Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-11-29
FRATERNAL
ARBITRATION
SUGGESTED.
A Movement is AfOOt to Do
Away With Prevailing
Methods of Trial.

A1CAA0OAo VI
city and throughout the State are in
terested in the movement which Lhas
been started recently, which has as
it's objeot~the formation of q State
Board OF Arbitration to decide dis
putes which arise from time to time
between members. With such a body
arguments could be settled without
charges being made against members
or a trial taking place.
Il is argued in favor of the proposed
establishment of the principle of arbi-
tration that in cases of trouble te-
tween fellow lodge members the al
legged grievances are more often fam
cied than real and that hence a board
of arbitration would better serve Is a
means for the restoration of harmoni-
GUS relations.
Every fraternal order has a"code OF
procedure under which oil trials Of
charges are conducted. Some of these
codes are very crude. but the greater
number consist of carefully prepared
rules, each stop being described in
simple language.
To bring charges against another is
within the rights of every member,
but tine bylaws Of many orders pro.
vide that ii the accusations cannot be
sustained charges shall be preferred
against the complaint. We're it not
for this some lodges would be kept
busy constantly trying complaints to
the great detriment of legitimate
lodge work and to the peril, more
over, of their very existence.
There are many cases on record
where personal differences tetween
members and even domestic troubles
have Deen brought to the attention of
lodges through the instrument ality of
formally preferred charges, some
members being seemingly Of the opin-
ion that a lodge is the proper place
for such things; that it is, in fact,
n kind of court whose special function
is the airing of mes personal griev-
auces. IL such a member ooncieves a
dislike for another he trsts about to
see ii he cannot bring some special
charge against him, and il he fails to
find anything of a specific nature he
can Away take recourse to the hack
neyed charge Of ''conduct unbecom-
ing a member"
The trial Of charges forms the most
unpleasant part of the business of a
procedure a single onse is often made
to engage the attention of n lodge for
several consecutive meetings, and it
generally happens that at such times
the attendance fails off materially.
Then, too, trial codes are taken ad-
vantage of by Inspirations members,
with the result that those who are
obliged to leave IN trial committees
are soon lost in a maze of legal terms
and technical requirements. Seldom
does it happen that a lawyer is called
upon to act as counsel, this post being
taken by q friend of the accused or
the cus Unless all those inter-
ested adhere strictly to the code com
plication arise which give cause for
an appeal, when the natter will, as a
matter OF course, have to be gone over
again from the beginning.
When a lodge is engaged in trying q
member it generally divides itself in
to tNo factions, those to who support
the accuser ami these who side with
the accused. This feeling is some
times continued long after the lodge
has voted on the report to the com
mittee, ard there are instances wher 9
such divisions have resulted in the
forming of separate ORGANIZATIONS.
While all but a few in any lodges
have a dislike of charges in any form,
nine ont of every ten members are
! firm believers in the idea that only
offenses against the lodge or order are
the proper kind to be tried by lodge.
In some orders the plan il rosorted
to of forming a sort of court of in
\ quiry. When two members have a
difference that does not affect the
lodge in any particular manner they
submit the case to q grievance com
mittee Of five nlembers, appointed by
the council to which the members be.
long. sssm