The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-10-22
SUGGESTIONS
OF GRAND SIRE
Speech Of Joseph oliver to the Grand
Lodge Was Full Of Interest and
instruction for Every
HISTORY IS RECALLED
Memories of Former Grand Sire
Whose Home Was in keokuk
Were Suggested in Opening
Of Address.

! Speaking before the grand lodge
Wednesday. Grand Sire Joseph P
o.. r. ~c-outo. Canada, said:
Grand Master, Officers and Broth
ell ,..l .4,t few days l have hat
the privilege of being with your goot
grand master l have received all the
courtesies that it is possible for any
man to receive in this state.
1t is rather co-incidental that we
meet in grand lodge session where
Erie J. Leech, the esteemed and re-
spected grand sire of the order lived.
For great many years he attended
the sovereign grand lodge. He was
elected grand sire IN Baltimore in
1882, and l had the pleaure and priv
lege of being present when he was
elected. also had the privilege of
sitting in the sovereign grand lodge
with him for three years. l learned,
as you all learned, to love, esteem
and revere his memory.
! I don't know that there is very
much can say on Odd Fellowship
that you do not already know, but
there are a few things that occurred
to me as l read your grand masters
report, and you win pardon me if l
l
| I think is for the best interest of all
orders.
One of the things that struck me
/ very forcibly on reading the grand
masters report is the fact that dur
| ing the past year some two or three
of your buildings have been burned
and destroyed by fire, and you had
very little or no insurance. In our
| fry,.s cdi Lodi h11S1d ho
without permission of the executive
committee, during a recess of the
grand lodge, and their business is to
see that every hall is insured for at
least eighty percent of its value. I
think that is good legislation.
think, if you have buildings and prop
erty that is worth anything, It is
worth taking care of. l am great
believer in insurance. Everything
have is insured for 102 percent if l
can get it. I am insured SO that if
anything happens I will not lose all.
| I learned that lesson early in life.
happened to be in a business when
fire took place. and I know that 1t
can take great deal of money In
very few moments. l got one or two
lessons that we're pretty costly, but
perhaps it was the best lesson that
ever received, because since then /
| have taken good care, if a fire oc-
Cured, that should lose no money.
| I am only making the suggestion. 1t
is not necessary that you carry 1t out.
Medical Examinations.
| Then we are an organization that
believes in taking care of the sick,
the widow and the orphan, and l am
firm believer in q medical exa1n1-
nation for every applicant for mem
bership in our order for when man
once becomes a member of the order
he becomes a liability. l think that
should be taken care of for our own
protection Then we have all OF our
officers bonded-the Office, not the
man. We paid bonding, premiums for
good many years to various bond
/ ing organizations whose business II
is to give that kind of insurance.
Three years ago we decided that our
grand lodge was large enough for US
+! to go into that business ourselves.
We decided, when we got $4,000,
towards which each of the lodges
does something, and they paid US
ahou+ the same as we would have to
paw to some insurance company, we
wouId stop making assessments on
the lodges. We are pretty nearly
half way there now. want to say
to the very great credit of Odd Eel
,howsf1ip that we have never had to
paw one single dollar. That is one
VERY great credit I appreciated. and
LIT applies to every district. There
Iare some orders, perhaps, who have
q little more of social position than
we have. but I doubt it, but we have
bond Of unity, and therefore I claim
that we have no peer so far as Odd
Fellowship is concerned where there
IS distress.
Your grand master, as I have
noticed from his report, has had the
privilege of examining ESQ or 800 sets
of bylaws. Is it fair that the grand
master should have to do all that
work. with all of the other work that
he does? We have a bylaws COM
mfttee. and we pay the chairman of
that committee from 500 to 5000
year, according to the work he has
to do. That relieves the grand mas
ter Of a good deal of work. I know
It is a pretty big task. as since I
have been grand sire I have had to
look over grand lodge constitutions.
You can think these things over,