The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-05-17

review and reflect upon the above fig- ures as whole. cannot fail to appre- which our beloved order is making at this time. The showing Is one which should fill every Pythian with pride and make him feel that he Is enjoying rare privilege to be num- hered as a member of our great army, whose mission is one of peace, friend ship, charity, good will and worthy deeds.
 "A casual examination into the in- ternal workings of the order as an organization. as might be expected, bring to light some weak spots and exhibits some defects. but the situa- tion and the future alike are full of hope and encouragement. Numbering as we do high personnel-the flower of American manhood-in our ranks we may well look forward with serene confidence, assured that whatever problems confront us will be solved by the wise and able minds under the in- iiuence of kindly hearts guided by
 What are these problems? One is. what is to become of the Uniform Rank? Another involves the future status of the Endowment Rank. The other two embrace the always present suspension for non-payment of dues evil and the troublesome question of payment of relief. There are other sideration, but as a whole they are of minor importance compared to the four above mentioned.
 ''The question as to what shall be- come of the Uniform Rank has been answered so far as Alabama is con cerned, though, in the judgment of this committee, the answer was wrong. Alabama has declared in effect that 1t does not want a uniform rank, despite the fact that this branch of the order is the most attractive of all to the young men and on public occasions serves o,s, to ,. advertise NY Pythianism as as the eye and leaves upon its delicate organism a favorable impression works well for the object producing or in- directly responsible for that impress sion. Thus do we sum up the first virtue of the Uniform Rank. Despite this fact. the Uniform Rank Is going backward.
 At the last supreme lodge conven- tion, Major General Carnahan, com handing this branch, rendered re- port which spoke in gllttering gener- ates abe re6or e6 the of the ganh SS Bangs showed that the rank has had steady loss in membership. The membership in 1889 was 45,680 in 1902, Rank is undoubtedly deteriorating un- der the influence of this age of cold commercialism and hard business. The wave struck Alabama early. but it seems to be spreading in all directions and unless strenuous measures are re- sorted to 1t will not be many years before the military branch of the or der shall have become extinct. As it is already dead letter in this domain it would be profitless for this commit tee to discuss means for its upbuilding. Wo will merely add that 1t Is a great pity that we have abandoned this most attractive and alluring feature of Pythianism.
 Endowment Ranks Future
 As to the future of the Endowment Rank. your committee begs to refer to its report of last year which said:
 There is slowly developing in some quarters a deep-rooted sentiment In favor of its divorcement from the or- der proper and the placing of it upon a basis independent of the backing of the subordinate lodges This senti- ment crystalized to such an extent at Lodge that a, special committed was created to co1pperate with the Board of Control and to report to the next convention of the Supreme Lodge, as ship of the insurance branch of the order to the order proper.
 "A review of the Journals of the va rious grand domains reveals a re- markablG growth of sentiment in fa- Yor of the absolute divorcement of the Endowment Rank from the order as a fraternal organization. Stress is laid by the advocates ot this plan upon the fact that 1t Is unjust to hold the entire membership responsible for the payment of the insurance of only comparatively small percentage of the membership, and further, that cold business and fraternity. like oil and water will not mix. However much we may appreciate the good work of the Endowment Rank we cannot ignore these two propositions. They will not down. The pledging of all the assets of the order to the payment of the policies of the Endowment Rank was unjust to the majority of our member ship who carry no insurance in this branch. and has tended to place the Knights of Pythias upon the same basis as the average secret order Whlcn exists only for cheap insurance pur- poses. We must remember that the insurance feature of our order was an after thought. The order as such was neNer founded as nor intended to De an insurance organization, but the in- surance feature was later interjected as a side issue
 We have about reached the parting of the ways on this proposition. The Knights of Pythias must take It's place sentiemnt of the membership as be- nevolent organization. We are to choose between these two courses. Since strict business and pure frater- uity-fraternity which springs from the heart-are foreign to each other we must say which we stand for and which your committee has reviewed voice the sentiment of he embership as whole it is easy to predict that the time is not far distant when the En- 
 organization. possibly under the suZe- rainty of the order, but not so consti- tuted as to pledge to its sustenance the assets of those who carry no in surance in the rank and who by all the rules of right and equity should not De held for its liabilities.
 SusDeDsiOn of Members.
 ''The question of suspension for non payment of dues Is bound to be an over present subject for consideration. Nor is it always an evil. Certainly the member who shows no disposition tn ISly his dues or attend lodge is not desirable member. provided the lodGe holds out to him sufficient Inducements. The member as an individual and the lodge as body each has 2 certai" duty to perform If the lodge holds cordial. interesting and attractive meetings In pleasant quarters. the memebr who neither pays nor attends Is scarcely to be considered as worthy of membership and the Order is the gainer when 1t loses him. However if the lodge as an organization fails to do it's duty and repels members ev itS own lifelessness and inactivity or the inefiiciency of its officers the situation is to be deplored. frequently driving from the Order as 1t does desirable material who are discouraged by the disappointments which they encounter The proposition thus resolves itself in- to a question of making the Order as