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The whole art of Government consists in the art of being honest. Jefferson.,
VOL 7.
STROUDSBURG, MONROE COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 1847.
.No. 31
s
AIEIJGSS
TO THE FORT PEE LODGE OF 1, 0. OF 0, F,
BY R. E. WRIGHT, ESQ.
The following note was received from Mr. Wrioiit in reply to one addressed to
him by the Committee of Arrangements', requesting a copy ot his address, for publi
cation :
Stroudshurg, Jan. 14, 1847.
Gentlemen :
Enclosed you will receive, (a per request,) the address delivered by me
heforc tlie citizens oi fcirouusimrg, on me anniversary oi the opening ot Fort Penn
Lodge of the I. 0. of O. F. Thrown together as it was, on a very short notice, 1
.,- .1 ?i i it.: !.. c.i i. . i , i
feel that it contains some things that a careful revision might induce me to amend
or alter,but as it would hardly be fair to the public, to print any thing different from
what was delivered by me in the church, I herewith transmit the original, with all
its imperfections, trusting with you that it may be the means of doing some little
good to those in whose hands it may chance to fall,
Very. truly yours,
R. E. WRIGHT.
G. II. MILLER, )
s Committee. '
7i s sr.rTnnivrwpi? v?n
Rev. Wm. GRAY. )
Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is a fact, intimately connected with the laws which regulate our being a fact
as well settled as existence itself and about as well understood, that most, if not all
the pleasures which we are privileged to enjoy on earth, cither arise, or are at least
very much heightened by the mere force of contrast. That health for example, has
not the same exquisite charm for the robust artisan, as for the pining invalid ; and
that things in themselves far from pleasant, may by the operation of this law, be
come (fur a time at least,) sources of very great delight. The skilful painter avails
himself of this law when he throws together his masses of "light ami shade;" and
the musician, too, when by his bars of "clashing discord" he heightens the brilliancy
of some adjacent burst of harmony.
Whether or no the committee who arranged the exercises of this day were desi
rous of availing themselves of this same Jaw of nature, and by arresting here the
more imposing, and important ceremonies of the day, for the purpose of listening to
what I may have to say on the subject of "Odd Fellowship" are thus by contrast
endeavoring to increase the pleasures of this audience, I will not stop to inquire.
Suffice it to say, that by the force of circumstances which constituted as I am, could
not be successfully resisted, I appear before you for the purpose of occupying a
few minutes of your time, in discussing some appropriate topics connected with the
association under whose direction this entertainment has been prepared.
As the scene presented to your eyes to-day is here at least somewhat novel and
to many perhaps quite unintelligible, it may not be improper if (before entering fully
on the subject which has been selected for my present discourse) J advert briefly to
the causes which have produced this result, which has drawn from that solitude and
secrecy which they seem to love so much, the members of an Order who appear be
fore you for the first time.
For as this is an unusual event, it will naturally be supposed to result from an un
usual cause, and as men arc apt to attach to every movement of an Order so secret
and selfish as ours is supposed to be some hidden and mysterious mcanin"-, it may
be as well to cut offall conjecture, and declare at once, the object for which we are
here assembled.
We have not assembled to celebrate the annual return of some day famous in the
annals of our Order, or dedicated to some patron saint, for we have none of that de
scription nor to exhibit to public gaze the gorgeous regalia of our Order, that its
splendor may attract the attention and win the boisterous plaudits of the noisy crowd,
for we wear them now in obedience to a law which we did not enact and cannot
control but we have assembled here in this consecrated place with motives and
feelings that have a holier source that spring from a nobler foundation.
One year has rolled away since the corner stone of Fort Penn Lodge was laid
one year since the portals of a temple were opened in this place, within which
many of your fellow-citizens have met together lor purposes which carry with them,
their own bright, glorious reward. They are men, freemkn, CHRISTIANS, with
hearts that feel most deeply the blessings which they enjoy that beat most warm
ly with gratitude to Him from whom they flow, and with love to those who sur
round them, they have come up hither in this hallowed place to show the world that
they know their duty towards God and man, and are neither ashamed nor afraid to
do it.
As men, they would show that they know what they enjoy, and desire that others
should become partakers with them as freemen, that they do not fear thus publicly
to announce their sentiments and principles, and as christiuns, that they know to
whom all honor and praise is due, and when and where, and how it should be ren
dered. This, then, is the object, and these the reasons for this assemblage of the mem
bers of Fort Penn, and in appealing to-day, as we purpose doing, in blmlf of the ob
jects and principles of the order, it will be proper to present, with some minuteness
a view of the rise, progress, and organization of an association which makes such
high pretensions, that you may know who they are, and what it is, that warrants
their claims to popular encouragement and support.
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a portion of which is now before you, is
an organized body of men, existing in almost every county, town and parish in the
United States, England tmd on the Continent, each lodge or association of which is
governed by its own by-laws, independent of each other, and the Grand lodges of
the State and Nation, except so far as they are bound by the constitution and laws
of the Grand Lodges, enacted therein by the past chief officers and representatives
of the several subordinate lodges. The first object of the order, as 1 understand it,
is "mutual relief" in all the struggles incident to human life. And if it were not
one of its most excellent features, to extend this relief to all who deserve it, through
out the length and breadth of the land, I do not know that there would be any ne
cessary connection between subordinate lodges of the country, or between them and
the Grand lodges of the State or .Nation or for that secrecy and mystery which is
so parti cularly painful to our female friends.
The date of its origin among men is not clearly known; but, without doubt, asso
ciations with similar objects in view have existed in some lbrm or other, ever since
sin
"Brought death into the world and all ouricoc"
and men were prompted by their better natures to avert its conseqifences.
Our annals run back far into English History, but what hand planted the tree,
that shelters so many thousands now, or when or where the seed was first sown
which has produced and is still producing such beneficial results, is not, 1 apprehend,
well, or generally known.
The truth is ; something like it must have been coeval with society itself. Nay,
the very first community that was ever founded on earth, had for its objects, a por
tion of the good which this order is endeavoring to attain for its members now.
That man was not made to live alone that perfect independence of his fellow
man, is not possible, that from the hour when his first faint wail is heard on earth,
until the last farewell of all things earthly is taken, he stands in need daih and
hourly, of the aid of his fellow man, are facts which all will admit must and do
exist even in the perfectly organized community. There never was a time since
the creation of the world, when one man could say to his fellow " have no need of
ihee" and consequently even in the earliest ages of the world men were thus asso
ciated together. As population increased, mens' interests became diversified and
these first associations could not conveniently include the whole family of man ;
this gave rise in time to new subordinate associations, all of them designed to se
cure the benefits which the original association, or State, or Government, was in
tended to provide but which it could not so perfectly accomplish.
If the organization of civil society was perfect if the laws of all countries were
based on purely christian principles. If man had never fallen from his high estate,
or had again attained that purity of life which would enable him to lovctlie Lord
with all his heart, and his neighbor as himself, and to square his actions by the
golden rule. If sin and its attendant sorrow were banished from the earth ; or the
weal and woe of mankind more equally distributed. If the earth was neither cursed
with the castle, or burthened with the"' hovel. If affluence did not pour its golden
showers upon one portion of the sons of Adam, while others as good by nature, and
often better by practice, are forced to drink the bitter dregs of poverty. If, in short,
Eden was our home, or the bright day of millenial glory, and social equality had -arrived,
then, indeed, wduld all, such associations be u burthen on the eartii. Rut as
we are at present, and as the world has ever been since sin first stained its unpol
luted soil, It has been found to need them.
Hence in its infancy communities for mutual assistance and support were estab-,
lisneu, winch afterwards grew into mighty Kingdoms, States and Empires, and
hence, too, in these States and Empires the existence of numerous sub-associations,
of which the Order of Odd Fellows is neither last or least among the number.
The laws of this order, like those of other similar associations, are strictly con
formable to the laws and institutions of the land. They provide merely for the
election of the requisite number of officers prescribe their term of service the
various duties the conditions on which members arc received, and if necessary re
lieved. By means of initiation fees graduated to the age and health of the appli
cant monthly payments regulated by the will of the lodge and fines for non-payment
of dues, or improper conduct in, or out of the lodge-room, (not calling lor se
verer punishment,) a fund is created, the amount of which depends, of course, on the
strength of the lodge; which fund invested in some safe and permanent security is
devoted to the relief of the worthy contributing members of the order and their
families, no matter where they hail from. Thus accomplishing in the most perfect
manner their first great principle of mutual relief. Rut this is not the only object
of the order, although daily and hourly called upon to minister in this way to tde
wants of the sick and suffering that are found within our borders; it has objects and
aims that are even higher, purer and holier than this.
It does not limit its operations to the mere physical wants of man it docs not rest
content with visiting the sick, relieving the distressed, burying the dead, and edu
cating the orphan, but viewing man as an immmortal being, it-acts upon his nobler
part and sways it for the common good.
It is part of the creed of a sect as devoted to principle, as exemplary in their con
duct and as laithful as any other in the discharge of ail the duties which distinguish
the christian character, and elevate it above the world that love in its purest and
most comprehensive sense, love to God the creator and man the creature, is the
golden chain that encircles, encompasses'and binds together the whole bright cluster
ol christian virtues and duties. And that man attains the brightest degree of holiness
and happiness which he is capable of enjoying, when he approximates most nearly to
the purity, the strength, and comprehensive nature of that feeling as it exists in its
heavenly and unadulterated excellence. That God is love, and the free and boun
tiful giver of every good and perfect gilt that heaven his dwelling place, is full of
this his highest attribute, a world in whose moral atmosphere selfishness cannot ex-,
isr, while hell, on the oilier hand, is a place where love of self reigns supreme, that
feeling in all its unrestrained hideousness being in fact the source of all the misery
that is there experienced, that we who tread this lower earth, have while here the
power of making it a prototype of one or the other of these future worlds by fos
tering the one or the other of these antagonistic principles, and that just in propor
tion as the love of others or the love of self predominates, just in the same propor
tion do we create around us an atmosphere pelucid and bright with the airs of heav
en, or tainted and black with the vapours of hell.
Without stopping hero to analyze this theory or ascertain its orthodoxy or hetrn-
doxy theologically considered, 1 will merely observe that while it is one, the main
features of which commend themselves to the hearts and understandings of our race,
it is one also upon winch is built much ol the superstructure ot that temple at
whose shrine the order of Odd Fellows love to worship.
A belief m the free agency ot man. A belief m the philosophy of cause and et
ct. A belief in the tact that there is within the reach of every man, enough to
make him happy here and hereafter if he will but avail himself ot it, and enough,
too, to ruin him temporally and eternallv it he will have it so, that men can make
or mar their own happiness and do so by the way in which tiiey fasten or restrain
their selfish or their benevolent impulses, are doctrines which whether taught by
theologians or not, are part of the foundation of the order whose representatives are
now before you.
For the proper restraint of the one, and the encouragement of the other of these
existing and conflicting sentiments, the Order of Odd Fellows as I understand it,
now exists, and whether it was commenced with these objects in view or not
whether the association which first bore our name, had before it the comparatively
selfish object of the formation of a fund for the use of its contributing members in
sickness, or the still more objectionable one of social conviviality (as has been said.)
sure 1 am that at this present time, for the purpose of effecting the objects I have
al'uded to, it has no superior in all the long bright catalogue of good and benifi
cent institutions with winch the world is blest. Another important doctrine is so
blended with the existence of the Order as to be inseperable : one which it is a prin
cipal aim of the association to inculcate,as a fundamental doctrine among its mem
bers in their intercourse with one another and the world.- 1 allude to the great
doctrine of toleration, of the sacred principle of civil and religious liberty. Amidst
:he clashing discord of noisy sects and the wordy war of pot-house politicians, it
is a pleasant thought to know that there is one retreat when they cannot enter, one
sanctuary from which they aie effectually and forever excluded.
Every new Lodge that is instituted if composed of men who understand their
duty and are ever faithful to discharge it, is the centre of anew circle among men,
from which much of the evil that before annoyed it must soon pass away. A spot
from which the pure bright rays of true benevolence, of warm friendship, of truth
ful love, may radiate ; and within the sphere of which, men are taught to imitate
the conduct of him who while on earth went about doing good.
The man who connects himself with this order is taught at, and from the hour
of his initiation that the "love of self must yield to the "love of others" and that
from that hour until time with him shall be no more, he must endeavor to do all
the good he can for mankind without injuring himself or family. As the duties are
solemn and important, his introduction into its bosom, is attended with certain
appropriate, beautiful and impressive ceremonies which have for their object, the
special instruction of the candidate. He is then and thereby reminded of what he
is and what he ought to be of his present condition of the duty which he owes to
his God his country, his neighbour, and himself, and is told in a way which he
never forgets, that in this path he must ever after walk.
These are the vows which he takes, these the duties which he voluntarily as
sumes, and from that time forward his honor is pledged for his fidelity. He must
never rest satisfied while others as good by nature as himself are suflering, if ho
has it in his power to relieve them, and is solemnly pledged to visit the widows
and fatherless in their affliction and (if possible,) to keep himself unspotted from
the world. Once m the Order and obedient to its lahvs, the Argus eye of the Lodge
never leaves him. Does he depart from the path of stern morality, does he violate
any of the laws of the Lord.or trample underfoot, the time-honored usages of So
ciety. Are his business transactions tainted with fraud, or does he at any time for
get to discharge the high and exalted duties which at his initiation he took upon
himself to perform. With lightning speed, (if his lodge be faithful,) is his cause
arrested, and punishment certain and severe, but proportioned to his oifencc is
meted out to him. Sometimes by reprimand or line. Sometimes by suspension
from the rights and privileges of the Order, and sometimes by a disgraceful sepe
ration of the offending Brother from the Society which his conduct has dishonored.
But on the other hand, is heafilicted with disease is the hand of Providence laid
hardly upon him does the angel of death flap his sable pinions o'er a brother's
couch around and about it amid the unhealthy atmosphere of the sick cham
ber, committees of his Brethren wait with anxious care, night after night, re
lieved by others according to a law of the Order, ' until their services are no longer
needed; while the Treasury of the lodge is promptly and freely opened for their
relief, and weekly payments which are his by right if he be a worthy member,
sufficient for the support of himself and family, are laid down before him.
Is he away from home, a stranger in a strange land, wandering on his weary
way, without a friend's face or kindly look to cheer his heart. Has he in his wan
derings been (as many have been,) unfortunate. And is he left far from his friends
and his home, pennyless, and friendless, unable to live where he is, and unable to
return to those who know and love him.
If so, and he be a member of the Order, if his past life has been such as to se
cure to him the confidence of his brethren at home ; then is he in possession of a
talisman, which like the magic ring of the b'astern romance, can, and will on the
instant convert a host of total strangers, into warm, active, enthusiastic friends.
Friends that will cluster around him, with warm hearts and eager hands and kind
ly looks, enquirii)gintohis wants, that they may speedily relieve them. And who,
when his business calls him to return, will furnish him fully and liberally with that
which will take him rejoicing on his way.
Is he in the providence of God called to his long home leaving (it may be,) be
hind him, a wife dear to his heart, and children that were the delight of his soul.
Then is it that the usefulness of this Association is most manifest and its charities
shine the brightest.
From the hour that the brother falls by the hand of death, until his body is de
cently consigned to the tomb, tho authorised agentso; the Order may be seen en
gaged in the holy task of consoling the afflicted, mingling their useful services
unobtrusively among those of the nearer friends of the deceased relieving them
of many a piinful duty, and much of the labour and expense, incident to such
events, showing therby the strength of the ties which bound them togother.
And thus through life and in death morally and physically does this associa
tion cheerfully protect, restrain, and relieve all who in truth and love obey its pre
cepts. Nor is this all. Without and beyond the pale of the Lodge, wherevsrsorrow or
suffering is found, there to the full extent of its means is the influence of the orilnr
when properly conducted, felt but not seen. Its officers on errands of mercy, g.
out through the highways and byways of our crowded towns and cities, relieving
as far as possible, the wants of all who suffer without deserving it, yet telling to
the world no tales of all the good they do.
Oh it seems to mo that earth can show no nobler sight, thun this. No brighter
example is set for us to imitate in that of him who "went about doing god."' It
was this bright trait in his earthly career that rendered him so attractive to th?
down-trodden masses of the age he lived in, and which was the surest evidence of
his divine nature.
It was this that caused the religeon which he came to teach to spread with such
rapidity over the earth. It was this weeping with those who wept, this mourning
with those who mourned, this watching over the temporal as well as the eternal
interests of those around him, and relieving all their wants this active untiring
ben&volence bclbre which the friends of the Synagogue the pride of the porti
co the doubts of the academy the fasces of the lector and the polished lances of
countless legions were subdued or swept away.
It is to the encouragement and existence of the principles and sentiments
which this institution is designed to foster and promulgate, that we can look with
any degree of confidence for the permanent melioration of the social and nattira I
evils which surround us that will elevate man to the high position which he oc
cupied before the fall which will tend to produce on earth that day of bright mil
lenial glory, for which the church has long been sighing; and which alone can
give us a real foretaste of that bright land "where the wickedcer.se from liotibling,
and the weary are at rest."
That the institution is faultless, is not true, for it is of earth that all who bear
our name are worthy, is not true, for they are men "that it may be," and some
times is perverted, is possible, for men are prone to error and wander from tho
right path, but that rightly understood, and rightly practised,'handed down to tlio ;n
who come after us, as pure as we received it, it is designed, to 2roduce, and wrr.r.
not 1'Air. to produce results most advantageous to our race. '
If then these tilings are true, and that they are I pledge my honor as a man tint
question that naturally arises is this. "Should not the Order of Odd Fellows re
ceive the hearty encouragement of all who have the good of Society at heart'" The
aflimative of the proposition is easily sustained, and your candid attention is reques
ted while I briefly present the argument by which it may be demonstrated.
If what has been already said in reference to the origin, objects and practical op
eration of the association be true (and the burthen of proof is now on those who de
ny it) its claims to encouragement are, I apprehend, already fully established ; and
consequently all successful opposition must be based on faults inherent in the or
der which exist in connefction with all this purity of purpose, and all this excel
lence of practice, and to which I have not as yet adverted. That we have our faults,
it would be dishonest to deny that we in common with all the sons of Adarn lall
far below that degree of goodness that we should all endeavor to attain, is a truth
wh'ch we sorrowfully admit. But tha.t there is in the order of Odd Fellows as it
now is, any thing inimical to virtue. anil religion, any thing that can without the
most atrocious perversion do any, even the slightest injury to society, religion, or
sound morality or that there is any thing worth regarding in the numberless friv
olous aud captious objections' that are :5o often urged against it, we do most solemn
ly and unhesitatingly deny. Come lei; us reason together. Let us examine your
objections ye who without knowing amy thing of us, oppose our progress, yo who
only oppose us because ye know nothing about us some of whom, I fear, will nev
er know any thing about us (though the information may be had almost for asking)
in order that they may continue to oppose us. Come let us reason together, on this
theme. A wise man has said, that he who rcilhwl reason is a bigot, he who cannot
reason is n fool, and he who dare not reason is a slave. There are surely no sucn
characters here to-day. In this land of toleration, bigotry and prejudice must be
unknown. In this intelligent community there are surely none who deserve tho
name applied to the second class and here, where civil and religious freedom
reigns there can be no such slaves. Believing and knowing this to be so, we will
with your permission proceed to reason the matter with you and leave the decision
to those who hear us. It is really astonishing some times to hear what trifling objec
tions are made by those who feel called upon to oppose us. We cannot advert to all
that have ever been made, but intend to notice all that occur to our minds, the sim
ple as well as the serious.
The first stumbling block then is our name. A. great many well meaning men
never get over it. To them it seems utterly amazing that any sensible, well in
formed man should ever consent to act with an association, so queerly and so ri
diculously named. They see it done every day, but are lost in attempting to ac
count for it. Well, this is rattier a serious objection because it is one that is not
very likely to be removed, and one which cannot very conveniently be concealed.
If it sounds foolishly we are sorry for it, but it cannot now be helped. Although
we have very high authority for believing that
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
Ours cannot be altered now, and what is worst of all until you join us, we can
not tell you the reason why. But is it really so very awful. Is there less eu
phony and meaning in it, than in the word Methodist, Presbyterian, Antinomi
an, Lutheran, or in the names of the thousand other sects and societies that cover
the earth. If ice who know its origin, and its meaning, arc content to keep it,
should not our simple wish to do so, be enough for all reasonable menl Besides
this, we who compose the association to-day take the name of our society, as we
took our own individual names, to wit: from those who went before us, and who
doubtless thought as little of consulting our wishes in the one case as in the other.
But enough of this. The men who urge this as a serious objection, would object
just as strongly, if all the power of language had been strained, to furnish us with
the most beautifully musical name, that the tongue of mortal can pronounce.
Hut again. The names of our officers are sometimes urged as an objection.
Our N. G., P. G. and various other combinations of initial leiteis are again
termed foolish and unintelligible. Why have such officers at all or if we must
have them why array them in such fantastic regalia, with collars, and aprons,
and sashes of such gaudily colored silk and gold. How can men of sense con
sent to sit together surrounded by all this flummery and so on.
This is a compound objection, but is generally made in this way, and must be
answered as it is offered. If we have an association for any useful purpose we
must have laws to govern it. If laws, then must we have officers to enforce and
execute tlfem,and if officers, they must have names or titles to distinguish them one
from another.
Now we happen to have all these things. We have a society with laws, and
officers with titles, and if it be possible for any association to exist with any de
gree of comfort or usefulness without them, we shall be glad to know how it is
clone.
When we have occasion to name these officers, we use of course his proper
title, and sometimes for the sake of brevity (particularly in writing) we use the
initial letters only, and we have yet to learn that we have not as much right to
the services of an out side sentinel as one of our military companies has to an
orderly sergeant; or that the letters 0. S. when applied to either of them is a vio
lation of the decalogue.
And then as to the regalia. It is truo that our members while on duty, wear
white collars and aprons and that our officers are during our sessions sometimes
very superbly arrayed, in obedience to a well known law of the order in the Uni
ted States. But where the wrong or nonsense of all this lies, I am ;it a loss to
know. We know what they mean, and only use them because they have their
appropriate meaning. Look to your Military, examine their regalia Look at
the fringes and feathers, and strange looking ornaments which they hang round
their persons. Turn to their officers, is there nothing to distinguish them one
from another, and designate the offices which they fill or the rank they hold
among their fellows. Are not your Major Generals arrayed in one way your
Brigadiers in another. Your Colonels and Majors, your Captains, and Sergeants,
aud Corporals each in a dress regulated by law, and adopted to the station which
he holds. Why 1 make no doubt if this truth were known, that many a ma
could be found urging this very objection with all his might, who on every bat
talion training could be seon glittering in gold lace, and colored feathers, at tho
head of a column almost as gaudy as himself, and wondering at the same time
perhaps how any man of common sense can think of arraying himself in. the re
galia of this order. Indeed I know one or two myself. It may be said that the
Military are regulated by law, and their regalia is established by government
Admit it, still the objection ss not strengthened. It can hardly be wrong for one
's et of men to do voluntarily what a suund and-. wholesome law enjoins oa'others.