[Footnote 33: Constitution, 1904 (Washington, 1904), p. 3.]

[Footnote 34: The Postal Record, Vol. 4, pp. 8, 118, 119.]

[Footnote 35: _Ibid._, Vol. 5, p. 528.]

All the railway organizations described above make a distinction between
death and disability insurance, and sick and accident insurance. The
local unions have been prohibited either specifically or by implication
from maintaining any association or society for paying death and
disability benefits. This rule was first established by the Conductors.
During the early years of the Conductors' national organization,
1868-1880, many subordinate divisions maintained mutual benefit
associations for the payment of death and disability insurance. The
growth of the national benefit department was thus retarded, and at the
tenth annual session in October, 1877, subordinate divisions were
prohibited from maintaining "mutual benefit societies."[36] The national
organizations, on the other hand, do not furnish accident insurance, but
leave this function to the local bodies. In the formation of this
policy, also, the Conductors took the initiative by providing in their
first national constitution in December, 1868, that the order should
never become a weekly benefit association.[37] The Engineers had a
similar provision as early as September, 1869; but national regulations
governing the payment of weekly benefits were nevertheless formulated.
The other unions have followed this policy, and their constitutions
provide that the weekly benefits shall be levied, collected, and
distributed according to national rules.

[Footnote 36: Proceedings of the Order of Railway Conductors of America,
1868-1885 (Cedar Rapids, 1888), p. 207.]