The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1903-12-11
AN ELOQUENT TRIBUTE
To the Memory of Deceased Brother
Elks


was delivered at the memorial SER
vice held at the Methodist church
last Sunday night by the Exalted
Ruler of the lodge, Mr.. L. M /.
Pierce. 1t embrases a very cor
rect conception Of the principles
Of the order, and is told in an or
nate address:
Ladies and Gentlemen: There is
danger in fulfilling the task which
has been allotted to me that those
who are familiar with the subjects
of my encomiums will think that
| have but poorly acquitted my
self, while on the other hand
those who never knew and loved
our departed brothers will consid-
er my words of praise overdrawn
and exaggerated. To the dead
should always be rendered their
Just deserts, for while we are prone
to envy any accomplishments and
talents superior to our own living,
when they are dead and no longer
our rivals we do not hesitate to
accord them whatever of reward
may be their due.
But before proceeding directly
to the matter of my discourse per-
haps it might be we'll to speak
briefly of the organization which
has created these memorial exer-
cises.
The order of the EIks is an as
ISOLATION whose cardinal principles
are drawn from the grandest and
sweetest word in the vocabulary,
which man has reverenced and
God has dispensed since the morn
ing stars sang together and the an
GELS raised the Heavenly anthem
in the skies; it is word which Is
strained but dfoppeth like the
gentle rain from heaven and bless
eth the giver and the received; il
is the perfume Of good deeds the
foundation and ground work OF
our order is charity. We think
that our doctrine is best exempli.
fed by the incident in Holy Writ
which tells of Christ and the wo-
man of scarlet whom the haunting
Jews had brought before him and
asked whether or not the laws
should be justified and she stoned
to death. We read that when
they spoke to him he stopped and
wrote something on the sand with
his finger, and when asked him
again he turned to them and said;
"Let him who is without sin cast
the first stone, "and he stopped and
wrote again on the sand. They
went away abashed and those who
had come to mock remained to
pray. And the gentle Savior
turned to the woman and told her
to 90 and sin no more, her trans
pressions were forgiven. We be-
lieve that the writing on the sand
that day by the Christ was the
watchword of ourselves; it was
charity, and in imitation OF
him we still write the faults of our
brothers upon the shifting sands,
soon to be obliterated forever
The Elks neither cast the first OIL
the last stone at an erring wayfar
err but we strive always to be the
first in the hour Of need and last
in the desertion of the unfortu-
nate. SIander has no place among
us and we neither originate MOI
circulate anything that might tend
to dim or tranquish the luster of
brothers reputation. In life We
endeavor ever to make each other
better men and more useful cltl-
zens, and it is our part to always
play the good Samaritan whose
pity gave ere charity began. We
covet nothing more than the priv
leee of teaching the wretched how
to rise, and with new hopes, new
opportunities and fresh aspirations
to take up again the battle of life
and the betterment of their con
dition. 1t is strange then that
cherishing such high purposes anc