The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1907-10-17

/ 80 0ubs IL Tic past We CdH say 10
every man who joins himself to the
great army of those who are bCunden
( by its vows and subject to its de-
/ creas, he takes unto himself the high
est of earthly hOnOrs" Aye standing
upon this vantage ground, who will
dispute the right of our fraternity to
lay the cornerstone of a great build
ing or to fashion the life of a splen-
did nation?
- The great need We have is men, men
| who will act upon the everlasting
! principles of our Craft, charity toward
men, truth and faith toward mans
! God. True it is that many who bear
the name have not yet been joined
to the accepted number In my exper-
! fence | have found among Free Ma
sons those who had less regard for
fraternity, for friendship and for JUS
| tice, than had Judas Iscariot when he
sold the Divine Master for thirty
pieces of silver, and yet I have ALSO
found among them friends true as
| steel, men steadfast as adamant, men
| charitable even to the point to which
| the Master commanded.
For these reason we deem it right
| and proper to be present here and
| lay this cornerstone .and so close"
with malice toward none, with char
| ity for all, but a firmness for the
! right as God gives us to see the right"
| and the renewal of the vow, that in
| this land of ours there shall be pre-
served, the true equilibrium which
none.
Our work will soon be over and
| some of us, ere many years have sped,
will be taken to our last resting place
among these mountains, adding our
| dust to the earth that is already there,
| and we shall be forgotten; the build
| .I@. ei which we have laid the cor
| nerstone, will by the needs of time
/ or the demolition of nature, pass away,
! perhaps even the Government, County,
| State and National, which rules our
| country and gives authority for the
| superstructure may, like it's predeces-
! sors in the worlds history, fall into
| ruin, the various philosophers and re-
| ligions that are mingled among those
| who surround me may one after the
| other be surrendered and rejected
! but in my opinion, so long as men do
| live, the Ancient and Honorable Fra
| ternity which is present today will
| survive When time shall be no more,
and Eternity, the ring that hath no
| beginning and no end shall have taken
| It's place, then and not until then shall
| its mission be accomplished. and its
labors ended.
Judge Boyd's paper, read by DR.. E.
H. Bartlett, follows:
Thirty-five years ago this Autumn it
was determined by vote OF 1897 to 405
Garrett county should be formed, and
on the seventh day of January, 1873.
county officers We're elected.
| BY the terms of the Act of Assembly
! 1872, Oh. PIP providing for the forma
| ton of the county It was embraced in
| the Fourth judicial Circuit Of Maryland
and Garrett, Allegany and Washington
/ counties have since then constituted
that Circuit. By that Act the County
! Commissioners were authorized to pur-
! chased land for erection Of necessary
buildings for county purposes, and Ito
! levy such tax upon the aSSesSable prop
! erty Of Garrett county as may be
| necessary for the erection of said public
! buildings, when, in their judgment. the
public convenience may require such
! buildings for the use Of said county.
By Gu. BAG of the Acts Of 1874 the
| County Commissioners were authorized
at their discretion, to erect Jail and
court house, and for the purpose to
issue bonds. Those buildings were final
! ly erected and the Circuit Court was
held in the court house for the first
time at the September term, 1877, the
contract price for that building being
5000.
The first court held in the county. was
on the 18th day of May, 1873, in the old
Glades Hotel, which was subsequen tly
destroyed by fire, and was presided over
by Judges George A. Pearre and William
Motter who were then the Associate
Judges of this Circuit.
The December term of that year was
also held in that Hotel; the May and
September Terms 1874, in store room
at the corner of Third and Oak streets
and the terms of 1875 and 1876, as well
as the March term, 1877, were held in
the M. E. Church and the school house
at Oakland-the records not disclosing
which were in the Church and which
of them were in the school. Beginning
IN 1873 two jury terms and two n-jury
terms have been regularly held in the
present court house II was soon dis
! covered that the court house was in
adequate, and before many years the
small vault that was built for the records
and papers would not hold them. The
present vault was then built. 1t is now
not only too small, but it is utterly un-
fit for the records. by reason of the
dampness which is liable to seriously in
jured them and is my judgment it does
not afford proper protection from fire.
If the building was to burn the walls
would doubtless fall and there would be
every likelihood of the vault being so
crushed as to seriously injure, if not to-
tally destroy, the papers contained in
1t. The vault is already so crowded that
the records cannot be examined with
comfort, even if it be possible to use
due care in doing so, but beyond that,
there is no longer room for new records.
There are now about three times as
many deeds and mortgages recorded an
nually as there were during the early
years of the county, and if a new court