Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1909-06-20
CONVENTION OF PICKED MEN
Eagles Grand Aerie is Composed Of
Past Masters.
RYDER SAYS FORTY THOUSAND
No False Alarm About the Crowd
that VIII swarm Into Omaha
for This Big National
Event.

Some folks are inclined to think we are
exaggerating when we talk OF 10000 to
10000 delegates and visitors to the Eagles
grand aerie convention in September" said
Secretary Ryder of the convention COM
mittee, but we are not stretching 1t in
the least judging by the conventions held
heretofore. Omaha is more centrally To-
Gated than any city that has ever enter
tained the grand aerie meeting, midway be-
tween the coasts, and the time of year is
the most salubrious of the whole twelve
months.
THE Eagles order is peculiar. in this,
that every delegate who sits in the grand
aerie has been through the chairs thus
making a picked body of men, The junior
past president casts the vote of his aerie,
based on membership, but every man who
has ever been president of an aerie has a
vote in the grand body, 1t is this provision
that makes such a big convention. Every
aerie makes a generous appropriation for
it's delegate or delegates, enablirg them
to bring their families, II they so desire,
and great majority of the delegates do
bring one or more people with them. 1t is
point of honor TO spend the money SO
appropriated.
Fight for Convention.
There is always a keen fight for the
location of the next convention and many
cities send representatives well provided in
funds to make the campaign. For instance
at Milwaukee, when we first tried to get
the convention for Omaha, we found that
Mayor Fitzgerald of Boston was financing,
from his contingent fund provided for
that purpose, the Boston campaign The
exposition management was backing the
Norfolk, Va, campaign, and Norfolk won
The Omaha committee spent possibly AOC
in boosting and advertising, aside from
what individuals spent which was no small
amount while the other convention-seekins
cities spent probably $500 each At Seattle
last year st. Paul and other cities were
backed in their requests for the convention
| by plenty of funds, and by their convention
and publicity committees; but Omaha wor
out because OF the continual boosting, year
after year, OF few faithful spirits.
New Orleans is in the contest for the
Grand Aerie convention I'm 1912, and the
editor of the Dixie Eagle, published IN
that city. writes as follows to the Omaha
committee:
Your letter will be used in our next
issue The appearance of the cuts of the
Omaha Auditorium published in June
issue) has made a big hit among tht
/ Eagles of this section, and II Is our desire
| TO use these cuts again before the conven-
| ton takes place. We have recently visited
several of the southern aeries, and II looks
as II the southern states Will be better
| represented than ever before We are do
] ing all in our power to get as many OF
! the brothers in this section TO go TO Omaha
! as possible for our slogan Will be New
! Orleans, 1872" Trust to hear more OF tht
good things in store for the Eagles thai
viii visit "The Center" In short time,
San Francisco will, it is understood, ash
for the 1911 convention, but will have tC
contest with several other cities for It,