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LODGE Reservation of Seats for the " Elks' Minstrels ' Begins To-day at 9 o'clock at - . DAHNKE'S CAFE . THE WEATHER: - Fair to middling with increas ing temperature until Monday, when the hottest ever seen by the people , now ok earth will happen bn the stage of the Rey nolds Theatre. Heavy clouds will float across the stage, fol lowed by a fierce storm of ap plause. There-will be no frost. APE Watch foi Big ' ; Street Parade ELKS BOOSTER, EDITION OF Parade at 3 o'clock P. M. Monday The Commercia Union CUy Commefciil, established 1890 f r.iM.i , ,, ennessee Courier, established 1897 I ConsolIdate1 September 1, 1897 UNION CITY, TENN, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1915. VOL. 25, NO. 40. West Tennessee UNION CITY p?-;NO. h -V 679 RON JhlARTH 10)JiLC "1 i. B. Pi O. E. GREATEST OF ALL APERICAI FRATERNITIES Success of this Great Lodge Demonstrates in the Highest De-gr- - the Results of Efficient; Organization. Seven Men Furnish Genius of Its Construction. Having Its Beginnings Originally in a Small Gathering of Theatrical ' Performers, the Order has Spread Until it is Now of National Scope. . .-In the Conception and birth of the . . 1 , Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks a ffew men Just seven in num ber furnished the genius upon which was built the greatest Ameri cen fraternal order in the country, and one of the greatest orders in the v. world. . ..' : ;" .' ' It was in 1867 that a number of ; singers, dancers and public ,enter ,1 tainers, including actors, organized themselves into what was known as the Free and Easies, and gave con certs several times a week in the ; lower part , of New York for their own amusement. '.-''.. It was not long before the profes sionals Joined and regular Sunday outi jgs were had. The small aggre- gabiuu vi mean itai Hi lists H.UU UIIL- ers took on the name of Jolly Corks, which was due, to a trick. The trick was played on the unwary. ,The un derstanding was that every man was to' hold a cork in his hand and was not to drop it until a given signal. All of the members onto the trick held to their corks, a,nd the dupe, anxious not to be "stuck ; for the drinks.'V quickjy dropped the cork. ' It was from this trick that the club , vtook its name. , The , Jolly Corks, after numerous meetings, and seeing the idea was a popular one, decided to organize per manently, and to make a benevolent organization of it. It is not a fact which an Elk parades, but it is nevertheless true v that all but a few of the Governors I of States in the American Union are members of the order, four-fifths of the members of Congress (the House and Senate) are members, and most of the Cabinet and other high officials in Washington are in the order. Ex President Taft himself belongs. The order includes in its membership in every community the best of citizens and especially young men who are progressive, militant and always in PHONE109 Pqn; n ir pjQAL n Cheapest r Union City Ic & Coal Co. Ptipne ISO the forefront in community affairs. In all the cities in this country to be ah Elk is to be a good citizen. If a man is an Elk, he stands for some thing in. his community. Hence it is that young men in business or professions anxiously seek member ship, and there has never yet been recorded a voluntary, retirement from the order. Many ministers belong. J -; . . Why Elk Was Chosen On February 16, 1868, was. born the Order of Elks, destined to be one of the greatest' of all charitable fra ternal orders, and early in its history, the Elks adopted a feature now most highly prized, its Americanism. None but Americans may become members. The order endeavors to teach not only the highest moral education, but to inculcate patriotism and devotion to the country and home in its tenets. The Star Spangled Banner covers the altar in every lodge room of the B. P. O. E,,and no effort is spared to impress upon candidates the fact of 1J.S American origin and characteristics, both in its ritual and form of government. It initiates no religious rites, but is not antagonis tic to any religion and an adjunct to aril. A lodge may be legally started only upon territory of the United States., ' On May 24, ,1868, the original com mittee on ritual instituted New York Lodge No. 1, with two degrees of members ' and devout elders; the ritualistic work being explained and exemplified. Remarka ble Growth In less than forty years the order has grown to 1,125 lodges, 284,321 members, property worth $15,250,- 000 and a charity list of half a mil lion dollars per annum. ' This order has very little that is mystic about it. It has the ritual of the average secret organization, with the mummery eliminated. It has no No more bad biscuits OLD BY "EVERYTHING I "mi 17 M M ill i u ; xjmsw . , Remember the big grip.xjr pass word. The faults of our brothers are written upon the sands; their virtues upon the tablets of love and memory. We do unto others as we would they should do unto ub. The only real secret it possesses is its list of persons to whom charity is extended, in fact, charity and good fellowship are the bulwark of the order. They make the building a temple of democracy, Judges, senaJ tors, business men, salesmen, trades men, artists, workmen, players, one and all are on a. common footing. An Elk knows no sect. There are min isters of all denominations, priests AND: rmm jibl ,1 Street Parade on Monday, Jan. and rabbis among them. . Qualifications for membership -require the applicant to be a white male citizen of the United States, of the good age of 21 years or more, and of good moral reputation in the com munity. He must have resided with in the Jurisdiction of the lodge to which he applies for a period o at least six months prior to his appli cation, so that the making of a mem ber from chance acquaintance is al most unknown. Memorial Days. The first Sunday in December of each year is solemnized by every Every user a booster. "Mo GOOD TO J, 1916, at 3 p. m. lodge of Elks in sacred session, the memories of departed brothers com memorated and is known as Elks' Memorial Day. On June 14 of each year Flag Day is observed with patriotic and im pressive ceremonies. Why the hands of the Elks clock point to the hour of eleven is a hid den mystery that only members may know and appreciate. But to the outer world it Is ex plained that there is a tender and beautiful sentiment connected with the figure. It is an hour of altruistic (Continued on last page.) liner's Epssii EAT THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER Read the Paper and then Spend an Evening With the Elks. For the first time the Elks' "Her ald" makes its bow-wow to the read' ing public of the world, for it must be understood that our circulation is not limited, and any man, woman or child who fails to get a copy of, this splendid publication should noti fy our circulation manager at once. Our space is not devoted to giving the harrowing details of some bloody conflict in which some nations is contending for its freedom, nor does it teem with bitter denunciation of the leaders of the various political parties. On the contrary, the dove of peace will be found hovering ever , our editorial column. We are at peace with all the world, and want the world in return, to send repre sentatives to the Minstrel perform ance we are arranging to present at 4 the -Reynolds Theatre on the night of January 3. You will hear "some" songs, and see "some" singers, and watch "some" dancers doing "some" dancing, and to sum up the entire affair, you're going to see ."some" show. The net earnings of the show will be used for a GOOD purpose; regard less of Just how we spend it, it is go ing to be spent right, and so is the u dollar that you deposit for your tick et. In fact, you are going to get ten dollars worth for one, and every relative and friend whom you tell to go is going to get ten times their dollar's worth, so why not make this an endless chain of good? Every- body is going to get good out of this' show but say what's the use of arguing? Any Elk will give you tickets and take your money. Try it. The more" we tell you about this- show the more tnmgs we tmnK or that you ought to know about it. We are really trying to lead up to the point that the Elks Mammoth Min-: strel Show is to be one of the grand est performances of its kind ever presented in this city, and with the. talent selected, we know whereof we The show Is not one of the old time minstrels, with a few end men "cracking" Jokes and a few "hurray", songs, but every number is novel in the extreme and every number is re hearsed until it is an individual hit. Everything is WONDERFUL Gosh, but this is going to be SOME show.,.; 99 llll 99 PHONE tOB if hi