Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-05-13
Waterbury Courts We'll Re-
 presented At New Britain.
GOOD SHOWING DURING YEAR.

Eleven New Courts Organized and h. creased Membership in Old Ones- Interesting Reports of Grand Chief
 Ranger Randall of Rockville and
 Secretary William c. Kleinecke. ot
 Waterbury.
 New Britain, May 13.-The twelfth convention of the Grand court of Con #necticut, F. of A, opened i'll this city lat S1O o'clock this morning with Grand AChief Ranger Randall of Rockville pre- Ssiding. There are about 200 delegates lin attendance, which is the largest humber that ever attended any meet Hing of the Grand court Many of the delegates came to town last evening land the remainder on the early morn- ling trains to-day The most interest Bis centered in the contest for grand ssecretary between W. c. Kleinecke or Waterbury, the present secretary, and Drank Haggarty of Hartford. The Adelegates discussed the matter until q Mate hour at their hotels last night, and
  lat it again bright and early this morn ang.
 L The convention was formally opened with an address of welcome by Mayor lSamuel Bassett, after which the doors were closed and the regular business sOf the convention was begun.
 George w. Randall, grand chief ran ger, delivered the first of the formal # reports, reviewing the work of the grand court during the past two years, and summarizing his official acts and decisions. He said in part:
 While OUT order may with just pride boast of large membership in this Jurisdiction, it is safe to say that our work has hardly begun. Out of M 100000 males eligible to membership only e-fifth of that number are on It's rolls. Let this be an incentive to every member of our order to go to work with renewed interest
 After referring to the harmonious re- lations which have existed among the members of the present executive council, MT Randall touched on the membership and financial condition.
 The grand chief ranger continued his address by a strong plea for an in crease in officers salaries. He recon anended that the grand secretary's sal ary be raised from $950 to $1,200 a year and that the grand court pay his office rent. For the grand treasurer he recommended salary of $500
 Under the head of Careless and Dis honest Secretariesv he said: My at tention has been called to several breaches of trust i'll the office of finan- cial secretary and an Investigation of the secretalys books by the court off cers or person selected by the execn- tive council has in each case shown q bad state of affairs. This is doing much injury to our order. No court should fail to have a quarterly audit, nor should the secretary fail to notify all members when three months in ar rears. A close supervision of the il nances of each subordinate court would result ill the saving of much money and prevent many secretaries becoming dishonest. I might suggest that the executive council be given more power and Jurisdiction over courts to the extent of sending an ac countant when deemed necessary that the books may be thoroughly exam &ned."
 Mir Randall urged that the ballot sys tenn should be adopted for elections tc save time, and he advocated one-da5 sessions of the annual convention. Ht recommended that the sum of 5000 bt appropriated to recompense the courts belonging to the sForesters Home Fund"
 "I am pleased to say that Forestry in New Haven is again Fl the ascend ant. In 1889 the membership Wal 9S2, in 1901 it had dropped down t, S20 with every prospect of a furthe decline During my term there ha' # been a change for the better and tn reports of the grand secretary show al Increase of 60 members in the twt years. A still greater increase ma! be expected in the next two years.''
 Grand Secretary w c. Kleinecke' xsport will be found on page ?. Forestry is an old institution, so olt hat it's origin is unknown, but it date back to Sherwood forest in Englant and the day of bold Robin Hood an, his merry men. The first court Q which we have any existence is tha of Court Perseverance, No 1, instituted at Leeds, England, in 1790, although mention has been made of one il 4 Karesboro, England, in 1745 but thi has never been confirmed, so the writ \ ten history of Forestry began with tn one in Leeds, in 1790.
 At the formation of the first cour the title of Ancient Royal Order of Fo1 esters was adopted. The fraternit progressed rapidly and harmoniousl