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Show g jm 4 m . , 111 Id he History of the Order of Elfe. m gAgf '! : fj fj&jt Never were truer words spoken than those ut- Hl mj tered by the plumed knight of platform oratory, MMK 11' i Roscoe Conklin,. In his wonderfully eloquent nom- Hi 'i if inating speech, during the session of the Republi- B Bb M cjm convention at which James G. Garfield passed Iff ill if under the wire in advance of the record-breakers H Bwi i entered in the Presidential race. TBg lip I ( While the immense audience sat silently await- HH:ifjfM ins tlie flrst words to drop from tne lips of tlie HSfli f" great past master of the political arena, Conklin HRtllif1 stood for a moment silently gazing at the sea of Hs til 'i faces raised expectantly, and then in magnetic H Fl tones rang out the words never to be forgotten by H Ims ' those who listened to his impassioned address: H& elfin i' "The shallows murmur while the deeps are sl- HIKj-'' lent." Kg fjlfi' Today the great newspapers of the world are HBylli. filled with bombastic chatter ings eulogizing the H5r!ll'iT kings of finance who play to 'the galleries of the Hi l$f ilJH world, with gifts for colleges, libraries and other HaJlffc'lfr educational interests. Giving that their gifts may Hsfffl&cfir e nown of nien. Hfillii.K The Benevolent Protective Order of Elks follow Bjjfflllffiiff the precepts and practice of the lowly Nazarene, HlBhipi " and let not their richt hand know what the left IOflii ' doeth. Charity, love for their fellow man, unob- B$frtiif S v trusivo generosity and brotherly love are the mile Biirai ' ' stones which mark the progress of this grand or- Mw'''" der from ts inception in the year 1867, when a MJfWllf:!'" young actor, Charles Algernon Sidney Vivian, just HmUpI' landed from British soil, conceived the idea of or- HHfrilt, ganizing in the city of New York the forerunner UBIli of tne nolle "der of Elks, under the name of the flBljl "Jolly Corks." The founder of the order was HuSTIl elected the first imperial cork. There were fifteen HKw'ljjr charter members, all actors, of whose number six njHr'fl have since passed over the great divide. Hri $ Tue new orsanization grew and flourished and IkIRjIp after casting around for a more appropriate name IMIrl witn wuicn t0 dienify the growing organization, it IH'w J was decided after some of the members had visited IKm 'I'S'' Barnum's.old museum and studied the character- H! If istics of the great American Wapiti, commonly IffPjl.Ii known as the Elk, that no name could be so appi j- iHuifli priately applied to an order which had for its IbH 'il goal a11 tuat was est' leanest and noblest in its WT'lHl creed as that of the noble animal which combined wm M tlie best cnai'acteristics of the brute kingdom, ffiii I 12 hence the Jolly Corks became the Benevolent and Hi 'lilb Protective Order of Elks. Bn lf The new society with great forethought at once Wmm MM created a grand lodge and elected the following of- Hiu fill ncars on Feuruai'y 1G 186S: R- H- Primo Charles HP '!' A" S viviuuI first deputy Pi'imo, R. R. Steirly; Hffifl ff honorary secretary, Charles Carleton; treasurer, H. UP il, Vandormark; tiler, William Sheppard. Sf It I The purposes for which the new order was HI! created were briefly and clearly set forth in the HP 41 following terse- document: "The undersigned BKrfJh U members of the theatrical, musical, equestrian and Wji v litorary professions, and others who are in sym- IH: j f pathy with and approve the object in view, do HH If S hereby organize an order to promote, protect and H H t onhance the wcllfare and happiness of each other." HI , li ( ',i Volumes could not have said more. H n: i i There were two degrees in the original society, H aim the social and the ritual, and a candidate must be ! I ffiffl in the social before he could be advanced to the H HI ritual. HS U P In tne same manner every meeting was divided Sr W m int0 two Parts tue business and social, hence the HI f M Elks are tlie most Perfect entertainers of any order Hlf at!1 on eartn Hi' J Ij From the inception of the order the lodge con-Hi' con-Hi' jLM sisting of fifteen members grew until in 1871 it He ' mm was f ound essential to their well being to organize Ell ! Hnf a uiSu executive body for the more complete facili-Hl facili-Hl ! 1SB tation ofc, business. This new branch lodge was Br :fflK organized in New York on February 12th, and the HiyH first srand lodge officers were elected and in-flUHH in-flUHH stalled. G. J. Green was made exalted grand ruler; Tony Pastor, esteemed leading grand knight; S. K. Spencer, esteemed royal grand knight; Cool White, grand lecturer; E. G. Browne, grand secretary: Hugh B. O'Neill, grand treasurer; treas-urer; Fernando Pastor, grand tiler; T. G. Riggs, J. C. Pinckney and William Korff, judiciary committee. . It was at a meeting of this body one week later that the constitution of the grand lodge was adopted, adopt-ed, the constitution as it now is with but slight changes. From that lodge of fifteen members, the growth, at first slow, spread rapidly after the year 1874, when there were two lodges with 200 members; in 1878 eleven lodges with 787 members; in 1888 nine- ty lodges with 8952 members, and in 1898 there were 428 lodges with 48,187 members, and every State in the Union represented. At the gathering last year at Milwaukee there were represented in the grand lodge 710 lodges with 90,000 members. There will be represented at the Salt Lake grand lodge this year about 783 lodges with a total membership mem-bership of over 100,000 members, but three lodges out of the 786 now in existence will fail to be in attendance. Although the Elks is not an insurance order and does not issue policies to members, it makes every effort to care for the families of its deceased de-ceased members and needs of suffering brothers, and has dispersed over $1,000,000 for these purposes. pur-poses. The order also stands in the foremost ranks of philanthropists in every public calamity, regardless of whether the sufferers are members oi its order or not, nor does sect, creed, condition, or color enter into the consideration when a strong hand, a long purse or a warm heart is needed to alleviate the sufferings of humanity. The charity of the order is proverbial. Wherever the cry of distress reaches the ear of an Elk, an outstretched hand softened by sympathy sympa-thy and love is extended to the needy brother or his bereaved loved ones. The Johnstown sufferers, the Scofield stricken, the victims of fire and flood throughout the land have tasted the sweets of Elks' benefactions, while the individual case3 sought and aided are as countless as the stars. The order is one in spirit and in truth, and from the snow-capped heights of lofty Shasta to he vine-clad vales of the sunny South, from the roi ny peaks of old Maine to the land where the s et magnolia blossoms the sacred spirit of the or er makes the Elks one. On the roll of membership of the B. P. O. E. re the names of United States Senators, legislate s, Congressmen, statesmen, merchants, journal! ts, lawyers, doctors, and the leading representati es in the world of music and art, literature and he drama, and today this glorious country is spam otf by a chain of clasped hands which link state to state, and even reach out to the islands of the Orient, which reach out to the call of distress ie-gardless ie-gardless of creed, denomination, color or spirit al belief. From the cradle to the grave, aye, e"n across the dark river, the love of the kindly Llk guides the steps of his brothers and their lopd ones, with malice toward none and with charity for all. Humanity is the keynote of the Elks. Among all the impressive ceremonies of the Elk lodges there is none which outrank the annual lodge of sorrow. This ceremony was first instituted insti-tuted at a meeting of the first lodge in New York in 1870. In February of that year Brother George E. Farmer passed over the divide, and a memorial service was held out of respect to the departed brother. When a week later tho death of Brother James W. Glenn was reported, it was decided to hold a lodge of sorrow, and on March 20, 1870, the first ceremonial lodge of sorrow was held. George R. Thompson was then R. H. primo and conducted the ceremonies, which were as follows: 1. Voluntary on the Organ, by Bro. F. C. Al-den. Al-den. 2. Anthem, by Bros. Brandise, Rockefeller, Russell Rus-sell and Shattuck. 3. Prayer, by the Rev. Samuel B. Willis. 4 Plezel's Hymn, by Bros. Brandise, Rockefeller, Rockefel-ler, Russell and Shattuck. 5. Eulogy on the late Bro. Frank Preston, by Bro. Cool White. (Written by Bro. George J Green.) 6. Quartette, Sacred, Rock of Aea, by Bros. Brandise, Rockefeller, Shattuck and Russell. 7. Eulogy on the late Bro. James W. Lingard, ELKS' LODGE ROOM, by iro. William Bullard. (Written by Bro. T. Al-sto Al-sto Brown.) General remarks by brethren of the order. Closing Hymn, Old Hundred, by the congre- gat n. 1. Benediction. his has been adopted as the programme of cei mony for the order, and on the first Sunday in 'ecember every lodge of Elks holds its annual Lo e of Sorrow for the departed of the year, and th e congregate the members with their friends, th services being public, and Catholic and ipn estant, Jew and Gentile, Free Thinker and Ch istian, honor the dead of the order, and bow to he Great Power who gives and takes away the o d ones who have been called to the grand lou e of eternity. ince the organization of the grand lodge in 187i there have been twenty-three grand exalted Irui rs, who have guarded the interests of the rapidly extending order. The name of Charles Vivian, who, though never a giand exalted ruler, is venerated by every mem-, bei of the great order which from so trivial a foundation now rears its lofty minarets to the blue dome of undying fame. He was born in England and at the date of the founding of the order was but 21 years of age. He died at Leadville, Colo., in 1880 of pneumonia, and was buried by the Knights of Pythias, undei the ritual of that order, as there was no lodge of Elks in Leadville at that date. In 1889, H. C. Van Derlip, chairman of the board I of grand trustees of the B. P. 0. E., called the attention at-tention of the Boston lodge to the fact that the mortal remains of their respected founder lay beneath be-neath the sod neglected and uncared for, and that 1 lodge, aided by the Omaha lodge, had the body removed to Boston, where it now rests in Elks' Rest in Mount Hope cemetery, surmounted by a monument of beautiful and appropriate design, uhere it will rest in peace until the last great day vvhen the final summons comes from the unknown land "where reapers sing 'mid garnered sheaves." PAST GRAND EXALTED RULERS. George J. Green, New York, 1871, deceased. Charles T. White, New York, 1871, deceased. 1 Joseph C. Pinckney, New York, 1872, deceased. I James W. Powell, Philadelphia, 1873, at present I unknown. B Henry P. O'Neill, New York, 1874-1875. B Frank Glrdard, New York, 1876. B George R. Maguire, Philadelphia, 1878, deceased. il Charles E. Davies, succeeded upon the death of KB G. R. Maguire. IB Louis C. Waehner, New York, 1879, deceased. IB Thomas E. Garriett, New York, 1880, 1881. KB John J. Tindale, New York, 1882, deceased. IB Edwin A. Perry, New York, 1883. H Henry A. Sanderson, New York, 1884. B IUniel A. Kelly, New York, 1885. BB Uilliam E. English, New York, 188G. rH Hamilton E. Leach, New York, 1888, deceased. H Simon Quinlin, New York, 1889, 1890, deceased. JH Edwin B. Hayes, Louisville, 1891; Buffalo, 1892; flfl Atlantic City, 1894. BB . ttey Apperly, Detroit, 1893. BB iliam G. Meyer3, Atlantic City, 1895. BB M ade G. Detweiler, Cincinnati, 1896; Minneap-BH Minneap-BH olis, 97. H J n Galvin, 1898. H B M. Allen, 1899. H J ome B. Fisher, Atlantic City, 1900. BH C irles E. Pickett of Waterloo, la., is the gres-I gres-I ent and exalted ruler, having been elected at IB Mllv, ikeo in July last. HI G. rge A. Reynolds of Saginaw, Mich., is grand BH Becn ry of the order, having been re-elected at BH MUw ,fcee for tiie ninth term. B T present annual meeting of the grand lodge HH WU the finest and most largely attended of any HH held nee the organization of the order of Elks, HH and 11 be one long remembered by the visiting BH rotl s as the brightest oasis in the endless des-H des-H rt oi life's pilgrimage. |