Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, December 7, 1908, Page 1

. ies of the annual “ VOLUME 6. NUMBER 198. BEMIDJI, MINNESOTA, MONDAY EVENING* DECEMBEB 7, 1908. Y PIONEER. Hxstoncal Society, FORTY CENTS PER MONTH IMPRESSIVE SERVICES WERE HELD BY THE BEMIDJI ELKS Memorial Sunday Fittingly Observed, Yesterday, With Pub- lic Services at City Hall.---Judge Stanton Delivered Fine Address to the Assembled Brothers. Annual memoral services for the Benevolent and Protective Order of | Elks were held at tke City Hall yesterday afternoon and were par- ticipated in by nearly the full mem- ship of Bemidji Lodge, No. 1052, assisted by the Bemidji High School Glee Club and Miss Leila Stanton, violinist. The services were attended by a fair-sized crowd of Bemidji people who wished to witness the ceremon- lodge of sorrow.-” as the memorial services are called. The members of Bemidji lodge and several visiting Elks assembled at the Elks’ hall, in the Masonic block. at 2:30 p. m., and marched to| the hall in a body, headed by Exalied Ruler E. H. Jerrard and Judge C. W. Stanton, who was to deliver the memorial address, and the Elks took seats in the center of the hall, which had been reserved for their use. The lodge members | remained standing until the exaltedi ruler and other officers had taken their places on the platform, all sitting down at the tap of the gavel- | The Bemidji High School Glee' Club, with Miss Hanson director and Miss Gladys Stanton as accom- panist, opened the services with a hymn, “Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand,” which was splendidly rendered. Exalted Ruler Jerrard presided and czlled upon Rev. J. H. Dennis- ton, who responded with an eloquent opening prayer, calling upon the Supreme Exalted Ruler of the Universe to bless the meeting and to soften the sorrow of those who mourned for the brothers who crossed to the great beyond. The Glee Club gave another selection, after which the opening ceremonies of the lodge were con- ducted. At the sound of the gavel, all Elks in the hall arose and with arms folded, awaited the signal for sorrow. The exalted ruler read the impressive words of the ritual and ata given signal all heads were bowed mo- mentarily, the right hand crossed covering the eyes. The ceremony was very impressive. The next number on the program was a hymn by the Glee Club. Miss Leila Stanton played, as a violin solo, “Traunerer,” and the young lady gave a very finished performance. Her delicacy of touch and perfect mastery of the bow held the audience enrapt. Miss Nellie Shannon did ‘splendidly as accompanist. Exalted Ruler Jerrard introduced Houn. C. W. Stanton, judge of the Fifteenth Judicial district, who is a member of Bemidji Lodge, No. 1052, Mr. Jerrard stating that it gave him great pleasurs to present the judge. Judge Stanton’s speech was given very eloquently, and made a splen- did impression upon his brother Elks and the remainder of the audi- ence: “I am deeply impressed by this occasion and I count it indeed a high privilege to be permitted to participate in this event and to address so large a number of the Bemidji lodge of Elks and their friends. “Following the time-honored custom and edict of the order of Elks, it is the pleasurable duty of every lodge throughout the land to convene today to pay respect and tribute to our absent brothers who have been called to the great beyond and to thus remind the living of the fraternal bond which unites us in great brotherhood. «As participants in this solemn occasion, dedicated to those who have passed away, our purposes are: IN MEMORIUM GEORGE A. MARKHAM Born Nov. 0, 1885 Died Aug. 28, 1908 (Charter Member Bemidii Lodge) [} PATRICK A. WALSH Born Sept. 19, 1855 Died Nov. 4, 1908 “The faults of our brothers we write upon the sands, Thier virtues upon the tablets of fove and memory.” «To study their lives and from them draw inspiration. “To contemplate death, to re. new our faith in xmmortahty and | to Jevere God. “Throughout the country today,. as the roll of Elks is called, names of many loved ones will remain phathetically unanswered and our rothers are at this moment, in every! locality, thinking of them lovingly and speaking of them justly, their memories are reverting to their ust‘:~l fulness when among us and phrasing our gratitude. And we, the mem- bers of Bemidji lodge, imbued with the spirit of brotherly sympathy and affection, approve the words ofl eulogy that are spoken, and join in the sentiment of sorrow that is expressed, and mingle our tribute of ove and conmsolation with that| bestowed by our brothers. *“Upon our own roll of the dead but one name has yet been inscribed —but one brother fails to respond— from our membership, but one has been called by the Exalted Ruler of the Universe to the great beyond. ¢“The name of that one which we have been required to transfer from our list of active members to begin our roll of the dead, is Patrick A. Walsh. Many of us knew him well outside the lodge room and are familiar with his standing as a citizen and his record as an im- portant official of our neighboring county of Koochiching, and our knowledge causes us to be proud of his membership in our order, He was a kind, considerate and honorable man, and his life well exemplified our two cardinal prin- ciples, justice and charity. «‘One other universally respected and greatly beloved member of our order has been lately called from among us to his eternal home. +I refer to George A. Markham, who was a charter member of Bemidji lodge and later became a member of Hibbing lodge. “His genial disposition, manly character and general trustworthi- ness made him a popular Elk and a universal favorite. ~His young life was an embodiment of the principal proclaimed by the Golden Rule, so emphasized by the Elks’ ritual. Our knowledge of the beauty of his life and the kindliness of his pature abides with us. That memory is his monument. “To my mind, no better eulogy, no more appropriate expression of praise of our departed brothers could be spoken, than to call attention to the principles, the professed ten- principles and teachings, they, by reason of their membership, pro- claimed to the world that they be- lieved in and were guided by. The creed of the Elk is ‘the fatherhood of God—the brotherhood of man’; his faith the living words of the Prince of Peace; his charity as broad and general as the pure air’ Eschewing every semblance ““To think of them lovingly and to speak of them justly, “To realize their usetulness and to phrase our gratitude. of sectarianism, on every lodge alter is found the Holy Bible; and to make apparent the factthat the order is distinetly American, our alters are first draped with the stars jfrom the words of an ents of the order of Elks, whichj and stripes and we are taught that the destiny of our order is linked with the destiny of our country. “Our ritual impresses us with the glory of the flag and reminds us that the gentle breezes with lingering caress kiss the folds of no flag which can compass with it in beauty; that there is no suchred in budding rose, in falling leaf or sparkling wine; no such white in April blossom, in crescent moon or mountain snow; no such blue in woman’s eye, ocean’s depth or heaven’s dawn and no such pageantry of clustering light in 4 all the spectrum of the sea and sky. “Mighty things have been accom- plished in this, the latest born of the nations, during its existence of but little more than one hundred years, tand yet, it has been well said, ‘we are entering upon a new era of which the twentieth century will be the beginning and for which the Nine- teenth century has been a prepara- tion.’ “Progress is the law of the Ameri- can race which stands for all that is best of all the races. Truly we are a people that know no rest. Was it McCauley who said, ‘A point which yesterday was invisible is the goal today and will be the starting point tomorrow? Something which is now dimly foreshadowed may be gleaned eloquent churchman: ‘We can but believe that singular mission is assigned to America, glorious for ourselves and beneficent to the whole race,’—that of bringing forth a new social and political order, based more than any other, upon the common brother- hood of man, and, more than any other, securing to the multitude of the people social happiness and equality of rights.’ ¢Can 1t be doubted that in the fultillment of this prophecy, the accomplishment of the stupendous work, for which one hundred years has been but a pezriod of prepara- tion, that the institution of Elk-{ dom will prove a potent factor? This fraternity with 1its organiza- tion extending to every part of America, numbering among its adherents representatives of every calling—the toiler for daily bread, no less than men of letters and of great affairs—actuated and in- spired by the highest motives knowr. to man, will stand for stability in government, for relig- ous toleration—the freedom alike of belief and of unbelief—for the largest measure of liberty—liberty regulated and restrained by law— and for all that the sure test of time has shown to be the best in what makes up the warp and woof of our splendid civilization. “In a word, the great mission of our order will be accomplished, in part, by conserving, not destroying, that which it has cost our race the sleepless endeavor of centuries to achieve. The teachings of our order are pure and holy, designed to im- press every member with the highest conception of those duties which every man owes to himself, to his fellow man and to his God; to ad- monish him that he owes to himself the sacred duty of refraining from all those indulgences which tend to impair his faculties and degrade his bemg “To his fellow man he is taught to act upon the principles of brotherly love and to always re- member that the unity and harmony which prevades the union should form couspicuous elements in the human character The true signi- ficance of the word charity is known to none better than to the members of our order and the blessed influence of brotherly love and charity prompt every Elk to those noble deeds of benevolence which give joy and gladness to many a weary, sad and sorrowing heart. “The charity which characterizes an EIk is not that which is limited to simple gifts and contributions of money, but that true charity which extends beyond these to all the wants of the great brotherhood of mankind. When the cold and pitiless storms of a selfish, unfeeling world beat upon the heart, the genuine charity of an Elk throws around it the broad mantle of brotherly love and affection and causes' the soul of the recipient to overflow with grati- tude and joy. If a brother is led astray by the erring propensities of his nature, that same brand of charity prompts the true Elk to remind bim, of his faults, kindly admonish him and to .| that has been bereft of some loved aid in his reformation. Thl! same charity. enters the house ‘'of mourning and there to the saddened heart one presents the cup of sympathy and affection. And further as: Elks, we teach that charity which speaks] no unkind word, harbors no evil thought, and bears no malice or revenge—that charity ‘whlch‘ nur- tures, loves and protects, ‘which con dones, forgives and forgets. “I hold the statement to be con- spiciously true that selfishness more than any other trait of the human character is the source of the greater portion of our misery and discon- tent; it destroys all happiness in those who yield to its coutrol; takes away even the capacity for' happi- ness and causes them to dlsregard the happiness of those with whom they associate. The world’s history is little less than a panorama of wars, strife, bloodshed and misery— all the work of the selfish nature. an’s inhumanlty to man. * ‘Makes countless thousands mourn,’ “These selfish tendencies in their unreasonable demand for gratifica- tion, disregard the true interests of man, subject him to their tyfannical sway, and finally sink him into degradation and ruin. < At the same time his moral nature is constantly urging him to deny himself. to restrain these selfish tendencies and rise above their demands; to obey the dictates of his conscience and follow a course of benevolence. *“This is the battle of life which is waging in the breast of every indi- vidual. Than this, no more import- ant battle is ever fought. “Alexander conquored the world, and wept, it is said, because' these were not other worlds. to conquor. But this selfish naturé conquored Alexander and caused him to die in a drunken revelry in the streets of Babylon. Ceesar, fired by the love of coun- try, led the Roman legions through a thoasand battles to a thousand victories; - love of self- ambition led Czsar beyond the limits of patriotism, induced him to commit the fatal act of appropriating to himself the crown of Roman government, and thus caused his own downfall. * “Napoleon dethroned kings and emperors and held ‘ther cafitives at his will. His selfish nature, ambi- tion, gained control of his splendid intellect, swept him beyond his ap- pointed bounds, and thus led to his defeat and banishment. “All along the pages of the world’s history we see whete her conspicuous men, her greatest poets, orators, philosophers and statesmen have gone down in this conflict, beneath the power of this destroyer of their best hopes and highest inter- ests. Men, everywhere, today over- come the obstacles to what they consider success, then yielding to the demands of this selfish nature, utterly fail to fulfill every useful mission in life, and die’ unwept, un- honored and unsung; leaving behind them no fit memorial. “No one will dispute my conten- tion that life’s greatest victory is to so gain control of this selfish nature that it may be subordinate to the cultivation and development of the moral faculties, so that they may assert their superiority, and tbereby establish in the individual true man- hood. And every institution, so- ciety or order is beneficial in its ultimate results just in the propor- tion that it enlists, encourages and assists the individual to fight this battle and to gain this victory. Show me an institution that.demands, upon its very threshold, an unquali- fied commitment of its initiate to the ends of charity and- benevo- lence, to the emulation of the prin- ciples of brotherly love; -which de- mands that hé enter fully into the contest, determined to urge an unre- lenting war against this selfish nature, and I will at once show you an institution founded in a wise and beneficient philosophy. “And such, my friends, in the highest degree is the Benevelant and Protective Order of Elks. No man can become famlliar with the Elk ritual, attend:- the meetings of the order,and breathe the atmosphere that surrounds -him, associate with those imbued with the principles this inculcated, and fail to respond in some degree to these tenents. “While our greatness and granduer as a nation is being imperiled by this apalling love of self, there are thousands of citizens who are being taught, at the alters of the Elks, those lessons of life thatare calcula- ted to lift them above the poisonous vapors of selfishness and array them as living conservitors of all that tends to promote -civil lib- erty, as enemies to oppression and as benefactors of the human race. “I speak, ;thus, perhaps at too great length, of the principles and teachings of our order, not for the purpose of imposing our creed and our belief upon those present who are not Elks, but, as before stated, to call attention to some of the principles professed and emulated by : MEN OF “THIRD ESTATE' MET AND “REASONED TOGETHER” Great Northern Editorial Association Elected Officers and Decided to Spend Entire Week’s Outing in Bemidji Next June.--Many Interesting Papers Read. The first annual meeting of the Great Northern ~Editorial associa- tion was held in Wadena Friday evening, December 4, and part of Saturday, December 5, and a per- manent organization perfected, the association having been started at an informal meeting of the editors along the Sauk Center-Bemidji line of the Great Northern railway at a meeting held at Park Rapids last June. The following editors were present: A. M. Wells, Sauk Center Herald; P.S. Dorsey, Deer Creek Mirror; A. W, Sheets, Todd County Argus; Rudolph Lee, Long Prairie Demo- crat; W. E. Hutchinson, Todd County News; I. C. Courtright, Bertha Headlight; H. M. Hender- son, Verndale Sun; C. C. Eastman and F. A. Swindlehurst, Wadena Pioneer-Journal; M. E. Isherwood, Sebeka Review; F. A. Dare, Walker Pilot; and C. J. Pryor, Bemidji Daily Pioneer. The meeting was called to order in the parlors of the Merchants Hotel at 7 o’clock Friday evening, when President Rudolph Lee gave his address to the association. Mr. Lee said in part: “I am glad to have the privilege of calling to order the first regular| meeting of our editorial association. I am glad to note that the attend- ence here tonight is so large. “Iam glad to note the interest among the newspaper brethren, because it indicates a desire for a little closer working relation also a desire that we become better acqualnted with one another. Our association was born largely of the thought of the moment, and, like many another good and useful organization, it grew out of a meet- ing called for an altogether different purpose. I can see a very useful future ahead for the Great Northern Editorial association, because if it is the wish of the editors living within the state, the association may be made to live and flourish. { “A local association such as ours would be can be made ot more immediate and direct benefit to its members than can a larger associa- tion which necessarily cannot con-! cern itself with conditions strictly| local in nature. “I believe, therefore, that if the members of this association, desire to recognize it, we have an. oppor- i dependent newspaper. consideration of local matters effect- ing the general newspaper environ- ment of the térritory that it will de- velop into an agency for the happy solution of many of our harder problems.” Herald then read an interesting paper, from the Standpoint of the Paper’s Prestige and a Financial orosperity,” Mr. Welles discussed at length the conditions confronting the in- He said’ “Though the Americsn voters used to vote the ticket straight he doesn’t do so any more. A glance in Ohin, New York, Indiana, North Dakota, Missouri and in cur own North Star state is enough to con- vince the most skeptical that the split ticket’ was in evidence to a ! very grealer extent then ever before. The Australian ballot started a few things, the primary election law helped; the dictation of party bosses produced the finished product. The American voter has atlast come into his own. “Many view with alarm the tend- ency to independent voting. While I would not, for a° moment think of abolishing party leaders or party organization, yet I believe that the independent voter is the safety valve of American politics. He is causing the party managers to sit up and take notice and forcing them to noniinate clean men by honorable methods; and conduct campaigns in which the search light shall reveal no“dark places. He is the direct cause of the standard of the political morals being raised to a higher plane and into a purer atmosphere. “The independent newspaper is a corollary of the preceding proposi- tion. People no ‘longer pin their faith entirely or blindly to the paper whose god is party. The partisan organ supresses much valuable news especially during a heated campaign, while much that it does publish is so colored as to be urreliable. “The newspaper should be fair; as a party organ it isnot. It can be| if it wants to,but it generally doesn’t want to. “There is a steadily growing demand by the reading public for full information. It wants to read both sides. gate before forming its opinion. The partisan _newspaper as a rule, prints only one side—its own side. tunity for the discussion and the The independent newspaper gives A. M. Welles, of the Sauk Center | paper on “The Independent News-| at the returns from the late election ! The desire to investi-| both sides. “The editorial utterances of the party organ lauds the candidate of its own party, generally regardless of their character or ability. While, if it gives anything about the op- position candidate it either belittles them or throws mud at them. An independent newspaper; not being allied with either party, can, in “its editorial column discuss questions rand candidates from an unbiased | standpoint, fmrly and without fear or favor, urging the support of those which it believes are the best men ang the best things to be voted for. To secure the public’s confidence and respect, the newspaper must first show that it is sincere in its- advocacy of men and measures. It | must demonstrate that it is some- thing besides a mere organ; it must elucidate the fact that its opinions are its own, and not bought and ’paid for, either with sordid gold or i promise of government position. or preferment. It must stand for the right things and the best inter.s's, {and be at all times the champion of | the people. It is my honest opinion that a newspaper, continued along these lines cannot fail to establish for itself the highest prestige. “A solution of the problems of the success of the independent news- paper lies with the ‘plain people.’ and not with the party managers, political bosses, ward healers, or selt-appionted dictators. The peo- ple constitute the court of last resort. Let a newspaper once convince the people that it is honest; that .it is fair; that its utterances are its own; that it is their friend and the people will stay with it to the last ditch. That’s where the greatest prestige is obtained.” Mr. Welles’ paper contained many more valuable suggestions, . but space will not permit the re- publication thereof. A. G. Rutledge, managing editor of the Bemidji Daily Pioneer, was unable to be present at the meeting, owing to illness, and his paper, | “The Passing of the Tramp Printer,” | was read by the secretary. Mr. Rutledge deplored the fact | that the all-around man was rapidly | passing from the ranks of the printers of the present day. iFew of the men now employed in the printing offices can perform more than one kind of labor. It { was differeat in the olden days, when | men leamed the trade -by starting |in as “devil” and going through the { entire list from compositor, pressman Continued on Last Page] Mail Orders Re- ceive Prompt Attention Kerseys, 315 Watch Our Windows (Continued on last page.) Clothing House “Correct Dress for Men.” BEAUTIFUL LONG COMFORTABLE Overcoats Metons, Over 200 of them now on sale at a positive saving to you. Overcoals of character that involve detail of the most high-grade taxlormn They are classy overcoats in every way. 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