The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1914-10-31

ter from Most Worshipful Grand Mas
ter Nelson C. Crews informing me
that he was making up a party for
the purpose of going to Douglas, Ariz.,
to do some Masonic work and ask
ing me to make one of said party. He
informed me that the party would
leave Kansas City Wednesday, Sep
tember 80. I answered at once, ac-
cepting the splendid offer of the trip
and assured him that 1 would report
in time for the start. On the date
fixed George w, X. Love, e. S. Ba-
ker and myself, with the Grand Mas
ter, boarded the Rock Island Golden
Gate Special and pulled out of the
Union depot at 1915 p. m. for Doug
las, Ariz. We had gone but short
distance when Grand Master said to
me that the trip might develop into
one which might interest the read
ers Nof his paper and requested that
I become the historian of the party.
One gets a fine line upon the charac-
teristics of his fellows by contact,
and as the individual units of this
party had only studied each other at
a distance, each expected closer ac-
uuaintance from the more intimate
contact which this trip would in
large measure supply. Love and Ba-
ker retired before we reached Tope-
ka, while the Grand Master gave evil
dence of the first of his peculiarities
which we were to meet-an Unsuitable
appetite for pie, ami he remained up
until he was able to secure a generous
peach pie, which he and l ate. The
fact that we disposed of this pie with
out calling in the other members OF
the party must not be looked upon as
an act of selfishness, for just the con-
trary is true. Our two friends were
so sweetly locked in the arms of Nor
pheus that it would have been a shame
to have disturbed the sweetness OF
their dream. We desire to say right
here to save repetition that the Grand
Master never missed an opportunity
to purchase a pie and no matter how
depleted our commissary department
became we could always count upon
finding therein a pie Nothing worthy
of mention transpired until we reached
Pratt, Kas., the breakfast station,
where we experienced some difficult
ty in securing coffee to go with the
splendid lunch with which the fore
thought of Mrs. Love had provided
us. This difficulty provoked the
Grand Master into telling a car load
of white men his opinion of damn
able caste prejudice which would deny
human beings the right to eat purely
on the account of the color of their
skins and the texture of their hair.
We have never listened to more
scathing rebuke, and his truths were
poured forth with such eloquence That
several very prosperous white men
were moved to the extent of so In
teresfing themselves that we got all
the coffee we wanted. We arrived at
Liberal, Kas, at 1859, where we Sc
cured a fine dinner and we had the
Nsatisfaction of leaving the state that
was born amid the struggle and an
guish which brought us liberty on
full stomachs, for one needs Just that
sort of satisfaction when he is going
to travel in Oklahoma. To make our
history complete we must record the
fact that the Grand Master bought his
usual pie before leaving Liberal and
we had his assurance that it looked
good and from the seeming pleasure
he derived from eating it, we must ad-
nit that it seemingly came up to his
expectations. When we reached the
Oklahoma line we expected to see
general exodus from the coach IN
which we were sitting, but we saw
nothing of the kind, and so far as we
were concerned we could see no diff
ference between riding in that state
and in riding through Missouri. From
Pratt, Kas., far into Oklahoma we did
not see a single colored person. Just
before leaving Oklahoma for Texas
a Mr.. Seymour, an old friend OF MT
Crews, and an employe of the dining
car service, came through the train
and invited us to be his guests at
supper. 1t is needless to say the
party had no desire to offend, and oi
course accepted the invitation. we
found no attention paid to the sepa
rate car law in Texas, and we were
unmolested the two hours we were In
that state. This may have been due
to the dignified appearance OF the dis
tinguished Baker of our party. We
arrived at the historic old city of Ell
Paso about So'clock Friday morning
tired and as usual, hungry. After 9
good breakfast of ham, eggs and COT
fee we started out to see the sights
We went across what some people
are pleased to call the Rio Grande
river into Juarez, Mexico. On every