Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 6.djvu/672

 658 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

do, or more or less frequently, the atmosphere of the lodge-room leaves its mark upon the brother. It is impossible for a person to visit year after year the same precincts, see and hear the same ritual, participate in the same unpretentious charitable work, hear the same gentle counsel, and be exhorted by the same lofty injunction, without being affected in his inmost soul. The very fiber of his being must show all this in its structure. Within the lodge-room all men are equal in both theory and practice. Questions of religion, politics, nationality, etc., are scrupulously avoided. Every brother must, it is true, believe in a supreme being ; but he may worship where and how he pleases. A can- didate is not admitted if he is addicted to drink, or if he is engaged in the manufacture or sale of liquor. Some are prohibi- tionists, but as a class fraternal societies stand for moderation rather than absolute prohibition. If a brother takes to drink after he has joined an order, he is privately admonished by his fellows. This unobtrusive personal work of fraternal societies is one of their greatest elements of strength. A brother has a defi- nite place in the world. No matter what may befall him, he finds sympathy and assistance in the lodge, provided he does nothing contrary to the law. And even if he has seriously erred, his brothers will try to help him on his feet again and support him in his attempt to live an upright manly life. Many beautiful concrete illustrations could be cited to show this.

An important element in the fraternal beneficiary system of the United States is the National Fraternal Congress, organized at Washington, D. C., November 16, 1896. The congress started out with seventeen orders, representing 535,000 mem- bers, and carrying $1,200,000 benefits or insurance. At the close of 1899 the congress represented forty-seven orders, an aggre- gate membership of 2,668,649, and insurance risks amounting to $4,021,869,290. Last year the societies represented in the con- gress paid over thirty-eight millions in benefits.

The idea of such a congress originated in New York, in which state the fraternal orders had united in a similar way and had won much praise from the friends of the system by the able manner in which they had antagonized hostile legislation. It is