The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1905-05-05
I. o. O. F.
OBSERVE
Eighty-Sixth Anniversary
of the Founding of the
Order---Rev. c.. E. White
Makes Eloquent Address


Makes Eloquent Address
The local lodge of the I. o. o F..
observed last Sunday as the eighty
sixth anniversary of the founding of
the order. The lodge met in their
hall at seven o'clock and attended the
Methodist church in a body. Rev.
Chas. +. White delivered a learned
and eloquent sermon from the para BILE
of the Good Samaritan. We regret
that we cannot publish the entire SER
mon. He spoke in part as follows.
''The past few decades have
brought to our land many advance
ments and organized institutions. The
cotton gin and power loom, sewing
machine and rotary printing press,
reapers and binders, the telegraph and
telephone, the binding of electricity
into one for man 8 common use, and a
thousand and one mechanical appli-
ances which make our burdens light
and life more worth living, are part
of the century's tribute to the future.
In the world of literature and letters
what advancement has been made
The printing press has brought the
richest thought of the best minds
within easy reach of all and the phil
osopher and the astronomer have
shared their secrets with thousand
friends. This is the age that has
called into being the great humani
tartan movement of Oddfellowship.
cit is the child of American spirit
and life. a creation designed for daily
food. 1t lives and moves among
breathing men of flesh and blood.
Its secrets are shield and not
sword. It believes in the royal heritage
of man and the divine right of hu-
man advancement, teaching loyalty
to esta blished governments and obedi-
ence to laws. It believes in truth,
honor, temperance and the over shad
owing Fatherhood of God and the eter-
nal brotherhood of man. It stands
for charity in thought, and charity in
action. And to- the question asked in
the text who is my neighbor 2 it
gives no hypothetical, dusty, dead
men s opinions but substantial, prac
tical reply. This grand order shows
that our neighbor is too big for de-
fnition or philosophic formula but
that we must wait until we find him
drifted to our feet by the providence
of Cod
The speaker dealt at length with
the treatment of the Priest, Levite
and good Samaritan Of the waylaid
man in the parable and then asked
''What would we have doner We
would have appointed a committee to
agitate the condition of the road with
perhaps the Priest as chairman, the
Levite as secretary and the good Sam
aritan as travelling commissioner so
that steps might be taken to force
the government to put that road
right. Not so, if we had been true
to the faith Of an Odd Fellow. For
our faith answers the cry of Cain 4
am my brothers keeper.
-AOdd Fellowship is great hu-
manitarian movement. born into the
world in an age when Christianity in
the church was dead to the humani
tartan needs of the people. Odd Eel
lowship is Christianity in earnest; it
is Christianity with its sleeves rolled
up aud let loose. freed from all the
entramlneling creeds and dogmas of
the past; it is the embodiment of all
the practical features of Christianity;
it is a great humanitarian idea of the
Father of the universe
81 would have you remember,
brethren, that these institutions are
God given, and that their religious
value to the community must not be
lost sight of or underestimated. Re-
.ligious men and institutions have lin.
tied the movements of the Father.
We have said sLol God is here in
this or that. and we have denied His
presence in the other movement. We
have said the church is religious, and
the frateranl organization is secular
when really we have no right to put
any limitations upon Gods where
abouts or presence in the world. We
have no right to put any limitation
upon Gods limitless ways in teach
ing and training the human race in
the fundamental truths Of the common
brotherhood Of man. We have too
-rashly and hurriedly said in the past,
this thing is of the earth earthly and
this thing is Of the devil devilish
There can be no such thing as secular
truth and Christian truth, or secular
fraternalism and religious fraternal-
ism. What difference is there whether
God teaches the Law Of Life by aid Of
the temple or Damon and Pythias;,