UNITED WORKMEN, ANCIENT ORDER OF. 



785 



tween rival beneficiary claimants, and gener- 

 ally to do all things right and proper for pro- 

 moting the honor, welfare, and perpetuity of 

 the order within its bounds, subject also to the 

 paramount authority of the supreme lodge. 

 There are at present twenty-three grand 

 lodges, which were instituted in the order 

 named: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Indi- 

 ana, Iowa, New York, Illinois, Missouri, Min- 

 nesota, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Michigan, Cali- 

 fornia, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, Kan- 

 sas, Ontario, Oregon and Washington, Massa- 

 chusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware, 

 Texas, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and 

 Arizona Territory, Nebraska. 



The subordinate lodge is the unit of organi- 

 zation. Its officers have similar titles to those 

 of tlie supreme and grand lodges ; and through 

 the lodge organizations the beneficiary business 

 of the membership is conducted with the grand 

 lodge officers having its general control. The 

 fees for admission to membership are fixed by 

 each subordinate lodge within a certain mini- 

 mum limit provided for by the grand lodge, 

 which, according to the supreme lodge consti- 

 tution, can not be less than two dollars. The 

 payment of sick benefits is also left to the dis- 

 cretion of subordinate lodges, although the 

 principles and teachings of the order enforce 

 the mutual assistance and encouragement of a 

 member or his family in misfortune ; and the 

 tendency of the organization is to unite the 

 membership under a common bond of sympa- 

 thy and fraternal allegiance. The subordinate 

 lodge may punish offenses committed against 

 the laws of the order or flagrant violation by 

 the member of his duty to society. 



The beneficiary system or insurance plan of 

 this order is as follows: Each person, on ob- 

 taining full membership, pays one dollar into 

 the beneficiary fund of his lodge. When 

 death occurs in the order, and on the first day 

 of any month there is not $2,000 on hand in 

 the beneficiary fund of the grand lodge, the 

 grand recorder issues an assessment of one 

 dollar on each member, which is served by 

 the financier of the several lodges, payment 

 being required by the tenth day of the follow- 

 ing month. The amount paid to the benefici- 

 aries of each member is $2,000, with no di- 

 visions or classes, all benefits being equal. 

 Collections from assessments to pay death- 

 losses, are used for that purpose only, all other 

 expenses of management, etc., being paid from 

 the annual dues of members. All receiving or 

 disbursing officers of the order are required to 

 give bond for the faithful discharge of their 

 duties, to keep separate accounts of the bene- 

 ficiary and general funds, and to keep the 

 moneys of the order distinct from all other 

 moneys in their possession. The beneficiary 

 business of the order is made public each 

 month to the membership of the jurisdiction 

 affected by it, through assessment notices sent 

 to each member. Each grand lodge having a 

 membership of two thousand or upward (with 

 VOL. xxvn. 50 A 



the exception of certain grand lodges), is set 

 apart as an independent beneficiary jurisdiction, 

 and is permitted to manage its own beneficiary 

 affairs. Most of the grand lodges have thus 

 been organized under a separate beneficiary 

 jurisdiction; but from the manner in which 

 the order has grown, the grand lodges of In- 

 diana, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississip- 

 pi, Texas, and some others, are included 'in one 

 beneficiary jurisdiction known as that of the 

 supreme lodge, and their beneficiary affairs 

 are governed by that body. It results from 

 the system of independent beneficiary juris- 

 dictions, that each grand lodge managing its 

 own beneficiary affairs is called upon to pay 

 only death-losses occurring within itself. 



The foregoing, however, must be tnken sub- 

 ject to the provisions of what is known as the 

 relief law. Under this law it is provided that 

 whenever the death-rate in any beneficiary 

 jurisdiction of the order may have been in- 

 creased by exigencies to a point that would 

 make the payment of assessments burdensome 

 to its membership, the entire membership may 

 be called upon to contribute to the relief of 

 such overburdened jurisdiction. The maxi- 

 mum rate of assessments to be pnid by each 

 jurisdiction is fixed by the supreme lodge under 

 the relief law, which is based upon the expe- 

 rience of the order, and other orders, as to the 

 death-rate in various States. At present, the 

 maximum annual rate of assessments to be paid 

 by each jurisdiction before being entitled to 

 relief from the entire order varies from 42 as- 

 sessments in Kentucky, 37 in Ohio, 35 in Ten- 

 nessee and other States, to 19 in Ontario and 

 Iowa. 



The early regalia of the order comprehended 

 collars and aprons, bearing emblematic devices, 

 with official jewels appropriate to each station. 

 These have been supplanted by a badge, which 

 is a circular medal of the diameter of two 

 inches, bearing sun's rays, anchor, and shield, 

 with the letters A. O. U. W. suspended from 

 a cross-bar If inch in length, connected with 

 a pin-bar 2 inches long and f inch wide, by 

 a ribbon 2 inches long and If inch wide; 

 the pin-bar to have displayed upon it the letters 

 C. H. P., being the initial letters of the motto 

 of the order, which is "Charity, Hope, and 

 Protection." These badges are worn alike by 

 officers and members, but the officers' badges 

 are distinguished by appropriate jewels of of- 

 fice suspended from the pin-bar. The color of 

 the ribbon worn upon the badge is scarlet in 

 the subordinate lodge, blue in the grand lodge, 

 and purple in the supreme lodge. The ritual 

 of the order is under the control of the su- 

 preme lodge. It teaches by impressive lessons 

 the duties attaching to membership. 



The Select Knights, a uniformed auxiliary 

 body, composed of members in good standing 

 of the Ancient Order of United Workman, 

 has a distinct organization and beneficiary sys- 

 tem, the governing powers being vested in a 

 supreme legion, in grand legions, and in sub- 



