The Wichita daily eagle., 1904-05-26
BANQUET LAST NIGHT.
Decorations Were the Finest Ever
Seen at the Temple.

The banquet hall was decorated in a
manner which called forth special men
ton from different members of the Wash
| ington city delegation. Tables were ar
ranged around the balcony front as well
as the ground floor and in fact every
available foat of space on the first floor
and the balcony on the second floor was
set with tables, even a part of the kicthen
being used for this purpose and then
/ fully hundred members who could not
/ be accommodated at the tables remained
| in the parlors until the speeches began.
| The banquet hall was decorated with
| canopy OF colors of the order This can
/ opy terminated at peristyle surround
! ing the balcony the pillars of which
were in red with bunting and moss fes-
/ tooning between and further elaborated
with a profusion of electric lights in
| frost effects Below the peristyle and
around the walls were displayed the flags
of every nation in the world which pos
sesses an emblemA This part of the dec
Grafton was as complete as ii can be,
there being. it was said. some sixty three
| different national embiems and all told
1 fully two hundred flags displayed.
/ Upon one of the tables in the banquet
hall proper stood the large silk battle
/ flag which was presented to the consis-
/ tory some years ago by the twentyth
/ century class. Upon a table opposite
stood the Scottish Rite standard. a hand
some satin banner. bearing the double
/ headed eagle in fine embroidering. At
| the head of the center table Immediately
behind the toast master on raised plat
/ form rested a large floral piece in honor
/ OF the presence OF Rear Admiral Schley.
II being faithful representation of the
flagship Brooklyn The construction of
( this piece was in white and red blossoms
several hundred being required TO com
/ plete it. The fighting top. tuurets big
guns. hull and even the anchor chain
and hawse bole being portrayed in the
/ fragrant blossoms. The whole rested
upon an immense wirror TO represent
the water in which 1t ioated. The whols
ship was some six feet in length and
nearly four feet in height
/ From the center of the canopy above
extended two sets Of miniature halyar,is
! 10 the base Of the peristyle. suspended
upon one set at the upper end was the
Beneath this was ;he national ensign and
/ beneath il the International code peuant
which is always hoisted under the en-
sign when code signals are elsewhere dis
( played
On the opposite set OF hslvsrds wera
/ three flags of the international code Of
siznals. Z. B II. These three flags. rep>
resenting the letters indicated signify
| the word welcome
Mr.. Bestor q. Brow nacted as toast
master and upon his right sat Hon. James
( d Richardson. sovereign grand COM
msnder Of the Scottish Rite. while on
the left OF the POSTMASTER sat Rear
! Admiral Schley
The decorations were all planned and
constructed hy the corps OF workers who
( arrange and execute the Masonic degrees.
| The other members OF the Washington
delegation were seated together, with an
interspersion OF local members OF the
! thirty-third degree
The addresses Of the evening could
scarcely be termed teasts. as wine is no
longer used in any Scottish Rite ban
/ onet Ar Richardson made a vsry in
teresung address. scintillating with wit
and repartee. He stated that while he
and his party had witnessed the work a,
Little Rock. Ark. and at Guthrie. O. r.
they had seen no better anywhere DR..
Num-. SD. representative OF the supreme
council for Georgia, made Q brilliant