Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 September 1886 — ODD-FELLOWS AND KNIGHTS. [ARTICLE]

ODD-FELLOWS AND KNIGHTS.

Sovereign Grand Lodge of OddFellows at Boston-Figures . from the Reporta , 7 > Great Aggregation of Knights Templar at St. Louis—The Parade and the Drill. .. 1 Knights Templar. There was an enormous attendance upon the triennial conclave of toe Knights Templar in St. Louis. The grand parade was to have taken place Tuesday, September 21, but rain caused a postponement to Thursday. The city was gorgeously decorated for the occasion. j“Some of the decorations along the line laid out tor toe parade were magnificent,” says a correspondent. “Public building's and business blocks were bright with parti -colored bunting. Flags and pennants billowed and fluttered from their fronts, and high up at the tapering peaks of their lofty flagstaffs. Masonic emblems and mottoes, fanciful figures, wrought out of bunting by the decorator's skill, and wreaths of beautiful evergreen adorned the streets. The great Court House was surrounded with garlands of evergreen suspended from high poles, bearing the coats of arms of various States, from each of which graceful tricolored pennants streamed to the ground., 1 Immense pyramidal pillars of evergreen, crowned with Masonic emblems, stood on either side of the entrances to the great building, and directly over the entrances were fixed semi-circular sunbursts of bunting and evergreens.” One of the events of the conclave was the drill and concert at the fair grounds, which was witnessed by 75,000 people. The commanderies participating were: Detroit (Mich) No. 1; DeMolay No. 13, of Louisville; Raper No. 1, of Indianapolis; St. Bernard No. 35, of Chicago; Louisville (Ky.) No. 1; Zion No. 2, of Minnbapolis and Jackson No. 7, of Jackson, Mich. The city was brilliantly illuminated Wednesday night. “The Flambeau Battalion gave a parade and exhibition on the most prominent thoroughfares of the West End. Ivanhoe Commandery of St. Louis held a formal reception, which was largely attended, and proved a brilliant affair, while all the local and visiting commanderies kept open house. A notable reception was given by Oakland Commandery of California, at which thousands of callers were entertained in the most magnificent ' style. Among the noted commanderies which called in bodies were: St. Bernard of Chicago, 200 Knights and ladies; Apollo of Chicago, 100 Knights; DeMolay, Louisville, 150 Knights, and ladies; and the Mary Commandery of Philadelphia?’The Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Shrine, one of the highest orders of Masonry, of whose members 2,000 were in attendance upon the coiicla-ve, initiated 200 candidates at midnight of Wednesday, the' close of the Arabic year. The ceremonies were conducted by the Medina Temple of Chicago, assisted by the Imperia] Potentate, Samuel Briggs, of Cleveland, Ohio. The elaborate costumes, rich jewels,- mystic emblems and rites rendered the services most impressive. Previous to the ceremonies the shriners paraded the principal down-town streets, each-temple accompanied by a band. The costumes and uniforms were of many varieties, the only article worn in common being the red fez. The two temples which attracted the most attention and received the most generous applause were those of Baltimore and Chicago—the former appearing in full evening dress, the latter in regular Turkish costume, fez, crimson bag trousers, jackets, etc. Oilil-Eellows. The annual meeting of the Sovereign Grand Lodge, I. O. O. F., attracted an immense number of people to Boston. The Grand Sire, Henry D. Carey, in his report, traced the growth of the order since its last meeting in Boston, twenty-two years ago, in 1864, with less than 10,000 New England members. The same territory now numbers 65,000 brethren. The order in general hite shared this prosperity. In 1864, in the whole world, the number of members was 137,263; to-day there are 517,310 members, with an increase in the total -revenue -of -over-$4 j 000,4)W)-. The order is prosperous in foreign countries. Mr. Carey advocated the retention of toe [>ermanent location of the Grand Lodge in Baltimore. The figures of various Odd-Fel-lows’ beneficial associations show receipts for the past year of $1,050,905;. paid to the families of deceased members, $873,363; deaths, 1,752; members in good standing, 46,144; money on hand. $578,820. The figures cover forty-one bodies—all that reports have been received from. The Grand Secretary’s report contained statements showing the condition of the order in the United States, Canada, and foreign jurisdictions. The prospects of both lodges and encampments for the present year are very flattering. The report of the Grand Treasurer showed a balance on hand, on August 20, 1885, of $15,672; receipts for the year, $49,043; expenditures, $42,420; available assets of the Sovereign Grand Lodge, $78,096. The grand banquet given in Odd Fellows* Hall by (he Sovereign Grand Lodge was a very enjoyable affair. Plates were laid for nearly five hundred persons. The gathering comprised the supreme officers and other high dignitaries of the Order, together with many ladies. The parade was one of the finest ever witnessed in Boston. Fifteen thousand OddFellows and fotty bands were in line. A platoon of police led the way, followed by the Boston Cadet Band and Grand Canton Luzerne, of Lynn, one hundred men acting as an escort to Lieutenant General Underwood and his staff of patriarchs militant. Three divisions of patriarchs militant followed. This portion of the procession was its most marked and interesting feature, toe brilliant uniforms, fine marching, skillful evolutions, and splendid appearance of the patriarchs calling forth universal commendation. The main body of Odd-Fellows came next in order. This part of the procession was made up of seven - divisions. The procession pas id in review before the Grand Sire of the Grand. Lodge at Odd-Fellows’ Hall, before Mayor O’Brien at the City Hall, Gov. Robinson at the State House, and Lieut. Gov. Ames on‘ Arlington street. Before the introduction of stamped money in Rome, all sums were reckoned by the pound weight, and not by the number of pieces, whence the person who weighed out the amount for any purchase was termed libripen, the ■weighman. But the name was retained in after times, although the custom from which it arose had long fallen into des'gnate the person who reckoned up and distributed their pay to the soldiers, whom we might term the quartermaster of a regiment-