Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-08-02
Flaherty Makes Report

Flaherty Makes Report
IN the course of his report made to-
aay James Flaherty of Philadelphia,
the supreme knight of the order. paid
glowing tribute to the local members
or the order and to the city of Daven-
port In his preamble to his report he
declared:
AS We begin the deliberations of
our S4th national convention the
| thought comes to me that our meeting
place could not have been more ap-
propriately chosen. We meet here with
the fragrant memories of our last SUI
preme convention in the west still re-
naming; we have too, tender recoI-
| Iections OF the south And today we
are met together in this wonderful
middle west, which, l am sure, has it's
own special message for US.
! And think we shall find this spe-
clal message in the tri-cities of Dav-
/ export, Rock Island and Moline, a sym
/ Dol TO US all of industry going hand in
hand with beauty. We shall receive
from this suspicious harmony such
! impressions, that when the delibera-
tons of our convention are finished,
and each has returned to his own
home and his own sphere of influence,
he will carry with him not only happy
memories of brotherly welcome and
/ gracious hospitality from the citizens
and fraternal orders of this wonderful
city, but also recollections of as gall
! liant and Chivalrous a band of local
( knights of our order as il is the priv
/ ilege of any of us to meet
An Up-tO-Date City.
I'VE may see in the enthusiasm of
our brother knights of Davenport and
sister cities, reflection of the won,
/ derful civic energy that abounds on
every side. We see an industrious and
thriving population, public institutions
/ conducted in the most enlightened
manner, and an efficient and up-to-date
municipality. And we see also. a city
/ in which Catholic churches and col
leges and schools tell tale of splen-
did endeavor on the part of the Cath
| Ollie citizenry of the tri-cities.
| We meet today amongst so much
! that is inspiring and encouraging, that
| it seems there could be no note of sad
ness sounded at all. Yet we meet this
year also. as we did last year, when
| the dark cloud of war still hangs heav
| lily over Europe and other parts of
| the world beyond our continent. But
| still we pray that peace may speedily
/ be restored to the war-torn nations of
| Europe. And we make our prayer,
not as taking sides in these unhappy
differences, but according to the guild
| ance shown by our Holy Father, Pope
Benedict the Fifteenth. by the three
cardinals of our church, and by the
president of our country. We pray for
| an honorable peace for each of the
! belligerents.
! Nor let us be unmindful of the
cloud of war that has threatened our
! beloved country, of the estrangement
! that has crept between ourselves and
the citizens of the republic beyond the
Rio Grande. Let it be the earnest
prayer and hope of each of us that I'M
happy Mexico may awake from her
! nightmare of anarchy, and take the
/ lead in the work of rehabilitation
which every true hearted citizen of
/ the United atStes desires for her. That
| once again peace and prosperity may
take the place that bloodshed and an
archy have usurped for SO long.
Recreation Stations on Border.
THE mobilization of troops along the
| Mexican border, both of the regular
army and the national guard, has call
ed a large number of members of our
. order to the service of their country.
+ The supreme officers and the board of
directors have adopted measures to eff
fectively care for the needs of mem
bers of the order who are now engaged
the present Mexican situation. Money
has been forwarded to FL PasO and
I other cities near which troops are sta
! toned. A special agent, provided with
/ ample funds, has been dispatched to
! the various camps along the border
/ and every effort is being made to care
for the welfare of brother knights who
have answered the cas- of their coun-
try.
hn dnfn 1C nf IT fh0
supreme knight pointed out that the
total amount of insurance in force on
\ June 30 was 1923, S62,842 an increase
, of so per cent in seven years. In this
connection he urged a campaign for
the increase of the insurance members
in comparison with the associate mem
bers.
Less Anti Catholic Agitation.
Referring to the permanent home
for councils movement he said it had
a vital connection with the steady
growth of the order. He alluded to
the lecture tours of Peter Collins and
David Goldstein and their addresses
against socialism, the tour of Joseph
Scott and the address in Chicago by
Bourk Cochran, attended by 10000
people He commended the work of
the commission on religious preju-
! dice and asserted there had been a
marked falling of attacks by profess
sionaI anti-Catholic agitators due to
/ the commission's efforts.
/ In the furtherance of the educa-
tionaI aims of the order mention is
made of the Knights of Columbus edi-
ton of the Catholic Encyclopedia,
and to the scholarships established at
the Catholic university in Washing
/ ton. d. c.
/ He took occasion to regret the
/ death of Daniel P. Toomey, editor of
the Columbiad. during the year. Com
/ menting upon the funds raised by the
! order to assist Pope Benedict XIV. due
TO the loss of revenue Of the Vatican
/ by the European war he says that the