The Builder Magazine
April 1919 - Volume V - Number 4
REPORT OF THE MASONIC OVERSEAS MISSION
BY Bro. TOWNSEND SCUDDER. P.G.M.. NEW YORK
PART II
STATE DEPARTMENT'S REFUSAL TO ISSUE PASSPORTS
BROTHER Knight and the Chairman of your Mission have received from the State Department no notification of any action whatever on their applications for passports.
Brothers Prime, Thorne, and Treder, on the contrary, received the following:
"Department of State, Washington,
"July 2, 1918.
"Mr. William C. Prime,
"63 Hawthorne Avenue, Yonkers, New York.
"Sir:
"Referring to your recent application for a passport to enable you to go to France, England, Italy, and Switzerland on a 'Mission to Freemasons in the United States Forces Overseas,' you are informed that the Department, in accordance with an agreement with the War Department, does not grant passports enabling persons to go to France for work among the American troops unless such persons are going thither under the auspices of a recognized relief or hospital organization doing work in that country. For this reason, the Department must decline to grant you a passport.
"Returning the fee of one dollar which accompanied your application, I am, Sir,
"Your obedient servant,
"For the Secretary of State:
"Alvey A. Adee,
"Second Assistant Secretary."
Brother Prime replied as follows:
"July 12, 1918.
"Hon. Alvey A. Adee,
"Second Assistant Secretary of State,
"Washington, D. C.
"Dear Sir:
"I duly received your letter of the 2nd instant, which has followed me to Massachusetts and back.
"May I venture to call your attention to the fact that the Mission, in connection with the journey of which to France application for a passport was for me made, was appointed by the Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York, whose original letter appointing Hon. Townsend Scudder, Erastus C. Knight, Oscar F. R. Treder, Rougier Thorne, and William C. Prime and requesting passports in their behalf was lodged by Judge Scudder with the State Department on May 19, 1918, and attached to his application for passport. When I applied for a passport at the New York Bureau, a memorandum was furnished the clerk in charge, referring to those papers attached to Judge Scudder's application.
"I understand that the determination upon the applications of all five for passports has been held in abeyance by both the State and War Departments until Mr. Fosdick's return and if there is any oversight in my case, suggest and request that it be considered in connection with the others in due course on Mr. Fosdick's return to Washington.
"Mr. McBride and Mr. Keppel, I think, are fully familiar with this situation.
"Respectfully,
"William C. Prime."
"Department of State, Washington,
"July 2, 1918.
"Mr. Rougier Thorne,
"Glen Cove,
"Nassau County, New York.
"Sir:
"Referring to your recent application for a passport to enable you to go to France, England, Italy and Switzerland on a 'Mission to Freemasons in the United States Forces Overseas,' you are informed that the Department, in accordance with an agreement with the War Department, does not grant passports enabling persons to go to France for work among the American troops unless such persons are going thither under the auspices of a recognized relief or hospital organization doing work in that country. For this reason, the Department must decline to grant you a passport.
"Returning the fee of one dollar which accompanied your application, I am, Sir,
"Your obedient servant,
"For the Secretary of State:
"Alvey A. Adee,
"Second Assistant Secretary."
Brother Thorne wrote to me enclosing the foregoing letter, as follows:
"Glen Cove, L.I., N.Y.
"July 8, 1918.
"Dear Judge:
"I enclose a letter, dated July 2nd, signed by Alvey A. Adee, Second Assistant Secretary of State, which advises me that the Department must decline to grant me a passport as a member of the Mission to Free Masons in the United States forces overseas.
"Fraternally,
"Hon. Townsend Scudder,
Rougier Thorne.
"Glen Head, L. I."
I replied to Brother Thorne as follows:
"July 9, 1918.
"Rougier Thorne, Esq.,
"Glen Cove, L. I.
"My dear Brother Thorne:
"I have your favor of July the 8th with enclosure. I believe a mistake has been made. I am now in negotiations with the War Department and State Department.
"I have a letter dated July the 2nd from the acting chairman of the Commission on Training Camp Activities which clearly indicates to my mind that this matter is not closed, but is still open. I also have a letter from Mr. F. P. Keppel, Third Assistant Secretary of War, in which he tells me that Mr. Baker, the Secretary of War, feels with regard to our matter that as Mr. Fosdick is now in France, it would be better for us to await his return before a definite decision is made; and in another letter Mr. Keppel tells me that Mr. Fosdick has cabled recommending that the matter of our visit be held up pending his return, and still another letter in answer to one of mine suggesting that I have an opportunity of meeting Mr. Fosdick upon his return to discuss the Masonic War Relief work overseas with him, Mr. Keppel and Mr. McBride, in which he tells me that the date of Mr. Fosdick's return is uncertain, and this is followed by a letter from Mr. McBride, dated July the 2nd, in which he suggests deferring our meeting until Mr. Fosdick's return which he says will probably be in the course of a week or ten days.
"In light of these facts I deem it wise to say nothing of the receipt of your letter from Mr. Adee and of its contents lest the situation be complicated through what I am convinced is a mistake, due to lack of co-ordination between the Departments in Washington.
"It was distinctly agreed that the applications for passports of the members of the Masonic Mission were to be put to one side, and acted upon altogether, when the difficulty which has now so unexpectedly arisen, should have been overcome, as, of course, it must and will be.
"I have not received a notice similar to the one which you sent me and this confirms me in my belief that a mistake has been made.
"Sincerelv. Townsend Scudder."
"Department of State, Washington,
"July 2, 1918.
"Mr. Oscar F. R. Treder,
"Garden City, Nassau Co., New York.
"Sir:
"Referring to your recent application for a passport to enable you to go to France, England, Italy and Switzerland on a 'Mission to Freemasons in the United States Forces Overseas,' you are informed that the Department, in accordance with an agreement with the War Department, does not grant passports enabling persons to go to France for work among the American troops unless such persons are going thither under the auspices of a recognized relief or hospital organization doing work in that country. For this reason, the Department must decline to grant you a passport.
"Returning the fee of one dollar which accompanied your application, I am, Sir,
"Your obedient servant,
"For the Secretary of State:
"Alvey A. Adee,
"Second Assistant Secretary."
"CATHEDRAL OF THE INCARNATION
"Diocese of Long Island
"Garden City, N. Y.
"July 8, 1918. "Dear Judge Scudder:
"I enclose a copy of a letter received by me on Saturday morning. I tried to reach you by telephone to apprise you of the fact as soon as possible but was unable to do so.
"I presume, however, that you received a similar letter.
"I await further developments with great interest. With kind regards, and thanking you for your good letter anent my appointment as Grand Chaplain,
"Yours very sincerely,
"Oscar F. R. Treder.
"The Honorable Townsend Scudder,
"112 Willow Street, Brooklyn, New York."
"Rev. Oscar F. R. Treder,
July 15, 1918.
"Garden City, L. I.
"Dear Rrather Trellor
"Let me thank you for yours of July the 8th. The notice which you received was, in my judgment, not final but due to a mistake and, of course, we are not discussing the matter as yet. Sincerely,
"Glen Head, L. I.
Townsend Scudder."
The receipt of these letters of the State Department to Brothers Prime, Thorne, and Treder came as a distinct shock to us, partly because I had received no similar notification of rejection of my application, but more because I had been led to believe, as the correspondence hereinbefore set forth shows, that the matter would be held in abeyance until the return of Mr. Fosdick.
Either there was bad faith on the part of some one in government employ with whom we had had dealings, or a woeful lack of co-ordination between Departments.
When I had my interview in Washington with Mr Welch of the passport bureau, I left with him my own and Brother Knight's applications with the credentials of the entire Mission attached thereto; this was done by direction of Mr. Welch, who said that when the applications of the three other members of the Mission reached his bureau from the New York office, where they had been filed, they would be attached to the two others and all five acted upon as a unit.
I was unwilling to accept this action of the State Department as final, and wrote to Mr. McBride a letter of inquiry about Mr. Fosdick's return as follows:
"July 19, 1918.
"M. L. McBride, Esq.,
"War Department, Commission on Training Camp "Activities,
"Washington, D. C.
"My dear Mr. McBride:
"If I have not already written to you to that effect, may I request you to advise me, address Glen Head, Long Island, N. Y., as soon as Mr. Fosdick has returned as I am anxious to see him and go over the Masonic situation with a view to a conclusive decision at the earliest date possible.
“Thanking you for your courtesy in the matter, I am,
"Sincerely yours,
"Townsend Scudder.
"Glen Head, L. I., N. Y."
To this I received the following reply, dated July 22, 1918, and the next day, July 23rd, I was at Mr. Fosdick's office in Washington:
"WAR DEPARTMENT
"Commission on Training Camp Activities
"Washington
"July 22, 1918.
"Honorable Townsend Scudder,
"Glen Head, Long Island.
"My dear Judge Scudder:
"In answer to your letter of the 19th, Mr. Fosdick landed in New York yesterday, and will be in Washington late today, so that you can arrange to see him by appointment any time now. I am sure he will be happy to confer with you relative to your interest in matters overseas.
"With kind regards, cordially yours,
"Malcolm L. McBride,
Acting Chairman."
"McB :RB
SURPRISING INTERVIEWS WITH MR. FOSDICK
I went to Washington, remained there for four days, and had several interviews with Mr. Fosdick. I shall not attempt to separate these several conversations, but treat them as a unit, except that the last interview at this time was on the train between Washington and New York.
After a short preliminary conversation, I asked him what the difficulty was which seemed to stand in the Masonic Mission's way. He replied that since his advent in France, his viewpoint had changed, and that he had grave doubts now whether the fraternity could carry out its project of independent service abroad. He then went on to state his reasons.
One was that the furnishing of transportation facilities was a source of embarrassment to the military authorities, particularly in the crowded areas near the front; another, that it was unwise, from the military standpoint, that there should be any more civilians in these areas because of the danger of military secrets leaking out; still another, that there existed jealousies and rivalries among the various civilian organizations abroad, and that to add to the number of non-military bodies would simply increase the general confusion. He also pointed out that the question of the transportation of our equipment and supplies would be very difficult, if not impossible, of independent arrangement, having perhaps forgotten his previous statement to me that, as far as our literature was concerned, it could doubtless be forwarded to us in Europe by the Librarian of Congress, and my previous statement that we would not engage in canteen work.
As to his first objection, that of transportation to, and in, the crowded areas behind the front, I pointed out that the government having excluded us from the camps, the cantonments, and the fronts, all our negotiations had been based upon our proposal to confine our activities to the so-called leaveareas, and therefore this question of transportation, as put forward by him, did not seem pertinent. Furthermore, in view of our contemplating sending not over fifty (50) men abroad, it could hardly be urged that this small number could strain transportation facilities anywhere.
The reasons I had in mind the number of fifty men as a maximum, which I gave to him, were that fifty would enable every Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States to have one of its members engaged in this work. I told him, however, that I really believed that about twenty-five would more likely be the number because many of the jurisdictions would join in being represented by the same man. If this number of fifty seemed to him too great, I would willingly stipulate that the maximum should be twenty-five. "Would the contemplated fifty," I asked, "be the final straw to break the camel's back?"
As to the betrayal of military secrets, I said that it was inconceivable that the great Masonic maternity could not furnish fifty men whose loyalty and discretion would be above suspicion. These men would be volunteers, carefully selected, whose whole record would be subjected to the closest scrutiny, and if the government had an objection to any of them, others would be substituted. The Y.M.C.A. and Knights of Columbus were advertising in the newspapers for paid secretaries. If the government could accept, as it did, men so secured, how much more could it safely accept, from our fraternity, picked men, volunteers, whose sole desire and ambition it was, temporarily giving up their own important affairs, to render service for service's sake. Mr. Fosdick responded by saying that the French government held General Pershing responsible for all civilians entering France from the United States and that the General objected to the entry of more because of lack of proper means for their investigation by him. Mr. Fosdick further asked how, if our number were limited to twenty-five, we could expect to render effective service. I responded that I thought General Pershing's objection to the necessity for his investigation of civilians was well founded, and that civilians should be, and could far better be, investigated before leaving American shores. Furthermore, as to the possible limitation of our Masonic personnel to twenty-five, I explained that our Masonic secretaries, being all executive men, would be the directing heads, each in a separate leavearea, the number of which, as I understood from Mr. Fosdick, and as I told him I did, would be about fifteen, leaving the so-called menial work to be performed by hired help, of which, we were informed, we could secure all we would need from among partially disabled French soldiers and aged men and women still capable of some service. This, in itself, would be a benefit to the French and to us. I further explained that such was the nature of our institution that the social and entertainment features of our activities would largely be in the hands of Masons on leave from the army and navy, acting as quasi hosts to any man in uniform seeking our hospitality.
As explained to us in letters from Masons serving overseas urging the establishment by us of recreation centers, there was a constant stream of men on leave coming to, and returning from, the leaveareas, thus furnishing always an ample number of volunteer hosts due to the large number of Masons serving with the colors.
Regarding jealousies and rivalries between nonmilitary organizations serving abroad, I told him that the Masonic fraternity had a quarrel with nobody, and that the character of the men we would send abroad would be such that they would invite no controversies. Our sole ambition was to do our duty, to serve efficiently, and quarrels would be incompatible therewith.
"How about the feud between you and the Knights of Columbus ?" asked Mr. Fosdick.
I told him that it took two to make a quarrel and that we had none with them. As an evidence of their feeling toward us in this war work, I showed him the following letters:
"Thomas J. Evers, Chairman Edward B. Goate, Director
"KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
"Coney Island Week Committee
"Aug. 26 to Aug. 31st inclusive
"For War Camp Activities Fund
"Long Island Chapter
"Headquarters, 381 Fulton St., Room 3
"Telephone, Main 6061
"Brooklyn, N. Y., June 26, 1918.
"Mr. Geo. W. Menke,
"231 Albany Ave.,
"Brooklyn, N. Y.
"My dear George:
"The affairs of the Knights of Columbus have so shaped themselves that I am now in a position to make arrangements with the Masonic Order for their participation. We desire to have the participation of your Order in the first day of the weekly doings, which we have called 'Fraternity Day,' the feature of which will be a parade in which all of the Fraternal Societies on Long Island will take part. Many of the societies have volunteered representation, and we feel that the project would not be a complete success unless we had a representation from your Body.
"The most influential men of the City, State and Country are to be our guests, as you will see from the fact that the guest of honor for the following nights are to be as follows:
Tuesday, Mayor Hylan as the guest of honor.
Wednesday, Gov. Whitman as the guest of honor.
Thursday, Secretary Daniels as the guest of honor.
Friday, Secretary Baker as the guest of honor.
"Will you be kind enough to take this up with the proper officials of your order, and advise me just what steps it will be necessary for me to take in order for me to have the presence of our Masonic brothers assured on this occasion.
"Very sincerely yours,
"Thos. J. Evers, Chairman."
"BEDFORD LODGE, NO. 574, F. & A. M.
"Aurora Grata Cathedral
"Bedford Avenue and Madison Street
"Brooklyn, July 3, 1918.
"William S. Farmer, Esq.
"Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York,
"Greetings:
"The enclosed letter is in a measure self-explanatory. In brief. Mr. Evers is a personal friend of mine of many years standing, in whom I repose the utmost confidence, which is reciprocated, and accounts for his communicating with me regarding the participation of the Masonic Fraternity in the Knights of Columbus Coney Island War Drive.
"Action has been withheld by me until his return from Washington, where he secured the assurances of the Secretary of the War and Navy Depts. of their presence on the days stated, or if not possible, then through a representative of the highest ranking Army and Navy officer, or by an Assistant Secretary of the respective Departments on the nights in question.
"Monday night, Aug. 26th, is, as stated by Mr. Evers, to be known as Fraternity night, and invitations are to be extended to various Fraternities to participate in a parade.
"The purpose of the drive is to raise One Million Dollars on Long Island for the continuance of their War Camp activities, and the arrangements which have been made provides a One Dollar admission to all the leading attractions, 50 per cent. of which is to be retained by the Amusement proprietors, and the balance to their Fund - the smaller amusement places and business men are to donate a certain percentage of their gross receipts - this arrangement to continue from Aug. 26th to 31st, both nights inclusive.
"The participation of the Masonic fraternity in this parade is earnestly desired by the K. of C. War Camp Committee, not only to assist in their purpose, but for the object lesson it may teach to the people as a whole, and should it be possible to do so as a fraternity, I am assured our institution will receive the recognition due its high and exalted station.
"Personally, I do not know whether we, as Masons, could enter into this proposal; but as the communication from Mr. Evers is in his official capacity as chairman, I therefore submit it to you for such action as you deem proper; but if a way can be found to do so, I earnestly recommend that the proposal receive favorable consideration, and everything done by us to assure a satisfactory representation. I am convinced that such action must have a wonderful effect on our less enlightened brethren, - if it takes an institution as big and great as ours to do real good and promote true friendship and brotherly love, I am sure Freemasonry will not be found wanting.
"Should you desire me to personally call upon you or some one designated by you I will gladly answer such summons at any time and at any place, either accompanied by Mr. Evers or alone.
"Thanking you in advance for the serious consideration I know this will receive, I remain,
"Fraternally,
"G. W. Menke. Jr. Warden."
I also called his attention to the fact that when the Catholic Orphanage at Utica, New York, had been destroyed by fire, the Masonic fraternity organized an entertainment by the children of our Masonic Home in that city, the proceeds of which were devoted to the reconstruction of the orphanage, and that our fraternity had received grateful acknowledgment therefor.
Mr. Fosdick appearing somewhat skeptical on the point of our relations, I offered to ask the heads of the Knights of Columbus to call upon him, when, I felt, they would urge the issuance to us of the desired passports.
Regarding his objection that the transportation of our equipment and supplies would be very difficult, if not impossible, I pointed out that we did not purpose Groins into the canteen business, and that our main supplies would be the principal periodicals and newspapers from the United States which, he had previously said, could doubtless be sent to us by the Librarian of the Congressional Library.
Furthermore, I told him that, because of negotiations had with the Y.M.C.A., we had reason to believe that satisfactory arrangements could be made with them whereby there would be available to us their means of entertainment, like movies, and supplies such as tobacco, chocolate, etc.
Asked by Mr. Fosdick why we did not go over under the auspices of the Y.M.C.A., I replied that very naturally we preferred to go over independently, and that the call by our fellow Masons with the colors was for independent service, and because, having received the government's approval of such independent service, all our arrangements had been made accordingly.
Thereupon, Mr. Fosdick voiced objections from a new angle. The conversation which ensued, while not given ipsissimis verbis, was practically as follows:
Fosdick: "Do you know that the French government has constituted General Pershing as sort of czar as far as anything American in France is concerned, and those whom he doesn't want there must leave? There is no appeal from General Pershing's decisions. Except with his consent you could do nothing when you reached there. You couldn't rent a store or building, or open a hut for your purpose, because before a French property owner could rent his premises, the French authorities would refer it to General Pershing and his consent would have to be had."
Scudder: "If such are the rules, we Masons would comply with them. If the other organizations working in France can be effective under them, we can too."
Fosdick: "General Pershing is opposed to the introduction of any new agencies. He has enough to do in dealing with the ones he has there now. Pershing said he favored all war relief work being in the hands of the military or under one single civilian organization. My own experience on the other side confirms me in the wisdom of this plan."
Scudder: "Why don't you place it all under the military, then?"
Fosdick: "Perhaps we will, although it may be the thing has gone too far for that now."
Scudder: "But if you don't put it under one control, why discriminate against the Masons?"
Fosdick: "I do not discriminate against the Masons. My grandfather was one and I have a great regard for them. But I put it up to Pershing and he said, 'Keep them away from here.' "
Scudder: "Did you explain to General Pershing that the Masonic activities were to be confined to the leaveareas and that our war service in no respect would be identified with our usual activities as a secret society?"
Fosdick: "I covered the ground fully with General Pershing. He said it was very uncomfortable for him to have American citizens, for whom he was held responsible by the French government, enter France as secretaries of relief organizations, and then arrested by the French authorities and shot as German spies, as has happened."
Scudder: "Even so, it would hardly apply to us for this reason. No one enters the Masonic fraternity without investigation of his character and previous history. The men we would send over would be men of long membership, whose record is known, on whom we could implicitly rely, and for whom we would unhesitatingly vouch. In addition, we would offer you every facility for yourself investigating them. Surely, if you can take the large number of men as secretaries of the Y.M.C.A. and K. of C., applying for positions as such in answer to advertisements, you could with safety accept our men, few in number, and well recommended."
Fosdick: "Does the Masonic fraternity persist in its overseas ambitions in the face of the expressed opposition of General Pershing?"
Scudder: "If it has come to that, or will come to that, the Masonic fraternity will do nothing to add to General Pershing's burdens and responsibilities. The fraternity has but one desire, to serve helpfully, and its ambition in this regard would not be satisfied if its efforts made heavier the burdens of General Pershing, but, as yet, nothing has been said which makes this the issue. To me it is patent that General Pershing should be relieved of the burden of passing upon the loyalty, trustworthiness, and discretion of secretaries sent overseas to conduct war relief work, and he should not be held responsible for them, though his authority over them, of course, should stand. The government should investigate the candidates for secretaries abroad here where it can be more deliberately done and where the evidence is at hand. Of course, isolated disloyal secretaries may slip through and these will, in any event, have to be dealt with on the other side, but I fail to see what difference it makes whether the secretaries are working under the Y.M.C.A., the Knights of Columbus, or the Masonic fraternity, provided they are the right sort of men."
Fosdick: "But bringing in the Masons creates another agency and the practical difficulty in your way can not be disregarded. It is not only a question of General Pershing, but it is also a question of the French government. Before you can accomplish anything your credentials will have to be passed upon by the French government, and all your movements will be retarded while your men and credentials are under the investigation of the French government. In my mind there are grave doubts whether the French government will want you."
Scudder: "The invitations that we have received from Masons in France lead us to believe that there will be no question of our welcome over there. Give us the chance to get in touch with the French authorities and we have reason to believe that they will not object to us and our work. If they do, we shall have a good explanation of our failure to serve independently overseas."
Fosdick: "But there is the opposition of General Pershing, and as far as we are concerned he should be controlling."
Scudder: "Do you think that General Pershing thoroughly understood the limited sphere of Masonic activities in Europe, that our work was to be confined to the leaveareas, and that our personnel would be limited to fifty?"
Fosdick: "I explained the matter fully to him."
Scudder: "We have received another version of General Pershing's position with reference to our fraternity. As it came to us, you are reported as having asked General Pershing whether the Masons should be permitted to engage in war relief work in France, and General Pershing is reported to have replied, in effect, that all this service ought to be under the military or a single civilian head, but that, because there were already several civilian agencies now engaged in the work, the question of whether the Masons should be allowed to come in also was a political question which Washington should settle and not he."
Fosdick: "My version of the conversation with General Pershing is correct."
Scudder: "The Masons have at least a hundred thousand of their members with the colors, and the nearly two million active Masons in the United States will hardly accept as good reasons for their exclusion from war relief work those which have been given, except your statement of the opposition of General Pershing to which we would be forced to bow, although not accepting it as well founded. I fail to see how that can be used.
"How can the department permit to go out to the large number of Masons serving abroad the word that the opposition to the fraternity's overseas service came from the Commanding General?
"How, too, about such action impairing confidence in the Commanding General on the part of the Masons at home who have so loyally supported the government, despite our disappointment over being debarred from relief work, and contributed so liberally to overseas work by other organizations?
"To make public the nature of this opposition as the justification for Masonic exclusion will dishearten and disturb a very considerable body of our citizens here, as well as Masons in the ranks. I do not see how it can be made public now."
Fosdick: "But General Pershing's attitude is not personal to the Masons, it is to all like organizations. He objects to any new agencies and would have the whole relief work under the military authorities, and I may recommend this myself to the Secretary of War, or I may urge that all this work be put under one civilian head who will be directly responsible to General Pershing."
Scudder: "I am here representing about two million loyal American citizens who are eager to serve Their country. I must make my report to them and I want it to be satisfying. I do not want it to be one which will chill them or breed dissatisfaction. This is not a time when there should be differences between our people, and unnecessary issues which disturb peace of mind and defeat perfect unity and co-operation must be avoided. What reasons will the War Department give me in writing, so that I may present them to the fraternity to satisfy it that its case has been duly considered and acted upon in an unbiased way? The reasons must appeal to the common sense of our people and be acceptable as good because they are valid."
Fosdick: "I am going to take the whole matter up with the Secretary of War very shortly, perhaps this very evening, and I will arrange for a meeting between you and him if you feel that that will help the situation. I recognize that it is embarrassing."
Scudder: "I will gladly meet Secretary Baker and will hold myself in readiness here in Washington until I hear from you as to time and place of meeting him.'
Fosdick: "I will make the appointment and communicate with you at your hotel. Have you considered taking this matter up with the President?"
Scudder: "That thought has gone through my mind, but I have been somewhat embarrassed over the question of procedure. On one hand, it is difficult to put on paper in a condensed form that will fully cover the situation, the history of the Masonic fraternity's efforts to serve overseas and the reasons for its desire to do so; on the other, I would dislike to have to give my version of a conversation with the President, particularly if he were to take the same position which you are taking. Even if I explained the President's position as accurately as I could, a controversy might be precipitated, and the accuracy of my version of the conversation with the President challenged. I served in congress years ago in the days of the Ananias Club I have no desire to have it revived."
Fosdick: "I am hoping we can reach the satisfactory solution which we are both seeking. I am trying to do my duty in the premises, and appreciate the difficulties and embarrassments which are confronting you. I will talk it all over with the Secretary of War, and will arrange for this interview between you and him as well. Perhaps a way can be found to meet the situation."
Scudder: "Is there any objection to the personnel of our mission as now constituted? If so, we can substitute other men."
Fosdick: "There is not the slightest objection to the personnel. The opposition is to the introduction of a new agency."
Scudder: "We have proposed to the Y.M.C.A. that we might join them and do our work under their auspices as a branch of their activities."
Fosdick: "That would solve the whole question. Why do you not do it?"
Scudder: "Up to the present time we have not been able to reach a working agreement. The Y.M.C.A. are employing a great number of Free Masons as secretaries and gladly receive our financial support, but they have not as yet seen their way clear to accord us sufficient independence to meet the longings of our own people to have the Masonic fraternity in name as well as in fact identified with war relief work. Our boys with the colors crave the opportunity of being hosts under their own roof and reciprocating the courtesies they are receiving from the Y.M.C.A., the Knights of Columbus, and others."
Fosdick: "Reach a working agreement with the Y.M.C.A. and the difficulty will be solved. Our opposition is to the introduction of a new agency independently."
Scudder: "But it ought not be overlooked that the Masons are not a new agency. We are not seeking a new permit to engage in war relief work. We are not in the same class with the organizations whose petitions to engage in such work, you tell me, have recently been received by the War Department. Our petition was filed with you months ago. It was favorably acted upon by you; your consent was given to us to engage in this work. On the strength of that consent we called together the Grand Masters of Masons in the United States and had the enterprise endorsed. We appointed our committee to represent the fraternity. We have started and have already raised, exclusively from our own members, large sums of money to carry on our work, and the fact that we were in this work with the government's consent was given to the public press, all on the strength of the government's action, and in the light of all these circumstances we should not now be classed with agencies who are only now seeking to enter this field."
Fosdick: "I appreciate the embarrassment of it all and can assure you it will be given our best thought. I hope you will decide to go to the President, but in any event I will arrange a meeting with Secretary Baker and advise you."
Here we parted.
During my stay in Washington I had several conversations with Mr. Fosdick over the telephone. I was called up by him, and I also called up his office. He told me that he and Secretary Baker were considering the matter but had not yet reached the point where they could submit a concrete proposition to me for discussion. I was finally asked whether I could not return to Washington the following week, that Mr. Baker had to leave, and that there was no prospect of reaching a conclusion before his departure. I accordingly agreed to hold myself in readiness to return to Washington the moment summoned. In the meantime, however, I had decided to confer with Mr. Joseph P. Tumulty, the Secretary to the President. I did not advise Mr. Fosdick of this fact, and my interview with Mr. Tumulty is given under a separate head.
It chanced, however, that I met Mr. Fosdick on the train which I took to return to New York and we had occasion again to discuss our matter. This discussion will be reported under a separate head because it raised a new issue involving our Scottish Rite brethren.
THE SCOTTISH RITE BROUGHT IN
As already stated, Mr. Fosdick and I met by chance on the train from Washington to New York. He told me that since he had last spoken to me over the 'phone he had received a call from some gentlemen representing the Scottish Rite and that their spokesman, Judge George Fleming Moore, had expressed to him the desire of the Scottish Rite Masonry to engage in war relief work in France. Mr. Fosdick told me that the outline of the work that Judge Moore had presented showed his purpose to be similar to what we New York men had in mind. The following conversation ensued, the substance of which I give:
Fosdick: "I told Judge Moore that the work which he projected was similar to that which was projected by the New York Masons, that the government had under advisement the application of the New York Masons to engage in this, and that it would be necessary for Judge Moore to work in harmony with the New York men because the government could deal with but one head should it be decided to allow the Masons to enter the overseas field."
Scudder: "Did you tell Judge Moore that the overseas work as planned by the Masonic Mission was of such a nature that all Masonic bodies could join in it, the only effect of so doing being that the more money contributed, the greater would be the extent of the work ?"
Fosdick: "Yes, I covered the ground with him, but you do not seem to be in accord. Judge Moore told me that if but one permit for overseas work was to be granted to the Masonic fraternity, it should be granted to him and his committee and not to the New York committee; that he, Judge Moore, represented the aristocracy of the Masonic fraternity, the head of it; and that it was not consistent that the tail should wag the dog."
Scudder: "I think Judge Moore will not repeat that statement in our presence. He must know of what happened in New York at the conference of Grand Masters held there in May. I think it highly desirable that when the meeting is arranged between yourself, Secretary Baker, and me, Judge Moore be also invited, for I am quite persuaded that you will find him in perfect accord with us and anxious to work with us."
Fosdick: "Does Judge Moore represent a higher authority in the Masonic fraternity than you do?"
Scudder: "He does not. It is all a case of wheels within wheels. Judge Moore is the head of the Scottish Rite of the Southern Jurisdiction, the membership of which is perhaps a hundred thousand. I am representing the forty-nine Grand Masonic Jurisdictions of the United States and its membership is not far from two million. I am also myself a Scottish Rite Mason, but my membership in the Scottish Rite and all my honors therein would fall if I lost my membership in my lodge. The lodge is the beginning and end of Masonry. True, we have subdivided into many parts. The subdivisions are purely social. Membership in each one of them is dependent upon membership in a lodge, and each one of these subdivisions has its own officers known by special titles, but these subdivisions do not shape the course of the Masonic fraternity, nor do they control it, nor are they superior to it. The organized charities of the Masonic fraternity are directed more particularly through the medium of Masonic lodges."
Fosdick: "This is all very interesting, but you and Judge Moore seem to have a different conception of the relative importance of the bodies which you represent. He says that his body is the head of Masonry and you say that yours is. It is your lack of co-ordination as a fraternity which has hampered the government in its effort to deal with you."
Scudder: "Fix the time for the meeting with the Secretary of War, invite Judge Moore, I will be there too, and you will find that there is no lack of co-ordination."
Fosdick: "I will let you know when and where the meeting will be held."
Here we parted.
More or less disturbed by this injection of the Scottish Rite into our difficulties, I felt it wise immediately to get into touch with Judge Moore and acquaint him with the danger of the situation and how destructive it would be of our ambitions to serve overseas if the impression made by his interview with Mr. Fosdick was not corrected. Accordingly I wrote to Judge Moore a letter, a copy of which follows, and to make sure that he knew of the authority under which we were acting and the magnitude of the movement, I also sent him a copy of the minutes of the meeting of Grand Masters of Masons held in New York on May the 9th, marking therein those passages which more particularly dealt with our overseas enterprise.
"July 27th, 1918.
"To the Honorable George Fleming Moore,
"Grand Commander,
"Scottish Rite Temple, 16th & S St., N. W.,
"Washington, D. C.
"My dear Judge Moore:
"l have just learned that the Scottish Rite of the Southern Jurisdiction are ambitious to render Masonic service overseas to the men with the colors. Doubtless, you know that New York is committed to a plan to render similar service if the opportunity can be found.
"I am fearful that without co-ordination neither of us will realize our heart's desire in this respect. It may be a case of united we stand, divided we fall. Certainly there is work enough for all, cheering and comforting our boys. I am informed that a conference, perhaps, will be called for next week to discuss the service overseas you and we have proposed. As soon as I learn the date I will hasten to Washington in the hope of seeing you before we meet at that conference, to obtain the benefit of your advice. I am sending to you under separate cover the minutes of the Conference of Grand Masters held in New York in May of this year and take the liberty of marking certain pages which present New York's viewpoint, more or less accurately. The volume does not contain the correspondence since the conference was held inviting us to proceed and giving assurance of co-operation and support. We feel there is now behind the movement a force which assures success.
"I greatly regret I missed you this week. Looking forward to meeting you in the near future and with fraternal regards, I am,
"Fraternally yours,
"Townsend Scudder.
"P. S. I can be reached by wire Glen Head, New York."
Acknowledgment was received from Judge Moore as follows:
"WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM
"July 30, 1918.
"Your special delivery letter received. Will write.
"George F. Moore."
Judge Moore failed to write as he stated in his telegram he would do, and during the interim between the receipt of his telegram on July 30th and our next communication from him on August 26th, correspondence had passed between Mr. Fosdick and me not relating to the Scottish Rite and will be set forth later herein. This correspondence is taken out of its proper chronological order in the interest of a more consecutive narrative. We therefore continue with Judge Moore.
On August 26th I received the following telegram:
"WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM
"1918 Aug 26 P.M. 1.05
“Dioow 28
"PN WASHINGTON DC 1255 P 26
"Judge Townsend Scudder,
"Masonic Hall, 23rd St. and 6th Ave., New York City.
"Sovereign Grand Commander Moore has commissioned me to visit you in New York to discuss Masonic work abroad, please wire me when and where I can meet you tomorrow.
"Hugh T. Stevenson."
A reply to this was immediately sent, and Mr. Stevenson met M. W. Robert Judson Kenworthy, the Grand Secretary of New York, and me at the Grand Secretary's office on the evening of August 27th. After the usual introductions he informed us that he had read on his way up from Washington every word of the proceedings of the Grand Masters' meeting held in New York in May, and had therefrom learned for the first time that we actually had the written consent of the government to engage in war relief work; that Judge Moore and he contended that they had been promised for the Scottish Rite a like permit, but as a matter of fact that they did not have it except by word of mouth, and that both Secretary Baker and Mr. Fosdick disputed having made them any promise. He inquired whether we had faith in Mr. Fosdick or whether we believed he was trying to double-cross us. Upon being told that we took Mr. Fosdick at his word and were relying upon the written consent from him to engage in overseas work, he said that he entertained grave doubts whether the Scottish Rite would be able to get an independent consent for their enterprise, and inquired whether Judge Moore could not join ours. We explained to Brother Stevenson that we felt that the only way for any of us to carry out the wishes of the fraternity would be by working together, that our plan of action, as he had learned from his perusal of the Grand Masters' proceedings, was broad enough to take in any one who wished to join, and that we would be very glad to welcome all who cared to come in.
We further told him of the projected meeting between ourselves, Secretary Baker, and Mr. Fosdick, and renewed the invitation to Judge Moore to join us in that conference and by our conduct convince the Secretary of War and Mr. Fosdick that there was no division in the fraternity. Mr. Stevenson concurred in the wisdom of this course, and said that he would return to Washington that same evening, see Judge Moore, and wire us Judge Moore's decision upon the question whether he would work with us or independently.
On August 28th Brother Stevenson duly telegraphed as follows:
"WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM
"1918 Aug 28 P.M. 1.23
"F 79 W 10
"Mc Washington DC 12.05 P 28
"Hon. Townsend Scudder,
"Masonic Hall, 6th Ave and 23rd St., New York, N. Y.
"Report satisfactory to Grand Commander will work unitedly. Letter follows.
"Hugh T. Stevenson."
Brother Stevenson, at his interview with us in New York, told us that Judge Moore and he had a friend in Washington who could bring our matter to a head quickly, and that if Judge Moore would agree to participate in our Masonic Mission, he, Stevenson, would avail himself of the services of this friend, and keep us posted.
On August 29th we received from Brother Stevenson the following telegram:
"WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM
"32 NY AG 50
"MS New York N. Y., 1229P Aug. 29, 1918
"Hon. Townsend Scudder,
"Glen Head, N. Y.
"Friend promises quick action will seek tomorrow morning for an early conference between Fosdick, Jamison, Moore, you and myself for some evening soon, possibly Friday. If satisfactory to all as soon as I learn of Fosdick's open dates will notify you.
"Expect all to go except those within draft age.
"Hugh T. Stevenson.
"150 P 29th"
The foregoing telegram of August 29th was followed by another:
"WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM
"55 NY AG21 Rush IX
"MS New York, N. Y., Aug. 29, 455P
"Hon. Townsend Scudder,
"Glen Head, N. Y.
"Can you come here for conference tomorrow dinner with Moore and myself at five meet others at seven thirty answer.
Hugh T. Stevenson.
"552P"
To this last telegram I replied that I would go to Washington to keep the engagement he proposed. This I did. This telegram was crossed by a letter I had sent to Brother Stevenson on August 28th.
He had urged upon Brother Kenworthy and me to utilize his presence in Washington to further our negotiations with the government, intimating that, while his relations with Secretary Baker were very cordial, he could not with certainty say the same with reference to Mr. Fosdick, because he had noticed that Mr. Fosdick was frequently "out" or "engaged" when he called at his office.
To assist Brother Stevenson to obtain an interview with Mr. Fosdick for the particular purpose of hastening the conference between Fosdick, Secretary Baker, Moore, and me, I wrote, in a long letter to Mr. Fosdick, a Paragraph as follows:
"There is on the ground in Washington a gentleman in whom we place confidence and with whom we feel you can talk this matter over to advantage. My reference is to the Rev. Hugh T. Stevenson, 157 U St., N.W."
I sent a copy of this letter to Mr. Fosdick enclosed in a letter to Brother Stevenson, as follows:
"August 28, 1918.
"Rev. Hugh T. Stevenson,
"157 U. Street, N. W.,
"Washington, D. C.
"Dear Mr. Stevenson:
"I am enclosing a copy of my letter to Mr. Fosdick. I hope it will meet your approval and pave the way to a conference between you and him which will open the door a little wider. I am indeed happy that we have gotten together and am hopeful of splendid results.
"Looking forward to seeing you in the near future, believe me
"Sincerely,
"Glen Head, L. I.,N.Y.
Townsend Scudder.
"Your telegram received. Am glad indeed the situation is so promising."
On the same day, August 28th, Brother Stevenson wrote to me the following:
"The
"SUPREME COUNCIL
"of the
"Thirty-third Degree
"A. and A. Scottish Rite
"Southern Jurisdiction
"of U. S. A.
George F. Moore,
Sovereign Grand Commander
"Washington City, August 28, 1918.
"Judge Townsend Scudder,
"Masonic Hall, New York City.
"Dear Sir and Brother:
"Immediately upon my return this morning from our conference last evening I made my report to the Sovereign Grand Commander. He approves everything that I agreed with you about and there will be absolutely united action between us and yourself. I will see my friend this afternoon and commence to do what I promised in reference to pushing matters. It is possible but not probable that events may shape themselves so that Judge Moore and I may be in New York Friday or Saturday, although I am very apt to think that due to the congestion of travel on account of Labor Day and my own work, it will not be possible for me to be there before next Tuesday.
"I shall prepare a memorandum that will reach Secretary Baker within the next few days but before sending that memorandum to him a copy will be sent to you for any suggestions you may desire to make. '
"In closing, permit me to say that I appreciate the courtesy and fraternal spirit exhibited both by yourself and Brother Kenworthy to me last evening and I will ask you both to look over an official report that I must make for the records of the Sovereign Grand Commander when I again see you.
"Hoping that by our joint action things will now move with rapidity and we can not only 'go over' but 'put it over,' I remain,
"Fraternally yours,
"Hugh T. Stevenson."
Upon my arrival in Washington I was met by Brother Stevenson, who first drove me to the House of the Temple, where I met Judge Moore. Thereafter we three took dinner together, and went very fully over the situation as we understood it and the course which we should pursue when we entered into conversations with Mr. Fosdick and such other representatives of the government as might be with him.
We anticipated that we were to see Secretary Baker, but we afterward learned that he was leaving Washington that very evening.
Judge Moore told me that he had as yet obtained no written consent from the government to engage in war relief work overseas as the representative of the Scottish Rite of the Southern Jurisdiction; that the amount of money at his command for this purpose was very small, only twenty thousand dollars, which, he recognized, would not go very far; that he had been approached by the Odd Fellows, who were anxious to serve overseas, and felt that his position with the government would be strengthened by his representing this society as well as the Southern Jurisdiction. He said that if the War Department sought to distinguish between the Scottish Rite and the Masonic Grand Jurisdictions, and if it would not grant to the Scottish Rite an independent permit to engage in war work, he would make application to his own Grand Lodge, Alabama, and secure an appointment by its Grand Master as the representative of Alabama on the Masonic Mission planned by New York and endorsed by the Grand Masters' meeting in New York.
Judge Moore added that he was getting to be an old man, that his own work would have to be entirely executive, and that, to enable him to accomplish what he had to do, it would be necessary for him to take with him brethren whom he had selected as his aides. I told him that there would be no objection to that; that under our arrangement with the War Department the personnel of our Mission could be enlarged so that each state would have a representative if this was desired, and that, as the men whom he named hailed from different states and were prominent, I saw no reason why they should not all join, provided, of course, they were satisfactory to the government and to their respective Masonic jurisdictions.
I took this opportunity to tell Judge Moore what Mr. Fosdick had told me about Judge Moore's remark that if there was to be only one permit to the Masonic fraternity, it should be issued to the Scottish Rite, as represented by Judge Moore, and not to the Grand Lodges' Mission, that it was not appropriate that the tail should wag the dog, and that the Scottish Rite represented the aristocracy and brains of the Masonic fraternity.
All these statements attributed to him Judge Moore categorically denied, and, in turn, told me that Mr. Fosdick had said that I, Scudder, had spoken most disparagingly of the Scottish Rite. Needless to say, this was untrue.
Mr. Fosdick joined us about this time. He was accompanied by the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Committee, as I understood it, and we forthwith entered into the discussion of the matter which had brought us together.
Judge Moore told Mr. Fosdick that he understood the Secretary of War had given him (Judge Moore) permission to go overseas to survey the field and undertake such war relief work for the Masonic fraternity as he might find there was to do after his survey.
Mr. Fosdick replied that Judge Moore was mistaken; that no such permit had been given, and that the only permit given by the government to the Masonic fraternity to engage in overseas war relief work was the permit held by the New York Mission, adding that the government would recognize but one head of any one organization. Mr. Fosdick then expressed his doubt whether it would be wise for the Masons to engage independently in the work they contemplated, and gave as the reasons for this conclusion many of the reasons which he had previously urged upon me in my conversations with him in the latter part of July. The merits of these reasons were quite fully discussed, but the question of Masonic disunity was not again brought up by Mr. Fosdick. The trend of our conversation established clearly that the fraternity stood as a unit, and that if it was permitted to send its representatives overseas to engage in war relief work, all would go under the auspices of the several Grand Lodges, under the permit of April 23, 1918, signed by Mr. Fosdick as chairman of the Committee on Training Camp Activities of the War Department, and in harmony with the plan adopted at the New York Grand Masters' Conference.
Although Masonic unity had been made clear, Mr. Fosdick's opposition to the Masonic fraternity engaging in war relief work overseas became nevertheless very marked. He mentioned a certain document which he had prepared which, according to him, fully explained and, in his opinion, justified the. refusal of the government to let the Masonic Mission sail. He asked Judge Moore whether he would give his endorsement to it, mentioning that he had already sent it to Judge Moore for consideration. This document I had never seen, and its contents I do not know, but Judge Moore then and there said that he could not approve it or sanction its going out with his endorsement, either expressed or implied, as it did not meet the situation. Mr. Fosdick then said that he would have the document signed by the Secretary of War even without Judge Moore's approval and close the incident. From this position we were unable to move him. He had not said in so many words that our permit was revoked, but we all understood that it would be revoked when the Secretary of War signed the document to which Mr. Fosdick had referred.
Judge Moore then said to Mr. Fosdick, "I am anxious to visit certain Masonic bodies of Europe. As Sovereign Grand Commander I have business relationship with them, there are pending between us important matters which must be settled. Some of these bodies have conferred honors upon me and have been waiting a long time to present me with my honorary membership and otherwise entertain me. I am getting to be an old man and am very anxious to close up the open matters with these European Masonic bodies and also to accept the honors they have conferred and not keep them waiting for me any longer. Is there objection to my obtaining passports for this purpose?" Mr. Fosdick replied that to this there was no objection; that we could all go on such Masonic business as this, because it would be recognized by the government as legitimate business between the representatives of the Masonic fraternity in America and the representatives of the fraternity on the other side, and that the issuing of passports for the purpose of transacting it would be within the rules and that the passports for this purpose would be given. Turning to me, Mr. Fosdick asked whether I also would not go to Europe on the same business and whether my thus going would not relieve the situation. Judge Moore also extended a similar invitation and expressed the pleasure it would give him if we could travel together. I told Mr. Fosdick that I appreciated Judge Moore's desires to go for the purposes which he had mentioned, but that personally I had no such business on the other side; that I would go to carry out the will of the Masonic fraternity to serve our men with the colors, or I would not go at all. Shortly after this Mr. Fosdick withdrew, to keep an appointment with the Secretary of War, as he told us.
We separated with the understanding that Judge Moore, accompanied by Brother Samuel P. Cochran of Texas, and Brother Hugh T. Stevenson, would sail for Europe as soon as they could get their passports, but that the Masonic Mission would continue its efforts on this side to obtain the passports to which it considered its Mission was entitled under the government's consent of April 23d, and failing in this, to connect with Y.M.C.A. if that was possible, and under its auspices perform the work and discharge the duties for which the Mission had been created.
WHY WAS A RULING OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT MADE RETROACTIVE ?
On Saturday, August 31, i918, the day following the conference between Judge Moore, Mr. Fosdick, Brother Stevenson, Brother Jamieson, and me (Brother Jamieson, I understood, had been invited to take part in this conference either by Judge Moore or Mr. Fosdick), accompanied by Brother Stevenson, I called at the office of the Democratic Committee and met Brother Jamieson, where we compared our impressions of the previous night's meeting. Brother Jamieson said that he had had another conference with Mr. Fosdick that morning and was convinced that Mr. Fosdick was hostile and would not recede from the position which he had taken in opposition to the departure of the Masonic Mission.
Brother Stevenson suggested that strong political pressure higher up might be of some avail, and I reminded those present what was known to Judge Moore, that a letter had been written to the President, a copy of which had been read to them. It was therefore decided that we should await the President's reply, the opinion having been expressed by Judge Moore that the letter to the President covered the ground, and presented the case clearly, so that if there was any disposition to treat the matter on its merits the case had been fully stated.
I told the brethren that I seemed to make more headway with Mr. Fosdick when I saw him alone than when I met him in the company of others, and that I intended to seek another interview with him in the hope of convincing him that his attitude now was inconsistent with what had gone before and was bound to cause suspicions and breed dissatisfaction, that the fraternity having in good faith accepted the government's word as expressed through him and having relied upon it, had proceeded with considerable publicity to make good its undertaking. We were injured and sorely grieved over what would be regarded as a breach of faith on the part of the government unless patriotic reasons for the government's change of position were given instead of an arbitrary withdrawal of the permit based upon reasons of no great weight.
I again called upon Mr. Fosdick at his office, and again we went over the old ground, and it was not long before I found that Mr. Fosdick seemed to agree with me. He told me that the Secretary of War had not signed the paper to present which to the Secretary of War for his signature he had left our conference the night before, and he expressed himself as glad that he had not obtained that signature, so that the matter was still open. This happened after I had asked him when it was that the government had decided upon the policy of issuing no further permits to civilian organizations to engage in welfare work with our forces overseas. He told me that he had decided to recommend this course after his conference with General Pershing, and that upon his return to America he discussed the point with the Secretary of War, who had agreed with him, and who had further advised him to hold up the Masonic Mission. I pointed out to Mr. Fosdick that this decision had evidently been reached between two and three months after the permit had been given to the Masonic fraternity, and as I interpreted the "policy of the Department," as he expressed it, it was now the intention to give this ruling a retroactive construction, or, in other words, to date it back so as to bring the Masonic fraternity under it, when, as a matter of fact it did not legitimately apply to the application of the Masonic fraternity, which already had been acted upon and disposed of before the new rule came into existence.
I also pointed out to Mr. Fosdick that as I saw it his fear of being inconsistent when called upon to deny, under the new rule, the applications of other organizations seeking to engage in war relief work overseas because passports had been issued to the Masonic fraternity was not well founded, and that he had a complete answer and justification in the facts as they existed, namely, that the Masonic fraternity's application had been acted upon months before the new rule and did not come under it, and that to this no one could take exception because it was a fact and in harmony with justice. To this Mr. Fosdick replied, "I had not seen it clearly in that light. Why, that will let us all out, will it not?" To which I replied, "It seems to me a solution of the difficulty, and one in harmony with the facts. Personally, I cannot see how any other course can be followed." I added, "If this course is adopted there is no need of the President answering my letter of August 5th."
Turning to Mr. Fosdick as I was about to leave, I asked him why it was that the President had not answered my letter as yet, that it was some weeks since it had been written; to which he replied, "We have it here, and it is a very difficult letter to answer." I rejoined by saying, "Then don't answer it, but do the natural and consistent thing and let us get away. I can assure you that if, when we arrive on the other side, we find that there are obstacles which we cannot overcome to the accomplishment of that which is in our hearts to accomplish, we will return. The Masonic fraternity will accept our verdict, and I think the character of the men appointed on this Mission is such that the government can safely trust them to act patriotically and helpfully once they have learned the situation overseas."
Mr. Fosdick said that he would again go over the matter with the Secretary of War, and he thought that my proposed solution of our problem was a proper one.
Again we parted, I with my hopes high.
Upon my return to New York following my interview with Mr. Fosdick on August 31st, I wrote him on September 2d a letter embodying the points I had made at that interview in order that, having them before him in writing, they should not escape his attention.
This letter follows:
"September 2, 1918.
"Honorable Raymond B. Fosdick,
"Chairman Commission on Training Camp Activities,
