Vigorous and JRapid % Growth- oiT 33 , J
Striking Stor of the .
to ,
Woodmen of the World
f
, The Woodmen of the World , ono of the
I largest and most HiicccsHful fraternal and
' benevolent organizations , has Its national
headquarters In Omaha and Is counted one
i of Itg most valuable Institutions. The story
of KB origin , rapid growth and pronilslng
ptospccts IH an Interesting chapter of west
ern enterprise. 'As told to n representative
wliltjh was n called meeting at Omaha , June
3 , 1890. Governor" Sherman of Iowa , Sena
tor Krwln of Wisconsin , Hon. Charles C.
Farmer of Illinois , General Thomas of Colorado
rado , and other Influential gentlemen had
consented to bo Identified with the enter
prise.
"At thlfl mooting laws were adopted. A
I ' SOVEREIGN COMMANDER J C TlOOT FoEUEION CLERK JOHN T. YATES.
< > ' The Heo by Its founder and sovereign
t
. commander , Mr J. C' . Hoot , It IH as fol-
lous : *
;
"Thoro lH not much romance about' the
promulgation ( ind promotion of thu Woodmen -
' men of the WorlrtJUUtlough ( Its ctJPrV lils-
" . tory has been the chopping of underbrush
. of opposition ajijjMpjiidluo. . During the
wItiferJQf.4S 9 It was determined to extend
> tbo hciftflcuiicu ot Tu > r dcraft , as originally
' . . evolved'hyJRuiypulr In 1882 , as a distinctive
J , 'and original . f r'lttgpTfly , with a pecttl ar
/ ritualistic wdrlf and a distinctive phlloso-
'
l hy. -
* I "An easteri writer 'Thus
) suggests , nol-
- withstanding the relatively nuvol emblems ,
the luMitlu rind wedge , duplication of some
of the rites of the Ancient Order of the
. A , Golilt'n Fleece In Itiigland , It attempts as
i far as pructlcahlo to ticud In paths lesn
.4
L.
. ' .rfs .
. , * SOVEREIGN 1'HYSICIAN
TER , M. D.
freqiionted by modern secret
lHtst the idea ovldently having TJceh , to
parallel utfortH of earlier secret so'cTotle'sV
to iillllio In cereinonlals customs and Im-
plemunts employed In HQIIIU of the primitive
occupations of manUlnd , UeHiilts of this
method nro seen not only In Jlusonlc rltuH ,
but In thu suggostlveness of titles , the J\M-
clout Onlor of Shepherds , the Fishermen
of Galileo , the Ancient Order of Foresters
and the Ancient Order of Gardeners. In
HID Woodmen of the World an additional stop
IH taken by preserving In form and cure-
mony implementB and toiichingtt drawn from
woodcraft. ' 1 might add to this writer's
I'll'uHlon that 1 had never oven heard of the1
Ancient Order of the Gulden Fleece until
I read this criticism , and have not yet had
an opportunity to see and compare Its rituals
with ours.
"DurJng the winter of 1S89 I had consid
erable correspondence with F. A. Falkonburs
of Denver , ono of the most succc * ful or
ganizers In the United States , the result of
ritual written by tnywlf and an nmpilfleu
addition to same from Mr Falkenburg's pen
were accepted , and Mr < FalUonburg and my
self rocognf/ed as the co-founders of the
crder" Colonel II. W. Jewell of Manches
ter , In. , was elected sovereign clerk , Dr. W.
O. Uodgers of Omaha was appointed sovereign
eign physician , and F. F. UOOHO of Omaha
was elected sovereign banker , with Governir
Sherman , Senator Erwln , Mr. Farmer , Mr.
WOODMEN OF THE WOHLD-1'AUTIAL { VIEW OP CEUTIFICATE DEPAUTMBNT
AT OMAHA ,
iy OL uuiiitj
thu order wns regularly Incort" * .lhor"
received certificate of authority frJn ! 8nmcnl
suranco department of the state. \ , vn
"Tho flrifp camps were organized a.
simultaneously at Omaha , Davenport , S. B
City mid * fcyon , ia. , Dallas , Tex. , Indiana1"
ajls , Ind. , and Columbus , O. Thi Soverelg
Visitor was first IssuiC by me In Dccwnber
18UO , when fho memtersiiip did not excewi
300 , and has bjjeii fssued ever slifce , Its pres
ent circulation being 135,000 and It editor
Is Sag IT. Smyth of Omaha. 1S |
"A' ' most determined1 opposition " cn"
'
' 'mls Iarts
tutlon , especially of Insura '
from Omaha. It Is sun. * . " r "
people our organizer ' "story , military
, i&Ht who think Oir
desperadoes niiiTMndfulJ
falls , so we did the
vlnclng the easier" , i
nvas js l right and . _ - _ . - , _ ,
Illzed , until now , even in'Mm thasi' city of
New Haven , we have two nourishing
catnps. " V
* ' Wluit are characteristic , features of
llro Woodmen of the ' . ' ' " ' * yv-'Vas asked.
"Well , we have revised . V c'rjended our
laws from time to time , \m iS Ji iir plan
Is known aj the AccumulatlvirCr * ate
Reserve Fund plan. In a word , we Issue
certificates of from $500 / to $3,01)0 )
each ' that produce -one-half ' "if a
bor dies ( luring the first year , thrce-foiirths
It ty lllcs "fter one and less than t/yo yeof ?
from joining and thereafter the full ainoui .
Isjpald. For Instance , a man died last yea : '
who had been a member only two months
Ho had actually pald , Including his entrance
fee , wily $7.60 upA his beneficiary rece < aj
$ lTiOO. Tlio average cost to all our ut
ceased members to date has averaged ln ° |
than $ fl.r > 0 per $1,000 paid their fnmillc-
Wo have a graded monthly assessment ac-
conling to ago , ranging Jrom CO cents
upward , and an additional absobsmont rangIng - .
Ing from fi cents upward , according to
age , which wo call our emergency fund and
whlih ? Is. further in reased by thq surplus
iJE. December 81 , ISO' ) .
General Wheeler
on the Philippi
( Copyright , 1S99. by A. n. Kollnr. )
SANTA IllTA , 1'hllipplno Islands , Xovcm
ber , 1S99. I have now seen much of the
country and the people In that part of
Luzon for about fifty miles north of Manila.
In every town there Is a magnificent stone
church and a convent or monastery. The
Insurgents have a great antipathy to the
priesthood of friars and they have dis
mantled many of the churches. The value
of the churoli and monastery of a town
scorns to bo equal In many cases to the
nyslcian ,
i Hy.
"How about
"Tho Woodnufi PW is the ladles aux
iliary and a separate 'Dranh ' of the craft ,
ua I ) . Manchester Is its supreme guar-
, John G. Kiilm , supreme clerk , and
" "r E. Holovtchlncr , supreme p sician ,
with hcndqtiarteis in Omaha. It Is very
prosperous , , is growing rapidly and has a
plan of llfo Insurance similanVto the piu1
ent order. -
"Tho secret of success of ttCSSJjoodmen Is
tireless activity at hea.d < iuar Hiul in the
% tJi' " * ' f * * " % * ' "
yfc - . > - -
rt ,
WOODMEN OP.THE WOULD I'AHTiXJ/VIEW ACCOUNTI fo'DIM1 AUTMENT AT OMAHA.
. - .
i
Falkenburg and othew , 1611 the ? executive
board , > * w * jjv , > - . . .rt
"On Juno 0 , ISSOAthTfsMuclatcd
nouncod the formation of
Mr. Falkenburg proceeded at once to l n-
vor to organize the 1'aclflc Jurisdiction of the
order , which comprlses CoTorndo and the
states north and west. "Mis success was
phenomenal from the bcglnhlng and the
Jurisdiction now numbers nearly f > 0,000
"Mr. Jewell resigning In n few months ,
John T. Yiitos wtwappolnted soverelRt clerK ,
and In Novoinber7lKlJDheadquarlora were
established at Omaha , The following May
"
of expense dues paid monthly by , every
member.
"This emergency fund is available when
t \\elyo absesdinentu per annum do not
meet the death losses. , Wo have about
$ lCOOOOJji government bo'ndg in this fund.
ItMa conlldently. ' expected that. , this fund
will accumulate- tmch propcrtfons ttat It
may bo , used to keep the cost of protection ,
down to the udnlmutn ? . Another 'feature is
UIQ imymeut on and after n mcmbor reachcB
the ago of 701 years , on'd each 'yerff Uiero-
aftcr , oiio-tenth the amount of Ua cer
tificate for total physical djsablltty. The
most unique , expressive and arlgimU feature - ,
turo of our order , Jn addition to the pay
ment of the Insurance , Is tbo placing of a
$100 granite monument at the grave of every"
deceased member. About 3,000 monuments
IfHvo been erected at a cost of nearly
$ ! $ C.OOO , Slu and .limano members , on
pnrperKfjjt \ \ \ tberetTf , arc kept Insured
by the caiujj durlng ; their disability. "
"I understand y-eu have a Canadian juris
diction ? " .u , , .
' * "Yes , v\vo b tar ted work In Ontario In
IS'Jl In 1S93 , owing to ad verso legislation
In that province , ! Went to Ottawa and
succeeded In getting a "Dpliiliilon cbiuier
by epecial act "of 1'arllaineht , the only3
charter ever granted to n fraternal benefit
order under Us fraternal law. Wo regard
tills as the most practical endorsement oui
order has ver had. Wo have a nice head
cainp and' membership there , with head
quarters at London. A
"As lo the progress m the Woodmen , | t
Is regarded as marvelous. During the past
tliret ) years only two American orders have
exceeded its Increase of members. Our
combined present membership Is about
100,000. "Wo have fifteen largo and flour
ishing camps In Omaha and adjacent cities ,
Wo employ In our Omaha olllcojiver sixty
people and our Immense niemm/nhlp look
lUlilliberal ; advertising , fair compensa
tion to'oillcors , deputies and employes and
original methods of interesting the people.
Wo liavo endeavored to bo strictly up to
date and as far In advance as possible.
. "Our business methods of handling business
nro quite complete , as vjsltors to our head
quarters will observe. Sovereign Clerk
Yntes has a very elllclent corps of'book-
peepers , auditors , certificate writers a t >
ster ogrnphors. The millions of money passed
thiough the Omaha Clearing house , the
tLouhands of dollars paid for labor , printed
having amp time , they have pursued '
cntlflc and other studies and have
great deal toward the education Ci
people.
The lellglous orders are very rich. They
have been acquiring property for nearly
three centuries. It was the custom of or
ganizations and Individuals to acquire prop
erty by settlement and .occupation , and title
thus acquired Is lecognlzed ns valid even
with no paper tltlo whatever. The religious
orders have acquired vast properties In this
way , and while It Is supposed that the pr" '
coeds and the Income ' 3 to bo used for
llgious and charitable purposes there Is
doubt that 'much has been used for their'
personal c < mfort and benefit.
The statement I have seen that 70 per
cent of the people of Luzon can n.ad and
write Is a gieat mistake. It may be true
of Manila , but It is not true of the rural
districts , and er.entago of illiteracy in
the other isla niuch greater than In
Lu/on The m do of lUe and
ineUiod of pe Svoik te.A j.
n7uch like dl- ,
the hep' ' *
? dentali3all add our ? j
to the pro1 or oursfiome city.
" \ ' our lart general .mej ting $60,000 was
authorized U V0 erpen'V < VXor the" erection
op a building This mnVt'cl Im li.no.n deferred , " !
but will be ronsiucred.at
executive meeting. Se ral PVO ex-
pressed a willingness to bn * _ sovereign
ofllco removed , but local a- - 'Ilcers
continue reminding them that > 'Qfllo > / *
should continue as near the center of th'eS'
United States as possible , 'andOmahaj ap
pears to be thfvmost pretentious ctiy'iffUn'at
vicinity. ' < - . . , .7 . ' " 4 *
"The Woodn iviratl' " ' "
"orid are to nave a
modest exhibit ' earl parls exhibition , also ' -I
headquarter" n ' 'if 'Buffalo " -A.niericaii'3'
Exposition and ' v1 members O'Cranging
to erect ji char. . , sUij Woodn. * cKiln at
he 1902 exposition.- Toledo , 0. w
"Our ordci Jia'd at > .ntil,009. volunteers enrolled -
rolled in the army forethoarJffijF"v't | | ' Vj ,
Wtj have paid fifteen death lossffRw c5dicrs ( ,
whyh ; Included a 'celowel , major'ami a cap
tain. Our crder is a patriotic order , the $ '
of the nation' isrp.nv' d to bo placed prorLl-
noiitly ( in " . i : e f ' as wo call our lodge
room.na'To one camp in the Republic of.
C
SOVEHKUJX A. D. CLOYD.
M D.
* ' * yT
Mexico and are expecting ft special. chartrl >
fiom Presidelit JDIaz by-act of cdn't "iiJfe
winter , as ho appears favorably dlbpoijg .
Wo also expect to Introduce our order Into
other foreign countries In duo time , as dur
ambition Is unlimited ami"wi
worlds to conquer. " I
One Grateful
41
Chicago Tribune : "This , " said the guide ,
"Is the grave of Adam ! " f '
Historic spot ! With reverential awe , nay ,
with a feeling of BJBP thanKhiiiifw tho' '
wea.ltjty merchant toniWon hls ' first Tfitflo'
drew near and cast' llowor
"Erring ancestor , " he murmured , ' * 'il'
should bo the last man on earth to rovllo
your memory ! To your sin I owe my pros-
WOODMEN OP THE WORLD OFFICE OP THE SOVEREIGN CLEUK , JOHN T.
YATES.
