The Builder Magazine

March 1918 - Volume IV - Number 3

 

FREEMASONS IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

BY BRO. CHARLES S. LOBINGIER, 33d HON., DEPUTY FOR CHINA

BROTHER J.E. Morcombe in a series of scholarly papers once declared (1) that after "a very serious course of historical reading extending through several months and covering (the?) period of the last three centuries" he was regretfully forced" to reject "as mainly mythical the alleged participation of American Masonic Lodges, as such, in affairs of the Revolution."

 

A statement like this, coming from such a diligent and distinguished Masonic student, deserves consideration and analysis. If correct it destroys many cherished beliefs; if incorrect it ought, in justice to the craft, past and present, to be so declared.

 

My own investigations have led me to a somewhat different conclusion. And while I am not prepared to say that the direct "participation of American Lodges" in our struggle for nationality was extensive, still I cannot but feel that their indirect assistance was great and their actual participation at certain stages determining. I will, therefore, state the results of my survey (2) of this field in language employed when it was first completed and, that my readers may themselves be enabled to judge of the soundness of my conclusions, I will, for each important statement, cite my authority.

 

At the outbreak of the Revolution Masonic lodges in America were few and feeble. The oldest of them had existed less than half a century (3) and the membership was exceedingly small (4). But what was lacking in members was more than supplied in quality. The Freemasons of that period included the flower of colonial citizenship and their very fewness was a source of strength. In a small lodge all could know and trust each other; all felt the need of absolute secrecy in deliberation--of solidarity in action. Hence it is not strange that some of these colonial lodges became the centers of revolutionary propaganda (5).

 

ST. ANDREW'S LODGE

 

Foremost among these was the Lodge of St. Andrew at Boston. Founded in 1756 and chartered by the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1760, it began its career independent of English influence and just in time to share in the opening scenes of the war for independence. Joseph Warren was its Master, Paul Revere one of its early initiates and secretaries and later its Master, and on its rolls were the names of John Hancock, and James Otis and many others who are now recognized as the leading characters of that eventful epoch. And almost every important movement in the patriotic cause in Boston, preceding and precipitating the Revolution, may be traced back directly or indirectly to St. Andrew's Lodge.

 

The famous "Sons of Liberty," organized in 1765 to resist the enforcement of the Stamp Act, were but an offshoot of this Lodge, and was also the "North End Caucus" (6) to which was committed the execution of some of the most daring plans of the patriots. Both of these organizations met at the Green Dragon Tavern which was owned and occupied by St. Andrew's Lodge, and the members of the latter were leaders in the former. It was at this tavern that the historic Boston Tea Party was planned by Warren, Revere and other members of St. Andrew's (7). The records of the lodge disclose that on the evening after the tea-laden ships arrived in Boston Harbor there was an adjournment on account of small attendance and the secretary adds the significant note that "consignees of tea took the brethren's time." The minutes of December 16, 1773, the date of the tea party, show that the lodge was again adjourned until the next evening (8). Its members were among that band of enthusiasts who had boarded the ships and were rapidly heaving the obnoxious tea into the waters of Boston Harbor.

 

In the stirling days which followed it was Paul Revere of St. Andrew's Lodge who earned the title of "The Patriotic Mercury" or "The Messenger of the Revolution." Thousands of miles he rode on horseback, spreading the news of the destruction of the tea, bearing despatches to other colonies, to New York and Philadelphia, to Provincial and Continental Congresses (9). And on that memorable night before the battle of Lexington it was by order of the Master of St. Andrew's, Joseph Warren, that Bro. Paul Revere set out upon his famous ride to Concord to warn his countrymen of the foe's approach--a ride which has been immortalized by the magic pen of Longfellow who tells us that

 

"Through all our history to the last  In the hour of darkness and peril and need  The people will waken and listen to hear  The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed  And the midnight message of Paul Revere."

 

And when at last the storm, which for years had been gathering, burst in all its fury, it was St. Andrew's Lodge which furnished the first great martyr to American liberty. Joseph Warren, Major General in the Continental Army, fell at Bunker Hill; and thus the lodge which had almost initiated the war gave up its Master in the battle which determined forever the supremacy of the American arms in Massachusetts. No other organization, civic or military, of its numbers, can be compared to St. Andrew's Lodge in the extent of its contributions to the American cause. The title "Cradle of Liberty," which has been applied to Faneuil Hall, rightfully belongs to the Green Dragon Tavern where gathered that little band of Masons who precipitated the American Revolution.

 

THE OTHER PATRIOTIC LODGES

 

But there were other lodges which rendered valuable services in the war for independence. St. John's Provincial Grand Lodge at Boston, the older rival of St. Andrew's, furnished, in the person of its Deputy Grand Master Ridley, the engineer who planned the American fortifications at Bunker Hill (10). St. George's Lodge at Schnectady, N. Y., where many Revolutionary officers were made Masons, honored itself and the order by appropriating lodge funds for the support of the families of its members who had been taken prisoners (11).

 

The intimate connection between Masonry and the patriotic movements is also shown by the growth of the order at this time. Master's Lodge alone, at Albany, received eighty-three new members during the historic year 1776 (12).

 

MILITARY LODGES

 

But the most important service, after the Revolution was fairly launched, was rendered by the lodges formed in the Continental Army. There were ten of these (13), they were scattered among the camps from Massachusetts to North Carolina, and their growth was fostered and encouraged by the Commander-in-Chief. Washington himself attended their communications frequently--now as a visitor, meeting soldier brethren on the level (14) and now as Master sitting in the Oriental chair and bringing a candidate to Masonic light (15). It was in one of these lodges--American Union at Morristown, N. J.--that Lafayette is believed to have received his degrees  (16). Lodge meetings were sometimes held in officers' tents (17) and sometimes, as in the case of the army encamped on the Hudson, in a permanent building specially erected for that purpose (18). And so active were these military Masons that a movement was started and several conventions held at Morristown with a view of establishing an American General Grand Lodge and making Washington Grand Master of the United States (19).

 

It is difficult to overestimate the strategic value of these army lodges. In the first place they promoted fellowship and solidarity in the ranks and sympathy between officers and men. In an army where the humblest private might sit in lodge on a level with the Commander-in-Chief there arose a spirit of self-sacrifice, mutual helpfulness and devotion--an esprit du corps--which no hireling soldiery could have. Where the distinctions or rank were lost in the ties of brotherhood, even the sufferings of that terrible winter at Valley Forge might be made endurable.

 

Again, the prevalence of Masonry in the patriotic army insured secrecy in the plans of campaign and fidelity in their execution. Councils of war it is said, were frequently held in the lodge room where their deliberations were under the double seal of Masonry and patriotism. Generals could entrust their dispatches to couriers who were brother Masons and feel certain that nothing would be divulged. Thus our eighteenth century brethren formed the strong arm of the Continental service. It is claimed that nearly every American general was a Mason (20); certainly the leading ones were. Even the allies, Lafayette, the Frenchman, and Steuben (21) and Dekalb, the Germans, were members of the order. John Paul Jones, the founder of our navy, is known to have petitioned St. Bernard's Lodge at Kirkcudbright, Scotland, and probably was a member of it (22). Had the Freemasons been withdrawn from the Continental forces the Revolution must have been a dismal failure.

 

OUR BRETHREN OF THE OPPOSING FORCES

 

But we must never forget that not all Freemasons of the Revolution were enrolled in the patriotic ranks-- that they were numerous in the opposing army as well. Peter Ross, the historian of the Grand Lodge of New York, records as operating during the war in that state more than thirty British military lodges (22a). And to the fact that Masons were actively engaged on both sides is due some of the most gratifying incidents of the war. It has been said that the fairest flowers are those that bloom over the wall of party; but how much more must be said of those that bloom amid the strife of armies.

 

Early in the war an event occurred that proved the strength of the Masonic tie. At the battle of the Cedars near Montreal, Col. John McKinstry, a Freemason, was captured by a band of Indians, allies of the British, whose chief was the celebrated Joseph Brand, also a Mason. In accordance with savage custom the prisoner was bound to a stake, fagots were piled around him, and the torch was about to be applied, when he gave to Chief Brand the sign which Masons know the world around--the grand hailing sign of distress. Indian though he was, the chief recognized the sign and ordered the torture to cease, and he and his captive became fast friends for the rest of their lives (23).

 

Again, in 1779, Joseph Burnam, a Mason who was held by the British as a prisoner of war in New York City, escaped and sought shelter in the Green Bay Tree Tavern, kept by another Mason named Hopkins. This tavern served as a meeting place for St. John's Lodge, which was composed mostly of British officers. The fugitive was secreted in the tavern garret which was just above the lodge room, and while he was reclining at night on the planks which formed the garret floor these gave way and precipitated the unfortunate guest into the center of the lodge in the very midst of its deliberations. The landlord, who was also the Tiler, was called upon for an explanation, and he, like a good Mason, made a clean breast of the whole affair. Whereupon the members of the lodge took up a contribution for the fugitive brother and, though his enemy in war, assisted him to reach the American lines across the Hudson River (24).

 

Another instance of Masonic magnanimity occurred when the brave Baron DeKalb, our German ally, was slain at the battle of Camden in 1780. Although he had crossed the Atlantic to take part in a quarrel that was not his, against the British, he was buried by them with both Masonic and military honors (25).

 

But perhaps the most significant illustration of the effect of Masonry on the war was the action taken by the Grand Lodge of Scotland. It is well known that the war was unpopular in many parts of Great Britain; but some of the subordinate Scottish Lodges, urged perhaps by government officials, had offered bounties for recruits to the army. When the Grand Lodge met it condemned this practice in unmistakable terms and in its instructions declared: "Masonry is an order of peace and it looks on all mankind to be at peace or at war with each other as subjects of contending countries." (26)

 

RECIPROCITY IN THE AMERICAN ARMY

 

These are illustrations which, thanks to Masonic teaching, reveal the foe in a better light than some are wont to think of him. Let us notice some expressions of the same spirit on the American side.

 

At the battle of Princeton, 1776, Captain William Leslie, a Mason and son of the Earl of Leven, of the British Army, received a severe wound. He was taken in charge by Dr. Benjamin Rush, the celebrated surgeon who was then on Gen. Washington's staff, but was found to be "past all surgery." He was also buried with Masonic and military honors and this fact was announced by Col. Fitzgerald, Gen. Washington's aide, who entered the British Camp for that purpose under a flag of truce. Later Dr. Rush erected a monument, which may still be seen, at Brothel Leslie's grave "as a mark of esteem for his worth and respect for his noble family (27)."

 

Lodge Unity was a military lodge in the 17th foot of the British army. In 1779, while the regiment was engaged in a skirmish, the constitution and jewels of the lodge were lost, but were returned to it by Col. Parsons of the American Union Lodge in the opposing army, with a letter reciting that:

 

"As Masons we are disarmed of that resentment which stimulates to undistinguished desolation; and however our political sentiments may impel us in the public dispute, we are still brethren, and (our professional duty apart) ought to promote the happiness and advance the weal of each other." (25)

 

An even more striking instance occurred when the Masonic chest of the 46th British infantry was captured by the Americans. Upon hearing of it, Gen. Washington ordered the chest and other articles of value returned to the owners accompanied by a guard of honor (29). The London Freemason's Magazine, commenting on the circumstances, from an English standpoint, says:

 

"The surprise, the feelings of both officers and men may be imagined when they perceived the flag of truce that announced this elegant compliment from their noble opponent but still more noble brother. The guard of honor, their flutes playing a sacred march, the chest containing the constitution and implements of the craft borne aloft like another Ark of the Covenant, equally by Englishmen and Americans, who, lately engaged in the strife of war, now marched through the enfiladed ranks of the gallant regiment, that, with presented arms and colors, hailed the glorious act by cheers which the sentiment rendered sacred as the hallelujahs of an angel's song."

 

Thus, above the storm and stress of armed strife. the soothing spirit of Masonic fellowship brooded like a bird of calm. If Masons precipitated and promoted the struggle they likewise mitigated its horrors and made possible the disclosure of the noblest traits in both American and Briton. It is the proudest heritage of Revolutionary Masons on both sides that the fraternal tie was one which not even the shock of arms could sever, and that amid the fiercest passions engendered by war they never quite forgot they were brethren. The record of this forms the fairest, brightest page in the history of the Revolution.

 

IN THE COUNCILS OF STATE

 

When we turn from scenes of carnage to the more peaceful haunts of diplomat and statesman, during the Revolution, we find Freemasons there active and influential. It is a notable fact that the earliest suggestion of a Federal Union of the American colonies came from the first American Grand Master, Daniel Coxe, who in 1730 received a deputation as Provincial Grand Master, made this suggestion in a work published as early as 1716, (30) and may therefore properly be called the first Federalist. It was this idea, adopted later and advocated by another eminent Mason and Provincial Grand Master, Benjamin Franklin, that grew into the union established by the constitution framed two generations later. The Declaration of Independence, it has been declared, (31) was the work of a Mason and many of the signers of that instrument are believed to have been members of our order (32). Freemasons were foremost in the Philadelphia Convention that framed the Federal Constitution and thus completed the work of the war. Besides Washington, the President, and Franklin, the Nestor, of that body, Hamilton, the genius of the Convention, was a Mason (33).

 

AT THE COURTS OF EUROPE

 

But after all it may be that Masonry's most effective service to the American cause was rendered not at home but abroad. We know that the aid of France was a powerful, if not indispensable factor in the outcome of the war and that the sympathy of other Continental powers was advantageous. But why should these haughty monarchists of Europe look with favor upon the struggling republic of the New World ? Why did they not turn the same deaf ear as recently to the Boer envoys? There seems to have been some mysterious influence which changed their once hostile attitude into one of friendship; and recent investigations have led to the belief that this influence was the Masonic order (34).

 

When Franklin, the Freemason, went to Paris to plead the American cause at the court of St. Germain, he naturally sought out the members of the fraternity. At the "Lodge of the Nine Muses," where he often attended, he met the intellect and statesmanship of the gay French capital, and it is believed that partly, at least, through these influences he was enabled to reach the ear of Louis XVI, to secure for us the French fleet and army, and thus to turn the tide of the war in favor of the American cause at its darkest hour. And thus the record of Masonic service in the Revolution is complete. There was no part of it in which Masons did not share and no important phase which would probably have succeeded but for them.

 

But we fail to grasp the full significance of this noble record if we see in it only a source of pride and gratification. It is all this but much more; for every page imposes duty, obligation, responsibility. If it be true, as the record seems to teach, that American nationality was largely brought about by Masons, and that to this end the best energies of the craft were devoted in the trying times of the Revolution; if our predecessors gave "their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor" to start the republic on its glorious career, surely we can best prove true to the traditions of American Masonry by continuing the work which they began. Our advantages, if not our opportunities, are greater than theirs. The feeble fraternity of that day has become a powerful order now--from a few thousands it has grown to nearly two millions, carefully selected from the ranks of American citizenship. Its representatives are found in every official station (35) from Presidents (36) down. What possibilities for good government and high political ideals do these facts express; what a mighty leverage for civic progress and reform ! And this is the highest lesson taught us as a craft by Freemasons of the American Revolution: To place patriotism above partisanship, to preserve and extend the free institutions of the republic, to maintain the honor and dignity of the nation at home and abroad, and thus to realize the lofty ideals of our eighteenth century brethren, bequeathing them as a priceless heritage to generations yet unborn.

 

REFERENCES:

 

(1) Record of Intolerance, 21 Am. Tyler-Keystone 549. See a reply in Vol. 22 of the same periodical, page 113.

 

(2) Undertaken while preparing an address as Grand Orator before the Grand Lodge of Nebraska.

 

(3) The earliest American Lodge is claimed to have been St. John's at Philadelphia, formed about 1730. See Gould, History of Freemasonry, Vol. IV, p. 233, et seq.

 

(4) Bro. Ross, historian of the Grand Lodge, concludes (N. Y. Grand Lodge Proc. 1900) that there were not more than 250 members of New York Lodges during the Revolution.

 

(5) There seems every reason to admit what has been so often claimed by our historians, that the Masonic Lodges scattered throughout the country were as beacon lights of liberty, and that within our tiled doors the Revolution was fostered and strengthened." -- Ross, Historian of Grand Lodge, N. Y. Proceedings (1900), p. 315.

 

 (6) Goss, Life of Paul Revere, (1891), pp. 117, 121-2.

 

(7) Centennial Memorial of the Lodge of St. Andrew, and the Massachusetts Grand Lodge (1870).

 

(8) Goss, Life of Paul Revere, (1891), pp. 121-2; Gould, History of Freemasonry, Vol. IV, p. 347.

 

(9) Id. p. 118 et seq.

 

(10) Gould, History of Freemasonry, Vol. IV, p. 220.

 

(11) Ross, Historian of Grand Lodge, N. Y. Proceedings (1900) p. 313.

 

(12) Id. p. 315.

 

(13) Gould, History of Freemasonry, Vol. IV, pp. 222, 227.

 

(14) Ross, Historian of Grand Lodge, N. Y. Proc. (1900) pp. 298, 305; Hayden, Washington and His Masonic Compeers; Capt. G. P. Brown in American Tyler, Dec. 15, 1900; Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, p. 869.

 

(15) Ross, Historian of Grand Lodge, N. Y. Proc. (1900) p. 308.

 

(16) Gould, History of Freemasonry, Vol. IV, p. 224.

 

(17) Id.; Ross, Historian Grand Lodge, N. Y. Proc. (1900) p. 308.

 

(18) Capt. G. P. Brown in American Tyler. Dec. 15, 1900, says: "American Union Lodge was the banner lodge of the Continental Army. It had a very large membership, including several of Washington's foremost generals. In 1782, while the patriot host was encamped on the banks of the Hudson the attendance of that renowned lodge became so large that it was necessary to erect a building for its regular meetings. At a stated assembly of the lodge the question arose. General Washington was among the large number of visitors present and spoke at some length on the erection of a suitable building for Masonic purposes. And it was but a few days later when the noble-hearted commander-in-chief and eminent Freemason ordered the erection of a wooden structure. It was nearly sixty feet long and of the old style, one-story plan. It formed a complete oblong square. It had but one door, which was on the west end; its windows were fairly good size, square and over six feet from the ground, thus to keep off the cowan and eavesdropper which were so plenty in the Continental army at that time.* * * One of the many noted Masonic celebrations held within those sacred walls was the festival of Saint John the Baptist, June 24, A. L. 5782."

 

(19) Gould, Vol. IV, pp. 224-5; Ross, pp. 304-5; Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, p. 870.

 

(20) Gould, Vol. IV, p. 224. G. P. Brown, in the article last above quoted, gives the following list of those who participated in the celebrations there mentioned: "Generals Washington, Gist, Putnam, Hamilton, Jackson, Armstrong, Parsons, Heath, Thompson, Patterson, Clinton, Dayton, Greaton, Brooks, Huntington; Colonels Cilley, Gridley, Burbeck, Nixon, Bradford, Clarke, Parke, Gray, Johnston, Sherman; Captains Marshall, Brown, Hait, Coit, Redfield, Lacey, Chapman, Ten Eyck; Lieutenants Heart, Hosmor, Hobart, Buxton, Russell, Barker, Sherman, Curtis, Heath, Bush, Spear, Cleveland, Palmer and a host of petty officers and privates. General John Stark, the hero of Bennington, was a Mason, initiated, according to Brown, in St. John's Lodge, No. 1, Portsmouth, N. H.; according to Ross, in Master's Lodge, Albany, N. Y.

 

(21) Baron Steuben was a member of Trinity and an honorary member of Holland Lodge, both of New York. See N. Y. Grand Lodge Proc. (1900), p. 309.

 

(22) See American Tyler, Vol. 15, p. 478

 

(22a) See also Sachse, Old Masonic Lodges of Pennsylvania, 1730-1800, especially the chapter on Unity Lodge No. 18, A. Y. M., abstracted in the New Age, XXIV, 539.

 

(23) Stone, Life of Brant, (1838), Vol. I, pp. 18-33; Vol. II, p. 156; Gould, History of Freemasonry, Vol. IV, p. 221; Ross, N.Y. Grand Lodge Proc. (1900), 307.

 

(24) Ross, N. Y. Grand Lodge Proc. (1900), 302, giving an extract from the printed history of St. John's Lodge; Mitchell, History of Freemasonry (1817), p. 501.

 

(25) Gould, History of Freemasonry, Vol. IV, p. 222.

 

(26) Lyon, History of the Lodge of Edinburgh, p. 83; Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, p. 868.

 

(27) Sachse, Old Masonic Lodges of Pennsylvania, abstracted in New Age, XXIV, 539.

 

(28) Ross, 2, 98, 99. The letter is reprinted in the New Age (XXIV, 639), from Sachse, Old Masonic Lodges of Pennsylvania. This Lodge Unity appears to have received successive warrants from the Grand Lodges of Ireland, Scotland and Pennsylvania.

 

(29) Ross, 299, 300.

 

(30) The work was entitled "A Description of the English Province of Carolina." See Gould, History of Freemasonry, Vol. IV, pp. 231-2; Ross, N. Y. Grand Lodge Proc. (1900), pp. 295-6.

 

(31) Capt. G. P. Brown, of Boston, in a private letter, furnished the information on which this statement is based

 

(32) P.G.M. Baird in THE BUILDER (II, 351), mentions twenty-three. Cf. Gould, History of Freemasonry, Vol. IV, p. 220; N. Y. Grand Lodge Proc. (1900) p. 81; John Carson Smith in American Tyler-Keystone, XXIII, 300.

 

(33) Ross, N. Y. Grand Lodge Proc. (1900), 305

 

(34) The late Gen. John Carson Smith, of Illinois, to whom I am indebted for favors, conducted these investigations.

 

(35) In a recent enumeration of the Massachusetts and New Hampshire Legislatures more than one-third of the members were found to be Masons; in one branch the proportion was one-half. 15 Annals of American Academy 81.

 

(36) P.G.M. Baird in THE BUILDER (II, 351), presents a list of seventeen Presidents who were Masons, and mentions another (Grant) who may have taken the E. A. degree. This is more than two-thirds of the whole number.

 

----o----

 

GOING UP IN MASONRY

 

BY BRO. DENMAN S. WAGSTAFF, CALIFORNIA

 

When "Mother" seems so very old and gray, when she can not exactly keep up with your "growing" disposition and the exuberance of animal spirit now so fair an average of your condition, you really turn your back upon her! You seem to prefer faster company! You have about forsaken the place whence you came and in a haze of expectation joined what to a student of Masonry would resemble an "aristocracy of ignorance." You have come to the "parting of the ways" between what the "nickle-plated" world designates "higher and lower" Masonry ! It seems an awful task now to contemplate the retention of the necessary knowledge to enable you to pass the Tyler at some "strange" Lodge. With Charity it may be said that it is hard, for you never knew much about it and should not be upbraided for something you are not altogether to blame for. It is this lack of knowing which is the cause of complaint and the fact that drives you to something easier--something that does not require knowledge to maintain a standing in, as long as the dues are paid. Yet individuals are not altogether to blame. The habit of "hurry" we acquire in business and social life urges us on. Many of us go into business almost as soon as we are able to read a market report. Other "frills" in the educational line are deemed unnecessary. We get to do "business" with everything. Our souls are risked ofttimes before we really know where we could find another, were such a thing suddenly lost to an opponent on the mart of trade. If we could but pause when we find ourselves going too fast! If we could but stoop to commune with an innermost self at such a moment! There are many of us who have not continued such practice through life. We have forgotten so much as "Blue Lodge practice" has by degrees faded farther and farther from the limit of memory.

 

The Masonry of many men is all encompassed by the somewhat obscure significance of a "prominently" cherished "watch-charm," constantly carried as an aid to a less precious memory. I do not, by this means of public censuring, even expect to lure men into the practice of the science of faithfulness in daily life or avowed purpose, neither do I expect them to altogether forsake "Mammon." I can hardly stem the tide which seems to force men to a love of display--of even Masonry. I can not force them to attend their Lodges long enough to give them an understanding of all the symbolism of the ancient Craft. If these lagging souls could but feel the "pull" of the cabletow about them, as it binds each willing heart with a living touch, to the real practise of Faith, Hope and sweet Charity! I do not, in a day, expect to lead men from their world-idols. To cure them of the indolence that goes with borrowed thought and trailing action.

 

Yet I have hope, for there are other days dawning and still other men, who believe in the "Blue Lodge" as a grand preparatory school, where Masonry can be studied, both to her advantage and with every recurring benefit to the student. Aye, the School of Applied Science where successful methods may be grafted into one's system by simple contact with honest practitioners, who if they fail today, will be ever patient in the trying, until Faith brings victory.

 

This practice, in the fundaments of Masonry, will give renewed strength and an increase of intelligence, and will assist materially in the unfolding of the beauties of so-called higher degrees, both of Masonry and daily life, (and they should be one,) until new lanes of travel are opened toward the Light, impelling the splendid glorification of the visible body and soul of a fraternity which to date has given everything to her children, expecting only that which she gets in the "siftings" as the Mill grinds and grinds!

 

----o----

 

INTERNATIONALISM AND FREEMASONRY 

 

BY BRO. P. E. KELLETT, GRAND MASTER, MANITOBA

 

PART II.

 

LET us now briefly consider the great point of cleavage between Anglo-Saxon Masonry and the Masonry of the Grand Orient of France. This cleavage is based largely on the suspicion, if not on the definite charge that French Masonry is atheistic in its practices or in its tendencies.

 

The Grand Orient of France was organized in Paris in 1736. Its constitution was of the model of Anderson's original Constitution 1723. The Grand Orient was recognized as legitimate Masonry by the Grand Lodge of England, and in fact by all legitimate Masons throughout the world. At that time in all Masonic Constitutions there was an absolute absence of dogma concerning in which all men agree; that is to be good men and true, men of God and religion, and Masons were bound only to that religion in which all men agree; that is to be good men and true, men of honor and honesty. The aim of the fraternity was purely humanitarian, its principles broad enough for men of every diverse opinion. The desire was simply to unite them, whatever their private religious beliefs, in uplift work for themselves and for humanity.

 

Changes came first in England. About the middle of the eighteenth century, the so-called Landmarks regarding a declaration of belief in the G. A. of the U. and the placing of the Bible on the Altar, were adopted. Following this, for the greater part of a century the French Constitution adhered strictly to the original plan of the fraternity and did not contain that formula which has since, in some places, come to be regarded as essential. During this time neither the Grand Lodge of England nor any other recognized Grand Lodge took any exception to this notable omission. French Masons were considered neither "Godless" nor "Atheistic." As time went on, the French Constitution was changed to conform to that of the Grand Lodge of England. One writer has said this was co-incident with a closer political approach of the two nations, England and France. The constitution of the Grand Orient of France followed the English copy until shortly after the Franco Prussian war, when they reverted back to what it had been originally. Co-incident with this change, history records political estrangement between France and England which continued until recent years. When France reverted back to her original constitution, the Grand Lodge of England immediately afterwards severed relations with France, and generally speaking, Masonry of English speaking countries followed suit, claiming that the change made by the Grand Orient of France was Atheistic in tendency.

 

Can French Masonry be said to be atheistical ? Atheism is the doctrine that there is no God. It is no longer considered reasonable for anyone to dogmatically assert that there is no God, and it is a question if such a being as an atheist exists today.

 

There is no unbelief.

Whoever plants a seed beneath the sod,

And waits to see it push away the clod,

He trusts in God.

 

Whoever says, when clouds are in the sky,

"Be patient, heart; light breaketh by-and-by,"

Trusts the Most High

 

Whoever sees, 'neath winter's fields of snow,

The silent harvest of the future grow,

God's power must know.

 

Whoever lies down on his couch to sleep,

Content to lock each sense in slumber deep,

Knows God will keep.

 

Whoever says, "Tomorrow," "The Unknown,"

"The Future," trusts the Power alone

He dares disown.

 

The heart that looks on when the eyelids close,

And dares to live when life has only woes,

God's comfort knows

 

There is no unbelief;

And day by day, and night unconsciously,

The heart lives by that faith the lips deny--

God knoweth why!

 

To be atheistic, French Masonry would need to have made the dogmatic assertion, "There is no God." This it has never done. It neither affirms nor denies anything relative to God. To suppose that French Masons deny the existence of God is to totally misunderstand them. They are as much averse to a dogmatic assertion of that kind as to one of the opposite kind. They are simply against a dogmatic assertion of any kind, as Masons, believing that Masonry is antidogmatic. Many, and possibly all, of their members would doubtless declare a belief in God at the proper time; but not as Masons in a Masonic Lodge.

 

The French Masons found their attitude on the first edition of the Constitution, which obliges Masons only to that religion in which all men agree; that is, to be good and true, or men of honour and honesty.

 

Let us briefly examine what ground there is for their stand, and see whether or not we are justified in condemning it. For this purpose I want to direct your attention to:

 

ANDERSON'S CONSTITUTION, 1723

 

Concerning God and Religion.

 

A Mason is obliged by his tenure to obey the Moral Law, and if he rightly understands the Art he will never be a stupid atheist, nor an irreligious Libertine. But though in ancient times Masons were charged in every country to be of the religion of that country, or nation, whatever it was, yet it is now thought more expedient only to oblige them to that religion in which all men agree, leaving their peculiar opinions to themselves; that is to be good men and true men of Honour and Honesty by whatever Denominations or Persuasions they may be distinguished; whereby Masonry becomes the centre of union and the means of conciliating true friendship among persons that must have remained at a perpetual distance.

 

OUR OWN CONSTITUTION Concerning God and Religion.

 

A Mason is obliged by his tenure to obey the Moral Law, and if he rightly understands the Art he will never be a stupid atheist, nor an irreligious Libertine. He, of all men, should best understand that God seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh to the heart! A Mason is therefore particularly bound never to act against the dictates of his conscience. Let a man's religion or mode of worship be what it may, he is not excluded from the Order, provided he believe in the Architect of Heaven and Earth, and practice the sacred duties of Morality. Masons unite with the virtuous of every persuasion, in the firm and pleasing bond of fraternal love; they are taught to view the errors of mankind with compassion, and to strive by the purity of their own conduct to demonstrate the superior excellence of the faith they may profess. Thus Masonry is the centre of union between good men and true, and the happy means of conciliating friendship amongst those who must otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance.

 

CONSTITUTION OF GRAND ORIENT OF FRANCE

 

Freemasonry, an essentially philanthropical and progressive institution, has for its object the pursuit of truth, the study of morality, and the practice of solidarity; its efforts are directed to the material and moral improvement and the intellectual and social advancement of humanity. It has for its principles, mutual tolerance, respect for others and for one's self, and absolute liberty of conscience. Considering metaphysical conceptions as belonging exclusively to the individual judgment of its members, it refuses to accept any dogmatic affirmation. Its motto is: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.

 

 As to whether the Grand Orient of France has departed farther from the spirit and the letter of Anderson's original Constitution than we have is not open to much controversy. The change they made in 1877 rather reverted back to it than went farther away from it. To show the real misunderstanding that has occurred with regard to their position let me quote from the minutes of their General Conventions when the change was made. We can then understand what the real meaning of their action was.

 

At the French Masonic Convention of 1876, on the proposal of a Lodge in the department of the Rhone, a Committee was appointed to consider the question of suppressing the second paragraph of the first article of the Constitution, concerning God and Religion. The Committee recommended that the proposition be postponed, and in recommending this the reporter of the Committee, Bro. Maricault, made the following statement:

 

"Your Commission has recognized that bad faith alone could interpret the suppression demanded as a denial of the existence of God and the immortality of-the soul; human solidarity and freedom of conscience, which would be henceforth the exclusive basis of Freemasonry, imply quite as strongly belief in God and in an immortal soul as they do materialism, positivism, or any other philosophic doctrine."

 

Postponement met with opposition. Bro. Andre Roussell, in advocating immediate action, among other statements made the following:

 

"I am anxious to recognize with my brother, the reporter of the Commission, that Freemasonry is neither deistic, atheistic, or even positivist. In so far as it is an institution affirming and practicing human solidarity, it is a stranger to every religious dogma and to every religious Order. Its only principle is an absolute respect for freedom of conscience. In matters of faith it confirms nothing and it denies nothing. It respects in an equal degree all sincere convictions and beliefs. Thus the doors of our temples open to admit Catholics as well as Protestants, to admit the atheist as well as the deist, provided they are conscientious and honourable. After the debate in which we are at present taking part, no intelligent and honourable man will be able to seriously state that the Grand Orient of France has acted from a desire to banish from its Lodges belief in God and in the immortality of the soul, but, on the contrary, that in the name of absolute freedom of conscience it proclaims solemnly its respect for the convictions, teachings, and beliefs of our ancestors. We refrain, moreover, as much from denying as from affirming any dogma, in order that we may remain faithful to our principles and practice of human solidarity."

 

Bro. Minot, in speaking on the same subject, said: "The Constitution of 1865 had realized a transitory progress. The work must be completed and purified by suppressing dogma and by rendering Masonry once again universal, by the proclamation of the principle of absolute freedom of conscience. Let no one be mistaken in this. It is not our aim to serve the interest of any philosophic conception in particular by our action in laying aside all distinction between doctrines. We have in view only one thing: Freedom for each and respect for all."

 

The recommendation of the Committee prevailed, and action was postponed. In 1877, after a year's study by the Lodges, the change was adopted by an almost unanimous vote. The reporter of the Committee at the time said: "Who is not aware, at this moment, that in advocating this suppression no one among us understands himself as making a profession of atheism and materialism. In regard to this matter every misunderstanding must disappear from our minds, and, if in any Lodge there should remain any doubt in reference to this point, let them know that the Commission declares without reservation that by acceding to the wish of Lodge No. 9 it sets before it no other object than the proclamation of absolute liberty of conscience."

 

When the proposition of the Committee had been adopted by the General Assembly, the President proposed, as an amendment, the insertion of these words: "Masonry excludes no one on account of his beliefs." Many regarded this as superfluous, but the President was insistent, in order that it might be clearly established in the eyes of all that Masonry is a neutral territory, in which all beliefs are admitted and treated with equal respect. The suggestion was adopted.

 

It may be interesting to note that the original proposer that the Grand Orient of France should suppress the formula of the G. A. of the U. was a clergyman of the Protestant Church, and he stated, in justification, as follows:

 

"In suppressing the formula respecting the G. A. of the U. we did not mean to replace it by a materialistic formula. None among us in proposing this suppression, thought of professing atheism or materialism, and we declare formally and emphatically that we had no other end in view than to proclaim absolute liberty of conscience."

 

I have given the words and opinions of those responsible for the change in the Constitution so that there may be no room for misunderstandings. The Grand Orient of France, in making the change, has done no more than was done by the Government of Great Britain when she admitted members to seats in the House of Commons by allowing them to make an affirmation only when their convictions would not allow them to take a religious oath. The same custom prevails in our Courts of Justice.

 

Their position will bear a little further examination to make clear its consistency. The story, as depicted by our Ritual, tells of a great loss and a life-long search for this something, which was lost. Masonry ends at the point when something else is substituted to temporarily make good that loss, and at the point where Masonry ends we are expected to begin the search.

 

Various explanations have been given as to what this is that was lost, and which all Catholic and Protestant, Jew and Gentile, Christian and Pagan, are seeking for. The simplest and clearest explanation of this that was lost is that it was "the way back to God."

 

"The way back to God." That is the door then to which Masonry leads. Cannot any of us go as far as that door with any, be he Agnostic, Deist, Buddhist, or any other, so long as he conforms to Anderson's original specifications, and is a good man and true, a man of honour and honesty? At the door, of course, we would separate, each to follow on his own way. But happily we can come back to the Lodge again and again for mutual encouragement, and for strength for a fresh start on our several paths, all of which are alike dark and obscure.

 

It is not the function of Masonry to solve the riddle of life but to propound it and stimulate and encourage each of her initiates to search for his own solution. It takes each man so far, and there leaves him to find the answer for himself. By the very fact that Masonry itself gives no answer, it demonstrates clearly that the answer is not the same to every man. All this would seem to lead to freedom from dogma of all kind and justify France and Belgium in the stand they take.

 

I do not wish to be understood to say that it is wrong for a Mason in Lodge to declare belief in God. But I would like to be able to accept as brethren any good men and true, men of honour and honesty, who are earnest searchers after the same truth as we are, even though they do not insist in Lodge on a declaration of belief in God. French Masons appear to be worthy men, doing a wonderful work for the cause of progress and enlightenment.

 

Another so-called grievance against the Grand Orient of France is that they have taken the Bible off the altar. Many of us have imagined that because the Bible is one of the Great Lights according to our Ritual and usage that its place has been in Masonic Lodges from time immemorial. To most the presence of the Bible on the altar is in some way a landmark. Surprising it may be, but the Bible was not even mentioned in Masonic Rituals until 1724, and it was in 1760 that Preston moved that it be made one of the Great Lights of Masonry. One might properly question whether Anglo-Saxon Masonry did not violate a landmark when she introduced religious dogmatism into Masonry in the middle of the Eighteenth Century.

 

As Masons, we have before us the great object of the fraternal brotherhood of man. This will carry with it peace and prosperity. Is not the attainment of this worth the abolition of narrow intolerance ? Let us maintain, if we wish, our own principles concerning God and religion, but forever banish all dogmatism as to what others shall do in this connection, so long as they are earnestly working to attain the great principles of Masonry. Does not the situation demand the serious thought of every Master Mason?

 

Should not Tolerance and Fraternity prevail ? France is holding out the brotherly hand to us, saying: "Let by-gones be by-gones, and let us look solely to the future." Should we as Masons hold at more than arm's length an institution which consistently devotes itself to those lofty aims and pursuits which we preach better than we practice?

 

Even as the Arts, Sciences, and other phases of human activity have benefited by international discussion and concord, so also can Masonry benefit. If Masonry is to sustain in the future its splendid record, and attain the object she seeks, is not world-wide international co-operation necessary? How else can we attain a Universal Brotherhood?

 

With the present world crisis the time has come when Freemasonry should stand forth, free from all entrammelling influences, in its grand simplicity. Our Lodges should be centres of thought, influence and effort, holding no task alien that will advance the cause of righteousness on earth. To this end we could learn much by confraternity with such an organization as the Grand Orient of France. Is "Brotherly Love" to be nothing more than a label which we carry but which does not properly belong to the goods at all ?

 

----o----

 

THE FAITH THAT IS IN THEM -- A FRATERNAL FORUM

 

Wildey E. Atchison, Iowa.

 

EDITED BY BRO. GEORGE E. FRAZER

PRESIDENT, THE BOARD OF STEWARDS

 

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Frederick W. Hamilton, Massachusetts.

Geo. W. Baird, District of Columbia.

H. L. Haywood, Iowa.

Joseph Barnett, California.

John W. Barry, Iowa.

Joe L. Carson, Virginia.

Jos. W. Eggleston, Virginia.

Henry R. Evans, District of Columbia.

H. D. Funk, Minnesota.

F. B. Gault, Washington.

Joseph C. Greenfield, Georgia.

T. W. Hugo, Minnesota.

M. M. Johnson, Massachusetts.

John G. Keplinger, Illinois.

Harold A. Kingsbury, Connecticut.

Dr. Wm. F. Kuhn, Missouri.

Julius H. McCollum, Connecticut.

Dr. John Lewin McLeish, Ohio.

Joseph W. Norwood, Kentucky.

Frank E. Noyes, Wisconsin.

John Pickard, Missouri.

C. M. Schenck, Colorado.

Francis W. Shepardson, Illinois.

Silas H. Shepherd, Wisconsin.

Oliver D. Street, Alabama.

H. W. Ticknor, Maryland.

Denman S. Wagstaff, California.

S. W. Williams, Tennessee.

 

(Contributions to this Monthly Department of Personal Opinion are invited from each writer who has contributed one or more articles to THE BUILDER. Subjects for discussion are selected as being alive in the administration of Masonry today. Discussions of politics, religious creeds or personal prejudices are avoided, the purpose of the Department being to afford a vehicle for comparing the personal opinions of leading Masonic students. The contributing editors assume responsibility only for what each writes over his own signature. Comment from our Members on the subjects discussed here will be welcomed in the Question Box and Correspondence Column.)

 

QUESTION NO. 9-- Is it advisable for the Master of each Lodge to refer applications for initiation and membership to one standing committee on membership appointed annually? If so, shall this Committee be composed of past officers? If not, what other methods may a Lodge adopt in maintaining uniform standards of membership qualifications?

 

Standing Committee Works Well.

 

As to the advisability of a Master referring applications to a standing committee appointed annually (based upon long usage in my own Lodge, Excelsior No. 369)--emphatically yes. Too much care can not be exercised in looking into the antecedents of those knocking at the Portals of Masonry if we are to maintain the same high standard of membership which has made our Institution unique among all others for Quality of Membership. A Committee honored with this considerable responsibility extending over a twelve month period must naturally feel the same sort of responsibility as the line officers of a Lodge and acquire added and valuable experience "each time out" upon a "character-quest." We have had such satisfactory results with our own Standing Committee in Excelsior that for some years now they have been annually reappointed and have yet to give us any cause for complaint. It is frequently their custom to ask "more time" for investigation and when one finally does pass the doors of Excelsior Lodge No. 369, it is evidence that such a one comes with a clean slate. Blackballing is an infrequent occurrence in our Lodge as the Committee generally recommends the prompt withdrawal of a petition which it can not report "full and favorable." Not one of our present Committee is a Past Officer but each of the three is a long time and faithful attendant upon Lodge, endeavoring to live up to the traditions born of fifty-two years of existence. With considerable pride I can point to the membership of Excelsior as justifying in every minute particular the extreme advisability of having a Committee of this kind. We have never found it necessary to advertise our meetings in the daily press inasmuch as the interest and enthusiasm of our own members is sufficient to assure us a representative attendance at our meetings and such visitors as enter our portals from time to time of their own free will and accord generally indicate their approval of our old-fashioned ways and adherence to the ancient landmarks by coming again. Much of the credit for which is due to an experienced and careful Investigating Committee. John Lewin McLeish, Ohio.

 

* * * Method of a San Francisco Master. I may only answer from a "California" standpoint, and as follows:

 

"It is not only inadvisable, but without the law, both written and unwritten, to appoint a committee of three, who shall jointly hold office for a year; and as such pass upon all applications that may be made to the Lodge for membership within that time."

 

Personally I believe this to be GOOD LAW and have this to say in its defense. In all notes on Masonic procedure of the past in America, where Masonry is or was Masonry, we have evidence that, unless the Lodge were so small as to preclude the possibility of appointing a new Committee each month and a separate one on each Candidate, the practice has been to do so. This is California law. May I not ask why it should not be so ? I may be here permitted to answer as follows:

 

One of the principal Landmarks--indeed one of the corner stones used in upbuilding our structure is and always has been--secrecy. We aim to avoid letting it be known "who shall judge of our qualifications, as men fit to be Masons." We aim to protect our membership from the "venom" of a man found unworthy! Hence we keep the identity of our committee-men on petitions secret! We aim to appoint Committees that are unknown, even to the members of the Lodge, so that unbiased, free and impartial judgment, pro or con, may be rendered by such Committee. If a Lodge member has detrimental evidence, he can consult the Master, who is and should be the only "standing committeeman." Thirty days should be ample to disclose most "hidden" characteristics, where a committee has but the one object to work on; and if not long enough another thirty or even sixty days for further investigation may be allowed.

 

More than one investigation in a month rather dulls the interest any man may have in such duty, and in consequence, such a disposition naturally reflects on the results the Lodge relies on so implicitly. Any "standing committee" would soon become "public property"--as from mouth to ear, the most inconsequential matters are rehearsed, even "on the square."

 

To gain a uniform standard for membership and to ascertain the qualifications of a candidate, the committee should not be afraid or too politic to ask questions. As the Master of Fairmount Lodge No. 435 of San Francisco, I made use of a printed list of questions. In addition we have always been in the habit of notifying sister lodges. These forms are of course supplementary to a standard committee-man's notice. Now if you are not too "awfully polite" about getting the "ORIGINAL INFORMATION" your standard of qualification may be easily fixed and forever maintained. Denman S. Wagstaff, California.

 

* * *

 

Appoint Strangers. As to the advisability of the Master of each Lodge referring applications for initiation and membership to one standing committee on membership, annually, I would advise that it would not be fair to impose so much work on any one committee: nor could we expect a single committee to give so much time and labor, gratuitously.

 

The purpose of a committee on petitions is to verify whether or not the postulant is worthy. It has become a custom to name, on such committees, the friends or neighbors of the petitioners, in the interest of convenience, time and labor. While this has its advantages, it has, also, its disadvantages. A man's friends are right sure to report favorable.

 

A friend is one who sees your good qualities in preference to your bad ones. The petitioner is apt to resent rejection by "getting even" with the man he suspects of blackballing him. The neighbor or friend who served on the committee and visited that petitioner, thus may become an innocent mark.

 

A glance at the Grievance and Appeals Reports which are to be found in so many Grand Lodge publications, is quite enough to convince even the shortest haired brother that we are taking in too many. The purpose of the Lodge and of the Order is to select quality in preference to quantity; and, with this in view, we would give it as our advice to put all strangers on such committees, i. e. strangers to the petitioner, and we also think the committee should be required to search the character of the petitioner from his cradle to the date of his petition. This may take time and may require labor, but it is worth the while.

 

We have heard very good brethren, when defending their favorable report, say that they were unable to find anything against the petitioner. With this the writer has always disagreed, and has urged that we should find the petitioner to be good, upright, respected, worthy, held in high esteem, in fact an acquisition. One who would bring something to the Lodge in lieu of deriving character from it.

 

We should not forget that a Masonic obligation is mutual; it pledges the entire fraternity to the initiate, as well as pledging him to the Fraternity. The Lodge, per se, is secondary, in this matter; the Lodge is responsible to the Grand Lodge for its mistakes. Geo. W. Baird, Washington, D. C.

 

* * *

 

Emphatic "No." Regarding the Committees of Investigation on the application of candidates for membership--First, should it be an annually appointed standing committee ? Emphatically NO; any such move tends to remove from the body and personnel of a Lodge the very important attitude of personal responsibility, to me one of the most dangerous states of mind into which any association can fall; it is hard enough now with so many Lodges having become mere work shops to find any incentive for the innocent bystander to attend. The whole matter of candidates is so closely a family matter that I would make it a first consideration, and then if there was any time left I would confer a degree. Every member should be made to feel his interest in the Lodge by every means possible, and it is not so important that you have had a scientific combing out of the character of a candidate as it is to have your members think they are doing something for the Lodge; if your Master can't handle the situation hurry it up so he will get into the glorious army of Past Masters and get somebody in his place with brains and executive ability in his head and Masonry in his heart.

 

Second--If a standing committee should it be composed of Past Masters? Also by the same token, an emphatic NO; beyond all things NO. If there is anything else in the machinery of a Lodge which causes trouble more often than anything else it is the Past Master, or past officers; by their assumed wisdom and standing they tend to attract to themselves that power of ipse dixit, and instead of the Mason being a member of a Lodge he soon gets to be an echo and then a very faint one. The main thing is to magnify the member, the past officers have had their chance.

 

Third--What should be done to maintain a standard of membership? It is a question if we want any uniform standard other than the Constitutions demand. By that I mean any hard and fast drawn detailed specifications, unnatural and unapplicable. Masonry is a progressive institution and candidates as well as members must keep up with the general development.

 

I am a Masonic Progressive in every sense of the word where my good sense points out, but in this case of committees on applications I do not believe there is or can be any better method than the old way. Any variation tends to lack of interest in the second most important feature of our work, the getting of proper candidates. The first most important feature is to keep him when you get him and make something out of the raw material God has entrusted to your skill and human interest. The third important feature is to confer the degrees by which you teach him his Duty to that God and the neighbor and anything which interferes with these orders of importance in my opinion is wrong and tends to disintegration and decay. T. W. Hugo, Minnesota. * * *  Lodges in Small Towns.

 

My experience in Lodges of 250 or less, situated in towns of less than 20,000 population, is to the effect that it is better to handle these matters by the appointment of a special committee of three members on each application. Whether in larger Lodges and in more populous centers it would be better to adopt the plan proposed is a matter which from my experience I would not be able to judge. Frank E. Noyes, Wisconsin.

 

* * *

 

Give Duties to All Members.

 

I would not advocate reference of applications for initiation for membership by the Master to a standing committee on membership for the reason that it places too much power in the hands of a few men. This does not impugn the motives of the few men, but I have noticed that where the same committees are constantly appointed by the Master the rest of the members seem inclined to let them do all the work. The best results for a live Lodge in my own experience as Master have been obtained by setting every member to some kind of work. If the committee is composed of officers entirely, this creates the impression that the rank and file do not amount to much in the consideration of the Master, so I would say that wherever possible different committees for every petition should be appointed so as to put the entire membership to work. They will be better acquainted with the persons who apply and there seems to be some spirit of brotherhood in this. J. W. Norwood, Kentucky.

 

* * *

 

No Universal Method Feasible. It is customary in this section to appoint a special committee of investigation on every petition presented. So much so is this the case that when the question was presented for my consideration I looked up the law expecting to find it so laid down. Strict search of the subordinate and Grand Lodge by-laws, however, revealed the fact that they were to be referred to a committee of investigation, no provision being made as to whether it be a standing committee or special.

 

It would seem as though no general or universal rule could be made governing this. Local conditions would influence this largely. In the large city Lodges where a large number of applications are received, no one committee of three men could investigate and do it thoroughly on every petition presented. On the other hand, when a limited number of petitions are presented a standing committee of men well known to be thorough, conscientious and fair-minded might be of advantage. Should such a committee be raised I do not think it should arbitrarily be made up of Past Masters, but rather of men who are known to possess the proper qualifications as partially listed above and to which might be added spare time and willingness.

 

Considering the subject from all points, however, I think the work will be more thoroughly done by carefully selected special committees than by a standing committee, there being danger of the standing committee growing stale and doing the work in a perfunctory manner. Julius H. McCollum, Connecticut.

 

Use Brains--Not Blanks.

 

If a Lodge is a small one, it might be practicable and perhaps would be desirable to have all applications for the degrees passed upon by a single committee. In case of a large Lodge it seems to me that such a course would not be practicable as the committee would be so over-burdened with work that its investigations would lack thoroughness.

 

If such a committee exists it should be appointed by the Worshipful Master and great care should be taken in its selection. I see no reason why it should be limited to past officers although the presumption would be that past officers would afford the best material for such committee.

 

The real safeguard of a Lodge consists in care with which the Committees on applications are appointed. Only too often this appointment is merely perfunctory and weak committees are appointed.

 

This and many other matters upon which the wellbeing of the fraternity depends can be safeguarded only by care and diligence of officers and members. My personal conviction is that there is at present a regrettable tendency to attempt to provide for these matters by machinery. I do not believe that blanks can take tile place of brains or that machinery can take the place of the personal care and attention which must be given to our affairs if they are to be carefully conducted.      Frederick W. Hamilton, Massachusetts.

 

 * * * Experience of a Colorado Past Master. Some out of the ordinary conditions exist in the Colorado Lodge which I served as Master. The membership of this Lodge is divided into practically three classes, approximately one-half being composed of railroad men--officials, enginemen, trainmen, yardmen and shopmen, three-eighths of business and professional men living in the city, and one-eighth of farmers and stock-growers living in the country.

 

It is the usual custom in this Lodge to appoint on the petition of an engineman a committee of his fellowworkers--for instance a fireman, or engineer, or both, and a conductor or brakeman, or a similar combination; on the petition of a shopman, two fellow-shopmen and usually a townsman not connected with the railroad. The townsman, a business man, would investigate the petitioner's standing among the business men of the city--making inquiries as to whether or not he was prompt in meeting his bills, etc., an important item in railroad towns having a large floating population. On the petition of an official of the railroad would be appointed railroad men of various occupations--possibly a train-dispatcher, a shopman and a conductor, fireman, engineer or brakeman.

 

The jurisdiction of this Lodge extends forty-one miles in a southwesterly direction, and embraces a large farming and cattle-raising country. Many farmers and cattle-men in this territory have joined the Lodge. On a petition of one of these would be appointed three of his neighbors.

 

Railroad men who are out on their runs nearly half of the time could not efficiently investigate a petitioner living on a ranch forty miles from town, nor would a committee composed of these ranchmen be expected to successfully investigate a trainman or engineman.

 

A fireman, conductor and brakeman composing a committee on an engineer's petition would have the opportunity to investigate the petitioner's actions and conduct at the distant railroad terminal where nearly half his time is spent in lay-overs. Also his fellowworkers on a shopman's petition could make a more thorough and satisfactory investigation than could a committee of business men or farmers.

 

In communities where the above conditions obtain it is obvious that one standing investigating committee would not be as efficient as the class committees mentioned, even if such a standing committee could be found who would be willing and able to act as such. Out of the entire membership of the Lodge, which numbers some 250, I doubt if there could be selected three members who would have the time to act on such a committee. Wildey E. Atchison, Iowa.

 

* * *

 

No Committees in Virginia.

 

Virginia allows no Committee on petitions for initiation or applications for membership. Our reason for this is our unwillingness to trust their perfunctory reports and our consciousness that the members would trust too much to those reports. Is not this all too true, where the system prevails? We require the avouchers to satisfy the Lodge, from personal knowledge of the fitness of the candidate, and some of the officers and members are sure to make some investigations "on their own."

 

The above answers your whole block of questions and my long Masonic experience convinces me that no other plan would work so well. Jos. W. Eggleston, Virginia.

 

* * *

 

Experience in Ireland.

 

On the question before the Fraternal Forum this month a Lodge to which I belonged in Ireland had the following fixed regulation:

 

All names proposed for membership were passed on by a Committee of four, the W. M., Secretary, and two members appointed by the popular voice of the Lodge. The W. M. conveyed to the proposer and seconder the finding of the Committee. If the "Tongue of Good Report" had not been heard in favor of the candidate the name was usually withdrawn.

 

If they insisted on going to ballot, the W. M. read the Report of the Committee before "circulating the Ballot," and the Lodge usually "governed itself accordingly."

 

I never knew the Lodge to make a mistake and the membership was of the best Masonic material. J. L. Carson, Virginia.

 

* * *

 

Avoid Clannishness.

 

Theoretically, the idea is a good one, a standing committee of high grade men working together will, no doubt, maintain a high physical, mental and moral standard in candidates reported on favorably.

 

But the great objection to this plan is that it may lead to clannishness. It also takes away the feeling of responsibility all members should feel in the fitness of candidates seeking admission.

 

This responsibility is felt more by the membership if separate committees are appointed by the Master to look up each aspirant for Masonic initiation.

 

I would suggest, however, that each Lodge prepare a code for the guidance of its investigating committees. I would also require that each member of each investigating committee personally see each candidate and assure himself of his fitness. Then the three investigators and Master should confer on each aspirant--not simply make and receive a brief report as is so commonly done now just before the ballot is taken. John G. Keplinger, Illinois.

 

----o----

 

DO IT NOW

 

Do not keep the alabaster boxes of your love and tenderness sealed up until your friends are dead, but fill their lives with sweetness. Speak approving and cheering words while their ears can hear them and while their hearts can be thrilled by them. The kind things you will say after they are gone, say before they go. The flowers you mean to send for their coffins, bestow them now, and so brighten and sweeten their homes before they leave them.

 

If my friends have alabaster boxes laid away full of fragrant perfumes of sympathy and affection, which they intend to break over my dead body, I would rather they would bring them now in many weary and troubled hours and open them that I may be refreshed and cheered while I need them and can enjoy them. I would rather have a plain coffin without flowers and a funeral without an eulogy than a life without the sweetness of love and sympathy. Let us learn to anoint our friends beforehand for their burial.

 

Post-mortem kindness cannot cheer the burdened spirit. Flowers on the casket spread no fragrance backward over the weary way over which the loved ones have traveled. --John Lloyd Thomas, 33d.

 

----o----

 

THE STORY OF THE SCOTTISH RITE

 

BY BRO. C. C. ADAMS, ENGLAND

 

The warrant for the existence of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Masonry is found in a number of documents which are now in the possession of the Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States of America, and it is from these that it is possible to gather up the threads which go to form the history of one of the greatest organisations of Masonry.

 

The beginning of the Scottish Rite is from a Templar source, so we cannot do better than go back to the period after the Crusades, when the defenders of the Cross were returning from their wars in the Holy Land. Although primarily driven forward by religious motives, and eager to save the land of Palestine from the hands of the Saracen, there is no doubt that many of these cavaliers were also out to capture what worldly property they could from the hated Turk, with the result that as soon as the wars were finished they found themselves rich and settled down to a life of ease on the plains of central and southern Europe. The wealth and power of the Order soon aroused the avarice and envy of both the Church and the State with the result that a number of persecutions were deliberately organised with the object of overthrowing the Order and forfeiting its possessions. Many charges, the chief of which was idolatry, were trumped up against the Knights with the object of bringing them to trial. The culmination of these persecutions occurred in Paris in the year 1314, when Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master of the Order, was publicly burned to death. This caused a general dispersion of the Order and there is a great deal of doubt as to what followed. There are a number of versions which might almost be called legends of the subsequent history, the majority of which are probably fictitious, but it is an undoubted fact that after this time the Templars flourished and remained free from persecution in Scotland where they are said to have united with the Freemasons. This was the beginning of all High Grade and Scottish Masonry.

 

A number of Scottish Templars entered Robert Bruce's army and after the battle of Bannockburn were formed into the Royal Order of Scotland which consisted and still does consist of two degrees, the Order of Heredom and the Knighthood of the Rosy Cross.

 

All High Grade Masonry claims the Order of the Temple as its origin and this was the basis of a system founded at Lyons in France in the year 1743. Six degrees were recognised of which the first three or Craft degrees were not worked; the remaining degrees were the fourth degree or the Knight of the Eagle, the forerunner of our present eighteenth degree of Sovereign Prince Rose Croix, the fifth degree entitled Illustrious Knight or Templar, and the sixth and last degree of Sublime Illustrious Knight. From this the titles of Illustrious and Sublime used so freely in the Scottish Rite of today evidently originated. The system which I have just quoted also shows the connection between the Masonic grades of Rose Croix and Knight Templar, a connection which is obvious from many of the symbols.

 

In 1747, Charles Edward Stuart, the Pretender, while in exile in France is said to have instituted a Chapter of Rose Croix Masons at Arras to which he communicated the Scottish Masonry which he had brought from his own country.

 

Another interesting step in the history of these degrees is the Baldwyn Encampment of Knights Templar at Bristol, England, which was working shortly after this time and conferred the following degrees:

 

1d Entered Apprentice. 

2d Fellow Craft. 

3d Master Mason. 

4d Royal Arch. 

5d Knight Templar and Knights of Malta. 

6d Rose Croix. 

7d Knight Kadosh (the present 30d).

 

The origin of this encampment is unknown.

 

In 1754 the Chevalier de Bonneville established a Chapter of high degrees in Paris at the College of Jesuits of Clermont. This was called the Chapter of Clermont and at first worked only the three degrees which were conferred at Lyons eleven years before. The system was, however, soon expanded and renamed the Rite of Perfection or Rite of Heredom of twenty five degrees. This system included all our present degrees from the first to the twenty-second. The 23d of the Rite was our present 28d and was then called the degree of Knights Princes Adepts. The degree of Knight Kadosh (30d) was the twenty-fourth degree and the system was completed by the twenty-fifth degree now known to us as the thirty-second degree of Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret. Throughout this system the theory was maintained that Freemasonry had its origin in the Order of the Knights Templar.

 

The derivation of the word Heredom is unknown but it appears to have come from Scotland and it is probable that this name and several of the Scottish factors were taken from Scotland to France by the Stuarts in their exile.

 

Four years after the formation of the Chapter of Clermont, that is to say, in 1758, a new body was organised in Paris which absorbed the Clermont Chapter. This was called the Council of Emperors of the East and West and governed the twenty-five degrees of the Rite of Perfection. The Emperors governed what was entitled the Holy Empire which title still survives in our present Supreme Councils, whose Secretary is called the Secretary General H. E. (in some countries Grand Secretary General H. E.)

 

We have copies of the Statutes of the Sovereign Grand Council at this time and it appears that there were headquarters at Berlin, Paris and Bordeaux.

 

There were then:

 

Lodges of Perfection--1d to 14d. 

Councils of Knights of the East--15d. 

Councils of Princes of Jerusalem--16d. 

Chapters of Princes Rose Croix--17d to 18d. 

Consistories of S.R.P.S.--19d to 25d.

 

At this time any member of the 15d could confer the lower degrees of the Rite on Entered Apprentices, Fellow Crafts and Master Masons, and any member of the Rose Croix degree could make Masons in a district where there was no Symbolic Lodge.

 

In the year 1761, Stephen Morin, who was leaving France for the West Indies, was given a warrant by the Council of Emperors of the East and West to propagate the Rite in America. He made several Inspectors General in North America, one of whom, M. Hayes, had power to appoint others and made Isaac Da Costa Deputy Inspector General for South Carolina, who, in 1783, established a Grand Lodge of Perfection at Charleston.

 

At this time the Rite still consisted of twenty-five degrees but soon afterwards Frederick the Great became Sovereign Grand Commander in Germany and he again reorganised the system.

 

German symbols, such as the Teutonic Cross and the Eagle were introduced into many of the degrees and seven new degrees were added making a total of thirty-two degrees. The regulations of Frederick the Great of 1786 provided for the government of the Order by a Supreme Council who were to be of the thirty third degree of Sovereign Grand Inspector General.

 

In 1801, the Grand Lodge of Perfection at Charleston adopted the new continental system of thirty-three degrees and a Supreme Council was formed, this being the Mother Supreme Council of the world. The title of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite was then taken. From this Supreme Council, a Council for France was established in 1804 and one for Italy in 1805. In 1813, the Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States was formed and in 1845 the Supreme Council for England, from which originated, in 1874, the Supreme Council for Canada.

 

There are now Supreme Councils in almost every civilised country, and the Rite has spread to a tremendous extent. There are, however, different systems for conferring the degrees in different countries. In the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States there are Lodges of Perfection 14d, Rose Croix Chapters 18d, Councils of Knights Kadosh 30d, and Consistories of Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret 32d; in the Northern Jurisdiction, there are also Councils of Princes of Jerusalem 16d, but Councils of Knights Kadosh 30d are not held. In Canada, there are Lodges of Perfection 14d and Rose Croix Chapters 18d; also one Consistory of the thirty-second degree for each Province.

 

In England, Scotland and Ireland, the system is very different; there are Rose Croix Chapters which communicate the degrees from the 4d to the 17d in a short form and the 18d of Sovereign Prince Rose Croix in full. There are no Consistories in these countries and all degrees above the 18d are conferred only by the Supreme Council.

 

In the Northern and Southern Jurisdictions of the United States and in Canada there are thirty-three active members of the Supreme Council and a number of honorary members, all of whom are of the thirty third degree.

 

In England there are only nine members of the Supreme Council and the total number of members of the thirty-third degree is limited to thirty-three. Also, under this jurisdiction the numbers are limited in all the high degrees. Candidates for the 30d must have been members of the Rite for at least three years and installed Most Wise Sovereign of a Rose Croix Chapter. The number of members of the 31d is limited to 99, and of the 32d to 63, the vacancies being filled by selection by the Supreme Council. The Scottish and Irish arrangements are very similar to the English in this matter. The English Supreme Council also dropped the title "Scottish" some years ago and the Rite is now known in that country as the "Ancient and Accepted Rite."

 

In conclusion, I should point out that there is a great deal of doubt as to the origin and early history of these degrees; during the eighteenth century a great number of so-called High Grades sprung up all over Europe and the origin of most of them is very obscure. Undoubtedly, there is a connection between this Rite and the Order of the Temple, and it is probable that the House of Stuart, the Pretenders to the throne of England were a factor in the case.

 

The true value of this Rite, as of any other, is to be found in what it gives to its members; however obscure the history may be, we have in the Ancient and Accepted Rite, a system of degrees whose teaching is of the most sublime nature to be found in the Masonic Order.

 

----o----

 

UNDERSTANDING

 

GOD grant me understanding,--

That I may put away myself and think of others;

That those with whom I daily work may be my brothers,

And to them from my heart show true affection.

Thus may I bring my life to real perfection.

GOD grant me understanding.

 

GOD give me understanding;--

That I may feel the sorrows others feel when most they grieve

That to my lips may come the cheery work they would receive;

That I may give to some one hope to work out their new plan;

That I may read my dear friends' thoughts if I their faces scan.

GOD grant me understanding.

 

GOD give me understanding;--

To tune my soul in sympathy with others' joy,

To live a life of Charity without alloy;

To know how life is seen by those about me

And help them know they cannot live without Thee.

GOD give me understanding.

E. E. M.

 

----o----

 

FOR THE MONTHLY LODGE MEETING

 

CORRESPONDENCE CIRCLE BULLETIN---No. 16

DEVOTED TO ORGANIZED MASONIC STUDY

Edited by Bro. Robert I. Clegg

 

THE BULLETIN COURSE OF MASONIC STUDY FOR MONTHLY LODGE MEETINGS AND

STUDY CLUBS

 

FOUNDATION OF THE COURSE

 

THE Course of Study has for its foundation two sources of Masonic information: THE BUILDER and Mackey's Encyclopedia In another paragraph is explained how the references to former issues of THE BUILDER and to Mackey's Encyclopedia may be worked up as supplemental papers to exactly fit into each installment of the Course with the paper by Brother Clegg.

 

MAIN OUTLINE

 

The Course is divided into five principal divisions which are in turn subdivided, as is shown below:

 

Division I. Ceremonial Masonry

A. The Work of a Lodge

B. The Lodge and the Candidate

C. First Steps.

D. Second Steps

E. Third Steps

 

Division II. Symbolical Masonry.

A. Clothing.

B. Working Tools

C. Furniture.

D. Architecture.

E. Geometry.

F. Signs.

G. Words.

H. Grips.

 

Division III. Philosophical Masonry.

 

A. Foundations

B. Virtues.

C. Ethics.

D. Religious Aspect.

E. The Quest.

F. Mysticism.

G. The Secret Doctrine.

 

IV. Legislative Masonry.

 

A. The Grand Lodge.

1. Ancient Constitutions

2. Codes of Law.

3. Grand Lodge Practices.

4. Relationship to Constituent Lodges.

5. Official Duties and Prerogatives.

 

B. The Constituent Lodge.

1. Organization.

2. Qualifications of Candidates.

3. Initiation, Passing and Raising.

4. Visitation.

5. Change of Membership.

 

Division V. Historical Masonry.

A. The Mysteries---Earliest Masonic Light.

B. Studies of Rites---Masonry in the Making

C. Contributions to Lodge Characteristics

D. National Masonry

E. Parallel Peculiarities in Lodge Study

F. Feminine Masonry.

G. Masonic Alphabets

H. Historical Manuscripts of the Craft.

I. Biographical Masonry.

J. Philological Masonry--Study of Significant Words.

 

THE MONTHLY INSTALLMENTS

 

Each month we are presenting a paper written by Brother Clegg, who is following the foregoing outline. We are now in " First Steps" of Ceremonial Masonry. There will be twelve monthly papers under this particular subdivision. On page two, preceding each installment, will be given a number of "Helpful Hints" and a list of questions to be used by the chairman of the Committee during the study period which will bring out every point touched upon in the paper.

 

Whenever possible we shall reprint in the Correspondence Circle Bulletin articles from other sources which have a direct bearing upon the particular subject covered by Brother Clegg in his monthly paper. These articles should be used as supplemental papers in addition to those prepared by the members from the monthly list of references. Much valuable material that would otherwise possibly never come to the attention of many of our members will thus be presented.

 

The monthly installments of the Course appearing in the Correspondence Circle Bulletin should be used one month later than their appearance. If this is done the Committee will have opportunity to arrange their programs several weeks in advance of the meetings and the Brethren who are members of the National Masonic Research Society will be better enabled to enter into the discussions after they have read over and studied the installment in THE BUILDER.

 

REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTAL PAPERS

 

Immediately preceding each of Brother Clegg's monthly papers in the Correspondence Circle Bulletin will be found a list of references to THE BUILDER and Mackey's Encyclopedia. These references are pertinent to the paper and will either enlarge upon many of the points touched upon or bring out new points for reading and discussion. They should be assigned by the Committee to different Brethren who may compile papers of their own from the material thus to be found, or in many instances the articles themselves or extracts therefrom may be read directly from the originals. The latter method may be followed when the members may not feel able to compile original papers, or when the original may be deemed appropriate without any alterations or additions.

 

HOW TO ORGANIZE FOR AND CONDUCT THE STUDY MEETINGS

 

The Lodge should select a "Research Committee" preferably of three "live" members The study meetings should be held once a month, either at a special meeting of the Lodge called for the purpose, or at a regular meeting at which no business (except the Lodge routine) should be transacted -- all possible time to be given to the study period.

 

After the Lodge has been opened and all routine business disposed of, the Master should turn the Lodge over to the Chairman of the Research Committee. This Committee should be fully prepared in advance on the subject for the evening. All members to whom references for supplemental papers have been assigned should be prepared with their papers and should also have a comprehensive grasp of Brother Clegg's paper.

 

PROGRAM FOR STUDY MEETINGS

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