Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1903-12-16

to the organization, for he appears to
be entirely ignorant of our aims, our
purposes and our accomplishments.
but he has drawn unwarranted infer,
ences. The fool hath said in his
heart there is no God" but We are not
fools. Among our members will be
found the wisest, the greatest and the
purest hearted citizens of the repub
lie. Our order is based upon the ex.
istence OF the Supreme Being. None
can take our obligations but such as
recognize the supreme power. That
power we recognize as dominating all
the affairs of mankind. rewarding the
righteous, furnishing them that dc
not His will" We know that this
life is not all. Says Prentiss:
1t cannot be that our life is a bub.
BILE cast up by the ocean OF eternity,
to float a moment on its waves and
sink into nothingness. Else why
these high and glorious aspirations,
which leap like angels from the tenn
pie of our hearts, forever wandering
unsatisied? Why is 1t that the rain.
bow and the clouds come over us with
a beauty that is not Of earth, and then
pass off to leave us to muse on their
loneliness? Why is II that the stars
which hold their festival around the
midnight throne are set above the
grasp of our limited faculties. for.
ever hooking us with their unap-
proachable glory? And finally. why
is it that the bright forms of human
beauty are presented to u view and
taken from us. leaving the thousand
streams of our affections to flow back
in Alpine torrents upon our hearts?
We were born for a higher destiny
than earth. There is a realm where
the rainbow never fades. where the
stars will be spread out before us
like islands that slumber in the ocean,
and where the beautiful beings that
pass before us will stay forever in
our presence"
AS a social organization, and es.
pecially in our social sessions" for
which Elkdom is famous, we bring
out in bright relief the sunny side of
human nature. With song and story,
with wholesome mirth and sparkling
r~epartee, with genial companionship
and whole-souled comradeship we
bind our members into a chain of
goodfellowship which nothing but
death a sever. An earnest opti-
mism lies at the base of our creed.
We are filled with good cheer. Our
watchword is Hope" we believe the
world is better today than it vas yes
terday, that it will be better tomor-
row than 1t is today. We realize that
misery and suffering are a part of the
common lot of humanity. We under
stand that 1t is the law Of nature that
there must be pain as well as pleas
ure. That there must be storms as
well al sunshine; that sorrow and
joy walk hand in hand; that there
must be tears as well as laughter.
We know that II is the thought of
death which makes life sweet, and
that these opposing conditions, these
contrasts in our existence are essen
tial to human contentment and hap
piness. We know that 1t is the roll
ing and tossing of the waves that
keeps the water of the ocean pure and
wholesome, and that were it not for
the darkness Of the night u eyes
could not bear the light of day.
We recognize the fact that condi-
tons in this world are not Just what
all of us would like. Some of US
agree with that class of our fellow
citizens who are not satisfied with
the present unequal distribution of
the good things of life, and especially
of its luxuries and wealth. But some
of us have learned that there are