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Article A FEW WORDS ON BENEFIT SOCIETIES. ← Page 8 of 9 →
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A Few Words On Benefit Societies.
bine for their mutual interest . In some cases the societies are in their infancy ; their number of members and their funds are consequently small ; but there is scarcely a man of practical common sense who ivill venture to deny the utility of their institution . But here w e must remark , that the financial , position of such societies does not meet ivith the attention that its
importance demands . Let us take an example . A bank fails ; ten to one but that bank has been intrusted with the subscriptions , stored up from means more or less scanty , of three or four Benefit Societies . The consequences are shocking . Age , sickness , nay , death itself , is defrauded of its dues . Whether the iveekly pence , or the
large subscription paid monthly or quarterly , have been lost in the common ruin , it is a bitter , a cruel loss . Ancl yet there is a strange want of care in the disposal ancl placing out of the funds of those societies , ivhich is constantly leading to failure . Another mischief is , that the subscriptions to some of these " lodges" are far too low to enable them to work securelyIn
. other words , too much interest is given for too little principal , and if many members are suddenly compelled to draw upon its funds , bankruptcy and stoppage of payment are the infallible consequences . Nothing but the most careful calculation as to
members , probable drawbacks , natae of investment , ancl a host of such details , together Avith the most thorough knowledge of the whole principles of Life Assurance , will give the least idea of the difficulty of rendering such an association really a safe refuge for the distressed , but provident householder . A ivord , too , respecting the medical department of these
associations . It cannot be supposed that fii r e shillings per annum can be a remuneration for a competent medical man ; and yet such , and sometimes less , is the stipend paid by the club for each member on its books . NOAV it is true , that many of the members may not require the surgeon's aid during a whole twekemonth , and that the losses incurred by the attendance on one
patient may be made good by the small requisitions of another . But we know from frequent coni'ersations with medical men that this is far from being the case . Such situations are only accepted by the new ancl scarcely fledged practitioner , who hopes to make them the nucleus of a better connection . Hence these clubs are perpetually changing their medical officerand it too
; often happens , that the obvious incompetency of the " doctor " to the club , renders other , and more expensive aid , necessary . In these cases , overcheapness is the mistake . It is very well to tempt the poor man into provident habits by extreme lowness of charge ; but if you undertake what must prove a loss , you
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Few Words On Benefit Societies.
bine for their mutual interest . In some cases the societies are in their infancy ; their number of members and their funds are consequently small ; but there is scarcely a man of practical common sense who ivill venture to deny the utility of their institution . But here w e must remark , that the financial , position of such societies does not meet ivith the attention that its
importance demands . Let us take an example . A bank fails ; ten to one but that bank has been intrusted with the subscriptions , stored up from means more or less scanty , of three or four Benefit Societies . The consequences are shocking . Age , sickness , nay , death itself , is defrauded of its dues . Whether the iveekly pence , or the
large subscription paid monthly or quarterly , have been lost in the common ruin , it is a bitter , a cruel loss . Ancl yet there is a strange want of care in the disposal ancl placing out of the funds of those societies , ivhich is constantly leading to failure . Another mischief is , that the subscriptions to some of these " lodges" are far too low to enable them to work securelyIn
. other words , too much interest is given for too little principal , and if many members are suddenly compelled to draw upon its funds , bankruptcy and stoppage of payment are the infallible consequences . Nothing but the most careful calculation as to
members , probable drawbacks , natae of investment , ancl a host of such details , together Avith the most thorough knowledge of the whole principles of Life Assurance , will give the least idea of the difficulty of rendering such an association really a safe refuge for the distressed , but provident householder . A ivord , too , respecting the medical department of these
associations . It cannot be supposed that fii r e shillings per annum can be a remuneration for a competent medical man ; and yet such , and sometimes less , is the stipend paid by the club for each member on its books . NOAV it is true , that many of the members may not require the surgeon's aid during a whole twekemonth , and that the losses incurred by the attendance on one
patient may be made good by the small requisitions of another . But we know from frequent coni'ersations with medical men that this is far from being the case . Such situations are only accepted by the new ancl scarcely fledged practitioner , who hopes to make them the nucleus of a better connection . Hence these clubs are perpetually changing their medical officerand it too
; often happens , that the obvious incompetency of the " doctor " to the club , renders other , and more expensive aid , necessary . In these cases , overcheapness is the mistake . It is very well to tempt the poor man into provident habits by extreme lowness of charge ; but if you undertake what must prove a loss , you