The Wichita daily eagle., 1901-02-22

| equally conscious of the splendid spirit
| which prompts it This gift from you
| possesses intrinsic worth and value. a
knight Of chivalry or a king. loaded with
the honors Of peace and war, might well
be proud enough to bear it with his pos
sessions. 1t is Of intrinsic value because Of
what it represents in gilt and gold. US
pended here is the seal Of our great
state. state with a name in history
for heroic struggle and daring resolve,
and never more prosperous and glorious
than now. If we have come through diff
fculdes TO make our commonwealth
what it now IS. the stars are only the
brighter and the air the more rarifed
now that we live among the heights.
his name immortal by the keenness of
From us ingalls, has gone forth to make
his logic and the elegasce Of his die
ton From US Funston has gone to make
for himself name among the world 8
immortal worthless. These and hundreds
of others. in blessing and enriching
themselves have blessed and enriched US.
Like the immortal Washington who is
loved by all his counrrymen as the father
Of his country, and is revered by all
MasOns as a brother are these men to
US. What he is TO the nation and the
world, these men are, in a measure, to
us. His life was the embodiment Of our
teaching Our teaching became incar-
nate in him. He was an apt scolar in
the Masonic school. And when more
than a year ago I stood by the tomb
that enshrines his sacred dust, my heart
beat with proud emotion that a charac-
ter so sublime and great, so ike a noun
tain in girth and altitude, so like a vine
in tenderness and fragrance. was made
at our alters.
Above the seal Of the state Is the Ma
sonic home To us it is one Of the great
institutions Of the whole world It is a
monument to our zeal. Frozen in the
cold granite there is the splendid poem
of our hearts love And it should re-
mind us that we should ever be ready to
defend the weak, the helpless and the
oppressed, and in a brothers cause do all
that may be demanded by manhood and
fraternity.
Above it is the hag Of our country,
that proud emblem of liberty and pro-
gress Its every star has risen from
seas Of trouble and has burst its way
through clouds of doubt and the smoke
of battle The field in which these stars
scintllate and burn has been purged OF
all impuritv by the blood Of martyrs
fallen in the hour Of triumph It's
stripes futtering in the breeze are en-
blematc Of peace and the price with
which It was purchased Long may this
flag wave ont to the muldtudes Of this
earth, whose virtues that all Masons
revere.
Then I see the Holy Bible, the rule
and guide Of aur faith, which all NGasons
love 1t is the stay and the staff Of our
lives. Without it there could be no Ma
sonry free and accepted. Here, too, are
the working tools of our profession. By
them We Ray out the plan of our life
and by them we order our character
They are fitting to ALL but the more to
Masons who have become proficient in
their use.
over them all and over US is the all
seeing eye, which meets our life's path
for us and guides US in the way Of all
truth It is well that we should remem-
Der that His loving eye is ever over US.
[ appreciate this gift. coming from
your hands. coming as It does from you,
my brethren, and in the opening days of
this new century SO full Of hope and
trust. And I thank YOU for it. And again
hank YOU. But 1t is too much for me
and I must not keep it to myself nor
for myself. ooner OF later must sub
init TO the army Of years. These silent
soldiers have never lost a battle. They
strike us with invisible but irresistible
hands. must soon travel the we'll
troden path that leads to the grave,
path that is as solid as lead and in
whose weary miles no flowers grow.
cannot take this memento with me. and
! beg you to receive it from me. that it
may become the property of this grand
lodge. This being the first annual com
municauon Of this grand lodge in the
twentieth century, take this oppor-
tunity to present through You. most
worshipful, this m0mento which 7 prize
SO highly. Take it sir, and if it be ac-
cepted by this grand lodge I shall ap-
preciate their acceptance Of it as T ap-
preciate it as a gift from them. thank
you one and all
Judge A II. Ellis Of the supreme court
moved thar the jewel be accepted by
the grand lodge in the same spirit that
it was rendered by Colonel L.ooris. and
that it be made the official Jewel of the
grand lodge of the state Of Kansas. This
motion was adopted unanimously.