THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: SEPTEMBER 29, 1907.
Initiatory Ceremony at Ak-Sar-Ben Den Most Inspiring Performance
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abi ever oeen to me Den? What den, you
I sk, wny, is mere another denT
I I No. there is but one Den, Just one.
And i' you had ever been there on a Mon
day night between May and October you
would know it.
What la thia Den? Well, this Don 1. the com
rnercial, induatrlal and agricultural headquarters of
Nebraska, the tub of prosperity, home of the busi
ness makers of the state. In other words, this Den
Is the boosters' paradise or the forum of fun that'
begets results beyond the pale of "merely temporary
laughter and frolic. This Den is the center from
which radiate lines of friendship, sociability, union
nd enterprise to a circumference that surrounds the
,iiterest and welfare of Nebraska, carrying to tho
boundary of the state one purpose, one plan, one
thought the upbuiTdlne of her interests.
The Den, friends, 1b the official home of Ak-Sar-F.en
and Ak-Sar-Ben is the king of Qulvera and
Qulrera 1 the richest realm of the universe, because
Qulvera la Nebraska.
At this Den every Monday night from May until
the middle of September demonstrations In honor of
the king, with an eye single to his glory and pros
perity, are held. These demonstrations are under
the general supervision of the initiation team. It Is
to the arduous toil of this team Vhat much of the
ultimate good accomplished by Ak-Sar-Ben Is due.
This team la made up of substantial and successful
men, men who know how to make anything go and
yet they are "good fellows," that Is, they are the
official jolliers of the king.
Ak-Sar-Ben means booster. Every nan who b-
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OHAVFTARD WHWRH AK-PAR-BEN'3 TROTJBLKS ARE PLANTTD DEEP BATlTiEFIELD IN BACKWHOUNW.
Sar-Ben has flouilBhed and Nebraska has prospered.
And through the medium of this siiendld institution
the resources of the ttate have been developed beyond
the fondest anticipation of the mot ardent advocates
In the beginning. The name of Ak-Sar-Ben and Ne
braska are known in remote places and in notable
places where, had it not been for thene very cere
monies at the Den, they would not have been known.
But back to the Initiation.
Travelers crossing the weary wastes of a desert
look and long for that one spot where they may at
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Ion 1 1 to this organlatlon must boost; he cannot knock.
But It Is natural, for the ordinary, man, .In his
original state to knock, hence It is necessary that
be should' undergo a certain process of treatment be
fore he can be safely relied upon as a real booster
or a thorough subject of Ak-Sar-Ben. With this
thought In mind the founders of this great dynasty
conceived In the beginning the necessity of some form
of initiation for every man who should be entrusted
with the solemn secrets of this order. Therefore, a
systematic form of Initiation was conjured up. That
Initiation la based upon the fundamental principles
of virtue, love, enterprise, benevolence and progress.
Its oaths have been administered to men of all sec
tions of this country as well as to men of other coun
tries. Subjects of other kings have subscribed to the
tenets of Ak-Sar-Ben 's faith; citizens of republics,
peoples of monarchies, of kingdoms, of dependent
provinces have passed through this crucible red hot
and .com out sizzling with the enthusiasm of Ak-Sar-Ben.
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Stop and think I It Is fit for serious reflection.
All jest aside, is there another single agency, factor
or Influence that has been spent or is being exercised
of as far-reaching, Impressive and lasting power and
benefit for the promotion of Nebraska and its re
sources, for the spreading of Its name and fame, for
the upbuilding of lta enterprises, for the advertisement
Of Its people's alertness and progresslveness In short,
another one factor which makes as much for the good
of the state, at home and abroad, as this very Ak-Ear-Ben?
The answer is too obvious to bear repetition. That
answer Is reflected in every department of the com
mercial life of Omaha and the state. In each channel
of Industry. In every avenue of business. The agri
cultural, commercial ad industrial heart of Nebraska
beats fasterfand stronger because" thirteen years ago
a handful of enterprising business men In Omaha,
bent on promoting the Interests of their city and
state, launched this institution. The conception was
not tor a local affair and Ak-Sar-Ben has never been
bound by such narrow restrictions. It has never been
Intended by Omaha that it should be simply an Omaha
Concern, but the purpose was to make It a Nebraska
Institution and that purpose has been as rigidly car
ried out as it was possible to do. Founded upon
broad lines and maintained upon broader lines. Ak-
the initiation at the Dun is like, for she never went
through it. She couldn't. It's because of that and
not because Ak-Sar-Ben and his male followers have
an aversion for the dear, fair ones, that they are ex
cluded from the Den. They simply couldn't.
But what is the initiation? That's it, what is it?
Ymi'H never know until you take it. You can't know
ny other way, for it is too. wonderful to be told in
words. But if you ever take it you'll know and you'll
never forget. It's the most Intricate and -complex
initiatory ceremony extant. Some ancient orders
have been known to practice more complicated forms,
but these have ceased to exist. Of the secret organ
izations now in existence none approaches in its Initia
tion the ordeal through which a man must pass to
reach the knighthood of Ak-Sar-Ben. And yet never
a man has lost his life In the treadmill of this cere
mony. All have survived, some perhaps not In the
same physical condition in which they entered, but
survived nevertheless.
Candidates are admitted in bunches or herds.
Nothing Is done in tho abstract here, everything In the
concrete. For the purposes of administration it has
been found convenient to name the nights on which
the initiation ceremonies are held. For Instance, there
is bankers' night, wholesalers' night, retailers' night,
nd so on. And on one of these nights, while special
dispensation may be granted to permit the slaughter
of a few other victims, special right-of-way is given
to men of the calling whose night it is. Towns also
have their nights; Fremont, Columbus. Grand Island
aud so on.
Victims "are admitted to the Den by the doors on
the south. They are hemmed in by outer guards to
the king, who march them through a dark, narrow
down and rest after the long, tedioua Journey has all defile, one by one, until they finally reach the interior
but exhausted them an "oasis In the desert." All of the court. There they are surrounded ty a dl
travelers, of all stations In life, here find common vision of the Roman army. Before them exalted
comforts. The high and low alike obtain surcease stands the centurion and to one side the lictors ulta
of strenuous toll and travel and alike drink the their fasces at hand. And here Is where the situation
draught of refreshment and vigor that shall rest them begins to get ominous. The lictors, gazing with fixed
from the old journey and Invigorate them for the eyes as big as saucers down upon their prey, slowly
new- ' draw from their fasces their axes and tossing the bun-
The initiation at the Den every Monday night is die aside, seize the axes with both hands, each man
actors these and those from other high spheres of of a cannon, dropped from the apex of the vast boild
llfe. have run the gauntlet. And they have all come Ing, suspended by the toes while frisky goats played
out yelling and boosting for Ak-Sar-Beu. It is this foot ball with the head these and other similar ex
fact that King Ak-Sar-Ben is no respecter of persons, perlences havo been endured and in each and every
that to him the low is as high as the high and the case the victim has come out more than alive. This,
high no higher than the low, that makes him the It is confidently believed, is one of the chief reasons
most popular king who ever swayed a scepter o'er a why the humane authorities have never sought to in
realm. There Is but one exception made to this de- terfero with the ceremonies accompanying the making
mocracy of spirit and that Is in the case of women, of an Ak-Sar-Ben knight.
No woman ever yet has been admitted to the inner This has been a great season at the Den. Other
courts of the king s palace, not even his consort, the seasons have seen more eminent men there and yet
queen. Not a Woman knows Of her own mind What Ihla one ha wltneuMfl rna nnrtv nt nntlcmcit hn..
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fame is today surpassing In Its Interest. That is the
Omaha base ball team, Western league champions
for 1908. Who could be more famous? It has just
come to be generally admitted that the reason they
won the. pennant was the fact that these boB were
thorough knights of Ak-Sar-Ben. Barney Oldfleld,
the great auto dare-devil, Is another exceedingly emi
nent character who has been able to do great things
Having successfully passed the primary stages of
the initiation, the recruits are ushered Into scene
more Inviting. Behold, they stand before the king s
counsel, there in solemn words, to hear the messaa
of his mujvbtyl This a scene of surpassing grandeur
and lmpofclug dignity. Kobed lu all the habllinunw ot
royalty, except the purple and the ermine, which only
the king can wear, comes the counsel. You soe hliu
back through a vista ot beautiful drapery, step, as It
were, from a throne-scat; slowly and with measured
tread, he advances his menials at his side until now
you cau see him clearly enough to distinguish his
features. It is a stately figure, a face ot rare ex
pression; every feature seeming to denote -some high
purpose, some lofty Ideal. The man is large, well pro-'
portioned; his mien is that of a true knight and lie
speaks with a voice deep, rich and resonant. Now
he stands In your presence, you In his. He Is a superb
specimen of the physical and intellectual. In his hands
he holds a scroll. He speaks; his words, like the words
of a prophet, seize you and make an Impression which
you never forget. As he delivers to you his counsels
you wonder at the wisdom of the man and wish that
you, too, might be a counsel of the great king, Ak-Sar-Ben.
(Soft pedal.)
It should be stated, by way of parenthesis, that
during the midnight watches ot these few moments
of ecstacy, the lights are turned low and the birds '
sing but softly, the murmuring brook murmurs even
more low and everything Is attuned to tho all-pervading
solemnity of this somber scene.
The counsel presents his admonitions, or the ad
monitions of his majesty, In a voice of lhu articula
tion and a basso profundo whisper until he reaches '
that point when the deeds of the dead years, entombed
before you, are to be unfolded. Then he lifts his voice
and pours forth his words In such volume that you
seem to feel his climaxes burst Into veritable showers
of water upon you. Indeed, this belief lays hold of
you with such consuming force that you are driven
to believe you can actually see the silvery threads ot
pure watsr falling about you and feel the pitter-patter
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SIGNAL SERGEANT KENNEDY CONCLUDES HIS LEOTTJRT5.
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MEMBERS OF THE "CAST" OF THE AK-SAR-BEN SHOW.
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because he Is a knight. Commercial travelers and
business men from everywhere have been there, and
today ascribe all they are or have to the Initiation
Into Ak-Sar-Ben knighthood. J. Adam Bede, con
gressman from the Elehth Minnesota district, "the
the oasis In the desert ot strenuous business activity advancing to a victlnKagainst whos cold and clammy humorist of congress." as he is known the coun
try over, is a knight of the last season. Not so
many weeks ago Mr. Bede was at the Den, where
he convulsed a large crowd with his irresistible humor,
end he told friends after the occasion that, In all
seriousness, he had never known anything ot the
kind to equal It. Governor Sheldon, .Lieutenant Gov
ernor Hopewell, all the other state officers, Judges
of various courts In the state, educators, ministers
and others of similar callings and prominence are en
thusiastic knights and have been at the Den more
than once during this season.
Perhaps in no place and. no time does this intense
spirit of democracy, the permeating, underlying, vital
izing force of the whole Institution, so conspicuously
assert Itself as at the bivouac. Here is where the
banker and baker knock elbows, the broker and the
butcher bump backs, the capitalist and the carpenter
lock legs, or the preacher and the person who doesn't
go to church, mix up. Here,- In fact, Is the hopper Into
which all the raw material from which knights of Ak-Sar-Ben
are produced, is dumped. In one inter
mingled, indiscriminate mass the hetrogeneous ele
ments are thrown and must mix the best they can
until they are poured out through the chute after hav
ing undergone the same process, a homogeneous for
mation. As soldiers of one army, marching to one tune
and under one banner, so these soldiers of peace, with
one mind and one aim, assume a common taBk when
NEW RECRUITS TAKING OATH 07 ALLEGIANCE
in the life of Ak-Sar-Ben members. This Is the one
time when grave cares give way to fickle pleasure,
when serious thought surrenders to comedy and the
mind that conceives and executes great things is re
lieved of Its burden and filled with fun. It's the best
elixir for tired brains and weary bodies.
But aside from this feature the initiation pos
sesses another aspect which makes It especially at
' tractive. It is a concrete democracy of torture. No
man, no matter what his station In life may be, is
exempt from its ceremonies once he has set foot on
the threshold of the Den. Governors, senators, con
gressmen, bankers, ministers, distinguished travelers.
neck he lays his glistening weapon. But not a man
Is decapitated; all are finally released from this first
bondage, but only to fall Into worse hands.
The bunch is bivouacked on the floor In front ot the
spectators and beneath the platform, where the ma- they have come out of the tent of Ak-Sar-Ben Into the
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bUEASURINa RECRUIT FOB HIS J3KAB3 BUTTONBL
chines of torture await their victims. Here in this
lowly posture may sit the governor of the state, or
a congressman, or a minister, or a banker, or anyone
else, holding his hands over his knees and gazing
In pitiful wonder up at his assailants wholly ignorant
of the nature of his impending doom.
Truly here Is real democracy personified. The
governor of a state may be bumping backs with an
bumble wage-earner, or a national statesman of re
nown may be lolling around with his poorest con
stituent. It is a federation and association of the
great and the small, the rich and the poor, the old
and young, but all, all subjects cf the king, Ak-Sar-Ben.
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From this dejected looking throng are selected
those victims who are to be put through the ordeal.
The recruiting officer Is the chief functionary In this'
procedure. The victims are led by the officer of the
guards and the officer of escort before the colonel
of the cavalry, where they undergo a rigid examina
tion as to their moral standing, their physical and
financial ability and their mental condition prior to
being launched upon the uncertain gamut of Initiation
proper. Should they attempt to deceive the colonel
of the cavalry In any point of Information touching
themselves It will be Instantly detected by the ad
jutant general or some other dignitary equally as
sagacious. This officer will transmit the discovery to
the signal sergeant in his tower nearby and the signal
sergeant will open up wireless telegraph communica
tion with the sentinels or gate keepers to call on (Ten
' eral Gazooks for reinforcements calculated to filch
from the victim the truth and punish him for pre
varicating. As already asserted no man ever has lost his life
la the process ot thia Initiation. Ehot from tho muilt
broad field of business competition. No man has ever
been known to turn back. Once a knight, always a
knight, Is not spoken in jest. It .s an aphorism of as
true application as when first uttered by the great au
thor. x
upon your pate. Tou look around you to see what
your next neighbor thinks he seems to feel and see
and you behold him so absolutely lost In the same
conviction which has seized you that he Is positively
wiping his brow, In the vain certainty that he Is being
bathed in the nectar of the gods.
"Abash," you say; "fie on these mocking men, who
would fain accuse a king or his knight. What, ho,
must Ak-Sar-Ben or his exalted counsel be profaned
in this wise; that they or either of them would thus
violate the sanctity of a scene so solemn? 'Tls not
water, sure, you say say." ,
Perchance thou shalt glance e'en to thy next, next
neighbor. Him you see mopping his head and brow
and turning up bis coat collar.
'Tis but coarse Jesting these culprits do," you say.
"I am here; I have a head, a brow. Can I not feel?"
But you do your neighbor wrong. He, no more than
you, believes he la getting soaked; he's just turning
up his coat collar and mopping himself off because,
like you, he Is spellbound with the prodigious elo
quence flowing like sylvan waters from the fountain
of this man's mouth.
And when you wake up :
But you never wake up. You live over and over
and over again this sweet, happy dream, this delirium
of joy and you know then, for the first time, the full
meaning of knighthood in the court of Ak-Sar-Ben. It
all bursts in upon you like an avalanche down a moun
tain side Into the door of the old miner's cabin and
you realize then, as you could not before, that "It Is
good for me to have been here."
No wonder Ak-Sar-Ben succeeds, no wonder the
kingdom of Qulvera flourishes, no wonder great crops
and great crops only, have blessed the subjects of this
realm for thirteen long years!
This Is the ceremony performed to make you a
knight; this Is the crucible through which you pass
that burns off the barnacles and makes you a booster.
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.QUARTET AND USliD WHO FURNISHED THE MXSIO AT TBS DEN.