The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-02-12
Visiting Knights Come to Capital
from All Sections OF the
State.
BIG CLASS INITIATED
Degree Work Exemplihed and
Speeches Made by Distinguished
Members of the Order.

apOllS, as the cradle or the OTueI, SSShSN
a fix meeting place for grizzled knights and
youthful members Of the order They were
here and marched shoulder to shoulder IN
the parade at noon, or, in Tomlinson Hail.
where the exercises were held, men from
Jeffersonville gave the grip and password
of greeting to their brethren from Michigan
City.
Beginning early in the day. when the
Uniform Rank companies began arriving
the city took on a martial air. Clank OF
swords and trappings was heard all over
the business district.
From daybreak until late at night, when
the monster meeting at Tomlinson Hall
heard the speech Of Senator Beveridge, the
visitors called the city their own.
RECORD CLASS INITIATED.
Special cars brought hundreds from Terre
Haute, Goshen, Danville and other cities,
while Anderson, Elwood, Shelbyville-with
6O0-Muncie and the other gas belt cities
sent their visitors on chartered interurban
trains
Due TO the late arrival of lola Lodge
degree staff. of Dayton, and a separate
meeting at Masonic Hall, full representa-
ton was not present at the afternoon meet
ing, but Tomlinson Hall was taxed to the
limit
One of the largest page rank classes ever
given the ceremonies of initiation learned
the orders mysteries at the afternoon meet
ing. Three candidates also took the knight
rank, the ritual being exemplified by Union
| b. Hunt of Winchester, grand instructor.
| Special scenery and fixtures was placed In
! Tomlinson Hall for the page rank cere-
| mony. Calanthe Glee Club, of Goshen, an
! exclusively Pythian organization or sweet
| singers, furnished a pleasing part OF the
| programme
SENATOR APPLAUDED.
Senator Beveridge's speech was the fea-
lure of the evenings programme at Tom
linson Hall, and he received an ovation:
'All of human life and history are stages
in the development of the nobest things in
the character of man. began Senator Bev-
eridge. "AI war is merely murder which
| does not in some form serve civilization.
All industry is merely selfshness if the
shuttle does not weave into the fabric of
prosperity a strand of the finer qualities
of the human heart. All education is me-
! chanical and lifeleSs which does not work
out in the soul of the student the true, the
| beautiful and the good.
1T is upon this fundamental verify that
| our order is founded We have taken the
the reason and principal OF our existence.
| Friendship! Charity! Benevolencei con-
| centrate all the thought and effort of the
| past and these three things are the best
| and final product. 1t is the vitality and
glory of our organization that, taking these
| for our creed, we have made il our business
| effort. And so II is that our order is a
| twentieth century propaganda of righteous
| ness.
MOTIVES ARE UNSELFISH.
1.-THE great virtues we seek to make prac-
teal. AS L understand this order it's whole
spirit is unselfshness. We seek to reduce
the eternal truths to actual living and do
! ing. And we do this by the methods of
the time. And the principal characteristic
of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is
organization. Men are banding together;
that means brotherhood.
Think what it means to this Nation to
| have more than half million of the flower
| of young manhood defeating their lives I'm
a practical way TO these generous and fra
ternal ideals Think what it means to have
these lofty views of life and conduct for
ever written upon their consciences by a
profoundly Impressive ritual! Think what
il means to have this ritual-this dramatic
instruction in the highest conceptions OF
the human character-riveted by a solemn
oath to observe them.
The beginnings of secret orders were in
the cause OF liberty and TO fetter the hanC
of tyranny. They began with the clos,
association of the best minds who dared moi
freely express their thoughts, in order thai
in the safety of the secret chamber the,
might have that intellectual freedom de
MED them in the open.
ORDERS CIVIC BENEFITS.
What a republic needs and what it mus
have if it is going to endure, is the habit
Of calm thinking among its citizens, {
broadness OF mental view, a largeness o.
conception of what life is for and the rea
purpose of the Nation in the worlds worl
and in history. Our order gives this, ant
therefore is a source of strength to the Re
public. Every other order that does tn
same is another spring from which flow.
life-giving and perennial streams through
| out the land.
land so it is that we are not content I,
confne the blessings of this order to our
} selves alone. We reach out a loving an,
hopeful hand to every man of spirit, char
acter and fine impulses throughout tn
whole United States. for the knights O
Pythias are yet exclusively American
Our 100000 men are of our own land an,
blood and tongue. Our order was founded
| while civil war made men forget for tn
moment that friendship, charity benevo
lence. which we proposed to preserve, re
store and cherish. So we are an American
| order, blood baptized and consecrated I,
| peace and good will among men. million
members is our mark to-day; millions O
members will be the mark we set for to
morrow. And all this, not for power o
lust of gold or ornaments or even for tn
material cOnStructiveneSS of peace; no, al
only for the spread and strengthening O
pure and beautiful character among th
, children of men!
STORY OF JOINING.
"Ths is the only secret order, except m
college fraternity. to which 1 ever belonged
Not that L had the slightest prejudic
against secret societies, but in a busy man.
. life even the best of things are neglected
But the circumstance of my joining tn
. Knights of Pythias has endeared this orde
! TO me in a peculiarly human and persona
way. When l was a candidate for the Sen
ate of the United States one of the mos
earnest supporters l had was Charlie
: Thornton, Lodge Sc of the Knights @
n Pythias. After the work of devoted friends
| including Charlie Thornton. had secure
me the nomination of the Republican eau
1 Gus the first man TO congratulate me wa
o he whose devoted and unSelfish services ha
n so greatly contributed TO the results A
T every other grateful man would have done
t / told him l wanted to show my apprecia
. ton. and to ask me for any favor which
. could bestOw Going 10 the door, closing
i so that were quite alone, he came bac
= and sat down and said:
!. d" L have only one favor to ask, but tina
{ favor has been in my heart for goo
J. while. 1t is that you will join the order c
= the Knights of Pythias. in Lodge SO, upo
e my application Tor you
INSPIRATION IN MEETING.
:. And so the application was made. and