Show BENEFIT AND SECRET SOCIETIES IN this city a few days ago quite an excitement was occasioned by the ar reat of certain persons persona in relation to a secret and benevolent society said laid to be fraudulent wildcat wild cat schemes of all kinds multiply y thrive and for a time prosper in this cou country finally the vast majority come out leseree lo seree serse schemes boget to got rich insurance plans benefit advantages etc are hold held out in various forms under the cloak of passwords signs and vows of fraternity and so BO forth the iron hall endowment order the working of which la Is now being ventilated by the courts and the press is a fair illustration of this class of schemes many prominent men in new york boston cincinnati and other cities belong to this thin order and tail fall to see anything wrong in it speaking of the iron RM hall and of the reputable members connected with it the springfield maw we refer lefer to this fact merely to show the length to which reputable men are sometimes willing to go in the feverish rush of these latter days to get rich probably a large majority of the members of the iron hall in this and other states have no very clear idea of how the huge returns promised on their assessments are to be acquired it cannot be so however with such suca men as we have referred to they must know of course that a promised and expected expect ed return of one thousand dollars in seven years for about three hundred dollars paid in cannot be obtained in any legitimate way they are aware that it is actually obtained from the money paid in by those who have dro dropped ped out before the maturity of their cert certificates abates a practice pronounced unlawful and dishonest by the massachusetts achu statutes in rela relation to regular insurance and from the money paid in by members who have joined the order at later dates which amounts to no nob hing ing more than a deliberate steal they thus recognize it to be a gambling affair they have dipped into it as they would dip into any chance venture hoping to get out with their per cent profit before the collapse being mn me n of buss nesa neso experience peri ence and intelligence and not given to investing their money without scrutinizing carefully the ways and chances of getting a return they are thus made to appear in the light of persons who are willing to prey upon the credulity and foolishness of others av |