Omaha daily bee., 1888-03-25
ECHOES FROM THE ANTE ROOM
Items Of Interest to the Members Of
the Secret Orders.
COLTCN'S LATEST CIRCULAR.
Bits of Masonic News and History
Items From the odd Fellows
The A. o. u. W.-General
Pythian News.
Colton's Latest.

The trouble between the grand chancellor
of the order Of knights Of Pythias is grow
ing exceedingly warm. A lodge in Pennsyl-
vania has addressed a circular to the subor-
dinate lodges in the state requesting them to
elect delegates to "a convention of loyal
lodges of Pennsylvania to take action to re-
form the present grand lodge of the state or
organize a new grand lodge"
This move calls for another remarkable adj
dress from Grand Chancellor Cotton. In
this, his latest, he refers to the circular of
the subordinate lodge as "infamous.n MIR.
Cotton charges each d. d.. G. G. to report to
him at once his own attitude and that of the
lodges in his district on this attempt of the
supreme chancellor to disturb the regular ad-
ministration of the laws as promulgated by
the grand lodge" The G.. G. hits the supreme
chancellor below the belt as follows:
"A food OF false statements, q tidal wave
of falsehood, started in Cincinnati, has been
expanded abroad to cover the ground of con-
troversy, to choke the voice of conscience,
and make dim the distinction between right
and wrong"
The grand chancellor then urges the Penn
s~ylvania knights to remain true to the
grand lodge of the suspended jurisdiction.
He asks: 'What knight would desert his
| - So "AtAA Ao
comrades in arms, or break his vows to the
friends of his heart, under pretense of keep
ing some dubious pledge to a remote and i'm
perious masterp'
| PLY we are not reduced to a choice of per-
| ~juries," and closes his earnest and eloquent
| appeal thus: "You will not prefer servitude
to friendship, You will not yield the sword
for the lash, or the armor of knights for the
| feLters of slaves"
An officer of the Omaha regiment X. of =.
said: 1.-THE occasion of this circular was
the un~mistakable symptoms of the rank and
file of Pennsylvania Pythians to support tlN
| supreme lodge. When the unfortunate con
trOversy first arose many of the leading
journals and members of the order We're
averse to taking sides, preferring to await
the action OF the supreme lodge IN the prem
Uses, 1t is noticeable what a change can be
I wrought by unguarded expressions. Mr..
| Cotton possesses, unfortunately for him in
this controversy, an excellent command OF
language. Each of his addresses has
been remarkable for the excellence
of composition but like many before him he
has said too much. His is an admirable il
lustration of why the sage of old expressed
the hope, ooh, that mine enemy might write
u book The members of the order were
willing to be noncommittal until the head OF
\ the suspended jurisdiction declared the SUI
preme lodge of their order TO be a myth
| then they rebelled and expressions of support
to the supreme chancellor seem TO be coming
| from all sections"
The position of many of the members on
this question has been perhaps we'll stated by
one of the supreme representatives of Ne
braska, j. S. Shropshire, esq, To a repre-
sentative of the BEE Mr.. Shropshire stated
that the position Nebraska took upon the
question was beyond doubt the correct one.
Nebraska was one of the Jurisdictions which
had enacted laws declared unconstitutiona
by the supreme chancellor. On receipt Of
that officers edict to annul the
Objectionable laws, Grand Chancellor Rich
ard O'Neil promptly issued a circular in ac-
cordance with the orders of the supreme off
cial. "The PRONUNCIATION of this circular, ("
said MI. Shropshire, was not necessarily
a concession that these laws We're unconsti.
t%utional, or that the position Of the S. @. was
correct, but was simply an act of compliance
with the mandates of a superior officer; ana,
in fact, the Nebraska jurisdiction has re
served the right 10 appeal to the supreme
lodge AZ its next session. II is also q serious
' question WHISTLER by issuing his mandate the