The Saint Paul globe., 1900-12-03
FORGOT No absent Elk
ALL LODGES IN TIE STATE PAR
TICIPATE IN THE BEAU
TIFUL CUSTOM
OF RECALLING THEIR DEAD
Mr.. Weed Munro, of Minneapolis,
Delivers a Strong Address to
the Members at
Austin.

AUSTIN, Mimi. Dec Especial THE
Elks of Austin held their lodge of sorrow
in the Baptist church this afternoon The
! programme consisted Of odes, anthems
prayers and addresses. An interesting,
forceful memorial address was delivered
| by Mr.. Weed Munro, of Minneapolis. Mr..
Munro spoke as follows;
Today, at this hour, in each Of its six
hundred and twenty-five lodges, the Be
| neVolent and Protective Order Of Elks is
| paying loving tribute to it's dead. From
| the. Atlantic to the PaciI1c, from the gulf
! to the Canadian line, all Elks are devot-
! ing this day to the commemorati0n OF
! those who have wandered into an un-
! known land This first Sunday in De-
! cember is a fixed day in the calendar of
| events of the order, and is sacredly OBJ
! served by all it's lodges. even by those
who have not been bereft. All join in the
| general sorrow; all give to the solemn
| lessons of the hour respectful heed and
| study.
This annual memorial day presents
| beautiful custom, one that is peculiarly
| spontaneously from the hearts of those
| who. practiced with fidelity the principles
of charity, Justice and brotherly love.
1t ia not strange that this memorial day
| should be a distinguishing characteris-
| tic OF our order. Our fraternity differs
! from others because its social feature is
|
! ates closer relationship and stronger fra
! teInal bonds; we are brothers, not only
| in open lodge, but in our daily life, wher-
| ever we may meet: Brotherly love and
| fidelity are the guiding stars of our fra
! ternal life, while justice and charity go
with us to keep US from slipping and
from stumbling upon the rough places.
| The true, manly friendship that charac-
! terlzes our members is at once unique,
unusual and beautiful The outside world
may. rot appreciate 1t, but we who are
IL i
and are happy in it. And we, because of
cur love for our dead, because we are
! faithful to them as we'll as to ourselves,
and because we hold their memory sa-
! cred, meet here today to pay another tri-
| butte. With us the faults of our BROTH
! ers are written upon the sand-their vir-
! tues upon the tablets of love and MEM
| ory;'' the occasion demands that We re-
count the virtues of our dead that we
may emulate them; that we may draw
! from the memory Of their lives some up
/ spirit of a high resolve, to teach us some
lesson as to the brotherhood of man.
While, therefore, we again stand, as it
were, at the open graves of our brothers,
the occasion also demands that we give
serious thought to the living, to the
! here as well as the hereafter, to the up
building of ourselves and of our frater-
nifty. It is fitting that upon this day
we turn our thoughts to some of the
questions that have ever perpleXed the
universe, and that a layman from our
number preach sermon, or in some way
call our attention to the life that it to
come, to our. sense of personal RESPONSE
bility, and duty to ourselves, to our broth
erS, and to our God.
If we We're to attempt today to bring
comfort to the families and friends OF
those VINO are gone, no more fitting
words could be used than those Of the
poet, Whittier:
81 long for household voices gone
For vanished smiles I long;
/ But God hath led my dear ones on,
/ And he can do no wrong.
''I know not what the future hatn
! Of marvel or surprise,
Assured alone that life and death
His mercy underlieS.
''And so beside the silent sea
/ wait the muff1ed oar,
/ No harm from Him can come to mo
On ocean or on shore
81 know not where his islands lift
Their fronded palms in air;
only know / cannot drift
Beyond His love and care.
"And thou, o Lord! by whom are seen
| Thy creatures as they be,
! Forgive me if too close ! lean
My human heart on Thee"
What a sublime expression of explicit
! faith in the absolute justice, power, kind
ness, gentleness and watchfuIness OF the
Supreme Being! What perfect resigna-
ton and submission to the will Of an all
seeing, ever present, never wavering
Ruleri 1t matters not what may be in
store in the future, or that His place
! of abode may not be known, or that sOr-
| row and SufferingS that bruiSe and crush
may come, there is still that unf1inchlng
! faith in GOd-that belief that whatever
is is right" that even adversely, which
! apparently overwhelms like a resistless
avalanche, may be blessing.-may be
the impetus to carry to better place or
show a higher plane to seek and strive
for.
1t has been said that sweet are the
uses of adversity." 1t is not so, how
ever, to one who accepts 1t with u faint
heart or slothful Indifference; but to him
who, after the calamity has burst upon
him, calmly takes account of stock and
with quick discernment discovers the
cause of the disaster, and with manly
Vigor calls to his aid the latent powers
within him, and rises with fixed and in
vincible determination to withstand ard
overcome, adversely is not the rock upon
which he splits, but the stepping stone
upon which he rises to better things
But at such a time, and to such one,
the encouragement and assistance OF
friends and brothers is both proper and
/. necessary. To whom, then, next to his
God may such an one turn with grea ter
assurance and confidence than to his
brothers in a fraternity like our own.
/ One of the sweetest, most cherished car
dfnal principles of our order Is Charity
but its broadest meaning should be given
to the word; the old-time definition Of
IlDeraI1ty to the distressed should be dtS-
carded, and it should be accepted and
practiced In its newer and better sense
of love to our fellow men. The word
charity in its ordinary acceptance is
a cold and forbidding term. 1t brings Ut
visions of ttghtened purse strings, loosen
ed g1udgingly, with many q frown ard
sigh and mental reservation of an un-
charitable nature. if, indeed. there be nc
accompanying audible protest. Such
charity is not charity; it is merely bar
barous giving; it blesses neither him that
takes; it lacks the element of love
which should be in practice, as 1t IS in
True charity Is not confined to mere
financial aid and succor He from whose
heart it springs spontaneously is above
that carping criticism of others which is
the bane of our every day business and
social life. Greater pain is caused by un-
KIND criticism of our fellow men and jocu-
lal comments upon their fOibleS than bv
the denial Of active assistance I knew a
man made it a rule of his life never to
speak Ill Of man except 1t be in the
nature of privileged communication in
business or social life. and then only to
those who had right TO demand it. He
was prince among men. He had "a
good word for everyone and everyone
knew him to be a friend.
You have doubtless heard of that moth
er who was SO c1rcumspect in her daily
conversation that her daughters said they
believed she would speak well of the
and she answered: 81 only wish my
daughters We're as energetic as he is