Morning journal and courier., 1880-05-20
Odd Fellowship.
Highly Prosperous Condition of the Order -Dues and Benefits-Facts and Figures -The Annual Session of the Grand Lodge-EIectiono of Officers.

B6nGnGS-HacLS
 -The Annual Session of the Grand
 LodGe-EIection of Officers.
 The annual session of the Grand Lodge, l. O. O. F., was held in this city yesterday, | at the Atheneum Seldom if ever was there larger attendance at session of this honor able and dignifed body, which is composed of men of weight and influence selected from the respective lodges in the State. As shown by the reports yesterday, Odd Fellowship in Connecticut has an aggregate membership of | nearly 7,200. The meeting attended to the | reception and consideration of the reports of I the grand officers, which show the order to | be in fiourishing and satisfactory condition. The matter of dues and benefits came up for | consideration in 8 case presented in the l Grand Masters report. Seventy-eight new members were added or initiated during the day. The meeting of the body was, as usual, with closed doors, open to none but mem bers Outside the door upon chair lay a heap of red I. o. o. F. collars, each member wearing one of these membership tokens
 while in..the lodge. None but Past Brands, or those having held the highest chair in sub
 ordinate lodge are eligible to sitting in the
 Grand Lodge. Near by was the ante-room,
 where more regalias were bestowed. These
 were the only visible marks to the outside
 world, while the brethren sat in session, of the
 meeting except the presence at the door of
 the outside officer wearing the mystic tokens
 of the order. The morning session broke up
 at about 12, when dinner was served to many
 members down below at Miller's, and others
 repaired elsewhere, many also becoming the
 guests of brethren in the city. There were
 many greetings at intermission among old Odd
 Fellows whom..the ties of personal frie ndship
 formed at some Odd Fellows gathering in
 years gone by drew again together. On the
 platform of the hall lay bundles of the report
 of the last years meeting of the Grand Lodge,
 and of copies of the constitution and bylaws,
 which each member armed himself with and few read The Grand Masters report showed
 that the gain in membership was 286; the
 gain in revenue was $2, 239 69; there was
 paid for necessary expenses $3,1 179 37 less
 than the year previous; the relief account
 shows $157 O2 less expended; the average expense per member was trife less than
 $3 27 against $4 O5 the preceding year. The membership reported January 1 was 6,961; by special reports the actual membership May 1 was 7,192.
 The meeting for instruction held in this city June was attended by representatives of all districts except Nos 3, 10, 13, 15, 16 IS, 19, 20 and 36. Since the inauguration of
 these meetings great improvement is per | ceptible in the work of the order. The only 1 exception to the favorable report of the condition of the order was Stonington Lodge, where an overhauling was recommended. l Among the appeals decided by the Grand I Master were the following: An appeal by J W Price, P G. of Pacific Lodge No 87, from I the decision of District Deputy Grand Master Pardew on the question of the legal right of 1 the lodge to restrict its members to thirteen l weeks benefit in each term. The appeal was I originally taken from the decision of the N | G of said lodge to the lodge itself, but the l lodge sustaining the N G, the appeal was
 then taken to the District Deputy Grand 1 Master, who also sustaining the former de- cisions, the case was then brought to me.
 I rendered my decision, sustaining the appeal of Brother Past Grand w Price against | the conclusions of the lodge, and the District | Deputy Grand Master, believing that the law l requires that some stipulated benefit should 1 be paid a sick brother during the continu- l ance of such sickness or disability. From l this decision an appeal has been taken to 1 you.
 l An appeal of Brother Past Grand E D 1 Ritton from the decision of the district l 1 right of said lodge to charge the fine for non | attendance at funerals, as provided in their | bylaws against brothers for failing to attend l the funeral of a transient brother buried by 1 that lodge. In looking the case over found
 it rested entirely upon the interpretation of 1 the bylaw in question, and inasmuch as the l lodge had decided upon two occasions l subsequent to the funeral that they considered 1 said bylaw empowered the lodge to impose 1 the fine therein provided, I thought it my 1 duty to reverse the decision of the district 1 deputy grand master and sustain the lodge. l believe they are the most competent to | judge of their own laws and to interpret the 1 same where such interpretation does not ] conflict with the principles of the order or the laws as emanating from the Grand Lodge. l The petition of members of the order in l Guilford for resuscitation of Menuncatuck l Lodge No. 62 was granted.
 In commenting upon the fact that but one l dormant lodge, Menuncatuck of Guilford,
 was resuscitated during the year, the Grand l Master advised that the Grand Lodge pay the | tary Botsford and that he devote himself to ! the work of reviving old lodges, a work for 1 which he was eminently qualified
 1 In the matter of dues and benefits the 1 Grand Master thought there should be amore 1 equal adjustment of the same, and he called | the attention of the meeting to the subject, l that the lodges may so arrange the ratio 1 of the one to the other that they may be 1 enabled to meet and fulfill all their engage l ments to their members and place themselves upon solid ground financially. The Grand l Master strongly favored making the terms of 1 office in the subordinate lodges yearly instead l of half yearly as at present. It would give | the officers a chance to learn their duties l more thoroughly, and would also do away 1 with the overcrowding of the Grand Lodge 1 and consequently the necessity of adopting l the representative system.
 l ha of of aIa a11a1 oil l that was new was the announcement that 1 New Haven Lodge No. 3 had surrendered 1 its charter and that loss of nearly 600 l members was reported during the year. The report called attention to the death of Brother Lucius Thomas, Past Grand Sec l retary, who died May 22d last, and said that l to the list of noble names that formed the
 vanguard of Odd Fellowship in this State his must be added. E W Sholes, P. G., who
 died at New London on the 27th instant, was l also kindly referred to.
 1 In closing the Grand Master made excellent l valedictory remarks.
 Grand Secretary Botsford in opening his l report made congratulatory remarks regarding 1 the condition and progress of the order. The present number of subordinate lodges in this | jurisdiction is fifty-three. One Menuncatuck l No 62 of Guilford, has been resuscitated | since my last report to the Sovereign Grand Lodge in January last. The total re- 1 ceipts of subordinates for 1879 amounted to I 67,743 26, from which has been paid out, for
 relief 27,341 O1; for ordinary expenses 1 22, ,666 Fl and for extraordinary expenses 5,788 O2-a total of 55, 795 74, leaving 1 receipts over expenditures of 11,947 52. The extraordinary expenses are larger than
 usual owing largely to the fitting up of two
 new and beautiful halls, one for Steuben
 Lodge No-88 in Bridgeport, and the other in Birmingham for Ousatonic Lodge No G. We | trust the brethren in the above named
 localities may long enjoy their elegant and convenient lodge homes.
 The membership is as follows:
 Number, January 1, 1879. 79..........-.-......6,675 Initiated during the year.. 586 Admitted by cards. s....................... 4S
 Reinstated. Withdrawn by card. ard......................... 57 Suspended for non payment of dues. ...... 26O Expelled. 13 Deceased. -..---....-........... 59 3s9 Total membership January l, 1S80.. 6961 Decrease in membership during the year, 286