Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-09-06
Supreme Lodge Takes a Decided
Stand Against a Foreign Ritual.
THE GERMAN QUESTION SETTLED
Pythian Lodges to Use the Lam
guage Of the Country.
VIEWS OF THE MINORITY

The much-mooted German question was
| decided by the Supreme Lodge of Knights
of Pythias today by decisive vote against
| permitting the use OF the ritual in other
than the English language. Two votes
were taken. The first or the substitution of
the minority report to give the German
| lodges five years of grace in which to
| adopt the English ritual resulted "a to IL
| against the minority report. Then the ma
jcrity was adopted by vote of 10 to 36.
The gist of the majority report is found
in the following recommendation: THAT
the Supreme Lodge reannounce and re-
affirm the declaration made at the Kansas
| City session: that henceforth and forever
| more the ritual used in this and all other
English-speaking nations shall be printed
in the English language only, and that
when the standard of our order shall be
planted in n country speaking other than
| the English language the ritual therein
used shall be printed. and all ceremonies
| over which this body has control shall be
conducted only in the language Of the gov
| ernment of such country, to the end that
II snail be known of all men and to all ma
| tonS that around our altars Pythian
| knights are taught one of the cardinal
| principles of our order undying loyalty and
| GeVotion to .he government TO which they
owe their allegiance. whether il be the
idnu OF their birth or the country of their
adoption
Rebuke to Members.
| Your committee the report states, lis
or opinion that our German brothers are
as rule, as true and loyal citizens and as
| loyal and faithful Pythian Knights as any
other members Of our order, and that they
We're In the main at first disposed to ac-
cept the action of the Supreme Lodge and
abide by its law until ii could be reversed
/ nSrit,
| that but for the encouragement given them
| by members of the order in authority and
me agitation OF the question begun and car
rled on not onIy among the members I'm,
| In the puplic prints, thus for selfish pur-
poses infiaming and keeping alive the feel
ing OF dissatisfaction with which the legis-
iation OF 1872 was received by our German
brothers. there would have been but little
| III any, difficulty in carrying out the pur
poses of that legisla ton.
| owing to this encouragement (Which your
COMMITTEES regrets to state cane not only
from officers of subordinate and grand
lodges, but from members of the Supreme
| Lodge) there gradually arose a belief that
the action of the Supreme Lodge was in
terded as an anront to the German lodges
on account OF their nationality, and was
| actuated by a desire to drive them from our
| castle halls. an impression which your COM
mittee believes had not the slightest shad-
| ow of truth for foundation, and could read
| lily have been dispelled had those members
| of the order who dissented from its action
nave Deen as Jealous in dtSabuSing the
mirds of our German brethren of as they
| we're in disseminating the contrary idea
and had the officers of the various grand
and subordinate lodges firmly exercised the
authority conferred upon them, and COM
| piled with the obligations they had taken
| at our affairs upon the first signs of in
sutordination, your committee believes that
| no part of the present difficulty would have
| arisen, and that the supreme chancellor
| would not have been called upon to excr-
| else his authority, nor the Supreme Lodge
been put to the necessity of considering
ard determining whether II should support
| him in the manner in which he has, with
conspicuous ability and unfiagging Pythian
| zeal, sought to perform his obligations TO
enforce and maintain the laws of the Su-
| preme Lodge and TO stamp out all spirit of
| insubordination and rebellion, regardless of
! when where the same appeared and
! thoushtless of what might be the personal
! consequence to himself having regard only
| for the integrity and prosperity of our or
der and the enforcement and advancement
of the great principles which underlie it,
| ana upon which il depends for its perpetuity
| and future prosperity.
| The German Copies.
From the statements adduced before it,
your committee is also of opinion that GER
| tain members OF the order. including a
member of the Supreme Lodge, did au-
| thurize and tave printed copies of the Ger
| man translation of the present ritual. and
! chat such printing was done in office
! where the printers were not members of
! the order. and that some, at least of the
| German lodges in the jurisdiction of Illinois
| contributed money TO aid liz paying for such
printing and your committee is of opinion
| that those printed copies of the ritual are
| still in existence, and in the possession Of
| a member of the Supreme Lodge
1t also commended the supreme Chancel-
| lor cor his action in upholiing the Law in
| this natter and was signed by four mem
| bers of the committee, stanton L. Carter.
! Thomas ID. Meares, l.. L. Hunt and Aaron
Myers.
The Minority Report.
John H. Russo of Indiana was the author
| of the minority report. which recommended
| that the lodges which have remained loyal
| to the Supreme Lodge and were working
| with rituals in other than the English Ian
| crlage when the last ritual was promulgated
| he furnished with rituals in the language
| they were previously using for a period OF
five years, after which they should sur
| render therl and use only the English.
! Three hours of warm debate were had
| over the question. The principal address
| for the minority was made 10y Representa-
| tive FeatherS'one of Wisconsin and for the
| majority by Representative Carter of Cali
| fornia Ii was argued against the minority
| proposition that if five years were granted
| the German lodges, they would apply for
another extension of time at the end of that
! period ana the Whcle question would have
| to be fought over.
| The Liquor Question.
Sitting in committee of the whole the
| lodge has approved the unanimous report Of
the committee on the state of the order
! recommending that saloon keepers, bar
! tenders and professional gamblers he de-
! clared ineligible to membership. but not af-
| fecting those who have already become
members. The question has not been acted
/ / pom 10y the Supreme Lodge proper.
| The same committee recommends that the
| Supreme Lodge proclaim against the use Of
! the name of Pythiansm in connection with
! side ranks.
A request has been telegraphed to the
| Supreme Lodge to institute a search for BIZ
! Franks of Belle Plaine Iowa, who came to
Washington to attend the encampment and
| has not returned to his home. His friends
| wire that one of his children is at the point
| of death.