Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-06-12

n
~ ~ @ mo sss a. ns1ai
recognition as an auxiliary to the
state grand aerie.
Rock Island women are pioneers in
this movement, having organized the
first auxiliary in the United States on
March %, 1910, but they are not rec
ogniZed as an adjunct to the stern
fraternity. However, they hold
charter, which was secured from the
secretary Of state in 1912, ever since
which time there has been an organ
! lied and united effort to obtain the
recognition of the grand order.
/ A year ago the women, headed by
| the pioneer Rock Island organization,
sailed into the Eagles convention
hall at Springfield and demanded.
with the aid of hundreds of tin horns
and a wealth of oratory, that the
grand aerie take them under their
wings James Maucker of this city
championed the cause of the fair as
pirants, introduced resolution on the
! floor of the convention to admit the
women, and let loose flood Of ora
tory that resulted in vote that came
| W1tulu Two DdiIOtS VI W luHILlE lHS udN-
This was regarded as a mighty good
showing especially in view of the fact
that there has always been strong OPP
position among the Eagles to letting
any of the women folks in on any Of
the sacred and fraternal secrets Of
the order But the wives, sweethearts
and daughters are now more deter
mined than ever, and insist that they
have perfect feminine right to cuddle
up little closer to the exclusive male
birds.
There is a good reason for this, as
the history of Auxiliary No. I, Ladies
of the Eagles of Rock Island, clearly
shows, and was nicely explained today
by Mrs. August Bergeson, 1915 Four
teenth street, leader in the women's
organization.
Women Are Needed.
Several years ago when the men
folks were putting on annual shows
they found it impossible to work out
details without the aid of the women,
and they did not hesitate to come to
US and ask for help" explained Mrs.
Bergeson. "Of course. we couldn't re-
fuse them, and we turned in with vim
I and worked like bees We were inter-
ested in them, their welfare and in
their efforts to build one of the finest
homes in the west, and we gave them
every assistance possible. We work.
out thousand and one of those little
details which are so distasteful to
the men, and the result was that their
undertakings were successful from
the start. This is simply an illustra-
ton of what we think we can do for
the Illinois grand aerie. We can be
a great help to the men, if they only
knew it. We are entitled to the rec
ognition we seek, and we will never
give up until the battle is won"
The opening session of the Eagles
convention tomorrow morning is the
only one which any outsiders will be
allowed to attend. and it is the inten-
ton of the women to take advantage
of this opportunity to press their
claims to the state body.
There are about 200 members in
the auxiliary, according to Mrs. Ber-
geson. who is secretary of the organ
iZation, and a majority of these is ex-
pected to turn out at Tuesday morn
ing's demonstration The local wo-
men expect the assistance OF Moline
auxiliary No. 2 and the support also
of large number of women who are
! expected to accompany the Eagles to
Rock Island
To Be Dignified Affair.
The demonstration tomorrow will
be very lady-like affair, according to
Secretary Burgeson. At Springfield a
, year ago the women armed themselves
with horns and other noise-making
devices, but there will be none of that
this year. They have learned a les
son that does not seem to be thor
, oughly understood by the men, that
t fanfare and pyrotechnics are only for
the moment and do not leave lasting
impression. Therefore, the women are
going TO invade the Eagles convention
in cool deliberate and sensible man
ner in an endeav0r to show them that
= fraternal brothers can never be happy
unless they recognize their wives,
daughters and sweethearts
Mrs. Bergeson was not able to state
today how many women visitors would
be in the city during the convention,
but 1t is safe to predict that there
= will be at least 800 here from out
: side. Moline will be largely repre-
| sented, as there is an active organiza-
|. ton there, and Davenport is expected
5 to contribute largely to the numbers.
The women will have their head
quarters at the New Harper. and there
Will be plenty of entertainment to
keep all Of them busy during the three
!, days Of the convention.
Ladies to Ride in Autos.
Tomorrow afternoon there will be
!, card party at the New Harper, and
IN the evening the tri-city wives,
; daughters and sweethearts. at least
400 strong, will participate in the big
parade. They will ride in automo-
biles. A prominent feature of the
womens division will be the appear
ri ance of the Rock Island auxiliary de-
l gree team Of "A members.
Wednesday afternoon there will be
i matinee party at the Spencer Square
q theater and in the evening the auxil-
J. larry members and their guests ex-
IS pect TO Join the men in the Mississippi
!, river trip.
Thursday afternoon the Moline aux
h Hilary will give card party at the
) Manufacturers hotel, and the guests
d expect to return to Rock Island to
= enjoy the automobile ride, which will
start at 4 p. NJ