238 B. F. MEYER 



vestment features of many policies are predominant, modem 

 life insurance is the greatest engine of prevention which the 

 world has known. Failure to recognize the scientific truth 

 that the efficiency of this preventive work depends absolutely 

 upon rigid adherence to health experience has not only brought 

 disaster to thousands of fraternal societies, but has tended 

 to throw the entire fraternal system into disrepute, as well as 

 to discredit insurance in every other form. 



The fact is, therefore, worthy of emphasis that the Nation- 

 al Fraternal congress has for some time recommended a table 

 of rates (column 3) which is the result of years of work of a 

 standing committee of this body. Like all other scientific 

 tables of rates, this is based upon a mortality table. Only a 

 part of the fraternal congress mortality table is given in col- 

 umn 12. The committee took into consideration the published 

 experience of old line companies in the United States and 

 several foreign countries, and the experience of several of the 

 largest and oldest fraternal societies in this coimtry. The 

 conamittee was unanimously of the opinion that the actuaries' 

 and American experience tables are too high both from the 

 experience of the old line companies and from that of fraternal 

 societies. Having reached this conclusion, the committee 

 combined the various actual mortality experiences into a new 

 mortality table. The latter was made the basis of the premium 

 rates in column 3; and, in addition, of step-rate and modified 

 step-rate plans. A fraternal society might accept the mortal- 

 ity table without adopting the schedule of rates. For in- 

 stance, column 3 assumes 4 per cent interest. This is probably 

 too high for the present; hence, a society desiring to assume 

 an interest basis of 3 or 34 per cent could construct its own 

 tables on the basis of the mortality table, giving it, of course, 

 a higher rate of net annual level premiums than those of col- 

 unm 3. The chief significance of the work of this committee 

 on rates Ues in the official recognition which has repeatedly 

 been given by fraternalists to this kind of work, and the in- 

 ference that any fraternal society whose experience is more 

 unfavorable than that assumed in the fraternal congress tables 

 is faulty either in plan or management, or both. It is doubt- 

 ful, however, whether fraternalists as a body sufficiently 



