The Springfield herald., 1906-07-20
|ELKS IN DENVER
CROWDS ARRIVE FOR GRAND
LODGE AND REUNION.
CITY IS GAYLY DECORATED

Given Up to Hospitality and Gen.
eraI JcIiification-Immen Crowds
Arriving.
Denver.-The Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks has taken pos
session Of Denver and its members
will soon be grazing all over Colorado
and adjacent regions. Sunday was de-
voted to receiving the visitors as fast
as they arrived, but their coming was
slow. All trains were late and II was
evening before a big delegation came
in. Trains arrived fast during the;
night, however, and Monday found the
hotels crowded and overtlowing
All day long Sunday workmen toiled
at the decorations replacing those in
iured by the Saturday storm or putting
up entirely new ones. Some of the big
best stores are not yet decorated, be-
cause they have been waiting in hopes
that the rains would cease. The cleo
trical decorations are in place and
Sunday evening the city burst into a!
blaze of cleaning lights.
ners, the gay and laughing crowds, the
Queen City of the Plains has become
the city OF mirth, the Purple City, the
City OF Good Fellowship.
The outside bands began to come in
Sunday and the sounds of music were
heard on every hand. The hotels and
newspaper Offices were serenadcd i'll
the evening by the Cowboy band from
Idaho Springs. who make good music
and certainly look their makeup.
Nearly all of the grand lodge officers
and many of the delegates had arrived
by night and the various committees
were at work in preparation for the
meeting The arrangement of head
quarters mt the Brown is very conven-
lent 1t is all concentrated in few
rooms at the head Of the south side
stairs. second floor. The committees
on ritual. laws. grievances, national
homo, registration Of delegates are all
close together
Small delegations kept coming in.
throughout the day, and the line at
headquarters registering was I'M
broken. 4 count has not been made
since Friday night, but 1t must be that
5000 names Of Elks were placed on
the cards up to Sunday evening. The
first large delegation to arrive was
Philadelphia, about 200 strong. They
were met by the escort squad and the
Cook drum corps. The men were wear
Ing dTab busters and caps and every
body carried copper bells in imitation
of the famous old Liberty Bell. They
made the streets musical as they
passed along. The men marched to.
headquarters and the women rode in
automobiles.
The reception, escort and other com
mittees of the home guard did most
efficient work. A man with purple no
sooner utepped from train until ne
was surrounded, given the glad land,
his grips taken from him, and with a
smile and a good word, he was passed
on TO someone whose duty 1t was to
remain with him until he was safely
in his quarters.
The committee had bunch of mes
senger boys. small army, to assist in
carrying grips. Thirteen special trains,
full to the guards Of delegates. arrived
between a. m. and midnight. Every
regular train had among its passengers
scores of Elks. And there were two or
three sections of every regular train.
The Kansans came on the run. yell
ing, wearing sunfiowers. the emblem of
their state. The Wyoming delegates,
wearing large straw hats, looked like
a bunch of farmers. and it was Hello,
Bill" all down the line with them.
The New Workers yelled themselves
hoarse over their great and glorious
state The Jerseyites paid no atten'
tion to remarks about mosquitoes.
They simply yelled. Hello, Bill The
Nebraskans varied their Hello. Bill
with "Hurrah for Bryan" with Hello,
Bill" the big favori,e.
Connecticut delegates wore smiles
and wooden nutmegs-and yelled.
big bunch OF New Englanders swept
everything before them. There was a
nice crop from lllinois-and good
sized crowd from Nevada. telling
about new gold finds and what they
were going to do in Denver. Some OF
the big bunch of Texans looked as
wild and woody as members OF the
Cowboy band.
The reception committee mad made
a good guess on the weather and the
only outdoor feature OF the day was
carried out according TO promise. This
was the carriage ride for the grand
officers and members of the grand
lodge. II took thity-five carriages and
a big Columbian automobile. The line
was headed by the carriage containing
the Grand Esquire, +. Z. Christensen.
In each carriage rode member OF the
local lodge to act as announcer ana
point out the sights. The ride had
hardly started when the clouds disap-
peared and the city looked fresh and
bright following the rain. The mem
bers expressed themselves as delighted
with the ride after they reached their
hotels at O'Clock.