Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-10
KNIGHTS ON PARADE.
Ten Thousand Uniformed Visitors
Coming to Pittsburg.
STATE GRAND LODGE OF Z. OF P
A Pittsburger Is to Be Elected to the High
est Office.
PRIZE DRILL AT SCHENLEY PARK

A week from to-day there will be one o.
the largest parades in this city seen here fol
many years It will be the opening day o.
the annual meeting of the State Grand
Lodge of Knights of Pythiaa While the
estimates OF the officers give $4,000 as the
number of the men who will be in line, it j,
safe to say there will be at least 10,000.
They will come from all over the State, and
many uniformed lodges from beyond the
State line will be here to participate.
The local lodges have offered $1,000 in
prizes to lodges of this State, 81 900 for
those who come from other States. Prizes
will be given for the best drilled, the larg.
est and best dressed companies. John j.
Davis, Assistant City Controller, is himself
offering a stand of colors costing $3.50 to the
uniformed rank lodge which comes the
longest distance to the meeting.
The First Time in Pittsbure
The State Lodge of the knights of
| Pythias has never before assembled in this
| city. The only session in Western Penn
| sylvania was held some years ago in Erie
But as the largest number of members are
| in the eastern end of the State it cost too
| much. Through the.efforts of John Davis.
who at last years session offered to provide
a place of meeting free of cost to the or
ganization, this years session was brought
here Mr.. Davis three months ago hired
the Opera House for the session at his own
risk. The bulk of the rental has since been
guaranteed by subscriptions of citizens, but
the majority of those who will be most bene-
fitted BY the attraction to the city of an i'm
mense throng of people have thus far failed
to contribute.
There are more than 30 X. of P lodges in
Allegheny county. with a membership ap-
proximating 5000: The State contains
between 49, 900 and $4,000 members. The
majority of them are located in Philadel-
phia and the large towns in the eastern end
of the State. Many of the lodges will send
the entire quota of their uniformed rank
members to the session to take part in the
parade. One lodge from Lancaster, of 125
men, accompanied by the famous Lancaster
band, months ago engaged the Central
Hotel for the five days they will be here.
All the other hotels In the city have
pledged all the available room they have.
Securing Accomm iations for Visitors.
As result nearly half the visitors have
vet been unprovided for. Committees from
the local Reception Committee have been
around securing rooms and accommodations
at boarding houses and private residences
for the past few days They expect to have
ample accommodations provided before the
visitors arrive.
The first of the delegates and visiting
members are expected here Saturday night
From then until Wednesday morning they
will continue coming. The big parade
Wednesday afternoon will be the most i'm
portant feature to the people of the city.
Joseph L. McElhaney, the Chief Marshal,
will have headquarters at the Central
Hotel, and the procession is to form at 1:20
o'clock. The other chief officers are Joseph
jackson, Adjutant General; Hugh Nc
Cutcheon, Chief of staff; W. D. Wood,
Colorbearer.
The procession will be divided into four
divisions. The first, comprising all divisions
of the Uniform Rank, the Supreme and
Grand Longe officers in carriages, will form
on Water street, below Smithfield. The Sec
ond division, of which Coroner Heber Nc
Dowell will be marshal. consisting of the
lodges in this city and between the two
rivers, will form on Water, above Smith
field street. The third, consisting OF all
lodges south of the Monongahela and all
at the south end of the Smithfeld street
bridge. All the Allegheny lodges and all
those arriving in Allegheny will form on
Market street with right resting on Water
street.
Tho Route OF the Parade.
The route of parade will be as follows:
Water street to Smithfeld, to Second ave-
nue., to Grant street, to Fifth avenue, to
Washington street, to Wylie avenue, to
Fifth avenue, to Grant street, to Sixth
avenue, to Smithfeld street, to Fifth ave-
nue., to Liberty avenue, to Seventh street,
to Sandusky street, Allegheny, to Lacock
street, to Madison avenue, to Ohio street, to
Union avenue, to Montgomery avenue, to
Sherman avenue and review.
A grand arch on Fifth in front of the
opera house, where the State lodge will
meet, is to be one of the decorative features
of the parade The local committee will
expend $500 on this arch, and it is expected 4
to excel anything of the kind ever put up in
the CITY. That the business houses gener-
ally in both cities will decorate lavishly is
evidenced BY the fact that 5000 dozen of
K. Of P. flags and streamers have already
been ordered from a committee which has
been soliciting orders.
Competitive Drill at schenIey Park.
One interesting feature of the session
will be competitive drill of the uniformed
rank divisions at Schenlev Park. The gay
uniforms of the marchers will make a
spectacle which will no doubt attract
thousands to the park on that day. Most of
the prizes will be competed for here, and
the finest drilling and maneuvering of the
crack organizations will be performed. The
Judges selected to award the prizes are
General P. n. Guthrie, Colonel Norman
NJ. Smith and Major Joseph f. Denniston.
The details for the event have not been
completed but will be in day or two.
On Tuesday evening the Lancaster Band,
famous in the Eastern part of the State for
its fine music, will give a concert for the
visitors at the Opera House. The sessions
of the grand lodge will begin Wednesday
morning and continue four days. No night
meetings will be held if it can be avoided.
By rule of the grand lodge which requires
a member to fill all the grand lodge Offices
in rotation, Pittsburg will this year get the
highest Office by the election of John J.
Davis as Grand Chancellor 1t requires six
years to fill all the positions up to the Chan
celorship, and fight is always made among
candidates for the lowest. After that the
elections are only perfunctory, there being
no opposition to candidates This is the
position Mr.. Davis occupies in the coming