Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-05-16
WAR ON LODGES
Removal Of Masonic Charter From
Roland to Story City Recalls the Re-
ientless Fight Made Against Secret
Societies by Church Society at Ro.
Land
Special to Times-Republican.

| land.
Special to Times Republican.
Roland. May 16-The successful cru
SADIE of the Norwegian Lutherans
against secret societies in general
which, as published in the Times-Re-
publican last week. resulted in the
surrender of the charter of the Ma
sonic lodge here and the transfer of its
membership to the Story City lodge
recalls the wild exciteemnt that per-
yaded Roland at the time of an at
tempt to establish a camp Of the Mac
cabees here some years ago.
Certain residents of the town, per-
haps to the number of twenty, had
quietly agreed to form a camp, and a
prominent Maccabee from Marshall
town had been summoned to organize
it. In some way their intention leak
ed out and as the news spread the
Norwegian Lutheran church began to
buzz like bee hive When the in
stalling officer arrived from Mar
shalltown a big mass meeting had been
called and a delegation Of anti's head
ed by the Norwegian preacher met him
at the train. The prospective MEM
bers of the Maccabees were conspicu-
Gus by their absence.
The organizer was given to UNDER
stand that Roland had no use for such
devils missionaries, that he was fore
doomed to damnation and would not be
permitted to perform his hellish mis-
sion. There will be no secret lodge
organized in Roland tonight declared
the preacher, an assertion which seem
ed sufficiently supported by the
brawny shoulders and determined
faces of his followers.
The mass meeting drew several hun
bred of all classes together. The Ma
sons. Maccabees and especially the
knights of Pythias, were denounced
with the utmost vigor and virulence.
A schoolma'am who rose to tell of her
brothers last illness in Denver, where
he was cared for by the K. P's and his
body after death brought home to
Webster City for burial by delegate
from the lodge, was promptly squelch-
ed and given to understand that he.
JoD III 1SOlSlilu Aioh5 Wy OH dASCi lu1
tenure. There were speeches in Nor
wegian and English, pro and con and
apithets passed freely. When the dep
uty of the Maccabees finally retired to
the hotel the minister and his delega-
ton followed and entertained him with
an appreciation Of his present lost con-
dition and forecast Of his future
state. The minister was right about
one thing. There was no lodge insti-
tuted in Roland that night, and the
prominent Maccabee went away gladly
and has never been back. The remov-
al of the Masonic lodge is the close of
the long and finally successful fight
the Norwegian Lutherans of Roland
have carried on for years against sec
ret societies of all kinds. The Masons
have put up a strong contest even go
ing SO far as to organize an English
Lutheran church in the town, some
thing that it has never had before. A
few withdrew from the Norwegian
speaking churches and went into the
new organization, but this project
was also opposed by the older people
and it never made any considerable
progress. A year or so ago, the Trim
ity church, as it is known hired a
minister who speaks in both Norske
and English and a short time ago went
into the United Lutheran synod,
Norwegian synod.
The fight was kept up necessarily
against the lodge and it has at last
come to the point where the members
realized that their fight was making no
advancement and they were laboring
under difficulties.