Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-08
KNIGHTS OF PYTH|AS
Justus Henry Rathbone
Founded the Order.
HISTORY DISPUTED
FIRST LODGE IN THIS CITY FORTY
YEARS AGO.
Project Laid Before the Old Arion Club
Six Hundred Thousand
Members.
HISTORY DISPUTED

L
The order Of the knights OF Pythias.
which Is the largest Of the organizations
| OF like character having purely American
membership, will be forty years old Feb
ruary 10, 1904. 1t was founded at Marinis
Hall In this city on that day of the month
| 1894. The five gentlemen who took the
most prominent part in Its organization
| were Justus Henry Rathbone, Robert A.
| Champion. DR.. e. s. Kimball. David l..
Burnett and William HI. Burnett. Messrs.
Rathbone and Champion are long since
dead. Messrs. Kimball and d. l. Burnett
| are living and members of the fraternity,
| the latter still very active in Calanthe
Lodge. No. II. OF this Jurisdiction. Will
liam H. Burnett, who has long been clerk
in the War Department also survives, but
| is not now identified with the fraternity.
| Founder Of the Order.
| Justus Henry Rathbone Is famous as the
| actual founder of the order and the per-
| son to whose dramatic inspiration is due
the most beautiful features Of the Pythian
| ritual He submitted the first draft Of the
| ritual based on the story Of Damon and
| Pythias to members Of the old Arion Club,
a musical organization which existed here
| in the later years of the civil war. From
| this small beginning sprang Washington
| Lodge, No. !. K. of p. afterward merged
| in Franklin Lodge, No. 2, which is still in
| evidence. This latter lodge is the fruitful
| mother Of nine thousand Pythian lodges
| now houriShing In ffty-four grand domains
| and carrying upon their rosters an aggre-
! gate of nearly six hundred thousand men,
! bers. There are also about fifty thousand
of the knights who belong to the uniformed
| or military branch of the order. which is
| known as the Army of the Lily"
| ORIGIN of the Idea.
1t has long been supposed and generally
believed In this fraternity that the idea of
a great society based on the immortal
story Of the friendship Of Damon and
| Pythias first came to JuStus H. Rathbone
while he was teaching school at the copper
| town of Eagle Harbor on the Keewenaw
peninsula, Lake Superior, in 1S6O-1- Later
Mr.. Rathbone removed to Washington and
| became clerk In the surgeon general OF
flee here. He was vocalist and ritualiSt
| OF note, and his skill displayed in
many ways. but in none more notably than
| in his first draft of the Pythian ritual,
| which is recognized as remarkably beauti-
| full and effective. Mr.. Rathbone died at
| Lima, Ohio, in the residence of Past Su-
preme Chancellor Walter B. Richie about
| thirteen years ago. His name Is venerated
| throughout the Pythian fraternity.
Lodges Named for Him.
There are lodges named for Mr.. Rath-
|
main, and in some there are more than
one New York, for instance. has a Rath-
| bone lodge, a Justus H. Rathbone lodge
and a Founder Rathbone lodge. In this
domain his name is perpetuated by Justus
| H. Rathbone Lodge, No. %, which Is ono
of the most flourishing lodges in the turis-
dictiOn. Superior Lodge, NO u, also a
prosperous lodge, and one which numbers
| among it's membership many prominent
public men and leading officials OF other
fraternities. owes its name to the clrcum-
| stance, long supposed to be definitely es-
| tablished, that Justus H. Rathbone nrst
conceived the Pythian story and outlined
the ritual while a school teacher in the
| upper peninsula Of Michigan, near the
shores of Lake Superior.
As to Pythian History.
But now a contention has arisen as to the
accuracy of this Pythian history. The
question is interesting to members Of tho
| fraternity everywhere. William d. Ken
nedy of Illinois, past grand chancellor and
past supreme representative. one Of the
best informed members of this great and
successful organization. Is soon to publish
| a comprehensive history of the order. This
| history will state that Mr.. Rathbone never
! wrote any part of the ritual, or even
| thought Of 1t until he came to Washington.
| It will also assert that the Lake Superior
| origin of the ritual Is merely an unWar-
| ranted tradition In letter Mr.. Kennedy
| says:
| Mr.. Kennedy's Views.
| IT am In possession Of the evidence that
Rathbone never thought about an order to
be called knights Of Pythias until the
| fall of 1863 He wrote no rough draft OF
the ritual up in Michigan. have the evil
| dence of three persons who know of the
preparation of the ritual, when and where
| it was DONE and that 1t was not until the
| fall of 1863 that he had picked up the name
| of the order Rave gone over this whole
| question, thoroughly investigating the
! school house story, and have In my pos
session the letters of those who were with
| Rathbone at the time that he first went over
| the play of Damon and Pythias.' with
view to using it foundation for the
| ritual" Mr. Kennedy Is recognizes ,a as p am
there are a number of veteran PythianS
| still living here who do not accept his YER
| sion in this particular.
Another Version.
A letter written Historian Kennedy this
week from here says: Past Grand Cham
cellor and Past Supreme Representative
Amos ]. Cunning OF old Mount Vernon
Lodge, No. 5, one of our Oldest and most
honored Pythians, says that Rathbone told
him that he wrote the ritual in Michigan.
- Superior Lodge, No. q, was Or
ganized here with the active participation
OF all the Old-tlmerS In WaSnlnSton- hlS
name was declared and known by all to be
based on the circumstance that Rathbone
outlined or wrote the ritual while school
teacher near the shores of the might1est or
fresh water seas All the living fathers
of the order here took part. including those
on whom you must needs rely for your IN
formation. Not one of them intimated at
the time that Rathbone did not get his
original ideas In northern Michigan and
bring them east with him. 1t Is also
generally believed throughout the north
west that Rathbone thought out the Damon
and Pythias story In Michigan. Very like
ly the secret society, its name and Its or
eanization were after considerations.
Juvenile Euchre.