The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-09-06

Iapplousel and while a million Of dollars
Inns been expended, il has been paid with
ont complaint on the contracts that are
made 10 the members of this institution,
and that not one dollar has had TO be col,
lec,ed by the process of law; Applause
il has been paid In every instance before It
was due on the terms Of the contract Ap-
plausel But we are told that this INSTITUTION
should not receive the support of the intel
| lirent people of this land because II Is a Sc
crDt organization Let me answer that II l.
not n secret organization, a. j. generally
understood by that word-it Is private or
| paniZatiOn II has the same secrets that
| there are around the pulpit, 1t has the same
secrets that are in the church, II contains
no secrets that are remarkable 10 man In
| his relation, a, father, brother, citizen or
|christinu man. The secrets that II has are
none but such Il, are absolutely necessary
! 10 keep il from being imposed upon 10y
! those who would wear the cloak Of heaven
10 serve the devil in Applause. Secret
Ionly in the sense that when the protector
IOf the family j. gone il takes care OF me
widow and the orphan Il is a blessed So
Icrecv. "a secrecy of which all should be
proud Applause. In another sense II Is
"A secret organization, having form oi IN
| itiation which all must pass who enter ms
great humanitarian work.
And LET me say 20 the ladies who are here
that the reason that their fathers, husbands
land -wecthearts don't tell them what takes
place in the lodge Is not because the dear
! fellows can keep a secret any better Than
YOU can, for if lady hasa secret she VIII
keep il If She has 10 have a dozen bosom
| friends 10 help her Applause And as
am a great ways from home if tell you
something that took place in the Work
mems lodge there you must not tell. The
first one initiated after ! joined was a
young gentleman Although he had been
counting young lady for over three years
| he had never summoned up sufficient cour-
age 10 propose. but the first Sunday night
after he Joined our lodge he proposed 10
! honeymoon soon being over it lasts but
two or three weeks in our neighborhOod, !
don't know how long il lasts here when
J lodge night came around, John said to his
wife "Mollie, her name was Mary, II be
| lieve | will 20 to the Workmen tonight
and She replied, you had better stay at
home with your wife and not 90 down
| there gossiping about the neighbors, ana
| like good husband he said he would take
| her advice, for on such subjects ladies have
more SENSE than men. Applause When
lodge night came around again in about
two weeks he thought he would get around
| it better than before, 50 he said Mary,
am going 10 the lodge tonight She told
him he had better stay at home, but he
said he would 60 50 he went and took the
degrees. That night they gave him one OF
the side degrees. When he came home
he took off his boots and thought he would
step into the house without making any
noise, and if ! could would show you how
her foot kept time on the floor when he
came in. Well he said, II have got
enough of the Workmen."
She said What do they do?'
He replied: II cant tell that swore |
would not reveal the secret
She replied "John, don't you remember
what Mr. Smith said when he married us,
that we are now one, and you never took
any obligation not to tell this to yourself,
did youY" And so he said, II will tell you
just what took place When they conferred
the last degree upon me the brethren all
stood around me and told me to hold up
my right hand and take a solemn obllga-
ton that 50 long as lived would never
kiss any other woman but my own wife"
Applause Then Mary said, II have
changed my mind about those Workmen
want you to take all the degrees" APP
plause. SOJOhn took the degree of hon
or and Mary joined with him, for that is
the degree in which ladies may join us,
and now John and Mary are diligent work
ers in this great institution of practical be,
nevOlenCe.
II is said that this institution and similar
ones spend great deal of unnecessary
money for their regalias, badges and EN-
blems that are simple and meaningless and
should be discarded.
| answer that the world is full of EN-
hems We have emblems on every side.
The flowers of spring are emblematic of
the fruits Of human love, as the marble |
shaft is embematiC Of the remembrance |
we hold of those who have gone before.
The flag is emblematC of the joys of our
free institutions The church spire is an
emblem with the finger pointing to Cod
mans holy destiny The cross is emblem
attic of our Savior and great Master. The
look of hope taken from the brow Of the
little one as il is buried and placed in earth
close beside its father or mother Is an EN-
/
one, and so all through life, all through the
world, emblems are clustering about us.
These emblems that we wear have become
significant to us, they speak with no uncer-
tain sound to our eyes, they are full of
and say to you that as that flag
was an emblem for which the boys in blue
were willing to lay down their lives that it
might float on the mir an emblem for
which our Union mourned, rs the warrior
rs he is being carried from the battlefield
where he has received his death wound
and where shot and shell are flying, turns
his eyes for the last time toward the heav,
ems, sees the flag and says: Boys, lay me
down, but save the flag To him il is an
emblem full of meaning, full of the joys
Of our free institutions,
Unless you are willing that the flag of
our Union. should be torn away and its stars
and stripes trampled in the dust unless
you can see no meaning in the cross;
unless you are willing 10 see torn from
the clasp of the mother the mementoes of
her departed little one-tear not these EN-
blems from our breasts we hold so sacred