Omaha daily bee., 1883-04-12
THE SONS OF MALTA.
ReOOlleCt' OnS Of a Secret Order
That Forced 8oOd Men to
"Give Themselves
Away"
And Which Flourished In
Omaha in The Good Old
Tilnee.
Louisyille Couri,r.Jsufnal.

Louisville Couritr.Jsuinal.
Just q quarter of q century ago q
secret society, known as the Sons Of
Malta, sprang suddenly into existence
In the city of New Orleans. The orig.
tnal object OF the organization was the
capture Of Cuba, and many prominent
military men of the south were the
leading spirits In he movement. For
reasons which the writer IL not at lib.
ty to divulge the fllibustering plans Of
the order were sbrupt!y squelched,
and soon thereafter q well-known
newspaper man, who had been initi.
ated, conceived the idea of making
"some fun for the boys" The whole
business Of Initiation, ETC., was trans
formed into q series Of the most
s,upendous sells, practical Jokes, and
outrageously comioal proceedings ever
dreamed of. The order spread rapid.
ly all over the union. 1t was gener.
ally believed by the outside public
that the Sons Of Malta was Q benev.
olent society, and to foster this belief
frequent lengthy notices Of charitable
deeds performed by the order were
publish ed In the newspapers all oveI
the land. Meetings were held week
ly, and there was 30 much solid fen &c
be enjoyed that nothing short of Q
death In the family would deter q
member from attending; therefore, In
many places the membership was &C
great that the utmost difficulty was
experienced In obtaining lodge.roomi
Of sufficient capacity.
Candidates Tor Initiation we're ush.
cred Into the hall where those who
were already members were arranged
In rows, each covered from head to
foot with q white or black gown, In
which was out small holes for the eye,
and mouth. with this garment or
the identity of the wearer was per,
fectly concealed and the candidates
who were initiated at one time did moi
know whether they were In the hands
of friends or strangers.
To each candidate the "master Of
ceremonies," In a most. impressive
and pleasing manner, stated the objects
of the order and told how the brother.
hood came together with one aim and
one understanding. "We are bound
together" he said, ''by the ties Of
love, confidence and charity for one
another, strengthened and solidifed
by the cement Of confession. We
open mp the secrets Of our hearts In
the hearing and presence Of each
other. We are all sinful creatures
and confession IL good for the soul.
Our good deeds speak for themselves,
and our bad deeds are recorded, and
In due time these records are burned
and the ashes are all that remain Of Q
dead and forgotten past"
Then the candidate was asked II he
was willing to leave the sinful world
behind and enter upon the new life,
An affirmative answer, and the initia'
ton began. He wss Immediately
blindfolded, led to . s~tepladder, and
told to ascend and seat himself on the
top stair with arms folded. This wa
the position each had to occupy Will,
undergoing the ordeal of . ~''confes
sion" Of his mlsdeeds. he would b
led along by adroit questioning unit
he made what was regarded ~ . "cleal
breast" Of his moral shortcomings
When Q particularly rich or unex
pected admission was pumped out o
him, q deep, sepulchral voice solemn,
exclaimed:
"Re.o.o-r.d It'll"
And immediately . heavy blow wa
struck upon q big drum to drown ths
i~rrepressible laughter.
II q candidate gave evidence Of
desire to conceal anything he wa
given to understand that the ipne
secrets of his soul we're known to tn
order, and to hesitate In giving then
would be an objectionable crime II
the eyes of the brotherhood. Thi
would suffice for many, but the ma
jority would of course hold out an,
refuse to answer some indelicate queE
ton, liable to lead into o channel tina
might involve him In q dissgeeabl,
confession. And oil through this wal
exactly what was aimed at.
In such cases an intimate friend o
the candidate would pass up to tn,
master Of ceremonies on a slip Of pape
o point or two In some questionable
transaction of the applicants life, an,
this would prove the key to unlocl
the secret reoesses of his hearts. Thi
would the master say, In q tone OF re
buke:
"The records Of the order show tha
upon such q day, In such a year, Will
you we're In the city Of Cincinnati 20
did this and So" Then in q ton
mildly expostulatory he continued:
my friend-would I could os.i 70
brother-as Ihave said before, all yov
misdeeds are known to the order I
which you are seeking Admission
. While crossing the portals which col
! arate our brotherhood from q Woke
! and sinful world, aud while about 81
terlng upon . new life, and breathing
purer atmosphere, you have ungrat,
\ fully tried to deceive us, For this yc
\ are 70 be punished and thrust bsck Il
to the wickedness you are 90 loath
leave behind. 'a
"Sir knight, summon the oouns
Of ten aud take the recreant befol
p that tribunal for punishment"
Then to the candidate, In . sa'
dened tone of voice:
"Sir, there Is but one way In while
you can redeem yourself In the eyes
the brotherhood-make q full ar
complete confession"
The feeling that their secrets mig
actually be In possession Of the brot'
hood, and an inds6nabledread of VIII
that council of ten might do In Il
way of punishment, invariably u
locked the mouth, and some Of ii
i .nnat .nIolo nt1i.a.. -a, of .o,