The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1912-02-29
THE SPIRIT
OF ELKDOM
EULOGIzED
PERRY A. CLAY DELIVERS GEM N
TtslNCIPAL ADDRESS AT ELKs
DEDICATION.
TO THE BROTHERS OF CANON
sCLYY LODGE NO. $40, B. r. O.

you will ever feel lively satisfaction
in these beautiful arrangements and
the courtesy and honor which you
confer upon me. beg to assure you. is
OF such a character as must always
appeal TO my gratitude and pride.
The Lodge from which come Is not
only the first in Colorado, but the old
est in all that great scope OF country
lying between the mighty Mississippi
and the shores of the boundiess Pa
cific. Nearly all the lodges in this
state have been instituted by her and
and those that are not the children
directly Of Old IL are at least her STEP
children and In all of them we take
a just and laudabie pride. OF the
thirty lodges now existing within this
cd&pmonwealth II Is fair 20 say that
none deserves our felicitations more
than Canon City No. 610.
Within the memory OF a mans life
a handful OF Jolly Corks" imbued
with that Divine afflatus which recog-
nizes some good in every creature.
awake TO the sympathIes and charities
Whif We all require. formed. in crude
beginning. the first lodge OF Elks. In
doing so they set in motion for good
aud happiness movement which
etsEnal years cannot abolish nor de-
stSy: and could they have looked
forward to the scene being enacted
here today they would have Witnessed
the ripening spiendor OF the work
which they began-the symmetry and
beauty OF that column rising higher
and grander In the cause OF humanity
"a glory born OF goodness which
never dies"
a famous EnglishmAn once said
that the sun never sets upon the
British flag We may now With equal
propriety proclaim that II never sets
upon the Elks' lodge. Our brothers
In. far away Manila. watching the
So OF day as it disappears behind
the Indian sea. know that at nearly
the same moment Il Is spreading It's
rays OF light and warmth among 9TH
ers Of our great fraternity along the
cSast OF Maine Amid frozen regions
OF ice and snow our brothers close
they doors against the storms dread
vofS. while others In SUMMER cllmes
receive through open lattice the per-
fume OF the orange blossom and Mag
noiia bloom.
Every organization which has met
wft any success has presented man
kind some claim TO superior merit.
which upon investigation. has COM
mended itself to serious considera-
tion and respect
why am I an Elk Ia II not perth
nent that on an occasion OF this char
acter every brother should make the
inquiry, Permit me to reply for my
self. am an Elk because I can
plant seeds which spring into life and
yield flowers OF delicate perfume and
bcaaty--becsuse believe in progress
and Immortality. am an Elk be-
cause our teachings deepen and In
tensify the only thing In the world
which never dies and that is love
lore of home. of family, OF country. OF
humanity and Of God. am an Elk
because whenever II has been my
privilege to go In this land OF ours
have found our password and entire
into the hearts OF the best people on
earth and the emblem which | wear
Il TO me a badge OF greater distinction
than any conferred by King upon a
loyal subject
We think that the Benevolent and
Protective Order OF Elks contains the
best active membership Of any society
In existence. Today. brothers. as you
beArkrupon each other with an affec-
tiou as deep as human destiny, as
broad as an unselfish devotion and
as high as yonr loftiest aspirations.
ppne will galnsay. ] do not claim
INT other organizations are not good
because this ls better. | would not
for n moment detract from the pro-
tectiye BENEFITS of those associations
which do so much TO alleviate
human suffering. and whose members
are bound together by ties OF enduring
friendship: but I mean for all pur-
poses that are grand. ennobling and
fraternai. the Elks have sifted the
chan from all the others and garnered
only the wheat.
II man Is parsimonious he will
not become an Elk, because Eiks be-
lieve In libcrallty. IL he Is spend
thrift he will not join us. for We be-
liese In moderation. If he is a pessi-
mist, hunting paradise for himself.
bounded by limitations OF his own
marrow intellect. he will never seek
us. save for ignoble purposes. for we
endeavcr 10 create an universal heav-
en- In this life. and hope for one OF
inknlte possibilities In the next.
No sycophant or worshlper of power
anywhere could be n good Elk. The
faithful communicant OF this fraterni-
~ recognizes how easy II Is for some
ominds to glide along with the current
'of popular opinion. where influence.
rcspectability and all those motives
which tend TO seduce the human heart
are brought TO bear: but he does not
Gravel such a road himself. He will
Be found In the path OF duty though II
may some times be hard and perilous.
kad those who differ from him In
opinion cannot help but admire his in
dependence.
! The man upon whose shoulders the
Vpalsied hand OF hardship mas laid It's
insidious clutch delights TO bc an Elk.