The Daughters of Rebekah were organized in 1851 as a side degree of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and chartered lodges were authorized in 1868. The object is benevolent work. The order stands very high among charitable organizations and pays out thousands of dollars each year for the relief of widows and orphans. The report for the present year shows that 6,212 families were assisted at an expense of $141,046; and $50,540 were paid for the education of orphans. The Indiana lodge erected a monument in Indianapolis to Vice-President of the United States se Colfax, the principal founder of the order.
The Daughters of Rebekah usually exist wherever there is a lodge of the I. O. O. F. Men may take the degree but the affairs of the lodges are entirely in the hands of women. There are 125,300 men and 200,850 women members.
The Grand International Auxiliary to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in the United States, Canada and Mexico, was organized Oct. 16, 1887, to elevate the social standing of railroad people, to promote a fraternal feeling between families of engineers and to render assistance in time of trouble. The Voluntary Relief Association, formed in 1890, has paid to needy families of engineers over $100,000. "It has no home for dependents, but helps widows to keep a home and care for their own children. It secures homes for orphans and assists in their education out of a special standing fund. There are $15,000 in the general fund. The order is exclusively composed of women, who manufacture all supplies and from this source realize a considerable revenue. Study clubs for intellectual culture are maintained in the various branches.
There are 255 subdivisions and about 10,000 members. It was founded by Mrs. W. A. Murdock, who has served continuously as president.
The Ladies' Auxiliary to the Order of Railroad Conductors of America was organized in 1888. The idea originally was merely social, but so many objects claimed assistance that, in 1895, the Fraternal Beneficiary Association was added to help the widows and children of railway conductors. Assessments were levied and in five years $2,200 had been thus applied. Good speakers, parliamentarians and business women have been developed and its members have become broader and more enlightened in every direction. There are 156 local divisions, with a membership of about 4,000
Miscellaneous: Various organizations are in existence which are national in their aims and interests but scarcely have reached national proportions in the number of auxiliaries and membership. Among these may be mentioned the Sociological Society of America, organized in New York in 1883, to disseminate the principles of Social and Industrial Co-operation; The National Women's Republican Association, founded in 1888; the Pro
