The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-04-26
Order rest upon its own character for doing

Order rest upon its own character for dOinI
good, AND be ju5geA'Oft heFebyss =
The Glowing extract which.we tax
bOm thu report of Ne R. W. Grand Rep
Tesentdtives of the Grand Lhdge of thi
State 10 the Grand Lodge q the Unite,
etAtebs will show that the members @
the Order may well be cOntented that i
shall be judged Of by its own labOrs il
the cause Of huInanity-pay veil be prou'
to point to the acts Of the Order as indi
eating its character and purposes. Tn
Representatives say: "From q tabula
statement furnished by the r. W. Gram
Cor. and Rec. Secretary, we find that
while in the year 1880, there were bu
fifty-eight Subordinate Lodges of the In
dependent Order of Odd Fellows on thi
continent there were, at the close Of tn
year 1860, working under the jurisdiction
Of the Crane. Lodge of the United States
three thousand five hundred and forty
eight Subordinate Lodges; and that t
relieve the sick and distressed, bury tn,
dead and educate the orphan thes,
Lodges have paid out eight millions fou
hundred and seventy-eight thousand fv'
hundred and twenty eight dollars and for
" one cents which is exclusive OF contri
buttons outside, & the Order, during choI
era and other epidemics, GdA6uMtiNg 70 I
very considerable amount"
What Unreasonable good has here beer
,dGAsA, AN4wAhs what ssSisSseiScA MNS
the members Of the Order refer to the re
cord Of their deeds as q Specification o
what their Order is!
As q benevolent institution, Odd Eel
lOwship is admirably organized, both with
a view to moral culture and the relief o
physical evil. 1t proceeds upon the grea,
principle Of equality, disregards the arti
fetal distinctions of society, and places al
its members upon one and the same level
The advantages Of birth, wealth and sta
ton, have no weight in its estimate Of the
man; personal worth being only considered
when any of its privileges are conferred
1t Is only by means S social CrnMslSa1ifON
upon perfect equality, by complete free
dom in action and thought, by unrestrain
ed friendly intercourse, that confidence
and sympathy and friendship and all the
finer feelings Of mans nature, all the pu
rer affections Of his soul, can be brought
into their proper play. and raised to that
SO unerringly indicated by ma
ture. In the Lodge room the members
are all brothers nor are they suffered Ia
throw off the obligations which flow from
this relation, with the regalia in which
they are clothed. The duties toward each
other are deeply impressed upon the
minds of the members by precept, by ex'
ample, by solemn sanction, and if any
one violates these, she must atone to the
laws" Vice, in all its forms, is
warred upon virtue, in any shape, CON-
mended by Odd Fellows.
Disturbing none of the relations of its
to society, interfering with no
interest Of government or religion, pro-
"peace on earth and good will
towards all men," the object-a great and
glorious one-of the Order is to "liberate
man from the dominion of his low and
groveling passions, inspire him with ele-
Vated conceptions of his nature and his
destiny, and make him contented and
happy, by teaching him to live true
to himself, his neighbor, his country, his
God" The doctrine of peace it encour-
ages, the prccep:s of morality it incul-
Gates, admirably fit man for a good and
pure member Of society. To the teach,
ings of virtue, Odd Fellows are admonish.
ed, nay, commanded, to pay strict regard
and they are taught, upon their first en-
trance into the Lodge room, the benefits
to DC derived from paying attention to the
and are likewise impressed
with the severity of the penalty should
such teachings he disregarded.
Fully convinced Of the greatness Of the
prize for which they are striving" the
Of man over himself, of moral.
" over vice-reasOn over errOr-inno.
cence over crime"-Odd Fellows, advising
each other with perfect candor, proceed
upon their mission with that ennobling
and joyful feeling, which the conscious.
ness Of a rectitude Of purpose and an en-.
in high and holy cause impart
to the heart, causing it to expand with
love toward their brothers-the human
race.
But we have already extended this arti
Gle to too great a length, and are compelled
for want of space, to forego more minute
delineation of the precepts Of the Order
Pleasing it would be to us, were we stu
ated so to do, to speak particularly of the
many beauties to be found in the Order
of the many exccllencies embraced in its
principles and of the many beneficial re
suits flowing from its organization. Ir
we will only refer to the ir
reparable loss the Order has sustained
within the last year, in the death of P. G
S., Thomas Wildey. Universally mourn
ed by Odd Fellows, Father Wildey, as ht
was afectionately called by them, has
passed to his long home, to reap, we hope
the reward of his phiIanthropic acts while
on earth. His zeal in the cause Of Ode
Fellowship-Friendship, Love and Truth
Faith, Hope and Charity-entitles him tC
the appellation of good and pure man
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