Evening star., 1926-09-26
ODD FELLOWS HAIL
CHIEFS Returning
Tri-State Members Join in
Parade, Pageantry and
! 0ratory for Bradford.

with pageantry apd oratory. the
National Capital staged an impressive
welcome yesterday for Ernest W.
Bradford upon his return home from
the convention which elevated him to
the pinnacle Of Odd Fellowship in the
United States.
Thousands Of enthusiastic men apd
women Of the fraternal order from the
District Of Columbia Maryland and
Virginia paraded down Pennsylvania
avenue in honor of their new chlef.
or grand sire" and then assembled
in the Washington Auditorium to ten
der him their formal Fluctuations.
II was one of the biggest Odd Eel
low demonstrations ever held in
Washington. and thousands of inter
ested spectators turned out to witness
the colorful procession Of fancifuliE
garbed brothers" and sisters as
thew escorted the grand sire from
Union Station to the Auditorium.
Bradford. widely known local patent
attorney. was elected grand sire Of the
Sovereign Grand Lodge in Phlladel =
phfa last week He is the fourth resi-
dent of the Capital to be so honored In
the 107 years Of the orders existence
Parade Is Cclorful.
THe para 0e dlOHE ine HNViur iI'iii
the CAPITOL to the Treasury and
south Of the White House to the Audi
torium was picturesque in the ex-
trerne. with a score of brightly uni
formed bands to furnish martial
music and a succession OF gorgeous
floats symbolizing ideals of the
fraternity II took the "Fellows ana
the Rebekahs more than an hour TO
pass the reviewing point south OF the
Treasury. where Grand Sire Brad,
ford. retiring Grand sire Herbert A..
Thompson and other officers of the
Sovereign Grand Lodge bowed their
acknowledgements from parked auto
mobiles.
Following the parade Grand Sire
Bradford received the formal felicita :
tions of the home folks"
On behalf of the people of the Ma
tional Capital, District Commissioner
Rudolph extended the official congrat'
ulations Of the municipality to its
singularly honored citizen. while sew
eral high officials of the order voiced
the greeting Of the fraternity.
The welcoming ceremonies took
place before vast throng IN the
Washington Auditorium.
Rudolph Pays Compliment.
Commissioner Rudolph paid high
compliment to the order in his of1ciai
word of welcome.
Yours is at least one organization
whose attitude toward humanity Is
not provocative of any form OF an.
taeonism or resentment by reason or
an interference with the pursuits or
opinions of Others" the chairman of
the Board of Commissioners said
Il realize that to be an Odd Eel
low is to have a passport to the
good will, at least. of all classes Of
people. regardless OF their opinion as
to disputes which agitate mems
minds and keep mems hearts apart.
The Odd Fellows motto is the Gold
en- Rule, with which is measured the
duty of the soul and its progress on
the way to it's reward. Their effort Is
to relieve the brother in distress with
out letting the left hand know what
the right hand doeth.'
Mr.. Rudolph. although not himself
member of the fellowship. remarked
that his father was. Pressure of busi'
ness has prevented him from becom-
fng aff1liated with fraternal organiza-
tions, he explained.
Grand Sire Bradford and other Off
cers of the Sovereign Grand Lodge
Garrived here at 1:30 o'clock from
Philadelphia. The party WAS met by
the grand masters and grand patri-
archs Of the District Of Columbia.
Maryland and Virginia. and the presi:
dents of the Rebekah Assemblies Of
those jurisdictions, who escorted the
honored guests to the Capitol grounds.
the point of formation for the parade.
With the appearance of the Sow
ereign Grand Lodge officials and their
assignment to a position at the head
of the marchers. Grand Marshal Mil
lard F. Zepp started the procession
around the Capitol grounds and past
the Peace Monument.
Police i'm Vanguard.
In the vanguard was a squadron Of
police, followed by the marshals Of
the District. Maryland and Virginia
contingents. Behind them came the
brightly uniformed Mythras Sane
forum Band Of the local l. o. q. F..
temple. a large uniformed group of
Patriarchs Militant, under leadership
Of Gen. August Hohenstein of St
Paul. Mimi. national commander Of
this branch of the order. and a unit
composed of members Of Gen Hohen-
STEMS staff.
Grand Sire Bradford and the retir,
ing grand sire were next in line. and
the rank and file OF the parade fol.
lowed.
Numerous spectacular floats fea-
tured the Rebekah division Of the
pageant. made UP Of women from this
city, Maryland and Virginia.
Tippett Leads Group.
The score Of Washington lodges and
the dozen Rebekah branches Of the
CAPITAL were led by Grand Master
Vx H. n 1k,ax
other officers Of the local grand lodge.
Mr.. Bradford's own lodge Beacon
No. Is. was placed ahead of the other
local units.
Many OF the paraders were dressed
to represent those for whom their re-
spective lodges were named. such as
George Washington, Martha Washing
ton. etc. Others wore the brllia Mt
uniforms. with rainbow -hued p!umed
bats of the Patriarchs Militant
branches. One contingent from Nir-
g1nia was attired in blue denim over.
alls and farmers sombreros"
There were hundreds who wore red
paper hats and vari-colored Sd shes
II was pretty hot weather for march
ing. the dye in the hats was not
perseiration-proof. and, unfortunately
for many Of the participants. their
faces were Streaked with crimson by
the time they reached the reviewing
point. Everybody took the situa ton
good-naturedly. however. and nothing
was allowed TO deter the marchers in
their celebration.
Floats Reflect Order.
The floats depicted the various high
points Of the Odd Fellow creed. from
service to country to assistance for
widows and orphans. The orders
three watchwords. Friendship. Love
and Truth, were emblaZoned on scores
al banners and were symbolized by
coetumed members of the women s
branch.