The principal reason for this low rate is the rapid change in membership, the old men withdrawing and being replaced by young men.  Near the close of the nineties the cry of “Something must be done to keep the old members in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen” was raised; but it was clearly shown that “the greatest favor a member of the Brotherhood could show the insurance department was to pay his assessment for ten years and then withdraw, permitting a man ten years his junior to take his place.”  The grand secretary-treasurer states that the membership practically changes every seven years, due to promotions to the position of engineer and to withdrawals of older men for various reasons.  The withdrawal of old men conduces to a more favorable age grouping, to a decrease in the death rate, and to a consequent decrease in the cost of insurance.  The Switchmen’s Union presents an interesting contrast.  The Union prescribes no age limit, and higher positions in the service are not so frequently open to the advancement of its members.  The result is that the number of older members is relatively greater, and insurance is maintained at a considerably higher cost.

The cheapness of the insurance offered by these organizations is better appreciated when compared with that offered by old-line companies.  The following table shows the cost of insurance per $1000 in a typical life insurance company for different classes of railway employees and letter carriers at thirty-five years of age: 

Class of Employees.  Rate per $1000.[85]

Engineers .................................... $27.23
Conductors ...................................  22.23
Firemen ......................................  27.23
Trainmen .....................................  27.23
Telegraphers .................................  22.23
Switchmen ....................................  27.23
Maintenance-of-Way Employees .................  27.23
Letter Carriers ..............................  27.30

[Footnote 85:  The letter carriers’ rate is that of the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company, the rates of the other classes of employees are those of the Aetna Life Insurance Company.]

Assuming that the average age at admission of the members of unions is thirty-five, the cost of insurance in the regular companies is far higher than the cost for an equal amount in the unions.  The conductors pay their union twenty-five per cent. less than they would have to pay to an insurance company and the locomotive firemen pay considerably less than one half of company rates.  These rates, moreover, are for insurance against death only, while the insurance offered by the brotherhoods also provides against total disability.