The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-04-09
|AFR|kGEMENTS MUST STOP.
FRATERNAL ORDERS PROTECT.
ED NOW BY LAW.
The Last Legislature Passed an Act
That Will Give Relief to the
knights of Pythias and Elks From

bly, that Will cause no little trouble is
printed below. 1t is an act passed for
| the purpose of protecting secret So
| cieties from infringement of the name
and emblem of the Order. 1t was
passed for the purpose of giving re-
lief especially to the Knights Of Fy-
thias and the Elks, whose name has
been appropriated by the negroes.
The matter was brought to the leg
| 1slature by the knights Of Pythias
| At the Aiken meeting the matter Was
| brought up, and the Grand Lodge ap-
| pointed Hon. M. l.. Smith chairman Of
| q committee to draft a measure for
the legislature. The bill passed is
patterned after a similar law in :}eor-
| sia, which has passed the muster Of
tie Supreme Court.
1t is needless to say that the negro
| Orders will fight the measure to the
| last ditch.
| one OF the fundamental laws of the
| Pytnians from it's foundation is that
an applicant shall be a white man,
| twenty-One years of age and of good
| character and believe in a Supreme
Being. Any organization that carries
| that name and does not have those
| requirements is an infringement upon
| that Order.
The text of the bill in full is as fol-
lows:
Section 1. Be it enacted by the
General Assembly Of the State of
South Carolina, That from and after
the passage of this Act, no person,
| society or organization shall assume,
| use or adopt, or become incorporated
under, or continue to use the name
and style or emblems of any benevo-
lent, fraternal, social, humane or
! charitable organization previously ex-
listing in this State, and which has
been incorporated under the laws of
this or any other State, or of the Uni
| ted States, or a name and style or en-
| and style of such incorporated organ
izatiOn as to be colorado imitation
thereof. In all cases where two or
more Of such societies, associations
or corporations claim the right to the
same name, or to name substantially
similar as above provided, the organ
ization which was first organized and
used the name, and first became in
corporated under the laws Of the Uni
ted States or of any State of the
Union, whether incorporated in this
State or not, shall be entitled in this
State to the prior and exclusive use
Of such name, and the rights of such
societies. associations or corporations
and of their individual members shall
be fixed and determined according
ly.
Sec. 2. That whenever there shall
be an actual or threatened violation
of the provisions of Section 1 of this
Act, the organization entitled to the
exclusive use Of the name in question
under the terms of said section, shall
have the right to apply to the proper
courts for an injunction to restrain
the infringement of it's name and the
use of it's emblems, and if it shall be
made to appear to the court that the
defendants are in fact infringing or
about to infringe the name and style
of a previously existing benevolent,
fraternal, social, humane or charit-
able organization in the manner pro-
hibted in said Section l of this Act,
or that the defendant or defendants
are wearing and using the badge, in
sigma or emblems of said organiza-
tiOns, without the authority thereof
in violation Of said Section 1, an in
junction may be issued by the court
under the principles of equity, without
requiring proof that any person has
been in fact misled or deceived by the
infringement of such name, or the
use of such emblem.
Sec. 3. That any person who shall
wear a badge, button or other en-
blem or shall use the name, or claim
to be a member of any benevolent,
fraternal, social, humane, or charit-
able organization which is entitled to
the exclusive use of such name and
emblems under Section 1 of this Act
either in the identical form or in such
near resemblance thereto as to be a
colorable imitation of such emblems
and name, unless entitled so to do
under the laws, rules and regulations
of such organization, shall be guilty
ofe a misdemeanor, and upon convic-
ton thereof shall be punished by a !
fine Of not less than ono tboucopd dol