The Washington bee., 1911-01-28
LOOTING THE TREASURY

LOOTING THE TREASURY.
The Grand United Order of
Odd Fellows Is membered and
sustained by the unprivileged
class-the men who earn their
bread by the sweat of the brow.
Elghty-ive per cent of the over
three hundred thousand members
are hOrny-handed sons of toll
men who work on the farms. on
the streets, IN bitches, and at other
poorly cOmpensating manual la
Dor. These are the men who.
each month, pay in dues and as
sessments to provide a sick and
death benefit fund for themselves
and their brothers. Little. how
ever, do they suspect that the
fund which their hard-earned
wages helps to make and swell
may be fritted away In useless
salaries for a useless privileged
class, the pirates and PARISHES
who, drunk with temporary vic
tory dOubtfully achieved, are
feasting and banqueting on the
earnings stored up in a fund to
relieve the sick and bury the dead
of the order.
Week before last, at Philadel-
phia, the subcommittee of man
agement met and elected officers
of a Supreme Court. a body crea-
ted for. and whose chief function
will be to dissipate treasury funds
in salaries and Expenses" that
amounts to little less than looting
the treasury. Mr.. Ben Davis. of
Atlanta. Ga. who led the right
wing Of the machine at Balti-
more. was made Chief Justice at
"A salary of $500 per year. 1t
would only have been the avoid
ance Of an approach to the far
cical to have selected a Chief JUS
tice who is a lawyer. That he Is
not a lawyer his buccaneer com
paniOns will. and do. admit. W.
II. Houston, who for four years
has been the Grandmaster. and
who ran the last b. NJ. c. with
the high hand Of an arbitrary,
dominating disrespector of men,
laws and custom, was made AssO-
ciate Justice at $500 per year.
Morris, of Milwaukee, a brother
of the present Grandmaster. who
rode into power by ways that
were dark and tricks that were
questionable. was made the other
Associate Justice at $500 per year.
And here we have a touch of
nepotism-a bold. audaciOus touch
of nepOtism. Harry ;. Cum
mIngs. who at the Baltimore
meeting, while wearing an assum-
ed halo of disinterestedness as
respecting factions. and Il counte-
nance of bland-like ignorance Of
sinister moves. did the bidding.
and willingly, too, of men against
the interests of the honest yeO-
manrv of the order. was made At
tOrney General at $500 per year.
He, too, gets his reward. Here
we have four useless positions
with salaries aggregating $4,000
per year, and possible expenses
that Will equal the salaries, that
must come from the treasury
which the honest, unprivileged
men who work. with hands. to
provide and maintain. If this is
not looting the treasury. pray by
what euphOniOUs name must we
call the raid!
The Bee proposes to expose this
constituencies ring until the
members are lashed into a resent
ment that will make turn the
rascals out" favorite slogan two
years hence-if not before.
Not having a membership in
the order, we cannot be charged
with an attempt to create oppor-
tunities by which we might our
selves selfshly profit. Personally
we have naught against any man
in the order in his individual ca
pacity. We do not propose to
war on men as individuals, and
In their private capacities, but
we will wage a war on principles