Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-07-30
END SALNG[R'S RULE
Pythians Of the State Plan
Revision Of Laws For
Elections
md OF MACHINE CONTROL
Proposal to Be Offered to Give All
Members Of Order Privilege of vot-
ing for Grand Lodge offioers-sa'-
niger Crowd Has Dictated Pythian
Affairs for Years.
Special to rimes-Republican.

Cedar Rapids, July S0.-Cnless all
signs fail. the coming season of the
Pythian grand lodge at Oskaloosa will
be made memorable by, the adoption
of some radical legislation, all intended
to wipe out the present "Salinger dy-
nasty and to inaugurate a system of
elections that will effectually
prevent the forming Of any
other combination" or "dyn-
asty' with power to run the af-
fairs of the order according to the
wishes of the few in control, regard
.lesssof the wishes of the general mem
bership Of the state.
A prominent member of the order
stated that he is In favor of an even
more liberal and comprehensive plan
for grand lodge elections than has
been so long in vogue among the Odd
Fellows of the country, his idea being
that every member in good standing
ought to have the privilege of voting
offices.
Among the Odd Fellows the past
grand masters alone are allowed to
vote on grand lodge officers, but the
vote is not taken at the session of the
grand lodge, the active, voting mem
bers of which are the representatives
chosen by the lodges of the various
districts. Instead, at each grand lodge
session the names of all candidates for
office are placed in nomination. and
the vote is taken several months later
within each separate lodge. and the re-
turns sent to the grand secretary.
The Pythian above quoted states
that in his opinion all nominations in
the Pythian grand lodge should be
made as they are by the Odd Fellows,
and these candidates voted upon later
in each lodge, every member in good
standing being permitted to vote. He
holds that it is manifestly unfair to bar
a member from voting because he has
not hads the opportunity to "go thru
the chairs" and asserts that the rule
of combining the voting power to past
noble grands, as in the Odd Fellows,
or to past chancellor commanders, in
the K. P.''s. would tend to limit the
field of desirable candidates for grand
lodge positions to those men who might
have the greatest pulp with the Of
ficers of the lodges.
1t Is an open secret that Ben I.
Salinger Of Carroll is the dictator to
the Pythian grand lodge of Iowa;
that Salinger has made" more grand
chancellors than any other man in the
state, and in many cases controlled
the appointments as we'll as the Off
cial actions of his favorites Because
several of the lodges iof the state had
the courage to criticfse the "Salinger
dynasty" they were severely called
down. by Grand Chancellor Billy. who
has threatened to take their charters
away from them. Mr.. Bilby has issued
circular to the order in which he
seeks to justify his action but his ex-
plantations are not satisfactory and
they will undoubtedly be the subject
of some lively discussions at Oska-
loosa. @
In fact. 1t will not be surprising If
the grand lodge entirely revises the
law relating to elections of grand
lodge officials outside OF the dynasty
lodge officials, with the result that the
delegates outside OF the dynasty
would nominate an entirely new set OF
officers and that their efforts would
be rewarded by an overwhelming cleo
ton of the new candidates when the
members were allowed to vote, as
many prominent Pythians declare
should be the rule.
All these matters, and some others,
were fully discussed at the conference
held here Saturday evening and at
tended by prominent Pythians from all
over the state These men declare that
they know the pulse" Of the mem
bership in Iowa and declare it to be
favorable to the proposed house
cleaning"