Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1888-06-15
Principles and Progress of Odd Eel
lOWshin.

Ladies and Gentlemen and Brother Od
FciioWs:
Sixty nine years ago the Goth day {
lart April, the seeds Of Odd Fellow shi
were planted in the fertile soil OF thi
continent The same spirit of love t
God and love to man which prompte
our Pilgrim Fathers to kneel upon tn
flinty surface of Plymouth Rock an,
proclaim the fatherhood of God an,
! brotherhood OF man, prompted thos
five men, tried and true, Thoma
Wildey, John Welch, John Duncan
John Cheathem and Richard Rush
worth to assemble at the house OF Will
lam Upton in Baltimore, Maryland, ,ant
pledge their united efforts to cultivate
the seeds there sown. We can imagine
how they greeted each other with th'
words OF Friendship, Love and Truth
and exchanged warm, cordial, brother
ly clsspings of hands, how their eyes
glistened, their pulses throbbed an(
their countenances frightened as they
told each other what they knew of Ode
Fellowship. We, in our prosperity
can scarcely realize the doubts anc
anxieties which must have entered
their minds. Almost strangers in the
community, earning their daily bread
bv their daily toll, sustained by nc
social influence, wealth or education
they sought to introduce an order
whose very name was calculated tC
engender prejudice; well may they
have been difiident of success and felt
the heavy load they had undertaken
to carry. But they had been deeply
i'm impressed with the lessons learned i'll
the lodge rooms and were keenly
alive to the importance of such organ
ization, and he who assumed the
leadership Of that little band was nc
ordinary man. Thomas Wildey proved
himself equal to the task, and as the
founders of the American republic
have been assigned high rank among
the political benefactors of mankind
so will Thomas Wildey stand foremost
among those whose efforts have been
10 draw the human family into one
fold of brotherhood.
From such feeble beginning what
is now its strength? Near 6O0UU
members, with a revenue of between
five and six millions of dollars, it wields
an influence felt throughout its grand
field of labor. What are its works.
what its influence, do you ask? Our
answer cannot be given in one sentence.
Our order is based upon certain truths,
which are alike axioms among all ma
tions, tongues and creeds. Its sacred
tolerance presents nucleus which by
its gentle influence gathers within Its
orbit antagonistic elements, stills the
storms, soothes the spirit OF passion,
and directs in harmony mans united
and organized efforts to fraternize the
world.
Friendship, Love and Truth, are
known alike to all mankind, whatever
their nationality or language. Clad
in impenetrable armor, We war against
vice in all its forms; and friendship
towards man promotes the contest, the
gentle influence OF love supplies the
weapons, truth cOnsecrates the efforts
and leads to victory. We.aim to teach
man his nature, position, duty to re-
cognize the Fatherhood OF God in
whose image man was created as the
crowning effort, the masterpiece OF his
handiwork, and that in his nature and
relations he should endeavor to reflect
the likeness of Him who crowned him
with a halo of eternal life and pro-
claimed him an heir of God. Each
member of an Odd Fellows lodge
however humble he may be, is an in
tegral part of one stupendous whole
The institution is no longer regarded
as chimerical or impracticable, for IT
has been we'll and thoroughly tested
The tendency of the present age is
toward the practical. There never was
period jim the worlds history when
there were so many theories afioat
and vet there never was Il time when
theories were so promptly subjected tc
the test of actual practice. In reli'
gicn, in science, in politics, yea, in
every department of life, the great
question is not what do you believe ol
profess? but what do you do? Show
your faith by your works. A religion
that will not remain with you wher
YOU measure lumber, wood, grain OF
other merchandise as well as wher
YOU are seated in u cushioned churcl
pew is now regarded as an antiquatet
relic. A science that will not pas
through the ordeal of non-elastic fact
and figures, must, like chaff, be blown
away by the purging breath OF reason
Politics, that fails to represent tn
wants OF this progressive age, whel
weighed in the balance of popular vii
and Justice, must surely be found want
ing. The universal standard to whicl
all theories are brought is practice
To this standard the theories OF Od'
Fellowship have been brought; in tina
balance its principles have bee
weighed and the worlds verdict is be
inc rendered by the hundreds of al
plicants who knock at the doors of on
lodge rooms for admission.
The great laws to which we profes
obedience rcquire Us IT, '.sIt the sicl
relieve the distressed, bury the deaf
protect the widow and educate the o.
han. To put these precepts INT
prar;ire is one of the great ends d ou
organization. For this purpoi
lodges are formed. Each lodge is