Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-12-06
AN ECCENTRIC CLUB.
The Queer Methods which Some New
Workers Adopt to Gain Notoriety.

The Queer Methods which Some New
Workers. Adopt to Gain Notoriety.
There are climbs and clubs, but of all
the clubs in the universe the Eccentric
club OF this city is prominently en-.
titled totrrln itself unique. Its objects
are ~various'y stated as 1.-THE abolish
ment Of myth and the substitution
therefor Of science and reason" and
''the universaliatimn and c~entraliza.
ton of the oneness of the whole"
Perhaps TIE latter definition gives the
clearer idea Of its aims. There is a dis
position on the part OF each OF the 362
resident members and Isl nonresident
members which it los, according to its
official announcement, to believe that
some one of the 5I2 other members has
possession of the club constitution and
bylaws. but nobody has ever discov-
cred this mythical custodian.
None of the 5I3 members has any
idea of the location Of the club house
for club house the Eccentric club has
m The club meetings are held
wherever and whenever two or more
members happen TO get together-two
members constituting "A quorum. Not
infrequently a member is surprised to
read in the papers that lie presided at
"a largely attended meeting Of the Ec-
centric club last night" as. in emer-
gencies, n member may amplify him
self into IA largely attended meeting"
pass resolutions and give a report of
his proceedings to the papers.
In short, the ways and constitution
Of the Eccentric club are calculated to
/. make a man doubt his sanity on first
hearing them outlined. John Morris,
the veteran florist of Jefferson market,
is the father and president of the club;
Maj. Thompson p. McElrath, son of
Horace Greeley's I'D time partner. is
its secretary. and the Rev. Or. b. +.
Da Costa j. it, treasurer. Mr.. Morris
says the club a organized July A,
1876. and nobody can say him nay,
as he alone Was present at its organiza-
ton. Occasional ally he or Maj. Neil.
rath goes through the directory, picks
out a dozen n mies or SO and elects the
owners OF these names 10 membership
in the club, The sole requisite for
membership is that the name Of the
candidates. necessarily the candi-
date-must he known To some member
Of the club.
The club has tackled all sorts of big
jobs, and has still bigger ones in hand.
lt-at least. n member Of it-grew
tired Of hearing the ~squeaking of the
brakes on the elevated roads, de-
nounced the squeak by resolution, and
advertised, in the name of Col. Hahn,
for some device to stop il. At the din
ner of the Thirteen club, at Brighton
Beach, August. 1880, the Eccentric
club rose up and presented Coroner
MESSENGER with a cane eccentrically said
10 have been whitfield out of an orange
tree planted on the grave of Columbus
a few hundred years ago.
Just now a committee OF the club is
wrestling with the problem of persuad-
ing Americans TO put aside the Gregor-
ian calendar and start afresh from the
date of the signing Of the Declaration
OF Independence. Major McElrath, its
chairman, says he explained the idea
TO an inmate Of Bloomingdale on a re-
cent visit, secured his approval. and
has had the aforesaid inmate elected "A
nonresident vice president Of the club.
New York sun.