The Strange Impostor of the Secret Societies
A concerned member of a legitimate Victoria-based lodge warns Seattle that a grifter is posing as an I.O.O.F. organizer to swindle local recruits.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
VICTORIA, B. C., Feb. 2, 1893. To the Editor: In your city there are no doubt many people who are interested in the various secret friendly societies in existence on this continent, and, as a member of the Massachusetts district of I.O.O.F., Manchester Unity, I desire to point out that great care should be exercised by intending members of new lodges of Odd Fellows. This caution is needed because an individual has been recently busy, and no doubt is now engaged, in attempting to organize lodges of Odd Fellows in various towns in Washington. He represents himself as an authorized organizer of the I.O.O.F. This is a direct misrepresentation. What he does is to work under this cloak until he gets a few men to join. He collects some money from them, and then tells them that they will get a charter from the Canadian Order of Odd Fellows, which represents being a branch of the I.O.O.F. It is, however, nothing of the kind. The Canadian order has no connection in any shape or form with the Manchester Unity. The whole affair is a gross misrepresentation. Of course, if our citizens desire to form a lodge of the Canadian order, let them do so, but let them do it with their eyes open. The Canadian order is a very small affair, and could not scrape up $10,000 to save its very existence. But why should the Canadian order be allowed a footing in Washington? The I.O.O.F. (Manchester Unity) and the I.O.O.F. (Baltimore Unity) surely fill all the requirements, without resorting to a one-horse Canadian affair. Yours truly, E. MORE.
“What he does is to work under this cloak until he gets a few men to join. He collects some money from them, and then tells them that they will get a charter... It is, however, nothing of the kind.”
Early Seattle was a hub for fraternal orders, which provided essential safety nets for workers in an era before state welfare. Today's gig economy and 'community-building' apps have replaced those formal lodges, yet the recurring theme of someone using the 'promise of belonging' to orchestrate a financial scam remains a modern headache.
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