Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-04
ELkS PAY TRIBUTE
TO THOSE DEPARTED
and Future; Death Does Not
Separate, Says Bennett

ary progress of mankind onward and
upward to it's eventual goal-the uni
versaI brotherhood Of men. In the ear
" history of the race we see Il gather
ing and banding together of the people
for mutual help and protection and
from this mutual need there gradually
developed a form Of f~raternalism. and
this has existed III some form or other
through all the ages of the past and
will continue through all of the ages
of the future by reason of mans need
and desire for love. sympathy and ON
panionship.
THE organization of this great fra
ternity was relatively recent, a purely
American organization. It's start was
similar to that of many fraternities.
yet the standard it set at it's beginning
was a high n so that today it boasts
a great membership made up from the
best material in this great land Of
ours drawn to this order by the force
and beauty of its teachings and COM
find the worker, the banker, the law
yer, the doctor, the minister, the poll
tician, yet the strength of this great
order comes not from this great mem
that emanates from the inherent good
that emenates from the teachings and
principles of the order itself. And all
of its great work is largely carried on
unheralded and unseen. / often liken
it to the work of very nature itself.
A seed falls upon the ground and is
quietly buried in the soil; the rains
fall and moisten the earth; then it is
swept by warming breezes and kissed
by the rays of the sun until there
springs forth the tree, the flower, the
fruits and the vegetables all for the
benefit Of mankind; yet this great ma
ture work like the work of this order
is carried out unheralded and unsung.
Character
The question Of character is one Of
the most important with which we
have to deal for character is the very
foundation upon which this order is
erected and we are taught that life
without character is nothing.
Manhood is not based upon voca-
ton, but upon the n of moral
living. We do not ask what a mans
business may be, but we do ask how
he carries on that business or occupa-
ton and how he lives, for We know
that it is not wealth or landed pos
sessions, but character which is the
true measure of q mans worth.
I emphasize this question of char
acter for / believe that no man can be
true to himself or the principles of
this order until he learns to measure
himself, and his fellow men by this
standard. Wealth is to be desired,
education more SO, but neither of these
can take the place Of character in the
Individual.
II feel this order has o great mis-
sion to perform if in the future years
the sword is to be beaten into the
plowshare, the spear into the pruning
hook and that had the world fully un-
derstood and lived in accordance with
the teachings and principles Of its
order the great world war struggle
through which we just passed might
have been avoided. We do not en-
phasize sect or creed, we do not rec
ognize caste, for caste and the true
democratic spirit can no more mix than
oil and water. -.
"Our order is endeavoring to build
up men Of strong, v@irile, upright char
acter, ready and willing to minister
to the wants Of the afflicted; 10 carry
sunshine into darkened souls; joy into
the places where misery reigns. To
fill the hearts of its members with
love for their fellow men; to fill their
souls with high ideals; to make them
heroes in the warfare Of life; that is