The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-04-27

Wheeling with great unanimity. The
day. dawned clear and beautiful, and
early in the morning the people COM
menced collecting on the streets. 1t
was, evident frem the start. that the
,day wsa , 10 be observed al
most universally as 3 holiday. The
city was decorated with bunting, fes
ICONS and garlands from one end to an
other.
BRIEF HISTORY OF oDDFELLowsHIP.
The following is brief history of Odd
Fellowship in Englsnd and America:
The 26th of April is day which is as
much thought Of by MEM
bers of the fraternity as
any national holiday by the American
people al a body, not excepting the
Fourth of July. From societies Of mech
anics and laborers which existed in Lon.
don, and in fact in various parts o. Eng
land, sprsnge this new and powerful or.
ganizatior. Their meetings were gen.
orally of q cornwall nature, and the men,
bers were, bound to each other by no
closer tiet; than that OF good fellowship
and every day friendship They had
adopted i system Of grips and pass
words, ea:h however peculiar 10 its own
association in imitation of the sigas, etc,
in vogue among Masons. As their
meeting Eere, however, convivial, it is
probable Siat these were only used as u
protectiorAfrom outsiders. They styled
themselves "Ancient and Honorable
Loyal Ods Fellows" and from these as
sociations Sprang the "Union Order OF
Oddd Eel :)ws,' the associations being in
this insts nee united throughout the
Kingdom, with headquarters in London.
Attempts made to abolish the cornwall
character of the Order caused disension
among the organizations which culum-
mated in the year 1913 by the formation
and establishment of the "Independent
Order of Odd Fellows" or as it is per-
haps better known rs the Manchester
Unity. 1t was then the orgaiZation Of
Odd Fellowship assumed the character of
benevolent and proyident association,
whose object it was stated to be Ito rem
der assistance to every brother who may
apply through distress, sickness, or
otherwise, if he be well attached to the
Government and Queen and faithful to
the Order" The Manchester Unity
became a success, and to-day numbers a
full halt million inhabitants of England.
The Ancient and Honorable Loyal Odd
Fellows still exist in localities through.
out the kingdom, but they are at best a
feeble organization, answering more the
description of an everyday club tor
pleasure. Although the powerful organ.
lzation of /. o. .. +. in America is an
outgrowth OF the English society, there
is no connection, bond of unity or recog-
milton between the Orders. Several at
tempts have been made by representative
American Odd Fellows, delegated by the
Grand Lodge of the United States, to
bring about coalition, but their oyer
lures have in every instance been re-
jected.
The range of action and scope of
benevolence of the Order as it exists in
this country is much broader and more
complete than that of the Order in
England, embracing, as it does, not on y
the relief of the brethren in distress, but
the burylng of the dead and the care of
the widow and the orphan. Many poor
widow, burdened in her struggle through
life with the care of helpless children,
has cause to bless the day when this
noble Order found existence, as the 6nan-
cial statistics OF the workings
of the organization, which We
produce further on, will show. 1t
is of Oddfellowship in America that
we have particularly to speak to-day.
To look back fifty seven years 70 the lit
tie gathering in Baltimore, when Tho
mas Wildey, duly empowered by the
Grand Lodge of the Manchester Unity
with four other men, instituted in tho
city of Baltimore Washington Lodge
No. l, l. o. U. f., and then 10 realize to-
day the presence of this vast brother
hood, with its membership OF half
million, the mind is lost in contempla-
ton Of the rspidity with which the mus
tard-seed dropped by the wayside multi
plies and propagates. The Inauguration we
| nave mentioned was the beginning, and
the charter under which they convened
was procured from Yorke Lodge. Pres-
tor, England Boston, Philadelphia and
, New York soon after introduced the
new Order, and in 1926 the Grand Lodge
of the United States was duly chartered
and given sole jurisdiction over subordi.
nate Lodges in this country. Then en-
sued the cessation OF dependence upon
the English brotherhood. Since then
Lodges have been instituted in every
Stote and Territory Of the UnieD, and
emigrating brethren have spread
the cause in Germany, throug bout
the Canadas, South America (particu-
larly, Chill and PERU Switzerland, the
Hawaiian Islands, Sandwich Islands,
New Zealand and Australia, until now
the Grand Lodge of the United States
holds sway over six thousand subordi-
nate lodges, with a membership of but q
few thousand short Of a half million.
The last report of the Right Worthy
Secretary of the Grand Lodge shows an
expenditure for relief alone Of 81, $685.
635 Al against total revenue of 81, 5ll,-
655.49. The aggregate wealth of the Or
der in real estate, etc, is something
enormous.
CELEBRATION IN WHEELING.
This day is never allowed to pass without
appropriate observance. As the Order is
in the most tiourishing and prosperous
condition here, the day was observed &C.
cordingly. AS we stated in the COM
mencement ut this article the city was
decorated with flags and notices and
by P. NJ. the principal streets were so
crowded with people that pedestrianism