77 2 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



by pretended disablements. The benefit must also be tangible and 

 fixed, to obviate discontent ; for, as a rule, the people engaged in man- 

 ual labor are suspicious of indefinite insurance, and dread being taxed 

 for unknown quantities the employes of the company were there- 

 fore divided into two classes the first class containing those engaged 

 in operating trains and rolling-stock, and the second containing all 

 those not so engaged ; and the unit of premium was fixed at twenty- 

 five cents per month per rate, for each feature, or seventy-five cents 

 for the three features of the lowest rate, increasing in the ratio as 

 given in the table on page 773. 



Members may now secure insurance under this feature to the ex- 

 tent of thirty rates, or six thousand for a premium of twenty-five cents 

 a rate for death under benefit 5 only. 



It was provided that, while no employe could take the benefits of a 

 lower class than those to which his salary assigned him, he could take 

 as many more rates (up to the limit) as he chose. Also that such of 

 those employes in the service at the time of the inauguration of the as- 

 sociation as did not desire to take the three, could yet, as they elected, 

 enjoy the benefits of one or more features ; which brought within the 

 reach of all, on a uniform and simple scale, protection commensurate 

 with what they could spare to secure it. 



The manner of collecting premiums next demanded consideration. 

 As no initiation fee could, with propriety, be exacted of those newly 

 seeking employment for a livelihood, so none could properly be col- 

 lected from those already in the service ; and as, for obvious reasons, 

 it was undesirable to ground the plan upon a capital stock company, 

 it became necessary to mainly depend for assets upon the payment of 

 premiums. By the simple expedient of requiring premiums to be paid 

 in advance, there would always be on hand the maximum sum required 

 to pay for the casualties of the following month, and this was also 

 thought to be the least onerous and therefore the best form of sub- 

 scription. 



The liabilities and benefits of members being well known, premi- 

 ums could be deducted from their wages on the monthly pay-roll, and 

 thus all risk through the handling of funds by irresponsible parties 

 was avoided, and the Baltimore and Ohio Company became responsi- 

 ble for the collection the association being credited on the company's 

 books with the premiums which remain in its custody until withdrawn 

 by legitimate warrant. No large sums are allowed to accumulate, the 

 surplus not needed for immediate wants being invested by the com- 

 mittee of management from time to time in first-class securities. It 

 was believed, and the result has fully proved, that premiums thus col- 

 lected, while subject to the scrutiny of every interested person, would 

 be paid with less reluctance than after the money had passed into the 

 actual possession of members, and in many cases they would not be 

 conscious of having made any contribution at all. 



