Daily national Democrat., 1860-07-28
hours mat ought to have been devoted to better
purposes, were spent wholly in nocturnal oroirs
and even indecent blasphemes
nSne social HE. and nlnn ~ dn,un

hours that ought TO have been devoted In beftar
purposes, were spent wholly in nocturnal orgies
and even indecent blasphenles
"See social life, and gce sit down
All joyous and unthinkinp
Tilquite transmogriticd they're grown,
Debauchory and drinking"
1t became absolutely Indispensable to reform
these abuses, and as this could not be effected IN.
side of the organization it then existed a larro
number Of the most respectable Brethren with.
drew, and started the L9fe0qleat order in The
year 1919
1t is not my design to trace the history Of the
several attempts to plant the Order on this side Of
the Atlantic, and therefore pass them all AS NIB.
oruVe, uhUl 1hom W ildey, a blacksmith by
trade, on the 26th day Of April 1919. inserted in
the papers published in Baltimore. q call for a
meeting Of Odd Fellows ut the "Sevcn Stars
Tavern on second street in that city. lust for
ty-one years ago the Parent Lodge was formed
OF which we are an oifshoot and the name happ.
! ~ given IL OF washington Lodge No |. This
lodge at first consisted Of but five persons barely
enough to constitute a working lodge; but within
an incredibly short period its members rpacbnd
thousands, and from that day to the present the
march of the Order has been onward and inward
and is onward still. At first an ntten,ot was
made to unite the Order IN the two countries I'M
der some general head and such was in fact
partly accomplished. But the arrogant claims of
the Manchester branch continuing to grow. as the
Order increased in prosperity in America il was
deemed eXpedIent to sever the connection entire
y; and accordingly in the year 1913 the Grand
Lodge OF the u. 5. formally dissolved all union of
any KIND with the Manchester unity and declared
itself the only fountain ana depository Of Indc.
pendent Odd Fellowship on the globe
This claim was recognized by Texas whilst that
State was foreign Republic; although bv British
Canada, and more recently by the Sandwich IS.
lands, and the entire population Of British Aus
tralla. In spite OF this separation however the
very best feeling is preserved between the Grand
Lodges OF the two countries, and both new cheer.
fully admit that the Independence of the two
unions bave contributed to the general prosperity
OF the whole Order 1t is impossible to state with
accuracy the exact number of Lodges affiliated
with the Grand Lodge Of the United States. as the
number daily increases, and keeps pace with the
onward march Of our wealth and population.
1t is enough to know that there are between four
and five thousand Lodges in the T. s. and her
territories with an aggregate OF not less than half
million members. The wealth Of the Lodges
may be set down at fifty millions of dollars and
the annual receipts at two and one half millions.
Whilst there is annually expended in char ties.
burlas and offerings, no less than one million of
dollars.
In California The prosperity of the Order has
been truly astonishing. In less than thirteen
years, since the first meeting was held in the old
adobe at San Francisco, presided over bv DR.. Z.
2. Jones, and the first Lodge Organized. not less
than nnety-five Lodges have been constituted.
embracing four thousand members with an annu.
allncomc OF over one hundred thousand dollars,
and an annual expenditure in charitable objects Of
not less than thirty thousand dollars.
Such then is short synopsis Of the condition
OF our order, as it now exists. How rapid has
been its march, how wonderful it strides, how
glorious its cOnquests Who can tell how many
iiresides it has frightened, how many broken
hearts consoled, how many orphans redeemed
from beggary and crime, how many sick beds
eomfored, how many dying eyes closed, how
many lonely graves visited wept over and adorn-
cd. And yet wonderful as it may appear all these
amazing effects have been brought abont by the
activity aud exerions Of that once obscure aud
humble blacksmith, who forty-one years ago as
sembled with four Brethren in the little attic of
the "Scveu Stars Tavern" at Baltimore.
No longer obscure, Thomas Wildey occupies
position 70 which enperors mi 1ht aspire IN vain.
Ills pane is already associated with the iormost
friends and beneiactOrs of the humun race. 1t
has been written side by side that of Father Mat
thew WI.bertOroe and Howard. 1t will be emblu-
zoned upon the pages of history, aud he will be
regarded in all coming tine as the prime mover
in that great moral reformation which has Olsen
thraled religion of its sects dethroaed vice from
its pedestal and drawn out the stings from widow
hood, orphahage, and despair; and without OK
aggoTaton 1t may be said Of him as it was Of
kune's greatest patriot:
Nothing can cover his high fame but Heaven;
No pyramid set off his memories,
But tie eternal substance Of his greatness"
Brethren of the Order: In concluding my re-
marks, turn with pleasure to yourselves. What
soever the outside world may think Of us how
ever willing some may be to lnsconatruc our
acts, our Objects and our principles; whatever
may be their reception in the minds of the preiu.
| diced, the ignorant ana tie uuustructcd know
that there win be no filtering no hesitation. ne
turning back With you. Your course will be rinht
onward, no matter what the consequences. The
walls Of the ediiice, whose cornerstone YOU have
this day laid, VIII continue to rise, untff they
meet the sun in his coming" Your good work
will still continue whatsoever may be the vicSsi-
tudes Of the seasons, the changes Of opinions, or
the fate Of governments. FAMINE may stride with
gaunt and skeleton footsteps over the land pes
thence may deo;mate our cities, villages and
towns wars may desOlate our fields, and deluge
our valleys in blo0d-and even revolution, the
work OF treason, tanaticism, or technical hate
may shake the majestic columns from their base
which now support with so much grace and so
much glory, the dome of our Union. Still YOU
will be found steady to your purpose and faithful
to your trust. In the midst Of famine your hands
woudfec the hungry, in the midst Of pestilcnce
your presence would comfort the dying and con-
would bind up the wounds of the patriot and bury
the bones of the martyred and should that omin-
Gus day ever come (Which God in his mercy avert
forever from the annals of our country when
State after State shall secede and star after star
expire even then you would rise up superior to
times ylcisstudes, and shape out from the ruins
of your country that other and that better Repub-
lie, the BrotherhQod OF man