St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-08-14
MINNEAPOLIS.
FORESTERs AT WORK.
The First Day Of Their Big Con-
VentiOn in MinneaDOIjs.

vention, properly known as the bien-
NAL session of the subsidiary high court
of the Ancient Order of Foresters of
the United States, began in Harmonic
hall yesterday morning at $50 O'Clock.
The floor of the hall was well filled
with delegates, as 397 individual dele
gates, representing 1000 votes. were in
their seats. Subsidiary High Chief Ran
ger Colbert presided, and will
preside during the convention, as the
high chief ranger, Agnew, of Chicago,
Is sick and has telegraphed that he can
not be here during the convention. The
morning session was devoted almost en-
trely to the presentation of credentials
to the convention and their reference to
the usual committee. The chair APP
pointed the following committees be-
fore the adjournment. Some of them
were still incomplete in the hands of the
press committee:
Laws, Relief and Supervision-Delegates
Jones of Brooklyn, Healing of California,
Anderson of Boston. Lord of Cleveland and
Keene.
Finance, Mileage and Per Diem-Delegates
Jackson OF Providence, Judson and Crok-
Kite of San Francisco.
Committee Work-Delegates Hepburn,
Brotheridge and Taylor.
Observation-Disclosures Corbett of Baltimore,
chairman
On Observation-Disclosures Baxter, Mason
and Burkhardt.
On Printing-Delegates Murray, j. W.,
NlncenneS and Diversion,
On State of the Order-Delegates Bunnin g,
Wolffsohn and Greening.
On Mileage-Delegates Bremen, Herries
and Simsrott.
On Resolutions and Condoleuce-Delegate
Shepard and McCuster.
On Nominations-O'Br ien, P. H., Edge
cumbe, George R. and W. S. Elliott Jr.
Besides these, a press committee and
a committee on rules for the present
convention were appointed.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
AT the afternoon session the commit
tee reported, and 1877 delegates were
found to be properly accredited. One
of the interesting events of the aft
ernoOn session was the presentation to
Permanent Secretary McMurtrie of
fine onyx inlald clock by the California
delegation.
w. II. Wascerwitz made the speech
OF presentation and the secretary gal
lantly responded amid great applause
from the delegates. The secretary is, as
his full title indicates, an official of the
organization of long experience, and the
presentation was in recognition of his
valuable services to the organization of
which he is veteran member. The
California delegation again led in gal
lantry when one of its members made a
speech eulogistic of Delegate William
GOetZ, who died before the convention
assembled, and concluded by moving
that his widow be given the mileage
and per diem of the deceased brother.
The motion passed unanimously and by
rising vote Permanent Secretary
McMurtry presented his report of the
finances.
A LITTLE BREEZE.
The delegates to the convention sit at
long tables, and it was long after the
session began yesterday afternoon when
it was whispered that there was broth
er present not entitled to touch elbows
with other brethren of the Forest pres
ent. A delegate arose and stated the
fact to the chair, who asked for names.
Brother John III. Legs, of Detroit, was
named and the high chief ranger re-
qnested him to withdraw. Mr.. Legs
claimed the seat as a past sub high chief
ranger, but there were some matters of
misunderstanding between him and his
court, and he was compelled to With
draw until he can read his title clear.
81 A CONTEST ON OFFICES.
The officers who constitute the eX-
,ecutive council will be chosen at this
convention. and whereas it was be-
lieved little while ago that they would
go in without any opposition, there is
now a prospect OF lively fight. The
+ officers are chosen in this way: After
the place of the convention is set
tied upon. and six months before
it is. to be held, the executive council
gives notice to the courts within IA
dius of twenty-five miles of the next
convention city to meet and make their
nominations for offices. Last April the
courts in and about Minneapolis. thir-
teen in number, met and made these
nominations. There were thirteen votes
cast. and ON the informal ballot for sub
sidiary high chief ranger w. r. Miller
received 8. j. Wilson Murray 8 and DR..
j. L. Lee 2. The low man was dropped
and on the formal ballot Murray re-
ceived seven and Miller six. Miller's
friends claimed that before the conven-
ton seven votes were pledged to him
first, last and all the time. Miller has
nothing to say about this and denies the
report in the Evening Star that he has
filed personal cha geS against Murray.
'There are no personal charges in it.
1t is not a personal matter. Some of
the local courts have filed protests
against the nomination. And it is
not a personal matter with me,
although | suppose l am a can
didate." A feature which makes
the election of the highest officer i'm
portant is that the headquarters are
located for two years in the place of his
residence, and the permanent secretary
must remove with his records to the
oit nnfhor 10 hot in,
view of the certainty of break from
the English Foresters by this conven-
ton, the high chief ranger elected by
this convention will be the first Fores-
ter in America, very high honor and
one that the members will strive for.
The other nominees, against whom no
protest has been made, are DR.. John L.
Lee, for high subsidiary chief ranger;
A. T. Ellis, for high chief secretary; F.
C.. Smith, for senior woodward; Will
lam Watson, for junior woodward; An
drew Fraser, for senior beadle; Charles
B. w. Williamson, for junior beadle
All these names will go to the commit
tee on nominations, which will also re-
ceive the protests against Murray's
nomination and decide whether an in
yestigation shall be held. Mr.. Murray,
who is the most active of the local For
eSterS, regards the outcome with con-
fidence, as he thinks his nomination
was regular andin every way in accord
ance with the laws of the order,
SEPARATION INEVITABLE.
The principal topic of tO-day's session
will be the discussion of the California
code of laws. which will come up under
a resolution that they be adopted as
soon as the committee on laws re-
ports. If they carry, as they
probably will, the action means separa-
ton from the Foresters of Great
Britain. Probably 80 per cent of the
delegates favor the separation and the
adoption of new name, though the
California laws may not be favored.
New York has code to suggest Also
Leading Foresters claim that the separ-
alton will not weaken but strengthen
the order in this country. There is
large body of Foresters in Great Brit
ain, over half a million, and members
are constantly emigrating; but the new
order, it is claimed, will be easily joined,
and the insurance feature, which is ex-
clusively American, will attract them
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