Omaha daily bee., 1908-05-21
ELKS' BIGGEST STAG SOCIAL
twenty-five Hundred Attend the
Function at Auditorium.
FUN AND FOOD IN ABUNDANCE
Grand Secretary Guest of Honor for
the OccRsiOn--MOney Raised to
Pay for the New Home
for the Lodge.

Never before in the history of Omaha
Ekdom was such a stag social pulled off
as that given in the Auditorium on Tues
day evening.
twenty-five hundred guests-or. rather
1900 guests, for 1000 of those present
were Elks-attended the monster social.
Plenty of eatables, drinkables and smoke
ables were provided, there was entertain
ment galore, and an era of fun and Jollity
reigned supreme in the spacious Audi
torium from early in the evening until the
clock struck the midnight hour. The
building was decorated In the Elk colors,
royal purple. and the festoons of mean
descent lights installed for the electri-
cal show wero still IN place and helped
materially IN the decorations. The 200 hum
dred members of the reception committee
were in full dress. the army officers at
tending wore full dress uniforms. and al
together the spectacle was one which will
not soon be forgotten.
Arthur C. wakeley and william I. Kier-
stead occupied the roles OF chairmen and
made the statement that a larger and more
enthusiastic crowd never before attended
a stag social of the Elks in the United
States. not even excepting grand lodge
sessions. In the big affair OF Tuesday
evening Omaha Elks believe they have
set a pace which it will be hard for the
next lodge to follow. Carl E. Herring.
ably assisted by a huge megaphone, pre-
sided at the social though he did not
have a monopoly on the megaphone by any
means. as speakers and singers alike had TO
bring them into use to make themselves
heard above the constant laughter pre-
dominant in every corner OF the room.
prataa Ror Omaha Elka,
The social was officially opened by Mr..
Herring, who, in a few words, told
of the reason for the giving of the big
party, and ne introduced Fred c. Robinson
OF Dubuque, Ia, grand secretary of the
Elks, who spoke briefly, eulogizing the
Elks, and more particularly the Omaha
Elks, in the highest terms.
81 have Just visited eighteen lodges IN
cities large and small, between here and
Pennsylvania, but you have excelled all the
others and want to congratulate you on
account Of this magnificent gathering ana
bring to you the fluctuations of over SOO'ooO
Elks who gloFify you in your having Sc
cured a permanent home Of your own
said Secretary Robinson. ''The Elks OF the
country have $4,000 900 invested in homes
and It is indeed gratifying TO the officials
that old 80 has got in line.
ITO those who are not Elks, / want TO
say that the Elk lodge is coming to be
factor Nearly all the great men belong
to the order, three-fourths of all the United
States senators are Elks, nearly every gov
ernor OF state belongs to the lodge ana
officials In all the large cities wear the
antlers.
1.-THE Elk lodge is purely an American
order. built and nurtured on native SOIL.
E,kdom knows no partiality,-no politics; all
Elks unite in working for charity, for there
is no more beautiful flower in all the world
than charity. 1t is one Of the noblest OF
orders with a noble aim
Iiysle 1. Abbott followed with a short
talk, bidding all welcome and assuring them
that with the chief OF police member OF
the lodge and the chief Of detectives on tho
reception committee, no harm would befall
any CT those present.