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BLOOMINGTON, ILL* THURSDAY, OCTOBKH 28, lt'97*A SILVER JUBILEEB’nai B’rith Celebration Was a Great Success.ELOQUENT SPEECHES BY THE MEMBERSText of the Ite*|uns® to the Toast on the Naming of the Local Lodge by Sigmund Livingston.The celebration at the * Windsor last night of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Abraham Lincoln lodge No. 190, B’nai B’rith, was attended by the leading Jewish families of Bloomington and other cities, and was a capital success in every detail. The first feature was the serving of an elegant banquet, and while the'guests enjoyed a very dolightful menu the music of a mandolin orchestra added to the pleasures. After the gustatory pleasures were done, a program of toasts was called. Mr. Julius Griesheira acted as toastmaster and introduced each speaker in felicitous 'phrase. All the speeches were lively and witty. The toaBt numbers were as follows:Abraham Lincolu Lodge, No. 190— P. P. Sigmund Livingston.Our Charter Members—P. P. Aaron Livingston.Our First President—P. P. Mayer Livingston.District Grand Lodge, No. 8—P. G. P. Albert Saltzenstein.Why I Am a Ben Brith—P. G. P. Leon Soblossman.One of the First Initiates—P. G. Sig Heldman.America and Our Order—G. S. Dist. No. 0, E. C. Hamburger.The Ladie3—P. P. Milton R. Livingston.A fine company of people from out of the city were present,including Mr. and Mrs. Herzberg, Mr. M. Green-baum, Miss Rose Greenbaam, Miss Sallie Meis, Miss Mildred Hertzberg, Pontiac; Mr. and Mrs. Abe Eppstein, Miss Bertha Levy. Farmer City; Miss Stella Werschutz, Mr. E. Wolner, Peoria; Mr. Joseph Ullman, Appleton, Wis;Mr. Leon Schlossman, Judge E. C. Hamburger, Mr. Henry May and Mr. Morris Livingston, Chicago.An Eloquent Tribute.Mr. Sigmund Livingston, who spoke upon the subject of “ Abraham Lin coin Lodge,” paid an eloquent tribute to the man after whom the lodge was named, as follows:Mr. Toastmaster, Brothers of AbrahamLincoln Lodge and Friends:We are here to exchange congratulations on the anniversary of an event of great import to this Jewish community, one whose benificent influence is felt in every home, one that has prompted the Jewish heart to nobleet action and most sacred deeds.We are here to commemorate the birth of our local lodge of B’nai B’rith. Twenty-five years it has lived and yet how insignificant the duration of its existence when compared to its goodly deeds.Twenty-five years it has labored in its divine mission,ministering benevolence to those in need, weaving’a garland of brotherly love for those within its folds and sowing seedes of harmony ic the vineyards of humanity. It has now reached the quarter century turn its onward stride. We pause for a moment by the wayside to behold its past and scan the untold future. As look down the vista of its past, there arises before us a charming scene. Here around us we see the buds of its kindly deeds, ready to bloom tc fragrance at the kiss of the next morning’s sun. Further do we see the seeds of its benevolence grown to sprinkle the vestures of humanity with the fairest flowers, whose tint the angels of Heaven will gather and paint therewith the everlasting rainbow of brotherhood in the firmament of humnity.Further down, aye, this very day, twenty-five years ago, there we behold magnificent spectacle, whose lusterthese charter members was to name the child of their creation. Anxiously they delved into the records of nnte-deluvian times, unsparingly they searched the Bible to find a name that would do grace to the futuro of their new born brotherhood, and finally they looked about themselves, and hero ir. their midst they beheld a man whose very greatness bewildered those in his presence, one whoso character was so sublime and whose lifo si noble that he became the peer of America’s galaxy heroes.To emulate his character, ti follow his example, to battle in humanity’s cause, aye, to die if necessary, as he did, was the prompting of the inmost heart of this brotherhood, and therefore they gave it the name of Atueri -ca’s greatest aud most b iloved sin,‘ Abraham Lincoln. ”How noble and patriotic wore the founders of our lodge in paying this tribute to the memory of our country’s ideal hero. Oh, what heroic scones of America’s history are conjured up in this ono name.My friends, we are grateful that so many of the charter members are with us this evening, but thoy ate not all here. The roll call has been broken. Some have joined the greater brotherhood and the covenant of eternity. Their work however lives You who are here and you who have departed have built a temple of godly deods that will live until time shall be no more. The hours t.bat you have spent in Abraham Lincoln lodge will be among the greenest spots of memory’s dire waste. Oh, what a sweet joy it must be for you, you who rocked its cradlo, you who chanted its lullaby, you that grasped its bands in years of tender youth, to see Abraham Lincoln lodge at the age of 25 years, in the full growth of manhood, fulfilling your most sanguine hope.It is useless for me to mention all the accomplishments of Abraham Lincoln lodge. You who have seen it grow, you who have watched its progress day after day, year after year, know that its existence is not futile. Its very existence bespeaks that it has truly worked in its divine task. An organization that has no other bonds to unite its members than its work of benevolence, brotherly love and harmony, would long ere this have passed into oblivion, had it not truly labored in its allotted mission. Its minutes are the history of twenty-five years of true charity. Never was there a worthy appeal to Abraham Lincoln lodge for charity but that it received a favorable response. How many are those small acts of benevolence that were kept secret even from the recipient thereof. How tenderly has it administered acts of humanity in the homes of the destitute. How gently has it taken the quivering hand of the orphan at.d pressed it within its heaving bosom. How nobly has it lent the staff of support to the aged in the downward path of life. How graciously has it strewed the path of the widow’s grief with the flowers of sympathy. Aye, Abraham Lincoln lodge is consecrated to the cause of humanity.The domestic feature of our lodge is a charming attribute Within its hallowed walls there is supreme peace. Here men of different stations in life meet, but at the threshold of the lodge they are one—all Ben B’riths All are prompted with the same spirit, all ruled by the same law of conduct, all guided by the same principle. It is the spirit, the law and the principle of brotherhood.Aye, the inner life of Abraham Lincoln lodge is like true Messianic humanity, when all mankind shall venerate one God for the cause of one mankind.As we meot this evening in those festivities with every heart prompted by the joy that this anniversary brings, we do not only glory in the past of Abraham Lincoln lodge, but also vow for its future.1 speak for all the young men of the lodge when 1 premise to you, the pio neers, that if it is within human power, if by our earnest work and un tiring efforts we can keep the present standing of Abraham Lincoln lodge in the future, that it will be done. It shall be our earnest endeavors to keepname you bear, and may it be true of you, as it is of Abraham Lincoln—a child of America, but a ministering angel to all the world.I toast to Abraham Lincoln lodge, the child of America, a ministering angel to all the world.COUNCIL UNDER FIRE.shines through the still lapse of a quarter century, like the rays of the I unblemished its sacred standard, un-Alphean morning sun, we see there sullied its well deserved honor, gathered for the first time the fathers! Abraham Lincoln lodge to us i of our lodge. Men, staunch, noble and ! priceless heritage, one worthy of your humane, men that had tasted the bit-j parentage.ter9 of life, men that had left family With united love, with a sacred cirles and many a sacred tie in order , veneration and with an earnest prayer like the pilgrim fathers to seek a laud j inscribed upon the tablets of our of happier lot. They came to the hearts, for you and for your success, I haven of the persecuted, and here ! bid you, Abraham Lincoln lodge, to among many a hardship, amidst bitter ! your work for the future. Sail on in adversity, they one by one lighted the j the sea of humanity. The towering 8mbers of their hearth. As soon as billows and the weeping tempeBt will conditions afforded they assembled to j not daunt thee. You are imperieh-build an altar for the sacrifice of their able. Be mindful of your trust and earnest offering. They did not forget! guard well your shrines that are laden their prior afflictions. They recognized . with the dream and the hope of hu-that others were in distress, that manity. Carry to every strand that humanity needed their help They borders the sea of humanity the greatJm-k Connell Tells of His Part In th Operation*.At the trial of the alleged ora bozzling 0.AA. conductors in Springfield yesterday States Attorney Smith commenced at 10 o'clock to make hlfe opening address to the jury, lie said, in part, that Conductor Smith, one of the defendants on trial, instigated the embezzlement to Council. Smith, one day while Council was on the train, called attention to the fine farms along the railroad and inquired if he would not. like to own some of the Smith stated that he could own them and that there was no need of bis being poor. He did not unfold the plan at that time, but approached Council again and told him to seo if he punched the tickets as he collected them. To all appearances he had done so, but none had any punch marks. The tickets were to be sold, returned and sold over again, Council reporting one sale to the company and dividing on the other sales. Cook attempted to pass eight tickets to Thornton, but were lost at Atlanta. Council sent a man named Brice up to Atlanta to procure the tickets. Thornton made a request of Miss Carr and Mrs, Rowan, the ticket agents there, to say nothing about the matter. A man named Carr, however, had already written the company about the matter. Council left when the transaction was learned and received money and letters from Cook, Thornton and Smith, advising him to keep away.Attorney Snigg made the opening address for the defense. He said the men had committed no crime and that the prosecution was by the railroad company. The men, he said, bad always borne good reputations. They were accessories to Council by carrying the tickets for him, but did not know what for.Jack Council testified as to holding several conversations with Cook and Smith. They brought the matter before him and he then began to detail the sale of tickets.At this point the attorneys for the defendant objected to allowing this evidence to go before the jury. They argued that the indictment charged the defendants with embezzling money from the company, while the evidence thus produced showed that the defendants had embezzled only tickets. The court overruled the objection and Council continued his statements. In part be said:‘‘We entered into this scheme in November of 1894, and kept it up until about the last of May in 1996. 1saw the throe defendants nearly every day passing through the city on their runs. I sold the tickets through the window at the depot to the passengers.I did not stamp the tickets. When the conductors met up the road one would band the uncancelled tickets to the other and in that manner they would be returned to me the day they were issued. ”About how much money was tte company defrauded out of?” he was asked.‘‘Well,” he answered, ‘‘that is a bard matter to state. 1 kept account of the tickets sold and we generally settled up at the end of every month.did not keep account of all the money but I would say that it was about $3,300.”On what basis was the money divided?”‘‘I got half on each ticket sent back. ”‘‘What conductors got the money?” ‘‘Thornton, Smith and Cook.”‘‘Can you state how much each received’ ’“I cannot.”When Council was asked how the scheme was exposed he replied:Conductor Thornton went north on the Limited on May 30, 1890. He intended to hand a bunch of tickets to Conductor Cook at Atlanta but dropped them. When Cook reached Springfield he told me that Conductor Thornton had lost the tickets and advised me to get them back. I sent Bob Brice to Atlanta to get the tickets. Brice got the tickets and gave them to me. ”Council testified that after the general office had learned of the matter the defendants offered him $300 if he would not expose them. He said at that time he had been released from the company and was intending to go to Mexico. He met the conductors aud said they agreed to send him the money ta Davenport, Iowa. This plan was not carried out, he said, and he never got the money.Court then adjourned until 7:30 o’clock. Council again took the stand
Newspaper Details
Bloomington Leader
Bloomington, Illinois, US
Thu, Oct 28, 1897
Page 1
Full Page
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Anonymous
USA 06 Jun 2024
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