The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-02-21
KNIGHTS OF PYTH|AS
WILL CELEBRATE
TOMORROW
Anniversary of the Order to
be Well Observed in This
City.

City.
Thursday evening, being the regu-
lar meeting night of Grand Forks
Lodge No. 1, Knights of Pythias, it's
members, assisted by Grand Chancel-
lor Grow of Minot, and others promin-
ent in the order, will celebrate the
forty-second anniversary of the order,
which occurred February 49,, 1t is not
an unusual thing to be told that a
person or an institution is too young
to have,a q history. In this respect the
order mentioned differs from the gen.
eral rule, being not only young but
having full and we'll rounded his
tory. During the days of the rebel
lion there was formed in Washington,
a society known as the Arion Glee
club. Among the members of this
club were five intimate friends, Justus
Henry Rathbone, Robert Allen Cham
pion. William Henry Burnett, David
L. Burnett and Edward Sullivan KIM
ball. each and all connected with the
war department. Rathbone had been
school teacher and had been inter-
ested somewhat in theatricals. During
his leisure hours while teacher, he
had prepared ritual, which con-
tanned much of the present ritual of
the Knights of Pythias, and contained
that which has made the order popu-
lar. Early in February, 1864, Rath-
bone read his ritual as then pre-
pared, to the other four of the quin-
tette above mentioned. The idea of
the ritual, the idea of the formation
of new secret society appealed to
all and on February 10, 1864, at the
city of Washington, these men with
some twenty odd, young men from the
departments, and one ]. T. K. Plant
met and organized the first lodge of
Knights of Pythias, Washington No. 1.
The second lodge was organized a
few days later, known as Franklin
No. 2, which was followed by Columbia
No. on May 10 and Potomac No. 4
on June 2. The first lodge organized
outside the city of Washington, (in-
cluding Alexandria in Washington,)
was Excelsior No. at Philadelphia
on February 23, 1867. The one great
fundamental principle of the order
from it's inception has been loyalty to
government and obedience to con-
stituted.authority.
On August II, 1868 there having
been grand lodges organized prior to
that time in the District of Columbia,
Pennsylvania. New Jersey, Maryland
and Delaware, representatives and Of
ficers from these different grand
lodges met in the city of Washington
and organized the supreme lodge. OF
those present at the organization of
the first supreme lodge some are still
living and members Of the present
supreme lodge.
The report of the supreme record
ing and corresponding scribe for the
year ending December 81, 1868, shows
the following grand lodges: District
Of Columbia, Pennsylvania, New Jer-
sey, Maryland, Delaware, New York,
Virginia and Connecticut. The total
membership Of the order is 34,626.
Without following the development,
fro mtime to time, it is sufficient to
state the fact that at this time, forty
two years after the first meeting, we
find grand lodges in every state and
territory of the United States, in prac-
tically every province in Canada and
with subordinate lodges in Mexico,
Cuba, Hawaii and the Philippine Is
lands, making up membership in
good standing, that is, with all dues
paid, of more than 100000; uniform
rank of military branch, with approx
imately $4,000 members drilled accord
ing to the tactics of the United States
army; with an endowment rank or in
surance branch, carrying at the pres
cnt time, $117,000,000 of endowment,
and that has paid out in it's twenty
years of existence s25,O00,O0O in death
benefits, and with a record of cash
payments by lodges for sick benefits
the forty-two years of existence to up
wards of $6O,0OO,0O0. The order stands
today as the only society, secret or
otherwise, teaching in its every lesson
and prescribing in it's every obliga-
ton, loyalty to the government under
which you live and obedience to con-
stituted authority. With its 100000
members in good standing, with its
more than one million members, were
its membership to be estimated as the
majority of secret societies estimate,
1t is a matter worthy of note than in
the great strikes, riots, and other dis
turbances, man wearing the emblem
of knight of Pythias is seldom found
arrayed upon the side of disorder.
While all societies Except those or
ganized for the express purpose of
doing violence) are worthy and re-
suit in much good, statistics and ex-
perience prove that the greatest of all
as an agency for the dissemination of
patriotic principles, of liberty loving
thoughts, character building ideas and
Of all those things that go to make
a good citizen. the Knights of Pythias
Gtand pre-eminent.
A Church Hustler.
Rev, A. Christy Brown Of Fargo. who