The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-07-03

The Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks is now herding in Los Angeles and
the southern California metropolis is do
ing itself proud while entertaining them.
Organized forty-two years ago. the Elks
at once set out TO live up To their repu-
tatlon as the Best People on Earth
Their lodges have multiplied with a re-
markabie rapidity in these fOrty-tWO
( years, and instead OF being only strug-
Cling little society in New York. made
up mainly Of thespians and calling them-
selves the jolly COrks, they are now an
order with nearly 300 600 members IN the
l United States and many thousands in
canada. In the two countries they nave
/ some 100 lodges. They are liberal or
der, the grand lodge I'm the United states
I ana It's component parts having distrlD-
uted over $4,000 in benefits during the
] past year. Besides this there is more
| than S200000 in reserve in the treasury OF
I the grand lodge
The Elks have always responded TO the
/ call Of distress in times Of great national
/ or international calamity. When the san
/ Francisco earthquake was first reported
the grand lodge sent check Tor Sl9,Uv
toward the relief Of the san FRANCISCO
4 Elks. Later every lodge in the country
supplemented this donation. But the
| San Francisco Elks were game Iney
would not accept cent Of the money that
came, and in due course il was all re
turned 10 the donors 1t is SAID tnaJ not
single San Francisco Elk accepted ala
/ from any source during those Trying
I
was reported the Elks were among the
earliest contributors to the relief OF the
stricken. yet no publicity was given 20
their handsome donation. It is not thelT
way In giving they take the beautitui
course of not letting their one hand know
what the other does.
The founding of this peculiarly Ameri-
can order was due largely to the efforts
of an Englishman, Charles A. ;. VIVIAN,
who become the first exaulted ruler OF the
grand lodge. He was a theatrical per
former, and when the question or a name
better suited to the enlarged scope OF the
order came up he wanted to call them
Buffaloes. There was a stiff tght De-
tween the advocates Of Buffalo ana those
who favored Elk When the latter was
chosen there were sixteen votes cast, nine
for Elk and seven for Buffalo. But even
that closely fought contest did not set
tie the matter. IL was only after many
works of natural history had been exam
med and the relative merits OF the elk
and the buffalo as symbols OF the thlnss
for which the order stood had Deen es-
tablished. that the difference was tlnai-
~ and forever resolved in favor OF the
elk. This animal fights only in defense
of itself its mate. OF It's young ana
when it does fight it is one OF the most
feared of all the denizens of the ami
NAL kingdom.
From the day that the elk was selected
to represent the brotherhood, there has
been a steady growth OF the order Inc
value of the property they own runs INTO
the lullt0nS. ana the NUMBER u llcilluO
is annually increasing They NUMBER
among their members many Of the leading
citizens of the United States. William
Jennings Bryan is an Elk. So Is eX-
Vice President Fairbanks, Senators Bar
ley. LaFOllette. Tilman. Guggenheim ana
Cummings. John Sharp Williams, Cover
nor John A Johnson and many Other
prominent political leaders are members
Of the order
For doing stunts" there IS no other
order in America that can surpasS the
Elks. They are true fun-lovers, although
they possess their serious moments as
well. Every big city in the country wants
to capture the annual herding. Little
cities need have no such desire, since
there are so many visitors they Woulu
swamp the hotel accommodations OF a
small place. It is nothing out Of the or
binary for them to have a parade M
teen miles long, and no matter II OId sol
is coming down at white heat, the Elks
will have their annual procession ana
sucb a show as they put up. The circus
managers might we'll be on hand 10 Set
pointers on the variety and spice that
may be added TO a paraoe. A thousahu
lodges may be represented ana 10 tNO
of them have the same sort Of uniform.
Their badges take on variety that IS
the admiration and despair OF every COZ
Iector in the land. One lodge may have
a little wooden coffin for badge, ana no
narade is complete unless Boston is there
with its little bean-pOt emblem AND the
expense to which they go. Al recent
annual convention the FL fdSO iouSe
spent $4,000 in order that they might
have genuine bull fighters and Mexican
senoritas in line. and a Denver lodge ap-
peared as a band Of cowboys. They sur
prised the pOpulace by shooting up the
mayors reviewing stand in approved
wild west style. The story of their
stunts" might be continued indefinitely,
for there have been 10000 surprises of
this kind since the Elks first began TO
foregatheT.
The humanitarianism of the Elks was
never questioned but once. 1t was when
the charge was made that the demand
for elks teeth was leading to the ex-
tinCtiOn Of the species. Immediately an
investigation was set on foot and every
Elk laid his elk-tOoth badge aside. There
will never be another elk killed for his
teeth through any demand by lodge mem
bers. The Elks are not like the noble
women whose hearts go out in pity for
the little birds and in scorn for the bad
boys who rob their nests. in spite of the
fact that at that very moment they may
be wearing breasts on their hats that
once warmed nestlings which starved in
motherless nests.
The Elks are the most famous of all
orders in the matter Of hospitality and
open house. In a ecent annual parade