The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-04-12
N. E. 0. P GRAND LODGE.
ANNUAL CONVENTION HELD IN
 THIS CITY YESTERDAY.

Great Growth of the Order all Over the
 New England States-stRnding of the
 Membership in This State-Salaries
 of the Grand Warden and Grand
 Secretary Left as FOrmerly-Ques-
 tiOn of Permanent Headquarters
 Laid Over Until Next Year-ElectiOn
 of Omcers--Next Convention to be
 Held in Hartford.
 Yesterday was gala day for the New England Order of Protection, the grand lodge of the state meeting here for their annual convention, which was held in Odd Fellows hall, Crown street. The convention was attended by about 200 members, one-third of whom were women. F, E. Hill, grand warden, pre- sided, and J. Wall was grand secretary, both residing in this city. The morning session was devoted to reading the re- port of the grand warden, grand sec retary and other officers and to initia- tion exercises. There was class of about seventy-five ex-Wardens who were initiated into the grand lodge by the grand officers.
 The report of the grand warden stat ed that the gain in membership the past year had been 266. The gain was not as large as had been hoped, but a plan is on foot to make an even greater gain the coming year.
 The report stated that there are eighty-one lodges in the state, with funds in their lodge treasuries varying from $500 to $2,3o0 One new lodge has been established at Windsor The lodge showing the greatest gain in member ship is Thames lodge, No S26, of Nor wich, with gain of thirty-two mem bers. At this session seven represen- tatives will be chosen to the supreme lodge, which will be held at Boston.
 Hammonassett lodge made the larg- est percentage gain of any of the lodges under the grand lodge jurisdiction, the gain being TO per cent.
 The membership in this states is about 12,0O0 which Includes 4,5OO in this city, and the supreme lodge has a membership of 44,OOO.
 The principal officers are F. E. Hill, grand warden; J. Wall, secretary vice warden, Fred Tolles of Windsor; treas urer, F. w Drew of Ansonia-
 At the close of the morning session which took place about 1:SO p. m. the officers and delegates to the number of about 300 dined together in the large banquet room upstairs. The purveying was done by Partridge of church street. In order to accommodate the large crowd the puryeyor's restaurant on Church street was also brought into use. After dinner the delegates again assembled in the convention hall and business was resumed.
 For some time past the. expenditure of the supreme and grand lodges of the order has been a burning question in many of the local lodges, and the amount of the salaries of the grand warden and grand secretary have been another bone of contention that has ended in many heated discussions on the floor of many of the subordinate lodges who were of the opinion that the salaries paid these officials were alto gether to high and out of proportion to the work performed
 These salaries are now regulated by per capita rate and 1t raises about $1,1OO per annum for each of these of ficers. It is proposed to reduce the same to a fixed salary of $500.
 The committee recommended that the question be laid over until next year, and this was the finding of the conven- tion.
 The great growth of the order in this state has raised the question of the ad- visibility of securing for the grand lodge permanent headquarters either in this city or some other city of the state. The matter, after being thorough fly discussed, ended in the convention deciding to let the matter lie over until the next annual meeting. which will take place at Hartford, April, 1901
 The following officers of the supreme lodge attended the convention and took part in the proceedings,
 Harry Manser, Auburn, Me; Fred Peabody, Moston; Daniel M. Frye su- preme secretary. Boston; Jonathan w Chapen, New Haven; supreme past den; Lena M Brown of Waterbury, su- preme guardian; Daniel Frazier of Boston supreme trustee; Frank Rice of Boston, grand warden; John H. Stone of Rhode Island, grand warden.
 The election of officers of the grand lodge took place in the afternoon with the following result. Before the election special reference was made to the death of the late Brother Grinnell who had successfully filled the office of grand secretary for so many years. He had never been absent from a conven- tion, since the grand lodge was formed.
 officers for 1906 are:
 Junior past grand warden, J. D. Wooster, New Haven
 Grand warden-F. E. Hill, New Ha- ven.
 Vice grand warden--F H. Tolles, Windsor.
 Secretary-J. Wall of New Haven
 Grand treasurer-F. M. Drew, An sonia.
 Grand chaplain-Mrs. Chastine Cady, Winsted.
 Grand guide-Mrs. D. E, Eldert, Bridgeport
 Grand guardian Mrs. Beniziger, Meriden