The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1907-07-26
GILBERT HUBBARD ON ELks
Fra Elbertus Diseourses On the
3. y. o. &.

y. v. .. Z.
am not n liner but II I ever line the
liners ! will begin with the Elks-and
probably end there.
Without any special written code or
creed the Elks stand for a certain stan.
dard OF intellect and ethics.
The man with an Elk's tooth on his
watch chain. or the antlers In his but.
tonhOle. has no quarrel with God He
accepts life and finds II good. He may
not be- 30 very wise or 80 very good,
but since he knows he Is not wise and
Is ready TO submit he IN not 80 very
good. he IL wiser than he knows and
better than he will acknowledge.
The true Elk does not condemn. dis.
parage nor rip regulations up the back.
Realizing his own limitations. he IL
lenient In his judgments toward those
who have been tempted by fate beyond
their power 10 resist This quality OF
mercy. ! have noticed IN strongly Inn.
planted IN the Elk nature Your Elk
never wecps over his own troubles but
for the stricken souls Of earth his tears
OF pity are near the surface.
The Elk loves children. respects old
age. and 10 far as | have seen doesn't
incline especially toward indifference
10 feminine charms. Ia many instan.
ces ! have imagined the Elk revealed
a just appreciation OF the elevated
spherold. Yet In all your life you nev.
cr saw one OF these horny sons OF Elk.
dom going on alone and cutting into
the grape-his irrigation Ia all In the
lima 80 rrUasI F.aNnH.aassANr. - a.
fault lies right herein this matter Of
conviylality; he sometimes slightly
oyerdoes a.
But believe this will hold: No lit
tie pismire apology for n man ever
iOined the Elks-he would not feel at
home among them. To be an ELK you
must have faith In other men. faith IN
yourself and faith In the universe
The Elks all look alike and are all
of one age. Just what that age ~.
have not yet made out. but II lies
somewhere between 30 aud 90. No
Elk ever II over 90. no matter how
long he has lived. and none weigh over
two hundred pounds They all have
the Joyous. boyish. bubbllng heart Of
youth. and no whiakera tilaca are
out Of their line and Gaiways are n.
booed.
! never saw an Elk who was very
rich. excepting In Kindness aud good
cheer nor did I ever see one circum.
navigating on his uppers. They all
have all the money they need. even n
not all they want They make money.
and they spend Il. and the more they
spend the more they seem 10 make
Keep the change" ~ n remark the
Elk always has In his electrotype
! hayebeen occasionally paincd BY
hearing Elks relate stories that Vcre
simply gamboge tinted ON the edges
but although these tales Of perslnage
had a Neufchatel flavor. yet there was
always enough Attic salt supplied 10
redeem the mass from mortifying mi.
crobes
The FIX h not troubled about saving
his soul-in fact. he IL not troubled
about anything. Perhaps that IL his
distinguishing featurc-he does not
Worry. nor shake the red rag of wordy
theological warfare. Tie believes that
everything u all right-or nearly So
and that his task u Ia do his work aud
not bother other folks aud more than
he has TO- When ALA BAHIA said.
Blessed u that man who does not
bcllyake." he had a siXtccn.prongcd
autlcred Elk In mind An Elm takes
his medicine sometimes with n rye
facc-but be- always takes his medl.
cine. Often he oyercomes temptations
boy succumbiug 90 u: aud II he trips
and falls he ~ up aud joins In the
laugh Of the bystanderH
You cannot down a man who can
laugh NJ himself The Elk stays right
In the game l never heard of one re-.
firing from business. when Death
calls for anElk. the Elk ~ apt first Ia
sell him bin 81 goods and then they
shake the dice 10 see who shall pay
Charon's toll.
The Elk does not seek 10 pry into
the future for he realizes perfectly
we'll that N he waits. he'll know all
about H. And for n similar reason he
does not chase after women for he
knows that N he doesn't. women will
chase after him. And they do.
There seems Co be- a little danger
that this fraternity will evolve into n
religion. Most religious people take
their religion seriously. but the Elk
takes his with his scltzor lie knows
that truth n a point Of view. that all
IL relative that nothing IL final nor ab.
solutc. nor can Il be- In a world where
nothing " permanent but change So
the ElkH religion N Now and Here: to
partako Of all good things In modera.
ton. 90 give out love aud Kindness be.
cause these things come back. and to
supply q scrap only 10 the man who
repeatedly asks for II. and will accept
nothing clsc-thiR IN a matter Of &C.
commOdation
To do good II the FIRST prong In an
lSlk'a creed. And he realizes, being
wise. that the best way to benefit your.
self Is 10 benefit others.
Az for myself. I am strictly on the
hose cart. NO I do not affiliate very
closely with the boys, but II were ny.
Ing light and wanted 90 borrow ten or
twenty mebbe. I'd tackle the FIRST Elk
! met, without apology or explanation.
And my needs would be 10 him a com.
mand, fothe IN not clanniah and he
knows no higher Joy than TO give the
other fellow a lift