People's Pilot, Volume 4, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 August 1894 — PYTHIANS PARADE. [ARTICLE]

PYTHIANS PARADE.

President Cleveland Reviews the Uniformed Rank. The Feature of the Big Encampment at Washington— Reports Show the Order to Be 1 lourishing—Sentiment Against Saloon Men. IN KNIGHTLY ARB AY. Washington. Aug. 29.—The feature of the Pythian encampment was the grand parade of the uniform rank Tuesday afternoon. Fifteen thousand knights were in line, marching by State brigades, and the procession was more than two hours passing the presidential reviewing stand. Pennsylvania avenue was crowded with more than 100,000 people, a large proportion of them visitors from out of the city. The president reviewed the procession from a small stand erected on the curbing just in front of the white house. A few minutes after 4o’clock he emerged from the executive mansion in company with Col. Klao, chief of staff, representing the Knights of Pythias, and Col. Wilson, of the United States engineers. The president’s appearance was greeted with cheers. As he stood up the great crowd again broke, into cheers and handclapping, which continued for several minutes, while the object of this attention removed his hat and bowed his acknowledgments. The president seated himself and waited patiently for fifteen minutes before the head of the line appeared. Then he arose, and as the knights swept past he acknowledged the salutations of the commanding officers by bowing. The scene was a brilliant one. | The conclave of the supreme lodge I was called to order by Supreme Chancellor W. W. Blackwell in Builders' exchange hall at 10 o'clock. Great secrecy was observed and the entrances ‘ were carefully guarded. The roll call was answered by delegates from nearly every state and territory. Supreme Chancellor Blackwell and Supreme Keeper of Record and Seal IL L. C. | White read their biennial reports. ' The supreme officers wore crape badges i on their arm as a token of respect to ' the late Past Supreme Chancellor i Shaw, of Wisconsin. The report of the supreme chancellor, W. W. Blackwell, deals with questions rising from what he terms an organized rebellion of certain persons I who have persisted in publishing and ' using a German translation of the j ritual of the order despite the refusal ; of the supreme lodge to permit such i translations. The supreme chancel- i lor makes a strong plea for American- j izing the order. He gives the following as the statistics of member- ; ship of the order according to unoffi- ! ciai reports to July 1, 1894: Grand I lodges, 54; subordinate lodges, 6,262; total number of members, 465,741, a net increase of 72,025 members during ! the last two years. The financial condition of the order is, he states, most satisfactory, notwithstanding the failure of the former supreme master of exchequer. In view of the action of the supreme lodge at Cincinnati in 1888 the supreme chancellor advises the abrogation of the edict of the Kansas City session, which placed under the bail the order of Pythian Sisters. The saloon question is not unno- i tieed. Many lodges, the report says, ! have under act of grand lodges permitting a vote on the subject excluded saloonkeepers from membership in the order. This, the chancellor thinks, is a grand thing, as it will have a tendency to elevate the character of the lodges. He holds that quality, not quantity, is what is wanted. He says: “I heartily commend that saloon keepers, bartenders and professional gamblers be pronounced ineligible to further membership in our order and that the supreme lodge firmly plant itself upon this moral and progressiva platform, that all the world may know just where we stand." The report of Supreme Master of Exchequer Thomas G. Sample shows total receipts during the year of $91,108.86, with expenditures of $62,049.31, leaving a balance April 1, 1894, of $29,059.55. At the meeting of the supreme lodge the Idaho delegate, J. W. Daniels, presented Supreme Chancellor Blackwell a gavel of silver and mahogany, and Delegate Walker, of Montana, presented him a gold and silver jewel. Indianapolis will probably be the city chosen for the next encampment.