The age-herald., 1900-09-18

beautiful of all Southern towns, which Montgomery unquestionably is And the State should at once acquire the remainder of the great double square in which the Capitol now lands, and remove the shacks, stables, pigsties, and the one or two little dwelling houses therel
 Mississippi purely agricultural state with about fifty million dollars less assessed taxable values than Alabama shows. is building million dollar capitol.
 The sentimental interest attaching to the old and somewhat rickety Capitol at Mont gomery should not be sufficient to longer interfere with the peoples business. Let Montgomery remain the Capital; but let the Legislature provide decent Capitoll
 
 Thousands of schoolchildren began their scholastic year in a perfect Autumn day yesterday. There never was, never can be, any day in any land more perfect than was yesterday in Birmingham! And the streets in the afternoon were remarkably crowded, even for Birmingham. When the schoolchildren were released by their teach CTS in the afternoon they added their happy presence to the throngs down town, thousands of them brightening the streets and making merry the life of the multi tude!
 ''The biennial meeting of the Sovereign Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, now in session at Richmond, Va, has brought together great con course of representative Americans-hun- dreds of delegates and thousands of other members and thousands of outsiders from nearby towns" said former Virginian, who is also a member of the organiza ton. "There will be a grand parade of the uni formed Patriarchs, and that is what brings the crowd. Odd Fellowship was planted in America in 1S19 by five Englishmen of the Manchester Unity, the first lodge starting in Baltimore. The Sovereign Grand Lodge was organized in 1880, and it represented only small membership. But on the first of the present year there were S9O,965 un- der the Jurisdiction of the sovereign body, which includes six quasi-independent Grand Lodges in foreign countries. A year ago the membership in the United States and Canada, reported officially, was S29, ,669, not including the Daughters of Rebecca the popular woman branch of the order. and not including the negro Odd Fellows, who have no affiliation with the Sovereign Grand Lodge.
 Odd Fellowship has increased in the United States in recent years at the rate of about 15,0OO year. The amount paid for the relief of needy members and widows and orphans during last year amounted to considerably over 5000, 900. The Manchester Unity of England has even a larger membership than the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the last reports giving that body over 300 900. Yet notwith- standing the fact that American Odd Eel loWship is an offshoot of the Manchester Unity, the two bodies have never been officially related. there being even no sort of exchange of courtesy. This seems strange and have often wondered why it is so. It would be most advantageous to both orders, it seems to me, if fraternal relations were established
 'In the United States and Canada the Free Masons still outrank any other se- cret society. but today they are only a few thousands ahead of the Odd Fellows Next to the latter come the Knights of Pythias, numbering about 475O 900, and next in order are the Modern Woodmen, with a membership of about 45O000. The fraternal orders in America have multiplied rapidly within the past few years and are now we'll nigh countless. In England there are only three secret orders: the Masons, the Man. chester Unity of Odd Fellows and the An cient Order of Foresters. The latter is not only strong numerically in England, but in the social standing of its members 1t ranks next to Masonry
 The noble gift of one thousand dollars from MT. R. s. Munger of Birmingham to the Galveston sufferers is characteristic of one of the best, most benevelonet and most charitable men who ever dwelt in Ala bama.
 MT. Munger is as modest as he is char itable being truly benevolent for the sake of doing good. His gift to Galveston was not heralded to the world by himself; in- formation concerning it finds it way into print by accident. In the hurry O. a railway journey he read in the Monday morning newspaper the day after that terrible Sun day, the story of the most terrible disas- ter of modern times. He quilted the train at the wayside station of IIef1in, between Birmingham and Anniston, and telegraphed the Governor ot Texas to draw on him for a thousand dollars. That was all; no fuss and feathers about his splendid deed of noble goodness!
 Noble deeu, MT. Munger! Whether yoJ. dislike the world to do so, the world ap- plauds you.
 MT. D. Terence Curran, the popular and accomplished young lawyer of Birmingham, Is dangerously i'll of typhoid fever at St. Vincents Hospital. He fell i'll about a week ago, and his case was critical from the start As soon as could be, he was conveyed to St. Vincent's. His tempera- ture was then 105. The good Sisters of Charity are giving him their constant per- scnal attention, and in that he is blessed in his aff1iction. MT. Curran came to Bir- mingham from New York about two years ago; and his family dwell in that city.
 MT. Warner Shook left Birmingham last night for Nashville, where he will make