Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1876-05-02
Odd Fellowship.

On the evening Of the lith of April, Past Grand
Mark Harden. the Financial Secretary of Asylum
Lodge of Odd Fellows in this city, made an adj
dress TO the lodge, Of which we make the follow
ing abstract, as it contains matters Of interest to
the fraternity:
The third anniversary of Asylum Lodge No 20,
I. 0. O. + of this city, occurs on the 18th inst.
Beginning with some half dozen members, II has
increased to the number of sixty three. Daring
this time twelve have withdrawn and Joined other
lodges, and one has been expelled, leaving fifty
now in membership. The total amount of money
paid into the treasury has been Sl59l 50; amount
donated for charitable relief, S36i.60. The mum
Der of weeks sickness for which benefits were paid
has been eight; the amount paid for same Sl7 %,
The number of nights watching with sick are
thirty-two. Quite a portion of the funds have
been used for furnishing lodge room, regala, and
current expenses, which now amount to about hf-
ty dollar. per annum. while the revenue for the
same time is about five hundred dollars.
The Lodge at this time is entirely free from
debt, with two permanent fumes established, one
constituting the General Fund, and the other the
Widow and Orphans Fund. The weekly meet
ings have been well attended. and the Lodge con-
Germs conducted with the utmost harmony. 1t is
now upon a sound basis, and the future outlook is
quite favorable.
The order of Odd Fellows has been established
in this country ffiyseven years the 10Th inst, and
has proved TO be one ofthe greatest benevolent and
charitable institutions of its time, as reference to
its numerical and financial strength will show. The
following statistics have been compiled from off,
cial reports of the order In this country there
are at this time s. Grand Lodges 40 Grand En-
campments, 65l3 Subordinate Lodges, l7S6 Sub
ordinate Encampments. The number of Lodge
members does not vary much from one half mil
lion. The number Of EncampmeDt members
numbers SS,440. There are also Lodges and
Grand Lodges of this Order in Australia Chile,
Germany, Peru, Sandwich Islands, Switzerland,
New Mexico, Washington Territory Quebec, and
London, Eng, which are not included in the
above statistics. Four thousand members died in
1875 Six thousand widowed families and 10, 900
orphans are under the fraternal care of the Order.
The whole humber of limitations from 1880 to 1874
in this country, nearly one million; Of these
nearly seven hundred thousand received relief;
nearly one hundred thousand widowed families
were relieved. The whole revenue of the Order
was nearly fifty-sx million dollars, while the total
amount expended for relief in the time referred to,
| reached the enormous sum Of twenty million
dollars, but this period embraces the early estab-
| lishmen Of the order. when its numbers and OPP
| erations were upon comparatively small scale
| In 1874 the revenue Of the Order was four and a
| half million doars, and the amount expended for
| relief exceeded the sum of one and a half million
| dollars.
The two prominent points of the order are
| "Fraternjty" and Mutual Relief" so that beyond
this long array of figures, not to be expressed il
dollars and cents, lie the thousand acts OF human
ity prompted by the highest and best ideals of oul
| ature from the kind word and good counsel, t.
the omen assistance in trouble, the tender care il
sickness, The sympathiz ng sorrow in death, thu
| comfort to the widow and the support of the or
phans, arc all met with the most perfectly organ
| lied measures, and more like the machinery o
some stupendous mechanical work.
|