The age-herald., 1901-05-08
Officers Are Elected for the
 Ensuing Year
ROUTINE WORK YESTERDAY
w. H. Wilder of Birmingham Is Grand Chancellor-Reports of Keeper of Records and Seal Show the
 Order To Be Prosperous.

Age Herald Bureau, Clancey's Hotel Montgomery, May '. = Especially - The Grand Lodge of the Knights of Pythias of Alabama convened in annual session here today. The sessions today have been given over to routine work and the cleo ton of officers
 At 10 o'clock the Grand Lodge was call ed to order by Grand Chancellor Davis c. Cooper of Oxford. At that time there were 15O representatives of subor- dinate lodges present. This was out of a total membership of about 2150. The mem bers of the grand committees were also present and with the grand officers there were over POO in the historic Hall of Rep resentatives when the lodge convened.
 Degree Conferred.
 The Grand Lodge degree was then con ferred on those members who had not until then received it. This degree was conferred on all the new members.
 The reports of Grand Chancellor Cooper and Grand Keeper of Records and Seal Donahoo. which were then submitted to the Grand Lodge, showed that the order has made good progress and Is in a de- cidedly healthy condition At the end of last year there were 157 subordinate lodges. a gain of two over the year before, and since January 1 last six new lodges have been instituted, making the total at this time 163 The total membership at the close of last year was 1853, net gain of 296 members over the previous year, The total estimated membership on May was 10000. This represents a growth from 571S in 1891. showing that the order has practically doubled In Alabama during the past ten years. The report also shows that last year the sum of $10.0S1 was paid ont for sick benefits as compared to $S7S4 the year before and $4353 for funeral ben etits, as compared to s3123 the year previ- ous. The Grand Lodge finances are in ex- cellent shape. In 1897 the Grand Lodge was in debt. in 1898 1t had a surplus of s554. while on May of this year it had cash on hand to the amount of $6S50, with no indebtedness.
 Officers Elected.
 The officers elected for the ensuing year are as follows:
 Past chancellor D. C. Cooper, Oxford ; grand chancellor. W. w. Wilder, Birm- ingham grand vice chancellor, W. c. Black, Troy; grand prelate, J. B. Ellis Orrville; grand master of exchequer, J. M. Donnelly, Dothan; grand keeper of records and seal, ]. H, Donohoo. Tallade- ga; grand master at arms, F. H. Nichols; Roanoke; grand inner guard, Thomas E. Knight Greensboro; grand outer guard, B. c. Jones. Bessemer
 Supreme representatives: Tennant Lo- max, Montgomery; c. R. Bricken, Lu- verne.
 The grand chancellor will announce the standing committee later.
 The new constitution was read and adopted, section by section. The most inn portant change in the constitution is the delegation of control from the grand to the supreme lodge. In future entire con trol Is vested with the supreme lodge. An effort to have future representation based upon membership rather than one for each lodge was defeated. The grand lodge is in the best financial condition in It's history, due in large measure to the splendid work of Grand Keeper of Rec ords and Seals Donohoo