The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1903-07-03
WHAT IS THE
ORDER OE ELKS
Their Standard Of Ethics Des-
cribed by Ebert Hubbard
in The PhilIistile
OUT FOR FUN ALWAYS

secret orders. An Elk'S head or an
Elk's tooth is worn to denote MEM
bership, and it is very common to
see one on the other of these orna-
ments wore by men who are members
of the order A very good idea Of
who and what member of this popu-
lar order is can be judged by the ar
ticle in this months Phillistine by Ell
bert Hubbard He says as follows:
| am not a jiner, but if ever | jine
the liners | will begin with the Elks
and probably end there.
Without any special written code or
creed the Elks stand for certain
standard of intellect and ethics.
The man with an Elk's tooth on his
watch chain, or the antlers in his but
ton hole, has no quarrel with God
He accepts life, and finds it good. He
may not be so very wise, or so very
good, and since he knows he is not
wise, and is ready to admit he is not
so very good, he is wiser than he
knows and better than he will ac-
knowledge.
The true Elk does not condemn, dis
parage nor rip regulations up the
back. Realizing his own limitations,
he is Ienient in his judgments toward
those who have been tempted by fate
beyond their power to resist.
This quality of mercy ] have noticed
is strongly implanted in the Elk ma
ture. Your Elk never weeps over
his own troubles but for the stricken
souls of earth and tears of pity are
near the surface.
The Elk loves children, respects old
age, and so far as / have seen doesn't
incline especially toward indifference
to feminine charms. In many in
stances | have imagined the Elk re-
vealed a just appreciation of the ele-
waited spheroid. Yet in all your life
YOU never saw one of these horny
sons of Elkdom going off alone and
cutting into the grape his irrigation
is all in the line of good fellowship.
But | believe this will hold; no little,
small apology for man ever joined
the Elks-he would not feel at home
among them To be an Elk you must
have faith in other men, faith in your
self and faith in the Universe.
The Ellls all look alike, and are all
of one age. just what the age is, |
have not yet made out, but it lies
somewhere between thirty and fifty.
No Elk ever is over fifty, no matter
how long he has lived, and none
weigh over two hundred pounds. They
all have the joyous, boyish, bubbllng
heart of youth, and no whiskers. Lii
laos are out of their line, and Galways
are taboOed.
Never Rich
/ never saw an Elk who was very
rich. except in kindness and good
cheer. nor did ! ever see one circum-
navigating on his uppers They all
have the money they need, even if
not all they want. They make mon
ey and they spend it, and the more
they spend the more they seem to
have. "Keep the change, " is re-
mark the Elk always has electrotyped.
The Elk is not troubled about saw
inc his soul-he does not worry, nor
shake the red flag of wordy theologi-
cal warfare. He believes that every
thing is all right-or nearly so-and
that his task is to do his work, and
not bother folks any more than he has
to. When Ali Bahia said blessed
that man who does not bellyake," he
had a sixteen-pronged antlered Elk in
mind.
An Elk takes his medicine-some-
times with a rye face-but he always
takes his medicine. Often he over
comes temptation by succumbing to
il. and if he trips and falls he is up
and Joins in the laugh of the bystand-
ers. You cannot down man who
can laugh at himself. The Elk stays
right in the game: | never heard OF
one retiring from business; when
Death calls for an Elk, the Elk is apt
first to sell him bill Of goods and
then shake the dice to see who shall
pay Charon's toll.
The Elk does not seek to pry into
the future, for he realizes perfectly
well if he waits he'll know all about
it. And for single reason he does
not chase after women, for he knows
that if he doesn't women will chase
after him. And do.
There seems to be little danger that
this fraternity will evolve into re-
ligion. Most religious people take
their religion seriously, but the Elk
takes his with settler. He knows that
truth is a point of view, that all is
relative, that nothing is final nor alb
solute, nor can it be in world where
nothing is permanent but change. So
the Elk's religion is Now and Here:
to partake Of all good things in mod
Grafton; to give out love and kindness
because these things come back; and
to supply scrap only to the man
who repeatedly asks for it and will ac-
,cept nothing else -thiS is matter of
accommodation To do good is the
first prong in the Elk's creed And
he realizes being wise, that the best
way to benefit himself is to benefit
others. AS for myself, | am strictly
on the hose cart, so / do not affiliate
very closely with the boys, but if
were flying light and wanted to Dor
row ten or twenty mebbe I'd tackle
the first Elk | met without apology
or explanation And my needs would
be to him a command for he is not
clannish and he knows no higher joy
than to give the other fellow lift.
And all these things | have here re-
corded are set down as matter of
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