33phoenix.gif (13811 bytes)

The Builder Magazine

April 1921 - Volume VII - Number 4

 

Memorials to Great Men Who Were Masons

GENERAL HENRY DEARBORN

BY BRO. GEO. W. BAIRD, P.G.M., District of Columbia

HENRY DEARBORN, physician, soldier, patriot and statesman, was one of those remarkable characters who covered much ground and did it well. He rose to the rank of Major General in the Army of the Revolution, and yet the rising generation probably can tell us less about him than they can about the champion boxer or the stroke oar in the college race crew.

 

This Republic, which we hear lauded in many Fourth of July orations, owes as much to General Dearborn as it does to any division commander in the Revolutionary War. General Dearborn was born in New Hampshire, in 1751, of English ancestry, and died at Roxbury, Mass., in 1829, where he was buried. Past Grand Master Melvin M. Johnson, of Massachusetts, informs the writer that the remains of General Dearborn, and those of his wife, were removed to Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, in 1834. No memorial was erected to mark either burial site.

 

Dearborn was a man of great endurance, powerful, enthusiastic and sanguine. When he learned of the Battle of Lexington he immediately organized a company of sixty men, marched to Lexington, making sixty-five miles the first day, but unfortunately arrived too late to get into the fight.

 

He was made a Captain in Stark's Brigade, and was at Bunker Hill on the 17th of June, 1775. He accompanied General Arnold to Quebec, going through the dense woods of Maine, was taken prisoner at Quebec, paroled, and soon afterwards exchanged.

 

He served under General Gates at the capture of Burgoyne and distinguished himself and his regiment by a gallant charge at the battle of Monmouth, in 1778. He then served with General John Sullivan (who was afterwards Grand Master in New Hampshire) in the expedition against the Indians in 1780, and also with the Army in New Jersey in 1781, and the following year was on garrison duty at Saratoga. He was appointed Marshal of the District of Maine, by General Washington.

 

He served two terms in Congress and was Secretary of War for eight years. He held that the Republic expected every man to do his duty and was remiss if he did less, that the reward for the performance of a great act was in the pleasure one experienced for having performed it.

 

In 1809 General Dearborn was Collector of the Port of Boston, and in 1812 was commissioned the senior Major General in the Army and Commander of the Northern Department. In the spring of 1813 he captured the town of York, in Upper Canada, and also Fort George at the mouth of the Niagara, being afterwards recalled and placed in command of the military district of New York City.

 

General Dearborn in 1815 resigned his commission in the Army to accept the position of Minister to the kingdom of Portugal, where he remained for two years, being then recalled at his own request.

 

His life was published by General Henry A. S. Dearborn who was a prominent member of the Bar in Boston.

 

It is a pleasure to note what a great number of our Revolutionary ancestors were Freemasons; how pure and upright they were, but it is a pity their biographers have failed to record their Masonic membership.

 

The only memorials to this great man and patriot are a street in the city of Boston named after him, and Fort Dearborn, at Chicago, shown as the frontispiece in this issue of THE BUILDER through the courtesy of the National Geographic Society.

 

The War Department will furnish gratuitously small markers for the graves of Revolutionary soldiers, and even one of these modest and inexpensive stones would afford some pleasure to the descendants of Revolutionary sires.

 

Fort Dearborn, which was but a block house, has vanished, and the rising generation who thread their way through the curves and tangents of Dearborn Street probably have never known whence or why the street received its name.

 

Brother Dearborn was made a Mason in St. Johns Lodge, Portsmouth, N. H., in 1777.

 

 

THE CRAFT IN THE BRITISH ISLES IN 1920

 

BY BRO. DUDLEY WRIGHT, ENGLAND

 

WHEN THE YEAR opened, the Craft in England had to regret the absence of its Grand Master, the Duke of Connaught, who had been compelled to seek convalescence, after an acute bronchial attack, in the south of France. The year ends with the Grand Master again absent from the country, but this time, he having been restored fully to health, he is on his way to India as the accredited representative of his king and country, and the latest report to hand, coming exactly at the moment these words are being written, is that the Duke of Connaught is “enjoying better health than he has enjoyed for some time.” Deo Gratias.

 

The past year has witnessed the foundation in England of a record number of lodges, warrants having been granted for the consecration of no fewer than 162, as compared with 129 in 1919; 88 in 1918; 39 in 1917; 24 in 1916; 21 in 1915; 30 in 1914; and 68 in 1913; this last being the average pre-war figure. The growth of the Craft in England and the increase in the number of lodges has necessitated the appointment of a second Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies in the United Grand Lodge and of Assistant Provincial and District Grand Masters in the larger Provinces and Districts.

 

In Royal Arch Masonry, the progress has been marked in proportion, 71 chapters having been warranted during the year. Six Grand Superintendents have been appointed to provinces and two to districts: W. Lascelles Southwell to Shropshire, Lord St. Levan to Cornwall, Edward Holmes to Leicester and Rutland, Dr. E. H. Cook to Bristol, Rev. Dr. E. C. Pearce to Cambridgeshire, Major R. L. Thornton to Sussex, Sir George Fletcher Mac Munn to Punjab, and James Mac Kenna to Burma. Here, as in the Craft, it has been found necessary to appoint a second Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies in consequence of the increasing number of Chapter consecrations.

 

The principal change in the government of Mark Masonry has been the appointment of Sir Richard Vassar-Smith as Deputy Grand Master in succession to Mr. R. Loveland Loveland, K. C., who has rendered long and valuable service in this degree in particular, but in all branches of Masonry in general.

 

A similar story is told by the Scottish Masonic authorities. New lodges are being formed, some in very remote districts, and the enthusiasm for the Craft and its many branches, apparently is deep-rooted and sincere. Certain restrictions as to the number of candidates that may be initiated at one time have been introduced which has led to the introduction of “waiting lists,” thus affording an additional test for the neophytes. The Earl of Eglinton and Winton has been installed as Grand Master Mason in succession to Brigadier General R. Gordon Gilmour, Scotland being more democratic in its constitution than England, the Grand Mastership, in normal times, changing annually. One of the most important Masonic events of the year was the official visit of a deputation from the Grand Lodge of Scotland to the Grand Lodge of England.

 

In Ireland, Colonel Claude Cane has succeeded the veteran Sir Charles Cameron as Deputy Grand Master, who has devoted some seventy years of his life to Masonic work and propaganda. Ireland also, during the year, has lost its Grand Secretary, H. E. Flavelle, who was also well known as an indefatigable worker.

 

The support given to the three central Masonic institutions has been well maintained, the aggregate amount collected at the annual festivals totalling up to no less a sum than 293,188 pounds from 16,056 Stewards; while the Mark Benevolent Fund also enjoyed a record festival, 975 stewards being up to the sum of over 10,050 pounds. All the institutions have once more accepted the whole of the qualified candidates without subjecting them to the ordeal and expense of a ballot. The Freemasons Hospital and Nursing Home, placed at the disposal of the military authorities for the purposes of a War Hospital, has, during the year, reverted to its original purpose and has already well justified its existence, despite the doubts of many, when the scheme was first propounded, as to its necessity. There was no formal opening ceremony, but the Grand Master paid an informal visit at the time of the transfer and gave a welcome to the first patients. The Old Peoples' Institution has now 1400 annuitants on its books, while 777 girls and 905 boys are being educated and maintained in the other institutions. During the year, R. Percy Simpson has resigned from the secretaryship of the Girls' School, and, just at the closing of the year, comes the news of the passing of James Morrison McLeod, who, for more than twenty-seven years, guided the affairs of the Boys' School in a masterly and highly successful manner.

 

Many honors, politic and civic, have fallen to the lot of prominent Brethren during the year, but none gave greater pleasure than the Baronetcy conferred upon the Deputy Grand Master, Sir Frederick Halsey. The Earl of Stradbroke, Provincial Grand Master of Suffolk, has now left to take up his duties as Governor of Victoria, but this is the only province in England which is not under the direct government of its appointed head. During the year three Provincial Grand Masters have been installed into office: F. M. LaMothe, Isle of Man; Louis S. Winsloe, West Lancashire; and the Bishop of Thetford, Norfolk. Four District Grand Masters have also been appointed: Major-General Sir George Fletcher MacMunn, Punjab; James MacKenna, Burma; John Langley, Egypt and the Soudan; and Henry J. Hyde-Johnson, Nigeria.

 

The Masonic Million Memorial Fund, originating with the Grand Master, is making steady headway, an impetus having been given to the scheme during the year through the acquisition by Grand Lodge of the long line of premises adjoining the existing Masonic buildings in Great Queen Street. The Duke of Connaught has now expressed a wish to meet all the Provincial Grand Masters in conference upon the scheme immediately after his return from India.

 

One of the most notable events of the year has been the formation of the grand jurisdiction of Queensland, which promises to be one of the strongest of the overseas jurisdictions.

 

A notable attack on the Craft was made during the year by a prominent London daily, but the readers of THE BUILDER have already been made familiar with the trenchant and effective reply of Brother A. E. Waite.

 

The obituary list of the year has not been heavy, but it contains some noted names of hard workers in the Masonic cause. Four Grand Wardens have passed away: Lord Egerton of Tatton (who was also Past Provincial Grand Master for Cheshire); the Earl of Dartrey; Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Gerard Smith (Past District Grand Master Western Australia); and Sir Thomas Vezey Strong. Two Grand Chaplains in the persons of the Rev. Richard Peek and Bishop Stevens have also joined the Grand Lodge Above. Other notable names in the list are Judge Woodfall, the Rev. C.E.L. Wright (who bequeathed his Masonic collection to the Grand Lodge Library), Sir Gabriel Stokes, R. G. ; Venables, Sir David Mercer, and Riehard Luck, all Past Grand Deacons, Percy F. Wheeler and James Morley, Past Assistant Grand Registrars; Dr. Hill Drury, J.R. Cleave, William Lestocq, and James W. Mathews (founder of the Genesius Club of Instruction), Past Assistant Grand Directors of Ceremonies. But not all the ardent lovers of the Craft and workers in the cause are included in Grand Lodge lists. Many names could be mentioned, but to the writer and to many others, the passing of Frederick Henry Buckmaster, London Rank, an ardent student of Masonry in all its branches and one who was a thorough exemplification of what a Mason should be in practice as well as in idealism, will be felt for many days and years.

 

And the future? As a body we are the admiration of the world for our noble exemplification of our Masonic principles of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. We can honestly lay claim to that achievement as a body. Have we the same right to claim it as individuals? Do those who are dependent upon us regard us individually with the same high esteem and respect as the world at large appreciates us a body? By the populace we are acquitted as possessing high ideals and acting up to them; what is our individual position? It is a personal question, and the answer cannot here be written. It must be answered individually.

 

----o----

 

GRAND LODGE OF ARIZONA ADOPTS N.M.R.S. STUDY CLUB PLAN

 

At the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodg of Arizona the Committee on Foreign Correspondence made the following recommendation to the Grand Lodge, which was adopted:

 

“Your Committee recommends that each and every Master of a Subordinate lodge in this Grand Jurisdiction be directed to immediately proceed to the formation of a Study Club (provided that one has not already been formed in his lodge), to meet at least once every month and on a date when no degree work is in progress; that each lodge decide for itself the manner of carrying out the objects of this recommendation, but we recommend that each lodge follow the general outlines of the Study Club plans as promulgated by 'THE BUILDER' of Anamosa, Iowa. Further, that the incoming Grand Master see that this recommendation is carried into effect at the earliest possible date and that each lodge be required to report to this Grand Lodge at its next annual communication the progress and results of the formation of the various Study Clubs.

 

Harry A. Drachman, Chairman,

H. D. Aitken, Member

Lloyd C. Henning, Member,

 

February 8, 1921. Committee.

 

----o----

 

Good character is human nature in its best form. It is moral order embodied in the individual. Men of character are not only the conscience of society, but in every well governed state they are its best motive power; for it is moral quslities which, in the main, rule the world. - S. Smiles.

 

WHENCE CAME FREEMASONRY

 

BY BRO. E. ELLISON, CALIFORNIA

 

A REVIEW OF THE HISTORICAL FORCES WHICH TENDED TO GIVE THE FRATERNITY ITS PRESENT CHARACTER

 

IT IS AN ambitious undertaking to attempt to compress the history of this venerable institution within the limits of a brief article.  Let me say at the outset, that it is not my intention to enter into details.  Rather, I propose to draw a brief sketch, or, more accurately, an outline of the historical forces which tended to give the Fraternity its present character.  Let me add that I do not lay claim to original research or discovery in Masonic history.  I shall only try to piece together information obtained from a general reading, not only of Masonic, but also of so-called profane works.

 

ORIGIN UNKNOWN

 

The origin of Freemasonry is unknown.  All attempts to penetrate the veil which enshrouds the birth-place and cradle of the institution have proved fruitless.  True, our tradition informs us that “it has existed from time immemorial,” but is not that in itself an admission that we do not know when or where it originated? Probably we shall have to content ourselves with Topsy's philosophy and say that it “just growed.” I mean by that, that it has sprung into existence in response to that instinct which impels man to seek the association, the friendship, and the protection, of his fellow men.

 

Up to a generation or two ago, it seems to have been the accepted belief among Freemasons that their Fraternity was in no particular the work of man but of divine origin; that is to say, it was believed that at some time in the remote past the G.A.O.T.U. had handed down the peculiar mysteries of Masonry to some of the personages of whom we read in the Old Testament, and that these mysteries had been minutely and regularly transmitted down through succeeding generations.  There was, of course, some question as to who first received the divine revelation.  That honour has been variously accredited to King Solomon, Moses, Noah, Tubal Cain and even to Adam.  But, in either case, the belief rests upon a foundation no stronger than the legends which we find embalmed in the so-called Ancient Charges or Gothic Constitutions, or in Dr. Anderson's “Constitutions and History of the Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons,” and has been discarded because it could not stand the test of scientific historical examination.

 

HUMAN ORIGIN OF THE FRATERNITY

 

We now look upon the Fraternity as of purely human origin - the product of the minds of those who comprise it and have comprised it. In other words, it is a reflex of the hopes and ideals, the aims and aspirations of its membership.  At the same time, it has been subjected to pressure from without, because the men who comprise the Fraternity are also members of the larger surrounding human society, and their viewpoint as Freemasons is consciously or unconsciously influenced by the education, the training and the experience they have acquired in the outside world.

 

We know that there is a constant change in the current of thought with reference to almost every subject and condition of life.  As science advances and knowledge increases we are gradually throwing off many beliefs which our forefathers religiously entertained, just as, by the swine law of progress, many of the things to which we today pin our faith will be disproved and rejected by our descendants.

 

Like every other human institution, Freemasonry has been affected by this change.  The history of the Fraternity, therefore, in a measure runs parallel to the history of the intellectual development of humanity.  On its long march down the centuries, each age has put its seal and imprint upon the institution; it has been impressed with the philosophy characteristic of successive ages; and it has accepted, absorbed and preserved in its system many customs and usages, many forms and ceremonies, many beliefs current in the outside world during different periods.  With the passage of time, some of these have become obsolete and have been discarded, others are being carried along in the body of Freemasonry, although the original significance of them has been lost sight of or forgotten, and still others have been invested with new meaning - new symbolism.

 

MORAL PHILOSOPHY DIVINE

 

There is one thing divine and immutable about Freemasonry, namely, its moral philosophy.  But in that respect it does not differ from other organizations which undertake to teach men their duty to God and to their fellows.  There is no progress in moral doctrines.  The Moral Law - the Ten Commandments - is as true today as on the day it was handed down to Moses in thunder and lightning at Mount Sinai.  The Golden Rule of the Carpenter of Nazareth is as truly a living ideal in our day as on the day He first gave it to the world in His Sermon on the Mount.

 

OLD BELIEF ABANDONED

 

Why has the old belief in the divine origin of Freemasonry been abandoned? In the past century tremendous strides have been made upon every field of knowledge, including that of history.  Within the memory of living men, the sites of the cities of ancient civilizations have been relocated and their ruins excavated.  The languages of peoples who have long since vanished have been reconstructed and translated into modern tongues.  The pyramids of Egypt have been explored and their hieroglyphs deciphered. The temples of Ancient Greece and the catacombs of Rome have given up their secrets.  The gravemounds of the Scandinavian chieftains have been opened and have laid bare their wealth of historical treasure. Travellers have explored the countries of Asia, where no white man formerly had set foot, and have returned with the sacred books of religions established centuries before the Christian era.  From the material thus obtained, coupled with the fragments of ancient learning which have come down to us, the modern historian has presented to us a reconstructed history, enabling us to form a clearer conception of the lives and habits, the religious, social and political institutions of the ancient peoples.

 

MYSTO-RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES IN ANCIENT TIMES

 

Among other things, we have learned of the existence in highest antiquity of secret mysto-religious societies, similar in some respects to our present day Freemasonry. This historical fact has received close study at the hands of Masonic students, who have devoted years of labour in an endeavour to establish the descent of our Fraternity from the mystic brotherhoods of ancient times.  Some of our learned brethren have essayed the task of tracing the pedigree of Freemasonry back to the birth of civilization, and in order to demonstrate the ancient origin and high descent of that institution, have attempted to reconstruct the rites of the Ancient Mysteries.  I shall not attempt to examine the various elaborate pedigrees that have been traced, or the ingenious arguments that have been advanced in support of them.  The fact is, that no satisfactory written or other authentic record has come down to us concerning the secret rites of these Mysteries. Consequently, the efforts made to reconstruct them from the references available are not likely to have met with better success than would the attempt on the part of a profane of our day to give to the world the benefit of our Masonic ceremonies.

 

It should be remembered that we are here dealing with the customs and usages of peoples who have long since disappeared from the earth, with whose institutions we are, after all, but imperfectly familiar, and whose viewpoint it is difficult if not impossible, for us to obtain.  Let us also bear in mind that the secrecy of present day Freemasonry is as nothing when compared with the jealous care with which the ancients guarded their secrets from the profane.  The laws the Brahmins, for instance, provided that if an uninitiate was caught listening to the reading of the sacred books, he was to be punished by pouring hot oil into his ears, and if he had succeeded in committing to memory any portion of the text, his throat was to be cut.

 

LEGENDARY OR TRADITIONAL HISTORY

 

We shall divide the history of the Fraternity into two parts. The first, we shall call the traditional or legendary period, by which we mean the time before accounts of current events were committed to writing; when all information was perpetuated by oral communication from father to son, and from generation to generation.  The second, we shall call the historical period, and by that, we, of course, mean that part of the life of the Fraternity concerning which we draw our information from authentic records, whether found in lodge books, in the public archives, or in the literature of the day.  The first period is like a desert “without milestone or finger post,” and the Masonic explorers who have attempted to trace the path of the Fraternity by its “footprints upon the sands of time,” have traversed so many divergent roads, and have arrived at so many conflicting conclusions, that their labour is of little value to us.  Each succeeding writer has torn down and destroyed the hypotheses of those who have preceded him, in order, as it seems, to make room for his own theory.

 

HISTORICAL PERIOD

 

The historical period we shall again roughly divide into three eras.  The first, (commencing about the year 1200 and ending about the year 1550), we shall call the Operative period.  The second, (commencing with the Reformation and ending in the year 1717), for want of a better name, we shall designate as the Operative-Speculative period.  The third, (commencing with the so-called Great Revival, the formation of the first Grand Lodge, and carried down to our own day), let us call the Speculative period.  We will now consider these eras in the order named.

 

OPERATIVE PERIOD (1200-1550)

 

Bearing in mind the proposition we laid down at the outset of this discussion, that the character of the Fraternity has been largely shaped by surrounding conditions, let us briefly review the social and political institutions of the time.

 

FORMATION OF GUILDS

 

When the Roman Empire fell before the invasion of the barbarians of the North, the conquerors built upon its ruins a number of small tribal states.  The people were barbarous and quarrelsome, and these states were in constant warfare with one another. For centuries might was the only law.  Anarchy reigned supreme.  The great civilization of the Romans became engulfed and disappeared.  This is the period known in history as the Dark Ages.

 

Slowly and painfully civilization had a new birth.  The tribal governments gave way to national authority.  The people fell under the softening influence of Christianity.  Wars became less frequent, and men again began to practice the arts of peace.

 

During the disturbed period of the Dark Ages, the artisans and workmen of the cities, in order to obtain protection from the repacity and cruelty of then feudal lords, banded themselves together into trade guilds, or corporations, and step by step, by means of bribe, purchase, and quite often by open rebellion, succeeded in wresting from their lords paramount the privilege of regulating the affairs of their respective crafts, and, later, established the complete self-government of their cities.   The Masons, like their brethren of other crafts, also formed corporations; but since their employers and feudal lords, in the majority of cases, were ecclesiastical dignitaries, Princes of the Church, it was to them that the Masons applied for their charters of privileges.  References to these instruments have been found in the fabric rolls and archives of medieval churches.

 

GOTHIC CONSTITUTIONS

 

But the most interesting information concerning the organized life of our forefather Masons in medieval times is to be found in the so-called Ancient Charges or Gothic Constitutions.  The originals of these curious documents were drawn at a time when the art of writing was known only to the members of the theological profession, and they bear the imprint of the credulity and ignorance which characterizes all the literature of the period.  Their contents are usually divided into two parts.  The first, purports to be a history of the craft from its inception down to date, and is valuable chiefly as showing what was the belief of our Masonic fore-fathers concerning the origin and progress of their craft.  As a chronicle of actual events it has no value at all.  The oldest existing document of this kind is the so-called Halliwell Poem, composed about the end of the fourteenth century, although it bears internal evidence of having been compiled from much earlier manuscripts.

 

MASONIC LEGENDS

 

The Buchanan MS., a seventeenth-century Scotch Constitution, may be taken as the type for all these documents.  In it we are told that God gave the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences to Jabal, Jubal and Tubal, the three sons of Lamech; that when He was about to take punishment upon the world for its sins by the Flood, the sciences were enclosed in two pillars; one made of wood, that it might not sink; the other of marble, that it might not burn; that after the Flood the pillars and the secrets they contained were found by Hamarynes (Hermes), the father of all wise men, who taught the sciences to Abraham, and were by him brought into the “Londe of Egypt,” where he imparted them to his “Goode Clerke Euclid.” From Egypt the sciences were in due course of time introduced into Palestine.

 

The building of King Solomon's Temple pays an important part in the narrative, and we are told of Hiram, the King, and Hiram, the Builder, the latter being referred to as the King's Son of Tyre. We are told, further, that in the days of Charles Martel, the science of Geometry, which our operative forefathers regarded as synonymous to Masonry, was brought into France by one Naymus (Mamon) Grecus, who had been employed at the building of the Temple. Now that edifice was erected about one thousand years before Christ. Charles Martel ruled in France nearly eight hundred years after Christ, so that our good brother Grecus must have attained the rather unusual age of nearly eighteen hundred years.  Of course, the matter of bridging the span of eighteen centuries by the life of an individual did not trouble the legend writers of the Middle Ages.  I am citing these things to show that the “legendary” history of Masonry is simply a compendium of sacred and profane history coloured by the romance so generally accepted during that period.

 

ANCIENT LANDMARKS

 

The second part of these documents contained the rules and regulations of the Craft, and taught members their duty to God and to one another.  Many of these ancient regulations have come down to our own time and are a part of the body of our laws under the name of Ancient Landmarks.

 

It should be added that in the days before Grand Lodges had been formed, the status of a lodge was determined by it having in its possession a copy of these Ancient Charges.  These, therefore, served the purpose of our present day charters.

 

CLAIM TO DIVINE ORIGIN

 

The Masonic Craft is unique in the respect that it is the only one of the medieval guilds for which divine origin was claimed, or which itself laid claim to have been established by Biblical personages.  The probable explanation of this claim is to be found in the fact, that the Masons were almost exclusively employed upon religious edifices and therefore in close contact with the writers of history, as it was then written, and were especially favoured by the historians by having ascribed to their craft high antiquity and a long line of royal patrons and protectors.  We should bear in mind that in the Middle Ages high descent was regarded as of great importance, and that many families, and nations even, claimed to be able to trace their ancestry back to the flood and even to a more remote period.

 

The intimate association of the Masons with the members of the religious order, also tended to give to their craft that semi-religious character which it has maintained ever since.

 

The Masonic guilds also differed from other medieval trade corporations in the fact that in the former masters, journeymen and apprentices remained members of the same society.  In other trades, especially in the commercial pursuits, the guild masters became wealthy and arrogant, and made use of their power to oppress their journeymen and apprentices, with the result that the latter formed guilds of their own as protection from their masters.

 

In the Masonic craft there was no opportunity for great financial gains.  The masters did not undertake work on their own account, as do our modern building contractors.  The owner of the building to be erected furnished all the material entering into its construction, and the craftsmen, from master to apprentice, were engaged to supply the skill and labour required in preparing plans and specifications, shaping the material and assembling it in the edifice. The master was the executive head of the job - the master workman - and laboured side by, side with his “companions and varlets” (fellow-crafts and apprentices) in the lodge or on  the scaffold.

 

The pay was modest, considering the character of the work and high requirements of the trade, not only in manual dexterity, but technical training and scientific knowledge and artistic sense. Still the craft had high standing among the trades, and ranked among the most honourable of professions; and its members enjoyed certain exemptions and immunities which may account for the fact that they assumed the name “Free Masons.”

 

BLACK DEATH-STATUTES OF LABOURERS

 

About the year 1340 Europe was scourged by a dreadful contagious  disease, known as the Black Death. So virulent was the contagion and so frightful its ravages that the population in many countries was decimated, and in certain districts completely destroyed. In consequence, there existed a great scarcity of labour, especially in the skilled trades. The workmen, as might be expected, took advantage of this scarcity to improve their wages and conditions of employment. Their efforts met with strong opposition from the employing classes, who complained to King and Parliament against what they regarded as exactions on the part of the workmen. Drastic legislation was enacted prohibiting and punishing any attempt to increase wages above the level prevailing prior to the pestilence. This and kindred legislation has been classified in history as the Statutes of Labourers.” It did not have the desired effect, as is shown by the fact that in every succeeding Parliament the Commons renewed their complaints and grievances, but the only remedy proposed was to increase and sharpen the penalties of the law. Finally, a statute was enacted outlawing all forms of organizations having for their object the regulation of wages and denouncing such organizations as conspiracies. This was intended as a death blow to the guilds; but it failed signally. The guilds formed themselves into burial societies and continued in existence under that guise.

 

The prosecutions of the Masons under the Statutes of Labourers were especially vigorous and severe, and the members of the lodges, therefore, were compelled to assemble in secret. It is an interesting question whether this may not be the period referred to in the Monitor, where we are told that “our ancient brethren assembled on the highest hill and in the lowest vales, the better to observe the approach of cowans and eavesdroppers.” Prior to this time, according to the Ancient Charges, the Masons in given districts met openly in Annual Assembly, and their meetings were attended by members of the nobility as well as the civil magistrates. It may be well to explain here that a “cowan” in Masonic language is one who attempts to practice the craft without being a member of a regular lodge, and having been duly apprenticed to the trade.

 

Curiously, the oldest lodge minute extant, that of Edinburgh Lodge No. 1, Scotland, contains an account the trial of one George Patton, who had vexed the souls of his brethren by putting a cowan to work for two days and a half. The minute is dated July 31, 1599.

 

“ACCEPTED” MASONS

 

The lodges also adopted the expedient of admitting to membership men of high birth and station and placing themselves under the patronage and protection of these new brethren.  This gave to the lodge an air of respectability, enabled its members to obtain employment on public buildings in preference to cowans, and insured them a measure of protection from the severity of the Statutes of Labourers.   The number of non-operative members gradually increased, and they became known in the Fraternity as “Accepted” Masons or “Geomatics.”

 

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

 

It was during this era that the beautiful Gothic style of architecture was developed and perfected and the noble churches erected which distinguish the ancient cities of Europe where they stand as eloquent witnesses to the skill and industry of those who built them, and the art and science of those who planned and designed them.  The architects of succeeding ages have copied and imitated, but have never been able to improve upon either the style or construction of these famous edirces.

 

DECLINE OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

 

The Reformation was followed by a decline in church building. The property of the church was confiscated by the temporal powers, and Freemasonry as an operative science became almost a lost art

 

OPERATIVE - SPECULATIVE, PERIOD (1550-1717)

 

We have now arrived at the most interesting period in the life of Freemasonry, the time when the societies of builders and architects were transformed into speculative or philosophical associations.

 

Although this era is closer to our own day than that of Operative times, the lodge records are extremely meagre and fragmentary.  True, they bear sufficient testimony to the fact that Freemasonry had a continuous existence from earlier times, and also to the dual character of the membership of the lodges; but the lodge books are silent upon the subject we are most interested in, namely, how the so-called speculative element became superimposed upon the operative.

 

In Order to form an opinion on that subject, it is necessary to consult contemporary literature, supplemented by information concerning the lives, habits and intellectual pursuits of men who were prominent in the Fraternity.  Assembling all the information thus made available, we can form a tenable theory.

 

POWER OF THE CHURCH

 

Let us first briefly survey the social and political and life of the people.  The power of the Church had advanced so rapidly during the last centuries of the Middle Ages, that it had become the dominant factor, not only in religion, but in the affairs of state. So powerful had it become politically, that the Pope of Rome could compel a German Kaiser to stand barefoot in the snow for three days, clad in the penitential hair shirt, while begging forgiveness.  The Church proudly proclaimed the doctrine, that “as the sun is a greater light than the moon, so is the spiritual greater than the temporal power.” Kings and princes ruled only at the will and pleasure of the Holy Father at Rome.  The influence of the Church extended to every detail of life, and from the cradle to the grave.

 

During the Middle Ages the Church had been the repository of all learning, and it was also the patron of the arts and sciences.  This position suited it, because it served to glorify religion and to exalt the power of the Church.  In its capacity as Keeper of the Public Conscience, the Church was also the censor of public morals and beliefs, and no one was permitted, except by its sanction, to give utterance to any new idea upon any subject.  As is always the case with irresponsible power, the Church became arbitrary, despotic and tyrannical.  Its sole care was to preserve the existing order, and it therefore prohibited the publication of any innovation.  It mattered not whether a new idea or scientific discovery conflicted with the dogmas of the Church.  The fact that it was contrary to the accepted belief was sufficient to exclude it.  The author was haled before the ecclesiastical tribunal and ordered to recant.  His books were burned by the common hangman, and the author himself was indeed fortunate if he did not share the fate of his work.  History records the names of many men who were thus compelled to deny great scientific discoveries they had made, and of others who refused to recant and sealed their conviction with their blood.

 

HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY

 

The Reformation changed all this.  That event was not only a protest against the many religious superstitions perpetuated by the Church, but was a revolt against the mental bondage laid upon the people.  No sooner was the yoke lifted than men began pursuing knowledge upon every field and in every direction.  They threw themselves with especial enthusiasm upon the study of the natural sciences in an effort to solve the mysteries of Nature's wondrous laws.  Having no previous experience, and no rules of reason to guide them, they indulged themselves in the wildest speculations and the most extravagant flights of fancy.

 

Among the studies which occupied the time of the scientific men of that day were the following: They studied the heavens, believing that in the courses of the celestial bodies they could foretell coming events. They experimented with the transmutation of the base metals into gold.  They tried to compound a salt, or panacea, which should be a sovereign remedy in all diseases which flesh is heir to.  They travelled in search of the fountain of eternal youth.  They practised magic, white and black.  They endeavoured to form a “word,” or combination of letters, which when properly pronounced would enable them to command the spirits, which, as was then believed, inhabited the sea and air, etc.  The generic term for all these studies was the Hermetic, or secret, philosophy.   Although we may smile at the vagaries of these sages, we must not forget that humanity owes them a debt of gratitude.  Upon their labour and industry our modern sciences rest.  The astrologer, who studied the stars and cast horoscopes, is the progenitor of the modern astronomer.  The alchemist, who laboured to transmute the base metals, is the forerunner of our chemist.  Much of our medical science is founded upon the experiments of the Hermetics who tried to produce the universal salt.

 

ROSICRUCIANISM AND THE KABBALA

 

The mystic philosophy of the Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross and of the Hebrew Kabbala was given to the world about the middle of the sixteenth century and were widely studied by the learned men of the day.

 

In those days there were no universities in the modern acceptation of that term.  The Hermetic philosophers, who were as a rule poor men, attached themselves to the households of men of high rank, who provided them with the necessary materials for conducting their experiments and also afforded them protection from the ignorant and bigoted populace.  In those times it was not quite safe to be known as a seeker after truth.  The common people regarded the Philosophers with superstitious dread, believing they were in communion with evil spirits, a belief which was no doubt strengthened by the peculiarities of dress and habits affected by the Hermetics.  Many of them lost their lives at the hands of enraged mobs who believed they were rendering both God and humanity a service by ridding the world of them.  It might be added that the noble patrons of the Philosophers were not actuated by any desire to promote the general knowledge.  They sought their help, believing them capable of foretelling the outcome of wars and intrigues.  Greed for gold was no doubt their motive for patronizing the science of alchemy. TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOCIETY

 

The bearing of these facts upon the history of Freemasonry, is obvious.  We have already noted that in the Middle Ages a number of lodges placed themselves under the patronage of powerful princes and nobles, and we stated the reasons which impelled them to this step.  Many of these high and mighty men also became employers of Hermetic philosophers, and we are not overstepping the bounds of probability in stating that the noble patrons introduced the Hermetic philosophers into the craft societies, where, under the seal of secrecy imposed by the obligation, they exchanged views, discussed the progress of their experiments, and thus gradually transformed the lodges into speculative or philosophical societies, finally incorporating in the ritual the so-called speculative element, which ultimately gave to Freemasonry its present character.

 

At this point it will be noted that, while Freemasonry as an operative art was practised in nearly every country of Europe during the Middle Ages, it is in the British Isles alone that we find the speculative element embodied in the Masonic system.

 

In Germany and France the operative societies continued to exist until the middle of the last century, when they were imperceptibly merged into the modern trades union movement.  In point of efficient organization the German “Steinmetzen” were in advance of their brethren in other countries, having in 1549 organized their craft under a national government, with headquarters at Strassburg, the Master of Works of the cathedral of that city being the Grand Master.

 

EARLY “ACCEPTED” MASONS

 

The earliest “accepted” Mason on record is John Boswell, a Scotch nobleman; who was a member of a lodge in Edinburgh in the year 1600.  Earl Morey (Murray) is also an early “accepted” Mason.  He was only the patron of the Masons in his domain, but also rated a great Hermetic philosopher. He was admitted in the year 1641. Elias Ashmole, a great English antiquary and Hermetic and Rosicrucian writer, was “made” in Warrington Lodge, England, 1647.

 

SPECULATIVE PERIOD (1717 - )

 

We have now arrived at the last period of our review, at the opening to which the Fraternity “threw off the trammels of the operative art” and evolved into a benevolent philosophical society, in which form it has spread to every quarter of the globe and is being practised in every country where the people have arrived at a sufficient high state of civilization to appreciate its beauty.

 

Let us again take a view of the social and political conditions, as they presented themselves during the first decades of the period we are now considering.

 

ABSOLUTISM IN GOVERNMENT

 

The Reformation had broken the power of the Church, but in doing so it had helped to build up another power which, in course of time, became an even greater menace to human freedom and progress.  As the Church declined in importance, the authority of the kings advanced.  Step by step, the king became absolute, both in state affairs and in the government of the Church.  The latter became the handmaid of the temporal power.  Government control by both pulpit and press, and other means of public expression, rendered it difficult and dangerous for the people to air their grievances, and gradually they were deprived of every right and privilege.  “The King can do no wrong” became the principle by which the nations were governed.

 

The only country in which the people had maintained in their own hands a share in government, and where the personal rights of the citizens were respected, was England.  When the king of that country attempted to make himself absolute, the people rose in rebellion and assumed the reins of power into their own hands. England, therefore, was regarded with great admiration and respect by the people of continental Europe, and her institutions were studied and praised by the reformers of other lands. In time the effects of the revolution in England made themselves felt on the continent.  About the beginning of the eighteenth century the system there had become so rotten and corrupt that it was ready to fall of its own weight.  The “forward looking” men of the time boldly condemned and denounced the existing order and demanded its overthrow. Art and science had a new birth.  This was the so-called Golden Age of literature.

 

DEISTS' CULT

 

During this period a new religious cult sprang up, known as the Deists.  They took the ground that all religious dogmas are the invention of the priests with a view to keeping the people in ignorance and subjugation, and they declared that the only right way to worship God was in his wondrous works.  They also preached the “Brotherhood of Man” and gave to the world the slogan: “Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood.” There is no doubt that Freemasonry became deeply impressed with the new religion; one of the chief tenets of our Fraternity being religious toleration, its only requirement being belief in the Supreme Architect.

 

In the early days of the eighteenth century, a number of the foremost men of science and letters of continental Europe visited England, some to study her institutions and others to escape persecution at home.  Naturally, they associated themselves with men of their own views and pursuits.  At this time the most prominent members of the Royal Society, a body of British scientists, were members of the Masonic fraternity.  They introduced their visitors into the mysteries of the Craft.  When the latter returned to their own countries, they came as missionaries for the new philosophy.

 

SPREAD OF FREEMASONRY

 

The society spread rapidly from England and Scotland to other countries of Europe and also to America.  The men who were labouring to establish the new principle in religion and government made use of the fraternity to propagate these principles, and did so most effectively.  It was not long, however, before the powers of the time began to recognize in Freemasonry a menace to the existing order and took steps to suppress it.  Kings pronounced banishment and death penalties upon its votaries.  The Church hurled its anathema against them.  And the blindly bigoted populace pursued them in frantic fury.  To this rule there were some exceptions.  King Frederick II, of Prussia, who, as Crown Prince, had been made a Mason, on his ascension to the throne took the Fraternity under his immediate protection and raised it to the dignity of a semi-public institution.  A king of Sweden had prohibited the practice of Freemasonry under pain of death.  His successor repealed the edict and bestowed marked favour upon the Fraternity.  This monarch was at the time engaged in a struggle with the old nobility.  Accordingly, he sought to make use of Freemasonry in his cause by securing the admission of men who had made their mark in art, science and literature, thus creating a new nobility of mind and attainment with which to combat the old aristocracy of birth and wealth.  The impress thus left upon the Fraternity in Sweden has persisted to our own day.   The Craft was introduced to America in the year 1738, and here it found fruitful soil.  We shall, perhaps, never know the full extent of the part played by the Fraternity in establishing upon this continent the principles of justice and democracy.  We know that a number of those who signed the Declaration of Independence were Freemasons, and among those who were in the forefront of the struggle for independence were men who had taken the oath upon the Masonic altar.  In short, the early history of this nation is intimately associated with the history of the Masonic Fraternity.

 

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MOTHER GRAND LODGE

 

The history of Freemasonry during the period we are now considering commences with the establishment of the Mother Grand Lodge.  On St. John's Day, 1717, the Masters and Wardens of four lodges meeting in London assembled at the “Goose and Gridiron” tavern, and, having put the oldest Master Mason in the chair, they erected and proclaimed the Grand Lodge of England, which is the mother and model of all grand bodies.

 

Shortly thereafter a committee was appointed to examine the Ancient Charges and to “digest them upon a new and better form.” One of the members of this committee was Dr. James Anderson, a Scotch Presbyterian minister, author of the first printed work on Freemasonry.  His “Constitutions and History of the Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons” was published by order of the Grand Lodge and was widely read.  It passed through a number of editions; but it is no longer regarded as a textbook, since more recent investigation has shown it to be historically inaccurate and in other respects unreliable.

 

The committee doubtlessly introduced a number of innovations in the ritual as well as in the form of government of the Craft; but they simply built a new superstructure upon an old foundation.  The basic principles of the Fraternity have remained unchanged through all vicissitudes of time.

 

Closing this discussion, I would express the hope that the members of the Fraternity would give to its history a more close study.  It will enable them to understand and appreciate many things about their glorious Craft which are now a sealed book to them.  It will tend to increase their respect and admiration for their ancient institution, and that can but result in making them better Freemasons - and that means better men.

 

MASONIC CLUBS IN THE A.E.F.

 

BY BRO. CHARLES F. IRWIN. OHIO

 

UPON THE entrance of the United States into the World War, the several Grand Lodges considered carefully the advisability of issuing charters to Military lodges. Most of them declined to do so. Since the war and our return to peace-time conditions, the wisdom of this decision is apparent to those who were in the army and who were identified with the Masonic activities which were carried on through the Masonic Club movement. Although the writer assisted in the conferring of the several degrees in lodges which came over to France from several Grand Lodges at home, yet I am convinced that in most cases it would have been as well both for the candidate as for the Craft in general had the postulants waited till they returned to America. Usually there sprang up in the minds of soldiers a sudden desire to enjoy whatever privileges or benefits might flow from Masonry. They were hastily entered, passed and raised without time to consider the several steps or to familiarize themselves with the lectures. They therefore could in the nature of the case get but the superficial view of the Fraternity and not the underlying principles.

 

The decision to refrain from issuing military charters or dispensations left the Craft within the army to their own devices. The heroic struggle of the Grand Lodges of America to send a Commission to France to provide for the Craft in the A.E.F. - their efforts to break through the “invisible government” which hedged in those who had the authority to grant the passports, is embodied in the report submitted by the Committee under the leadership of Justice Scudder, of New York. The Justice presented a bound copy of this report to me in Paris and it made fine reading not only for us Americans but also for my British and French Masonic brethren. I took pleasure in loaning it to numbers of both these classes.

 

One of the evidences of the vitality of the Craft is found in the spontaneity with which the Craft got together under the most unusual and unpromising circumstances for social intercourse and for comradeship.

 

Before embarkation for foreign service groups of the Craft had gravitated together in the several cantonments and embarkation camps. Aboard many transports of British and American registry were found Masons in the crews. By the courtesy of these marine officers and brethren, cabins were thrown open for our use and we held conferences and rallies as we passed through the strain of expected submarine attacks.

 

After landing in France the natural places for Masonic Clubs to open were at the ports of entry and the centers of largest concentration of troops. Consequently the clubs of Brest, St. Nazaire, Bordeaux, Le Mans, Paris, Tours, etc., were the earliest. As early as the fall of 1917 these clubs were coming into existence. Being left necessarily to our own devices, and under the severe strain of fighting conditions we were in no shape to turn our attention as actively toward Masonic club life as we were after the signing of the armistice. Yet, early in the spring of 1918, the clubs began to appear in the training camps and even in individual units. The latter were invariably itinerant clubs and suffered a more severe strain for support than the permanent clubs of the camps and depots.

 

With the Army of Occupation, the Masonic Clubs entered the Rhine Valley and speedily became the centers for relaxation and fellowship for Masons of high and low degree. The Club at Coblenz was a fine example of these. With its commodious parlors and its fine spirit of fellowship it has left an indelible record on the members of the Craft who enjoyed its hospitality. This club still ministers to the Craft.

 

It is to be noted here that four of the welfare organizations which worked with the army abroad were strong supporters of our clubs and rendered us splendid support. I refer to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Jewish Welfare Board, and Y.M.C.A. The Y.M.C.A. especially gave us invaluable assistance for which American Masonry can not be too appreciative. This organization was offered and manned to an unusual degree by Master Masons. One club - the Overseas Club of Paris - was composed almost exclusively of secretaries and officers of the Y.M.C.A. The earliest attacks upon that institution sprang from sources which have ever been opposed not only to the principles for which the Y.M.C.A. has stood but also opposed to Masonry. To attack the Y.M.C.A. meant to attack Masonry at the same time.

 

The places where the clubs should assemble were matters of grave importance. Technically they could not be held in military buildings. Actually many of them were held in military buildings and were patronized by those in high command. The clubs usually came into existence in the same way. A few enthusiastic Masons met together and proposed a club. Investigation discovered who were Masons and an invitation was issued for those to assemble in a certain place on a specified date. Usually this proved to be a Y.M.C.A. hut. For in every hut you could find one or more Masonic secretaries. The club contained the usual officers - president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. In addition to these came several committees, the number varying according to the strength of the club. Meetings were held weekly and programs were put on. These were made up of music, oratory, and reminiscences. Later in the period of overseas life, contact was had with the Entertainment Section of the A. E. F. and troupes were assigned to the Masonic clubs just as they were to the huts and other places of troop meetings.

 

Later we also organized the work of the clubs in several of the bases so as to have the presence of the American girls working in the several welfare organizations. Thus an element of the home life proved invaluable. At these special social meetings dances and other forms of entertainment prevailed. One thing was by common consent observed and that was the deposit of military titles as we entered the door. It was unique in the American Army to hear a buck private greet a Brigadier General as “Brother Smith.” It was even more illuminating as to the democracy of Masonry to see that aforesaid buck private tag an officer of high rank in a “Paul Jones” and sail away with the fair prize. I really think for the first time we understood why this American custom was called “Paul Jones.” When our French guests beheld it for the first time they were amazed. For in their country it meant the height of rudeness to part a couple in the midst of the dance.

 

At every regular meeting of a club much attention was given “for the good of the order.” The sick, the distressed, those who were staggering under burdens imposed by the war, such received our attention. Flowers were sent to the sick in the hospitals, and laid upon the caskets of the dead. Masonic emblems were placed on the graves. The cases of Masonic soldiers were investigated and their desires forwarded so far as military custom would permit. We ministered to the dead in several ways. In all parts of our overseas army brethren who died were laid to rest by Masons. Though we could not use the formal ceremonials, yet we employed ceremonies understood by the Craft. One of many incidents comes to my mind. A Richmond, Virginia, brother had died in the camp in which the writer served as Camp Chaplain. At once there arose in the minds of the club the thought that he might be laid away Masonically. A regiment was in camp whose Chaplain had at one time been Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey. I refer to that prince of men, Captain Charles Dubell, of the Episcopal Church. I trust his many friends may read this and let him know of my humble tribute to his merits. Brother Chaplain Dubell chose for his pallbearers soldiers who were Masons. The officer who commanded the detail of troops was a Mason. In fact every man who had anything to do with the funeral was a Mason, and improvising with his inimitable skill, Brother Chaplain Dubell committed this brother to the bosom of mother earth with words which were understood to every Master Mason present. The writer had occasion to bury a Surgeon, the head of one of the Indiana Hospital Units at St. Nazaire, and in the sight of many soldiers, he laid away the brother, having as Wardens two Jewish brethren, and improvising much of the burial ritual of our Craft. One of these Wardens by the way was a Captain and the other a Sergeant.

 

Opportunities also came frequently to forward the interests of brethren who were sick or wounded. An officer, a member of an Illinois lodge, lay with his hip encased in a plaster cast. He was headed back to America and indications were unfavorable for his recovery. Ascertaining that he was aboard the hospital ship I secured a pass, boarded the ship, and entered the hospital bay. There, as they loosed the cables that held the ship to France, we placed our arms about this brother and whispered in his ears words of cheer and fellowship. And before we were able to leave the ship in the lower harbor, we sought the ship's surgeon, found him one of our number, and said good-bye with the assurance that our brother who lay in weakness would receive princely care. Later correspondence establishes the fact that this occurred.

 

During most of this time the several clubs were self-upporting. When you consider that the “free money” possessed by the average doughboy per month was $5 or $6, and that he paid 25 cents a week dues and an assessment of 25 cents whenever flowers were to be ordered, you can measure faintly the hold Masonry had on its membership overseas. But a new period came with the arrival of the Overseas Commission headed by Justice Scudder and Merwin E. Lay representing the Grand Lodges, and of Charles Connery, representing the southern jurisdiction Scottish Rite. These separate commissions established headquarters in Paris, under the same roof. They worked in harmony and opened club rooms which were used by scores of the brethren sojourning in Paris or passing through that city. They endeavored to secure a list of the older clubs which had been formed throughout the A. E. F. and I believe they have a large list of the clubs. It would be well for members of the many A. E. F. Masonic clubs to forward their club names, locations, and further information to THE BUILDER to be added to the list.

 

These Commissions found many of the older clubs to be heavily in debt. This grew out of the fact that these older clubs at the old ports of entry were now the centers of the movement of troops homeward. By this time, the spring of 1919, the Masons were becoming aware of the worth of their clubs and they availed themselves of them at the ports of embarkation. Thus Bordeaux, St. Nazaire, and Brest faced serious deficits in their treasuries. The Commissions as soon as they discovered this condition forwarded moneys and erased the indebtedness. Moreover they financed the establishment of secretaries over these clubs at the ports of embarkation. Secretary Witte at Brest, and Secretary Huntley at St. Nazaire were two of the number. They were in the uniform of the Y.M.C.A. but were supported entirely by the Masonic Commissions.

 

These army clubs proved to be the breeders of friendships that have spread clear across the American continent. The brethten who met amid the shock of battle, who served in the back areas, and who endured that long strain when all hearts turned homeward and all feet marked time, and who sailed the Atlantic toward the civilian life; all these cemented friendships which today are ripening into the richest of experiences. My own most pleasant memories cluster around hundreds of these Masonic friendships and I am sure that scores from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Gulf to Canada will recall those days we spent together when they see my name at the head of this paper.

 

The Masonic itch to create side degrees appeared everywhere at home and abroad. Numerous mushroom degrees appeared, to flourish for a day in some one locality and then fall asleep. The Order of the Frog was one which the writer helped to exemplify. Amid this transient growth, there emerged one degree which will remain as the flower of American Masonry in France. It originated in the aviation camps at Ramorattin, in the brain of secretary Charles Huntley, of Schnectady, N. Y. Its beauty and the potential power in its imagery were so apparent that it was impossible to hold it within the bounds of the one camp. Thus it slowly spread to neighboring camps. It is called the “S. O. L.” Degree. Its similarity to our army “hardluck” slang proved a little unsatisfactory. But since these letters have no connection with the army slang, the name will doubtless prevail permanently. Unfortunately most of the troops had begun to return home before the worth of this degree was recognized. It was when the Commissions at Paris saw its value and financed the project of sending Brother Huntley to the various military centers to impart it, that it began to grow in numbers. The degree is purely military. Its one lesson is exalted patriotism. It is Masonry militant. It can be obtained only by Master Masons who served overseas. Also by any overseas soldier who becomes a Master Mason, and by the sons of any former overseas Mason. Thousands have received it, the number being now probably between 5,000 and 10,000. It would be worth while for any brother eligible to receive it to correspond with Brother Charles Huntley, Schenectady, N.Y., who is the Adjutant General of the Grand Dugout of America. The writer provided the 6 ritual and administered the degree to 400 in Brest in August of 1919, in the space of two afternoons and evenings. And literally hundreds of others were asking for the degree when the writer sailed with his ritual.

 

Masonry thus touched the soldier life on every side. It gave him entertainment; it furnished him friendships; it ministered to him when sick, and laid him away when he died; it spread its arms about him so that space and time lost their meaning to him; it has perpetuated itself on the tablets of a thousand hearts. The emblem of the Square and Compasses for the soldier of yesterday has become today the symbol of a brotherhood that is invincible, true, glorious, eternal.

 

----o----

 

KEEP ME STRlVlNG

 

BY BRO. G. A. NANCARROW, INDIANA

 

O keep me striving after Thee, my God,

I ask no lighter way to tread;

I seek not flowers but e'en the rod,

And feed my soul on hunger's bread.

 

For I would grow to Thee in nature's part;

Not at a bound to scale the heights

But by the hungerings of my heart

Reach up to Thee through days and nights.

 

To win to Thee though eons intervene,

Though I shall labor through the dust

A thousand groping lives which lie between-

I shall for Thou hast said I must.

 

----o----

 

God grants Liberty only to those who love it and are always ready to guard and defend it. - Webster.

 

FOR THE MONTHLY LODGE MEETING

 

CORRESPONDENCE CIRCLE BULLETIN NO. 47

 

Edited by Bro. H. L. Haywood

 

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 papers by Brother Haywood.

 

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 the 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.

 

Division 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 Haywood, 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 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 Haywood 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 Haywood'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 Haywood's paper.

 

PROGRAM FOR STUDY MEETINGS

 

1. Reading of the first section of Brother Haywood's paper and the supplemental papers thereto.

 

(Suggestion: While these papers are being read the members of the lodge should make notes of any points they may wish to discuss or inquire into when the discussion is opened. Tabs or slips of paper similar to those used in elections should be distributed among the members for this purpose at the opening of the study period.)

 

2. Discussion of the above.

 

3. The subsequent sections of Brother Haywood's paper and the supplemental papers should then be taken up, one at a time, and disposed of in the same manner. 4. Question Box.

 

MAKE THE “QUESTION BOX” THE FEATURE OF YOUR MEETINGS

 

Invite questions from any and all brethren present. Let them understand that these meetings are for their particular benefit and get them into the habit of asking all the questions they may think of. Every one of the papers read will suggest questions as to facts and meanings which may not perhaps be actually covered at all in the paper. If at the time these questions are propounded no one can answer them, SEND THEM IN TO US. All the reference material we have will be gone through in an endeavor to supply a satisfactory answer. In fact we are prepared to make special research when called upon, and will usually be able to give answers within a day or two. Please remember, too, that the great Library of the Grand Lodge of Iowa is only a few miles away, and, by order of the Trustees of the Grand Lodge, the Grand Secretary places it at our disposal on any query raised by any member of the Society.

 

FURTHER INFORMATION

 

The foregoing information should enable local Committees to conduct their lodge study meetings with success. However, we shall welcome all inquiries and communications from interested brethren concerning any phase of the plan that is not entirely clear to them, and the Services of our Study Club Department are at the command of our members, lodge and study club committees at all times.

 

QUESTIONS ON “THE EMBLEMS”

 

THE HOUR GLASS

 

Recite the monitorial lecture on “The Hour Glass.”

 

In what manner was the Hour Glass symbol commonly used by operative Masons? Is the emblem a modern one? How was it used in funeral ceremonies in early days? What is the lesson we should learn from this emblem?

 

THE SCYTHE

 

Recite the monitorial lecture on the “Scythe.”

 

Have you any answers to the questions asked by Brother Haywood in this section of his paper?

 

EMBLEMS OF MORTALITY

 

Recite the ritualistic lecture on these emblems.

 

What does the First degree symbolize? The Second? What does the drama of the Third degree symbolize? Did you realize the significance of the Hiramic Legend the night you were raised? Was its meaning entirely clear to you at that time, or did you have to study it out later?

 

SUPPLEMENTAL REFERENCES

 

THE BUILDER: Vol. IV. - Acacia, p. 323; Hour Glass, p. 325; Scythe, p.  325; Setting Maul, p. 323.   Mackey's Encyclopedia Acacia, p. 7; Hour Glass, p. 337; Scythe, p. 674, etc.

 

THIRD STEPS BY BRO. H.L. HAYWOOD, IOWA

 

PART IX - THE EMBLEMS - CONCLUDED

 

THE HOUR GLASS

 

IN WRITING of Masons' Marks, Brother Gould notes that one of the commonest has ever been the figure of an Hour Glass.  “The Hour Glass form, very slightly modified, has been used in every age down to the present and in almost every country. According to some good authorities, it was a custom (at the period immediately preceding the era of Grand Lodges) to inter an Hour Glass with the dead, as an emblem of the sands of life having run out.” What could more clearly prove the hold which this simple eloquent symbol has ever had on the imagination of man? “The sands of life! they are swiftly running away.  Be up, mortal, and about your task.  Soon the night cometh when no man can work.  In the grave man will seek him out no more inventions; what you do you must do while it is still called Today!” Such is the message of the Hour Glass, too simple to need any interpreter.  He who has learned how to transform time into life, how to make the years leave behind them that which perishes not, who lives the Eternal Life in the midst of time - such a one has learned the lesson of the Glass.

 

THE SCYTHE

 

If the hour Glass is the symbol of the fleetingness of a mortal life in which all do fade as doth the leaf, in which the sands are ever running out, the Scythe is the figure of Time which is itself that stream in which the sands are borne along.  Time! What a mighty theme! The libraries of the world could not hold the books that might be written about this eternally fascinating, eternally elusive mystery! least of all would it be possible in a page or two to capture its secret, so infinite are the suggestions of one small symbol in Masonry's House of Doctrine.

 

Time is ever with us, flowing through our minds as the blood courses through our veins, yet does it mystify us; and the more thinking we do, the more mysterious does it become.  We divide it into Past, Present, and Future, but what is the Past? has it ceased to exist? If so, why does it continue to influence us; if it continues to exist why do we call it the Past? What is the Future? Is it something already made, awaiting us Out There as the land waits for its explorer? What is the Present? We feel that it exists said “Now” it is still future; the moment I have said it, it belongs to the past. How can one's mind lay hold of that which is always becoming but never is? If one's mind can not apprehend it how can it be said to exist? It is such puzzles as these that have led our most opulent minds to despair of ever surprising its secret from it.

 

Nevertheless, Time is here, a part of the scheme of things, for good or for bad; indeed, it seems to be the very stuff of life itself, as Bergson has shown so convincingly in his “Creative Evolution.” Existence itself is a process of duration and man begins to die the moment he is born.

 

The stately solemn words of the Lecture, offered in elucidation of the symbol, leaves the mind saddened, and weighted, with a sense of the frailty, or even futility, of life.  Wm. Morris, who is in so many ways the poet of the Builder, felt in the same way about it.  All through his pages one feels its presence like a shadow, against which life's little events become etched into brighter relief, so that the little amenities of the day became all the dearer in that they flutter so fragilely over the abyss of eternity, all the more precious because “the sweet days die.”   But there is no need