The Maccabee Picnic

The Knights of Maccabees held a picnic at VVhitmore Lake, yesterday. They were out in force, going by special train and with livery rigs from this city and assembling from the surrounding villages. About 1,500 people gathered around the speakers' stand after they had eaten their picnic lunches and listened to some good speeches. The K. O. T. M. cornet band of Brighton furnished the music. Dr. Swartz, oi Hamburg, presided and introduced the speakers in a pleasant manner. Ex-Representative Roland Connors, of Saginaw, was the first speaker, and possessed an excellent voice, a ready command of language and a teen sense of the ludicrous. His speech was liberally applauded. Governor Ball, of iiamburg, was next called upon, as he nearly always is when present n gatherings of this kind. The governor takes to speech making, an usual thing for a farmer, and makes a good speech. He did yesterday. Great Record Keeper Boynton, of 'ort Huron, the "father of the Maccabees," was the next speaker, the )ig gun of the occasion. His remarks were in a humorous vein. ie said he would rather talk to half a dozen women on the subject of the Vlaccabees than 500 men, because )efore tomorrow night all the good hings he would say would be known all over the neighborhood. When a woman hears a good thing, she goes and tellsit. When a man hears a good thing, it goes in one ear and out of the other, but when he hears a mean thing, he tells that. Women are the most interested parties in the order because they are the beneficiaries. He spoke of the reason women could not belong to the main )ranch of the Maccabees, resting it mainly in the initiatory services, which were not suited for them. 'hey were designed to interest men nd especially young men. It was esirable to get young men to join he organization and so keep down the average age and make the cost less. The average age of the Maccabees now was only 33 years. Last year there were only five assessments. The lodge and the church go hand in hand. These great organizations are the outgrowth of Christian civilization. The lodge room is no more secret than your own homes. The home is the most ancient secret organization in the world. The organizations like the Maccabees make better citizens, better husbands, better fathers. Mr. Boynton's speech contained many striking sentences such as "Did you ever see in any painting or any pic, ture book such a thing as a man angel? You never did, they are all women angels. What kind of an angel would I be, flying about with wings? Why, you would take me for a wasp." "What would I say to the ladies whose husbands won't join the Maccabees? I would say get a divorce. I would testify for you. And after you had got your divorce I would see that you got a real good Maccabee husband." "The man who joins the Maccabees is simply carrying out his pledge made in the marriage ceremony." He described his feelings in a battle, his knees trembling, and feeling a thousand angleworms crawling up his back, and said that that was the way he feit when he got married - real scared. When he married, he thought the girl he married was an angel - all men do. He hadn't found any wings yet. But he made certain promises. He would have promised anything to get that girl. If the minister had told him to jump into the river, he would have done it, to get that angel. These few extracts will give some idea of Mr. Boynton's speech. Miss Emma Bower, of this city, was then introduced to speak for the Lady Maccabees. She had been given no notice and so of course was not prepared. Her brief speech was a very pleasant one. In closing she referred to her candidacy for Great Record Keeper of the Ladies of the Maccabees and counseled patience in the little dissensions which had arisen in the ranks recently. While speaking was going on, the professional skill of Dr. Swartz, the presiding officer, was required. Charlie Moss, a twelve year old boy living at the lake, was leaning over the side of one of the target shooting arrangements, when a gun lying on the rack went off, the bullet tering his elbow and being extracted at the wrist. This was the only accident of the occasion. The usual hucksters found at the lake picnics were on hand. Everybody had a good time excepting the few fish who were pulled out of the lake by the Maccabee fishermen. In the evening dances were held at the hotels, commencing at seven o'clock, and the few who returned in the early evening found a number of young couple on their way to the lake. Maccabee picnics will probably be an annual feature.