St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-02-18
WITHIN THE CIRCLE.
Interesting Proceedings Of the Fifteenth
Annual Session ofthe Grand Lodge,
/. 90. T.
Reports of the Grand Patriarch and the
Grand Representative in
Detail.
The Patriarchal Circle and the Mill
tant Degree Discussed at Some
Length.
Officers Elected for the Next Year.
The Next Place of
Meeting.

The first days session of the Grand en-
sampment OF |. o. o. +. was held yeSter-
terday in their hall on Wabasha street.
The following were the officers in attend
Ance: w. X. Read, G. p; W. w. Hart
lev. H. p: j. Fletcher Williams, @. S.;
w. II. Wells, G.. J. W.: Ed. A. Stevens,
g. r. There are twenty-nine eneamp7
nents in the state, and Faribault, North
ield. Sank Center, Saltwater and Preston
were. not represented. The following are
the delegates present:
No. l, st. Paul, r. w. Cassidy; No. 2.
Rochester, II. Mcleod; No. 3, st. Peter, Christ
Rinkel; No. 4. Owatonna, J. Newsalt; No. 5,
Minneapolis, Herman Helm; No. 6. Hastings,
Henry warsup; No. Z, Lake City, D. G. Estes;
No. s, Mankato, J. NJ. Karmany; No. 8, Red
Wing, William f. Hawkins; No. 10, Winona,
H. c. Thurman; No. IL, Cannon Falls w. G.
Sherman; No. II, Winnebago City, +. n.
Ware; No. ID, Waseca, II. Q. Woodbury.; No.
Il, Minneapolis, W. c. Wheeler; No. ID, st.
Paul, w. s. Shank; No. II. Dodge Center, Z.
G. Hill; No. 10, Brainerd. r. Fl. Paine; No.
81 Minneapolis, X. N. britain; No "a, Wa
basha, john Shermuly; No. %, Fergus Falls,
f. Shaver: No. 26. Winona, +. B. Newell;
No. %, Moutevideo, A. j. Wood; No. 20, Aus
tin, ID. Il. Stimson.
The report of the Grand Patriarch w. X.
Read was submitted and adopted. The
report shows good progress in the brother
hood and that it is in prosperous coDdi-
ton. Peace and harmony prevails and
they are stronger and more at unity than at
any previous season. One new encaInp-,
ment has been added since last year. at
Austin which now numbers twenty-seven
members. A large amount of cores
pondence has been had going to show that
the encampments are generally in -four
ishing condition, and working in great
ho... 10 From nnrlx oil fln
encampments are quite encouraging, and
the order in st. Paul and Minneapolis has
been booming" and has added greatly to
its numbers since the last session, as well as
Home Encampment No. II, at Dodge
Center. which has had a surprising growth.
At the last session Of the Sovereign Grand
lodge, the committee appointed to revise
the degree for Uniform Degree camps
submitted report which was adopted,
recommending the virtual adjustment of
that degree. and submitting instead a new
degree, entitled the ''Patriarchs Militant"
1t is purely of a military character, designed
chiefly for display, and its government
rests with the members thereof; thus the
Sovereign Grand lodge relieved the Grand
Encampment from legislation in reference
TO the same. The Uniform Degree camps
within the jurisdiction have adopted the
new form. Il recommend" says the Grand
Patriarch, THAT the action of the Sover-
eign Grand lodge in this respect, be accepted
cordially, as the evident intention is to
frateTniZe and bring together in harmony,
all our members who have desire to be-
come members of a military degree and
also allow that class to be self-governed,
without requiring Grand EncampmentS TO
eXpend time in endeayorIng to manage the
same, when not one-half the members of
the grand body might be in possession of
the degree"
The sovereign grand lodge at its last ses-
sion adopted a law requiring lodges to take
action after Jan. in cases where members
still hold utilization with what has been
known as the ''Patriarchal circle.'' am
informed that most of our brethren, who
were members of the Patrarchal circle
have withdrawn from the same, and wish
tocontinue, as in the past, recognized Odd
Fellows, and they are now unquestiOned,
active and jealous members of the order.
bid them a hearty welcome.
In presenting you this report shall have
discharged and concluded my official duties
as grand patriarch and again become pri-
vate member. In my actions i'm an official
capacity have endeavOred to do my whole
duty hnpartially and justly. If 1 have
failed to do so in anything, L invoke your
from this high and honorable post to which
you chose me year ago, with most CRATE
full feelings to all the brotherhood in our
jurisdiction, and with the warmest regards
TO all whom L have met officially. Year
after year, as We assemble in these Ses-
SiOns, we miss the well known faces of
some of our brethren who have left our
ranks to join the glorious hosts on high,
since the previous meeting. Let us, too,
act well our parts here, and fill our various
stations with fidelity and zeal, so that our
homes may be honored as theirs are. And
now, hoping that harmony and love may
prevail during our session, and prosperity
and success to the encampments may await
our labors, close this report
FROM GRAND REPRESENTATIVE,
The report of the grand representative,
Ed A. Stevens was next submitted, in
which was given the action of the Sovereign
Grand lodge: The official reports showed
the encampment to be in a healthy and
prosperous condition, the gains for the year
(1SS4) being one grand and twenty-eight
subordinate encampments and S,4O5 men,
berS, the totals being grand encampments,
Al; subordinate encampments, 1884: en-
campment membership, 95.257. The ex-
penditures for relief by lodges and encamp-
ments during the year aggregated $2,111,-
926S6, making grand total of $40 600, 600
expended by the order for works of human
benefactlOn, independent of the vast
amounts distributed by our mutual benefit
or insurance auxiliaries.
Undoubtedly the most important bust
ness of the session, in view of the compli-
cations that had seemingly surrounded the
question, was the consideration of the re-
port OF the special committee on uniformed
degree, which consideration resulted in the
abolition OF the former uniform degree and
III Inc adoption OF new work, purely
military in its character and designed to
become the distinctive display of the order.
e The new degree-Patriarchs Militant-was
the result of much study, all details being
elaborated, and exemplified by a trained
body of Odd Fellows from Louisville. XIV.
In the preparation of the degree the ann
was to produce work that would be worthy
OF the order and in keeping with its teach
lngs, and work which would be alike &C.
ceptable to known members of uniformed
degree camps and alleged members of the
patriarchal circle" and to that end those
nigh In authority in the latter were freely
consulted and gave satisfactory assurance
That III the event Of the adoption of the re-
port harmony would prevail. Had it not
been for certain ill-advised and greatly mis-
understood legislation on kindred matter,
which has been greatly magnified and dis
torted III certain circles, ''all warning eIe-
ments would be at peace" While the new
work was not ready for use until the begin
ming of the present year, the membership
already outnumbers the membership of both
of the former so-called
sEMI-MILITARY FEATURES.
The Patriarchal circle membership have
generally accepted the new work. and the