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Show An Invitation to the Eagles' Convention By MAYOR JOHN S. BRANSFORD ! I TO THE OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE GRAND AERIE, FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES, IN CONVENTION ASSEMBLED : 1 Gentlemen : The people of the city of Salt Lake, through me, ! desire to extend to you their heartfelt greeting and well-wishes upon this the occasion of your tenth annual convention, and tender their sincere congratulations upon the marvelous growth of your order. The spirit of fratcrnalism so manifest among your members, the lofty ideals upon which your order was founded, appeal to the highest instincts of our people, and we arc happy to note that it numbers among its adherents in this city many of our most representative and I foremost citizens. ; During the few years that have elapsed since the formation of your .order the people of our city have observed the phenomenal growth in numbers which has attended the zealous labors of the grand lodge, and it is with no little degree of satisfaction to us to know that in the general development Salt Lake City has kept pace with other cities of the country. It is interesting to recall upon this occasion that during the ten years past you have visited in annual assembly many of the nation's most important places of interest. In your first annual reunion you met upon the shores of the majestic Pacific, in "dear old San Francisco," Fran-cisco," where you beheld the manifold splendors of that western metropolis. Thence to Minnesota, where the liberality and public spirit of its people contributed so abundantly to your second national success; and what could be more appropriate than that your third annual conclave should be held in that city of cities, mighty New York, with her ten thousand tongues blending into one vast chorus of welcome to the modern land of Bohemia; the irresistible allurements of the southland, far famed for their knightly hospitality, won your r presence at Baltimore and Norfolk ; and upon still another yearly pil grimage you cooled your fevered brow and quenched your aching thirst in that celebrated city of Wisconsin that claims distinction not for any place that it has occupied in the historical past, but for the needs of the present it so abundantly gratifies. Winging your flight still farther west, at Denver you beheld the snow-capped Rockies gaze with compassionate sympathy upon the burning plains of the cast, and now it seems meet and proper that you should felicitate yourselves in that western city of Seattle, where your splendid or-ionization or-ionization first came to light. 1 But now as you turn your gaze to the future, we, the people of Salt Lake City, extend to you an invitation to become our guests at your annual convention. In the matter of natural attractions we yield to no city in all the world. Nestled within a valley of surpassing surpass-ing beauty, Salt Lake City is sheltered from the destructiveness of wind and storm by stately mountains on cither side ; here in summer time arc hill and valley enthroned in their richest garb, and all nature becomes radiant with her glittering banners. From the canyons of the Wasatch flow cool, refreshing streams of crystal wafer, God's i idlest gift to weary, tired mortality; here, too, arc the boiling sulphur springs, so marvelous a boon to suffering, afflicted humanity; and j who has not heard of the great salt sea, the wonder and admiration 7" of all who have partaken of its life-renewing properties? And wc would feel that we were untrue to you gentlemen and to ourselves did we not remind you of the gorgeous grandeur of our sunsets'. Here alone are to be found sunsets of Sicilian grandeur. As the "king of day" sinks to rest behind the Oquirrhs and transforms with its magic wand the cloudlets into the countless hues of the rainbow so its last rays burnish with gold the templed steeples on the cast. We have here a great, sturdy, strong and industrious manhood, and we are proud to boast of our fair flowers of flourishing womanhood. You may rest assured that should you decide to visit with us wc will all strive to make your stay an occasion long to be remembered. And now, gentlemen of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, may the spirit of good cheer be ever prevalent and abide with you during your deliberations. May the luster of past triumphs be surpassed in splendor splen-dor only by the glory of future achievements. We tender into your keeping and care the representative gentlemen gen-tlemen of the Salt Lake Aerie, and particularly the members composing compos-ing the degree team, of which wc arc justly proud. Like true knights, fresh from the fields of conquest, they bring with them an unsullied record, and we beseech you, amid your felicitations and festivities, to keep constant watch o'er their innocent and guileless sports. Respectfully, J. S. BRANSFORD, Mayor. |