The Savannah morning news., 1902-05-20
$4,000 ODD FELLOWS
FIVE THOUSAND MORE IN GEORGIA
THAN A YEAR AGO.
ARE 1000 RUTH REBEKAHS.
FIGURES THE GRAND LODGE OFF,
GERS REPORTS WILL SHOW.

The Grand Lodge to Meet in Atlanta
Next Week-Sayannah Will Have n
Large Delegation of Delegates
From the Lodges, the Rebekah De-
gree Team, Grand Lodge officers
and VisitOrs-Judge McAlpin to Be
Elected Grand Master.
The approaching meeting of the
Grand Encampment and Grand Lodge
of Georgia Odd Fellows will be the
most important in the history of Odd
Fellowship in the state. The meeting
will take place in Atlanta next week,
commencing Tuesday and closing on
Thursday.
There has been a rapid increase in
membership of the order since last
May. The net increase by the time the
Grand Lodge meets will be about 5000
members, making the total member
ship in Georgia about $4,000. This does
not include the female members which
would swell the number nearly 1000
more.
During the year $22. 500 has been paid
out by Georgia Odd Fellows for the re-
lief of the sick, burial of the dead, and
the education of orphans.
Atlanta will do herself proud at
this meeting" said d prominent Odd
Fellow yesterday. There are over O.
500 odd Fellows in that city, and they
propose to make this a memorable oc-
caSion. The parade on Wednesday will
be the greatest ever seen in the South
of fraternal character. There are 6, 900
of 1000 Odd Fellows in and near At
lanta. The railroads have given
low rate of fare and the hotels have
reduced their rates. Every one of the
nearly 200 lodges in Georgia will send,
not only the usual representation, but
a number to swell the parade"
Savannah will be prominent in the
parade. Counting only the representa-
tive from each lodge and the grand
officers, its quota will be over fifty,
Besides these many of the members,
past grands and others, propose to
take advantage of the one-fair rate
and see the parade and take part in
it. Many ladies will accompany the
party, so that Savannah's distinctive
badges will be very conspicuous in the
Gate City next week.
Ruth Lodge No. 8, Rebekah Degree,
the ladies lodge" attended the Grand
Lodge at Macon last year and created
quite a sensation by the manner in
which it exemplifed the work of the
degree The drill teams of this lodge,
composed entirely of ladies, and led by
its leader. Mrs. Cumbia, will attend
this session. There are about twenty
in the team and there work is said to
be nearly perfect. The new costumes,
in which they will appear for the first
time in Atlanta, are elegant, and are
probably the most expensive in the
South.
Odd Fellowship has increased all
over the world and is to-day the larg-
est fraternal order in the world, hav-
ing over one and half million mem
bers. 1t is a matter of no small amount
of pride with which Georgia Odd Eel
lows contemplate the fact that over
this great army Georgia will furnish
its chief officer, Hon. John B. Good
win of Atlanta, who is now deputy
grand sire, and in September will be
elected grand sire at the meeting of
the Sovereign Grand Lodge at Des-
Moines, Iowa. This fact has
had much to do with the en-
thusiasm existing throughout the
state. and which will find expression
in the great gathering next week in
Atlanta.
Judge Henry McAlpin is the present
Deputy Grand Master in Georgia and
will in the regular order of things
be elected Grand Master at the coming
session.