thdrawal 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.

The compulsory insurance has not been in operation long enough in any of
the organizations for its full effect to be seen. It is certain that as
the unions grow older they must materially raise the rates at which they
issue insurance. The rapid growth in membership has brought into all the
unions in this class in recent years a proportionately large number of
young men. The limitation on the age of the insured has contributed to
this r