The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-05-08
DELEGATES COMING
MANY ODD FELLOWS ARRIVE IN
 BIRMINGHAM.
Grand Lodge Meets Today And Ques- ton of Reducing Representation Will Be Live Wire.-Parade | of PatriarchN.

. Birmingham, May 7.--(Special)-- ! More than one hundred delegate have | arrived in the city already for the am | nual session of the grand lodge or the | Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which meets here tomorrow and will | continue for three days.
 I It Is figured by the local committee making preparations for the grand lodge mee ting, that between four hun dred and four hundred and fifty mem | bers of the orde irregular delegates, | will be here There are several mat | ters of extreme importance to come up, and questions in which the smaller | lodges are interested will be disposed | of.
 | The matter of reducing the attend ance at grand lodge meetings and at the same time cutting down the ex- penses of the grand lodge meetings, are subjects which the leaders of the order have had under consideration for many a day.
 The local committee have had some difficulty in getting rooms for the large number of delegates but boarding houses came to the rescue and all the
 five hundred and more delegates and
 visitors expected for this meeting will
 ba cared for. The hotels are pretty well filled now with delegates and visitors
 to the general conference of the Meth odist Episcopal Church. South. but 1t is intended to turn parlors and re- ception rooms into bed rooms and in this manner a number of the delegates and visitors to. the odd Fellows gather ir 2. will be cared for.
 The State assembly of the Rebekah branch of Odd Fellows will gather on Wednesday but only fifty of these rep resentatiyes are locked for and all or them will find a shelter at private homes
 The sessions of the grand lodge will he held In the armory of the city hall. The Rebekah State assembly will be held in the Odd Fellows hall almost across the street from the city hall. E It Is understood here that the small CT lodges and those not in the cities ana towns. are opposed to the plan of re- ducing the representation at the grand lodge, and for that reason It Is figured that the fight will be a hard one. A. G. Forbes of Montgomery, is chairman or the committee presenting the plan or
 reduction of representation at the grand lodge meeting. The plan or the committee is to divide the State into
 three districts There are S55 lodges
 entitled to 436 delegates under the
 pf eseht plan. The new plan will re-
 duce the representation to 194, with
 the officers of the grand lodge make
 the attendance something over 2o5.
 The expenses al present of the grand lodge, travelling expenses and per diem
 being paid. reach something like s1o'- 600 to $12,000. Under the new plan this expense will be under $S.00O.
 The first appearance of the Patriarch Militant. the military branch of or Odd Fellows, will be made Tuesday uniformed bodies from Mobile, Tusca- looss, BirmiE gham and New Decatur will gather here and will have pa
 rade tomorrow morning Wednesday
 evening this branch of the order will confer the decor ation of chivalry on
 during the grand lodge meeting. The four members of the Rebekahs'