The age-herald., 1901-07-08
MEMORIAL DAY
 OF THE PYTHIANS
Interesting Exercises Held in
 Presbyterian Church
TENNENT L0MAX SPOKE
The Services Were Very Impressive and Every Lodge in City Was Pres ent-The Church Was Beau
 tfully Decorated.

The annual memorial e>lercSses of the Knights of Pythias were held in the Cen tral Presbyterian Church yesterday. The local lodges attended in a body, and the church was filled with friends of the va rious members.
 The chancel was decorated with palms. Seated on the rostrum were Hon. Tennent Lomax of Montgomery, Dr. w. H. Wilder, grand chancellor of Alabama and Dr. L. S. Handley.
 dered:
 Prayer-Dr. L. S. Handley.
 Quartette, Lead Kindly Light (Scfhnerker)-Misses Moore and Unaer- man and Messrs Washburn and Ormsby.
 Address-Dr. W. H. Wilder, grand chan cellor of Alabama.
 Cornet solo. Holy City"-Mr. George Jackson.
 Address-Hon. Tennent Lomax of Mont gomery.
 Solo, Beyond the Gates of Paradise (King)-Niiss Jeanette Moore.
 Address-Mr. Jesse B. Wadsworth, past grand chancellor of Alabama.
 Quartette, Jesus, Lover of My Soul"- Williams.
 OolO kSeteCteUJ-hI. OTHlSDy.
 The feature of the exercises was the address of MT. Lomax. He spoke in part as follows:
 "The supreme law in Pythianism re- quires that one day in each year shall be set apart as a Memorial Day. and au- thorizes and requests all bodies of the or der to meet on that day and engage in such services and exercises as may be ap- propriate to the occasion.
 ie bolt ItYfx resting upon the members of an order, the keystone of which arch Is friendship, the garland of whose temple Is charity and the light of whose castle Is benevo- lence, than to guard and cherish the memories of the dead exemplars of a faith that Is as noble as the aspirations of man, as beautiful as the music of the spheres and as pure as the breath of the eternal morning.
 The Ancient Custom.
 "As the nation which fails to do honor to It's patriotic dead loses the inspiration of the glory of it's past and verges on desola- tion and ruin, so the fraternal order which neglects the memory of those who fell while exemplifying the teachings of its faith, has reached its period of senility and decay. So, the custom we observe today Is as old as the world and as honor able as it's history.
 Tn ancient times there existed among nations that have taken their places in the long line of fallen kingdoms and dead republics peculiar and Beautiful system of religion; knowing nothing of the teach ings of revealed religion which has since illumined the world by the brilliancy of Its rays, they, nevertheless, felt the need of some superior being to whom to look for protection and safety, upon whom to call n Ha axarpiSa the attributes of divinity. Who in their eyes were better fitted for this exalted station than the men who in life had been the trusted leaders in the councils of the na- tion, the valiant generals in the time of war? So, when a great man died, one under whose wise counsels the State had prospered and grown great and powerful, or another whose brilliant victories had made the triumph of her arms and the terror of her name known and respected of peoples, he was deified; magnificent temples were erected for his worship; special days were set apart for the cele- bration of his feasts, and some star or planet was named for him which, as 1t Is hurled by the mighty engines of the universe through illimitable space, bears with 1t to the future ages the story of his worth. Such hero-worship is no longer indulged In among civilized nations, but from 1t has sprung the modern custom of memorial days, by the exercises of which nations states, societies and organiza- tions of men seek to do honor to the sa- cred memory of their dead
 Must Honor the Dead.
 "Under the sublime teachings of our great order next to help to the living who need assistance, next to succor for the widow and orphan who are the especial ! objects of our care we must revere and honor the memory of our dead, of those who, however humble, trod in life the path of Pythian duty with unfalterine step and bore aloft the proud banner of the Pythian faith with unhinching cour- age and self-sacrifcing devotion. In Broader Fields. | Let us go for a moment into a wider field and contemplate the glories of Pythianism as exemplified by it's adher- ents In the broader tasks of charity and beneyolence. Have you ever stood in the heart of a fever-strcken city, seen the blanched faces of men, looked upon the tear-dimmed, fear-flled eyes of women, seen the headlong flight of panc-strick- en people, looked upon stores closed, houses vacant, streets deserted and silent. stood talking one day to one in the full strength and vigor of manhood, to know two days thereafter that he has passed away beneath the relentless scourge, and watched the undimmed splendor of the monday sun, with all its light and warmth and beauty, play, as if in mock 1 cry, over the desolation the pestience l had wrought? If so, you have seen gath | cred there a group of earnest men, dar- ing death every hour. consulting together | and acting together for the care of the sick, the alleviation of suffering the re- | lief of starvation, the burial of the dead and the succor of the widow and the or phan. If you asked their names and pur- poses, the answer came. not giving inc names of the men and their daily occupa- tions, but in the simple words they are | the Pythian relief committee The picture | Is not overdrawn, but Is a faithful record of what happened not many years agone on the soil of your own State; of what has happened in every city where the dread scourge has been since the birth of Pythianism, and of what will happen whenever necessary so long as Pythian- ism lives an active factor in the life of humanity. Aye, 1t happened as well last year in the midst of the awful calamity of wind and wave that made Galveston little more than a name, and it is going on today amid the smouldering ruins Of fire-swept and desolate Jacksonville. Three Great Principles. Thus, my friends, from Canada to Mex leo and from the Maritime Provinces to the Hawaiian Islands and throughout the length and breadth of these United States are the principles of Pythianism daily and hourly exemplifed. It is meet and proper upon such occasions as this that we should renew our fealty to those prin- ciples by statement of our triune faith. nFinainla nf n lf-Sacr1ncinR