Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-25
K. OF P. PROBLEMS
Supreme Chancellor Blackwell Talks
About Two of Them.
SHOULD LIQUOR SELLERS Be KNIGHTS
The Temperance Question and the
Translated Ritual.
A PA RIOTIC O. r D E r

W. w. Blackwell, supreme chancellor of
the order of knights Of Pythias of the
World, gave a reporter. for The Star an in
terview at the Ebbitt House this morning.
The supreme chancellor is an easy man to
interview and a strong talker. He has a
decided individuality. thinks a great deal
and says precisely what he thinks. He has
a way Of stating a case that impresses his
hearers with the conviction that he be-
lieves what he is saying and that he has
a high opinion of right and justice. He is
from Kentucky and Is type of the man.
hood of that region. He is over six feet
tall, built in proportion. with an especially
deep, broad chest, weighs close to 200 pounds
without an ounce of surplus meat and has
a determined and aggressive manner. He
has a large gray eye with a slight mixture
of copper colors in it, q steady, earnest
gaze, swarthy complexion, strong jaw and
black mustache and chin whiskers. with a
few strands Of gray intermingled. He gave
his views willingly on the great questions
which are to be considered by the Supreme
Lodge
To his mind the saloon question would
precipitate a bitter fight. He will bring the
matter up himself. He Is not temperance
man, but is opposed to permitting saloon
keepers, bar tenders and professional gam
biers to have membership In the order. He
takes the broad ground that the introduc-
ton OF these men in the ranks tends to de-
moralize their associates and bring the Or
DER INTO contempt with the outside world.
he believes that one saloon keeper or bar
tender in lodge will be pointed at by the
outside world evidence Of the whole.
This is unfair to the order. Personally, a
saloon keeper may be all right, but he is
engaged in a bad business, and tends to
immortality and deficiency in patriotisia.
The saloon is the evil Of the nineteenth GEN.
fury and one of the most ccrrupting in
nuences in civilization. The pressure of
progressive brains is being exerted against
this curse. The Knights of Pythias are in
the van of progress, and are going to do
their share in the Encouragement of what
Is wrong. The question Is 10 he met at this
session of the Supreme Lodge and will be
fought cut in Washington.
Sometime ago the Supreme Lodge granted
to the grand lodges the right to Iegislate
for themselves OH this matter. The grand
lodges of Indiana, Ohio. Michigan and Mill
nesota, and Che or two other Jurisdictions,
have excluded the dispensers of liquor from
their ranks. They are among the strong
est jurisdictions In the country, have a
| membership representing the blood and
brains and best elements in their COM
munity. and are untold power for good.
Some of the grand lodges have granted
to subordinate lodges the right to pre-
scribe qualifications for admission to their
| ranks. The Grand Lodge of the District
of Columbia mas granted this privilege to
subordinate lodges of this jurisdiction and
Excelsior Lodge has taken fiat-footed
stand against the saloon business.
AT this point the supreme chancellor was
growing enthusiastic with his theme, and
number Of Pythians who stood in the
group, and who are not temperance men,
declared Phatically that they would
stand shoulder to shoulder in the fight to
suppress the liquor traffic and prevent con-
taminatio of their order by the member
ship of liquor people. They stated energeti-
cally that what Is best for the knights
of Pythias shall be done. They believed
that the step which they are about to at
tempt to take will elevate the order many
degrees above its already high plane. Su-
preme Chancellor Blackwell did not mince
his words in this matter. He has recon-
present the Supreme Lodge on Tuesday,
and will press the consideration Of the
subject himself.
The German Ritual.
The supreme chancellor waxed warm con-
corning the German problem. The Star
| man asked If he would attempt to prove
| the new ritual of the knights Of Pythias
had been translated into German. He said
| he already had the proof. He would show
| that these lodges had translated the ritual
| from English into German against the law
1 Of the order. and had had the printing done
| in an office in which no Knight of Pythas
was employed. This made their violation OF
| faith the more fragrant. For six months
| they have acted under a typewriter ritual
| They were confronted with the open rebel
| lion of the German lodges. There are 100 OF
these German lodges, said Mr.. Blackwell
and they number but 1900 men. They are
not as strong as they were twenty years
| ago, and are dying a slow death. There
| was no middle ground In this question. The
| German lodges would be forced to loyalty
| with the Supreme Lodge or they would be
| expelled. The matter required radical and
heroic treatment. and 1t would receive It.
The Germans understood English better
| than they did German. They spoke dia.
| lects of German. They were being led In
| this matter by the German-American press
! for a selfish purpose. They wanted to en-
| courage reading in a language in which they
printed their papers. When n vote should
| well. that seventy-five per cent Of the Su-
preme Lodge would be in favor Of clinch-
| ing the nail which was driven at Kansas
City two years ago.
| To Americanixe America.
This order. though not q political one In
| any sense, was built on the rock OF patriot
ism. 1t was going to do more toward
| Americanizing America than any other or.
der. When foreigners come to this country
they should cease to be foreigners. They
| should adopt our customs. and then they
| must also use our language. II they were
| going to enter the knights of Pythias, or II
| they desired to remain in the order they
must read their ritual in English. The
strongest plank in the platform of the
| order was that which sets forth that all
| members must pledge loyalty to the govern
ment under which they live. When a man
| comes into the Knights of Pythias he must
| not only acknowledge allegiance to the gov
| ernment. but he must bring the proofs Il
| his faith.
In the matter Of the size Of the coming
| encampment, Mr.. Blackwell said that the
| railroads should be rolled into one mass
| and something too dreadful to print should
| be done to them BY their disgraceful con-
| duct, their meanness and their short-sight-
| ed lack of wisdom, Mr.. Blackwell declared,
| they had kept over 10000 people out of
| Washington.
The action of the railroads had reduced
| the number of men who would be in line
| from at least 10000 to 10000. With any
| thing IKE favorable railroad rates, the state
of Kentucky would have been represented
| by 5000 Pythians, but this would be cut
down ore-tenth. Ohio would have sent Is,
600 under fairly favorable conditions, and
will be represented row only by about 1000
Missouri would have sent 1000, and one
| tenth of this number will cover the num-
Der which she will have in Washington.
| But despite all this, the Uniform Rank will
| have big display. and the sessions Of the
Supreme Lodge will go forward as though
nothing had happened 1t was to be an era
| in the history Of the order Of the Knights
| of PythisS