Richmond planet., 1925-08-29
ELKS Staged GORGEOUS PARADE HERE
Vstos--(ooo
Rchn1onders

The colored people OF Richmond
were able to house and feed every
delegate and visitor to the Grand
Lodge of Elks here. AS a matter of
fact hundreds of families were with
out delegates, although they had made
costly preparations to receive them.
Some people, who signed at head
quarters for delegates did not get any
while many others, who did not take
This was the result of personal sollcl-
tation by some of our people. Still,
there was no visible complaint and
the people good-naturedly, pocketed
their disappointment and laconlcally
forgot their complaints.
All of the scheduled festivities
came off on time. The Grand Lodge
met at the Rayo Theatre Tuesday
morning and after brief session took
a recess for the parade. White people
were as interested as colored people:
A. L.. Morton was chief marshal and
handled the affair with superb skill,
pected, the line did not move on time,
owing to the congestion, but when 1t
did move, a spectacular tableau was
staged that has never been equalled
in this city.
There is no way to calculate the
staggering expense of this gorgeous
>pectacle, with the costumes, when
must have cost each marching unit
thousands of dollars. Every conceiv-
able color scheme and design that
would produce a harmony OF colors
were to be seen and the fact that even
portly, plethoric men and women
marched the distance from Lombardy
and Leigh streets, to 10th street, TO
the Boulevard, a distance OF approx
mately eight miles, many OF whom IN
their own home cities would not walk
four blocks without taking street
car can only be ascribed to the re-
iuvenating effect of "a bands that
PLAYED lively inspiring airs of sweet
music with every step of the marchers.
A city writer describes the scene IN
the Richmond, Va, News-Leader as
follows:
Uniforms of every description gave
the parade a glitter. This was no
sombre military parade with rumbllng
caissons and dun uniforms, but ten
uous, perfectly disciplined frolic, shin
ing with gold, resplendent IN royal
purple and dazzling white. Purple
and white, the colors of the order, pre-
vailed throughout.
The Richmond lodges were effective
ly uniformed The William lodge men
wore white shirts and flannel trousers,
purple sashes and purple and gold
trimmed tropical helmets. The Cap
ital City Marchers had white tuxedo
style suits with purple lapels and leg
straps and a straw hat with a purple
band.
The Birmingham delegation wore
purple fezzes, black coat and white
tlannels.
The Excelsior Club of Philadelphia
had straight white duck uniforms
trimmed in purple and a purple-lined
cape.
BIG SOMBREROS WORN
A Mexican theme ran through the
o. Y. Cato Lodge of Philadelphia.
Their uniform consisted of a great
sombrero, purple tunis, white vest and
bell-bottOm trousers SlaShed with gold
and purple.
The bands were brilliantly dressed,
the drum-majors in bearskin shakos
and uniforms faced with gold braid.
The Franklin Lodge band of Column
bus, o., wore sheepskin fezZes, with
blue tunics and trousers and a fur
trimmed purple cape.
A sky blue tunic with a blazed
front barred with gold braid, an
orange sash and white trousers was
the uniform of the Community Center
band of Columbia Lodge, Washington.
The James Liberty female band of
Philadelphia, wore Khaki and the Eu-
reka Enterprise band of New York,
another female unit, wore white.
Grand Exalted Ruler j. Finley
Wilson did not fail to let everybody
know that he was in line. He stood
up in his automobile and smiled and
bowed all along the line, while his sup
porters had secured long cloth sign,
on which he was advocated as a can
didate for reelection. His principal
opponent had around him his famous
Manhattan Lodge, No. as, members
attired in faultlessly cut cream white
uniforms, while he marched with all
of the ease and grace of a great lead
er with a smile upon his face. The
minutes passing in marching order
4th and Broad streets.
The accompanying line of automo-
biles, some one hundred in number be-
came congested with local traffic and
were somewhat delayed in passing
that point. The parade was estimated
to be five miles in length and this
statement is conservative. The white