The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1899-04-11

lows: Up Court street to Apol-
los, across to Caddo, thence to
residence of Past Grand Purvine,
thence to Church street and to
Broadway and thence to Main
street to opera house.
Arrived at the opera house the
auditorium was soon filled, and
after prayer by the grand chaplain,
Henry NJ. Furman rose, and in
neat little speech, welcomed the
delegates. He said:
'Mr. Chairman, Members of the
Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows, La
dies and Gentlemen: While it is
not generally known, yet it is never
theless a fact, that Odd Fellowship
constitutes the largest fraternal So
ciety in the United States. 1t is,
therefore, appropriate that you, the
representatives of this order in this
jurisdiction, should hold your grand
lodge meeting in Ardmore, the larg-
est town in the Indian Territory.
The pleasant duty has been assigned
to me of bidding you a hearty and
cordial welcome amongst US. We
all esteem it to be a privilege and
tain you. We are in hearty sympa-
thy with the purposes which you
cherish and bid you God speed in
your noble and ennobling efforts to
relieve human misery, suffering and
woe, and to build up and advance
the best interests of mankind.
I'VE know that if your principles
were generally accepted and prac-
ticed, the words hereto and
enemy would be banished from the
human language, and that in their
place would be used the better and
the nobler words of friend and
brother We. therefore, do not
greet you as strangers, but rather as
friends and brothers. We want you
/ to understand that while we extend
to you the welcome of the hand and
/ of words, we also extend to you the
welcome of the heart, which is SC
deep and sincere, that language
cannot give it adequate ex.
preston. We welcome you as
individuals; we welcome you as ar
organization.
This IS pre- eminentiy an age oi
organizations. Organization is the
fountain source from which the
stream of civilization flows. The
very existence of society depend:
upon organization. Without organ
ization the strong and the viciou:
would prey at pleasure upon the
weak. Defenseless virtue would be
at the mercy of brute force and un
hqllowed passions. Governments arc
organizations for certain genera
purposes. They are good or bad il
proportion to the fidelity with which
they adhere to the purposes which
call them into existence. But gov
ernments cannot do more than take
a general interest in the affairs o.
men. It is necessary that there
should be social organizations to FL
special needs. Without concert o
action but little can be accomplished
energy will be wasted and forces in
tended to promote the same pur
pose will be brought into confiic
with each other. One strand of wire
can be easily broken, but a combi
nation of strands can be formed
which will be able to support any
conceivable weight. One man BY
himself cannot do much, but an in
telligent organization of men car
accomplish almost incredible
things. We see the truth of thii
illustrated in the fraternity of th'
Odd Fellows. Without taxing anI
of its members beyond their abilit!
to contribute to its purposes, th'
Odd Fellows of the United State
during the year 1897 expended TO
the relief of distress the enormou
sum of 50, 1864 ,62O.41. These are tn
official figures. They excite the ad
miration and arouse the gratitude o
every lover of mankind. Think o
: it, nearly $40, 900 day for charity
This is a record which should max
the heart of any Odd Fellow swel
with laudable pride. But as gram
and glorious as this record is,
does not tell half of the good tha
has been done. No record can b
made, or kept, of the friendly greet
ings. the warm pressures OF tn
! hand, the words of encouragmen
and good counsel, the helping hand