We are taught that "God hath made of one blood all nations of men to
dwell on the face of the earth," and when we say mutual relief and
assistance is a leading office in our affiliation, and that
Odd-Fellowship is systematically endeavoring to improve and elevate the
character of man, to imbue him with a proper conception of his
capabilities for good, to enlighten his mind, to enlarge the sphere of
his affections and to redeem him from the thralldom of ignorance and
prejudice, and teach him to recognize the fatherhood of God and the
brotherhood of men, we have epitomized the objects, purposes and basic
principles of our order. Odd-Fellowship is broad and comprehensive.
It is founded upon that eternal principle which teaches that all the
world is one family and all mankind are brothers. Unheralded and
unsung, it was born and went forth, a breath of love, a sweet song that
has filled thousands of hearts with joy and gladness. To the rich and
the poor, the old and the young, at all times, comes the rich, sweet
melody of this song of humanity to comfort and to cheer. For eighty
years the light of Odd-Fellowship has burned before the world, a beacon
to the lost, a comfort to the wanderer and a protection to the
thoughtless. Eighty years of work for humanity's sake; eighty years
devoted to teaching men to love mankind; eighty years of earnest labor,
consecrated by friendship, cemented with love and beautified by truth.
In ancient times men sought glory and renown in gladiatorial combat,
though the victor's laurel was wet with human blood. In modern times
men seek the plaudits of the world by achievements for human good, and
by striving to elevate and ennoble men. Looking back through nineteen
centuries we behold a cross, and on it the crucified Christ, with
nail-pierced hands, and wounded, bleeding side, but whose heart was so
full of love and pity that even in His dying agonies He had compassion
upon His persecutors, and cried out, "Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do."
That event was the dividing line between the ancient and the modern
era; between the rule of "brute force" and the "mild dominion of love
and charity." The mission of Odd-Fellowship, like that of the lowly
Nazarene, is to replace the rule of might with the gentle influence of
love, and to teach a universal fraternity in the family of man. To
meet and satisfy and better keep alive the nobler elements of man's
nature. Many orders have been instituted, but none can challenge
greater admiration from men, or deserve more blessings from heaven,
than the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows. Looking back along the
pathway of the century behind us we behold the wrecks of many orders.
The morning of their life was beautiful and full of glorious promise,
but the evening came and they had perished. Rich costumes, impressive
ceremonies, beautiful degrees and magnificent effects, all lie buried
and forgotten. It was not because their founders lacked energy or
enthusiasm, not because their members were less susceptible to the
beauty and poetry of tradition and ceremony, but because success and
perpetuity come not from human effort, but are the outgrowth of a
life-giving principle. The sculptor fashions from the marble a form of
surpassing loveliness, its lines are those of grace and beauty. We
stand before it charmed, whispering our admiration, but the impression
on the heart is only passing. The poet sings of home, of mother and of
love; the meter may be faulty and the words may charm not, but the
sentiment is true and touches our hearts. The experience it recites is
common to humanity, and wherever its sweet tones are heard it softens
men's natures and makes them better, truer and nobler. Who among us
would be willing to exchange the influence of the immortal song "Home
Sweet Home," or be willing to forget the Christian's "Nearer My God to
Thee," for all the inanimate beauty of art? One charms the eye, the
other touches and calls to life the best and sweetest emotions of the
human heart. So it is with fraternal societies. Flashing swords,
glittering helmets, jeweled regalias and beautiful degrees may touch
the vanity and excite the admiration, but to win the heart we must
satisfy its longings, feed its hopes and lift it above the narrowness
and selfishness of its daily experience. Odd-Fellowship strives to
touch the heart and better feelings, rather than feed the vanity of man
or arouse his admiration for gorgeous displays. Its work is an
exemplification of the living, practical Christianity of today. In
almost every state in this fair land of ours can be found Odd-Fellows'
homes, within whose walls the orphan is no longer motherless. For each
and every little one within these homes, one million Odd-Fellows feel a
father's love and pledge a parent's care.
Add to all this great work the little deeds of love, the little acts of
kindness that make life beautiful; add kind words of cheer and friendly
help and tender consolation, and add again the benefit of union, the
strength that comes from hearts united in God's work among mankind, and
you have caught a glimpse of the life-giving principle that has made
Odd-Fellowship one of the grandest fraternal and beneficiary
institutions the world has ever known. The work it has done can not be
fully estimated until the record is read in the bright light of
eternity. In that glad day the tears that have been wiped away will
become jewels in somebody's crown, and the sobs that have been hushed
will be heard again in hosannas of welcome.
Onward! is the ringing, pregnant watchword of the world. The vast,
complicated, ponderous machinery of life is kept in motion by tireless
and irresistible forces. The multiform and magnificent affairs of men
and of nations are all impelled forward with an energy and a velocity
as wonderful as glorious to behold.
Not retrogressive, but progressive--not enervating, but energizing--not
ephemeral, but substantial--not from bad to worse, but from the
imperfect to the consummate, are the characteristics by which are so
prominently distinguished the tidal waves of the world's progress today.
Activity and achievement came with creation, and constitute an
inflexible, irrepealable law of the universe. In stir and push we have
light and life, but in idleness, and superstitious clinging to
fossilized ideas and bygones, we have demoralization, decay and death.
Fortunately for the world, and agreeably with infinite design, man
plods his way in harmony with the law alluded to. Not all men, but the
great masses of them, wherever "The true light shineth," especially
when accompanied by rays and helps from one of the noblest and grandest
of confraternities our world has known, "The Independent Order of
Odd-Fellows." When the huge planet which we call our world had been
tossed into being from the furnace fires of Omnipotence, and the
maternal lullaby began to gather force on hill top and in valley, the
discovery was naturally enough made that association and co-operation
were preferable to isolation and unrelieved dependence; and from that
hour forward, this principle has been interwoven into the very
framework of human society. The purpose has been the elevation and
improvement of mankind. For, though the first product was pronounced
"good," it quickly degenerated; and there came an emphasized demand for
reform.