Official Organ of The Sla conic Benevolent Order Of The State Ot Texas. Founded 189T.
itENEVOLEN
VOLUME 54
HUMANITY
E
NO. 32
BROTHERHOOD
Postmaster: Please Send Form 3579 with Undeliverable Copies to: SUPREME IA)DGE, SPJST, P. O. Box 100, TEMPLE, TEXAS
AUGUST 10, 1966
FROM THE EIMIL o FEE:: The Mountains Trembled, The Earth Shook . . . Tragic events in different sections of these United States have shaken the entire population from coast to coast. This nation has withstood tragedies before -- floods, hurricanes, fire, drought, and other harsh treatment at the hand of Nature. But mass murder, on the scale on which it was recently perpetuated, is not common, particularly in the circumstances under which they . were carried, out. One can readily understand gangland slayings and the like, but mass murder without apparent motive, is something that must cause every citizen to wonder if he is really safe and immune from such sudden extermination. Some pundits have even gone so far as to say that this was the beginning of the end for all of us, that the gods are angry with us all. Let's face it: if it were to happen thrice within a very short time, that prophecy might sound credible. First, Speck in Chicago, taking the lives of eight staident nurses, two of them of Czech-Slavic extraction, and now Charles Joseph Whitman in Austin, killing 15 people, including his wife and mother. If you count his own life and that of the unborn child in the womb of one of his victims, his escapade resulted in the death of 17 human lives. Incidentally, Whitman's wife's maiden name was Leisner, a native of Needville.
THINK IT OVER . . . "0 GOD, give us serenity to accept what cannot be changed; courage to change what should be changed; and wisdom to distinguish the one from the other." —Reinhold Niebuhr Finally, the editors of the Waco News-Tribune make the observation that "if there is any lesson to be learned out of this summer's series of mass tragedies it inust be that we know abSolutely nothing about the human mind." The past few days and weeks have indeed been tragic, stormy days, filled with sadness for many. The mountains indeed seem to tremble, the earth shake ... In the semi-annual meeting of the Supreme Lodge of the SPJST, Brother Ilejny suggested, and it was approved, that newly-organized lodges receive a sum of $100 from the Supreme Lodge, if they have a minimum of 20 members. This is a good idea. New lodges have a hard time getting that "first breath" when there is virtually nothing in the treasury, and this sum should go a long way toward alleviating some of that stress in the very early weeks of a new lodge's existence. This action applies to our most recently-organized lodge at Lake Jack-
son in District Five, Lodge No. 170. The money will be put to good use, and it will certainly bring returns to the entire Order.
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What District IV lacks in numbers and insurance sales, it certainly more than makes up in fraternal spirit, cooperation, and willingness to go out of their way to attend their district functions. Considering the tremendous distances the members had to travel, the attendance at the annual meeting, held recently in Wall, was good. And when you consider that a vast majority traveled as far as 200 miles, you cannot help but admire their willingness to support their youth and foster SPJST togetherness. For this they should be congratulated. The meeting next year will be hosted by Lodge 73, Seymour. (One solution to the distance-between-lodges problem in District IV would be the organization of more lodges in that section of the state). On the trip to Wall, we noticed that entire section, with some exceptions, suffering from a prolonged drought. Grass and rangelands are burned brown and dry from the hot Texas sun. Several good showers were encountered in the Eden, Vancourt, and Brady areas. These, however, were widely, scattered, but they cooled things off, and it was nice driving through them.