The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-12-02

| order, they m1n1Stered 10 MS every
need, and in that hour when the dread
reaper came for hts harvest OF a
useful and precious life, they closed
his eyes which had seen so much
good In human nature, folded his
hands which had SO lavishly distrib
uted means among the poor and des-
titute, and commended his spirit to
God who gave It.
The cardinal virtues of the order
are Charity" Justice" "Brotherly
Love and Fidelity" no nobler virtues
can be conceived in governing mans
relations with his fellow man. We
have only to turn back the pages OF
history to see what progress has been
made in the universal brotherhood of
man. We have only to glance at his
primitive condition, as for instance
when in the morning he would crawl
forth from his cave, club in nand
which he used as an instrument Of
offense and defense alike; or when he
roamed the forest in quest of food as
his sole occupation, in common with
the beast; like the beast he mated to
his kind, from which mating grew the
family, then the tribe, and from the
tribe sprang the nation; and as the
nation grew and developed, conquer
ing, selfishness, despotism and human
oppression, there appeared in the fir
mament the silver star of human SYM
pathy, casting its rays of charity, JUS
tice, brotherly love and fidelity over
the land, when at last the great law
giver, Moses, handed down the COM
mandment, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as myself" there burst forth
that sentiment which has been waited
on every breeze carrying the glorious
message that all men are brothers.
Then there appeared the greatest
fraternalst the world has ever
known, who effectively and fearlessly
preached the gospel of universal
brotherhood Of man, and for His doc
trine and bravery suffered death upon
the cross, but his commandment that
you love one another" lives on and
on and will live as long as friendship
warns the heart of man.
The order Of Benevolent and Pro
tective Order of Elks is wholly Amer.
lean, stands for home, flag and coun-
try; countenances nothing which Is
not pure Americanism. During the
past few years under the stress OF
war, we have seen and heard many
tributes of love and respect paid our
nations flag, and I sometimes fear
there are those who do not, in times
OF peace, always appreciate its beauty
and the great principles for which It
stands; not only in times of war but
In times OF peace this great order
teaches respect, reverence and devo-
ton to the Stars and Stripes. To an
Elk, every star in Old Glory's crown
shines with brighter lustre, every
thread of red and blue holds a DEEPER
hue, the spotless white a hidden EN-
blem Of purity.
There Is no rivalry between the
church and fraternal orders. Tie oh
]ects OF the church is primarily to
look after the spiritual training and
development, that of the fraternal or
ders to train and develop the mora,
growth, This order has no creed,
dogmas nor confessions of faith. II
cares not whether you be Gentle or
Jew, Catholic or Protestant, rich or
poor; 1t only asks that you recog-
nize God as the supreme being. and
that you practice the teachings Of
Christ as applied to humanity.
Clarence barrow once said that he
had the greatest admiration and re.
spect for the heather Hindoo who
bowed down to his craven image and
prayed to that image to make him a
better man. While we may not go so
far as that, for his god is not our
God yet we must feel a deep SYM
pathy for that poor heather who has
in his heart an earnest yearning to be
better man.
l make bold the assertion that he
who never rendered service to hu.
manity, likewise never rendered a
service to God. In proof of this as
serSon l refer you to one Of the last
sermons of Christ, wherein a graphic
description Of the final judgment Is
given wherein those who have not
visited the sick, fed the hungry.