The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-04-10
Grand Council Of the Order Adjourns
at Noon Today After EIectins
Grand Officers for
Year.
|CENTERv1LLE IS NEXT
keokuk Lodge Holds Record for In
crease Of Membership With Over
Four Hundred Percent in
Three Years.

The Grand Council of the Royal
Arcanum, in session at Keokuk, were
entertained last night at a banquet
by the local lodge which was served
by the Colfax lodge No. 4, Degree OF
Rebekah.
The address of welcome was made
1 by w. j. Roberts, of Keokuk, who is
a life member and enthusiastic work
err in the order. Speeches were made
by nearly all of the grand officers OF
the lodge, including Grand Regent
LaBarre, Past Grand Regent Dysart
and others. Grand Regent Kropf, of
Illinois, who is to represent the
supreme regent Of the order, did not
arrive until this morning.
All the visiting members were con-
graduating the local council on the
wonderful showing they have made in
1 the past three years. Four hundred
per cent increase in membership is
the record and by far outdoes any 9th
er council IN the order.
/ After the banquet, the regular
routine work was done and a class
of about sixty men were initiated In
to the mysteries of the lodge.
Election Of Officers.
At the election held this morning
the following grand officers were
elected by the grand council; Grand
Regent, w. E. Mcconnell. Council
Bluffs, Vice Grand Regent, G. A. Fair
lily, Des Moines; Orator, J. R. Price.
Abba; Secretary, H. A. Snyder, Wa
terloo. Chaplain, George A. Merrill,
! Cedar Rapids; Guide, Tom Reid, Sioux
City; Warden, T. A. Zook, Abba; Sen
try, c. M. vogler, Keokuk; Supreme
Representative, A. x. Dysart, Ottum-
wa: Alternate, j. N LaBarre, Water
loo. In addition to these men one
member of the committee on laws was
! selected and three trustees.
4 After a hard fight on the part of
some of the other cities, CenterviNe
was chosen as meeting place for
next year. Cedar Rapids and Musca-
tine both made bid for the honor
but without sufficient weight and Cen
terville carried the day.
| The Grand Council adjourned at
noon and most of the visitors will
leave the city this afternoon. All ex-
pressed themselves as favorably i'm
pressed with the city and promise to
put in many good words for Keokuk
Address Of Welcome.
The following address Of welcome
to the grand council was delivered
by w. j. Roberts of this city. just
prior to the initiation of about forty
candidates:
Thirty-one years ago the S0th OF
this month, Keokuk Council got its
certificate of birth as member of
the R. A. family, then about five
years old. There were prophets IN
those days. Had they been true ones,
the family would have been extinct
several years ago. Despite the loss
by death of over $4,000 members, 1t
still flourishes and has membership
of 249,00O. Up to February 29th,-
1912. it has paid in benefits S147,20T,-
0S1 Al. It has local councils in &c
states and three provinces of Cansea
and grand councils in rs states. and
local councils in 10 states still under
| the sole jurisdiction of the supreme
council
Iowa's 21 councils and membership
are with us tonight by representation,
through their grand council, in honor
of whom We are now assembled.
But while the old line companies
did not prove to be true prophets,
they, nevertheless, spoke some truth
in the years gone by. They told us
that insurance at actual cost was
beautiful in theory but .mpracticable
in the long run. The pioneers OF
Keokuk Council know how much
truth there was in that proposition,
for they have gone through the ex-
perience of readjustment of rates
to conform thereto. One of the ele-
ments OF the Royal Arcanum in which
they always felt a just pride, was the
character of its membership. Where
ever local council existed. in its fold
were found the best men in the COM
munity. They were the men of intel
ligence, prudence and breadth of
view
This matter of character told when
came the time to make the change
that has made the order as sound as
any old line company Manfully and
cheerfully they submitted to the plan
involving increases in assessments or
dues, and the establishment of re-
serve, or emergency fund that on
February 2sth amounted to $685.
423 50.