The Jericho Road | Page 2

were
seditious. The name was changed from the Patriotic Order to that of the
Union Order of Odd-Fellows. In Manchester, England, in 1813, some
of the lodges seceded from the order, and formed the Independent
Order of Odd-Fellows.
The order's first appearance in America was in 1819. The purposes of
the order were so changed by the founders here, that it is said to be
almost purely an American organization. It was based on the
Manchester Unity, which was really the parent institution. In 1842, this
country severed its connection with that of England.
Lodges connected with either those of England or America are
established in all parts of the world. The real estate held by the
organization exceeds in value $20,000,000, and there is scarcely a town
in the country that has not its Odd-Fellows Building. The total revenue
of the order is nearly $10,000,000 per annum. Yearly relief amounts to
nearly $4,000,000 a year.

THE JERICHO ROAD
"A traveler passed down the Jericho road, He carried of cash a pretty
fair load (The savings of many a toilsome day), On his Jericho home a
mortgage to pay.
"At a turn of the road, in a lonely place, Two villainous men met him
face to face. 'Hands up!' they cried, and they beat him sore, Then off to
the desert his money they bore.
"Soon a priest came by who had a fold; He sheared his sheep of silver
and gold. He saw the man lie bruised and bare, But he passed on by to
his place of prayer.
"Then a Levite, temple bound, drew nigh; He saw the man, but let him
lie, And clad in silk, and filled with pride, He passed him by on the
other side.
"Next on the way a Samaritan came (To priest and Levite a hated
name); The wounded man he would not pass, He tenderly placed him
on his ass.
"He took him to an inn hard by; He dressed his wounds and bathed his
eye; He paid the landlord his full score; If more was needed would pay

him more.
"Ah! many travel the Jericho way, And many are robbed and beaten
each day; And many there be on the way in need, Whom Priest or
Levite never heed; And who to fate would yield, alas! If some
Samaritan did not pass."

THE OBJECTS AND PURPOSES OF ODD-FELLOWSHIP
We are taught that "God hath made of one blood all nations of men to
dwell on the face of the earth," and when we say mutual relief and
assistance is a leading office in our affiliation, and that Odd-Fellowship
is systematically endeavoring to improve and elevate the character of
man, to imbue him with a proper conception of his capabilities for good,
to enlighten his mind, to enlarge the sphere of his affections and to
redeem him from the thralldom of ignorance and prejudice, and teach
him to recognize the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men,
we have epitomized the objects, purposes and basic principles of our
order. Odd-Fellowship is broad and comprehensive. It is founded upon
that eternal principle which teaches that all the world is one family and
all mankind are brothers. Unheralded and unsung, it was born and went
forth, a breath of love, a sweet song that has filled thousands of hearts
with joy and gladness. To the rich and the poor, the old and the young,
at all times, comes the rich, sweet melody of this song of humanity to
comfort and to cheer. For eighty years the light of Odd-Fellowship has
burned before the world, a beacon to the lost, a comfort to the wanderer
and a protection to the thoughtless. Eighty years of work for humanity's
sake; eighty years devoted to teaching men to love mankind; eighty
years of earnest labor, consecrated by friendship, cemented with love
and beautified by truth. In ancient times men sought glory and renown
in gladiatorial combat, though the victor's laurel was wet with human
blood. In modern times men seek the plaudits of the world by
achievements for human good, and by striving to elevate and ennoble
men. Looking back through nineteen centuries we behold a cross, and
on it the crucified Christ, with nail-pierced hands, and wounded,
bleeding side, but whose heart was so full of love and pity that even in
His dying agonies He had compassion upon His persecutors, and cried
out, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
That event was the dividing line between the ancient and the modern

era; between the rule of "brute force" and the "mild dominion of love
and charity." The mission of Odd-Fellowship, like that of the lowly
Nazarene, is to replace the rule of might with the gentle influence of
love, and