The Savannah morning news., 1904-07-21
$4,000 ELKS WERE
IN GRAND PARADE
LINE WAS TEN MILES LONG.
DELEGATIONS MARCHED IN AT
PROPRIATE UNIFORMS.

EIks Were Decked Out in Accord
ancc With Some Peculiarly OF
Sections from Which They Hailed.
Spectacle Was Imposing and In
observation-disclosures Lodges Tried
for Prizes-Fred {. Robinson
Grand Secretary.
Cincinnati. o., July pa parade
said to be ten miles long was the fea-
ture of to-days convention of the for
tieth grand lodge of Elks. There were
more than $1,000 uniformed men in
line and many floats and other designs.
After hard struggle Fred c. Robin
son of Dubuque. Ia, was elected
grand secretary by a majority of only
two. After repeated ballots last night
for grand secretary, the first ballot to-
day resulted as follows:
Fred C. Robinson, SlS; T. r. A.
Burke of Richmond, Va. 2S6; David
L. Watson of Terre Haute, Ind, 81;
Charles Stager of Toledo, O., 16. On
the second ballot there were only $40
votes cast as follows: Robinson, 273;
Burke. 213; Watson, A; Ffier, 6;
Stager, 4.
When it was announced that Robin
son finally had a majority of two over
all, his friends carried him down the
center aisle in a chair and there was a
great demonstration.
The claims of Buffalo, Dallas, SYRIA
cuse and other cities were eloquently
presented in a series of speeches for
the meeting of the grand lodge and the
reunion next July. Buffalo was an easy
winner on the first ballot.
How They Marched.
OF the 934 lodges in the order, six
ty-six competed for prizes in the
parade, each with it's band, unique
uniforms and various accomplishments
Light suits and novel straw hats with
purple trimmings were the favorite
uniforms. The Philadelphia, Cleveland
and other lodges marched n full even
ing dress. The Dayton Lodge, pick
ed by many as a winner, had 12O men
in Prince Alberts, and silk hats in
spite of the hot weather
August Hermann, exalted ruler of
the Cincinnati lodge, and chairman
of the committee on arrangements, led
the parade, driving a team of trained
elks.
The Baltimore lodge had a wrecked
fire engine, recovered from the con-
flagration of last autumn. and its
members were uniformed as firemen
The Buffalo lodge had a Buffalo
mounted on a wagon. Lodges from
Norfolk, Va, Huntington, w. Va,
and other lumber districts had teams
of oxen hauling logs, the timber diff
fering according to location. These
members were uniformed as log roll
ers. Several lodges were uniformed
as coal miners, their cars being drawn
by mules. Nashville had a bookmak-
ers wagon with twenty dummy horses
and the delegation uniformed as jock
eys.
The cotton pickers of Greenville
Miss, all blackened and in negro garb
were the comedians of the march
Those from Joliet, ILL.,, wore the dress
of convicts. Those from Louisville
were dressed like Uncle Sam, all in
red, white and blue. The Indianapolis
lodge had automobile outfits, while
New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Mo
bile, Columbus, o., and many others
were brilliantly arrayed in white, with
purple trimmings.
The Tampa delegation wore coats
made of Cuban tobacco with cigar
makers knives for plumes in their
Panamas. Another of the Florida
delegation carried live alligators. All
of the three score divisions had floats
and emIblems appropriate to their To-
calitieS