History
of the Order
The
First Forty Years
A
prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.
Matthew 13:57
The following
brief history of the early years of the Knights of Pythias is largely taken
from William D. Kennedy’s Pythian History published in 1904. Kennedy, a Past Supreme Representative, was brought into the
Order by Samuel Read, the first Supreme Chancellor, in 1871.
By 1872 Kennedy had introduced the order into Toronto, Ontario with
five lodges followed by a grand lodge. By
1874, he was making notes for a history.
Considerable reference has also been made to James Carnahan’s Pythian
Knighthood (1889 ed.) which contains a most interesting interview with
Rathbone, the Order’s founder. Carnahan’s
account complements Kennedy’s nicely and fills in a number of otherwise
puzzling blanks. Carnahan, among
[many] other things, was Commander of the Uniformed Rank.
Kennedy and Carnahan were but two of a number of extraordinary Pythians. Their
Histories represent a monumental effort at objectivity in the face of some
strange and incredible events including several bankruptcies and an internal
civil war that would smolder and periodically explode for more than a decade
and which would end with most if not all of the founding members out of the
order. Kennedy conveniently provides a chronology of Rathbone’s
in’s and out’s of the Order he founded.
For the first decade of the Knights of Pythias is largely the story of
Rathbone and Read. Both were men
of vision, farsightedness, and determination.
Unfortunately, their visions did not agree and were destined to
collide.
Justus Henry Rathbone was a man of many talents.
He was well educated, a schoolteacher, an accomplished musician and
occasional playwright, a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Improved Order
of Red Men. He spent the Civil
War years in the United States Hospital Service where he worked as a Citizen
Nurse and Hospital Steward. His
last assignment was in Washington, D.C. and following the War, he secured the
first of several Government jobs. Harry
Rathbone didn’t know it but he was about to launch the most incredibly
successful fraternal order in human history.
The Knights of Pythias exploded into being in 1864 and continued to
roar all through the remainder of the Nineteenth Century.
In barely thirty years, it had half a million members and had joined
the ranks of the Odd Fellows and Masons in popularity.
Their Uniformed Rank inspired numerous others.
At the turn of the Twentieth Century, It was in to be a Pythian.
It was in the winter of 1858 or the spring of 1859, while teaching school at
Eagle Harbor, Michigan, that Rathbone first conceived the idea of forming a
fraternal order and had written the ritual.
A current play, Damon
and Pythias by Banim, provided the inspiration for the name.
But the nation was soon engulfed in the Civil War and it was not until
February 19th, 1864, that the first lodge (Washington # 1) was formed.
Incredibly, barely a month later on March 25th, Rathbone would resign
from the order he had founded.
Rathbone’s first resignation, one of several, was brought about by the
actions of one Joseph T. K. Plant, a founding member that Rathbone had met at
a Red Man lodge meeting. Shortly
after the founding meeting of the KoP, Plant announced the founding of a Grand
Lodge by virtue of him being founder of the Order! Plant was somehow under the impression that having
occupied the office of Venerable Patriarch--the third office down in the new
Order--made him Founder.
Plant’s audacity was compounded by the fact that at the time there was but a
single Pythian lodge with perhaps thirty-five or forty members.
A Grand Lodge presupposes subordinate lodges.
In the words of Rathbone, There
was nothing out of which to form a Grand Lodge, unless one lodge could be
Subordinate and Grand Lodge at one and the same time.
Not the least constrained by impossibility, Plant went on to form his
Grand Lodge--and presumably Subordinate Lodges as well--and Rathbone resigned.
Carnahan records that Plant was expelled from the order for “divers
reasons known to members of the Order.”
One presumes it may have had something to do with his Grand Lodge.
Though neither Kennedy or Carnahan gives the details (or even mention it),
Plant was to be reinstated in the order and take his place in the Supreme
Lodge as a Past Supreme Chancellor. [Author’s
note: Samuel Read (among others) was quite competent at creating
Past Grand and Supreme Chancellors out of thin air and a good many of them had
little if anything to do with a Grand or Supreme Lodge.
Plant appears be one of these Virtual P.S.C.’s by virtue of being a
founding member of the Order. Carnahan
notes Plant’s passing in 1882: he had “fought a good fight and had kept
the faith” and had seen the Order come to its “Land of Promise”.
The burial rites were conducted by Justus H. Rathbone.
By 1868, there were Grand and Subordinate Lodges in Washington, D.C.,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware and movement was underway to
form a Supreme Lodge as an overall governing body for the order.
(The Grand Lodge of Washington, D.C. was acting as provisional Supreme
Lodge.) The Supreme lodge was
approved and held its first session in Washington, D.C. on August 11th. The first Supreme Chancellor was Samuel Read.
It was Read, along with Clarence W. Barton, who eventually would force
Rathbone out of the Supreme Lodge and effectively out of the order.
Samuel Read is best described with a lengthy direct quotation from
William Kennedy as follows:
The history of the first four years of the Supreme Lodge, and the results
accomplished from 1868 to 1872 inclusive,
form the story of his official life--after that, he largely ceased to be a
factor in its affairs.
During almost all his Pythian career, we knew him well, and the work he
did, and while with many of his acts we
were not in accord, yet we yield to no one in our admiration of his pluck, energy, and marvelous ability as an organizer.
Wisely, at the very threshold of his administration, the Supreme Lodge
endowed him with plenary powers--to him was given the keys to every door--all
dispensing powers were his--he was authorized “to make Knights at
sight’--and he did--sometimes, out of sight--and where the power required
was not expressed, he accepted it as understood-anyway that was as he understood it. His favorite mantle of
authority, the one with which he clothed himself before pronouncing any
benediction or indulgence for which there seemed to be no expressed or
implied authority was “by the powers vested in me and the rules and
regulations of the Order,” and then he proceeded to make Past Grand
Chancellors or Past Chancellors, and suspend the operation of any interposing
obstacle such as a Constitutional Provision or By-Law.
“Making Knights at sight”-- was
his greatest and most efficient “prerogative”--and what was there that his
prerogatives could not effect?
We experienced the application of many of them--this among the rest.
When he performed this act, he simply obligated the party, communicated the
substance of the ceremonies, explained the unwritten work, and gave the
recipient a written certificate (of which we have one) that he was a Knight of
Pythias, curtailing his right of use of this to six months, with the
understanding that he was to go out into
the “waste places of the earth” and proclaim the Gospel of Pythian
Knighthood. Being an
Odd Fellow and a Representative of that order in its National
Conventions, he chose these gatherings as his field of
operation, and on the occasion of the meeting of the “Grand Lodge of
the United States” (afterwards the “Sovereign Grand Lodge”) I. O. O. F.
in San Francisco in 1869, where he attended as Grand
Representative from New Jersey, he held a “service” at any time,
day or night, whenever “the spirit moved,” and sent his postulants back to their homes ardent
missionaries in the Pythian cause. Though,
on the surface, history does not evidence that the spread of the Order was
directly attributable to this, yet, nevertheless, we know that to the many
methods of propagation, lawful, otherwise, and doubtful, adopted by Brother
Samuel Read, was due the rapidity with which, during 1868 to 1872, the Order of Knights of Pythias spread from sea to sea;
the happenings passed before us--we knew the man, his manner, methods,
manipulations, and “prerogatives,” and we know whereof we speak.
He seemed to fit right into the times then--times have changed.
Kennedy’s
mixed feelings toward the man who had brought him into the order are evident
in this paragraph. Yet it was the
tone set by people like Read that allowed the Knights of Pythias to grow to
nearly half a million members in its first thirty years.
There can be no doubt that Read was a real go-getter.
Rathbone was also busy in 1868. On
June 9th, undoubtedly at Rathbone’s request, the Grand Lodge of Washington
D.C. (acting as Provisional Supreme Lodge) adopted the following Resolution:
Resolved, That,
notwithstanding any law or order to the contrary, power and privilege is
hereby granted to the Founder of the Order to create and establish a higher
degree or degrees that that shall in
nowise interfere with the ritual of the Order, to be entirely different there
from, and to have its own Grand Lodge,
Supreme Lodge, etc.
Rathbone immediately organized a body he
called the Supreme Pythian Knighthood, better known as the SPK.
The first Supreme Lodge convened two months later and two resolutions and a
quote from the minutes express a somewhat puzzling situation in light of later
events. The first resolution from C. W. Barton (and others) asked
that they (and others) be allowed to “write a higher degree or degrees to
this order to be approved by this body before being attached to the ritual.”
This was almost immediately followed by a Resolution that “the Supreme Lodge
recognizes no higher degree or degrees of the Order than those now established
in the ritual of the order.”
Just prior to adjournment, “Past Grand
Chancellor Rathbone made a few remarks in relation to what purported to be the
Supreme Order of the Knights of Pythias and Damon Conclave, No. 1.”
Thus was the beginning of the SPK (Supreme Pythian Knighthood) controversy
that would nearly tear the order apart. Both
Carnahan and Rathbone place the blame squarely on Clarence W. Barton.
Carnahan’s interview with Rathbone gives his side of the story.
Rathbone founded the SPK in 1868 under the authority of the Washington D.C.
grand lodge which was then acting as Provisional Supreme Lodge.
Rathbone saw the SPK as a Pythian parallel to the Royal Arch Masons and
its membership included most of the Pythian founding members and quite a
number of other prominent Pythians. Among
them was C. W. Barton. Rathbone
saw the need for a higher degree to act as “a sieve”; he
was not all that happy with the quality of some of the Pythian membership and
saw the SPK as a means to select only the best. The SPK consisted of a single lodge, the Damon Conclave of
Washington, D.C. The SPK made
strict use of the blackball; anyone
denied membership would never be given a second hearing.
On August 18th, 1868, C. W. Barton made application to form a new Conclave
which he modestly styled Barton Conclave No. 2.
It was rejected because some of the applicants had previously been
blackballed by the SPK. When
Barton was informed that the charter was denied for Barton Conclave, he left
the room vowing vengeance against the Conclave, and right here is where the
trouble began that afterward came so near disrupting the Order of K of P. (Rathbone’s
words quoted by Carnahan.)
Samuel Read was perfectly happy with the Knights of Pythias as originally
founded and the convention of 1868 passed a resolution disavowing the SPK and
demanding that all Grand and Subordinate lodges not have anything to do with
this new order. There can be little doubt that C. W. Barton was behind it but
Read undoubtedly saw the SPK as a threat to the authority of the newly formed
Supreme Lodge. The battle had
been joined. At the same
convention, a petition was introduced from a group of Philadelphia women
asking that a woman’s rank of the order be established.
It was promptly tabled (as were its many successors, notes Carnahan.)
[The persistence of the women eventually paid
off when in 1888, under increasing pressure, the Supreme Lodge yielded up half
a loaf. There would be no Ladies
Rank (“for various reasons, which this committee believe will be apparent to
all members of this Supreme body...”) but instead a parallel body called the
Order of Pythian Sisterhood would be established. The Supreme Lodge made it
very clear that it would “assume no legal or financial responsibility in
connection with the establishment or maintenance of the Order”.
The Supreme Lodge convention of 1869 was significant for two events.
The petition of a group of Philadelphia Blacks to form a Pythian Lodge
was rejected by a vote of 24-13. It
would reject similar petitions at the conventions of 1871, 1878, and 1888.
It was not unusual in doing so; all fraternal orders of that time
limited their membership to white males only.
By 1875, Blacks had founded their own Order and as Carnahan notes
“Colored bodies had taken the name and were working and claiming to be
Knights of Pythias.”
It was also at this meeting that Rathbone resigned his position as Past
Supreme Chancellor--and effectively from the Supreme Lodge whose meetings he
did not attend from 1870 to 1875. Though
he would maintain erratic membership in various subordinate lodges, he would
play no leadership role during the administration of Read and the subsequent
administration of Berry. Rathbone
as quoted by Carnahan:
At that time I
withdrew from all connection with the K of P and S. P. K., having stated my
intention to do so at the supreme Lodge session in Richmond; and further, that
I would remain outside the portals of the order so long as a certain prominent
officer had connection with it, and I did not return until his membership
terminated.
Rathbone can only
mean C. W. Barton. As
subsequent events would show, the SPK controversy had not been resolved.
Supreme Chancellor Read’s report at the convention of 1870 opened with a
strong denunciation of members of the SPK who, it seemed, had continued their
operations in D.C., Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
Acting on this, the Supreme Lodge demanded that each Subordinate Lodge
be required to administer a test oath or O.B.N. (apparently an abbreviation
for obligation) to both old and new members in which they would disavow any
association with the SPK. Members
failing to take the oath would be excluded and lodges failing to do so would
lose their charter. This measure
was passed with considerable misgivings.
In the words of William Kennedy:
“Outside of the actions of the body regarding the SPK, but little
legislation of importance was enacted, and
when the convention closed, every member present left the meeting with serious
forbodings as to the possible results of the enforcement of the “O.B.N.”
While it was true that a very large preponderance of those in
attendance were thoroughly convinced that the disloyal spirit which prevailed
in some localities should be scotched, yet they were doubtful as to the
correctness of the diagnosis, and the efficacy of the prescription and
treatment.”
By 1871, there were several “rebel” Grand Lodges in existence and the
civil courts had been brought into the matter.
Cooler heads finally prevailed as it was recognized that the entire
order was on the verge of self destruction.
The SPK ritual was laid upon the alter of the Supreme Lodge
and after all the members present had sworn to never reveal its contents, it
was read to them. In a spirit of
cooperation brought about by the need for self preservation, both the SPK and
the O.B.N. were essentially tabled at
the convention of 1871. According
to Rathbone, the SPK continued to exist but severed all ties to the Knights of
Pythias. In spite of Rathbone’s
desires, there would be no higher degrees for the Pythians.
The SPK saga had officially ended but the damage that had been done
would continue to reverberate through the order for years to come.
[The author speculates:
What ever
became of Supreme Pythian Knighthood, the SPK? Rathbone says it severed all
ties to the Pythians which means it would have had to change its name.
Curiously enough, there was a very Pythian-like organization came into being
at just the right time (1870) and place (Pennsylvania) called the Ancient
Order Knights of the Mystic Chain. Both time and place coincide nicely with
Rathbone’s and the SPK’s departure from the Pythians.
Given the
time, place, and circumstance, it isn’t unreasonable to assume that the SPK
and AOKMC has some kind of connection. Given the fact that there were more
Pythians in Pennsylvania than all the other states combined meant that the
new AOKMC members would have been surrounded by Pythians—probably neighbors.
And the fact is that a lot of early AOKMC members were also KoP.
Pennsylvania
Pythians were pissed and some would say with good reason. Pennsylvania was on
the losing side of a Pythian Civil War, the side of Rathbone, the Founder of
the KoP. Pennsylvania had led the rebellion against the Supreme Lodge and
the Supreme Lodge had excommunicated the lot of ‘em—twice. The AOKMC was most
likely initially made up of ex-Pythians, on the outs with the Supreme Lodge.
It probably had a healthy share of SPK members—another reason to be tossed to
the wolves. If the SPK survived for any time in any form, it is most likely
within the AOKMC.
And where was
Rathbone in all of this? Probably sitting it out in DC Interestingly enough,
when Rathbone left the Supreme Lodge over the SPK affair, he severed ties with
both the Supreme Lodge and the SPK. Although he would re-establish
relations with the Supreme Lodge in 1876, the edicts of the Supreme lodge
would not have permitted him to re-establish any contact with the SPK and
there is no evidence that I know of that he ever did.
So what ever
happened to the AOKMC? It appears to have been a One State Wonder. It
flourished in angry Pennsylvania but hardly left a trace anywhere else.
Latest dated pieces are from the early thirties and that probably marks the
AOKMC’s extinction; very few small orders survived the Great Depression.
Now the
question of the connection between the SPK and the AOKMC could probably be
settled definitively by simply comparing the rituals but that is a lot easier
said than done. The AOKMC ritual is obviously still extant as Axelrod
summarizes it in his encyclopedia (and states—wrongly—the founding date of the
AOKMC as 1887) Getting one’s hands on a an authentic copy of SPK anything
would be a significant accomplishment. From the moment the Supreme Lodge
came into existence, the SPK was under fire and probably never again wrote
anything down. It is more than likely that the ritual for the order never saw
printed page—only hand written notebooks. It probably no longer exists. In
fact, I’ve never seen a single artifact that I could connect in any way to the
SPK—and I’ve looked.
William
Kennedy, the historian, seems to suggest that a ritual for the Endowment Rank,
likewise written by Rathbone, somewhat resembled the SPK ritual. The ER
wasn’t under siege so it ought to be a fairly simple matter to find some ER
ritual and compare it to the AOKMC, right? Wrong. The Endowment Rank was an
insurance plan and it didn’t really need a ritual and dropped it entirely
after a couple of years. Somewhere in an old Pythian hall there may yet
exist a copy of that long forgotten ritual but I doubt it will be found in my
lifetime—if ever.
But if somebody does find it,
kindly send me a copy. If you find any trace of the SPK, send original.—Snarf]
The convention of 1872 was a surprise to Samuel Read in that contrary to his
expectations, he was not re-elected to Supreme Chancellor and Henry Clay Berry
was installed in his place. The
SPK/OBN disaster had left an awful lot of people unhappy and they retired
Samuel Read. It was during this
convention that ranks replaced degrees and changes were made to the third
rank.
The Supreme Lodge convention of 1873 was notable for the absence of Clarence
W. Barton, Supreme Recording and Corresponding Scribe.
He did submit a letter for the assembly:
“I respectfully present this my resignation of the office of Supreme
Recording and Corresponding Scribe. I
am unable to straighten my accounts at the present time, and ask that the
resignation be accepted and I be allowed until the 1st day of September, 1873
to make a full and complete settlement with the Supreme Lodge.”
Also absent was $7,962.31, the entire treasury of the Supreme lodge.
It would eventually be realized that the Supreme Lodge had been left
with debts approaching $17,000. This was a very large sum in 1873 and in
contemporary dollars would equal
something in excess of $200,000. Kennedy
repeats the belief commonly held in his time that Barton absconded with the
money but there may be a simpler explanation.
In 1872, the country was hit with a massive depression and a great deal
of money vanished as a result. Chances are that the Pythian money was among
the causalities of that crash. Barton
was never prosecuted. In
examining this possibility, it was discovered that the Articles of
Incorporation of the Supreme Lodge were so badly written that the Supreme
Chancellor quite possibly held his position without the authority of law. Given the frightening possibility that the entire Supreme
Lodge structure might be overturned in court, the matter was quietly dropped.
Barton headed West and entered politics.
He would eventually be expelled from the Order.
Supreme Chancellor Berry certainly inherited his share of problems in 1873. In addition to bankruptcy, there was the problem of the
Pennsylvania Grand Lodge which was in full revolt against the authority of the
Supreme Lodge. This was allegedly
over a previous change in ritual but one has to wonder; Pennsylvania was at
the forefront of the SPK movement and though that issue had allegedly been
settled, some resentment undoubtedly remained.
Philadelphia had been the first lodge founded outside of Washington D.
C. and the Order had thrived in the Keystone State.
Kennedy notes that there were more Pythians in Pennsylvania than in all
the other states combined. For a
time, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania was placed in suspension. Somehow, this issue was finally resolved--at least for the
time being. It was not the last
to be heard from Pennsylvania Pythians.
Still remaining was the problem of the newly bankrupted Supreme Lodge.
Several schemes including a failed bond issue were floated and it was
finally decided that the Supreme Lodge should manufacture and sell officer and
Knight jewels to the Grand and Subordinate Lodges. These were finally introduced in 1874 under the
administration of Supreme Chancellor Stillman S. Davis and to this day are
still inscribed “Copyright 1874 S.S. Davis S.C.”.
This introduced a stream of revenue that sustained the Supreme Lodge
for years to come. In 1874, the
Order also got a new--and obviously much needed--constitution.
William D. Kennedy played a significant role in writing it.
Pythian Jewels are not known for their beauty and on their introduction were
derided by the membership as “coffin plates”.
Their design reflects not artistic merit but rather the prevailing
politics of the time. A superior
design had actually been submitted from Massachusetts
but Massachusetts had voted against Pennsylvania in that recent controversy
and Pennsylvania and its allies retaliated by voting for the opposing--and
inferior--design. Thus was the
Order saddled with an unattractive design which, except for a reduction in
size, has remained virtually unchanged to this day.
Though the official Supreme Lodge records are silent on the subject, Justus H.
Rathbone was re-admitted to the Supreme lodge in 1876.
Rathbone’s account of this, reported by Carnahan, reads like Theater
of the Absurd:
[page 283, 1889 ed.]
...when did
you again return to the Supreme Lodge?
At the
Centennial Session, in 1876, at Philadelphia, Pa.
Was there any
opposition to your return to the Supreme Lodge?
There was;
and, as I have been informed, by those who were present within that room, an
almost unanimous feeling that I should not
be admitted.
In what
capacity did you return to the Supreme Lodge?
As a Past
Supreme Chancellor and a member in good standing in my Subordinate Lodge in
the District of Columbia.
What was the
objection?
It came first
from the Committee on Credentials, as there was nothing to show that I was a
member in good standing in the Order, except a communication from the vice
Grand Chancellor , acting as Grand Chancellor of the District of Columbia. The
information was telegraphed for, and they refused to receive me on a telegram.
A strong speech was made in my behalf by J. Rufus Smith, S.R. from W.
Va., and permission was finally given for me to enter.
Immediately upon my entrance, Supreme Representatives Foxwell and
Caldwell, of the District of Columbia, presented to the Supreme Lodge a
picture of the Founder and the
four original members, and a small pamphlet, giving the history of the Order,
and a brief biographical sketch of the original members.
Objection to it was immediately interposed.
A motion was then made that a committee of three be appointed to look
into the matter, and ascertain, if possible, if the statements contained in
the papers presented were the facts, and if I really was the Founder of the
Order. The Committee was
appointed and consisted of three members known at the time to be perhaps the
most inimical to the man to be investigated, of any in the Supreme Lodge.
The Committee met, were shown the original
affidavit, together with the “Sketch” that had been presented to the
Supreme Lodge. Brother
J.T.K. Plant, being in the city, was sent for by the committee and appeared on
the scene. He there saw for the
first time the documents, and immediately, without any hesitation, stated that
the contents were true to the best of his knowledge and belief, and that he
would go further, and, if necessary, announce the fact on the floor of the
Supreme Lodge. He further stated
that he had never claimed to be Founder or Assistant Founder and did not hold
himself responsible for what others had claimed for him.
After reading the documents, the question was asked by the Chairman:
“Brother Plant, your name is mentioned in this; what have you to say?”
“simply and only,” was his reply, “that it is correct in every
particular. That man [pointing to
me] is the sole and only Founder of the Knights of Pythias, and, if necessary,
I will go into the Supreme Lodge and announce it.
I never claimed I was the founder; the claim was made for me but I
never fathered it.” The
committee returned and made their report to the Supreme Lodge, which, in
brief, was that they found the “History as to the Founder of the Order of
Knights of Pythias” correct, and that I was entitled to the honor of being
the Founder of the Order. A
recess was taken for a few minutes and I was warmly congratulated and greeted
by the officers and representatives.
At the end of the interview, Carnahan ask
Rathbone about the other founding members:
What has
become of the original members of the order?
Robert Allen
Champion died in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, September 25th, 1873. David L. Burnett is at present occupying a prominent position
in the Sixth Auditor’s Office. Wm.
H. Burnett still retains the position that he has held for years in the
Quartermaster-General’s Office. Dr.
E. S. Kimball is engaged in the profession of music and is justly conceded a
leading musician; and all reside in Washington D. C.
I reside in Alexandria, Virginia.
Are the living
ones yet connected to the order?
They are not;
and it has been the one great desire of my life that they should be; they
ought, in my opinion, to be recognized and made life members of the Order for
it was through the assistance rendered me by them, that the Order was
organized. Their time and
money were cheerfully and unstintedly given to the work, and you will pardon
me if I here state that I believe them to have been most shamefully treated
from the first.
[Author’s
note: Rathbone moved to
Alexandria in 1888 and died a little more than a year later.
The four people named here are also named by Rathbone as founding--or
early--members of the SPK. Like
Rathbone, they had been essentially forced from the Order during the
Read/Barton/Berry years.
William Kennedy was at the Supreme Lodge of
1876 and devotes only a single paragraph to Rathbone:
While the
printed record failed to state the fact, yet it was well understood, by all
there, that at this convention, held in the year commemorative of the
independence of the nation, Brother Justus H. Rathbone, the Founder, was to be
received and welcomed back into the Supreme Lodge and into active association
in the Order. Owing to the
bitterness which had grown out of the SPK controversy and many other personal
differences, Brother Rathbone had not entered the Supreme Lodge since the
meeting at Richmond, March 9, 1869--indeed, he had for some time been out of
the Order. However, on the
morning of the second day of this convention he was admitted.
[The author rants: Kennedy says
it was a cake walk and Rathbone says they were out to get him.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Pythian Mythology.
The Supreme Lodge of 1876 is the stuff of Pythian Legend.
It is a well established fact that Rathbone returned to the Supreme
Lodge that year but it is not quite clear just how
he returned. Numerous stories
abound including one which states that the Outer Guard simply had no idea who
Rathbone was--or refused to believe he was who he said he was!
The fact that “the record failed to state the fact” does seem a bit
curious in that the Supreme Lodge could fail to at least acknowledge the
homecoming of the Founder, especially if it was all sweetness and light as
envisioned by Kennedy. And the
fact that they didn’t let him in until the next day suggests it may have
been something like Rathbone says it was.
If it were anything at all like Rathbone’s account, it becomes fairly
obvious why it might have been edited from the minutes.
It was, after all, hardly the Order’s proudest moment.
The problem with Rathbone, of course, is that he is a playwright and you have
to wonder if he is being creative here.
J.T.K. Plant just happening to be in town seems just a
little too convenient. Why
wasn’t he at the convention--as Past Supreme Chancellor he certainly had a
place there. Yet Kennedy verifies
Plant’s presence and testimony and identifies the three members of the
committee as Samuel Read, George W. Lindsey, and Hugh Lathem. As for their alleged animosity toward Rathbone, there can be
no doubt that Read was largely responsible for Rathbone leaving the Supreme
Lodge (and Order) in the first place and Lathem was the principal author of
the notorious O.B.N. Lindsey
didn’t enter the Supreme Lodge until 1875 but he was from Maryland which had
been a SPK hotbed (and had had its Grand Lodge suspended for it).
Lindsey may have been one of the “Loyalists” who supported Read and
the Supreme Lodge against Rathbone. It would appear that the Supreme Lodge did
include elements that were hostile to Rathbone’s return but they probably
were not in the majority as Rathbone claimed.
After all, they did not manage to keep him out--though they apparently
did manage to delay his entry until the next day.
And it is entirely possible that there were a good many people present
at that convention who had never met Rathbone and possibly even some who were
not altogether certain just who had founded the order in the first place.
Rathbone had been largely absent for five years and the order had grown
considerably in that time.
It would appear that Rathbone and the Supreme Lodge had finally made peace.
In 1877 they would authorize and present him with a Founder’s Jewel
and send him out as Lecturer for the Order.
He would attend the Supreme Lodges in 1878, 1880, 1882, 1884, 1886, and
1888. Rathbone was on the road on
a lecture tour in Lima, Ohio, when he died on December 9, 1889 at the age of
fifty. The cause of death appears
to be cancer. He was buried in
Utica, N. Y. Rathbone had
never been wealthy and it appears that he died virtually penniless.
He had fallen on especially hard times in 1884 and the Supreme Lodge
had raised some five thousand dollars for payment of his debts and to provide
living expenses. The Supreme
Lodge of 1890 saw fit to allocate $700 to be paid yearly to Rathbone’s
orphaned daughters--his wife had died in 1887--and this was to continue until
1900. In 1893, more than three
years after his death, it was noted that his grave had no marker and appeared
to be neglected. The Grand Lodge
of New York allocated $1000 to be paid for the perpetual care of the gravesite
and a movement began in the Supreme Lodge to erect a monument.
This was done in 1899.
Though the order had been nearly torn apart over the question of new degrees,
it managed to acquire two new degrees--by then, ranks--in 1877 and 1878.
Though neither were to last, both were very much in keeping with the
fraternal spirit of the times. The
Endowment Rank (ER) was quite simply a life insurance plan.
Following the Civil War, there had been founded hundreds of Fraternal
Benefit Societies starting with the Ancient Order of United Workmen in 1868.
Their primary purpose was to provide affordable life insurance at a
time when there was absolutely no social safety net and life insurance was
generally available only to the very well off.
Though the Pythians were not a fraternal benefit society, the idea
obviously appealed to a large number of members and was first introduced at
the convention of 1876. The
committee appointed to study the matter denounced all “Insurance Schemes”
as appealing to the worse nature of man and in opposition to true Pythian
Brotherhood. Yet in 1877, in a hundred eighty degree turn-around, the ER
was approved. The Committee to
write the ritual was headed by Justus H. Rathbone and--if we are to believe
Kennedy--the end result somewhat resembled the defunct SPK ritual. The ER was a truly separate Rank with its own ritual, oaths,
obligations, and passwords. But
by 1879 the ritual had become optional and after 1880 had been dropped
entirely.
Unfortunately, even the professionals did not have a very good grasp of the
science of life insurance in the late 1800’s--the complex actuarial
mathematics had not yet been worked out--and there were numerous bankruptcies
even among commercial insurance companies.
The major problem faced by the Pythians was more money going out than
was coming in. It would take
quite a few years--and quite a lot of money--before the problems were finally
worked out. A special Supreme
Lodge convention was called in 1901 when it was discovered that the Endowment
Rank had “unadjudicated death losses amounting to $425,600...[and] that
there were no immediately available funds.” At
that Lodge, assessments for the ER were increased 45%.
In time, an Insurance Department would evolve and the ER would quietly
go away. It is possible and even
likely that the formulation of the Pythian insurance plan as a separate rank
complete with ritual etc. was simply done as a courtesy to Rathbone.
It certainly did not take long to realize that fraternal sentiment and
the hard nosed realities of the life insurance business were hardly
compatible.
The Uniformed Rank (UR) came into being in 1878.
A great many Pythians were Civil War Veterans and some lodges formed
their own military drill teams. This
would in time evolve into the Uniformed Ranks, not just for the Pythians but
for quite a number of other
fraternal orders as well. The
Pythian UR was sometimes known as the Army of the Lily.
In many ways, the UR was simply a logical outgrowth of the K of P.
The order, having been founded in the midst of the Civil War and by men
working for the government--and effectively enlistees--had always had a
military flavor to it. Its ranks
of Page, Esquire, and Knight emulated those of Medieval knighthood.
The UR was seen as sort of an unofficial reserve force, maintaining a
military readiness should the Nation need them--its Manual of Drill was that
of the US Army. In reality, the
UR was more of a fancy drill team suitable for parades and other official
functions. As Civil War veterans
died off in the early 1900’s, the UR went into decline and was effectively
defunct around the time of World War Two.
Major General James Carnahan’s hope for an everlasting UR was not to
be and it had entirely ceased to exist by the 1950’s.
By 1888, The Pennsylvania Grand Lodge was once again in open revolt.
The alleged issue this time was an attempt on part of the Supreme lodge
to modify the Constitutions of all Grand and Subordinate lodges to bring them
into agreement with the Supreme Lodge Constitution.
In reality, it seems more like a simple power struggle.
The Pennsylvania Lodge was the most powerful and largest of the Grand
lodges. Like before, the Grand
Lodge was suspended. Like before,
it was finally made to comply with the dictates of the Supreme Lodge.
Once again, the Order barely escaped fragmentation.
In the early 1890’s, the Order became seemingly obsessed with the issue of
foreign language rituals. There
were a good many German Pythians (a lot in Pennsylvania, of course), and they
had quite naturally translated the Pythian Ritual into the German language.
Up until then, the Order had shown a sort of grudging toleration for
non-English versions of the ritual but beginning in 1892, the attitude begin
to shift and by 1894 the policy was one of English Only. At one point in time, a large quantity of the German ritual
was actually burnt. Part of the
reasoning was undoubtedly economic regarding the cost of translating and
distributing multilingual copies of the ritual.
But underlying it all appears to be an attitude that the Knights of
Pythias was a uniquely American organization whose ritual ought to be in
English--possibly being influenced by the fact that the ritual was based on
works of English literature. This
is in marked contrast to most of the other orders of the time who took great
pride in being established world-wide in every language.
History repeated itself when the Supreme Lodge of 1894 once again found itself
bankrupt. The person left holding
the [empty] bag this time was the Supreme Master of the Exchequer, Stansbury
J. Willey. Losses this time were
pegged at $69,476.51, nearly ten times that lost by Barton two decades
earlier. The reasons for the loss
were fairly obvious. Willey had
given the Lodge’s money to his brother-in-law, the stockbroker.
1893 had witnessed a major depression which among other things had
destroyed some eighteen thousand businesses.
Among them were the companies in which the Pythian funds had been
invested. Once again, the Supreme
Lodge would have to watch its pennies. Once
again, it would replenish its funds through the sale of lodge jewelry.
By 1896, the Pythians numbered 456,944 members, third behind the Masons
(920,459) and the Odd Fellows (939,307).
The Order actually suffered some losses in this year because of an
edict of the Roman Catholic Church forbidding its members from belong to
certain “secret orders”, the Knights of Pythias among them.
By 1902, the order had grown to 540,138.
[The author speculates: From the
above numbers, it would appear that the Pythians hit the half million mark
sometime in 1899. From 1896 to
1902, they averaged adding almost fourteen thousand new members a year.
They had gone from five members to five hundred thousand in only thirty
five years. It was a record of
fraternal growth unmatched at that time and likely to remain unmatched.
They did it with aggressive recruiting and a new order that offered
some refreshing changes from the old. For
one thing, the Pythians are a secular order.
Unlike the Masons and Odd Fellows whose rituals are drenched in
religion, the ritual of the Knights of Pythias is based on works of English
literature--Rathbone, after all, was a schoolteacher.
The Pythians also tended to be more egalitarian than the established
Orders which tended to equate the best of men with the wealthiest of them.
The humble condition of Pythian jewels, most of which are silver plate
and brass, speak of hard times and working men. In this they are more in line with their philosophical
brothers, the fraternal benefit societies, than the Masons and Odd Fellows.
But there was something else, perhaps something undefinable, about the
Pythians that distinguished them. Every
now and then, there will be created something that unmistakably captures the
spirit of its time and soars upon it. It
would almost seem that the country had been waiting for the Pythians to
arrive. This was recognized by
Plant who tried to hijack the Order and Read who did.
It was also recognized by the half million who would join the order
before the turn of the Twentieth Century.
Kennedy, in speaking of Samuel Read, says that he seemed to fit right
into the times. He might as well
have been speaking of the Order itself.
Alternately, they may have been simply lucky.
Taking on the Pennsylvania Grand lodge repeatedly was an act
approaching madness. Had the
Pennsylvanians been sufficiently organized to take advantage of their
numerical superiority we might
well be discussing the History of the Knights of Damon.
Founder of the
Knights of Pythias
Justus H. Rathbone
(At 48 years of age.)
Below is the Founders Jewel
presented to him by the Order
Here is an early
cabinet card photo of a Pythian Knight dressed as a Roman Master at Arms.
Knights of Pythias
Ritual
Rank of Page
Opening
Ceremony
At the hour appointed, a quorum being p resent, the Chancellor
Commander shall take his station, invest him with the jewel of his office and
call the lodge to order. The other officers will at once invest themselves
with the proper jewels and take their respective stations; and the members
will take their seats.
Chancellor Commander, standing:
It is my will that ... Lodge, No. ..., Knights of Pythias, now come to order
in the rank of Knight, for the dispatch of such business as may be brought
before it.
Inner
Guard, order the Outer Guard to clear the anteroom, close the door and allow
no one to enter.
Takes his seat.
Inner Guard, standing in the door:
Outer Guard, it is the order of the Chancellor Commander that you clear the
ante-room, close the door and allow no one to enter.
Outer Guard, from his station:
The order of the Chancellor Commander shall be obeyed.
Inner Guard, closes the door:
Chancellor
Commander, the Outer Guard has received your order.
Chancellor Commander, gives two raps:
Master at
Arms, approach my station and communicate to me the semi-annual password and
the password of the rank of Knight, and examine all present in the same.
Master at Arms communicates the word to the Chancellor
Commander and then proceeds with the examination. Should anyone present be
found without the semi-annual password or the password of the Rank of Knight,
the Master at Arms will at once report that fact to the Chancellor Commander,
whereupon that officer will require each person so reported to advance to his
station and receive the words, if entitled thereto. If not so entitled, he
must immediately retire. When all present have been examined, the Master at
Arms, standing at the altar, will open the Book of Law, salute the Chancellor
Commander and report:
Chancellor
Commander, I have obeyed your order, and have found all present in possession
of the semi-annual password and the password of the rank of Knight.
Chancellor Commander gives three raps:
Inner Guard,
relieve the Outer Guard, and direct him to report at your station.
Inner Guard retires and relieves the Outer Guard, who
immediately reports at the station of the Inner Guard.
Outer Guard:
Chancellor Commander, the Outer Guard reports for instruction.
Chancellor Commander:
Outer Guard, your station is in the ante-room. Your duties are to take charge
of the outer door; to see that no one enters the ante-room who is not in
possession of the semi-annual password, unless otherwise ordered by the
Chancellor Commander; to require each Page and Esquire to invest himself with
the jewel indicating his advancement in the order; and to obey the orders of
the Chancellor Commander. Return to your station, relieve the Inner Guard,
and, until so ordered, allow no one to enter.
Outer Guard retires.
Inner Guard returns to his station:
Chancellor Commander, the Inner Guard reports for instruction.
Chancellor Commander:
Inner Guard, your station is at the inner door. Your duties are to allow no
one to enter the lodge-room who does not give the correct alarm and password;
and to obey the orders of the Chancellor Commander.
Inner Guard takes his seat.
Chancellor Commander gives one rap:
Master at Arms, where is your station and what are your duties in this lodge?
Master at Arms, standing:
My station is at the right and front of the Chancellor Commander. My duties
are to examine all present prior to the opening of the lodge, and to report
the result to the Chancellor Commander; to prepare and accompany candidates;
and to obey the orders of the Chancellor Commander.
Takes his seat.
Chancellor Commander gives one rap:
Treasurer,
where is your station and what are your duties in this lodge?
Treasurer, standing:
My station is at the left of the Chancellor Commander. My duties are to
receive from the Financial Secretary all moneys collected by him, and to
disburse them only on an order from the Chancellor Commander, attested by the
Secretary; to present to this lodge, at the end of every semi-annual (or
annual) term, a written report of all receipts and disbursements during the
term; and to perform all other services required of me by the laws of the
order and the by-laws of this lodge.
Takes his seat.
Chancellor Commander gives one rap:
Financial
Secretary, where is your station and what are your duties in this lodge?
Financial Secretary, standing:
My station is at the left of the Chancellor Commander. My duties are to keep
the accounts of this lodge; to notify all who are in arrears; to receive all
moneys, and immediately pay the same to the Treasurer, taking his receipt
therefore; to make, at each regular convention, a statement of all moneys
received by me, and from whom; to present to this lodge, at the end of every
semi-annual (or annual) term, a written report, showing the indebtedness of
each member and the general financial condition of the lodge; and to perform
all other services required of me by the laws of the order and the by-laws of
this lodge. Takes his seat.
Chancellor Commander gives one rap:
Secretary, where is your station and what are your duties in this lodge?
Secretary, standing:
My station is
at the right of the Chancellor Commander. My duties are to keep a true record
of all the proceedings of this lodge; to conduct all its correspondence; to
have charge of the seal and archives; to make out semi-annual (or annual)
reports of the work and business of the lodge, and transmit the same to the
Grand Lodge; to deliver to the proper officers all funds, documents or other
lodge property coming into my hands; and to perform all other services
required of me by the laws of the order and the by-laws of this lodge.
Takes his seat.
Chancellor Commander gives one rap:
Master of the
Work, where is your station and what are your duties in this lodge?
Master of the Work, standing:
My station is
at the right of the Chancellor Commander, opposite the altar. My duties are to
have special supervision of all preparations for floor-work in conferring the
ranks; and to perform all other services required of me by the laws of the
order and the by-laws of this lodge.
Takes his seat.
Chancellor Commander gives one rap:
Prelate,
where is your station and what are your duties in this lodge?
Prelate, standing:
My station is
at the left of the Chancellor Commander, opposite the altar. My duties are to
administer the obligations; to offer invocations to the Deity and ask his
blessings upon our brotherhood; and to perform all other services required of
me by the laws of the order and the by-laws of this lodge.
Takes his seat.
Chancellor Commander gives one rap:
Vice
Chancellor, where is your station and what are your duties in this lodge?
Vice Chancellor, standing:
My station is
opposite that of the Chancellor Commander. My duties are to assist the
Chancellor Commander in preserving order; to aid in conducting the ceremonies
of the ranks; to appoint a minority of all committees (unless otherwise
ordered by the lodge); to preside in the absence of the Chancellor Commander;
to have supervision of the wicket; and to perform all other services required
of me by the laws of the order and the by-laws of this lodge.
Takes his seat.
Chancellor Commander, standing:
The station
of the Chancellor Commander is in the executive chair of the lodge. It is his
duty to preside over the lodge; to preserve order during its sessions; to
appoint a majority of all committees (unless otherwise ordered by the lodge);
and to perform all other services required of him by the laws of the order and
the by-laws of this lodge.
All of
these duties I am under solemn obligation to perform with justice and
impartiality. In their discharge I ask your earnest co-operation.
Two raps.
What
is the duty of every member of this order?
All take the position in which the obligation of the Rank of
Knight was assumed, and respond:
To avoid
anger and dissension; to work together in the spirit of fraternity; to
exemplify the friendship of Damon and Pythias.
Resume ordinary position.
Chancellor Commander:
To aid us in
this work, the Prelate will invoke divine assistance.
Prelate:
Supreme Ruler
of the Universe, we humbly ask thy blessing upon the officers and members of
this lodge and visiting brothers. Aid us to avoid anger and dissension; help
us to work together in the spirit of fraternity; and inspire us to exemplify
the friendship of Damon and Pythias. Hear and answer us, we beseech thee.
Amen.
All:
Amen!
Opening Ode
God
bless our knightly band!
Firm
may it ever stand,
Through storm and night;
When the wild tempests rave,
Ruler of wind and wave,
Do
thou our order save
By thy
great might.
For this our prayers ascend—
God
bless, protect, defend,
God guard our rights;
Thou who art ever nigh,
Viewing with watchful eye,
To
thee aloud we cry:
God
save the knights!
Chancellor Commander:
Master at Arms, display the shield and arrange the altar.
Inner Guard opens the inner door.
Master at Arms places upon the inner door a shield of the
emblematic color of the rank. The door is then closed, and the Master at Arms
returns to the altar, places the sword of defence in proper position, salutes
the Chancellor Commander and says:
Chancellor
Commander, your order has been obeyed.
Chancellor Commander:
I now declare ... Lodge, No. ..., duly opened for the dispatch of such
business as shall legally come before it.
One rap.
Attention! Raise your visors.
All give the sign of courtesy of the rank of Knight.
Chancellor Commander:
Master at Arms, you will retire to the ante-room and present the flag of our
country.
The
Master at Arms then retires to the ante-room where he will procure the flag,
previously prepared on a staff, bringing it unfurled into the castle hall. The
Master at Arms will advance to the center of the castle hail in front of the
altar, facing the Chancellor Commander.
The Chancellor Commander will then command:
Attention!
Join me in saluting the flag of our country.
All members will then salute the flag in unison with the
Chancellor Commander (using the right hand military salute).
The Master at Arms will then place the flag at the right of the
station of the Chancellor Commander, in a socket prepared for it, where it
will remain throughout the convention.
The Master at Arms will then return to his station.
(a) The flag ceremony, as incorporated into the official
opening and dosing ceremonies, is an outward and visible sign of loyalty and
devotion to our country, and will be conducted with deference and dignity.
(b) If practicable, a march shall be played when the Master at
Arms enters or retires with the flag, and the national anthem during the
salute.
(c) The Chancellor Commander, before ordering the Master at
Arms to present or return the flag, may appoint two members to act as a color
guard to escort the flag to and from the castle hall. This guard shall wait
one on each side of the Master at Arms, armed with a drawn sworn at carry. At
the command, “Attention,” by the Chancellor Commander, the color guard will
bring their swords to the present, as for non-commissioned officers (raise and
carry the sword to the front, base of the hilt as high as the chin and 6
inches in front of the neck, edge to the left, point 6 inches farther to the
front than the hilt, thumb extended on right of the grip, all fingers grasping
the grip. As soon as the salute has been given by the members, the guard will
bring their swords to carry.
(d) The flag ceremony will be used at all open or public
sessions held by a subordinate lodge.
(e) A member entering the lodge, after the lodge has been
declared open for the dispatch of business, shall proceed to the altar, and,
before giving any sign, salute the flag, without exclamation. A member
retiring from the lodge before the closing thereof, shall, without
exclamation, salute the flag before giving any sign.
Chancellor Commander:
Inner Guard,
inform the Outer Guard that this lodge is now open in the rank of Knight, and
direct him to admit all who are qualified to enter.
Inner
Guard, standing in the door: Outer Guard, this lodge is now open in the rank
of Knight, and it is the order of the Chancellor Commander that you admit all
who are qualified to enter.
Closes the door.
Chancellor Commander, the Outer Guard has received your order.
Chancellor Commander gives three raps. If any visitors are
present, the Chancellor Commander will say:
The lodge
will be at ease, and the members will join me in extending a fraternal welcome
to our visiting brothers.
Preparation
1. Robes appropriate to the official stations may be worn if
desired.
2. Everything being in readiness in the lodge-room, the
Chancellor Commander will order the Outer Guard to admit the candidates to the
ante-room. The presence of the candidates in the ante-room should be the
signal for complete silence in the lodge-room, which the Chancellor Commander
shall enforce. The Chancellor Commander will order the Secretary and the
Master at Arms to proceed thither and propound to the candidate the following
questions, and obtain his signature to his answers:
Do you believe in the existence of a Supreme Being?
Answer.
Are you of sound bodily health?
Answer.
Have you hitherto applied for membership in the order of
Knights of Pythias—if so, when and where?
Answer.
Are you willing to take upon yourself a solemn obligation to
keep forever secret all that you may hear, see or be instructed in—an
obligation that will in no wise conflict with your creed or your conscience?
Answer.
The candidate replies to these questions, and the Secretary
writes the answers in a book prepared for the purpose, after which the
candidate signs his name to them, and the Secretary and the Master at Arms
sign their names as witnesses. The Secretary, with the Master at Arms, then
returns to the lodge-room and reports the result of the examination. If all
the answers are not satisfactory to the lodge, the Secretary shall immediately
notify the candidate. If all the answers are satisfactory, the lodge shall at
once proceed to the initiation.
Initiation
Master at Arms gives the alarm of the rank.
Inner Guard repeats the alarm and attends the wicket:
Who comes here?
Master at Arms:
The Master at
Arms of this lodge, with a stranger who desires to be initiated into the
mysteries of the rank of Page in the order of Knights of Pythias.
Inner Guard closes the wicket:
Chancellor
Commander, the Master at Arms of this lodge, with a stranger who desires to be
initiated into the mysteries of the rank of Page, applies for admission.
Chancellor Commander:
Admit them.
Inner Guard opens the door.
Master at Arms enters into the darkened lodge-room with the
candidate (un-blindfolded) on his left.
Pythagoras, a
competent member, in suitable costume,
representing Pythagoras, will be stationed inside. As the Master at Arms and
the candidate enter, Pythagoras meets them, and addresses the candidate, the
Master at Arms quietly retiring: In me behold Pythagoras. Centuries
before your eyes had opened on the light of day, I had attained the knowledge
of all the ages. The arts of ancient Egypt, the science of Arabia and the
philosophy of Phoenicia, the lore of the Chaldean sages and the occult
mysteries of the Persian magi, are to me an open book.
I
welcome you as a seeker after knowledge; but bear in mind, O neophyte, this
truth—the wish to know contains not always the faculty to acquire. He who
seeks to discover must first learn to imagine and to deliberate. The life that
contemplates is nobler than the life that enjoys. He who merely is, may be a
dull, insensate hind; he who knows, is in himself divine.
The
journey which is before you is to you unknown. It lies, perhaps, through
flower-bespangled plains and verdant meads, where summer sunshine sifts
through interlacing boughs, and perfumed zephyrs sigh, and music-throated
birds entrance the listening air. It peradventure winds its devious and
uncertain way along the mountain side, where unscaled peaks their towering
summits lift amid the thunder’s sullen roar, and depths abysmal yawn beyond
the treacherous precipice; or else where darkling rivers run, ‘mid rayless
gloom, through caverns measureless to man, down to a sunless sea. Mayhap it
leads through bog and fen and foul morass, where hideous creatures climb and
crawl, and slimy serpents cling and coil, and nameless, countless horrors lurk
unseen.
Fear
is the deadliest foe to knowledge. Be brave. The coward fancies perils which
may not exist, and dies a thousand deaths; to the hero danger comes only to
nerve his arm and steel his soul to combat and to conquer.
And
now, farewell. You go to claim the golden spur that knighthood wears. To wear
it, you must win it. Should you succeed, your guerdon and reward will be
companionship with loyal-hearted and chivalric knights; should you fail, on
you and you alone will rest the burden of the blame.
Pythagoras then retires. This scene may be illustrated by
stereopticon views, tableaw~ or in any similar manner, at the option of the
lodge.
The Master at Arms, who, in the meantime, has been in waiting,
takes the candidate by the arm, and, without speaking, leads him to the
ante-room.
Chancellor Commander:
1. Shall appoint two or more members to assist the Master of
the Work in the preparation of the floor, which shall be as follows:
On two trestles, twelve inches high, covered by a black pall
reaching to the floor, shall be placed an open coffin, which shall contain a
skeleton. On the coffin shall be two crossed swords, with the hilts towards
the Prelate, and on these the open book of law. The coffin may be placed in
the center of the floor, or in front of the station of the Vice Chancellor, or
in an alcove of the lodge-room.
2. When directed by the Chancellor Commander, the Master at
Arms will retire to the ante-room and prepare the candidate, by placing on him
a white sash (extending from the right shoulder to and below the left hip) and
securely
blindfolding him. As many attendants may be appointed as desired. No frivolous
conversation shall be permitted
in the presence of the candidate. Only such remarks as are essential t~ his
proper preparation shall be allowed. There may be such floor-work, forming of
triangle, or scene arrangement, as each lodge may determine for itself.
Master at Arms enters, with the candidate on his left, escorts
him very slowly once around the room, and halts before the station of the
Chancellor Commander. In the meantime, perfect silence should prevail. If
possible, a solemn march should be played. While passing around the lodgeroom
with the candidate, the Master at Arms should be between the candidate and the
altar or coffin.
Master at Arms:
Chancellor
Commander, before you stands a stranger, who desires to be initiated into the
mysteries of the rank of Page in the order of Knights of Pythias.
Chancellor Commander:
Stranger, favorable consideration of an applicant for the ranks of Knighthood
is an expression of our belief in his honor and integrity. Being thus favored,
it remains for you, when you have attained the ranks of Knighthood, to make of
this belief a verity. That you may the better understand what you may see and
hear, as step by step you advance in this great brotherhood, I ask a listening
ear.
This
order does not rest its claim for favor solely upon its signs and symbols, but
its ceremonies point the way to a higher and better standard of manhood. It
would develop and maintain character, and reputation would follow, as the
night the day.
We do
not claim nor expect perfection, but our hope is for better things. We realize
the frailties and weaknesses of man, and from the lessons taught, we learn to
overcome our own. Whatever of pleasure we may find along the way will prove
your profit in the end.
In our
ritualistic work, each sentence has a meaning, and each paragraph a lesson for
your daily life. You will realize that friendship brings its full reward. The
force and sting of hasty judgment may be yours, but caution has its part, and
charity’s broad mantle will protect the thoughtless and the weak.
We
believe that the unkind word is not an asset in the life of man; it brings
naught of good, and once sent forth, is a liability which can never, never be
redeemed. As you have faith in yourself, your honor and integrity, so have
faith in the honor and integrity of your fellowman. Disregard of prudence that
vanity may feast, is often seen, but much preferred is the exercise of
cautious judgment, and you will learn that confidence in others is as
necessary to a successful life as the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the
love-light of the home. We look for the good, the brighter, the better side of
man.
This
order, founded in the City of Washington, February 19, 1864, in its teachings,
takes hold of the hearts of men, appeals alike to the high and the low, to the
learned and the unlearned, and strikes the chord of human sympathy found in
all who do not live for self alone.
The
story of Damon and Pythias is its basic thought; every lesson taught has its
application to life, day by day—as it was, is, and will be, through each
unfolding year. Our wish, our hope, our aim, is that this order may aid you to
be true, cautious, charitable, benevolent and brave, in all that tends to make
for good, in a world filled with golden opportunities to plant a flower, and
uproot a thorn along the path of life.
In
this spirit, I welcome you as an applicant for the mysteries of this rank. In
return for the honors we
bestow, what may we expect of you?
Prompted by the Master at Arms, the candidates answers:
Obedience.
Chancellor Commander:
Master at Arms, the stranger having pledged obedience, you will conduct him to
the Prelate of this lodge, who will administer to him the obligation of the
rank of Page.
Master at Arms conducts the candidate once around the room, and
then to the coffin, in front of the Prelate:
Prelate, by
order of the Chancellor Commander, I present a stranger, who has pledged
obedience, and who wears an emblem of the purity of his purpose, that you may
administer to him the obligation of the rank of Page.
Prelate:
White has ever been an emblem of purity; and to the members of this order it
represents that purity of purpose essential to admission here. You wear it as
one whose presence we welcome and whose purpose we applaud.
Master
at Arms, require the stranger -to kneel upon both knees, place his left hand
upon his left breast and his right hand, palm downward, on the book of law.
Master at Arms obeys the orders as given.
Prelate advances to the coffin.
Master at Arms:
Prelate, the
stranger is in position to take the obligation.
Chancellor Commander gives two raps. If attendants assist in
the ceremony, one should stand at each end of the coffin, and the other
attendants (if any) behind the candidate and the Master at Arms.
The members
remain
in their places.
Prelate:
Stranger, as
you have promised obedience, and are about to assume the obligation of this
rank, justice to you demands that you should be in possession of all your
faculties.
Master
at Arms, you will now remove the hoodwink, that he may see as well as hear.
Master at Arms removes the hoodwink.
Prelate:
Stranger, you
will repeat after me.
I
solemnly promise that I will never reveal the password, signs or any other
secret or mystery of this rank, except in a lodge of this order, recognized by
and under the control of the Supreme Lodge Knights of Pythias, or when being
examined by the proper officer of a lodge, or to one whom I know to be a
member of this rank.
I
further promise that I will not become a member of, recognize or countenance
any organization using the name of this order or any derivative thereof, which
is not recognized by or under the control of the Supreme Lodge Knights of
Pythias.
I
further promise that I will obey the laws and, so far as possible, comply with
the requirements of the order.
I
further promise that I will heed the teachings of this rank, and seek to
profit thereby, and, as I meet the members of this order, I will endeavor to
exemplify, in my conduct and my demeanor toward them, the principles of
friendship embodied in the lesson of tonight.
To the
faithful observance of this obligation I pledge my sacred word of honor. So
help me God—and may he keep me steadfast.
All:
Amen!
Prelate:
Stranger, by
this vow you are bound until death.
All:
Even until
death!
Prelate:
Until the
mortal casket is forever stilled, no longer obeying for good or ill the
behests of your immortal being, and soon to return to undistinguish able dust;
and when your frame, like that on which you gaze, becomes an object lesson to
be conned—a spectacle for curious or reflective minds to ponder o’er, and
wonder if, once instinct with life, it sipped of every sinful sweet, and
unremembered fell asleep; or if the hand, ne’er closed to human need, its
largess so bestowed that e’en the fleshless and cadaverous palm could not the
kiss of gratitude affright—may the record of your life be such that the
briefest truthful thought must be, “He lived to bless mankind!”
Prelate, Master at Arms and attendants kneel on right knee.
Anthem
In the
deep hush that o’er the earth is stealing,
Father, I come to thee;
In humbleness of heart I kneel appealing—
Be
merciful to me!
Be
merciful to me!
Prelate:
You will now
arise.
