The Republican journal., 1884-05-08
Odd Fellowship.

| the order:
NOBLE GRAND, SISTER AND BROTHER ODD
| FELLOWS: We have met this evening for the
| purpose of celebrating the Goth anniversary of
American odd Fellowship. | have taken upon
myself the task of giving you short history of
| the order and Its principles as | understand
them. | shall be very brief. The subject is a
| broad one and if carried out in all its details
would occupy more time than have at my dis
| posal this evening, and would, fear, weary
| your patience.
shall treat my subject from three stand
points-hstorical moral and beneficial.
| Some who ascribe more weight to the un-
| fathomable mysteries of the dark ages than to
facts of revealed history, aege that our order
originated among the Roman soldiers during
| the reign OF Nero. Others fix upon the wear 50
of the Christian era as the birth of Odd Fellow
ship, and that the Emperor Titus gave the
order the name of Odd Fellows AS a pledge of
friendship for their loyalty and fidelity, to-
| Sether with dispensatioE engraved on plate
| OF gold, having the various emblems which now
| characterize the association. Whether this be
| true or false | care not. 1t Is sufficient for me
if our order is a worthy one, and that its exist
ence makes the human race better for its pre-
sence. 1t is true that the principles which we
| practice are not new, but have had an exist
cnce since the birth of man, and were put into
| practice when the eXigencies of the times de-
manded, and will continue in force until that
''perod yet hidden in the womb of time to
which man looks forward with ardent joy,
| when one law shall govern all nations, tongues
and kindreds of the earth, and that law shall be
| the law of universal brotherhood.'
| My opinion Is that our order, as an organized
association, is comparatively modern The
system of organized dues and benefits which we
| use Is borrowed Inscriptions now in the Nati-
can at Rome show that the Romans organized
| funeral societies to secure to their members
decent sepulture, only their bodies We're ere
mated and the ashes inurned. instead of being
| consigned to the tomb as is the custom with Us.
| The Bible is full of the lessons which we
practice. or endeavor to practice, in our teach
| ings of Friendship, Love and Truth. The ever
| enduring friendship existing between Jonathan
and David is an example worthy of emulation.
| The one was poor shepherd boy. the other the
| son of king-yet this gulf did not separate
| them. This example teaches Us that ttrne friend
| ship is a leveler of distinctions. and reminds US
| that when we admit a member to our lodge. we
should also take him or her to our heart. As
| an example of Love, what more fitting illustra-
ton can call your attention to than that other
| Bible scene-the Good Samaritan. You re-
| member the account Of the traveller who was
| beset by thieves, robbed, wounded and left bv
the wayside to die. Priests of the Temple and
Altar. which offices ou yht to have moved them
| to compassion saw him but passed him by on
the other side A Samaritan. an enemy of his
| people. iourneyed that way, and on behoiding his
| situation was moved to pity. How tenderly he
| raised him up and provided for his every want
| The story is familiar to YOU all and need not be
| carried further. No Odd Fellow who drinks
ID the true essence OF that narrative, but feels
| his heart moved in sympathy for his unfortu-
| nate brother. From this principle springs the
desire to watch and care at the bedside of our
SICK ana unfortunate members. The principle
OF truth i taught IN all we say and do. taking
| for example that apostle of tru,h-Aaron. | do
| not mean to say that aU Odd Fellows practice
| these examples OF friendship, Love and Truth.
but all good odd Fellows do, My opinion is
| ihat II man Is naturally and con>tltutlonaly
| pad. odd feiioWshlp nor Masonry will not
| make nm good although they will help him to
some extent.
Inc flr>t account of an organized society of
| our order was III London, Eng, about the year
1860, as sort of free and easy conviyial >ocie
| ty.. At that time each lodge was Grand Body
| IN Itself. recognizing no supreme head. Later,
about 1914. the lodges in and around Manches
| Ter. Eng, banded themselves together Is >ubor-
| ulnateS creating from their Past Grand> Il Grand
Lodge ms confederation Of lodges styled it.
| sell the MancheSler unlty. and subsequently en-
| briced within It's folds all the lodges then in
| existence. our English brethren of to-day are
known as Odd Fellows of the Manchester
NIFTY. lhat order numbers 100000 members,
and next to our own. is the largest self-govern-
| ed friendly society IN the world. The English
| branch is more Of an insurance organization.
| naNlnS no moral ritual like ours, and since lsil
mas had no afflatlon with us.
| EarlN IN the present century ODD Fellowship
| reached the nlted States by the em grafton of
English brethren to our shores. We find
lodges sef-instltued i'll three different states at
about the same time, totally independent and
without the knowledge of the existence of each
| other. 10 one OF these states. although not the
| first to see Odd Fellowship. do we now recog-
| nlZe as the mother of our society. 1t was only
| because the great builder of American Odd Eel
| loWshlp was there.
On the ID day of September 1918 there emil
| grated to this country from England one Thorn
as Wlldey.a a coach spring maker. Il man of lin
ited education, but Of ndomitable pluck. He
settled at Baltimore, Maryland. Previous to
coming to this country Wldey had been initi,-
| ted into one of these independent lodges in
| London. He soon became IN active member
and passed the chairs.
AT the time of Wildey's arrival in this coun-
| try the United States had just emerged from its
hostility existed towards England and English
men, and imno part of our land was this feel
ing more intense than at Baltimore. This
young mechanic found himself a'one, ii sran-
ger in strange land. almost ostracized from
society. and naturally enough his mind wander
ed back to his native England and the society
| which he had left Wildey soon formed the ac-
quantancc of one John Wech. Il brother Eng
lishman, between whom there sprung up a
warm intimacy. One day Willev and Welch
society of Odd Fellows which he had left in
England. Wech remarked that he, too was
an Odd Fellow. The thought instantly seized
Wildey that if sufficient number could be