Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-04-27
[. @. @. F.
ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES AT G.
A. r. HALL.
Dean Adams Anniversary Address.
A Good Attendance From Sur
rounding Towns.
|. 0. 0. F.

| Yesterday afternoon at O'CLOCK fOuno
| the g. A r, hall crowded to witness the
anniversary exercises of Odd-Fellowship
| There were present over 800 Odd Fellows
| from surrounding towns who were made
| feel at home by their friends in this city.
Mrs. Furley gave most pleasing read
ing in Hiberman character. The Misses
| English Zeininger, Mossman and Redfield
| performed in most artistic style their
| several piano selections, and the audience
were not at all backward in making
known its appreciation. The LOtns club
appeared four times and sang quite up to
its usual standard of excellence. Mr..
Bracken, the second bass in the quartette,
! being absent from the city was very pleas
| antly represented by Mr.. Arthur Magill
who is new to Wichita's music loving
people.
ANNUAL ADDRESS BY DEAN ADAMS.
1t was 3:15 when Judge Glenn an
nOunced Dean Adams to deliver the an
nual address. When the dean stepped
forward he was greeted with applause.
1t lasted so long that the dean had time to
smilingly bow a couple of times When
the applause had subsidized the dean said
the committee which had called upon him
had said to him through its spokesman
that he would be expected to not speak
more than thirty or thirty-five minutes.
The five had been uttered with pugilistic
shake of the head. There was general
laughter when the dean said that ne would
keep within the time.
He preceded to say that on the way
down town he had been called to
an important meeting He had
responded that he could not attend
because he had agreed to speak for the Odd
Fellows. When asked if he was an Odd
Fellow he had been compelled to answer
no. This was his loss. But sometimes
one outside knows (aS was not his case)
more about an order than one in. He had
read something which all Odd Fellows
might not insist upon, something from
which many of them might dissent. He
gave the legend for what it was worth
the first charter for an Odd Fellows lodge
had been organized under a charter upon a
golden tablet from Titus, when leading
the Roman armies. Whether this charter
was ever given by the Roman general to
his Hebrew Legion the dean would not say,
but he would say that he must uncover
before an order with the record of that of
Odd Fellowship. An order of overs ,0O0local
lodges, of more than 100000 mem
bers, that had spent during the past year
between g, 100000 and 10000 600 in chart
ties must be respected by all thoughtful
men.
The dean then went on to say that while
we all disagree with regard to politics, art,
philosophy and religion, we were all
agreed with respect to beneyolence We
all wanted to do something to decrease
human pain, and wipe tears from human
eyes.
Two laws govern the world-that of
self-love and that of love. The rose, the
Usage orange or the rosin-weed sends its
roots down into the ground to suck up all
that it can absorb into itself The cotton
wood tree reaches out its quivering leaves
that it may breathe into itself all that it
can absorb from the surrounding atmos-
phere. We find no showing of anything
but selfishness until we rise into the ami
NAL kingdom. The farmer knows
what the cow bird is These birds live in
communities governed by certain laws in
the community the individual must sub
nit himself sacrifice his individual choice
Men living in communities must do the
same thing; this is where self sacrifice or
love comes i'll, that which makes society in
any sense possibility, that which leads
humanity on towards civilila, ion.
Love, or benevolence, is the underlying
and permeating principle of all secret So
cieties that are helping mankind. There
are many sorts of benevolence. First is
what | may call affectional benevolence.
Every man is selfish-must be; for up to "A
certain point the development of the indi-
yidual depends upon selfshness. Every
man loves himself There seems to be
some exceptions. | see man wearing
patched pants, with his coat down at the
corners in front and up at the
tail behind When learn
that he is worth SIS, GOO begin to ques-
ton whether he loves himself He does,
but he has made the mistake of loving
corner lots' and bank accounts, and gold
dollars, and greenbacks for themselves
and not for what they stand. | care only
for $40 or $50 from the fact that they will
buy me a new suit of clothes. \ mans
family Is only himself thrown out TO a
wider periphery. He loves his wife (or he
oiOull lONt MS Wiz DClduSc SEt - LIS
other self-or the other half of himself
He loves his children because they are HIM
self going into the future. He loves his
friend for whom he has laid always the
cover because he is within his walls He
loves his dog because he belongs TO him.
Does any one really love his dog? The
other day gentleman's wife tried to have
him lie down on the sofa and rest,
He needed rest, but he said that
his dog Tip was on the sofa, and that he
needed rest, having fever from a stroke,
worse than he did. But suppose Tip"
had been that other fellows dog? The
ont door would have been very beneficial
to his fever. Men love themselves But I
can not agree that self-love is the main
spring of at least all humane actions.
There is such a thing as spontaneous
1t is said that Mr. Beecher's
wife had to rob his pockets for enough
money to pay the grocery bill-not once
bnt often. De Quincy tell in his memoir
abilia about in his poor literary life in
London saving money for weeks that he
might have a regular intoXication at the
opera; So we can conceive of a mans hav-
ng a regular debauch of generosity.
But there seems TO be an impression
afioat that this sort of generosity is not
l good thing, and what sort of an
example does God set US? When the dean
asked this question it was pouring down.
He asked with great effect whether God
sends this rain upon only those who de-
serve it? No. II comes TO those who de
serve it and 10 the evil alike. When l am
deliberate in my generosity | am unually
rying TO Ill my left hand pocket with
,oins. One is generous only las rule
when spontaneity overfiows elaboration
The dean then proceeded to speak OF oc