Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-06-24
Travelling Mems Joke May Re-
suit In Founding of Ma
tional Orphans Home
NOTHING BUT coPPERs IN FUND
Iowa Delegates Go to Meeting OF SUI
preme Council of United Commercial
Travellers With 1900 Pennies
"Father Houck" Fund, as it Was
Dubbed, Has Become Important.

Special to Times Republican
Sioux City, June 24.-From penny
collection of cents, taken up as a joke
for the benefit OF busted travelling
man at the meeting of the United
Commercial travellers in Sioux City
three years ago, a fund has been start
ed which will probably be dedicated to
national orphans home, for the or
phans of travelling men.
TO the meeting of the supreme coun-
Gil OF the United Commercial Travellers
which convened at Columbus, o., to-
day the delegation from Iowa has gone
with 1900 pennies and instructions
from the grand council of Iowa to
bring the matter Of an orphans home
before the supreme council. This the
delegates have pledged themselves to
do and the word is as good as the deed
The delegates from Iowa are M. A.
Struble, Of Sioux City, NJ. j. Brazell OF
Sheldon, and c. N. Bragg. of Des Moi
mes.
At o'clock on the morning Of the
first day of the Y. r. c. grand lodge
meeting in Sioux City three years ago,
Ia. w. Houck. of Sheldon, a veteran
knight OF tho. grip and jollier OF no
mean sort, emerged sleepily from a
Northwestern Pullman here to do the
grand lodge meeting.
He Had Too Much Money.
On his clothes he had not a cent ex-
cept a draft for $3.50 which the night
clerks, still on duty in the hotels, re-
fused to cash 1t was too early for him
to find any OF his friends and he made
up his mind to wait 1T out until some
Of the bays showed up and ,ll-'i enlist
their assistance in getting the draft
dashed. But 1t was such a funny joke,
his having n draft for that sum and
not a cent, that the boys Systematically
refused to assist him in cashing 1t, al
though every one knew 1t was perfectly
good. Some way or other he managed
with the help OF his friends to get
his breakfast and dinner and during
the course of the afternoon one of the
BOYS arose ana with much ponp and
gravity announced that he had taken
up collection of cents for Brother
Houck, poor, unfortunate busted
man who had been living on the char
,.v OF his friends during the day and
who was In destitute circumstances.
A motion that the money be turned
over to the secretary for year and
put out on interest so that there would
be sufficient sum to buy Houck hair
cut next year, prevailed. Houck Is a
subject for hair restorers. And thus
the fund started. !.
Pile Of Pennies Grow.
When the grand lodge met at Coun-
ell Bluffs the next year, Grand Secretary
d. E. Moran was deluged with pennies
when the matter was again brought up
still as joke. and designated as the
Father Houck fund. BY this time the
sum was becoming interesting and last
year several hundred more pennies
were turned in. The boys began to
talk of doing things with the Father
Houck fund.
It was suggested that during the
next year. whenever convenient. penny
collections be taken in the local lodges
and the coppers added to the fund.
When Grand Secretary c. r. Olmstead
of this city came home from the grand
lodge meeting at Waterloo few days
ago, he brought with him 1900 pennies
which added SO much to the weight of
his baggage that he was charged ex-
cess And this sum is the foundation
of the fund for the orphans home.
The action of the supreme council
will influence the disposition of the
fund. The grand lodge Of Iowa is not
specifying that it will be necessarily an