. In pursuance to this agreement these five men met at a tavern named "The Seven Stars" on Second Street, in Baltimore, Maryland, on Monday night, April 26th, 1819, and there formed the first Lodge of the Independent Order of Oddfellows in America. At that meeting Thomas Wildey, aged thirty-eight, a "coach spring maker" according to his articles of indenture, although he commonly called himself a "black- smith"; John Welch, aged twenty-eight, a painter and plumber by trade; John Duncan, John Cheatham and Richard Rushworth. These last three are named simply because they chanced to answer the advertisements and enabled the immortal Wildey and Welch to launch their enterprise — washing up from the great city like driftwood from the beach, appearing for a moment and then sinking back into the great sea of humanity and never showing further upon the pages of history. These five men I have named that night issued to all men who cared to comply 148 FRATERNITY with its conditions a sort of promissory note by the terms of which they agreed "To visit the sick, relieve the dis- iressed, bury- the dead and educate the orphan." Payment upon this note of hand in accordance with its terms and provisions has never been refused in all the years of its existence. No formal protest under hand and seal has ever proclaimed repudiation or dishonor by its makers and endorsers. First and last, from that time to this, within the territorial jurisdiction of the Sovereign Grand Lodge of America, this note of hand has been signed and payment according to its terms and conditions guaranteed by more than two millions of men in all the walks and circumstances of life, and who have bettered themselves, honored their families, and elevated the com- munity in which they lived by reason of the obligations thus assumed. These men have paid upon this obligation, in compliances with its terms and for the purposes named therein more than one hundred and twenty millions of dollars. And have they paid it all ? No ! No ! The obli- gation still is outstanding. It is not and cannot be wiped out while there lives a man in whose bosom throbs a heart responsive to the solemn vows taken before the altar of Odd Fellowship. The good book says "there is that scattereth and yet increaseth." This was never truer than when applied to our order. We are never so rich as when acting in compliance with the terms of the original agreement. No man ever impoverished his soul or depleted his purse by good deeds. Odd Fellowship has wrested the old adage, "A fool and his money are soon parted," from its original moorings, set it adrift upon the sea of fraternal endeavor and caused it to read under the searchlight of modern civilization "A fool and his money are never parted. They are one and inseparable." Beginning with the foundation laid under such cir- FRATERNITY 149 cumstances as have been named, we have erected a super- structure unexcelled by any. We have builded an insti- tution whose financial dealing with its beneficiaries is not that of the bestowal of alms, but the payment of a debt. The treasury of an Odd Fellows lodge opens in compliance with the laws of the order. These laws were placed in oper.ation by the cry of the sick and the afflicted. And if, because of the exigencies of the particular case the usual relief is not sufficient, then from the fullness of their hearts and the sufficiency of their store the brethren contribute, gladly, aye royally, to the relief of the necessi- ties. And yet not as charity, but because we realize that in the highest, the truest, the deepest and the best sense of the term, we are in truth and in deed our "Brothers' keeper." Our own possessions in the light of our brother's need become by that very need both his and ours. With those principles in the forefront we have builded a fraternal society, the largest in the world. No other in ancient history or modern approaches its number. This great, puissant institution, to which you and I so proudly claim allegiance is everywhere — in the East, the West, the North, the South, on the mountain side, by the river and upon the plain ; in city, town and hamlet, quietly and without ostentation — going about and doing good — wherever sickness and distress exist; wherever lips are parched with fever's fire, or the brow racked with pain ; wherever the mourner lingers, and lingering clings to the couch of the loved dead ; wherever the orphan follows the pathway of the student, and wherever the widow strug- gles for bread, and clothing. There you find this society and you find it working out its destiny along the magnifi- cent lines planned for it by its founders, those plain men who toiled by day and pondered by night over cruel injus- 150 FRATERNITY tice that made them practical outcasts in a land of free- dom. You can number the dollars expended in all these ways; you can show from our records the members vis- ited; you can state with accuracy the interments made; you can count the orphans educated and the widows assisted, but you can never, never, until the recording angel shall strike the final balance upon the pages of God's eternal record tell all the good this order has accom- plished. If you are inclined to think, when you consider the magnificent record of Odd Fellowship, that the institu- tion has reached its zenith; that future years can know nothing more of us than the present, and that those who follow us will work along no broader lines than those we know, permit me to suggest that those brethren whose activity was in the first twenty-five years of our history may have been of like opinion, and we now know how meagre and feeble, indeed, were their achievements com- pared with those of the present decade. Institutions of mankind are as much the product of environment and the subject of evolution and growth as are the families of the vegetable or animal kingdom. The law of the survival of the fittest is as absolute and as inevitable as the law of gravitation. Just so certainly as the rock thrown upward will descend again to earth, will the unfit die. This law stands in dual capacity — the piti- less executioner of every unworthy movement, the gener- ous benefactor of all that deserves to live. Odd Fellowship claims no divinity in its origin. It permits no rivalry with the church. It seeks not to sup- plant in the heart of any man that service which every individual owes to the Christian religion. It asks only of the world the privilege of promulgating its own doc- trines along its own lines, which are : "To visit the sick ; FRATERNITY 151 relieve the distressed; bury the dead, and educate the orphan." It asks from the world naught in return for the blessings conferred by its existence, save the privilege of continuing its beneficent course. In conformity with the decrees of this law this order need only to maintain the high ideals that have marked its past to enable it to live forever. But if it shall stand in the future where it now stands, it must be found upon the right side of every question of moral and civil responsibility and significance. In its early history it took giant strides toward the right and reaching its goal, stood firmly, as Tennyson says, "Four square to every wind that blew." Its birthplace an Inn, on a side street, its sponsors practically ostracised because of the accident of birth, when one of its early members was taunted with bacchan- alian associations, it banished refreshments from its lodge room. Driven from its hall over a tavern because of this stand, its founder, the immortal Thomas Wildey, opened the doors of his own home for its refuge, and from that day to this the subordinate lodge has been the champion, defender and protector of the Christian home. As the cord unto the bow is, So unto man is woman; Though she draws him, she obeys him. Though she bends him, yet she follows. Useless each without the other. This thought so beautifully expressed by the New England poet, was early recognized by Odd Fellows. Lodge life was not more complete without some oppor- tunity for the pleasures of social intercourse with the "angels of earth" than would be the home without their presence there. More than fifty years ago the great auxil- iary whose symbols and insignia are the bee hive, dove, lily, typifying industry, innocence, and purity, came into 152 FRATERNITY existence. Through this feature it has been the privilege of Odd Fellows to have something of the beauty, the sacredness and the refining influence of the home and family circle brought into the lodge room, and so real has the benefit proven that there are now nearly 400,000 mem- bers in the Rebekah branch. And the motto of our order, "Friendship," "Love" and "Truth," those noble and inspiring words! In the stern battle of life, the banner of Odd Fellowship, bear- ing in letters of gold upon its broad and shapely folds these words pregnant with meaning, for devotion to which in the ancient days of chivalry armed knights wear- ing in helmet fair lady's favor, their hearts filled with love of king and country, were wont to go down cheer- fully to death, float before us at once, an inspiration and an incentive. That magic banner is to the great hosts whose mem- bership is joined in indissoluble union by the magic three linked chain what the "White plume of Henry of Navarre" was to the French soldiery of his day. While that plume waved amid the smoke and shriek and the sound of car- nage in the very forefront of the fight, his followers knew defeat was impossible and victory must crown their efforts. A^ile the banner of Odd Fellowship waves tri- umphant from the castlements of 20,000 subordinate lodges, each the rallying place for a band of members, pledged, joined in solemn compact for the finer and better things of life, there will be no going backward, no losing of high ideals. Howe'er it be it seems to me, 'Tis only noble to be good, Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman Blood. FRATERNITY 153 FRATERNALISM— A MEMORIAL ADDRESS EDWARD NEWTON HAAG, LL.B. At the close of the Russian- Japanese war, when the victorious hosts returned to that wonderful Oriental land of beauty and marvelous achievement on the part of its almost Lilliputian inhabitants, one of the great command- ers, following a custom dating back to a remote antiquity, delivered an oration to the spirits of those who had freely given their lives in defense of their country and to main- tain its honor. He addressed them as being present and taking a prominent part in the memorable services. To us, who until recently have been taught to believe other- wise, this was a strange and startling procedure. Who shall say, however, that the spirits so addressed were not in reality present and fully cognizant of what was taking place ? It is said that, contrary to what might have been supposed, there was rejoicing and a manifestation of pride on the part of the relatives and friends of the departed. They had shown themselves worthy of a lasting place not only in the shrines commemorating their memory and their deeds of heroism and devotion, but also in the hearts and minds of all future generations. In each home thus honored and blessed by having had one or more of its members selected as worthy of such preferment there was erected a miniature shrine, which will be carefully guarded by succeeding generations, with ever increasing reverence. Those families which are not thus represented in the Pantheon of heroes deem it a mis- fortune, and believe that they are blessed in a lesser degree than their neighbors or friends who had this envia- ble distinction conferred upon them by the gods. It is right and proper that we should honor the mem- 154 FRATERNITY ory of departed heroes. No nation will endure which does not cherish their deeds and set before the rising genera- tion for emulation their noble example. America is the "Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave" to-day, with all its splendid possibilities, because its -sons have ever stood ready to defend its honor. There are victories won in the everyday walks of life, however, which are no less heroic than those achieved on the field of battle. This is a trite saying, but the truth of it is too often over- looked. Many a man or woman, who never receives special recognition nor expects it, makes a record for self- sacrifice and devotion to all that is best and noblest which will live through all eternity, and which contributes toward the betterment of humanity to a far greater degree than we can imagine. Scientists, theologians, physicians and thoughtful per- sons in general who give consideration to such matters are just beginning to recognize to some slight degree the tremendous influence one mind has upon another. The very fact that we wish well to our fellow-men, and that our heart and mind are actuated by an impulse for good, undoubtedly helps those about us and makes the toilsome pathway of life seem the brighter. There are some peo- ple whose very presence repels, while others scatter joy and sunshine all about them. If you are blessed with goodness and other desirable qualities, the chances are that you cannot keep them to yourself, even if you should desire to do so. The undesirable person, on the contrary, whose thoughts are intent upon self and individual gain, no matter at what expense it may be to others, is usually soon found out and checkmated. Those who do good to others whenever the opportunity presents itself and wish them well receive not only the reward of a clear con- science, but are also blessed with one of earth's choicest FRATERNITY 155 gifts — many friends. It has well been said: "To make friends, be one." It is not given to us mortals to know just what the future life has in store in the way of blessings and rewards. We see as "through a glass dimly," but, if you will pardon my venturing to have an opinion on so momentous a question, I would say that personally I believe the world is growing better day by day and year by year in no small degree by reason of the spiritual pres- ence and influence of good men and women who have gone before. Only that will be saved which is worth sav- ing. Those traits of unselfishness, benevolence, love and devotion to what is good and right each in themselves have the attributes which will make them live through all eternity. I believe that the dear departed ones, whose memory we have assembled to commemorate, are with us to-night in spirit, and are happier because when upon earth they did their Fraternal duty toward their loved ones by making proyision for their protection. We fondly cherish their memory, and it is right that we should do so, but they are not in reality lost to us, but have merely entered upon a higher sphere of usefulness and enjoy- ment, where we will shortly be able to join them. The Founder of Fraternalism removed the sting of death and largely freed the grave of its terrors. Whether heaven is a specially set apart place, as we have been taught, or whether, as I believe, all God's universe, with its myriads of worlds and wonders and beauties beyond our mortal conception, is the realm of the departed, mat- ters not so much as the fact that we are coming to know more clearly that human life is but a stage of development fitting us for greater enjoyment and usefulness, not only now, but in the hereafter. Those who are true to the standard of Fraternalism until the Silent Messenger comes achieve a great victory, 156 FRATERNITY because they conclusively demonstrate that they are unsel- fish and possessed of the divine attributes of Him who first taught the doctrine of universal Brotherhood, which has done and is doing so much to regenerate this old world, and to wipe out misery, poverty and sin. What a tremendous change Fraternalism has wrought through the ages ! The old Greek motto, "Let those who have light give it to others," has truly been exemplified in the working out of this noble cause. Great towers with noble spires, beautiful cathedrals, richly adorned and so symmetrical architecturally that they have come down to us as models, were in bygone centuries often erected in the hope of thus appeasing the wrath of an angry Deity, but seldom for the love of God or to further the cause of universal Brotherhood. The sun shone through splen- ■dorous windows and was reflected on costly mosaics and rich furnishings and priceless paintings, thus inspiring awe in the worshippers, but how often underneath in the dungeons human beings lay fettered in chains and cried in vain for deliverance from their fiendish persecutors. The few favored f ortunates were benefited, but the masses were cursed on account of greed, ignorance and super- stition. Fraternalism broke the shackles and revealed the Ijenign face and taught the blessed precepts of the Mas- ter. There has come with its development a broader view ■of the higher laws of love, generosity and friendship. The imiversal Brotherhood of man is no longer a beautiful sentimental theory, but a living, actual reality. At no time in the history of humanity has the spirit of Frater- nity held such universal sway in the hearts and minds of mankind as at present. It leads the march of our advanc- ing civilization. The age is glorified by it. The spirit of Fraternalism is the common property of the world. It makes us more capable of enjoyment and more useful, no matter what sphere of human life we occupy. Every- FRATERNITY 157 where you turn the voice of cordial greeting sounds in the ear, and the warm hand of Brotherly love and friend- ship is held out to you. Surely the potent power which, has greatly contributed to bring about this felicitous and desirable condition is the influence of Fraternal societies- upon the people. They have become, to a large degree, the educators of the masses in those sacred laws of humanity and love which will, we doubt not, eventually lead to an ideal state of living and cement the common interests into unity. Abraham Lincoln once said: "When I am dead I want it said of me by those who knew me best that I. always plucked the thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow." This is the spirit of true Fraternity. If, when we have finished life's journey the world is no better on account of our having lived in it, then it were better that we had never been born. A kindly word of greeting or a pleasant smile does much to lighten many burdens and make them easier to bear. You have no doubt heard of the man who was accosted on the street by a stranger, who said to him: "I want to thank yQu for the great help you have been to me. You have truly been a friend." The man addressed did not recognize the speaker, and replied : "I don't remember ever having met you. How, then, was it possible for me to help you?" "You are right," replied the. other; "but I have passed you on the street many times, and I never saw you when you were not smiling. When I was depressed your smile was like a ray of sunlight on a cloudy day." Have you ever stopped to think what a tremendous influence the spirit of Fraternalism has vipon our Gov- ernment and all its institutions, and how much it has contributed toward making this the greatest land of free- dom the world has ever seen? Have you noticed during recent years how great reforms have come about in the: 158 FRATERNITY government of the nation, State and municipalities almost like magic? It has been possible because the people are enlightened and love right and justice, because they have learned of its blessings through Fraternalism. Those of us who are enrolled under its banners enjoy a blessing which we do not fully appreciate. Fraternity disseminates sunshine and distributes blessings. It holds the shield of protection over the home and guards the loved ones. It heals the wounds made by an all too cruel world, and not only hears but heeds the cry of the needy and distressed. Its generous and noble heart is ever ready and willing to call back those who have strayed away, to lift up the fallen, to aid the distressed and to elevate humanity in general. It increases the capability for the enjoyment of that which is noblest and purest. It is the "new com- mandment," and those who impede its progress are not true to that which is best in the human heart. Neither the present nor the future can have much in store for such. Dr. Lyman Abbot characterizes this as the "Age of Fraternity." He predicts that the spirit of true co-opera- tion and universal Brotherhood, when a common respect for every other man's rights will exist, is rapidly coming about, influencing every sphere of human activity. Co-op- eration is working wonders, and the tendency in this direction has but begun. Civilization is not being built, as it was in ancient days, for the few, but for the masses. Far better to send our warships, as was recently done, to Sicily on a mission of mercy when nature had wrought such dire destruction than to use them for conquest. Uni- versal education and Brotherhood are moving forward hand in hand. No longer is there so much interest in what contributes to the luxury and extravagance of the few as there is in solving the problem of how all may be made better and happier; not how great wealth may be accumulated by the few, but that the means of livelihood FRATERNITY 159 and comfort be given to the many, and that every honest man and upright woman should be able to care for loved ones, and have a fair chance in solving life's problems and meeting its requirements. Poorhouses are being dis- placed by systems of old-age pensions in France, Ger- many, England, Australia and, to some extent, in this country. It is a remarkable fact that some of the great aggregations of capital have found it to their financial advantage to promote plans of this kind to take care of the aged and injured. We have come to know that what we formerly thought were necessary burdens are not divinely decreed, but that we can get rid of them through Fraternal co-operation. I predict that the time is not far distant when there will be a universal system of old-age pensions in every civilized country. I should like to give further consideration to this theme of old-age pensions and all that it implies, but time will not permit. I do not desire to disparage the past. Far from it. The men who made the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome ; Leonidas in the pass ; Horatius on the bridge ; the 600 who went in at Balaklava ; the Pil- grim fathers; the Revolutionary fathers — these men and the rest who fill the corridors of the past are entitled to air honor, but I also believe with Tennyson that "through the ages one increasing purpose runs" — not a decreasing, but an increasing purpose — because I believe that this is -the best day and age the world has ever seen. True, we do not have a Shakespeare, a Raphael, no sculptor who can match the miracles of Phidias, no philosopher who can speak with the authority of Plato, but these were the rare exceptions in their day and age, and the masses were downtrodden and ignorant. The condition of the average man and woman — aye, child — thanks to the power of Fraternalism, is infinitely better than that of those in any preceding age. In the 160 FRATERNITY past there was the rule of the few. To-day there is the rule of the many. Then might ruled, and the vast major- ity were deprived of their liberties, and in reality were slaves — whether designated by that name or not. To-day there is the rule of right — every day growing stronger. Those whom Lincoln loVed to call the "plain people" have more of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness than human beings ever possessed before. It is for these reasons that I glory not in the past, but in the present, with its noble possibilities and splendid fruits. There is a great painting which is considered a mas- terpiece. Some of you may have seen it. It represents the March of the Conquerors through all the ages. The greed of gain and love of conquest is implacably stamped upon the countenance of each of those as they ride ruth- lessly over the prostrate forms of their countless victims. As I gazed upon those so-called heroes, who brought such misery and wretchedness into the world, I instinctively placed in contrast with them the founders of Fraternal- ism and the noble men and women who are carrying for- ward its standard. Is it any wonder that the world is growing better? Is it strange that it seems to be the mis- sion of America to work out the problems of civilization throughout the World ? The lodge-room is and has been, in no small degree, the schoolhouse where we have been taught these noble lessons. President Roosevelt truthfully said: "This Govern- ment will endure just so long as those principles which underlie the Fraternal orders — namely, the protection of the home — are fostered and maintained." FraternaUsm offers the greatest possible opportunity to do good. It is the flower which has resulted from the tears and sighs and longings of the widows and orphans and down-trod- den of all ages. Its sweet perfume not only pervades the FRATERNITY 161 world, but, I have no doubt, reaches to the very throne of the Creator. Have you ever stopped to think that most people, after they attain the age of forty years, find their greatest pleasure in benefitting others? It does not matter so much what we achieve, whether it be in the cause of Fraternalism or any other direction, so long as we are engaged along proper lines and do our best. I take it that in the hereafter we will not be judged so much by what we have accomplished as by the honesty, sincerity and zeal of our efforts. The great difficulty with many persons and why they never accomplish anything worth while is because they are always waiting for some great opportunity, forgetting that many of the brightest and enduring events of history were achieved by men and women when they were scoffed at and derided, and when all looked dark and dreary. Glancing hastily at the business world, even the most casual observer knows that it is a day of great changes. Combinations of capital have come to practically control and monopolize many of the leading industries. Rail- roads, steamship lines, manufacturing industries of all kinds. Old Line Insurance companies and the necessities of life are controlled by trusts and selfish syndicates to a degree that is well calculated to make one pause and ask as to what the ultimate result will be. Many of these movements undoubtedly tend strongly toward enslaving the masses. Fetters are being placed upon them which, unless they are broken, will mean greatly lessened oppor- tunities for the vast majority during coming generations. There is a growing intelligence, however, as has been stated, and the people are thinking and acting. They have the remedies in their own hands, if they will but avail themselves of them. If the over 7,000,000 of Fra- ternalists in this country and the more than 30,000,000 162 FRATERNITY of their dependents fully awake to the responsibility which devolves upon them to assert their citizenship and exert their combined influence through legislation and in every other legitimate way, they could speedily accomplish the desired results. Such pressure could be brought to bear that no official would dare to disregard the wish of this vast aggregation of liberty-loving, patriotic, frugal, right- thinking and acting people, who believe in the "live and let live" policy and the greatest good to the greatest num- ber. I entreat you as FraternaKsts to remain true to your noble standard, and thus protect not only your own best interests, but those of your children and future genera- tions. The lodge-room and Fraternal effort in general, as exemplified in such a splendid manner by our own beloved Order, teach the lessons which fit us for the emergency when it comes, as it did the other day when John R. Binns — "Jack" Binns — the wireless operator way up on the smashed and dismantled deck of the Republic, remained at his post for nearly thirty hours, much of the time in total darkness, and not knowing but that every minute the vessel would plunge to the bottom, with engines stopped and only storage batteries, the lever of his trans- mitter broken, nevertheless sent the flash which brought relief and saved upward of 2,000 human lives. Scarcely had the two vessels crashed into each other, when, undis- mayed and undaunted, this poorly-paid, unknown hero, with no hope of reward, and who afterwards dismissed it all as an ordinary occurrence, with the emphatic state- ment: "I merely did my duty; what the h — did you expect I would do ?" sent the wireless message into space which informed operators hundreds of miles distant that a direful calamity was threatened. When the faint signal of his instrument was caught by an operator more than one hundred miles distant it was as follows : "The ves- FRATERNITY 163 sel is sinking, but I am going to stay at my post." Truly, as was stated by Mr. Boutell in introducing a resolution of recognition and thanks in Congress, "Binns has given the world a splendid illustration of the heroism that dwells in many who are doing the quiet, unnoticed tasks of life. Is it not an inspiration for all of us to feel that there are heroes for every emergency and that in human life no danger is so great that some 'Jack' Binns is not ready to face it." Oh, yes, they had their ancient heroes, and we honor them, but we have our Deweys, Hobsons, Funstons, Evanses, Binns and thousands of others who are not fatalists, but plain, everyday, honest American heroes, who prize their life but little in comparison with doing their duty as men. They do that which is noble and right in the sight of God and man as a matter of course, because they are true Fraternalists. In his weakness and imperfections man has truly accomplished wonders, but let us not forget that during the last hundred years, since the doctrines of Fraternal- ism began to be more fully recognized and its precepts carried out, more progress has been made than during all the preceding ages of the world. Since then we have had the steam engine, steamship, wireless telegraph and tele- phones, perfect reproduction of the human voice and the possibility of preserving it in a form which will enable those of future generations to hear the spoken message of the present, transmission of power for long distances, the turning of darkness into brilliant daylight, submarine navigation, the conquest of the air, the conquering of scores of diseases, and innumerai)le other inventions, dis- coveries and developments so marvelous that those of bygone ages scarcely dreamed they would ever become a reality. 164 FRATERNITY If to-day we can send a current of thought around this old world in an instant without the use of wires is it too much to hope and believe that the time will come when it will be possible for us to also communicate with those who have gone before ? Indeed, are we not already doing so without knowing it ? Do they not powerfully influence us for good in some mysterious way of which we can only conjecture? As time and space have largely been annihi- lated in this earthly sphere, so God's whole universe is rapidly coming into closer sympathy, and what heretofore have seemed like insuperable barriers are one by one being penetrated and set aside. As life has been freed from many of its evils and retarding elements, so I doubt not the last great enemy is, after all, only an entrance gate to a realm of greater possibilities for enjoyment of those blessings which we are told are in store for those who are worthy of such preferment. We all have our influence, and the smallest wave set in motion expands and widens until it reaches the eternal shore. Surely these developments, these hopes and aspi- rations will not be lost. Have you ever noticed as you stood on the shore and cast a pebble into the clear expanse of water how the sur- face rippled by waves, widening and ever widening until the eye could no longer follow them? We are standing on the shore of life. Will we cast an influence for good by a smile, a pleasant word, a kindly deed or by doing our duty as men and women bravely, whatever our lot may be? Can we doubt that thus the wave of our influence will widen far beyond our knowledge and ultimately reach even the eternal shore ? We are told that in the economy of life nothing is lost, no word spoken or written, no act performed or thought conceived by the human brain has ever been lost or ceased to exert its influence. The thoughts, words and deeds of those who have gone before FRATERNITY 165 have made this old world what it is to-day, and so the world of the future will be what we do to make it better, nobler and purer. As the hand-grasp in ancient times signified friend- ship and freedom from a deadly weapon, to-day it sig- nifies the bond of universal Brotherhood — of human sym- pathy and a willingness to do what we can to lighten the burdens which weigh all too heavy upon the human race. While Europe is practically an armed camp, with five millions trained in the science of war, ready to spring at each other's throats and to rend each other asunder, we have in this beloved land of ours a peaceful army of upwards of seven millions of noble men and women enrolled in the ranks of these Fraternal orders. They have paid out nearly a billion and a half dollars to widows, orphans and beneficiaries during the past thirty-five years, and are pouring out their stream of benevolence day by day and year by year to beneficiaries. If any of these orders have had faults, it was that they attempted to do too much, but how easy it is to correct defects of that kind where all are willing to bear their just share of the bur- den and responsibility ! America is the greatest country in the world, because its people are the most just and enlightened. They fought the first war the world has ever seen for the cause of humanity when they broke the cruel hold of Spain on Cuba, and now, in the fullness of time, when she is able to govern herself, they have set Cuba free. They con- quered the Spanish and seized the Philippines, but they paid the Spanish nation $20,000,000 and have paid upwards of $1,000,000,000 since to educate and benefit the natives. They smashed the fleet of the Spaniards at San- tiago and captured the commanders and their hosts, but they gave them food and ministered to their wants, treat- 166 FRATERNITY ing them like brothers, and finally sending them home to their ancient shores. Let it not be forgotten also that the noble men and women who have builded these fraternal institutions are well a/ble to look after their development and care during the years to come. The fraternal system is the true insur- ance of the people, because it eliminates the features of speculation, investment and profit, and gives protection to the people at actual cost. As such it stands in sharp con- trast with old line life, which, whatever may be said in its favor, is conducted largely for the aggrandizement and gain of those who control the system for selfish purposes. FRATERNAL CO-OPERATION CARL W. KIMPTON The Nineteenth Century saw inaugurated, and the Twentieth Century has seen, through fraternal co-opera- tion conducted on the lodge plan, one of the greatest achievements for the benefit of the masses ever realized. The plan and general system of protection to the home and faniily, at the lowest cost consistent with safety, was like all new efforts, crude in the beginning ; but with age and experience the plan has been perfected and the organ- ization has been placed upon a permanent and enduring basis. The bed-rock — the head and corner-stone of these societies — is Co-operative Fraternity. It has very many associates; is based on pure benevolence and charity; is grounded in political, religious and social acts. It remained, however, for those who thoroughly understood and duly appreciated the power of co-operation to place with it fraternity and give to the world the blessings and benefits of the same in a financial sense. FRATERNITY 167 Through the fraternal societies of to-day aid is extended to each other in case of misfortune or distress and society is made better both by precept and example. The lodge room is made a place of pleasure and profit, and justice and honor are exemplified and taught through the ritualistic ceremony. The little saving for which the industry of the past toiled and on which hopes of the future rested can soon be used. Home comforts vanish, sickness enters, and finally death steps in and takes possession. To meet such cases and be a comforter, fraternal societies have been established and with pure and holy motives and a desire to benefit humanity, claims a place among the list of standard institutions of the century, assuring the man and woman of thought and reason that it is worthy of their personal influence and support. Issuing policies of insurance by an old line life insur- ance company is performed for money. Some half dozen men of wealth may be set down as the owners of any one company you may select. If there is money made in writ- ing policies, such profits go into their pockets for they are the proprietors. Persons who become insured or who take out a policy have no voice in the administration of the affairs ; no brother or sister is visited nor cheered dur- ing sickness by those men who are simply insurance monopolists. Their business is to insure for personal profit ; there is no care for the dead nor dying, nor weep- ing by the bedside of one loved, respected and esteemed and held by bonds of fraternity as a brother or as a sister ; their work is for money, profit, gain. But Fraternity, what of her? Her object is to do good. Look at the pages of history of these fraternal societies. What do they present? Page after page of noble deeds, loving hands and true hearts caring for the members in sickness and in health, love for each other, 168 FRATERNITY practically exemplified and set forth in the caring of the widow and orphan and in making the hours of sickness as cheerful as possible and the last moments of life to be passed as the patient waiter is surrounded by those who pledged to him their honor and love and protection. These societies are not monopolies; they are mutual, co-opera- tive fraternities. With one hand they protect and sustain ; with the other hand they dispense to all who come within their folds the co-operative earning of a strong partner- ship. They encourage industry ; they stimulate economy ; they are helpful in promoting temperance; they prompt their members to practice punctuality and instill in the minds of each member true business principles and bring around one common altar, the rich and the poor, the toil- ers, as well as those of more or less leisure, and permit them to deliberate on ways and means best calculated to promote their individual happiness. Our government conducted and carried on through its many departments — such as the Interior, the Navy, the Army, the Treasury, etc., is a grand illustration of frater- nal co-operation. Patriotism and with the best interest of "Home, Sweet Home" has made it possible for the United States and its Government to be admired and respected by all the Governments of the World. So the love of home and of the right and of equality of making for the generations, yet unborn, through the principles of civilization — which is fraternity — an enduring and practical institution, which, while mind and memory endure and time rolls on, v/ill stand the test of all oppo=i'- tion and serve the people for the people's good. FRATERNITY 169 IT'S WHAT WE DO A prominent fraternalist regrets that there are so many in the fraternal field who do not possess a realiz- ing knowledge of the meaning of the term Fraternity. If they do, they do not live up to it and, no matter what they may say, their words have no effect among those who know they are not sincere. Fraternalists should first be true to themselves and the system with which they are identified. Then will they be able to do good to others. It is believed that we will all be judged in the Great Hereafter not so much by what we have accomplished but by the spirit in which we have given our little mite. This creed has been subscribed to by the fraternalist referred to : I do not fear to tread the paths That those I loved before have trod. I do not fear to pass the gates And stand before the living God. In this life's fight I've done my best, And, if God be God, he knows it well ; He will not turn his back on me And send me down to darkest Hell Because I have not prayed aloud Or shouted in the market place. It's what we do, not what we say That gives us mercy, in his grace. The further thought is suggested that, if those in the fraternal field would practice but half what they preach, the members of the fraternal societies would be far hap- pier in trying to live up to this standard, and the outside world look upon the societies in a far different light than it now does. 170 FRATERNITY A VAST BROTHERHOOD JAMES A. FOSHAY The fraternal beneficiary society system was inaugu- rated about forty years ago and has gone on steadily advancing until the membership of the societies to-day is more than six millions, carrying a protection of more than seven billion dollars. Since the organization these socie- ties have disbursed more than $1,050,000,000 and are now disbursing annually about $75,000,000. They have already paid out nearly one-third as much as our govern- ment has paid in pensions since the pension system came into existence. At no period in our nation's history has the brother- hood of humanity been so prominently before the world as it is to-day, protecting as it does the home and the fire- side from want and shedding an influence that is upbuild- ing in its character and patriotic in its nature. People are seeing a deeper significance in the real meaning of the word "Fraternity" and beginning to real- ize that all humanity is but one vast brotherhood, more or less dependent upon one another, and that anything detri- mental to a single person affects all to a greater or less degree. No longer do we feel that we have a right to stand aloof and say, as was said of old, "I am holier than thou." No longer do we ask with the guilty Cain, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Unbounded love and charity for all mankind is the watchword of the day, and no one can say, "I believe in the brotherhood of any organization," who does not say : "I believe in the brotherhood of man." GREAT MORAL EDUCATOR We are convinced that the genuine fraternal spirit uni- versally exercised is the remedy for the present lack of harmony between capitalist and employe, that it is the FRATERNITY 171 solution of all social problems, that it will conduce to a nobler and grander philosophy of government than most of us have ever dreamed. Man is a dependent being, who relies for his success and happiness upon his own efforts, combined with those of his fellows; and when all men labor together in the spirit of true fraternity the right of every man to the fruits of his labors will be granted. Organized fraternities have grown to be vital to the hearts and homes in the different states of our own coun- try as well as in those of other countries. There is noth- ing that could take their places. If taken from us the warmth would be taken from the hearthstone and many of the most wholesome virtues taken from the heart. The true fraternal spirit assists in lifting men into a higher moral atmosphere and instructs them in lessons of honor and generous character. It keeps them from the saloon and gambling table. No one can regularly attend the meetings of these fraternal organizations, wherein the true spirit of morality is taught, and hear the noble lessons rehearsed without becoming a better man or woman, a better parent and a better citizen. AROUSES FEELING OF KINSHIP Fraternity is a principle as old as humanity, but the duty of caring for the welfare of one another received its first impetus when the Man of Nazareth emphasized it in such a remarkable degree. And in the centuries that have followed the truths of Christ's teachings have so permeated the minds and hearts of men that true frater- nity has become manifested in the relations of individuals, -of organizations, and of nations. The large number of charitable institutions throughout the civilized world is an index of its great growth. One of our leading maga- zines recently contained the thought that the success of 172 FRATERNITY the church is not to be measured by the numbers that are added to it, nor by the amount of money contributed, but by the extent to which it is able to instill in the minds of its hearers the true spirit of brotherly love. From the beginning the word fraternity has been applied to a society, or an association of people working itogether for their common interest, business or pleasure. We find this thought evidenced in such societies as the fraternal organizations of this city and in others of earlier origin. We find it applied to members of the same pro- fession, as law and medicine, also to associations of stu- dents in colleges and preparatory schools. In the frater- nities we are made to know and to feel the Unk of kinship. EXTENDS HELPING HAND Organization comes with order. This is true with ■mankind as well as in nature, and the more perfect the ■organization the greater the harmony. There may be discordant elements in a society, but if it be perfect in its •organization and management, harmony exists. People of different religious and political opinions meet together, but peace abounds in the lodge rooms and there is a reci- procity and fellowship which have the true spirit of f rater- iiity. We all agree that there is a rule of the universe as to the foundation stone of every perfect principle. Upon this rests right, liberty upon that, and above all is the cap- stone of unity. "In union there is strength." This caused the Puritan of Massachusetts, the Quaker of Pennsylvania and the aristocrat of the South, each to lay aside his preju- dices and join together in forming the continental con- gress and in laying the foundation for the greatest govern- ment the world has ever known. It is in this thought to-day that there is intellectual and moral strength. FRATERNITY 17* In these fraternites the hand of charity is ever dis- tributing. It is soothing the aching heart and wiping the tears from the cheeks of widow and orphan. It is clothing and feeding the dependent ones. How many people would die alone and be lowered into the potter's field were it not. f or the kind ministrations of true fraternity ? Our most solemn obligations to be fraternal and help- ful to our fellowmen, if forgotten when the hand of the- helpless is stretched out toward us or the lips of the needy plead for help, can never throw light or hope upon the night whose darkness may terrify the world. The world is calling in a loud voice for the good Samaritan who will stop and bind up the wounds of the afflicted and minister- to the wants of him who has fallen by the wayside. In mankind there is a tendency to make provision for the future of themselves and for those who are dependent upon them. This desire is only a natural one, and when the wageeamer is enabled to make this provision, a great source of worry is removed and his chances of success are- materially increased. There is something in fraternity, as represented by the different societies, which touches the heart and brings into practice the teachings of those who are endeavoring- to emphasize morality. In these societies we find men and women of the highest intelligence who are distinc- tively the representatives of their communities, and who are not doing the work merely for monetary gain. We recognize that humanity needs the protection which these societies give. We have been taught the truth, "Bear ye- one another's burdens." AID THE DISTRESSED It has been demonstrated that such societies are of value in creating thrift among the people, in fostering- 174 FRATERNITY habits of foresight and self-denial, in making provision for times of need. Fraternal protection gives the member the assurance that in the event of accident, total disabil- ity or death, his family will be provided for. Hail, holy, happy brotherhood ! True love and friendship bind in one Hearts that are true, sincere and good. By thy refining influence won. It is pleasing to note the growth of interest in these protective organizations. At a recent meeting of frater- nal people President Roosevelt said : "Gentlemen, if this government is long to endure, it must be because of a recognition of the fact that the elements which constitute the fraternal societies of America are reckoned with, and kept in mind, in the administration of affairs of this gov- ernment." A true fraternal insurance society is formed to give protection and benefits to its members at the lowest possi- ble cost consistent with safety and performance. It is beyond the estimation of man to realize the extent of the relief given to the sick by free medical attendance, the watching and nursing, and the assistance given to members in distress, both in money and in sympathy, the securing of employment, the assistance in carrying the members to prevent suspension, and in many different cases creating confidence in the hearts of the people. Provisions have been made whereby children can be retained in school, many of whom will grow into stronger men and women because of fraternal helpfulness. PROMPTLY MEET OBLIGATIONS In the selection of members of a fraternal protective society not only the local examiner and the supreme medi- cal examiner pass upon the appUcation, but the lodge members themselves, for it occasionally occurs that they FRATERNITY 175 have personal knowledge of defects, either in the char- acter or habits of certain applicants, which the doctors may have no means of discovering. The lodge system is especially valuable in that it can make selections, giving attention to the moral qualities of the applicants as well as to the physical and the material, and thus strengthen the society in the character of its risks. The large army of people carrying fraternal protec- tion in force of more than seven billions of dollars, and the benefits paid last year or more than $1,440,000 a week, cause us to be proud that we have had a part in the great work of distributing these sums among those for whom it has been most helpful. In fact, fraternal insurance societies, as a rule, have met their obligations promptly and readily. This fact has done much to make them popular. In many cases the members have taken it upon themselves to do the work of deputies, agents or organizers. AID FOR AFFLICTED When the great calamity of earthquake and fire came to San Francisco, the grandest and noblest response to the appeals of the afflicted came from the members of the different fraternal organizations, and some of them took steps to pay the dues and assessments of their associates who were stricken. This was done before the request for help fairly reached the supreme oflfices in the different sec- tions. Not only was money forwarded but the neces- saries of life in the form of food, clothing and commodi- ties necessary for the comfort of the people were poured into the laps of the afflicted members of the fraternal orders. Many of these fraternal orders could not boast of their millions of assets, but they could boast of their greater and better assets — the men and women who com- pose their membership and who have the true spirit of fraternity thoroughly rooted and grounded within them. 176 FRATERNITY WHAT WE STAND FOR J. E. VAN WINKLE In the ancient times the great force of organization was for the benefit of the few. Retrospect the centuries of the past and you will note that nations had great armies and navies. They had sciences and arts, wealth and letters, kings and palaces. But all these have per- ished and gone into oblivion. Lying back of the dawn of the christian era were groups of great men. Greece had her Pericles, Socrates, Plato and Eschylus. Rome had her Julius Caesar and a senate of men of uncommon strength. Caesar had been victor in a hundred battles, subdued three millions of people, and in the face of com- bined opposition seized and held the reins of universal dominion. Before Caesar crouched the warlike Gaul. It was through the force or organization that Alexander became the master of the world. Through the genius of organization Napoleon superseded his adversaries and made the "boundaries of kingdoms to oscillate upon the map." But these older civilizations, and these rulers of men forgot the people. A few were strong and rich and pow- erful, but the millions were slaves. A big army and navy does not make a great nation. A king or potentate may have affluence and wealth. He may have the plau- dits of his subjects, but it is intermittent and shallow, and rendered under duress. A king with millions of subjects paying him homage may have a kingdom that is lacking in all those essentials which contribute to real greatness. The greatness of a nation must come from the number .of happy and prosperous homes throughout the land. Greatness in a nation does not come from the absolute power of a monarch, but in the distribution of sover- eignty among a free and intelligent people. FRATERNITY 177 As we review the history of the world we see it divid- ing itself into three stages. In the first stage power is magnified. Force is deified. The great man is the strong man. In that era Nimrod is the hero after the world's heart. Strength receives the homage of the many. In the second stage power is pushed back a step or two and intellect comes to the front. The great man is the intel- lectual man. In that era Homer is the favored idol before whom the populace delight to bow. Genius receives the homage of the many. Humanitarianism has inaugurated the third stage. In this era the world is pointed not to Nimrod, not to Homer, but to Christ who taught the world brotherhood, and that humanitarianism that makes the whole world kin. Ever after that it is not power, it is not intellect, but goodness. What seems strange these three stages of the world history which I have mentioned are paralleled in the indi- vidual experience of man as he admires the forces operat- ing the world. What causes the heart of the boy to respond in admiration of David slaying Goliath ? Power. Caesar leading the Tenth Legion? Power. Napoleon at the head of the Old Guard? Power. Let the boy pass into young manhood. What causes his heart to respond in admiration as a young man ? Shakespeare creating his wonderful characters, and causing his meters to run like the music of the brook and his metaphors to shine like the fields and seas and clouds from which they are drawn. Shakespeare who could arrange the marvellous plots of a striking play, with personages of grand men doing mag- nificent deeds. Genius. Macauley writing his great his- tory. Genius. Goethe throwing ofif the marvellous pro- ducts of his pen. Genius. Let the young man reach his full maturity and become able to sift and weigh and analyze and judge things by the most approved standards. What calls out admiration from the heart of the mature 178 FRATERNITY man ? John Howard at work among the reeking prisons. Goodness. George Washington sacrificing himself for the American republic. Goodness. Livingstone in the heart of the dark continent, struggling for the elevation of Africa. Goodness. Abraham Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation. Goodness. I know that goodness has not always been considered the equivalent of greatness, but it must be so considered in the age in which we are living. It was not so consid- ered when the human race was young, but now that the human race is reaching its maturity we must look upon goodness as the acme of all greatness. Over the gateway of the twentieth century is written in glittering letters the word "Brotherhood." Under the inspiration of this spirit of brotherhood the fraternal insurance societies of our country have enrolled over six millions of people, and have paid to the widow and the orphan more than a billion dollars. LIFE H. S. HUDSON Since the world first rolled from the Creator's hand and was peopled with human life, every dawn has seen the miracle of birth, and every dusk the tragedy of a death. In the morning a day is born, glides along to the heyday of Noon, stands for a moment upon the pinnacle of success, then turns its face downward toward the Dusk and finally is wrapped in the mantle of oblivion. Such is birth; such is life; such is death. Between the opening and the closing of the book lies all there is of the thino- we call Life. The naked savage who' wandered along the banks of the river Nile or made his habitations beneath the FRATERNITY 179 shadow of the Pyramids was the product of the same miracle as the chieftain who reigns over him. The life of a hod carrier is just as mysterious as that of the king who wears purple robes. We cannot fathom the Divinity which quickens the spark of Life, neither can we peer into the Infinity into which it goes. Always the same old questions — sad suggestions. Whence and whither throng our way ? We all know that for a:ges the footsteps of everything endowed with the mystery we call Life have passed down the same highway and onward into the gloom of that bourne from which no traveler ere returns. We know that a death will follow every birth just as naturally as dusk follows dawn. We know that our own footsteps are following all that have gone before. We know that yesterday is dead and to-morrow is yet to be born. The only tangible, palpitating thing is To-day, and yet many are dissipating to-day, and others are crying from the depths of their souls despair. Oh, God ! give me back my yesterday. Yes, all the tragedies were written yesterday. All the deeds that blight, and wither, and kill, are written into the scroll of yesterday. Every com- punctious throb of memory is from some deed done, or left undone, yesterday. A word of warning, the right hand of good fellowship — a song, a handclasp — all might have been given yesterday, but to-day is too late ; for yes- terday is dead and o'er its tomb is written "Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, it might have been," while in the shadow of our neglect we cry, "Oh, God, give me back my yesterday" ! 180 FRATERNITY THE DEPUTY (From The Fraternal Monitor.) The demand for high class workers is becoming more and more insistent. The time is past when one could go into the field and secure applications with only a rate card and a small circular. There must be previous prepara- tion and this must be in the way of acquiring information as to the institution to be represented, its plans, its par- ticular field and the advantages it has to offer. In the past too many have entered upon fraternal field work with no knowledge as to their duties and responsi- bilities. They relied particularly upon their own person- ality to secure results. They painted their proposition in rosy colors and, in their hands, it was such a yielding and pliable one that it could be made to fit the wants and needs of everybody. We have all witnessed the effects of such operation. Members were secured on a basis that verged on the crim- inal. They did not understand what they were receiving. They accepted the statements of the solicitors rather than the terms of their certificates. They fancied that they had something which was a panacea for practically all the ills human flesh is heir to. When the awakening came they dropped out as rapidly as they had come in but a short time before. Had these same people been secured on a fair basis, in all probability the majority of them would have remained. The very fact that they had been deceived aroused their suspicions and they felt that the organization was, by implication at least, involved in such deception. To avoid a repetition of such experience these socie- ties have during the past few years given more attention to the personnel of their representatives. They have sup- plied them with literature setting forth legitimate and FRATERNITY 181 proper operation. They have established schools of in- struction through which their deputies may have the horizon of their views broadened and alike their oppor- tunities and responsibilities set forth. They have enun- ciated the cardinal fact that members secured on a wrong basis are an element of weakness rather than of strength. A FEW "don'ts" At the hazard of repeating what practically every one knows, or should know, The Monitor submits a few admonitions which should be kept ever in view. It does this on the assumption that prevention is more desirable than is cure — ^that avoidance of error is far better than overcoming it after it has gained lodgment. No deputy should work for a society in whose manage- ment he has no confidence. He stultifies himself and weakens his self-respect when he does so. He under- mines the very foundation on which legitimate effort is based when he is induced by the offer of large commis- sions to represent that in which he has no confidence. To have confidence in an institution or system it is necessary that one first have knowledge as to its basis, its purposes and its accomplishments. To have such knowledge it is necessary that one give his subject that study and consideration which necessarily precedes sober and fair judgment. Confidence without knowledge is but a form of blind superstition. Another "don't" which will stand analysis is that which tells one not to place a contract whose terms and conditions he does not thoroughly understand. The peo- ple look to those who present the proposition to them for definite and tangible information as to what it means and what it will do. If the truth is not told, or if this is cov- ered up in a mass of meaningless words, it follows that dissatisfaction is bound to ensue. Misrepresentation is 182 FRATERNITY one of the most despicable methods ever employed to attain a given end. This observation is true in all walks of endeavor. He who misrepresents secures business under false pretenses. CONVINCE YOURSELF FIRST Do ncft make statements regarding your own or any other society without first convincing yourself that these are correct. Much of the doubts and skepticisms afloat to-day are due to dishonest or extravagant statements made in the past. We see their untoward results in our general business situation to-day. The confidence of the people has been shaken because they have not been dealt with frankly and openly. This condition has been played upon by designing persons and to-day as a result we are in the midst of adverse conditions which have no valid excuse for existence. Is not prevention better than the cure? Would it not have been far better for all interests to have avoided those extremes which bring in their wake a reaction just as surely as night follows day? Is not confidence the basis upon which progress and successful operation in all lines of work rest? Without it do we not soon drift on the shoals of unrest, dissatisfaction and ultimate disaster? The Monitor ventures the opinion that there is no institution which can permanently succeed without the confidence and co-operation of those identified with it. It goes further than this. It believes that no nation or people can be prosperous unless they act as an united and cohe- sive force in behalf of their own institutions and the inter- ests reposed to their keeping. From this viewpoint, is it not the imperative duty of those standing on the watchtowers of fraternal operation to so conduct themselves that those who look to them for information will have confidence in what they say and do? FRATERNITY 183 Is it pot necessary that they act with circumspection and that they make no statements which will not withstand the searchlight of investigation and common sense ? CONDITIONS ARE WHAT WE MAKE THEM Well has it been said that the wings of opportunity are clipped by Time. If one does not improve them as they present themselves they may never return. One must act promptly and decisively. He must miss no opportunity to impress both upon himself and others the importance of acting in a positive and vigorous manner. The story is told of two commercial salesmen who arrived in a town on the same train. The one was a sort of negative character who looked upon the dark side of things. When the usual courtesies with his customers were over, he informed each of them that times were very hard, sales were slow, but that he hoped they would buy at least a small order to help him out. The other possessed a more cheerful and forceful character. In order to convince his customers that every- thing was moving along prosperously, he showed them that his orders exceeded those during the corresponding months in 1907. He left that town with a good order sheet. Those who had been doubtful as to the future were convinced by the attitude of the salesman and by the fact that others were making provision for the future by laying in stocks of goods. Does not the above indicate that conditions are about what we make them after all ? The first commercial sales- man put into the hands of each prospective buyer the weapons of refusal. The results were evident from the start. He defeated himself. The other had a convincing manner of putting things. He encouraged those with whom he came in contact. He showed by his manner that he was successful and he succeeded. 184 FRATERNITY INSPIRE CONFIDENCE The thought featurized by every institution having representatives in the field is that these must have confi- dence themselves in order to inspire confidence in others. This self-evident fact is one which cannot be over-stated. Upon it depends the success or failure of both institutions and their representatives. Lack of confidence is a weak- ening factor. It destroys vitality, quenches vigor and ardor and sows the seed of eventual decay. The deputy has confidence in his institution and propo- sition or he would not be representing them. He should make this confidence a breathing and vitalizing force so that it will be known and felt by others. He should remember that no one is going to unite with an institution in which its representative has no confidence and, there- fore, it is his manifest duty to instill in his prospect's mind that spirit of confidence which develops into definite and tangible results. A COHESIVE BUSINESS It is manifestly in order that the deputy develop his field in a methodical and systematic manner. He should not scatter or alternate between extremes. He should have a given line of effort and this should be so plain that preparation is always made for that which comes later. A cohesive business is desirable from all viewpoints. It can be kept in line with comparatively little difficulty. It can be made a nucleus upon which other business may be built, and thus it becomes a steadily increasing one rather than of a nature which weakens itself by reason of the looseness with which it is thrown together. One large local organization is better than a number of small ones. Its affairs will be better looked after. Its very numbers give it strength. Small organizations nec- essarily have a struggle for existence and this struggle is FRATERNITY , 185 reflected in their inability to make that growth character- istic of the larger one which increases by the very force of numbers. THE SUCCESSFUL WORKER Under the caption "The Successful Life Insurance Agent of the Future," Mr. Edward A. Woods, in an excellent communication to the quinquennial number of' The Spectator, suggested the following as a means of stimulating agents to work more and waste less time. Encourage system; induce agents to keep daily reports of how their time is spent — if possible, to make daily reports; give them valuabk help in suggestions and criticisms of their reports so that they will feel that the time spent in making thera has not been wasted; allow no ground whatever for even suspicion that their reports will be used to personal advantage of the general agent; the one most benefited by the daily audit of the use of one's time is the agent himself. * * * The capital of the life agent is time instead of money. How can he know how it has been employed if he keeps no account of it? More record and more method will help agents to do this. Perhaps as great a cause for idleness as any is the fact that the agent after trying a few disheartening cases is too played out to initiate new prospects. If he had more definite calls assigned to him he would not be so disheartened because, if some applications were not secured, there would be plenty of prospects from whom he could expect results. The foregoing is in line with The Monitor's expres- sion of opinion to the effect that there should be syste- matic effort and that deputies should endeavor to build up a cohesive business rather than a scattering one. Central- ization is always more effective than is loose or desultory effort. He who has a given purpose and who keeps this ever in view has a better chance of succeeding than does he who rambles along, ever changing from one extreme to another. 186 FRATERNITY FRATERNAL INSURANCE AND NATURAL LAW At its 1904 session in St. Louis, Actuary William Schooling, F. R., A. S., a publicist on the lines of insur- ance in Great Britain, presented a paper under the above heading. This paper was not in the least controversial. Rather, it emphasized fundamental principles and showed that the fraternal system has a stronger and broader basis than is commonly supposed. He believed that it was but fair to claim for England that it has taught the principles of life insurance to the world. Actuary Schooling observed that in England there are many friendly societies which have continued for many years, but they are in many respects entirely different from fraternal societies as we know them here. There is only one fraternal society in England and it is hoped that this is the pioneer of widespread fraternal insurance in that country. He called it just fraternal insurance. He believed that it provided what the majority of people want, and in his writings it was his central purpose to spread the knowledge of the true principles of fraternal insurance in the mother country. The Monitor has been requested to reproduce the paper of Actuary Schooling. It regrets that its limited space will not permit it to do so in its entirety. It, how- ever, culls from his address the following which it is believed will be both interesting and instructive. ADAPTATION AND LIFE INSURANCE Those of us who are at all acquainted with insurance mat- ters are peculiarly aware of the terrible uncertainty as to the time of death of any individual, but we are equally well aware of the certainty which prevails as to the average duration of life among a large number of people. We know that the death of an individual, especially of a man, commonly involves heavy finan- cial loss, and consequent suffering, for those who are dependent upon him. We know very well, from practical experience, the relief that is afforded by a life insurance policy, but do we rec- FRATERNITY 18T ognize in the payment of a claim the operation of a law of nature just as ingenious and just as perfect as that which provides the water ouzel with a thick plumage and strong claws which ena- ble it to obtain food under water that is inaccessible to other birds ? Individuals, by acting in combination, can relieve them- selves of the financial uncertainty which results from the uncer- tain duration of the lifetime of any person. But the Association in which these individuals combine, while it relieves them of uncertainty incurs no uncertainty; the average duration of life being regular, a life insurance institution finds itself in the same situation as the person who buys all the tickets in a lottery, thereby eliminating chance. Just as the individuals in any species of plants or animals- which do not acquire the protective coloring or other character- istics, tending to the preservation of the species, go under in the struggle for existence, so also do individuals of the human spe- cies, who abstain from the protection afforded by life insurance,, also go under in the struggle for life, or rather it is worse than this; the man who abstains from the protection afforded by natural law working in the social sphere, may thereby cause his wife and family to go under in the struggle for life to the accom- paniment of suffering for the individual and detriment to the species or community. Any individual standing alone is absolutely incompetent, unless he is in the possession of capital, to provide against the financial consequences of the uncertainty of the time of death. He can only do so by acting in combination with others. If it is a question of saving money an individual can do that quite well alone; combination with other individuals may be of little or no direct benefit for such purpose and therefore it seems to me that the primary object of life insurance especially considered from the point of natural law, is protection against the financial consequences of death. Herein I think we see a deep natural fundamental reason for the superiority of fraternal insurance ta many forms of old line insurance. So far as the old line com- panies are providing mainly for death protection, they are work- ing in accordance with the natural law which we have been con- sidering and are beneficial in their operations, but so far as they embody investment features involving high premiums, thereby making death protection expensive, they are failing to fulfill •in the best way the fundamental natural object of life insurance. 188 FRATERNITY 1 fully admit that many of these investment policies are excel- lent for those who can afford them, but they are saving banks, not insurance, or rather they are partly one and partly the other. We shall see presently that almost every form of old line insur- ance combines something else with death protection, while fra- ternal insurance, which to my mind should confine itself to the provision of a sum of money in the event of death, fulfills the Jiatural law of adaptation to circumstances far more perfectly. THE CHANGE FROM INDEFINITE TO DEFINITE There is another natural law of the widest possible kind ■which enforces the same conclusion from another point of view. If we study the evolution of nature as a whole or the evolution of any part of nature, we find progress from lower to higher "Consisting, among other things, in a change from the indefinite to the definite. Thus from the vagueness of the original nebula there evolves the definiteness of a solar system and its attendant planets and sooner or later on each planet there may come, as there has come on the earth, well defined objects and activities -of countless kinds. If we go back to the earthly records of life insurance we find a vague nebulous condition of affairs. The information on the subject was too inadequate for the cost of insurance protection to be known, the consequence was that the premium charged for insuring a given amount at death varied tut little, if at all, with the age of the person assured. It was scarcely recognized that age was a factor to be taken into account. Even when some importance was attributed to age, no ■distinction was made between the purchasers of annuities and the purchasers of life insurance policies. The charges made to both these classes were based upon the mortality of the general population with erroneous, and in some cases, disastrous results. It is now recognized that the rate of mortality among annuitants, among assured lives -and among the general population are all different. The primitive indefiniteness has given place to definite- ness and exactitude founded upon past experience. THE BONUS SYSTEM This primitive indefiniteness gave rise to the system of bonuses. The old Equitable Society of England, which was founded in 1762, felt it necessary to charge premiums sufficiently "high to provide to a certainty for meeting claims as they arose. In the course of years it was found that the Society had a sur- FRATERNITY 189< plus beyond all possible requirements for its liabilities, and. being a mutual office with no shareholders to take any part of the profit, it was decided to return part of this surplus to the existing policyholders, the distribution being dependent upon the amount and duration of the policies. Thus the bonus system had its origin in ignorance, and, now that primitive vagueness has given place to modern definiteness, the bonus system is retained without the justification of ignorance which was form- erly an adequate sanction for so cumbersome a plan. You will see then that it was in consequence of ignorance that the law of adaptation to circumstances, which in the social sphere we call life insurance, worked imperfectly because expensively. The old line companies to an enormous extent still work imperfectly though not availing themselves of the more definite and exact knowledge which is now available. THE DISCOUNTED BONUS SYSTEM We have a system in England, I do not know whether it prevails in America, by which although the bonus system is retained the disadvantages of high premiums are avoided. It is commonly called the "discounted bonus" system. A company for instance which has been in the habit of declaring every five- years a reversionary addition to its policies at the rate of fifteen dollars a year on each thousand dollars insured takes the pres- ent value of this bonus and allows it from the outset as a reduc- tion of premium. If future bonuses are at a higher rate than fifteen dollars per thousand, the difference between the declared-; bonus and the discounted bonus is given to the policyholder. If" the declared bonus is at a lower rate than the discounted bonus,, the difference has to be paid by the policyholder in cash or by deduction from the policy when it becomes a claim. The result of this system is to produce rates of premium which are lower than without profit premiums for the same amount of insurance at the same age. Under this system policyholders in a mutual office secure their life insurance benefits at as nearly as possible actual cost, without at any time having to pay much too high a premium; save for the disadvantages of a relatively high rate of expenditure, and save for the fact that the cost of insurance protection is somewhat increased by policyholders having to pay for surrender values, this system is a nearly, but not quite, per- fect provision against the financial uncertainty of death. We will consider later this question of surrender values and' 180 FRATERNITY ■expenses, but in connection with the discounted bonus system, it is injportant to note that it practically provides the old line •companies with a right to levy an assessment if it should be required. An agreed premium is paid from the outset, but it is accompanied by the express stipulation that if future bonuses are smaller than before the policyholder must pay something tnore than the stipulated premium. To all intents and purposes this is an assessment of a perfectly justifiable and necessary kind. It seems to me that Fraternal Insurance at its best is the discounted bonus system improved. Fraternal Insurance as it exists in a few cases now, and as it must exist in all societies which are ultimately to survive, charges a level premium which, &o nearly as the experience of the past in regard to mortality, and the prospects of the future in regard to the probable rate of interest to be earned upon the funds, enable an opinion to be formed, is the exact cost of insurance protection. If anything happens in the future, such as an unexpected decline in the rate ■of interest, to upset the calculations upon which the rates of premium are charged, then the members of the Fraternal Society are liable to an assessment, just as discounted policyholders in an old line company are liable to an assessment if the anticipated rate of bonus is not realized. An assessment of this kind, which is entirely different from the system of assessing nearly the whole ■of the premium according to circumstances, is a necessary provi- sion in order to meet those minor fluctuations which even mod- ■ern knowledge cannot exactly foresee. We have seen that in order to fulfill the law of adaptation to circumstances in the most perfect way it is necessary to pro- vide insurance protection at a minimum of cost, and we have seen that in the natural course of progress from indefiniteness to definiteness, from ignorance to knowledge, it has become pos- sible to fix the cost of insurance protection with approximate accuracy. That same process of evolution which partly produces and partly depends upon adaptation to circumstances, which we call life insurance, and which promotes the welfare both of indi- viduals and of the community, is made more perfect in its oper- ation by the contemporary process of evolution from indefinite to definite, from ignorance to knowledge. THE CHANGE FROM SIMPLE TO COMPLEX. There is another feature of progress in general which leads ±0 the same conclusion, namely the change from simplicity to FRATERNITY 191 complexity. Let us stand in imagination by the camp fire of some primitive tribe and listen to the records of the fighting or the hunting of the local heroes. We are witnesses — did we but recognize it — of the origin of history, the commencement of oratory, the beginning of poetry, the dawn of music, the birth of song, and the earliest of dances. If we trace the develop- ment of these primitive records to the stage which they have reached in our own day we arrive at modern journalism, at the work of historians, at the current developments of vocal and instrumental music, and at the present ramifications and develop- ments of local government and of national parliaments. The simplicity of primitive life has developed by the most gradual stages into the vast complexity of our modern environment. Insurance also exhibits an astounding progress from the simple to the complex. It began with mutual combination for compensation in the event of loss of vessels at sea, it was followed by payments for damage to property by fire, and later on to payments at the death of persons insured. Casualty insurance followed later, until now there is scarcely a contingency that cannot be pro- vided against from a financial point of view by means of insur- ance. In life insurance, as exhibited by the operations of the old-line companies, the forms of policies are so numerous and so complicated that years devoted to the subject suffice to com- pletely master the whole of the details. SPECIALIZING Now we have to notice that throughout the whole of nature the complexity which arises in the course of evolution is always and inevitably accompanied by a process of differentiation. If we go back to a primitive condition of life we find each man building his own dwelling, making his own weapons, obtaining his own food, making his own clothes, and in fact performing for himself all the few functions that were necessary to his con- dition of life. It is unnecessary to trace the changes that have taken place and which have resulted in the division of labor characteristic of modern existence. Now-a-days one man plays but a small part in the production of one out of many articles of food, in the manufacture of one out of many kinds of weapons. In literature, in journalism, in science, in manufacture, in fact in every department of human activity we see individuals spe- cializing in some one limited direction. This specialization when carried to an extreme njay tend to the detriment of the indi- 192 FRATERNITY vidual, but it is undoubtedly beneficial to the community at large. This process of differentiation, or specialization, has been carried far in connection with insurance. * * ♦ SPECIALIZING IN DEATH PROTECTION This being so, specializing in the direction of financial pro- tection in the event of death to the exclusion of all other forms of insurance seems to me the highest and most useful form of insurance that there can possibly be. It is certainly the most necessary for the great majority of people, and it is the form which illustrates far more completely than any other the natural law of adaptation to circumstances to which I have previously referred. We shall see presently that Fraternal Orders are far better suited for the provision of death protection in the most effective and the least expensive way, than commercial or old line Insurance Companies. * We have seen that Nature's singularly ingenious method of removing the financial uncertainty of individuals without involv- ing insurance institutions in any uncertainty requires the com- bination of individuals into an Association. * * * THE MODERN FRATERNALIST I. I. BOAK The thorough-going, up-to-date fraternalist must be a many-sided fellow. It would hardly fill the bill for him to possess those qualities that the old lady considered neces- sary to become a model chairman ; that is, to "look wise, speak but little, think much and give liberally when the hat is passed." No doubt it would be well for him to be equal to all this, but that would hardly put him in the front rank of fraternalists. Perhaps Emerson was prophetical and had the frater- nalist of to-day in mind when he said, "Know a little of everything, and all of something." This injunction is worthy of more than passing notice. It is certainly easy to illustrate. For instance : Many lodge members agree that an occasional smoker is necessary to keep up interest FRATERNITY 193 and bring the members out to meetings. This being admitted, let me ask what is a smoker without a boxing bout or two? There are but few lodge members who object to this form of amusement when properly conducted ; so, admit- ting it to be a necessity, we will also be obliged to admit that we are not all proficient in the manly art. No one would ever think of seeing Joseph CuUen Root and A. R. Talbot dancing around each other, landing corkscrew punches and uppercuts until one of them had to throw up the sponge. If either of these great fraternalists were present at a smoker, he would be expected to deliver a masterly address and, in that capacity, he would surely "deliver the goods," but they would never be expected to put on the mitts. At such gatherings, it is usually somebody's business to sing a song or two, and I know a lot of top-notch fra- ternalists whose singing would scarcely be regarded as an unqualified success, unless it would be on the score that one effort was such a pronounced success that another song would never be called for. Many other > duties are necessary on such occasions and, while admitting it to be unnecessary for any one person to engage in all, or indeed in more than any one of such duties, we feel sure that we are right in contending that a fraternalist should be ver- satile enough to discern when such functions were well performed, or otherwise. The foregoing, however, is but one phase of a frater- nalist's life, and serves to illustrate the necessity of special, rather than varied talents and emphasizes but one, and from a fraternalist's standpoint, the least one of the two great thoughts contained in the foregoing quotation from Emerson. Modern industries furnish examples of the same thought. Our large shoe factories are operated v/ithout any shoemakers, provided we define the word 194 FRATERNITY "shoemaker" as "one who makes shoes," and this defini- tion is the only practical one. In such institutions a shoe passes through a score of hands before it is complete ; every fellow operates his own machine and knows nothing about the other fellow's ma- chine, and perhaps not a man in the factory could make a shoe. The trend of modern usefulness runs to specialties, and all large industries furnish examples of this. We readily agree that this is "knowing all of some- thing." The other phase of the question, to "know a little of everything," is, I contend, not nearly as easy to attain and, therefore, far less in evidence than the other, and because of this, I feel justified in referring to the frater- nalist as the "Man of the Hour," the most useful citizen of the day. Our captains of industry are specialists; so are the leaders of old line insurance, and, while we do not decry their merits, we feel safe in declaring their useful- ness toward their fellowman to be limited and ofttimes questionable. To fill the bill as a model fraternalist, one must not only know, but be a little of everything. He certainly requires a number of natural and God-given qualities, superinduced and developed by cultivation and environ- ment. In his varied duties, he must recognize the Scrip- tural injunction and "be all things to all men." He must be a "mixer." The needs or desires of men are unknown to the one who does not mingle with his fellowmen. He should be dignified, but not haughty; mirthful at times, but never frivolous; serious, without being sour; he should look on every human being as made in the image and likeness of God, and be more than ready to help the erring one to overcome his shortcomings ; never hasty to condemn, or when he does condemn, let his condemnation be directed to the act, rather than the actor; he should place character above intellect and encourage the cultiva- FRATERNITY 195 tion of both ,- he should have the broadest conception of the brotherhood of man ; he should ever bear in mind the eternal truth that goodness is measured by usefulness, and that what he is speaks louder than what he says; he has a right to be ambitious and aspire to the highest position in the gift of his fellows. He has no business to expect to reach heights without climbing to them ; he should, and does, aspire to iill a posi- tion and not rattle around in it; he knows well that the ivorld owes no man tJtat which he does not earn or pro- duce; he recognizes the everlasting truth that great and noble achievements are the result of earnest and continued effort, and that which is worth having is worth striving for ; he knows that character which lives forever was not built in a day; he learns great lessons from the great teacher ; he sees the mushroom grown in one night, and in the morn it is naught but a mushroom, one hour of sunshine and it is destroyed and lost forever; he sees stately ships built of hearts of oak and he realizes that it took a hundred years for the great oak tree to grow and develop. He is right in regarding preparation as a necessary adjunct to the gratification of ambition. He draws a fine, distinguishing line between selfishness and self-preserva- tion. He knows the fellow who thinks of nobody but him- self is greedy and miserable, while he who forgets him- self and his own interests is unwise. In short, he exem- plifies the human side of the Divine Master, for the sweet- est and most beautiful synopsis of human greatness is wrapt up in the Savior's inquiry as to the usefulness of life, at its close. And the culmination of fraternal ambition, the grand- est that mortal mind can conceive of, is to merit that wel- come "Well done!" for "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, ve have done it unto ME." 196 FRATERNITY A MANY-SIDED PROPOSITION (From The Fraternal Monitor.) Khaled was one of the beneficent genii whom Allah freed from all emotion or prejudice that he might report dispassionately to Allah for final judgment vexed ques- tions arising in the affairs of men. — Mohammedan Mythol- ogy. While an arrangement similar to the above may not be workable in fraternal operation at the present time, its imperative need cannot but be admitted by right-thinking persons. The difficulty rests with those whose chief stock in trade is self-exploitation and self-interest. They oppose everything not in harmony with such interests. They have promulgated positive opinions on vexed subjects. The fraternal world, therefore, must defer to these or incur the penalties attendant upon its temerity. They have outlined given plans of operation and those not in harmony with these are declassed by them. They have assumed the functions of dictators and the fraternal world must govern itself accordingly. Possibly it would be declaring too much if one were to assume that the fraternal proposition is a many-sided one and that there are many adaptations of it. Yet such is the case, and he who stands out for a given adaptation of a particular principle, to the exclusion of all others, may have a hearing temporarily but, in the final analysis, his position will be discredited as being narrow, repressive and unworthy of'the possibilities of fraternal operation when exemplified along broad lines. The self-constituted mentor of to-day will to-morrow be regarded as a self- seeker or zealot who could appreciate nothing beyond the horizon of his own views. He will be relegated to the ranks of those who have been tried in the balance of actual results and who have been found deficient under such test. FRATERNITY 197 BIASED OPINIONS UNTRUSTWORTHY In all walks of life we have had a surfeit of biased opinions and preconceived notions. These are character- istic of those who have given but superficial attention to subjects on which they deliver themselves sagely. They are dangerous for the reason that they fail to appreciate or realize that there are few subjects on which valid grounds cannot be taken by conflicting sides and that it requires experience and a clear head to decide between them. On the question of adequacy in rates, when considered as an abstract proposition, there can be but one answer. When reduced down to concrete conditions there will be many answers. Everything depends upon the point of view. Everything hinges upon the ends aimed at and the manner in which it is expected that they shall be brought to a successful issue. We have proponents of the term or step-rate system. We have those who denounce it unqualifiedly. Their con- flicting points of view arise from the ideas or intjerests which dominate them. All depends upon the manner in which they approach the subject and the ends they have in view. If one desires to create an estate or competence for his dependents, regardless as to whether or no he may live a decade or several decades hence, it is but natural to assume that what is called whole life protecrion will appeal to him strongly. It is his desire to know and have a rate that will be stable during the period of his connection with an organization. He does not wish to pay a larger sum in the future than he is now paying. He wants to know his obligation and make provision for it. He is not looking so much for the present and its responsibilities as he is for the future and the protection of those more or less dependent upon him after he has reached, or exceeded, his 198 FRATERNITY life expectancy. His central purpose is the creation o£ a given fund or estate after he has departed this life. The proponent of the step-rate, or term certificate, looks upon the protective insurance proposition as one which gives assurance to his dependents from day to day that there will be provision for them in the event of sud- dent or unfortuitous events arising. He is the one who has confidence in himself and his earning capacity. If he lives and retains his health the future has no terrors for him. He can meet it and provide for his dependents. It is against the shadow of uncertainty which looms up ever before him that he desires protection. He plans that dur- ing his productive years he is incurring greater hazards than he is later on after these have come either to a suc- cessful fruition or after he has settled down to the strug- gle with life as he finds it. He wishes to be protected against the uncertainties of life. EITHER POSITION TENABLE Either of the above positions is tenable. Everything depends upon the results desired. All hinges upon the plans and moving impulses of the one who desires to safeguard the future of his dependents. No real purpose is served by the advocates of one form of protection when they denounce those who favor the other. Each one is feasible and workable. As has been said, everything depends upon the point of view. In the language of Mohammedan Mythology, we should be "freed from all emotion and prejudice" if we hope to solve in a dispassionate manner the "vexed questions arising in the affairs of men." The Monitor has on frequent occasions expressed the belief that there is no reason why a society should not offer either, or both, of the forms of operation set forth above. If an applicant for membership desires a term FRATERNITY 199 certificate, no interest is prejudiced if he is given this. If, on the other hand, the applicant desires a whole life certificate, he can secure this on a basis equally as equit- able and just as does the one taking out the term certifi- cate. All depends upon the contract. If the same basis for determining rates is employed, it follows that results or their equivalents will be forthcoming. Therefore, each one receives the equivalent of that for which he pays. Results work out in like manner and no one is advantaged at the expense of the other. HOSTILE ALIGNMENTS Practically all of the hostile alignments which exist in fraternal operation to-day may be traced to individual ideas or interests. One has personal notions as to the lim- its beyond which fraternal operation should not go. He may be influenced by the plans of the organization of which he is the accredited exponent. In his desire to be loyal to the interests reposed to his keeping, he not infre- quently oversteps these and attempts to apply them to those who have other ideas and who operate along other lines. A controversy is the result. Each one upholds that with which he is identified. He employs all argument and effort possible in its behalf. Not infrequently he deems it his duty to solicit outside aid and interference. The controversy thus becomes more complicated and the ends aimed at become more obscured. In the natural order of things there is an alignment of hostile forces and each one deems it to be within the bounds of legitimate efifort to employ all means available to further its own interests. Thus, in a greater or less degree, a war of systems or plans is precipitated. This is limited only by the persistency or the ability of the oppos- ing interests to either advance itself or retard the progress of the other. 200 FRATERNITY PRESENT-DAY ANTAGONISMS The antagonisms existing among fraternal leaders torday cannot but be regarded with regret by those who have at heart the best interests of the system. These serve no useful purpose. Rather, they afford opportunity for self-seekers and opposing interests to strengthen their contentions. They show to the world that there is some- thing wrong or something misunderstood when there is so much dissatisfaction and so much open hostility among those who are pledged to maintain the best interests of the organizations of which they are at the head and who, as a corollary proposition, are interested in the progress of the system in its entirety. There is to-day not a battle as to the standard by which fraternal operation shall be gauged. The contro- versy is as to the means employed to reach or approximate such a standard. There are those who insist that their way is the only way; that the truth is known and that those who temporize with it are evading their full respon- sibilities. Arrayed against these are those who appreciate that adequacy in rates is essential, but who insist that they are but the servants or subordinates of the interests reposed to their keeping and that, while they can admon- ish and urge as to duty, they cannot compel their members to take such action as these members alone can take. This substantially is the only point at issue between the conflict- ing sides. As arrayed against these are the old-line interests v/hose adequacy in rates is not questioned. These have been using the dissensions in fraternal ranks to advance their own interests. They have not been slow to point the finger of suspicion at all engaged in this controversy and they have enlisted more or less of public sentiment in favor of their contention. In evidence of this measures have been presented FRATERNITY 201 before the legislatures of several states, asking for per- mission to give special contracts and lower rates to mem- bers of clubs, labor unions and beneficial organizations in numbers of one hundred or more. This means, if it means anything, that they purpose to take advantage of the present disorganization among fraternal leaders and make it do service in their own behalf. RESULTS THE PROPER MEASURE May not one conclusion be drawn without inviting the hostility or antagonism of either side? Are not results the proper measure of operation, rather than standards? If this be admitted, are we not chasing a phantom, and are we not failing to consider properly the substance? If, as the legal permission desired would indicate, the old- line companies are warranted in making special rates for the purpose of disorganizing fraternal operation, would it not be the part of unwisdom to create an arbi- trary standard which may place the societies at the mercy of such interests ? If the balance left after carin'g for current liabilities is sufficient to provide for the future along orthodox lines, have not the full purposes of mortality tables been served ? If they are not sufficient for this purpose, does not the results show that such mortality standard is but a warn- ing as to impending evil, rather than a guarantee as to permanence ? The present is an opportune time to face about and aim at results rather than standards. These, as is well understood, are but artificial or guiding lines to show the trend of operation and to warn against danger or to show the results of desirable operation. This being the case, we should lose sight neither of tables nor of results. The one is a standard. The other is a measure. There can- not be a measure without a standard. The two should be 202 FRATERNITY employed and neither one should be obscured to advance the other. Meanwhile the organizations should get together on essentials and should eliminate the question of the inter- ests of individual societies or their exponents. THE TEMPLE OF FRATERNITY NOAH M. GIVAN Almost two thousand years before Christ, Abraham said unto Lot "Let there be no strife I pray thee between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herds- men, for we be brethren." About four hundred years later Moses said to his people, who were slaves and who disagreed, "Ye are brethren, why do ye wrong one to another?" These utterances were in striking contrast to the sentiment implied by the question of Cain when he said "Am I my brother's keeper ?" I am not my brother's keeper seemed to have been the keynote of the world's character from Adam's fall to the time when wickedness had reached its deepest depths of degradation and the race had to be destroyed by the flood. A failure to recognize the fact that "we be brethren," a failure to allow the fact to become a part of the ethics of society, was a failure to have imbedded in its structure a principle that would cement and perpetuate it. A com- munity, state, or nation founded upon the vicious doctrine that I am not my brother's keeper, must be of short dura- tion and end in disgrace. The world grew wicked rapidly after Cain's announcement, and "God saw that the wick- edness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." FRATERNITY 20a After the destruction of the world by the flood a new order of things was inaugurated, a new doctrine was announced by Abraham and Moses, but it was only pro- hibitive. It enjoined against strife and wrong doing. It failed to define the duty of helpfulness to others — it was negative goodness, not aggressive righteousness. It was, however, an advance on the old doctrine of Cain. It was the beginning of a reform movement which must develop and grow beyond our time until it shall become a perfect law, form a perfect manhood, — aye, more ! shall fit each one as a living stone for that building not made with hands, but made by the silent forces that form God- like character, and which we look forward to as God's holy temple in the heaven. As God commanded the old so He has always fostered the new. Growths of reform in government and society are always gradual and, to the impatient, slow, but sure when towards a higher, purer and better life. David and Jonathan — not of kin — formed a friendship that has blessed the world and contributed mightily to the fraternalism of the present day. Solomon, the son of David, gave form to -an organization of helpfulness to the workmen upon the famous Temple that was in advance of Abraham and Moses, and which has grown both in richness of life and in favor with God until it emblazons the world. But it only provided for its mem- bers and their families in its inception. Other advance steps were necessary to reach the desired goal. It was necessary that the homely Samaritan should do a little unostentatious act of kindness and have compas- sion on one not his kindred, not his nationality, not of his occupation, profession, lodge or church, but to one who- was in trouble, with whose people he had no dealings, and thereby teach the world that our neighbors are all man- kind, and that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. 204 FRATERNITY From this small beginning of true fraternity which has immortalized the Samaritan man, and made him worthy to be the Prince of all Fraternities, of all ages, past, pres- «nt and future of all the world, has grown that sentiment of fraternity which has crystalized into an organized brotherhood of millions and millions of men and women who recognize the great doctrine of the brotherhood of man, and who are unselfishly laboring for the uplifting of the race. It is this great thought that has suggested my subject THE TEMPLE OF FRATERNITY. Not that the invisible sentiment of brotherly love can be materialized into such a Temple, but that the sentiment can be typified by the Temple that is proposed to be built by the Frater- nities of the United States in connection with the Great Exposition of 1903, and called the Temple of Fraternity, where all the brethren and sisters of*all the fraternal orders may meet and clasp the hand of brotherly love, and learn more of the practical workings of each. The proposed dimensions and architecture of the building are well known. The name Parthenon, from •which it was designed, was from Parthenos the "Virgin," a title of Athena, and was a temple of Minerva the Virgin Goddess of Wisdom and Art. It was built by Pericles about B. C. 438, and stood as a whole until about A. D. 1690. It was of the best material, and is regarded as the finest production of Greek architecture. These qualities made it a firm figure for a newer and greater temple of the best type of manhood and womanhood — The Temple of Fraternity. What does such a temple represent in the United States? A membership of over 4,000,000 souls in the fraternal benefit societies alone, who regularly and for the most part cheerfully contribute to the protection of the widows and orphans of deceased members. Something FRATERNITY 205> over $50,000,000 a year, or about $1,000,000 a week, is- thus contributed to this holy cause, chiefly for the protec- tion of the humble homes of our natron. What an antidote for discontent and pauperism! Since the beginning of practical fratemalism, now within, the memory of some present at this meeting, the statistics show that pauperism has decreased in proportion as fra- temalism has increased. These fraternal benefit associa- tions are annually contributing enough to support 500,00& people. The vast amount contributed is equal to two- thirds of that raised by taxation for the public care of the poor. These great results have been attained within the past two decades. "The crowning glory of the Nineteenth Century just passed into history is the fact that fraternalism during: that time distributed to its beneficiaries over $515,000,000 and demonstrated in the face of all opposition that safe,, sound and reliable protection can be furnished at actual, cost. This is the material view of the great work of these orders. The joy that these benefactions have brought to many thousands of our American homes cannot be described on paper. The homes that have been saved, the children that have been preserved to home, school and church life, and thus kept from sin and shame and crime^ are shining monuments to the blessedness of fraternalism. But above all, the realization by actual experience to the brethren of these orders, of the truth that it is more- blessed to give than to receive, and the fraternal union of rugged and hitherto selfish men in the God-like work of helping others, are the crowning cap stones in the reaJ Temple of Fraternity. God alone, in His infinite wisdom, can estimate the grand results — material, intellectual and spiritual that have grown during the brief period of the- existence of fraternalism. * * * 206 FRATERNITY "FRATERNITY APPLIED TO INSURANCE"* The world at large has not understood as yet the sig- nificance and the importance of this movement. And this Exposition will have materially contributed to the wel- fare of mankind if it advance the interest and increase the prominence of such a movement. If it shall promote in any way the growth and reputation of a system which, in the brief compass of thirty-three years, has paid over five hundred million dollars to the widows and the orphans of the common people of America it will have been a success, even if it shall have failed in every other respect. There is no subject concerning which more misrepre- sentation exists than the subject of fraternal insurance. It has encountered opposition and criticism from the old line companies, the most powerful financial forces of the time. It has caught upon its spotless shield the poisoned arrows of prejudice and slander. But despite the most terrible obstacles it has become a permanent and growing factor in the industrial life of the country. The fact that only thirty-three years after the establishment of the first insurance order four million American citizens are enrolled beneath its banners — banners on which fifteen million American women and children gaze as upon sacred ensigns from the skies — gives the lie to calumny and makes the system worthy of confidence and support. The nature and importance of life insurance are almost universally conceded. It is the fraternal system of life insurance which is not so well understood by the general public, although it. is growing in popularity and favor at an almost incredulous rate. This system is of ♦Extracts from the address of Mr. Morris Sheppard, of the Woodmen of the World, at the South Carolina Exposition. FRATERNITY 207 comparatively recent development. At the close of the civil war there was not an insurance order in the United States. The old line companies, with decades of expe- rience behind them, monopolized the field. What neces- sity existed for the fraternal system? What prompted Upchurch in 1868 to organize the great mother frater- nity? * * * -pjje object of the founders and apostles of fraternal insurance was to place insur- ance on a co-operative, non-speculative basis, and thereby to extend its blessings to the struggling masses. The old line companies threatened them, as with a thousand times more emphasis they threaten now, to destroy the proper province of insurance by obscuring it in the glittering mazes of investment and speculation. Fraternalists have felt, and feel to-day, that the central purpose of insurance is the protection of the family and the home when the protector shall have died. We hold that any inducement which diverts from this purpose and directs it to the personal interest of the policyholder him- self is dangerous. We hold that, for the sake of his wife and child, it ought to be beyond a man's power to cash his policy, etc. But the advantages of insurance for the masses through self-government, non-profit organizations, infin- ite as they are, compose by no means the only beneficent characteristics of the fraternal system. There is yet another characteristic above and below all these, above them a star, below them a pillar — a characteristic without which the success of the system is impossible, with which its triumphs in the past have been won, and its victories in the future are assured — the characteristic of frater- nity. Every uplifting impulse of the human heart, every beneficent movement of history, may be traced 'to the influence of fraternity. Fraternity is Christ embodied in a sentiment, clothed in a principle. He expressed the idea 208 FRATERNITY of fraternity when He said : "Bear ye one another's bur- dens," the sublimest sentence that ever throbbed on lips divine. The American Republic is fraternity applied to government. The fraternal order is fraternity applied to insurance. Fraternity suggested the rescue of life insurance from the hands of those who were making it an instrument of selfish gain. Fraternity suggested that the mother, the wife and the child could be best protected by the removal of insurance from the field of speculation and investment. Fraternity suggested that the common people gather beneath its wings to secure at cost protec- tion for their homes. It will thus be seen that the frater- nal system had its origin in the most laudable and inspir- ing motives. The assertion will not be denied that its underlying purposes are pure. Its astonishing progress is an unquestioned tribute to its integrity and perma- nence. It has succeeded in bringing insurance within the reach of the masses, because it has avoided the elements of investment, profit and large expense. The members of the true fraternal order are united by the ties of brotherhood. They assert an active per- sonal interest in the order's welfare. It is natural and necessary that they should do so, because they are an essential, representative part of its very being. They own the institution. It is of the people, for the people and by the people. Through the lodge they put the idea of fraternity into practice. They visit the sick, assist the needy, and bury the dead. They do not confine their efforts to the mere payment of dues. This is but half the fraternal obligation. The member-for-insurance-only is an imposition. The active members are carrying at least half of his insurance. The fraternal assessment is paya- ble half in enthusiasm and half in cash. Enthusiasm alone makes insurance at cost possible. * * * Enthusiasm supplies for the order the expense element FRATERNITY 209 which the company must add in order to defray enormous cost of agencies and the other elements to which allusion has been made. The lodge is the principal agency of fra- ternalism, the center of enthusiasm. And this saving would exist in favor of one of the fraternal orders should the companies confine themselves to insurance proper and omit the investment proposition entirely. Oh, that every member of every legitimate order would keep religiously in mind the fact that the very life of the fraternal system, with its vast possibilities for good, depends upon the inter- est and enthusiasm which he as an individual exhibits in its behalf. * * * The utmost harmony between the orders themselves is essential to continued progress. Co-operation between the orders is as necessary to make the system victorious as co-operation between the individual members of the various orders is necessary to make the individual orders triumphant. They have the same battles to fight, the same enemies to overcome. FROM CRITICISM TO CONSTRUCTION (From The Fraternal Monitor.) The careful student of events has observed that there are always two stages in the passage of a people from one era to another in the evolution of their business life. These may be termed the critical and the constructive stages. Ordinarily and under healthy conditions, the one follows the other as a result of natural law. Construction fails to follow criticism when those who have passed through the critical process of self-exam- ination find that "the salt of self-reformation has already gone out of them." In other words, construction is impos- sible when the ravages of disease or the attempts to expel 210 FRATERNITY these have been so drastic as to leave the person or insti- tution under treatment so helpless and exhausted as to be unable to recover. For a period of several years the fraternal system of this country has been passing through the critical stage of a new era in its existence. As a result of prolonged agitation, participated in by the greatest apostles of fra- ternal protection, it was declared that the principle employed in the past had reached the limit of its applica- tion and that, in consequence, its exponents must conform to present and future needs as set forth. A CONSTRUCTIVE ERA With great persistence, and with signal success, the defects in past fraternal operation have been critically exposed. There has been a winnowing of the good and the evil — a separation pf the dangerous from the helpful, and a clearer definition of the problem of constructive reform. Searching scrutiny along lines other than those having to do with fraternal institutions has resulted in a sifting of things that is making history. It has made the old order of things — political, 'economic and ethical, practi- cally impossible for the future. It has created the neces- sity for beginning an era of constructive policy. On this point, in the opinion of The Monitor, there should be a crystallization of the opinion of fraternal members at this time. The time for analysis only has passed. The need of the present is a constructive pro- gram which will gather up apparently divergent and con- flicting things and unite them on a basis that will have as its central purpose permanent welfare and will- like- wise embody these in a safe and sound policy as equitable to all as the inevitable inequalities of general conditions will admit. Briefly stated, we cannot hope to attain perfection's FRATERNITY 211 height by continuing indefinitely along critical lines. If we confine ourselves exclusively to the consideration of one phase of a proposition, this assumes abnormal propor-. tions and we are unable to consider it as regards the rela- tion it bears to the entire proposition. We thus, by our unduly critical policy, defeat the very" ends we are aim- ing at. THE SPIRIT OF OPTIMISM ^ In our efforts along the lines of construction — and especially at this stage of evolution — we need optimism more than reforms. The latter will follow in due course. We need that spirit of consideration that will impel us to extend a helping hand to sister societies ; to be consider- ate of those who possibly have not progressed so far as we have along constructive lines. We should assist them in all ways possible, insisting always, however, that they shall work and bend their energies toward improving their condition. Have you ever attempted to compute the evils and inequities in the economy of nature ? Are not these, from our viewpoint, practically without limit? Is there any- thing which appears to be absolutely perfect? And so it is with the fraternal system. From the lim- ited vision of the individual it can never be perfect. Its very purpose is to equalize or average imperfections as understood by the individual. Were everything else per- fect, were there no untoward conditions to make provi- sion against, there would be no need for institutions hav- ing as their central purpose the protection of the individ- ual against these. DISTRIBUTING A HAZARD One joins a society and dies to-morrow. His benefic- iaries receive one thousand dollars for the payment of one dollar. Another joins to-day and dies sixty years hence. 212 FRATERNITY His beneficiaries receive one thousand dollars for the pay- ment of possibly eleven hundred dollars. Has the society protecting the beneficiaries of these two members acted unjustly with either? Has it given the dependents of the one dying first an advantage over those of the one who lived perhaps beyond his expec- tancy? Was this an inequitable contract from the view- point of the member who died last ? The Monitor believes that there will not be much division of opinion on this subject. The society simply acted as a means of distributing a hazard which the indi- vidual did not wish to bear alone. The very existence of such a contingency shows the imperative need of protec- tion and the importance that this be adjusted so that the one who lives up to or beyond his expectancy will assure his dependents the amount of the protection he carries. THE REAL BUILDERS The very fact that there have been societies in the past which did not make provision for more than their tempor- ary needs, which did not give to those who had been with them many years unquestioned assurance that payment would be made their beneficiaries according to the terms of their contract, led to what has been termed the period of criticism. This has run its course. There is to-day no excuse for any member of a fra- ternal society in the way of saying that he had not been advised as to the evils complained of. Likewise, there is no excuse for one to continue in this stage of criticism indefinitely. As has been said, such a course so weakens the institution criticised that there is danger lest "the salt of self-reformation has already gone out of it." The work of construction is now in full swing. Those building are looking forward. They have in mind the goal toward which they are striving. Every step forward adds to their earnestness and enthusiasm. FRATERNITY 213 Such workers have passed the period of criticism. They dwelt on this stage of their work only long enough to determine defects and get their bearings. Then they faced themselves in the direction of accomplishment — K repinings and explanations as to "what caused it" being left to those who had nothing to engage their attention or occupy their time. IS LIFE INSURANCE DOOMED? Some time ago the attention of The Monitor was directed toward a paper that would appear before the National Association of Life Underwriters on "Is Life Insurance Doomed?" It did not know what the one to speak on it, Mr. Charles W. Scovel, would have to say. Naturally, this very unusual topic excited attention. It was explained that by the word "doomed" is not necessarily meant the inquiry as to whether life insurance is doomed to death. Rather, is it doomed to slavery under the lash of many diverse and perverse local statutes, instead of its free, scientific development under Nature's laws of life and death and the world-wide law of supply and demand? Mr. Scovel asked : "Is it doomed to keep falling behind in the march of human progress instead of keeping up the marvelous stride that has in so few years brought it to the front rank? Is it doomed to be more and more cut up into geographical fragments, doomed to be more and more cut off from all people that do not themselves seek it out, instead of maintaining its rightful place next to Church and State as one of the universal institutions that reach out their hands to serve the individual, the fam- ily and the community ? The question was answered by saying that it is thus doomed if its direction is to be dominated by the doc- trinaire and the demagogue. The doctrinaire was described as the well-meaning theorist, with a hobby, and 214 FRATERNITY the well-meaning layman with the ideal. The demagogue was described as one who regards a public issue as an opportunity to "play politics" for himself or the party. These three were dumped together and Mr. Scovel politely called them "Mr. Reformer." FREEDOM AND PUBLICITY The Monitor does not believe that the work of con- struction should be impeded or directed by those whose characteristics are thus described. Rather, it beli-eves that, so far as is possible and consistent with the equities that should obtain between members, the future of these institutions should be allowed to develop along the lines indicated as desirable by their own eicperience. It does not believe that hard and fast exactions should be required as a part of the work of construction. What fraternal leaders and members need above all things else is an access of that old-time spirit which swept opposition aside and which scattered discouragement and disorganization whenever and wherever they lifted their baleful heads. It needs the spirit of optimism. Those connected with it should look on the bright side of things for a time at least. Too long have they been looking with critical eyes on things which appeared dark to them. As a result, many things have not since appeared to them in their true light. Let us get down to first principles in our work of con- struction. Let us consider each element with reference to its importance in the whole proposition. Let us give each . one its due share of consideration, but let us not allow any one to overshadow others equally as important and essential in the great work of constructing a fraternal system that will stand for all time and that will give unquestioned assurance to everyone connected with it that the protection they carry is as safe as anything of human creation can be. FRATERNITY 215 THE FRATERNAL IDEA AND ITS POWER REV. J. W. VAN KIRK Comte said, "Ideas govern the world or tlirow it into confusion." The Czar's idea of his divine right to govern the world threw it into disorder. The ideas of peace and humanity within the masterful mind and heart of Presi- dent Roosevelt, one of the big brothers of the race, brought order out of confusion, and is now leading the world in the truth and sentiment of brotherhood. If this age can be said to be conscious of a definite aim and having a predominate purpose, it is that of bettering the conditions of life and infusing a spirit of humanity among all men. The world is looking at its questions from a new view- point, namely, that of humanity. Those who are living in the spirit of the age are not asking, "Am I my broth- er's keeper," nor "Who is my neighbor," but they are assuming the responsibilities of brotherhood and in sym- pathy, good will, and practical benevolence are helping to bear the burdens which are so crushing to the less fortun- ate brother. Among the many agencies which are at work for bringing in a more humane condition of society are the great fraternal organizations, which, in the United States, embrace in the membership and protection, at least one- half of the population. If these societies are to operate for the good of humanity, the great principles and spirit which made them possible must ever be kept fresh in the mind and burning in the heart. The real spiritual and ethical content of their teaching must be grasped intelligently, and the sac- redness of their sentiments must be consciously felt. It is only in the present religious and ethical state of society that such a vast system of protection, under the 216 FRATERNITY idea and spirit of fraternity, is possible. In Greece, Rome, India, China and Japan, where the people hold a perverted and low conception of God, the sense of human- ity in an extended sphere is almost wholly wanting. It is only where men hold a belief in the one living God and Father that a high ethical standard of brotherhood can obtain. A belief in a Father — Creator in whose likeness men are made, is the first or controlling idea which leads men to a belief in, and a practice of universal brother- hood. The philosophy of the family involves the doc- trine of parent and child, and where there are two or more children, there is the relation of brotherhood. There is no more sacred relation existing between God and man than that of Father and child, nor do men sus- tain any higher ethical relation among themselves than that of brothers. Thus the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man is the creed of fraternalism. All fraternities holding to these fundamental ideas are both religious and ethical. Freemasonry, the mother of modern fraternities, is dis- tinctively a religious as well as an ethical institution. Its temples are erected to God, the free, personal, moral and intelligent Governor and Judge of all men. The fraternal world teaches that with God there is no respect of person, and that all stand on an equality before Him. A frater- nity is not a religious institution in the sense of a denom- ination or sect, nor in specifically treating the questions of sin and salvation nor in administering sacraments, but it is a place for true devotion and worship in spirit and in truth. The lodge is also a place for diffusing a spirit of humanity, inculcating righteousness, developing honor and the practice of beneficence. The distinctive work of a fraternity is the making of manhood, the bearing of each other's burdens and the strengthening of the bond of fraternity.. The insurance and other material benefits FRATERNITY 217 accruing from the fraternity are incidental and secondary to their primary object. Only as a fraternity assists men in building up a religious and ethical character can it show its right to existence and support. All material interests operated by a fraternity are embodied in these most sacred principles, and under the control of the highest ideals and strongest conviction of duty. The management of such interests is within the sphere of honor where men are prompted by the strongest religious and humanitarian sentiments. It is not for them- selves but for others that these funds are to be handled. Within this circle of honor men assume as a sacred trust, the management of the meagre earnings of their brothers who desire to provide a little against the day of need. Thus, if there is any business in the world which has rea- son to be done in unselfishness and with clean hands, it is fraternal insurance and benefits. The membership of fraternities are to be congratulated that so high a degree of faithfulness has been manifest in the handling of benevolent funds. But lest we forget and lapse into moral weakness much attention must be given to the great principles and spirit of fraternalism. The teachings of the lodge are embodied in ritualism and symbolism. But these have no power in themselves to promote character, strengthen manhood and develop honor. These forms embody the highest truths of human interests. The content of these teachings need to be amplified, explained and applied. Among those who have these interests at heart there is felt that something more than floor work and putting on of degrees is needed in inculcating the doctrines and sen- timents of the lodge. If fraternalism is to fill her high mission of forming character, creating a nobler sentiment of humanity, and being abundant in works of philan- thropy she would be much helped and strengthened if 218 FRATERNITY men of high ideals, pure motives and a fine sense of love to God and man should expound to its members the spiritual and ethical content of the teachings of the lodge. It can probably be said of all fraternities wrhat a prom- inent Mason said of the Craft, that, "It is to be regretted that Speculative Freemasonry is not more studied and its teachings, as emblematized by its symbols, better explained and more largely ventilated throughout the Fraternity. If its tenets and principles were more fully known, a better spirit of brotherly union would exist." This is distinctively an age of humanity. The lead- ing question of the hour is that, of the moral relation of man to man. The one relation in life which covers the moral ideal is that of brother to brother. As a principle by which to rightly adjust men in their various relations in life the doctrine of the brotherhood ■ of man is the shibboleth of all who are lovers of their kind and are seeking to bring in a better state of humanity. A man can most readily realize his moral obligations to his fel- low man when he considers them within the relations of a brother. The fraternities are all built upon the corner- stone of brotherhood. FRATERNAL PROTECTION O. p. GIFFORD, D. D. "And if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." 1 Timothy, v. 8. "Worse than infidel." An infidel is a man who denies the religion of the age in which he lives. The Christian religion affirms that God is, that He is Spirit, that "In Him we live and move and have our being." That He FRATERNITY 219 created and sustains the universe. That Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh, "The only begotten Son of God." That the Holy Spirit came into the world to "con- vict of sin, of righteousness and of judgment, to lead into all truth." That "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." That man ought to repent of and for- sake sin. That God forgives the repentant man. That there is a future judgment, and a life to come. The infidel denies all this. Denies God, Christ, sin, the life to come. "Worse than an Infidel." Can any man be worse than an infidel ? Yes, the man who confesses with his lip and denies with his life; the hypocrite; the man who affirms the faith in speech, and denies the faith in act. You have more respect for an infidel than for a hypocrite. John denounced the hypocrite as a generation of vipers, children of the devil. Sailors are safer without a com- pass than with one that lies. You can trust a man who denies, but who can trust the liar? If a man lets you an office in the top of a building that has no elevator, you expect to climb, but if he has one in that never runs, you lose your temper. The infidel has no elevator, the hypo- crite an elevator that does not run. Before attacking Jericho Joshua issued an order that all property was to be destroyed. Achan stole garments and gold, hid them in his tent, was stoned and burned because he was a hypocrite. Elisha cured Naaman, the Syrian, of leprosy, but gave Gehazi, the Hebrew, leprosy, but Gahazi was a hypocrite. Peter sent Ananias and Sapphira out to be buried because they lied to the Holy Ghost. Members of the Church, they lived a lie. Neither Joshua, Elisha, nor Peter treated infidels as they treated hypocrites. Christ denounced hypocrites as "Whited sepulchres, full of dead men's bones." Can anything be worse than a town full of infidels. 220 FRATERNITY denying all that Christianity affirms? Yes, a town full •of hypocrites, accepting with the lips, denying with' the life. Judas was the only man who could lead Christ's enemies to his place of prayec, the traitor is more to be dreaded than the open enemy. We honor the man who professes faith and lives it. We have some respect for the man who denies the truth we hold, but only contempt for the man who confesses Christ with his mouth, and denies him in his actions. Paul found some men in Ephesus who were worse than infidels. Men who confessed Christ, joined the Church, then refused to provide for their own. Christ iound such in Jerusalem : Moses said, "Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother, but ye say. If a man shall say to father or mother. It is Corban, that is, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, and ye suffer him to do no more for father and mother, making the word of God of none effect through your traditions." When called upon to help father and mother they replied they had given the property of God, dishonored God, by refusing to honor parents, making religion a scapegoat ! Not to make provision for your own is to be worse than an infidel. A man finds a woman who is to him the one woman in all the world. His love for her arouses her love for him, he gives her his name, social station, promises to endow her with all his wordly goods, puts her at the head of his home, expects her to bear and rear his children. If he leaves her unprovided for, he is worse than an infidel. A man has no right to take a young woman from a home where she is loved, cared for, and neglect her. Of course if he is sick, unable to get work, we pity, otherwise we blame. It was bad enough when the younger son in the par- FRATERNITY 221 able went into the far country and wasted his substance in riotous Hving, but he was unmarried. The married man who pampers his appetites, smokes, drinks, gambles, and leaves his wife with unpaid rent, unfurnished pantry, poorly clothed body, is worse than an infidel. "A man with wife and children hath given hostages to fortune." The man who will not stand by his hostages deserves punishment. Such a man, if an infidel, is mean enough; if a confessing Christian, is superlatively mean, for he wears the mask of hypocrisy over the face of sin. It is not enough to provide house, food, clothing, for the present, but a man must provide against the future The word means that, to look ahead, as Joseph did in Egypt — make the fat years feed the lean years. As Jesus did on the cross, providing a home for his mother with John. Nature teaches the same lesson. The tree packs the germ in food stuff enough to give it a start in life. The bird surrounds the germ in the tgg with building material' for a body before the shell breaks. Nature is always providing for the future. The germ in seed and egg has an insurance policy to draw on. A man should be as wise as a tree, as provident as a bird. A man should lay aside something year by year, so that when he drops by the way the widow shall not become a burden upon the community ; the children shall not be thrown into the stream to drift or drown. The more careful you have been of them while living, the more reason why you should provide for them after your death, otherwise your care may have unfitted them to struggle. The best plan thus far devised for safe-guarding the future is Life Insurance. This falls into two classes. Fraternal and Old Line. Either is better than none, but one may be better than the other.' I do not stand here to defend or to defame either. Much depends upoa 222 FRATERNITY organization and management. Bad men will pervert good principles; good men will make the best of bad ntethods. One method may be capable of more mischief than the other. Granting that both forms are equally good and honorably managed, I can see one advantage in Fraternal Insurance. Old Line is simply and purely busi- ness. The child puts in a cent and draws out a chocolate. He gives and gets. On a street car you pay a nickel and get a ride. You must not speak to the motorman or cultivate the conductor. In Old Line a doctor exam- ines you and pockets his fee, and you may never meet again. You are a good risk, send in your check, get your receipt, never see the office nor the officers. The officers may be changed ; the machine moves on. You die. The death is proved, the policy returned, the check drawn. You paid money ; the family receives money. But, "The life is more than meat, and the body than raiment." You join a Fraternal Company. You are examined and pass, pay your dues, but belong to a brotherhood. You have social and literary gatherings. You are mem- bers one of another. Death comes, money is paid, and sympathy is given. When other brothers died you visited the family. When you pass. away, other members of the Fraternity visit your widow and children. You paid money and sympathy. Your family receives money and sympathy. Sympathy is in Insurance what oil is in machinery. Oil is not power, but it helps in the running. Machinery well oiled lasts longer; life lubri- tated by sympathy wears longer and runs more smoothly. A man is more than a good risk. Insurance ought to mean more than trading checks. The constant danger in a commercial age is that we reduce life to dollars, as the Hebrews reduced jewelry to a golden calf and wor- shipped it at the foot of Sinai. Old Line may be likened to a hotel. You get what you pay for. Fraternal Insur- FRATERNITY 223 ance to a home. With less variety in the bill of fare, you have more humanity about the board. Old Line is like an incubator, it takes eggs and heat. Fraternal Insurance is like the bird. It gives heat plus maternity. It hatches and broods. Even a chicken knows the difference between an incubator and a hen. Fifty cents with a friend is worth more than twice fifty without a friend. The best part of life is the human part, and that has little play in organized capital. Provision means more than care for the future of the body. The animal teaches its young how to make the most of life ; how to win out in sea or earth, or air. The State compels preparation of the mind, disciplines the head, teaches obedience to authority, and how to live with other children. But the strength of the State lies not in what is taught in the school, but in the home. What is taught in the school means much, but what is taught in the home means more. As the growing boy looks into the future he does not expect to make a school house, but a home. He graduates from the school, but into a home. He expects to be the head of a house; the girl expects to be the mistress of a home, the presiding genius at a fireside. The home is the strength of the Republic. The present home is the mould that will shape the future home. Fathers ! Mothers ! Are you making the kind of a home you wish to see perpetuated ? In the ark of the covenant of the Hebrew religion the Cherubim bent toward each other, touching wing tips over the Law. The home is the ark of the covenant in the United States. The father and mother should touch lives, bending above it. Why should the mother give her time and strength to the home, and the father bend away from it ? Why should the office, the club, the street have such a charm for the father? Isn't your wife the best woman in the world? If not, whose is the fault? You 224 FRATERNITY thought once you had the choice of all women, and you chose to suit yourself. What have you done that she isn't as good now as when you chose? Are you a worse man than her father that he gave you the best woman in the world and she has lost value in your keeping ? Aren't your children the best children in the world? Why not? Is it because they take after their father? Isn't your home the best home in the world? Whose fault is it ? Have you put yourself into it ? Do not let your boy grow up with the idea that home is simply a bed chamber and a lunch room, a sort of repair shop. Are you the kind of husband you wish your daughter to have by and by? The home is the best fruit of our civilization. Pour upon it the sunshine of your presence. Make provision for the heart needs of your wife and growing children. Give them enough of yourself so that they will miss you when you are gone. So live that your wife will not have to apologize for you to the neighbors and children. Read Burn's "Cotter's Saturday Night," and give such strength to America. There is another provision to make. Belief in the future is inborn but preparation for the future must be made by each soul for itself. If your children do not see you making provision for your soul, they will grow up and go out unprepared. Why should you be so careful to leave money and sympathy for the living you leave, and make no provision for the life you take away? Every seed falls to the ground prepared to rise to a larger life. Hope leads to preparation. Be as wise as the seed . Many of you men have Christian wives and children. They have provided for the future. Have you? You do not expect the Company to pay your wives and children unless you have made provision. Why should you expect a dividend of life eternal when you have made no deposit FRATERNITY 225 of faith? A Christian family would rather have less money and an assurance of reunion, than more money and fear that death will be an eternal separation. Make provision for the deepest needs of the family, the need of you, that the cry of the heart for husband and father may be heard. If Christ makes your wife a better woman, He will make her husband a better man. If He makes your children better boys and girls. He will make you a better father. With Washington, Grant, Lincoln, McKin- ley, Roosevelt, standing for Christ, there is nothing in the Christian religion to shame you. "Quit you like men, be strong." Make yours a Christian home ; be fraternal with your elder brother Jesus Christ. STRENGTH AND VITALITY OF FRATERNALS ABE LANDIS The strength of a man's constitution is often proved by resistance to severe illness. The strength of a bridge is proved by the strain to which it is subjected on the pas- sage of a heavy train. Indeed, generally speaking, the test of strength is resistance to strain and stress. This applies to fraternal beneficiary societies, to life companies, to assessment associations, to any and all co-operative institutions. Consider how readily banks yield to a "run," or to financial panic, and yet it is a common saying, "As strong as a bank." Recall the scores of life companies that went down during the decade 1870-1880, when subjected to the test of net valuation under the legal reserve laws. Think of the large number of open assessment associa- tions which failed, in the decade of 1890-1900, when old 226 FRATERNITY mortality began to test the adequacy oi their assessment rates and they were put to the strain of readjustment. Were we to review the insurance history of Great Britain — the home of all manner of insurance schemes and organizations — a similar situation would be revealed of the failure of hundreds of life companies and assess- ment associations when placed under stress and strain. By comparison with the relative weaknesses of all other kinds of co-operative effort are discovered the strength and vitality of fraternal beneficiary societies. The great fraternal system has been tested by the strain of crude business methods, inadequate contribu- tions, the shock of readjustment, and the heavy weight of parasitic and pseudo-fraternal organizations which Jhave taken shelter under the cloak of fraternity to cover the sordid motives of selfish promoters. As the giant oak, that only bows to the storm that it may lift its branches nearer to heaven and sink its roots deeper into the bowels of the earth, so these great and grand and strong fraternal beneficiary societies, these glorious provident institutions, which scatter charity with a lavish hand to the four corners of the globe, give forth only a tremor when put to the test by the opposing forces of natural law, of mistaken methods, of crude adapta- tions, as well as subversion of principles in practical oper- ation, of antagonisms and attacks from enemies, of regu- lation by statute and interference by unfriendly state officials, and, worst of all, by bitter and unjust denuncia- tion and criticism from members whose very membership should have been a guarantee of support and sympathy. As concrete illustrations of the strength and vitality of fraternal and friendly societies I quote the following instances from a book written by E. W. Brabrpok, C. B., for a great many years Chief Registrar of Friendly Socie- ties. The author is discussing "valuation," which dis- FRATERNITY 227 closes weaknesses, and it is considered pertinent to quote his preliminary remarks before the examples showing the wonderful recuperative power of fraternal organizations. While lengthy, the comments are so interesting that I give them in extenso, primarily for the concluding para- graphs : — In the absence of this knowledge, the members of a society, when its funds increase from year to year, sometimes look upon the increase as in itself conclusive evidence that the society is prosperous ; but that is not so ; the society may be increasing its liabilities to a much greater extent than the increase of its funds, and the test of a valuation may show that it is actually going downhill. So rooted is the idea that the increase of funds must mean prosperity that we have known cases where the members of a society have refused to act upon the report of the valuer, believing that the adverse result which it showed must have been due to a mistake on his part. It would be a most effectual cure for delusions of this kind if the young were taught something of the science of Friendly Society calculations. There is an error on the other hand that should also be guarded against. The aspect of a valuation is toward the future, not the past. When the valuer declares that such a society has a deficiency of so many thousand pounds, that is not the same thing as saying that somebody has embezzled so many thousand pounds of the society's cash, or that its bank is broken or its investments been depreciated to the same extent. It does not mean more than this : that if the society continues to carry out its existing contracts without modification, and does not take any measures to improve its position, a deficiency will ultimately accrue, of which the present value is so many thousand pounds. Assuming that the society took the heroic course of raising the money, which iS rarely practicable, the result would be, that if the valuer's estimates should turn out to be confirmed by the actual future experience of the society, and if the society admitted no new members, the last member would receive the last pound, and the society would work itself out. The same result would be obtained by diminishing the future benefits to the extent to which the deficiency represents the present value of such benefits — for example, if the valuer found the present value of the future benefits to be 20,000 pounds and the deficiency to be 5,000 pounds. 228 FRATERNITY the reduction of the future benefit by an average of one-fourth would wipe out the deficiency. It could in like manner be obtained by increasing the future contributions, or by a combina- tion of both methods. The practical skill and competence of the valuer are greatly tested by the measures he recommends the society to adopt for effecting the necessary adjustment. Some interesting examples may be given of how a valuation deficiency may be met. A society in Warwickshire had a defi- ciency of 4,396 pounds. In the course of the next five years it increased its fund from 10,880 pounds to 13,361 pounds, and so reduced its benefits that their present value was diminished from 26,024 pounds to 20,922 pounds or nearly 20% (4s. in the pound). The result was that the next valuation showed a surplus of 2,045 pounds. A society of Middlesex was in the apparently hopeless condition that its funds were 3,720 pounds only, and its valuation deficiency was 5,023 pounds. This society took such vigorous steps for increasing its funds and extending its business, upon properly calculated rates of premium, that in five years it had raised its capita to 10,297 pounds, and though it had increased the value of its estimated future liabilities from 40,282 pounds to 77,333 pounds, the valuation brought out a surplus of 413 pounds. A third society, in Surrey, was in a position that even the most heroic measures would hardly have seemed sufficient to retrieve. Its funds were only 3,471 pounds, yet its estimated valuation deficiency was 18,131 pounds. There could be nothing in such a case short of a drastic dealing with the promised bene- fits, the value of which was reduced in the next valuation from 22,770 pounds to 9,874 pounds, or more than 50% (lis. in the pound.) The funds were also increased to 4,912 pounds and the valuation showed a surplus of 378 pounds. These examples may serve to show that the condition of valuation "deficiency" is rarely a hopeless condition. We wrote the following words in 1881, and nothing that has since occurred has shown them to be incorrect: — "A word of caution may be added against forming too hasty conclusions adverse to Friendly Societies if it should turn out that the valuations in many cases show an estimated deficiency in the funds to meet the liabilities. It would be strange if it were otherwise when for the first time scientific tests are applied to contracts that have been in operation without a scientific basis for a long series of years. It must be borne in mind, however, that nothing is more elastic than the contract made by a Friendly Society with its members; no error more FRATERNITY 229 easy of remedy, if found out in time, than one existing in the original terms of such a contract. Hence the words 'insol- vency,' 'rottenness,' and the like, which we sometimes hear freely used as describing the general condition of Friendly Societies are utterly out of place. Of Friendly Societies in general it may be said that as there are no associations the benefits of which are more important to their members, so there are none that are managed with greater rectitude, and few with equal success." The recent experience of one of the smaller orders, but yet an important one, having as many as a thousand branches, is another case in point. Its valuation to 31st, December 1891, showed that on the aggregate of all the branches their assets were only ISs. Id. in the pound of their estimated liabilities. A valuation to 31st, December 1896, showed that in the aggregate of all the branches their assets were I6s Id. in the pound of their estimated liabilities. If it is remembered that a deficiency must increase from year to year unless steps are taken to diminish it, it will be seen that most resolute efforts must have been made during the five years to secure this result, which is the more "remarkable that the Order has undergone during that time a very unfavorable experience of sickness. The valuers calculate that, taking all things into consideration, the meas- ures adopted were equivalent to an addition of a quarter of a million to the resources of the Order. It has still much to do to attain complete actuarial solvency, for a deficiency of 3s lid. in the pound is a serious one, but the results here mentioned should encourage the Order to pursue the course of reform it has so successfully commenced. CARDINAL PRINCIPLES (From The Fraternal Monitor.) How to ginger up one's self and those about him; how to create interest and enthusiasm under adverse condi- tions ; how to train, develop and coach sub-deputies ; how to secure and organize workers; how to win the support and co-operation of members ; how to meet "objections" and become a good "closer ;" how to analyze one's propo- 230 FRATERNITY sition and array its strong points to meet the various requirements of the public — ^these are among the problems with which both the field man and his superior officers are ever grappling. It has been said that a good deputy is born — not made. This is simply a generality that means nothing unless it is used to evidence one's natural qualifications. One may have a natural inclination and aptitude for a given call- ing, but he will fall far short of success if he does not combine with it practical knowledge. There are certain cardinal principles and guiding lines which must be kept ever in view. These may be ex- tended, built upon and adapted toward the attaining of given ends. The basis, however, remains the same, and this means that one must have more than natural quali- fications. He must have zeal, ability, enthusiasm and he must know the subject on which he delivers himself. PRELIMINARY PREPARATION A correspondent in this issue of The Monitor observes "my chief takes the stand that the best place for deputies to get education is in the field." The Monitor concurs in this up to a certain point. It, however, would be manifestly absurd to send a man into the field who had but a hazy comprehension of what he was there for, how he should till it and the implements to be used. The Monitor does not wish to be understood as say- ing that theory is superior to practice. It is not. One, however, must have a theory of knowledge of his subject before he can put this into practice. He must have a basis upon which to rest his cause. He must understand its various adaptations and he must be able to not only employ these but to outline new plans and methods for himself. Misdirected effort is perhaps the cause of more fail- ures in field work than anything else. While The Mon- FRATERNITY 231 ITOR believes that work is the main essential to success, this is useless if not directed properly. Mere activity, without any definite purpose and without due provision for attaining the ends sought, will accomplish but little. Many a mistaken worker fancies he is doing great things because he is busy early and late. "See what an effort I am making," he says. "Surely, something must be forthcoming soon in the way of results." MORE THAN BLIND EFFORT NEEDED The Monitor concurs in the idea that something will be forthcoming as a result of work if this is properly directed. Mere blind effort, without preparation or pro- vision, will never enable anyone to retire on the. results of previous effort. It requires thinking, planning and a line of action carefully thought out to bring things to pass. By all means work hard. Use every opportunity that presents itself. One cannot succeed without doing this. Yet, when working, his mind should be working also, and this should direct the physical part in a manner that will cause the latter to put forth its efforts where they, will accomplish something. A moral has been drawn from the story of the "Pris- oner of the Chateau D'lf," which is worthy of reproduc- tion in this connection. The prisoner was walled up in an underground dungeon and for twenty years he worked at digging a tunnel through which he hoped to escape to fresh air and the companionship of men. His only digging implements were his hands and feet. Every inch and foot of his progress caused him months of pain- ful effort and nerve-destroying watchfulness against dis- covery. It is said that after twenty years of such effort he brought up against a wall of granite. He found that everything about him was impenetrable stone. Crazed 232 FRATERNITY by the failure of his efforts, he dashed out his brains against the rock, while those who found him saw that, if he had turned but a little to one side with a tunnel half so long, he would have had easy access to the seacoast which would have assured his escape. Here is an illustration that carries with it its own les- son. It shows almost superhuman effort and persis- tence. It was no fault of the worker that his energy had been misdirected. He simply worked blindly. Fate was against him. He ran against a wall that he could neither surmount nor penetrate. Failure was his lot. THE WALL OF MISDIRECTED EFFORT Too many deputies to-day are running up against the wall of misdirected effort. But a tithe of the energy they expend, were it properly directed, would bring them results beyond their most cherished dreams. Yet they work on blindly, without thinking and without planning as to which forces will produce the greatest results for them. Failure cannot but be their lot. What is the lesson we should learn from this? We should all see that, while we all work earnestly and unceasingly, we so fortify ourselves with the best imple- ments and tools available that many of the difficulties we encounter can be readily overcome. A deputy should not only know his society and the contract he presents to the public for consideration, he should know other societies and their contracts. He should know their representatives. He should measure the caliber of those with whom he comes in contact. He should not expend idle or useless ammunition. He should be firmly grounded in the principles of fraternal opera- tion and should be satisfied beyond question as to the integrity of his contracts. GENERAL INFORMATION NEEDED. To this should be added a general knowledge of both FRATERNITY 233 fraternal conditions and insurance conditions. He should have a comprehensive knowledge of the world and the people in it. He should be able to adapt himself to exist- ing conditions and he should at all times be both willing and anxious to uphold the system and institution with which he is identified. Some may say that the above enumeration of essen- tials to success map out a goodly course of instruction to the deputy. So they do. However, with earnestness and persistence they can be readily acquired and expe- rience will add to them other elements helpful to success. A general proposition is that a deputy should be vig- orous, intelligent, grounded in the principles of the sys- tem he represents and a man of standing in his com- munity. Those who succeed will be found to possess such qualities and those who do not can, in a compara- tively short time, acquire them and thus command the success which has heretofore been found by them to be elusive and impossible of attainment. SCHOOLS OF INSTRUCTION In previous issues The Monitor has commended the schools of instruction established by some of the societies. These have performed a most useful service. Their effects are discernible in the progress made by the socie- ties themselves. It is believed that these schools of instruction, even when they are conducted in the interests of given socie- ties, might well extend their scope so as to include gen- eral fraternal conditions and the ethics which should prevail between societies. Herein is an element of weak- ness which is worthy of careful consideration. On all hands one hears of the shortcomings of sister societies as set forth by the representatives of others. There seems to be an abnormal craving for something along these lines. Meritorious achievements, good per- 234 FRATERNITY formed, the strengthening of the basis of operation — these are not touched upon, unless it be as a means of sounding warnings as to troubles to be met later on. What can the general public be expected to thijik of such methods ? By what manner of reasoning is it hoped to secure or retain confidence in a system or institution when such reprehensible tactics are employed? Surely, we have had illustrations galore of the unwisdom of such narrow, bigoted and unworthy methods. Why, if we hope to progress and build up permanent institutions, do we continue along such unworthy lines ? THE SYSTEM GREATER THAN ANY SOCIETY Every officer, deputy and lay member should bear in mind that no institution is greater or stronger than the system of which it is an exponent. Indeed, no society can do more than work unceasingly toward the high standards set alike by itself and the system of which it is an exponent. This being true, it would seein that the first duty is to proclaim the enduring principles of the system and then show that the institution is modeled along such lines and that it is working in harmony with them. When once the deputy gets his mind disabused of the thought that the progress of another institution is antag- onistic to his own interests, he will have taken a long step in advance. When next he is impressed with the thought that this success and the interest occasioned by it can be employed to good advantage by him, he has taken another step. When he comes to a realizing sense that the general prosperity of the fraternal system means a corresponding degree of prosperity to the institution he represents and to himself, he will have taken due cogni- zance not only of general fraternal principles but those which are regarded to be orthodox in the entire business world. FRATERNITY 235 It has often been said that the individual societies are but divisions or regiments marshalled under one great cause and that each has a separate and distinct work to perform. When one regiment or division attempts to defeat or handicap the efforts of others, it is a natural sequence that results are neutralized and that no great accomplishment is performed. STAND FOR THE ENTIRE SYSTEM So it is with our fraternal institutions. There must be harmony of effort, unity of action and a desire to advance the great and central issues at stake. Individual advancement goes hand in hand with this. Were fraternal exponents to be duly impressed with the importance of presenting an united front; were they to come to a realizing sense that it is only in this way they can make a permanent success; were they to extend the hand of friendly aid to the exponents of sister societies ; were they to proclaim at all times that all institutions employing fraternal methods and principles are worthy of confidence — ^what an awakening there would be! Opposition would disappear as chaff before the wind. Those whose duty it is to create doubts and suspicions would have to seek other means of livelihood. The sys- tem which is comprised of these individual exponents would enter upon a career of usefulness and prosperity compared to which even the glorious achievements of the past would be but tame and meager. Deputies have a great work before them in the way of harmonizing the different fraternal institutions and their exponents in the field. Were they to bestir them- selves in this direction, they would not only receive an access of confidence on the part of the general public, but they would make themselves better and more effective exponents of the system with which they are identified and for which they are endeavoring to put forth their best efforts. ■236 FRATERNITY THE FRATERNAL SOCIETY AS A TRAINING SCHOOL No one to-day questions the fact that fraternal socie- ties answer a deep need of man's nature. The fact that their modern history goes back over a hundred years, and that these societies are increasing in numbers and influence is convincing evidence of their importance and usefulness in man's development. Fraternal organiza- tions existed centuries ago, and there has perhaps been no time in history of civilized man when they did not exist in, some form. They are mentioned in the Bible as flourishing during the period of Roman supremacy. And among the early Christians such organizations were frequently formed for mutual protection and encourage- ment. The fraternal beneficiary society as it exists to-day is comparatively a modern institution. It was organized primarily for the purpose of providing a competent sup- port for the families of members when death overtook them. It made its strongest appeal to men of limited means, providing a method by which they could lay by from" time to time a small amount, such as they could ■save from the hard-earned daily wage, for wife and chil- dren when the husband and father passed to his reward. The reports of these societies, showing millions of dol- lars paid out every year, is only one indication of the splendid way in which they have answered to man's need. The death benefit is only one of the uses which the fraternal beneficiary society has met. While this has been an inestimable boon to thousands of widows and orphans, it is perhaps not going beyond the mark to say, that the indirect benefits of these organizations have been greater than the direct benefit. It is the purpose of this FRATERNITY 237 article to call attention to some of these indirect uses of beneficiary societies. One of the fundamental characteristics of stable man- hood is a sense of responsibility. The men who consti- tute the backbone of civic and national life are those wh» recognize the fact that they have duties and responsibil- ities as well as rights and privileges. The young man who becomes a member of a fraternal beneficiary society obtains certain rights and privileges, but the atmosphere of the organization and the spirit pervading it constantly impress upon him the sense of his responsibility to those who are associated with him and to those who are dependent upon him. His conception of life is clarified, and there is gradually wrought into his character the habit of considering the claims and needs of others. As a member of an organization that is wholly mutual in its- aims and methods, and which is dependent upon its mem- bers for its success, he comes also to realize its depend- ence upon him personally, and his responsibility to it. It has always been a tendency of young men to think more of their rights than of their duties, and the fraternal bene- ficiary society is bestowing a great benefit upon thousands- of young men in educating them to a sense of responsi- bility. These societies are also developing in young men the habit of thrift. The regular monthly deposit of a certain sum of money, even though it be a small sum, for the purpose of providing for a future contingency, cultivates the habit of fore-looking. It prevents a young man from becoming so absorbed in present pleasures and present needs that he has no thought for the future. Every time he makes his monthly deposit he is reminded of the neces- sity of making provision for his old age. He gets the habit of saving. The habit is good not merely because it may save him from ever being a charge upon others,. 238 FRATERNITY but- because of its beneficial influence upon character development. It helps him to become master of self, to put a restraint upon appetite and passion, to develop the great virtue of self-control. The young man finds also in the meetings of his lodge and in carrying out the plans of his order an opportunity for intellectual development. He is placed upon some committee. He is compelled to exercise thought and ingenuity in accomplishing the work given to him. He must make a report. This requires "him to stand upon his feet before his fellows, and express his thought in good language, clearly and to the point. He may be chosen for some office, the duties of which require not only the repeating of a ritual, but occasionally, at least, a prepared talk or extemporaneous remarks. He is constantly urged to intellectual effort. He is thus prepared to take his place among other men in the affairs of life and to exer- cise an influence in his community. Many a man in pub- lic life to-day obtained his training in the lodge hall. All of the great beneficiary societies both by their work and their ritual inculcate moral truth. The rituals of some of the societies are not only beautiful in form and expression, but noble in the principles which they impress. They teach faith in God, duty to the moral law, fraternity toward man, and . patriotism. They make a constant appeal to the best in man and set before him the loftiest ideal of manhood. They exert a moral force the influence of which cannot be measured. In the exercise of practical fraternity they are draw- ing men closer together, developing the finer qualities of the mind and heart, breaking down the barriers of selfishness, widening man's horizon and helping to make certain the realization of Christ's conception of the uni- versal brotherhood of man. The fraternal beneficiary society is a great agency in the development of man. Its FRATERNITY 239 possibilities are unlimited. We need to recognize more fully the indirect benefits which it confers and give wider scope to their influence. This is a field which ought to appeal to men of fraternal spirit, who are desirous and willing to be of use in the education and development of young men. — (Extracts from an address by Rev. C. A. Lippincott, Chaplain, National Fraternal Press Associa- tion. ) FRATERNITY WALLACE K. THAYER All honor and glory to the good Father Upchurch, the founder of Fraternalism ! It was in the year 1868, only thirty-six years ago, in the little town of Meadvill^ Pa., that he gathered together the first little band of mechanics and artisans for the purpose of helping each other and protecting their homes in the event of sickness and of death. He saw about him his fellow laborers living in squalor and want, dying in poverty, their widows and children becoming public charges. In the prime of life, — in the twinkling of an eye — the. husband and father would be taken off by disease or accident, and the widow and children left starving. There was then in this land no organiation for mutuaj helpfulness. No organization by which men bound themselves together in fraternity and love to meet with each other and extend the good hand of fellowship while living, and to care for each other's families in case of death or sickness or sudden disaster. All praise to the man who conceived the idea of such a union! The first efforts at organization were crude enough. Members were received at whatever age, in whatever 240 FRATERNITY physical condition, each to pay the same quota in case of the death of a fellow member. The idea, once conceived, spread over the world and carried with it the blessings of fraternalism everywhere, until now sixty million dollars are disbursed every year by fraternal orders, and one out of every three families in this broad land contains beneficiaries of the magnifi- cent system. Like all the great imperishable works of nature, the evolution has been slow and noiseless. Not with guns and drums, or with the blaze and blare of marching regi- ments; not like the spread of a great conflagration, nor a convulsion of nature, but like a slow, imperceptible, noiseless growth of earth's vegetation, has this work of love extended until the bare rocks of individualism and selfishness are covered and beautified by this voluntary co-operative system based on love and mutual helpful- ness. When the history of the great movements of the age has been truly written there will not be so much space given to the stupendous movements of contending armies in the field, or to the glittering politics of the state, which by their glamour and their fury fasten and hold out atten- tion. The really great movements of the time are hidden and subtle. Who notices the springing plant and grain and vege- table and tree? It is the thunder-bolt and earthquake that attract, but the great good to man comes from the silent workshop of nature, not from her cataclysms. The great movements of the common people, — as the rise of Puritanism and Methodism and universal education the democratic movements — not the movements of kings or nobles or armies or politicians — give the character and the spirit of progress to the age. With all their demagogery and chicanery and tyranny and jugglery and FRATERNITY 241 manipulation, the great movements by which the people are now being uplifted — the common people, the workers — are organized labor and fraternalism. Here and here only are the great masses banded together for unselfish purpose, for mutual help and uplifting, and he is indeed narrow who rivets his eye on the jobbery and corruption and blackmail and tyranny which must accompany all great institutions, especially when democratic in nature, and loses sight of what organized labor and fraternalism have done for the com- mon workmen. It is because fraternalism is an institu- tion of the common people, built by their own hands and not passed down to them from above, that we are so impressed by its grandeur. Here is another great demo- cratic movement, a fit off-spring of the great democratic movement which gave us political independence in 1776, and is giving us industrial independence in the face of the tyranny of trusts and monopolies. By fraternalism we secure independence from state charity and private charity. We desire independence from pauperism. In this age of combination for selfish purpose it is well that men are also combining together for unselfish purpose. When the plutocrat and the politician are join- ing hands against the people, it is well that the people are also joining hands against their oppressors. It is not class that is arrayed against class ; it is not the upper classes against the masses. Fortunately the combination, which threatens American industry and American free- dom, is the mere handful of multi-millionaires and vulgar political bosses united together to obtain unjust and unfair privileges and advantages. The extortions of monopoly are founded on the spe- cial privileges wrenched from the government. In this comparatively small group, preying on the people, manip- ulating and watering stocks on Wall Street, and lobbying 242 FRATERNITY with legislatures and common councils, are the presidents and chief officers of the old-line insurance companies. Xhe moneys paid in by the policy holders are used by them to speculate with and to influence legislatures. In that small group of "high financiers," so called, which controls more than half of the trusts of America, which runs our railroads, and our oil and coal monopolies, is numbered more than one of the trusted presidents of our banks, trust companies, and insurance companies. It is the money of the common people that they are using to affect the stock market. It is against this small group that the American peo- ple is making war. We are not arraying class against class, but we are arraying the American people againsj: this heartless criminal plutocracy. Everyone interested in fraternal organizations recognizes the influence of this small group when he asks for simple justice from state legislature or insurance department. Behind the legislature and the insurance department are the old-line insurance companies and their allies. Yet despite the money and power of this group, fraternalism has grown until now it embraces within its two hundred orders, more members than all the old-line insurance companies have together. Because fraternalism springs from ourselves, and not from this privileged class ; because it is of the people and by the people, it is sUre to be for the people. Our laws and our treasuries are of our own making and are within our own grasp and reach. We control them for ourselves ; they are not controlled by a privileged class who manipu- lates them for their own benefit. A fraternal order is a government of the people and for the people and by the people. The referendum can be used, and is used, freely and powerfully. Our officers are our responsible servants employed by us and responsible to us. FRATERNITY 243 Within ten years past the crude efforts of the found- ers of our orders have been perfected, until now we have the benefit of their grand humanitarian ideas, protected by all the safeguards which science and experience have evolved. Chief among these are a table of rates, care- fully graded according to age, and sufficiently high to create a reserve fund to protect the order in its old age. For we are founded not for a day or a year, but for all time. The death rate now when we are young is low but it is sure to increase as we grow older, yet as we grow older we are less able to meet the increased cost of insurance. How shall we overcome the difficulty? Plainly by paying now, in our infancy, into the treasury a sufficient fund, not merely to pay the cost of insurance for the average man now, but the cost of insurance for the man through all time. To the mortality tables and to the actuaries we are indebted for carefully establishing the tables from statistics extending over a long period of time and a vast number of instances, and upon these tables we have based our rates. Fraternal insurance has become a science. The work of such federations as the National Fraternal Congress has lifted up from non- sustaining brotherhoods, sure to perish, to brotherhoods which are self-supporting, and are bound to be self-sup- porting through all time. It is a popular fallacy that fraternal orders are not safe-guarded by law. State legislation has brought them within its scope. Our orders are under its watchful eye as much as are the old line insurance companies. Our treasuries and our reserve funds are carefully guarded by statute. The character of our investments and our expenditures is rigorously scrutinized. The time has come when our treasuries are far safer, because more completely within our own handling, than the treasuries of the old-line insurance companies. 244 FRATERNITY LARGER FRATERNALISM M. L. CAMPBELL The effect of public opinion, for good or for ill, will always be with us. That there is to a great extent, and especially among the better educated and business people of every community, a strong prejudice against lodge insurance, an unwillingness to recognize its strength, its manifold blessings to mankind and its perpetuity, cannot be successfully disputed. It is true that many men and a few women, embraced within the class here referred to, have been induced to partake of the insurance benefits afforded by these societies. They have not in any sense joined heart and hand in this great cause for the eleva- tion and the betterment of mankind. They have never been truly initiated in spirit nor converted to the under- lying principles of co-operative protection. They have hardly received a glimpse of the fruits of fraternity because their contributions have been solely in coin. Some of these people have gone through the forms of initiation and have consented to contribute to the mor- tuary fund because they wish to extend their acquaint- ance, because they have been urged to join by those who patronize them in a commercial way and for various rea- sons with which we are all familiar. Frequently their applications are given with the express stipula}:ion that they shall not be required to attend the meetings. If they have occasion to admit that they are members of a fra- ternal society it is coupled with an excuse, or with an apology. Even those who are in sympathy with the true pur- pose and objects of these societies and who give unstint- ingfly of their time to make them a success, are to some extent depressed and have their faith arrested by the FRATERNITY 245 expressions of doubt, predictions of failure and depre- ciating remarl