Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-11-16
TWENTY NOvlCES Get SCORCHEOBY
BURNING SANDS OF KAABA TEMPT {

| from Marshal Frank B. Clark The
Fifty-fourth regiment band arrived at
the Armory through all the rain, and
took short journey arodnd the block
In an endeavor to cajole the clouds in,
to ceasing their incessant leaking. No
good came of this, however, and at 8
! O'Clock, the musicians were passed in
to the temple for a half hour concert
preliminary to the music of another
sort that was to be furnished by the
candidates. The lions and other wild
| beasts from the Paradise Jungle show
were held in waiting by Owner Bris-
tow, but they, too, We're forced TO re-
turn to their lair on South Market
street, The Garrick float was the one
faithful to the last. standing opposite
the Armory until the announcement
was made that the parade was aban-
doned.
Luncheon Was Sumptuous.
The ceremonial session began
promptly at $3.50, and not until the
faithful cuckoo clock in the temple
had cooed out eleven times was the
final word heaved upon the receptive
ears of the novices. Immediately after,
the Shriners and their newly initiated
brothers repaired to the lower portion
of the Armory where the Garrick per
formers and the cafeteria luncheon
proved the attractions. The menu was
concocted by S. G. Savage with the
idea that it would strike to nicely
the appetites of his ''just made"
brothers. And it did. Solid foods Of the
kind that mother made her reputation
on, were there in an abundance, and
the necessary liquid refreshments to
were also available. The tanglefoot
tequilla, in other words, a punch
worthy the inventive genius of the
most soul-hardened Mexicano, to
whom the Chill bean is the most
soothing Of edibles, was on tap. The
JOY Of the evening was unconfned, and
so was the stuff on tap.
Ottunwa Shriners Energetic.
The success of yesterdays celebra-
ton in the history of Kaaba temple
is in large measure due to the Of
tumwa Shriners, who worked unceas-
ingly to make the day the delightful
one it was. Their only enemy seemed
to be the rain, and of course, the COM
mittee on dry stuffs was none too &C
tive. P. Cad Murray, chairman of the
entertainment committee, worked as
no camel of Kaaba temple ever work
ed before. G. G. Peterson, at the head
of the hall and arrangements com.
mittee demonstrated his right to the
title of architect and builder" The
luncheon was the avenue through
which s. G. Savage won his way to
tho ~ Of oil vi ! he
rade that wasn't parade, prevented
demonstration of what diligent work
and the proper regard for Shrinedom
by Willis A. Graves and F. B. Cress-
well could have done. Claude M.
Myers was the press agent of the af-
fair, and he's some advertiser.
What Shriner Symbols Mean.
There are many persons in the ranks
of the "unregenrated" who are inter-
ested in the symbolism of the Mobiles
of the Mystic Shrine. They want to
know the significance of the star and
the crescent, the scimitar, the sphinx,
the pyramid and the camel They
would also like to know the meaning
Of the Arabaic greeting. "Es Selamu
Aleilkum.'
OF course. it is not to be supposed
that the unregenerated shall .'butt in
On all of the symbols and secrets of
the order. It takes money, a good rep
utation and q thirty second degree or
Knight Templar in Masonry to butt
who are thirsting for knowledge, how
ever the Shriners permit this much to
successfully. For the benefit OF those
be known of their emblems:
The star typifies what a candidate
sees when he takes the degree of Noble
of the Mystic Shrine. To be sure. he
sees more than one star. but more than
one would be cumbersome in an en-
blem, so the Shriners. in their wisdom.
have minilnized the number. feeling
that one good star ought to be suffi-
Gent for a sample.
The Cause of the Claws.
The crescent is made of two tiger
claws, joined at their roots and curv-
ing in opposite directions 1t does not
mean, as Is supposed by many, the
crescent moon that shines in the deep
blue Arabian skies. The moon is not al
ways crescent in Arabia any more than
it is in Iowa. 1t gets full in Arabia
just as it does over here, so it is ridic-
ulous to suppose that the crescent
could have anything to do with a
moon. The tiger claws We're adopted as
q symbol of vengeance, or retribution,
when the order of Mobiles of the Mystic
Shrine was organized in the year of
the Hegira % to enforce some unwrit-
ten laws which had been violated by
the unregenerated. The claws were
supposed to catch the offenders and
bring them before the executioner.
Sciuoitar Kills Quickly.
Now a perfectly good executioner
can't get along without an instrument
of death. This varies from the electric
chair which is used in New York and
a few other states, to the gnarled club
with which offenders brains were
beaten out in the stone age. Midway
between the two, the Arabians hit upon
the scimitar. 1t was quick clean-c cut
and decisive and the victims often
died with smiles upon their faces, so
expeditions was this method OF pun
ishment when inflicted by a good exc
cutioner. This is why the scimitar is
used in connection with the Shriners'
emblem.
The sphinx was selected as one of
the symbols of the Mystic Shrine be-
cause the secrets of Shrinedom are
carefully guarded from the unregene-
rated and because the sphinx had a
reputation for keeping her mouth shut.
The pyramid is suggestive of the at
mosphere of Sitrinedom. and is used
las symbol of the tend of the orders
birth, just as the mint julep is emblem
oti Of Sta look c