The Supreme Senate Fraternal of Fraternals cannot incorporate as a voluntary association, but must be organized, if at all, under the fraternal beneficiary statute of 1899 as amended in 1903.

The act creating the board of commissioners of the Oliver P. Morton Monument expressly limited its expenditures, so far as re- lated to the monument itself, to $35,000 - and it is clearly inferable from that statute that the legislaure contemplated this amount was to be devoted to the erection of the monument, and to the payment of the items specifically referred to in the act; such as expenses of the commission, advertising for bids, salary of secretary, and compensation of the supervising architect. There is nothing to indicate that any part of the $35,000 appropriation was to be spent in providing ceremonies at the unveiling. The duties of the board would be accomplished by having the statue erected, pursuant to the provisions of the act. I am therefore of the opinion that no part of the appropriation can be thus expended. The funds which have been raised by private contribution should be expended in like manner with those appropriated by the state. Section 3 of the act (Acts 1905, p. 48) states: - "That said commissioners are authorized to receive pri- vate contributions and to expend the same according to the provisions of this-act." As to the repair of the plaza, my opinion is that a reasonable sum may properly be expended to place the same in a proper condi- tion by restoring such portions as have necessarily been damaged in the course of the erection of the monument; but that it will not be permissible to make improvements in the plaza, not required for restoring it to its former condition of repair. FRATERNAL ORDERS-SUPREME SENATE, FRATERNAL OF FRATERNALS, FRATERNAL BENEFICIARY AS- SOCIATION. February 6, 1907. ion. Fred A. Sims, Secretary of State, Indianapolis, Indiana: Dear Sir-I am in receipt of your communication of the 22d ult., wherein you ask whether a supreme lodge of a fraternal order (Supreme Senate, Fraternal of Fraternals) can incorporate under the voluntary association law, or whether its organization is gov- erned by the fraternal beneficiary association act of this state. The sections of the former statute here involved read as fol- lows: (Sections 4583, 4584, 4589 Burns' Stats. 1901.) "Any number of persons, not dess than three (3), may voluntarily associate themselves by written articles of asso- ciation. * * 0 Such association may be formed for one only of the following purposes: ' * ' To organize lodges or other bodies of Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Uniform Rank Knights of Pythias, Ancient Order United Workmen, Benevolent Order of Elks, Knights of Honor and Knights and Ladies of Honor, Royal Arcanum, Continental Fraternal Union, or the National Union, or other secret ritualistic orders, according to their respective laws; also divisions or associations of temperance and other chari- table associations or orders; to organize churches, confer- ences and religious societies; also the Independent Order of Foresters, including the high and subordinate courts there- of; also to organize and maintain societies for the preven- tion of cruelty to either children or animals, or both; and to organize a state grange of the order of Patrons of Hus- bandry, and other granges subordinate to the state grange." The fraternal beneficiary statute reads thus, in part: (Burns' Supple. 1905, section 5050a.) A fraternal beneficiary association is hereby declared to be a corporation, society or voluntary association, formed or organized and carried on for the sole benefit of its mem- bers and their beneficiaries, and not for profit. Each asso- ciation shall have a lodge system, with ritualistic form of work, and representative form of government, and shall make provision for the payment of benefits in case of death, and may make provision for the payment of benefits in case of sickness, temporary or permanent physical disability. * * * Such associations- shall be governed by this act, and shall be exempt from the provisions of the insurance laws of this state, and no law hereafter passed shall apply to them unless they be expressly designated therein * * (Section 5050h Burns' Stats. 1901) Any number of persons, citizens of the United States, not less than seven, five of whom shall also be citizens of the state of Indiana, hereafter desiring to form a fraternal beneficiary associa- tion may associate themselves together and effect such or- ganization in the manner provided in this section, and not otherwise. * * * (Section 5050s Burns' Stats. 1901) This act shall not apply to any corporation, society or association carrying on the business of life, health, casualty or accident insurance for profit or gain, but it shall apply only to fraternal bene- ficiary associations, as defined in section 1 of this act; this act shall not affect or apply to any grand or subordinate lodge of the Ancient Order of Free and Accepted Masons, Independent Ordei of Odd Fellows, Improved Order of Red Men, or Knights of Pythias, as they now exist, nor to similar orders or secret societies, nor to any association not working on the lodge system, or which limits its certificate holders to a particular class or to the employes of a particular town or city, designated firm, business house or corporation." The organization, designated above as the Supreme Senate Fra- ternal of Fraternals, seeks to incorporate under the voluntary as- sociation statute. Its constitution, rules and regulations show that it is a society having a supreme governing body, of a representative character; that subordinate bodies or senates are to be organized to carry out the objects of the organization, which are stated to be: "To unite all acceptable white persons of either sex from 12 years of age and up as members; united in truth, liberty and love, for the purpose of bonding together, in protecting the welfare of each, socially, morally, intellectually and oth- erwise. " It is inferable from the constitution that a secret ritual is to be used, and that the order shall work upon the lodge system. Each subordinate lodge is empowered to "Make provision for the payment of finaneial benefits to its members in case of their being disabled by sickness or ac- cident, or funeral expenses to its deceased members." No element of profit appears to enter into the plan of this asso- ciation. The articles of incorporation state that the object of the society "is for the purpose of organizing subordinate associations. to be known as Subordinate Senate F. of F., name, number and location in a ritualistic secret order, of (sic) which shall be coin- posed of acceptable white persons of either sex," etc. From the foregoing facts it is clear that this society is a "fra- ternal beneficiary association" within the letter and spirit of the fraternal beneficiary association act, which was passed in 1899 and amended in 1903. The voluntary association statute was enacted- in 1901. The question which you submit therefore resolves itself into an inquiry whether the latter statute enables societies, such as the one in question, to incorporate under its provisions. The original act relating to the organization of lodges and kin- dred bodies was passed in 1881, and was limited to Masons, Odd Fellows, the Independent Order of Foresters and the Patrons of Husbandry. (R. S. 1881, section 3502.) In 1885 the legislature added Knights of Honor and Knights and Ladies of Honor; (Acts 1885, p. 146). In 1887 and 1.889 this section was re-enacted in the same terms (Acts 1887, p. 42; Acts 1889, p. 145). In 1891 were added Knights of Pythias, Uniform Rank of Knights of Pythias, Ancient Order of United Workmen and Benevolent Order of Elks (Acts 1891, p. 372), which section was re-enacted in 1893 (Acts 1893, p. 290). In 1895 the legislature added Royal Arcanum, Con- tinental Fraternal Union, and the National Union (Acts 1895, p. 100). Finally, in 1901, in addition to the foregoing orders, the statute was made to include "other secret ritualistic orders," ac- cording to their respective laws. Between the enactments of 1895 and 1901, viz., in 1899, the statute relating to fraternal beneficiary associations was passed, which expressly excepted from its provisions any grand or subordi- nate lodge of the Ancient Order of Free and Accepted Masons, In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, Improved Order of Red Men, or Knights of Pythias "as thy now exist," and "similar orders or se- cret societies." But it is evident, from its general scope, that it in- tended to throw safeguards about fraternal organizations, and that it was not the legislative purpose to nullify, by the above exceptions contained in section 5050s, what had been elaborately provided for in the preceding sections of the act. The exceptions must be so construed as not to render the statute inoperative; and this may be done by confining them to the grand and subordinate lodges of the orders named "and similar orders or secret societies," "as they now exist," i. e., as they existed when the a9t was passed or when it went into effect. The rule is thus stated in 26 Amer. and Eng. Encyc. Law, p. 611: "A statute must be construed with reference to the time of the passage thereof, or with reference to its going into effect. That meaning must be given to words which they had at the date of the act, and descriptive matter therein must refer to things as they existed at the time of its passage. But words of time are usually to be construed as spoken when the act takes effect." The phrase "now existing" has been construed to refer to the time when the statute was passed (see Barrows v. Coke Co., 75 Fed. 794, 796). Accordingly my opinion is that the fraternal associa- tion act of 1899, as amended in 1903, does not exclude orders or lodges, grand or subordinate, orgavized after that statute was en- acted, or after it became a law: It follows that the Supreme Senate Fraternal of Fraternals, must incorporate under the act last above mentioned, unless the act of 1901, supra, eiables it to incorporate as a voluntary association. Considering the general policy of the legislature manifested during recent years to place restraints and safeguards about insurance or- ganizations, I am of the opinion that it did not in 1901 intend to relax those restraints by enabling fraternal societies in general to incorporate under a law which subjects them to only slight state sup&rvision; neither did it design to repeal the fraternal benefi- •eiary act of 1899, whose existence is expressly recognized on page 466 of the Acts of 1901, in an act passed after the voluntary asso- ciation statiite of that year v ,as approved; and again in 1903 (&ets 1903, p. 18). It is significant that at the same session of the legis- lature (1.901) no less than five distinct acts were passed, imposing salutary restrictions upon insurance organizations. (See Acts 1901, pp. 321, 374, 408, 486, 617.) This course of legislation and the his- tory of the section in question, which I have traced supra, leads to the conclusion that the "lodges or other bodies of "* # other secret ritualistic orders." refer to sitbordinate "lodges," "camps," tents," "tribes," "senates," or "other bodies" of inferior nature, organized merely for local purposes, such as the holding of real estate for lodge uses, etc.; but that the legislature did not con- template allowing a fraternal benefit society, such as the one now under examination, to organize as a voluntary association by in- corporating its supreme senate. -My opinion, therefore, is that the Supreme Senate Fraternal of Fraternals, can not incorporate as a voluntary association, but must be organized, if at all, under the fraternal beneficiary statute of 1899, as amended in 1903. BILLS-SENATE BILL NO. 359-"A BILL FOR AN ACT CONCERNING FOREIGN CORPORATIONS." February 7, 1907. To the Senate Jadiciary Committee B: Gentlemen-You have submitted to me Senate Bill No. 359, entitled "A bill for an act concerning foreign corporations," and have asked my opinion concerning its constitutionality. The bill