The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1903-10-02
GOV. McMILLIN's ADDRESS.

GOV. McMILLIN's ADDRESS.
The reception given ex-Gov. McMil,
| lin at the grounds, amounted to an oya-
| ton; the Knights and their friends lined
I'D several hundred strong to shake
hands with him, and it was long after
the appointed hour before the speaking
began. In the meantime the crowd from
town and country had been pouring into
the grounds, 80 that large concourse
was present to hear him. Being intro
duced nv Congressman Padgett,. McMil-
lin said in part as follows:
Brother knights. Ladies and Fellow
Citizens:
1t affords me great pleasure to have
the honor of being with you on this
occasion. IL left to my own choice l
would have preferred to be with you
in silence, rather than speaking to
you. But when invited by your COM
mittee to attend this reunion Of the
knights of Pythlas, and say word to
the brotherhood, l accepted because OF
desire to mix and mlngle with you.
and to see how the order prOspers In
this great and good county.
| am not unmindful however Of the
properties of this occasion. l realize
that q lengthy programme is arranged
for the day and hence shall be brief
in my talk with you.
Some four hundred years before
the birth OF our blessed heoeem-
or there resided in Syracuse two
apostles IF Pythagosus: one named
Damon, and his friend and partner.
Pythlas. We all know the beautiful
story of their love; how the
one was willing to die for the other.
The founders Of our great ana benev-
olent order selected one of these heroes
rs the person whose name should be
borne by the order, and 1t is well
For as long as fraternal affection and
true friendship are valued among men.
as long as the fidelity of Ruth to
Naomi is appreciated by women, so
long will such a spirit of self sacrifice
and genuine friendship be laud &c
wherever manliuess exists.
Right here 1t is not amiss for me to
say a word concerning the objects OF
fraternal orders, and especially OF the
order assem- bled here today. When we
see the amount of charitable work
done by this brotherhood, the number
of sufferers who have been relieved.
the number of children who have been
given bread, the numbe OF homeless
who have been shelf cred and protected,
there IS little use of further argument.
But let it not be supposed by any that
either the brotherhood of knights OF
Pythlas, or any other of the brother
hood working with similar purpose,
is intended to or can supplant the
Christian religion. No man who
devoutly believes in the everlasting
truths of holy writ will for one
moment conclude or allow others to
believe that he thinks that 1t can or
should supplant, either in whole or In
part, the great plan OF salvation
which the Saviour OF the world
devised for the salvation of the human
race But when He who walked upon
the waters said Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself, He not only
gave permission but commanded every
charitable work done tor the uplifting
of the down trodden, or for tie better
ment of the sick, the afflicted and the
oppressed.
The founders of the Knights of
Pythlas have very beautifully and
forcefully announced the principles OF
the order in these words: Founded
Oh naught but the purest and sinceresr
motives, its ann Is to alleviate the
suffering OF a brother, succor the up-
fortunate. zealously watch at the
bedside Of the sick. soothe the dying
pillow. perform the last sad rites at
the grave of brother. offering con-
ISOLATION to the afflicted, and caring for
the widow and orphan. Having these
principles IN view, its members Will
II deavor to exemplify them ty
tests and ii by the grace
of hod. 1t shall successfully carry out
thIs ou]ect, they will feel that their
mission has not been IN vain.
My brothers. Que un- acquainted
with the great WORK that We have
done ulgh, ask HAS any good been
accom- lished" by all these meetings?
has any charity been distributed
through this chapnelY' In answer tu /,
rhis, pardon me while trace briefly
tho progress made b., the KNIGHTS Of
plished. the order setmtltd bele
today could ask no higher encomum
than to have It's merits Judged by the
trut6 VI lUS ldDOTs. FROM smbll
band. numbering less than dozen in
February, 1854 1t has risen to 1905
lodges, containing total membership
on December 81, 1902, of 562, 1877. |
lnis was net gain during the year
1909 of 70 lodges and 20, 1879 memD ers.
And what has this vast army done to
alleviate bffering, and TO relieve
d,stressr During the period of its
existence the total amount expended |
for general relief purposes mas been |
S2Y, 500, 745. 90. This does not include |
the amount paid out under the opera
tons of the endowment RANK IN life
insurance. That rank was estal Ii she'd
In 1876, and has paid out more than
twenty millions of dollars. SO 1t will |
be seen that counting the payment |
from all sources distributed through
his order, 1t has amounted to more
than one million dollars per annum, /
even including the years when the
order was young and feeble. There |
was expended for relief last year, not
that expended by the
rank. 81, 47O. 12s. and there !
was left cash on HAND at the beginning
II this year ~. sos. 0B9. The total
lmo,nt Of lodge assets Is Sii, 100. 9i8.
~ 1t will DO seen that this order has