Evening star., 1921-04-24
PRESIDENT TO TALK
i TO ODD FELLOWS
Has Active Part in Elaborate
; Celebration of Orders
1O2d Anniversary.

The lo2d anniversary of the found
ing of the Odd Fellows will be OBJ
served by Tie Odd Fellows and Re-
bekahs Of the District Of Columbia
with appropriate ceremonies at the
Central High School Tuesday evening.
The grand sire of the order. Hon.
Joseph Oliver of Toronto. Ontario.
Canada. will be present. and all the
officers and members of the Sovereign
Grand Lodge have been invited 10
attend. Several have indicated their
purpose to be here to participate IN
these exercises.
President to Speak.
A committee composed of local
Grand Lodge officers. headed by
Grand Master Bert V. Wolfe, accom-
panied by Senator Sterling of South
Dakota and Senator Fletcher of Flor
ida. recently waited upon President
Harding and extended to him an in
vitation to attend the exercises. and
the President graciously accepted and
is. expected to make a brief address
in, response to the greetings on behalf
of the order extended by Grand Sire
Oliver.
Nr Alfred s. Pinkerton Of Worces-
ter. Mass. one of the orders most dis
tinguiShed past grand Sires. and one
VINO mas achieved Iame as an oTdtof
not only in the councils of the order.
but in the Legislative halls of his
native state. will be present and de-
liver the anniversary Grafton.
More than 100 senators and repre-
sentatives, members of the order. have
been invited to attend the exercises.
Invitations have also been extended
to, the District Commissioners.
Banquet Special Feature.
On Monday evening nrece1inp tho
opening exercises. banquet will be
given at the Washington Hotel under
the auspices of the Noble and Vice
GrandS' ASSocia ation. in compliment to
Grand Sire Oliver and Mrs. Oliver and
Past Grand Sire Pinkerton and Mrs.
Pinkerton.
The general committee in charge of
the celebration consists of Bert V.
Wolfe, grand master, ex-officio, chair
man; w. w. Adams. grand patriarch.
vice chairman: Miss Mollie E. Edmon-
ston. president Rebekah Assembly, vice
chairman; f. w. Bradford. P. G. M;
w. T. Galliher. grand treasurer; Rev.
Hugh T. Stevenson. grand chaplain;
Col D. ". Chisholm. grand marshal,
and Capt Charles D. ShackelSrd,
grand conductor.
The noble grands and vice grands
OF the various lodges of the jurisdic-
tion and the members of Canton WASH
ington. No. 1, Patriarchs Militant. un-
der the command of Capt. Lybrand
VIII form general reception commit
tee and have charge Of the reception
and seating of the audience at Central
High School building on Tuesday
evening. under the direction of Grand
Marshal Col. d. V. Chisholm
Program for Tuesday Evening.
The exercises on Tuesday evening
VIII open with an organ recital by
Eoythe Il. Athey. to be follow ed by
the invocation by Grand Chaplain of
the Grand Lodge Rev. Hugh T.
stevenson. The anniversary procla-
read by Miss Mollie E. Edmonston,
president of the Rebekah Assembly
Grand Master Bert V. Wolfe will ex-
tend welcome on behalf of the
Grand Lodge and introduce the grand
sire, the Hon. Joseph Oliver of To-
ronto. who will deliver an address
appropriate to the occasion and ex-
tend the orders greetings to the
President of the United States. The
President is expected to respond and
be followed by Hon. Alfred s. Pinker-
ION Ton with the oration of the evening.
THESE exercises will be interspersed
by music by quartet composed of
Mrs. F. u. Bowie. Soprano Miss r.
Mclean. contralto; Mr.. William @.
Atherholt. tenor, and Mr. F. c..
Schafer. baritone.
100000 Members In Order.
The Independent Order of Odd Fell
lows was organized on April rs, 1919,
in the city of Baltimore. by Thomas
Wildey. John Welch, Richard Rush
worth. John Duncan and John Cheat
ham. fve Englishmen, who were
brought together by wildey adyertis-
ing in the Baltimore American for
those who had formerly held mem
bership in Manchester Unity of Odd
Fellows in Great Britain to meet him
for this purpose. The Independent
Order of Odd Fellows was organized
by these brothers and from this hum
Die beginning the order has grown
until II now has in it's subordinate
lodge membership about two million
men. and in the Rebekah branch about
hve hundred thousand women.
While this memberahip is largely
in the United States ahd Canada. ana
1t is. therefore. generally termed an
American fraternity, yet IL has many
lodges and several thousand mem
bers in various countries of Europe
and in Australasia and it is, therefore
strictly speaking. an international
order, and this is peculiarly empha-
sized at the present time by the fact
that the head of the order is a Cana
dian and citizen and resident of
Ontario.