The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-12-07

Oh, hear our prayers for honored dead,
While bearing in our mind
The memories craven on each heart
For Aud Lang Syne.'
Such was the opening ode in the
memorial services of Minneapolis
Lodge No. Al, Benevolent and Protect
i've Order of Elks, held in Elks' hall
yesterday afternoon. To the tune OF
the familiar air signifled in the words
Of the last line, the beautiful verse was
sung, and the spirits of the departed
! brother Elks seemed to hover near.
! e. S. Austin-Francis S. Mcdonald
| Three times the roll was called. three
times these names were spoken, but
the only answer arose with the strains
| of the hymn. ASLEEP in Jesus" Never
| again would living man answer to that
| call
E. S. Austin-Francis S. Mcdonald!
| One year ago they had Joined with
their brother Elks in paying tribute to
the memory of the dead of 1895. Yes
terday their former brothers Joined In
! paying tribute to their memories In
another year others will have gone
! with the past. The grim reaper Of
! death will cross the paths of some of
! those, perhaps, who gathered yester-
day, and on the first Sunday in De-
cember, 1897, those who are left will
meet in Lodge Of Sorrow and yearly
afterwards keep green the memory Of
each and every Elk who may have an
swered to his Makers call and passed
into the great beyond.
The services yesterday afternoon
were in charge of Exalted Ruler Lev
lngs, and were beautiful In the ex-
IRENE. After a voluntary, a quartette
composed Of Misses Alberta Fisher and
Minnie Stoddard and Arthur Clark and
j. Fl. Chick rendered beautifully the
hymn, There's Friend in the Home
land"
Then came the roll call, perhaps the
most impressive portion of the services.
The names OF those members of the
lodge who had passed away during the
year of 1896, E. S. Austin and Francis
). Mcdonald. were repeated by the
secretary three times. Slowly the
names We're spoken, as if in expecta-
ton of an answer. but none came
Then the hymn, ASLEEP in Jesus" took
up the echo, and as the strains swelled
out, tears rolled down the cheeks of
many OF the gentier sex, wives and sis
tiers of Elks, who, by their presence
aided in the tribute to the memory Of
those whom all had joined in honoring
The. opening ode and a prayer by
Chaplain Brother Neil Downey began
the regular memorial service "a
hymn of the Homeland by the quar-
tette, preceded the memorial address
delivered by Brother A. H Moves. Mr.
Noyes said
1t is a fact that we as Elks, may contem-
piate with satisfaction that this spirit of true
charlty mot that of mere giving is developed
within our circle to greater degree than in
any other fraternity, and yet there is room
for further development. Should we not hold
that spirit as men-not merely as E!ks?
should we not get out ourselves, step beyond
the circle and make the world our fraternity :?
1t is the lack of this spirit in the world at
large and the desire to create it among the
few that may be reached by cooperation that
has caused fraternities to come into existence
We talk in a nonchalant and vainglorious
way OF the great brotherhood of men of the
universally of fraternity; and there is much
in it. Still, when we find its foundation stone
we discover that this great brotherhood of
man is built upon mere pity and commits
eration-not upon love Of fellow man Same
terrible disaster or particularly sad circum-
stance, accompanied by specially harassing
cetails, such as the forest fires in state
Two years ago, may cause a generous out
! burst, but have you ever noticed that those
VINO are foremost among their fellows at such
tunes are those who have been allied with
! some fraternal order, where brotherly love
guide? anu
Pity and commiseration will do-if there il
nothing better; they merely prompt men to
the perfunctory performance of a present
duty; they simply awaken In man the latent
seH-pride that dictates the doing of some act
IN order that he may not lose the respect of
ms neighbors; they are found in those who
strive to avoid, rather than seek, oppor-
tunities that call for charity We NAV be
! thankful that the feeling of pity NAV move
I men to good works. even when dictated hz,
/ Self-interest or pride, but if we might by
same strange metamorphosis, change that
PITY into true CHARITY, how glorious would be
! the consumm alton! It is an end that cannot
/ be attained in Jay, OF in a generation; we
! may not make it universal, but it NAV be
treated within the vicinity ST our homes; it
G Sanaa De e developed by mere preaching or
! driven into the hearts of men; it must come
from within; out of the heart from the soul
OF men. and show itself by its works. and
tEe1e works Will in turn kindle the fame in
! others, like the leaven in the measure of
meal. -
So, say, this development of the true
spirit OF charity beyond the mere selfishness
OF him VINO gives it; this extension of brother
ly love beyond the circumscribing circle of
our friends and acquaintance into a un1ver-
sal brotherhood of man, should be the great
Order of Elks.
This is Memorial day-and what of the
dead? " INC
Because death has not entered your circle,
fraternity would fall coldIy from a sneakers
| lips today; and yet, some time-let us hope a
long time hence-the first name must be writ
ten upon your memorial tablet, and your
memorial day will be sorroWful indeed he
cause OF personal bereavement Whose name
shall it be? Shall it be the, name of one
who >, loved his fellow men," who unselHshiy
sought by acts, of genuine charity with its
| unfailing accompaniment of brotherlv love
to establish the universal brotherhood Of
man? VI
1t Is source of much satisfaction to find
that all Memorial day addresses sneak with
confidence of the immortality of the soul as
fact beyond question How we wish II
might be demonstrated with mathematics
\ exactness. How much Of comfort might he
brought to many sorrowing heart TODAY if
it could be shown, as a movable fact that
the spirits of our dead live on and are only
awaltlng our coming. We cannot prove it
and yet why need we doubt it? We know
the spirit comes from somewhere whence
we cannot ever guess. All our Aspirations
are for the better, sweeter life beyond this
one Of drudgery. We feel with some show
of reason, not, perhaps, unmixed with selfish
ness, that the law of compensation must still
hold good, even after we pass beyond the
confines of this earthly sphere and thai
same reward must await us IL we have spent
our life here for the right according to the
lislt that was given us. All the religions ri
the world give assurance of a life beyond
We may concede that the heavenly state is
presented to the minds of different races in
different ways, and that their conception of II
is influenced by many circumstances, among
others by their physical surroundings and
their mental tendencies; yet underlying all
we find an Interchangeable, undertaking con
yiction, amounting almost to absolute knowl-
edge, of the ir mortality of the SOUL The
vast majority Of mankind believe in it, Tr
most men the desire, the hope for it. is SUN
cient reason for the belief; and the uniyer.
salty and persistency of this hope is one
of the strongest proofs of the fact of i'm.
mortality. l believe in the divinity Of man.
that every soul is a part of God and that as
God lives, so shall every soul live Belief in
the Immortality of the soul is, apparently
based upon an insecure foundation because
we have so little material proof. The result
of all organized, investigations, such as thai
carried on by the English Society of Psycbj.
cal Research, points incontestably and mos,
satisfactorily to the certainty Of immortality