Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-12-05

| Brother RidgeIy entered heart and soul into
the scheme uushed it with characteristic
energy when the building was under constitute
ton and the funds gave out, advanced $500
1 out of his own pocket. and finally had the
great 10y of meeting with bis brethren II
| hall owned by the Order, dedicated by the
Order to the uses and purposes Of the Order.
| At this date, 1885, he may be said to have be-
| come fully identified with the cause of Odd
| Fellowship, and in his own language to have
Thereby fixed his earthly destiny" and We
may add " his heavenly reward" From
thenceforwsrd his life became blended with
that of toe Order. In 1881 he for the frs.
time met with the Grand Lodge OF the
| United States; and continuously thereafter,
until his feeble frame No longer permitted him
| the pleasure, he attended that august body.
In 1856 he was upon the Committee on
the Revision Of the Ritual, and gave to that
work his days and nights ceageiessly and low
| lngly, aiming then, as he ever did thereafter,
to improve and whers necessary iprune the
work. seeking to redeem il from the cruoltes
necessarily attendant upon its youth, to purify
it from the unrestrained social clement ana
guiding it step by step towards It's present
grand elimination az the most perfect ana
| bent fcent of all attempts of man 20 alleviate
human suffering and elevate human charac-
ter, 10 1886 he was elected Grand Sire, but
declined the office, believing, as he stated,
that he could do more good to the Order IN a
| subordinate position. In 1910 he was elected
Grand Corresponding Secretary of the Grand
Lodge of the United States, and in loil was
re elected, and IN addition the position OF
Grand Recording Secretary was combined
with it. Thisdouble position he held until
| his death, being reelected unanimously each
/ time. lie thus served for Al years as one of
the officers of the highest body in our Order.
In 1910 he was again elected Grand Sire and
| again declined the Office. The reasons given
! by him each time in declining this exalted
position are such as do credit to his humility,
| while not satisfactory to our opinion of his
abilities. In 1915 he was again upon the
| Committee to Revise the Ritual, and aided
more than any or all others in perfecting the
beautiful and impressive written work of Odd
Fellowship. At this time he prepared the
present Past Grand's charge, which epitomizes
the faith, the workings, the teachings and
axemplifes the blessings Of our Order in Ian
gusge so apt and so eloquent that TO be its
author is fame enough for any one man.
Every lover of freedom in the world has for
a century past, and will for centuries to come,
read and revere the Declaration of Indepeud-
ence Of the thirteen United Colonies Of North
| America, and II an American will proudly
say, i am countryman of Jefferson, the
author Of that immortal statement OF political
equality and national rights and duties, SC
every lover of humanity in the world has for
| two score years gone, and will for ages to
come, if permitted, read and revere the Past
Grand's charge in Odd Fellowship, and if an
American will as proudly say, 4" am coun-
| tryman Of Ridgeiy, the author of that inmor-
tai declaration OF fraterDsl principles, and the
rights, duties and privileges OF common
humanity )" while, if an Odd Fellow, he will
add, with conscious and loving pride, '' I am
the brother OF him WHO penned those lines
and lived those principles"
How little cid Ridgely dream-how little
did he foresee-wben in 1880 he was putting
his shoulder to the wheel of the then IL year
| old Order, that ne was enlisting for his life
in the grand host that marches behind the
broad standard Ct Odd Fellowship Much
| less did his humble heart then tell him that
he should become the captain Of this new
| army of salvation from sorrow, from in
humanity ; that ne was to be g second Peter
the Hermit, leading to new crusade-a
force more powerful than any that followed
the monk-a crusade not leyeled against
mere temporal sovereignties, but the princi
| palities of sin not seeking to recover holy
| lands from the heathen but to preserve man.
kind from vics III ali its forms.
As reflect upon the immensely of our Or
der; its wondrous vitality its power, terri
bic in It's vastness its capacity for growth
its capabilities for good its magnificent rec
ord of the past, where every milestone of its
life is marked by the blessings Of the widow,
| the orphan and the afflicted; its glorious
| work in the present; its illimitable future of
usefulness, where the mind, cleaving the mist
! that covers ages yet to come, beholds its good
| deeds ever increasing, its membership ever
| spreading until day answers unto night and
season unto season, of its beauty and holiness
| and power. until che music of homes made
happy by its practices swelis in sweet SYM
| phonY from every nation meath the sky, fill
| ing the broad blue arch of heaven with the
melody of gratitude, | am amazed and daz-
zled by the sight; | an proud to be an Odd
Fellow; l am thankful to Wildey and Ridge
| Is, and deyoutly grateful to Almighty God
for such an Order.
Ridgely's labors are o'er They were of in
estimabls value TO cur Order; not only be-
cause OF the work he did, the example he set,
nor alone by reason or what he wrots and en-
grated upon the Order; but also because of
| the excrescences he removed, the imperfec
tions he remedied, the untidiness he remod-
eled, the system he introduced, and the gem
! eral high tone he infused into all the divisions
| degrees and ranlifca,ions of the Order. He
| lived asa true Odd Fellow should iivs-co
emily doing good to all ; he died as true Odd
Fellow should die-at peace with his soul, his
fellow man and bis God. Marble shafts may
mark mis- last resting place On earth, but his
real monument is erected in the heart of
every Old Fellow his euiogy wiz be forever
pronounced by the Order sni lis ritual; bis
| memeIy revered, his life lessons cherished by
an ever enlarging number OF men claiming to
be bis brethren
No iuan can help being benefited by Odd
Fellowship if he will but learn its principles
and live according to their requirements
That much we all agree upon-that much
We all can learn from our ritual as well IS
from the life aud writings of Ridgely. It
cannot of course be truthfully claimed that
all yielding allegiance to the L. o. o. F. are
good citizens or good men, but this is because
they are merely members Of the Order, and
sre not Odd Fellows in spirit and in Truth.
| 1t can, however, be proudly and most truly
asserted that any man who sill study the
Order and obey its precepts will become
worthy member of the body polite, an honor
to his family, comfort 30 himself, an aid to
al seekers after righteousness, and q helper
in the true progress OF the age in which he
lives. We ail can be great on great occa-
81 ms; we all can bs good Odd Fellows on
parade days like the present, but to keep
parade manners and act parade conduct in
everyday life is more difficult mater than
| we are willing usually Co acknowledge yet
upon the degree OF success attending such
| efforts depends our happiness as human
beings and our prosperity as citizens, Odd
Fellows or Lodges.
Fraternity is a grand idea 1t binds you
| asd I and 500 900 more men together in this
Order, but it is q rope of sand, without
strength or worth, if it becomes mere YER
bisge, awakens no responsive acts to its oft
repeated words, and serves only as link
connecting US that we may boast of its con-
nection. The payment of sick and funeral
benefits, the care OF the orphan and widow,
the disbursement of charity, are but the
smalles. types of true faternal feeling. They
are the incidents to its life, the outcroppings
of its golden strata, the mere evidences of
its keeping its proms 3 to pay, the redemp
| ton of its pledges of relief.
Ridgeiy was at once the mouthpiece and
tue sample of the Order-he painted the
moral by his example and adorned the tsls
by his actions. He was an Odd Fellow in
| his words Sc We have heard them so often in
the Lodge-room; he was an Odd Fellow In
his actions So evidenced by the love borne
! him by his brethren in the Order, the estesm
| of his fellow citizens and the universal voice
| of all that knew him. From his life and
| speech and writings. in and out OF the Lodge
| room, we can gather as the browning lesson
| CT all, that il is our duty to be what we seem;
| TO practice what we preach to be brotherly
! in act rs well as word TO BIS fraterual VITA
| heart as well as lip to aid each other every
Eday. not once in seven to realize the unseen
bond of love that unites us one to the other
In that valuable contribution to the literi--