Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-07-26
WOODMEN GALA DAY.
Continued from Third page.

nursery OF American clEllZallOn
that as such it had right to be re.
garded as a great public institution,
and had a right to be cherished and
protected in every possible public and
private way; that in the home was
found everything which made for
peace and progress in the nation; that
the home was a commonwealth in min
iature; that government was represent
ed in the parental control; that obedi-
ence to law and to proper and healthy
regulations was inculcated first in the
home, and that the children who
learned those lessons in the home
nevere became anarchists when they
became men and women, but that the
starting point for good citizenship
was always to be found within the
limits of well regulated home. He
pictured the completed American
home. where the father and mother
and the growing children live in hap
piness and contentment, and said that
not only was such a home the crown
of manhood and womanhood, but it
was the one thing to which the
youth of both sexes in our land were
constantly and properly looking for
ward. He said that nations had al
| ways regarded the home as the chief
of all their institutions; that wars
could be prosecuted under the most
disadvantageous circumstances and
against the greatest odds if the spirit
which actuated patriots was the de-
tense of their homes, and cited the re-
mark of the late Robert Ingersoll that
| ''men could never be inveigled into
an army to fight in defense OF board
ing house."
MIR. johnson then took up the rela-
| tion which the fraternal beneficiary
societies bear to the American home;
declared that this was not life insur-
ance in any sense, but was home pro-
lection, and insisted that every wo-
man who had good home, having no
assurance that the angel of death
might not enter it at any time and
take therefrom the bread winner,
ought to be interested in this method
of home protection, because it guar
antees to her that if the husband and
father should be taken away by death
there would still be provision in her
hands to keep the home together, to
keep her children with her, to rear
and educate them in a proper way,
and to see that they became honorable
citizens in their community. With
out some protection of this kind, the
family might be scattered; the moth
er might not be able to provide for
her children on account, possibly, of
physical weakness; the home would
be broken up, and the children al
lowed to grow up as best they might,
and the difference between a home
preserved and home lost might be
the difference between children be-
coming honored citizens and children
growing up to be vagabonds.
History Reviewed.
Mr.. johnson then briefly reviewed
the history of the Modern Woodmen
of America, showing how well this
order had performed it's part in this
great line of work; praised it's plan
and its management. and predicted a
success for it in the future far greater
than anything which had ever occurred
in the past. He closed by impressing
upon every member of the order pres
ent the duty of individual effort, in
sisting that each one owed it to him
self, as well as to the order at large, to |
at least make some effort to increase |
and strengthen the order in his i'm
mediate locality, insisting that every
one in the order should be on the |
lookout committees" that mem bers |
should be urged to attend the meet
ings of the camp, suggesting that |
Identification meetings should be /
held, and predicting that at such
meetings it would be discovered that
men were members of the order who
were never suspected of being Wood
men by the members of their own
camp, and in conclusion paid beau
tiful tribute to the order, invoking a
long continuance of its present pros
perity, and a wide extension of it's
plan of fraternal beneficence.
There were also addresses by NJ. j.
McEuiry, G.. j. Searle and Mai. c. w.
Halves. They were delivered too late
for publication today.
woodmen Chips.
Enjoy yourselves
The picnic is grand success.
The head office closed for the day.
The pillow works suspended for the
iay.
1t was one of the Towers biggest
crowds.
There was plenty of music-and
good music. too
The ladies, of Course, made the
finest appearance.
The festivities will end with a
lance and a general good time.
All the business houses were decor
ated, as were also many private resi-
ienees throughout the city.
The brownies locked like the fores-
ters that Rip Van Wrinkle encountered
when he went into the mountains to
Sleep
Many took advantage of the invita-
ion of Maj. Halves to visit the head
office, and it was thfonged all during
The morning
All the foresters wore neat and
1atty uniforms. Ehe teams while