Verhovayak Lapja, 1945 (28. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)
1945 / Verhovay Journal
Page 8 Verhovay Journal March 5, 1945 THE SPRING MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS On Monday, the 19th of March, the regular Spring meeting of the Board of Directors commences and Be take this opportunity to welcome to the Home Office our fellow-members Who have been elected by the Delegates of the last Convention, and. thereby, became members of the highest forum, next to the Convention, of the Verhovay F. I. Association. There is a little bit of embarrassment in our heartfelt Welcome, because we are still in tee old building though we have announced several times during the last year that “pretty soon” we are going to move to our own mew building. Well, nothing has come of it and it is not our faült. It is due to the war-time conditions that the transfer of the Home Office to the Verhovay budding had to be postponed inde' inilely as the Association did not succeed in getting the permit for the remodeling of the building which must be done before it could be occupied by the Home Office. We have no idea when conditions will change so as to permit the authorities to grant our Association the permit. Well, even though we are in crowded quarters that should be the least one of our headaches. The suffering of millions, the agony of U'j lions, the agony of starving Stations, the sacrifices of our heroic soldiers do not permit us to make an issue of our own difficulties which in comparison With what others have to endure ipiyear but small annoyances. In fact, we would gladly spend another ten years in our present quarters if, by that, we could shorten the war just by one day. The Directors will have to face p»dch more serious problems than that of the Verhovay building, far indeed, this meeting will be held in the “shadow of death.” A year ago, at the Spring meeting,. our directors paid tribute to Si heroic dead Verhovayans who have made the Supreme Sacrifice tap to that time. Six months later When the Board met again, the Bomber of our heroic dead rose hi 49 to 80 ... and now-, another sík months later the Board will have to face the fact that the number of our heroic dead had increased by 60... to a total of i 10. During the last six months sifcscty Verhovayans had given their lives ... ten every month ... and the increasing death rate of Oec soldiers will be cause of great sadness for our Directors, who writ remember their own sons and loved ones who serve in the armed forces of our nation and every death-report coming from ©ur organization will only serve to increase their anxiety which is the common lot of every father and mother in our country. IWdst of the bereaved families of our heroic dead are known to the Directors and they will come to (his meeting with the sadness in (heir hearts imparted to them by the heartbreaking sorrow they witnessed. This is but the personal aspect of this problem. But the Rising death-rate of Verhovay soldiers will deeply concern the Ä) rectors from the Association’s Boltit of view-, too. The unpropintionally high death-rate of Verhovay soldiers will make them ask: WHO WILL TAKE THE PLACE OF OUR HEROIC DEAD? This question leads to the next great problem: will our Association be able to secure as many new members as is necessary to offset the loss caused by the early death of our 140 soldiers? We mentioned this sometime ago in the Journal i and we repeat it now: these soldiers were accepted as members of the Association on the assumption of a certain life-expectancy. Under ordinary circumstances they were expected to live at least thirty or forty more years. The loss of 140 members who died at an age less than half their lifeexpectancy presents us with a serious problem chiefly because this is not yet the end. The battle on Iwo Jima serves evidence that the Japanese army is far from being beaten. In comparison, our defeat at Luzon three years ago was not as costly as our victory at Iwo Jima. On the other side of the earth our armies stand now on the Rhine. The end of the war with Germany may be near... but the crossing of the Rhine that started these days will be one of the most difficult and costly tasks ever undertaken by any army. We don't know how high our losses will be, but wre have to face the fact that there will be losses and that they will increase the importance of the problem caused by them. Will we get newr members in sufficient number to offset the losses caused by the war? That depends on the success of oar managers, organizers and district managers in securing new members. But here, too, we face difficulties... Cpl. Bill Kohut, in his column, expresses his concern over the fact that the Founders’ Month Contest did not come up to expectations. We share his concern but we don’t think that the seemingly impending failure is caused either by the lack of appeal of the prizes offered or by the complacency of our managers and organizers. The fact is that nearly 90 r'o of our Branch-managers are employed in essential industries which cannot observe a 40 hour w'eek. They have been going on like this for three years now and the results of the strain are showing. The men are getting tired. It is not unwillingness to participate in the contest but physical inability caused by continuously being overworked. During the first year or two they could keep up with the increased tempo of our war-time living and even spend some time with securing new members, but as the years go by, their strength slowly evaporates... The same situation prevails in another aspect of this work. Most men must use their car when going after prospects and the automobiles are wearing out just like their drivers. Parts are hard to get, mechanics are at a premium, garages are overloaded with work and appointments for repairs have to be made weeks and months ahead. In the meantime the car is laid up, its tank empty and even when, at last, it has been repaired, the manager gets so little gas that he Can hardly drive around the corner. The people on whom we can count as prospects, are scattered all over the cities and the countryside and it takes time and gasoline to look them up. No, we can’t blame our managers and organizers because of their inability to live up to past performances. The war which up to now caused us the loss of 140 of our young members, obstructs also the expansion of the Association and unless conditions improve soon, we may have to face the fact that for some time we will have to take the losses and do without gains that would compensate for them. Nevertheless, the Board of Directors will attempt to find ways and means to give new impetus to the organizing work of the Association and to try, somehow, to make greater use of those managers who are not employed in war industries. Then we have to face the third greatest problem: that of the shrinking investment possibilities. There is too much money on the market and whenever that is the case, investments bring small returns; yet insurance investments must bring returns that at least equal the interest-rate on which the reserves on membership certificates are computed. Under present conditions that necessitates great and unceasing circumspection and an expert handling of investments. Knowing all this, the Board of Directors will derive great satisfaction from the Report of the Auditing Committee, which appears on Page 4 of this issue, stating that the Verhovay has made great progress, notwithstanding war-time conditions. In addition to these three great problems the Board of Directors will pass judgment on the various appeals coming from branches and individuals. Because we are a FRATERNAL organization, many requests for assistance come before the Board which, in dealing with them, has to observe not only fraternalism but also the By-Laws and the stateregulations pertaining to fraternal associations. This is something many can’t understand. They feel that since the Verhovay is a fraternal association, it can render assistance whenever it feels like it. However, the fact is that the Insurance Department carefully watches the activities of every insurance organization and it would hold the Board of Directors responsible if it would grant requests for which there are no provisions in the By-Laws. It is difficult for the Board to say “No” to a request and the membership should understand that in such case the Board has no power to act according to its own desire but must observe the By-Laws and all other regulations that limit the powers of the Board. It is no soft job to be a member of the Board of Directors, for the work done by the Board is judged upon from three quarters. The membership, which displays keen interest in the proceedings of the Board’s meetings, passes judgment upon the decisions brought by the Board. So does the Insurance Department which closely Batches the activities of fraternal associations. And last, but not least, the American- Hungarian general public, too, passes judgment on the job done by the Board for the American Hungarian press keeps a close eye on all the activities and movements of every American-Hungarian fraternal organization, most of all of the largest and oldest among them: the Verhovay. Conscious of its threefold responsibility, the Board of Directors Bill meet and we bid them a hearty welcome wishing that, by the B’ork to be done by them, they may be commended by all for a GREAT JOB WELL DONE! SMILES WOMAN’S PLACE Woman’s place is in a career, the man of tomorrow believes. A poll of 60,000 high school students found 55.5% of the boys, 88% of the girls favoring careers for women. Only 23.5% of the boys preferred women as homebodies; 21% had no opinion. Though a girl may not make a good homemaker, she may have distinct abilities in other fields, some of the boys reasoned. The girls themselves, in voting for a career, accepted the shortage of husbands, need to support themselves or to supplement the family purse.------------v------------ACCIDENTALLY Lost: $4.8 billion. That, said National Safety Council, was what accidents cost the American people last year in wage losses, medical expenses, production delays, equipment damage, property damage. More than 17,500 workers were killed on the job, 23,500 off the job, 53,000 others in home and traffic accidents. Another 9,750,000 persons were injured about 1,500,000 while at work. But the Council reported fatality toll 5% under 1943—s saving of 5,000 lives— and the injury toll 3% less. “Intensified safety campaigns” was the reasor given.------------v-----------A PUZZLER It’s nothing much to think about. But every now and then I wonder where Mahatma Gandhi Carries his fountain pen. Roy A. Brenner----------------v---------------FULL CREW The manager of a touring theatrical company wired the proprietor of a theater where his company was booked tc appear: “Would like to hold rehearsal next Monday afternoon at three o’clock. Have your stage manager, carpenter, property man, electrician, and all stage hands present at that hour.” Four hours later he received the following reply: “All right. I’ll be there.” LINCOLN’S “JACKASS" STORY (This story was written about 85 years ago) Once they was a king, who hired him a prophet to prophet him his weather. And one day the king notioned to go fishin’ but the best fishin’ place was nigh onto where his best gal lived. So he aimed to wear him his best clothes. So he called in his prophet and he says: “Prophet, is hit a cornin’ on to rain?” And the porphet says, “No, king, hit ain’t a cornin’ on to rain, not even a sizzlesozzle.” So the king he put on his best clothes and he got his fishin’ tackle, and he started down the road towards the fishin’ place ancf he met a farmer ridin’ a jackass. And the farmer says, “King, if ye hain’t aimin’ to get yore clothes wetted, ye’d best turn back for hit’s a cornin’ on to rain, a trashmover and a gulley-washer.” But the king drewed himself up and he says, “Farmer, I hired me a high-wage prophet to prophet me my weather and he ’lows how hit hain’t a cornin’ on to rain not even a frog-duster.” So the king he went a fishin’ and hit come on to rain, a clod-buster and a chunk-mover. And the king’s clothes wuz wetted and they shrunked on him, and the king’s best gal she seen him and laughed and the king was wroth and he went home and he throwed out his prophet and he says, “Farmer, I throwed out my other prophet and I aim to hire you to prophet me my weather from now on’ards.” And the farmer says, “King I hain’t no prophet. * All I done this evenin’ was to look at my jackass’s ears. For if hit’s a cornin’ on to rain his ears lops down and the harder hit’s a cornin’ on the lower they lays, and this evenin’ they was a layin’ and a loppin’. ” And the king says, “Go home, farmer, I’ll hire me the jackass.” (And that’s how it happened. And the jackasses have been holdin’ down all the high wage government jobs ever since!)- BRANCH NEWS -EAST CHICAGO, IND. Branch 353 All members of Branch 353, East Chicago, Ind., are herewith notified that this branch merged with Branch 229, Indiana Harbor, Ind., according to the decision brought by the special meeting of the former Branch 353, held on March 4, 1945. Beginning now, all business is to be conducted through the Manager of Branch 229, Mr. Steven Dull, 3708 Ivy Street, East Chicago, Ind. INDIANA HARBOR, IND. Branch 229 It is my pleasure to announce to all members of Branch 229, and the members of Branch 353, now merged with this branch, that the Verhovay Home has been completely remodeled and is now open for business. The Home is under the management of the merged branches. All fellowmembers and their friends are invited to visit the Verhovay Home and to enjoy its hospitality. Visitors of the Home will receive every consideration and the best service possible. AH members of the Branch are urged to pay their dues at the monthly meeting in order that the monthly report may be mailed to the Home Office not later than the 25th of each month, as prescribed by the By-Laws of our Association. Members who cannot attend the meeting, will kindly send their monthly dues to the meeting by someone who attends the meeting. In order to accommodate those of our members who live far from the site of the braneh, an office has been opened at the Verhovay Home, Bhere monthly dues are accepted by the president of the branch throughout the week, or by the manager every Tuesday and Saturday evenings betB'een 7 and 9. Fraternally: GEORGE SOLTÉSZ, President. STEVEN DULL, Manager.
