The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-07-26
Fight Over Odd Fellows Home
Reaches Serious Stage.
Secretary Kent Resents Efforts
to FOfst Old Grant on Order.
AFTER STINE'S SCALP.
Says That One or the Other
Must Withdraw.
Ottawa Man Intimates That Tt
Should Be Kent.

The DeBoissiere odd Fellows home
fight has broken out afresh involving
Grand Secretary D. w. Kent and L. c
Stine, the superintendent of the ottawa
home.
For several weeks the vote for grand
officers of the L o. o. F. has been going
on by mail. The voting is done by the
Australian ballot system and besides
the names of the candidates to be voted
on for grand officers, the question of
home was included. The ballots read
for or against a, home meaning a
new home to be established by the next
session of the grand lodge which meets
at Wichita in October.
l. c. Stine, superintendent of the De-
Botssiere home at Ottawa. addressed a
circular letter to the different lodges
requesting that in voting the members
qualify their votes for the Odd Fellows
home by stating that they desired the
grand lodge to father the DeBOlSSlere
home. About 20 lodges passed resOlu-
tions to that effect and sent the reso-
lutions, together with the ballots, to the
secretary of the grand lodge
Grand Secretary D. w. Kent, upon
seeing the circular, Immediately wrote
a caustic circular letter denouncing
Stine and calling upon the lodges to
follow strictly the law of the order in
voting and to vote only as the ballots
indicated.
Slime Immediately followed with cir
cular No. 3, explaining his stand and
calling upon the friends of the DeBois-
siere home to vote for the interests of
that institution. Since the open rup-
ture between the secretary and the
superintendent of the home, Secretary
Kent has announced that at the next
meeting of the grand lodge he will pre-
fer charges against St1ne and that
either he or Stine must leave the order.
Lodge men say that Stine's reply is
that he agrees that one of them must
leave the order but that it will not be
him. The interest of the next grand
lodge meeting centers around the home
question.
At the meeting of the grand lodge in
1894 the lodge decided to pay off all in
debtedness of the home and to have
nothing more to do with it. When De-
Boissiere, an old F'renchman, left 3,100
acres, worth over $140. goo. to the lodge
for an odd Fellows home, he left the
property in charge of a board of direc-
tors named by him, each member haV-
ing the right to appoint his successor
This virtually left the home in the con
troll of the directors instead of the
grand lodge The Odd Fellows of the
state found fault with the manner in
which the home was conducted and af-
ter paying $33 600 Indebtedness in 1895
refused to make any more assessments
for the support of The home.
At the session of the grand lodge in
1898 the question of a home came up.
The idea was for a new home entirely
separate and distinct from the Ottawa
home. Several sites were offered and
the matter was finally left to a commit
tee to report at the next session. The
vote on the home during the recent
election was for the purpose of aScer-
tanning the feeling of the members of
the order in the state. On account of
the circulars it is held that the vote is
not conclusive. The vote now stands
1870 for and 2,917 against.
As Secretary Kent is a strong sup
porter of a new home and bitterly Op-
posed to the DeBOissiere home his vote
is claimed by many to be a criterion up
on which to estimate the feeling
throughout the state. Kents vote for
secretary stood 1928 against 1906 of his
four opponents.
For some time the title to the De-
Boissiere property has been in litiga-
ton. TrOutman & Stone bought all
rights the heirs claimed and have been
fighting to have the property revert to
them, claiming that the owner was in
fuenced when he willed it to the Odd
Fellows. The case came up in the court
at Ottawa and because Kent was wit
ness it is said that Stine became op-
posed to him.
The case was heard some time ago
and many claim that the judge is being
influenced to withhold his decision until
just before the meeting of the grand
lodge. The decision then to be given in
hopes of perhaps bettering the position
of the home directors.
Kent has been vigorously attacked by
members who favor the Ottawa home
and a lively time is expected at the
meeting of the grand lodge. Those Op-
posed to the ottawa home declare that
lit is run as an orphans home and that
aged Odd Fellows are not cared for as
they should be.
The mail vote for grand officers of the
Odd Fellows is all in. excepting three
or four minor lodges, and the result is
as was foreshadowed several weeks
ago. Rev. John A. Bright, of Topeka is
elected grand master with 1.449 votes.
For the same position, c. r. Walters,
of Oswego. received 535 and A. S. KEN
per. of Louisville. !, 229.
For deputy grand master, J. W.
Haughey. of Wellington. received SAB
and is elected. Conner Davies, of Con-
cordia, 1906
For grand warden, L. NJ. PenweI of
Topeka, is elected with 1,1S6 votes w.
H. Lemon, of Olathe. 292; J. NJ. John
stOn. of Garnett, 351; Geo. w. Brown.
of Cherokee, 694; H. r. Mariette, of OBJ
erlin. 81; A E Helm. of Wichita, 314;
n. b. Needham, of Clifton, 235.
For grand secretary, D. w. Kent, of
Hutchinson, is reelected with 1928
votes; John Dalton of Mankato. 597:
A. L HemptOn, of La FOntaine, 253; H.
c. Mccoy, of Concordia, $50; J. NJ
Stewartson, of Colby, IS.
For treasurer, L G. Beal, of Topeka,
is reelected with 3.0s5 votes.
For representative. W. L. Brown, Of
Kingman. 2.4OO votes. H. w. Pond, F't.
Scott. 762.