Bethlen Naptár, 1956 (Ligonier)

The work of six decades

BETHLEN NAPTÁR

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basis. Sándor Kövér presided at this meeting. The branches were represented by 35 delegates. The constructive motion of the new era was the change from the system of assessments, in force until then, to a system of regular monthly dues, to be fixed according to the attained ages of the members. The idea was excellent but the execution faulty, inasmuch as the new rates were not based upon the ages existing at the time the decision was made, but according to the age when the member joined the Federation. This meant that the older members paid unreasonably lower rates than what they should have paid on the basis of their actual ages. It was at this meeting that the special Sick Benefit Department was formed while the Juvenile Department was only established two years later. We wish to mention it here that at, the Toledo meeting, in 1915, it was decided without any debate to make the death benefit payable to the beneficiaries of Sándor Máté, one of our members, who returned to Hungary and fell on the battlefield in Galizia. The Federation therefore fulfilled its obligation even toward those who lost their lives as Hungarian soldiers. There is some record of the fact that a Hungarian war loan of 100,000 crowns was subscribed, before the United States entered World War I.

The Third Decade.

On account of the war, the convention due in 1918, could not be held and was convoked only one year later, during September 1919, in Bufallo, N. Y. It is worth while to note what Sándor Kalassay recorded at that time: “Since the establishment of the Federation we never had a greater increase in membership than in the past few years” — meaning during the first World War. According to the record, in the year 1919 there were 5298 members in the Adult Department and 1001 in the Juvenile Department. It is around this time that the organization of the “Grand Council of the Societies” was initiated with the purpose to place the larger fraternal societies on a unified basis Our Federation furnished the example for the acceptance of such uniform rules by being the first one to introduce a system of rates based on the actual ages of the insured.

The influenza epidemic following the war has claimed many victims, and the consequent death benefit payments caused such reduction of the

Federation’s reserves that the loss could only be replaced by a special assessment of 5 dollars per member. It was also decided to establish a monthly contribution of 5 cents per member for the orphanage. For the relief of the warstricken and suffering Hungarians in the old country, the general meeting in Buffalo voted to donate one-fifth of the Federation’s assets. With this donation the Federation has shown an example of unselfish fraternal love. It was about this time that the Ligonier orphanage was founded, the circumstances of its establishment, however, will be reported in detail by the Superintendent of the “Bethlen Home”, now celebrating its 35th anniversary.

The 1923 convention of our Federation was already held in Ligonier Pa., the first time on its own property in its 27 years existence. There were 92

delegates present at this meeting, representing 166 votes, according to the

then used system of plural votes. There was great rejoicing and enthusiasm because the newly established system raised the Federation’s assets from the ten thousands into the hundred thousands. This progress enabled the Federation for the first time in its history to grant the first “church loan”, to the Reformed Church in Flint, Michigan. By that time, the membership grew to 11,703, the assets amounted to $324,737.09. Due to this fact, the meeting resolved to raise the monthly contribution for the Orphanage to 10 cents from each member. This is still in effect, and it is included in the monthly dues.