Dist. Grand Lodge No. 5 v. Jedidjah Lodge No. 5

• Decision Date: 11 March 1886
• Citation: 65 Md. 236,3 A. 104
• Parties: DISTRICT GRAND LODGE NO. 5, INDEPENDENT ORDER OF B'NAI B'RITH v. JEDIDJAH LODGE NO. 5, INDEPENDENT ORDER OF B'NAI B'RITH.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

3 A. 104

65 Md. 236

DISTRICT GRAND LODGE NO. 5, INDEPENDENT ORDER OF B'NAI B'RITH

v. JEDIDJAH LODGE NO. 5, INDEPENDENT ORDER OF B'NAI B'RITH.

COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND.

Filed March 11, 1886.

Appeal from circuit court, Baltimore city.

M.R. Walter and Isidor Raynor, for appellants.

Wm. P. Wright, Henry F. Garey, and Dan'l Greenbaum, for appellees.

MILLER, J. It is not our purpose nor is it necessary to review in detail the mass of testimony, oral and documentary, contained in and by agreement made part of this record. All that need be done is to state briefly the origin of the endowment sinking fund, over which the controversy has arisen, and its status on the tenth of July, 1884, when the original bill in this case was filed.

The Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, membership in which is confined to Israelites, was instituted about 40 years ago, and has since increased to such an extent that it now has numerous lodges in most of the states of the Union. Originally the order resembled in its main features that of the Odd Fellows and other similar voluntary organizations for benevolent purposes; such as alleviating the wants of the poor and needy, visiting and attending the sick, and protecting and assisting the widow and orphan. The primary and subordinate lodges are grouped into districts, over which are district grand lodges, composed of delegates elected by the subordinate lodges, upon a prescribed basis of representation. Above these is a "Constitution Grand Lodge," which meets once in seven years, composed of one delegate, chosen by each lodge from among its past presidents. There is also an appellate court for the settlement of controversies arising within the order. Among the general laws is one which requires each subordinate lodge to obey the ordinances, laws, and resolutions of the constitutional grand lodge, its district grand lodge, and the final decisions of the appellate court, under penalty of suspension and forfeiture of their charters. These charters are paper documents emanating from and issued by the district grand lodges to the subordinate lodges within their respective territorial limits. The revenue of the entire order arises, with the exception of occasional voluntary donations from fees, dues, or assessments levied upon the members of the subordinate lodges, and the expenses of the higher as well as the inferior lodges are paid out of the income thus derived.

Jedidjah Lodge of Baltimore was the oldest and largest primary lodge in this state. At first it belonged to district No. 1, and in 1852 received its documentary charter from the grand lodge of that district. Afterwards it fell within the limits of district No. 5, and in 1867 received a similar charter from the grand lodge of that district. This latter district, whose limits were enlarged and changed, now includes the state of Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. There are 34 subordinate lodges in this district, and of all these Jedidjah Lodge continued to be the largest in numbers up to the time the litigation in this case commenced.

Two other facts, important to be stated in this connection, and important to the decision of the question before us, are that in December, 1853, Jedidjah Lodge was incorporated under the act of 1852, c. 231, then in force, and in February, 1870, District Grand Lodge No. 5 was also incorporated under the general corporation law of 1868, c. 471.

For a long period after its organization, Jedidjah Lodge divided its income into two funds: (1) A beneficial fund, devoted to the expenses of the lodge, the support of the sick and distressed members, and for such useful and benevolent purposes as the lodge might see proper to promote; and (2) a widows' and orphans' fund, appropriated exclusively to the support of the widows and orphans of deceased members. After a time, and after considerable opposition, the district grand lodge adopted an endowment plan, by which the sum of $1,000 was to be paid to his widow and children upon the death of a member, thus practically introducing a system of mutual or co-operative life insurance. The money to pay these endowments was raised by assessments upon all the members of the subordinate lodges, and the grand lodge acted simply as a receiving and disbursing agent. Thus, upon the death of a member, his lodge gave notice thereof to an officer of the grand lodge, who thereupon issued requisitions upon all the lodges in the district for their respective, quotas, and, upon receiving the money, transmitted it to the lodge of the deceased member, to be paid to his widow or children, or to the beneficiary designated in his endowment certificate."

In order to strengthen this system, an amendment to the endowment law was adopted in 1874, to the effect that a certain portion of the amount assessed upon the death of a member should be paid as above stated, and the balance should be placed to the credit of a fund to be called the "Endowment Sinking Fund." This fund in each lodge was intrusted to its trustees, who were required to give bond annually, and were empowered to invest the same, with the accruing interest, in such securities as they may deem best; and it was further expressly provided that each lodge shall have control of this fund. These were the provisions of the endowment law as amended in 1878. By an amendment made in 1879, the trustees were directed to invest "in United States registered securities," and the word "custody" was substituted for the word "control" in the provision above cited. By another amendment made in 1882 a form of registration government bonds was prescribed, to the effect that they were "subject to the order of the trustees" of the...