The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1885-04-29

and heart felt desire; and to practice those vii
tutS contained in the command OF love on
Another" Faithful friendship and the unit
OF men for mutual good are our great principle!
At the same time W. lear to tolerate In one
another different political and religious views
and abstain from me,idling i'll questions of pc
litieal or religious discussions: Odd-FelloW
ship. founded upon the principle Of universe
brotherhood of the human race, recognize
man as a constituent of one universal family. /
teaches him that as he came from the hand o
q common parent. he is bound by blood and b.
the one divine principle of life TO cherish AM
protect his fellow man. The need of mutus
aid and protection is q condition of human so
Cleiy Without these Jaw man ecOmes by in
herited self hness and through individual pas
siOns and uncontrolled desires, q beast Of tyr
any ana inJolerable oppression to his fellow
beings. The mass of mankind in e Lrly age
crushed beneath the iron heel Of despotism
separate n alone. thu weak were the prey o
the more powerful. Ages sgO, the principles O
our Order. came to men like a divine revela
ton. The c Jndi lions of dependence and dis
tress produced the germ that grew in the minds
OF men to the full realization, OF those eterna
truths. All men are brothers; they should be
In a coLditlOn If IN Olerable oppression, de
pr1yatiOn aud physical distress, that man
shonld grasp with eager Joy the light and
promise ofsuch q principle thrilling bis soul
with the hope of freedom like the foreshadow
Ing of some great unheard of joy; thathis mind
should recognize quickly the beuiicent intiu,
ence of this heaven born principle CT universal
I rOtherhood, Is but a natural result OF his con
dition-is but the quickening of the germ OF
manhood. lis the sunlight of truth penetrat'
ing darkness and Ignorance long bO nd down
by oppression. This principle belongs to the
early development of the human race. 1t has
Wherever we find a portion of the human fam =
lily oppressed beneath the yoke of bondage,
how ever ignorant and debased, sooner or later
this manhood prime pie asserts Itself as an evil
dence Of his common origin with bis masters
OppressOrs. Mans nature rises up IN rebel
lion against forced restraint and compelled deg.
radiation. This light of freedom once kindl' d
In the human breast can never be extlngulshed.
lis hat that makes man man. On manhOOd's
highest banner is inscribed, Freedom. FrateI-
nifty, God" These words, while they demand q
broad liberation, express the sum of complete
ma ahOod. THE Fatherhood of God. and
Brotherhood of mai" is the foundation upon
which the temple Of Odd Fellowship is built
world. Other societies need not borrow this
principle from us We received it from God
Should we claim it to be original with our Or
der, we should convict ourselves of atheism. II
does not belong to Individual man Or order
The FatherhOOd of God is like the blue sky
that hangs over all with its lights and iusplra'
ton. 1t Is from everlasting to everlasting
O. cannot borrow it, you have It,. That socl-
ETY. who claim that to be theirs, and accuse 9th
ers OF borrowing il: are gui .ty Of biasphemy.
Borrow the FalherhOOd of God Borrow hu-
manly; borrow intinity, 'Claudite Jam riVOs
puerl: sat prata bihe-rlnt.' Man does not Dor
Gud, WE at is universal, is not borrowed. Al
life follows life: as man Is the masterpiece OF
Cots han,iiWOrk, So ,Ioes the brotherhood of
man follow the Fatherhood OF God. We did
not borrow this principle tfom you, you cannot
borrow it. II is universal; it IS humanity; it is
God liz humanity. These principles encouraged
ana cultivated by odd Fellowship %springing
spontau eously in the human breast find a
warm, impassioned. productive soil-the heart
OF humanity. They grow, they bring courage,
trlltn that men are by nature free, that they
should be fraternal, having one Father. has
tOppled over thrones and Kingdoms. 1t slill
levels the naughty and raises the humble. All
have their seasons The germ forms. the stock
shoots forth, flowers their fruit, aud decays.
The growth is rapid, the life is brief. Princi
Piles terminate, grow n spread. and bear
their ]ruit, but they do not die. They are
from God: they are eternal,
Truth crushed to earth shall rise again,
The eternal years of God are hers"
The germ OF truth may be small, at first and
weak; it may be lost for a time, but it will re
ear, Its growth is slow-this great truth of
which we are speaking is scarcely known the
world over to-day. But il is growing You can
hear it among the people in all and IT'S the
great mission of odd Fellowship to spread that
principle and encourage its growth. By it we
ldUOI luz tuC cltNo ClOilo Va lluludA SOSlCtys 4AO
Pharisee thanked God that he was not low and
dehased like other men. We despise and forget
the spirit Ofthe Pharisee, while the possibility
that prayer shows us the necessity for earll-
est, good labors in the field of Odd Fellowship;
and we thank God that it is possible to raise up
the low aud debased auu to make all men alike
first we labor among those who are tOund
worthy to join our Order, to incnlcate these
principles, to elevate their moral and social
aud enlarge their understanding.
w h olptho ynaHy AND unfortunate first 1r,Onp
our own, and then as we are able among the
deserving i'll the world at large. our charities
to our sick or distressed are not voluntary llke
that that may b. Civ en- by the Masons II does
depend upon the will and disposition OF a
.changeable and erriug man. But like the prom
Use OF God to him who casts his bread pom the
waters, it shall return. Our needy have a right
IN law to what pecuniary aid their circum-
ten. er sympathy, nursing n care their
body may require.
The objects Of Odd Fellowship are set forth in
its principles. They were first ike that Of al
most all secret societies Tor mutual aid and pro
But its purposes to broaden until nearly
all the wants of mankind are embraced. They
are to relieve the distressed, visit the sick, bur
the dead and educate the orphan. They al, %
elevate the character of man, his lntelle ctual
a well as his moral nature. In fact the former
seems necessary for the continuance of the lat
ter. The moral nature may be cultivated and
refined, but it seems TO need an intel ectnal
to cling to for enduring support. Our
object is to build up this intellectual supp ort, 50
that the moral nature, when cultivated and
built up by religion, Inay find some support
tn at is lasting and not be fOrev r falling back
into corruption. Thus We strive to advance
the cause Of civilization, and to- hasten that
day when the lion shall ne down with the
lamb, when the speer shall be beat into the
pruning hook. and the sword into the plow-
share. and nation shall lit up sword against
nation no more Our task is indeed great. But
our work is begun, and arbitration has al
ready laid it's hand upon the sWordsarm of ma
and said in the name of Odd Fellowship,
ue Still" It is now indeed but the gray
twilight dawn of that day; but the light is in
the heavens. The sun will yet rise 10 its me
ridian glory and mantle the whole world in the
brightness, OF friendship Love and
Truth"
We must speak OF the history of odd Fellow
ship. There is value attached to history. An
DID coin is yaluable according O its Antiquity.
know it has 3 value proportiOnate to its antiq.
uity. A lump Of gold or a diamond Just pro-
luced from mother earth, las 4 value. No 0 ne
asks for what Everyone knows. But the old
coin has the value Ut antiqllty-a curious, al
most lnexplicable kind OF value, but a value.
an OI0er has q value attached to its history,
if it is or claims to be We ~ ancient, The devO-
tee says with visib e pride theresa smack of
antiquity aboutit." What kind Of Il smack is
thar We don't Know exactly what the thing
is that makes it valuable, but the name .antjI
lity" is adorable. 'Tis that peculiar value Of
the old coin. We DOM know why, but it IS.
lis the mystic veil. Let AS not raise it, the
vision might be frightful. society things do
not always have q value in proportion 10 their
size or claims. They may he like the signs of
professionals, the larger the sign the
the doctor behind the sign.
Fancy, light. airy. loves the mystic unreal
1t has not always depth sufficient
unde- stand present intrinsic worth-lhe gold,
the diamond, freeded FROM ancient drosS. So
Of late wears some worthy brothers of our Or
Ger, not t. be outdone 10y some other Orders,
aud having a vain love perhaps for the ancient
and mysterious, have found no known begin
ring to the history of our Order. Wherever
or semicivilized peoples have existed,
there they have found Our emblelns; traditions
actual history OF organizations of mel in Sc
cret societies under our principles, with our
emhiems, aud by our name. "The great priaci
pic of mutual relief says one OF our historians,
in all ages attracted the attention OF the
and the benevolent. Blu while any
treat antiquity of our order under its present
mo order claims antiquity under its
present f ,rIn), cannot be Claimed, many OF the
brcthreu trace it to Rome in the days of the
and claim that W Greek words signi-
fying Friends lraverting together are the
words Odd Fellow, or rather Ode Eel
lows and that the title was given to an organi
cation in the Roman army tOunGed for the pur
, use OF mutual relief In the hour of distress
and adversely. Again In q
to the fraud Lo1ge of the United states,
in 1859, it WAS stated that the Order was esfab-
-, -