Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-07

of pamphlet which he will publish COW
ering the facts of the founding of the or
I der. In it he Will take sharp issue with
some statements made by Past Supreme
Representative William D. Kennedy in his
| recently published Pythian history. The
pamphlet will have as a frontispece a
photograph of the five founders taken
many years ago, and the statements made
by Mr.. Burnett will be corroborated by
DR.. E. S. kimball and w. H Burnett, who
are also survivors of the first five. Mr..
Burnett's manuscript is of absorbing in
tereSt to persons DESTROYS Of knowledge
concerning the early days of the order.
He says: The Knights of Pythias has
been termed. the American order. 1t has
been said that we do not, as does
masonry, have clustering about our shrine
the clinging ivy of centuries growth nor
is there yet wreathed about our affairs the
mysterious legends reaching back into the
dim and misty ages of the long ago
when war was holding high carnival
the national capital of this country be-
came the birthplace of order whose
mission is one of love-
The object in the issue of this leafet' is
not to rewrite history, but to defend the
truth as against false statements to de-
mand that all who have had a part in
the early history of our order shall have
"a fair and square deal-be fairly and just
ly dealt with.
Great wrong and injustice have been at
tempted and partly accomplished In spite
of the printed and official adjudication of
Scl HlttleiS, There are tIOSS WHO IIldhe
professions of great love for the order en-
gagged in sowing the seeds of discord.
Jealousy is a green-eyed monster. whether
in the breast of man or woman.
ut is difficult to sift out the truth in
history, and the impartial and honest his
torian is a benefactor to the general read
ing public.
1T is unnecessary to state that it is de-
sirable that every Pythian should have
correct information as to the origin and
founding of the order into which he has
been initiated. proven and charged.
1T is the duty of the historian to collect
the data with which he can answer intel
ligently and correctly the queries as to
these matters of information. 1t is no less
the duty of those cognizant of the events
covered by the years in which we saw the
beginning of the order to see to 1t that
any statement which has no foundation in
fact is promptly met by denial, and proof
that the statement is incorrect-false.
I'VE protest against the tendency of late
shown to discredit the words and testi-
mony of even the founder of the order,
and substitute therefor that which is I'M
substantiated and contrary to the testimony
of those cognizant of the full and correct
facts.
VIM. Dawes Kennedy has essayed to
be the great historian of the order of
knights of Pythias. He was the compiler
and publisher of history in 1887. In his
preface to this edition he says: The his
tory of the preparation of the records of
the older secret fraternal organizations
has SO clearly demonstrated that they
had waited too late; that they had put
off the convenient season until the sods
of the valley covered the men who could
bear personal testimony-all evidenced
that the living witnesses being yet at
tainable should be sought and tradition
rendered unnecessary.
HE declares the work absolutely cor
rect and reliable-a good thing-personal
"reminiscences of the men who laid the
foundation-such sources of information
as to place them where they can give
positive assurances of accuracy This
work contained as frontispiece picture
that of the founder and his four asso-
ciates on the night of February 10, 1854
(same as that used in this leafet). This
work was published during the lifetime
of ]. II. Rathbone and two years before
gone to the land beyond the sunrise and
the same historian accepts this as his
opportunity to reWrite histOry-in an
independent and almost total denial of
formation printed in 1887. In 1904 he is
sued a work entitled Pythian History
For a long time he has CROPPED in dark
ness, and his soul must have been rest
less until he saw "a light shine about him
and there fell from his eyes as it had
been scales, and he received sight forth
with and arose, and this is the result
In this late work no reference is made
whatever to his effort of 1S87-not even
an apology for having given it such a
good character. We deny the truth or ac-
curacy of his statement as to the writing
of the ritual in Washington In 1263 Dr.
e. 8. ktmball positively asserts that
no such remark was ever made to him by
Rathbone as, Ed, have 1t! I'll call It
the knights of Pythias::' that he could not
have done SO, in the manner stated. as
they were not in the same room In the
Office of the surgeon general.
Brother Rathbone is on record as hav-
ing said that he was in possession of
Banim's play Of Damon and Pythias"