Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 21, Number 93, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 August 1900 — Secret Orders Gain Membership. [ARTICLE]

Secret Orders Gain Membership.

The Knights of Pythias expect to show a gain of 2,200 members in Indiana for the first half of the present year. The average gain per lodge is about five members. More than half the lodges have reported to Frank Bowers, grand keeper of records and seal, and the gain thus far averages five and onehalf members to the lodge. The financial showing is in keeping with the membership increase. Many new lodges have been organized, and several buildings and halls are contemplated. The aggregate capital invested in real estate is very large, and in the cities and towns rooms owned by lodges are netting a good income on the investment. The reports of the I. O. O. F. lodges of Indiana for the first half of 1900 shows that the increases in membership and in the number of lodges were the largest since the order was established in the State. The entire membership exoeeds the 50,000 mark —a showing that is considered remarkable. The Bebekah lodges have kept step with the others.