Rock Island Argus., 1897-02-23
ALL ARE WITH US.
The Head Officers Of the
Modern Woodmen.
DIRECTOR SMITH AT DUBUQUE.

DIRECTOR SMITH AT DUBUQUE. |
Rssssvs ths Proessassgs sa the Psrs sel
- Faltsa PeeDls. end ssys tAs Repre-
srntasivcs OF the Orsss are Anxssus 60
/COme co Rock Island.
Director Smith, of the Modern
Woodmen, has been with other head
officers of the order at Dubuque ar
ranging for the head camp meeting
there next June. He stated that il
was expected that 10000 Woodmep
kould be in Dubuque in June; that
there were 20. 900 present at the last
camp at Madison. A Telegraph report
er asked Director Smith: ..What effect
will the fight over the removal OF the
headquarters from Fulton have on
this gathering. or on the order?"
..None ut all" WAS the reply.
.sThe order IL unanimous on the
proposition that the headquarters
should be moved. snd the people Of
Falton are fighting us in the courts
because they hate TO lose about the
only thingthey have left. The head
Office employs 40 persons. and brings
m any visitors to Fulton"
ON what grounds does Fulton re-
sist the removsl?"
well. you SEE it was just this
way. The order il an Illinois cor
poration. The head camp met at
Omaha in 1898. and voted to remove
the headquarters to Rock Island.
which town is much more conven-
lent OF access. The Fulton people
went into the courts to epjoin Ms on the
ground that the action Of the camp
was void because the camp was held
outside Of the state in which the or
der was incorporated. The court
granted an Injunction. Then the
legislature of Illinois adopted law
authorizing Illinois corporations 70
hold meetings outside OF the stats.
Then the head camp met at Madison,
Wis. in 1895. and again voted to
move the headquarters TO Rock ISL
and. Only nine voted against it.
Then the order moved to have The
Injunction dissolved. This was done.
but the Fulton people appealed to the
appellate court and stayed proceed
ings- This court, last Friday, dis
solved the idjunction.
The Attempted Removal.
1--WE then decided to get the rec
ords out Of Fulton before the Fulton
people could get another stay OF
proceedings by appt al to the supreme
court. So we chartered q special
train, consisting OF several box cars
and coaches, and got to Fulton about
2 o'clock in the morning. We were
6S strong and thought we we're
strong enough, but somebody had
betrayed us and when we got there
We found the whole town ready to
recsive US. We started to take out
the records. but they met us with
the fire department. The firemeu
squirted water through the open
doors Of the cars and also through
the doors Of the building so that our
men in the building couldn't get out
aud neither could the men in the
cars. We attempted to cut the hose,
but they were too many for us.
While the struggle was going on
they telephoned to their attorney at
Morrison and he got an order from
Judge Crabtree restraining us from
proceeding pending the appeal to the
supreme court. They served us
with notice of the order and as soon
as we became satisfied that it was all
right we Withdrew. In due time the
supreme court will sustain the ap-
pellate court and the Office will be
removed from Fulton, which is no
place for it. All the head officers
want to 60"
This is interesting in view Of the
efforts OF the Fulton press represent.
atives to create the impression that
there is any row ON in the order, or
other i'll feeling among any OF its
Representatives resulting from the
attempted removal Of the head OIL
ces. The directors are with the
order, and SO are all the head officers.
The only feeling is on the part Of the
Full topites, who are fighting the or.
der, fact that can be no more clear
ly shown than in the desperate tao
tics they are now employing to
kin it.
| "a Gales burg Woodman furnishes q
Nittle of the head Office question ths,
has not before been published. He
says: This is not the first time
that o change in the location of the
head Offices has been attempted.
About three years after the head
camp was moved to Fulton the head
consul, j. c. Root, wanted TO move
back to Lyons; SO one night he char.
tered n boat and started across the
river with the records. He was
caught. though. before he got very
far and made to 60 back. Then. in
1889, similar attempt was made
20 get the headquarters moved
to Elgin. but an Injunction wei
issued and the deal fell through"
The Rock Island movement has the
charm Of being the third effort,
and as such it will eventually win.
SHOULD BE ABOUT IT.