The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-02-26
ISMAILIA TEMPLE
 WILL ENTERTAIN < BIC CONVENTION
Bridgeport Shriners Will Have Big Representa-
 tion at Buffalo.

Buffalo. N. Y. Feb. 26.-Prepara- tions for the biggest convention in the United States on the 1916 calendar, and, for those who attend a great fun spot on the years record, have been undertaken with vim by members of Ism ailia temple, who July II, 12 and 1 3 will entertain the imperioI council session of the Shrine in this city.
 Preparedness is the watchword and 'fIsmailia will hail ye," is the slogan of the Buffalo nob1es and as an indi- cation that the haiIing will mean something more than a cheerful hello they have raised fund of $10O,OO0 to do it right and have started months ahead to make their plans to give the visitors the most the money can pro- vide.
 Indications are that close on to 100000 Shriners will attend the 1916 imperial council session and that means pilgrimages in formidable numbers from far and near. The great bulk of attendance naturally will come from the thickly populated country near Buffalo and the Niagara. frontier, but large delegations already are assured from distant cities, from Honolulu, the Panama Canal zone and even from the Philippine Islands.
 Pyramid Temple of Bridgeport will send one of the largest delegations it has had at any Shrine convention in years. Correspondence already had with the potentate and patrol com mander of Pyramid temple by George K. Staples, general chairman of ar engagements, and Capt. H. I. Sackett who has charge of arrangements for bands and patrols, has given the Bridgeport snohIes assurance they will make the pilgrimage to Buffalo, the Mecca for Shrtners this year.
 J. Putnam Stevens, imperial poten- tate of the Shrine, now is on the last leg of a cross country tour of tenn pies on which he has urged nobles to make the pilgrimage of next sum mer a memorable one. MT. Stevens will swing through the southern and western states, closing his journey with a. trip to the Hawaiian 1siands in March
 In addition to the extensive enter tainment programme that is being ar ranged by the Buffalo Shrine pilgrims will be taken on short journeys to spots of interest on the Niagara iron tier, Niagara Falls with it's natural wonders and the immense electric power generating plants, the whirl- pool and nearby Canada with it's his toric battlefe1ds near Brooks mon ument. Other journeys will be made to Fra Ebert Hubbard's Roycroft plant, the great steel mills at Lacka- wanna ana summer resorts OH 11SItAS Erie X The plans for giving visiting members of the order a lively time are very comprehensive. ~
 Many of the visiting caravans will have elaborate special trains. One such will come from California tenn ple which will bring a large number of persons and which has war chest of $165, 1000 to foot travel and susten- ance bills A Canadian caravan will carry with it several real buffa- los from one of the few surviving herds which happens to be near the temples home in Alberta. Another from the desert region of the south west will bring camels, others will have lions, tigers and grizzly bears as mascots. They won't be- used in Shrine ceremOnia1s, merely in the big parade in which upwards of 50,0O0 wearers of the fez are to participate.