The Builder Magazine

November 1924 - Volume X - Number 11

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FRONTISPIECE - DANIEL COXE'S LETTER

MORMONISM AND MASONRY - ANTI-MASONRY IN THE BOOK OF MORMON - By Bro. S. H. Goodwin, Grand Secretary, Utah

DANIEL COXE'S RELATIONS TO AMERICAN FREEMASONRY - By Bro. David MeGregor, New Jersey

THE GRAND VIZIER'S QUEST - By Bro. Sidney Morse, New York

"DO IT NOW !" - By Bro. Gene T. Skinkle, Illinois

T. M. HARRIS ON THE ORIGINS OF AMERICAN MASONRY

GREAT MEN WHO WERE MASONS - SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN - By Bro. G. W. Baird, P. G. M., District of Columbia

SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN AS MAN AND ARCHITECT - By Bro. William B. Bragdon, New Jersey

 

EDITORIAL

Masonic Education Under Grand Lodge Auspices

 

THE LIBRARY

A Story of Freemasonry in Hawaii

Beginning of a New Series of Transactions

 

THE SECOND DEGREE AND THE DOLLAR MARK

 

THE STUDY CLUB

Studies of Masonry in the United States - Part III, Beginnings in Pennsylvania. - By Bro. H. L. Haywood

 

THE QUESTION BOX AND CORRESPONDENCE

"The Two Great Pillars" in Old Books

Who Wrote "The Martyrdom of Man"?

Webb's Monitor, Freemasons' Monthly, etc.

The Lafayette Badge

Highest Lodge in the World.

The Secret Constitutions

Can You Give Us This Information?

A Correction

 

YE EDITOR'S CORNER

 

----o----

 

THE BUILDER

 

VOLUME X - NUMBER 11

 

THREE DOLLARS THE YEAR

TWENTY FIVE CENTS THE COPY

 

NOVEMBER 1924

 

Mormonism and Masonry- Anti-Masonry in the Book of Mormon

 

By Bro. S. H. GOODWIN, Grand Secretary, Utah

 

Bro. Goodwin contributed to THE BUILDER for February and March, 1921, two studies of Mormonism and Masonry, both of which are recommended to be read in connection with the present study, which will be concluded next month. The former articles were published in book form in August of that year; the book met with such a demand that a second impression was made in the following October. One hopes that Bro. Goodwin will find it possible to issue, in the same form, these new essays, even more interesting, if possible, than their predecessors.

 

IN a previous paper the writer presented certain aspects of the contact of Mormonism with Masonry, the historic and local background of which was provided by the Nauvoo period of the development of this peculiar people.

 

In the present study of the same general subject our investigations take us back to a point some fifteen years earlier, to the beginnings of the Latter Day faith, and into the then primitive and sparsely inhabited region of western New York. Further, as we begin our study of the subject in hand we shall find ourselves in the midst of conditions unique, even in the colorful experiences of the American people, and disastrous -  even threatening annihilation - to the long established and highly respected and respectable Institution of Freemasonry.

 

The particular period to which attention is here directed is that within which the Anti-Masonic excitement had its rise, and reached and passed its peak. 'The years which may roughly serve to mark the boundaries of that period are 1826 to 1831, or 1832, inclusive. Within those limits the Anti-Masonic furore, tremendously accentuated by, but not primarily due to, the disappearance of William Morgan, reached and passed the height of its amazing course.

 

During the time indicated - though interrupted by absences of varying lengths - Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet, had his home in Manchester, N. Y., not far from the center of the infected area; and in no single instance did he go beyond the predominating influence of the one event which for nearly, or quite, a decade overshadowed every other interest or consideration in the public mind. In this environment, and during those years when the flames of hatred and bigotry and religious intolerance burned fiercest, Joseph Smith brought to light and published his "Golden Bible", the Book of Mormon. In what here follows the writer undertakes to point out somewhat of the prophet's reactions to his environment, and to assemble some of the evidence in support of the contention of this paper.

 

The elder Disraeli, when considering the origin of Dante's Inferno, called attention to the fact that the sombre Florentine was greatly influenced by his environment - by the objects and feelings which occupied his own times. Indeed, he did not hesitate to affirm that the entire work of the Italian bard is "a picture of his times, of his own ideas, of the people about him.'' (1)

 

Whatever may be thought of this characterization of Dante's work, if applied to the book for which Joseph Smith was responsible, its accuracy, in many particulars at least, can be easily demonstrated. In very considerable portions of the Book of Mormon, exhibiting, to be sure, varying degrees of attention to detail, the Mormon prophet has preserved, unmistakably, "a picture of his times, of his own ideas, of the people about him." This fact is practically admitted (as perforce it must be) by the more thoughtful of the church writers who have undertaken to give a rational account of the origin of the Book of Mormon. (2)

 

THE BOOK SHOWS TRACES OF ITS ENVIRONMENT

 

Others have traced to their sources in local conditions prevailing in western New York, where this latter-day prophet had his home, many of the incidents, and controversies, and doctrines, and stories of visions and dreams, as well as numerous idioms, modernisms, colloquialisms, and errors in grammar which stud the pages of this "American Bible". (3) With these we are not here primarily concerned. They are referred to in passing because they furnish corroborative proof of the proposition discussed in this paper. Our principal task, as intimated in an earlier paragraph, is to show how, under the transparent disguise of a similar organization - said to have existed among the ancient peoples of South America - innumerable reflections of the Anti-Masonic episode which burst into fierce flame in 1826 are easily discernible. These reminiscences parallel so closely, and comprehend so fully the manifold charges which the venomous hatred of their enemies heaped upon the Masons in the period specified, that the present writer is forced to regard the usual explanation given by church authorities as being wholly inadequate to meet the situation. (4)

 

For the benefit of readers who may not be familiar with the claims made for the Book of Mormon by its "Author and Proprietor", and by his disciples, a brief statement touching those claims is given place here.

 

The Book of Mormon purports to be "the record of God's dealings with the people of ancient America from the era of the building of the Tower of Babel to four hundred and twentyone years after the birth of Christ." The records whence it was compiled (and- of which there were tons) were written during a period of a thousand years. They were preserved through the centuries on "plates", a part of which, at least, were of pure gold. The abridgement of those records, for which the prophet Mormon was responsible, was also engraved on "plates", and these were deposited in a stone box, together with two stones in silver bows which were attached to a breast-plate - which constituted the Urim and Thummim - and this box was buried on a hill near Manchester, Ontario County, New York. (5)

 

THE FAMOUS "PLATES" WERE DISCOVERED

 

Manchester, as noted above, was the home of Joseph Smith during much of the time under review. Here, or on the hill referred to, on Sept. 22, 1827, slightly more than one year after the disappearance of William Morgan, the "plates" were finally transferred to the prophet. During that year and the two succeeding years, in which the Book of Mormon was in course of preparation, the Anti-Masonic excitement passed all bounds of reason and became a disease. No profane, it appears, escaped the infection. The subject of this study implies, and the Book of Mormon seems clearly to demonstrate, that the Mormon prophet, in common with his neighbors, was a victim of this malady.

 

In the treatment of the subject, the material at hand will be considered under three divisions. First, the Morgan affair and its effect upon the public mind; second, selections from the Book of Mormon which may fairly be taken as being illustrative of their local archetypes; and third, contemporary opinion.

 

An interesting writer on the political aspect of the Anti-Masonic period characterizes "the mysterious abduction of William Morgan and the excitement which followed it", as forming "one of the most singular and interesting pages in American history". (6) Morgan appears to have been of the "rolling stone" variety - a sort of ne'er-do-well. He was a native of Virginia, where he married in middle life one who was young enough to be his daughter. He is said to have followed a variety of vocations to gain a livelihood: soldier, merchant, brewer, and stone, or brick, mason, at none of which were his efforts rewarded by success. At some point in his career he became a Mason  - of the time and place of this event, however, nothing is known, as no record of his initiation has been found. Following the loss by fire of the brewery in which he appears to have had a small interest, he returned from Canada to New York and for a time was in Rochester, where, it seems, he was given financial assistance by the Masons of that city. In time, and not long before the events now under consideration, he drifted into the little village of Batavia, the county town of Genesee County.

 

It is not an easy matter to determine just the sort of man he was, for the descriptions which have come to us vary so greatly, and are so manifestly determined by the point of view and colored by the prejudice of the writer. Here, for example, is one of his partisans who declares that William Morgan "was man of honor and sensibility. He was a gentleman in his manners, and possessed of mental powers superior to his humble occupation in life. He was well informed, of a generous, humane and benevolent disposition. Though 'a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief', yet his misfortunes never led him to descend to any acts of meanness. Amid the shafts of adversity, 'the proud man's contumely, and the oppressor's wrong', he still preserved the equanimity of his temper, and the dignity of his character * * * his noble soul revolted at the bare idea of a dishonorable deed. * * * Captain Morgan was, indeed, a man without guile; brave, frank, and unreserved; modest in his demeanor, delicate in his expression; and respectful to the feelings of those with whom he associated." (7)

 

THE REAL MORGAN IS DESCRIBED

 

In view of the bit of literary work with which Morgan's name is linked, and of the fact that he set about this self-imposed task because of anger over some slight, real or imaginary, and of the further fact that he expected his Illustrations of Masonry to place his finances upon a stable foundation. one may be pardoned for an inclination to discount, very materially, the highly idealistic characterization quoted. And an additional reason for caution may be found in the fact that the pen which drew the above portrait was that of an aspiring, but uniformly unsuccessful politician, who sought to profit by the excitement which he helped to create and extend; whose talents were utilized, but whose character failed to win the confidence of stronger men, who used the Morgan episode to further their own interests. (8)

 

On the other hand, Morgan is represented as being "an idle and dissolute man * * * continually placed within the jail limits, in consequence of debt". (9) According to a seceding Mason and strong advocate of Anti-Masonry, "more can be said than will do good to his memory, * * * he was of rather a prepossessing appearance, with a quick, intelligent, but sly and sinister-glancing eye; he had received a common school education, but had added to it by considerable reading; he was a hard drinker, and his nights, and sometimes his days also, were spent at tippling houses, while occasionally, to the great neglect of his family, he joined in the drunken carousels of the vilest and most worthless men. * * * his disposition was envious, malicious and vindictive.'' (10)

 

It appears that Morgan had not been long in Batavia when the information was noised abroad that he had in preparation, and was about to publish, a book which would disclose the secrets of Freemasonry. It also appears that D. C. Miller, an Entered Apprentice, and publisher of the local newspaper, was to print this book and share in the profits of its sale. (11) From a source unfriendly to Masonry - although in the main facts, corroborated by others - we learn that "the knowledge of these facts excited great commotion, among the members of the Masonic fraternity in that vicinity, and in a wide extent of surrounding country. There was a great heat and intemperance of expression in relation to the expected work, and an open avowal by members that it should never see light.” (12)

 

WHAT BECAME OF MORGAN?

 

Of what followed various accounts are available. The subject in hand does not require that any of these should be considered here, but this much may be said: Morgan was forcibly taken from Canandaigua - where he had been placed in jail for debt - by a few misguided members of the Craft, carried to Ft. Niagara, a hundred miles or more from his home in Batavia, ferried across the river to the Canadian side, soon after returned to the Fort, where, it is said, he was known to have been as late as Sept. 19. Then he disappeared, and no subsequent search succeeded in establishing his whereabouts, or what became of him. Judicial enquiry did establish the facts here enumerated, and the men who were shown to have had part in the abduction were punished for their inexcusable folly. It should be added that, after a most searching investigation, the same tribunal exonerated these men from participation in any crime, beyond that for which they were punished, and which at the time was, by law, a misdemeanor only. (13) The popular belief was that Morgan was put to death by Masons. This was affirmed without any qualification, and often with much fullness of detail, innumerable times in the Anti-Masonic press, and by practically every writer and orator who entered the lists against Freemasonry. But after four years of effort and investigation the nearest to proof of the alleged fact that seems to have been discovered was presented to the United States Anti-Masonic Convention, held at Philadelphia, in the statement: "Several persons have been informed, by those who were understood to be cognizant of the guilty secret, that such was the fact.'' (14)

 

And public opinion, later shrewdly manipulated by self-seeking politicians, condemned not only those individual Masons, who were shown to have had a part in the abduction, but also the Fraternity as an institution. It was held, and proclaimed abroad, that Masonry, by reason of the character of its obligations and teachings, should be held responsible for the seizure and murder of Morgan. (15)

 

As the student of the period passes from a consideration of the immediate cause of the excitement, which swept like a prairie fire over the affected areas, to a contemplation of the excitement itself, and some of the multitudinous ways in which it found expression, his amazement well-nigh passes all bounds. Occupying, as he necessarily does, a point of observation far removed and detached from the events and passions and contributing causes of the matter under review; with practically a full century of time stretching between him and them, and with all the jangle of confusing and discordant voices, and embittered and impassioned claims and counter-claims stilled forever, he takes up the printed record, unmoved by the volcanic and tremendous forces which shook to their foundations every relationship - and many institutions - and finds himself fairly dumbfounded by what that record discloses. The writer disclaims any intention of attempting to present anything like an adequate picture of conditions as they existed in western New York, and elsewhere, where the infection of this paranoia spread from 1826 to 1830. He will be quite satisfied if he succeeds in outlining a rough sketch of events which powerfully reacted upon the minds of the people of those days - including the Mormon prophet reminiscences of which appear unmistakably to be reflected on the pages of the Book of Mormon.

 

Following the disappearance of Morgan and his failure to return to his family in Batavia, stories began to circulate of alleged incidents connected therewith, and rumors multiplied concerning the reasons for his forcible removal. Conditions were ripe for the unusual  - all that was required was the initial impulse, and this was supplied in the mystery attending the disappearance of the author of Illustrations of Masonry. (16)

 

It seems that almost immediately after the fact became known that Morgan had been taken away from the Canandaigua jail, neighbors of the family in Batavia began to make inquiries as to his whereabouts, and sought to uncover the reasons for his continued absence from home. Finding that their investigations failed of results, a committee of ten prepared, and issued to the public, an address bearing date of Oct. 4, 1826. This briefly rehearsed the steps thus far taken, and the facts ascertained, and called upon the people of western New York to assist in solving the mystery. (17) This document was given wide distribution through the press of the state, and from this time forward one circumstance followed close upon the heels of another, and all combined to whip to a fever pitch the excitement of the people.

 

FREEMASONRY WAS ACCUSED

 

The fact was soon developed that the men who were responsible for the abduction of Morgan were members of the Masonic Fraternity, and this focused public interest and attention upon that organization. Mass meetings and conventions followed in quick succession. Resolutions, increasingly vitriolic in tone, condemning the guilty, demanding their speedy apprehension, trial and punishment, and presently, denouncing Freemasonry as a menace to the welfare of the people and the state, were adopted with enthusiasm and scattered to the four winds. Addresses, orations, sermons and articles on the one general theme multiplied, and were given wide publicity through the newspapers and in pamphlet form.

 

Masons, among them men who had been highly honored by the Craft, swept from their feet by the storm, renounced all connection with the institution -  "publicly wiped the stain of Freemasonry from their skirts", and soon were lined up with those who denounced and reviled the Order which, up to that time, they had held in highest esteem. Concerning these men a bitter enemy of Masonry - himself a seceding Mason - declared: "A Mason converted to AntiMasonry, is two-fold gain: once in the loss to the enemy, and again in the increase of our ranks. None are truer to our cause, none are more dangerous to Freemasonry, none are so hated and dreaded by the adversary, as renouncing Masons.'' (18) As is usual with men who have betrayed a trust, no length seemed too great for them to go in their accusations and condemnation. They came together in conventions, drafted long lists of specifications, in which practically every crime in the catalogue was enumerated and charged to Freemasonry; and to these, resolutions were attached in which they pledged undying hatred of the Brotherhood. At one of these gatherings was adopted what the delegates were pleased to designate, the "Antimasonic Declaration of Independence". This was signed by more than one hundred renouncing Masons. Concerning these signers a vindictive opponent of Masonry spoke: "This list we will look upon, revere, and remember. They have done a service to mankind, not inferior to that of the signers of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. Their descendants will be proud of them, and point to them, saying, Behold our fathers !!'' (19)

 

Among renouncing Masons none seemed more determined, persistent, and bitter in their attacks than ministers of the several denominations, and, perhaps, none better served the cause of Anti-Masonry. By reason of their calling, training, experience in public address, and the position they held in the esteem of the communities they served, theirs was a powerful influence in molding sentiment and inflaming and directing public opinion. While not a few of these men entered the opposition ranks from motives rooted in religious convictions, others, beyond a doubt, were swayed by a desire for public approbation, and still others took this step because of fear of the disapprobation of, or in consequence of, pressure exerted by church conferences, or ecclesiastical superiors.

 

Just here reference should be made, in passing, to an incident which throws not a little light on the AntiMasonic situation, and makes clear the fact that that movement did not originate in the Morgan episode. In July, 1826, a book was published under the title of An Inquiry Into the Nature and Tendency of Speculative Freemasonry. The author was a Baptist preacher, and seceding Mason, John G. Stearns by name, who has the doubtful distinction of being "the first American Mason to publish his convictions and the reasons for them". (20) It seems that Stearns was a Mason when he entered Hamilton College, Clinton, N. Y., for his literary and theological preparation. There "he was interrogated in 1819, whether he was a Mason; and being charged while there to abstain from Masonic associations, he replied that he had made up his mind to have nothing more to do with Masonry''. (21) Coming from the press, as it did, at this particular juncture -  two months before the abduction of Morgan - and followed a few months later by a summons to the author from his lodge to appear for trial, and this, together with his reply being given to the press, all combined to create such a demand for the book that it soon passed to a second edition, and within three years five editions had been put out. This work exerted a tremendous influence, and was speedily followed by others of a similar character. Concerning it an Anti-Masonic writer of the times declared: "Mr. Stearns' volume * * * is one of the ablest productions which has appeared on the subject. Its service to the cause of Anti-Masonry has probably been greater than that of any work of the kind." (22)

 

The incident related above is significant from the further fact that it clearly shows that at least as early as 1819, seven years before the trouble in western New York, Hamilton College appears to have been the center of an active Anti-Masonic propaganda.

 

Early in the winter following the abduction of Morgan the first trials were held of men accused of participation in the affair. Three of these men confessed to having had a share in transporting Morgan from the Canandaigua jail to Ft. Niagara, and were sentenced to serve terms of varying lengths, up to two and onehalf years, in the common jail. These events added immeasurably to the popular excitement. The confessions prevented the examination of witnesses and the bringing out of details eagerly sought by the public, and the light sentences led to the belief, and the charge, that Masons and Masonry had interfered and blocked the course of justice. The judge who presided was accused of being a Mason, and unsparingly criticized, although in passing sentence he was careful to point out that the matter did not rest in his hands. The legislature had left the offense of kidnaping to be determined by the common law, which treated it as a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine and imprisonment in the common jail. (23) The legislature was petitioned to assist in ferreting out the guilty, and "to strengthen the arm of justice in such manner as to reach this case,” by providing a special court to take cognizance of the cases growing out of the Morgan affair, because it was affirmed, "the ordinary process of our courts is not competent to reach the many branches of this conspiracy". (24) The Governor was importuned to offer suitable rewards for the discovery of Morgan and the apprehension and punishment of those who were responsible for his disappearance, and this he did, on at least three different occasions.

 

THE PUBLIC MIND BECAME INFLAMED

 

In the these state of the public mind, only that which exaggerated, or went to extremes, met with general approval. A natural consequence of this condition was that newspapers came in for a share of harsh criticism and condemnation. To the fevered, inflamed imagination opinion seemed not to give as much attention  or space to the one subject of supreme interest as it was thought should be given. They were accused of  being dominated, or muzzled by Masonry; of being “parse by a power unseen, and controlled by an influence of unlimited operation". (25) Due to Masonic influence, it was charged, the papers throughout the country suppressed information, and refused space to the reports of proceedings of "Morgan meetings", as they were called, and yet, the most impartial periodical of the times, perhaps, reported in its issue of March 16, 1827: "It is no uncommon thing, so great is the excitement, to find from five to six columns in one New York paper about it;" and then one particular paper was named, in a recent issue of which, "seven and one-half of its capacious columns were filled with it." (26); But this did not satisfy. Apparently, the people would read about nothing else. The result was, as told in the language of an Anti-Masonic committee: "In the region where this outrage had been perpetrated, the criminal apathy or connivance of the conductors of the press, alarmed the people; they arose in their might and established independent papers." The number of these Anti-Masonic publications reached a very considerable figure, of which 53 were in Pennsylvania, 46 in New York, 9 in Ohio, 5 in Massachusetts, and the remainder scattered in six other states and territories. In the words of the committee, quoted above, these Anti-Masonic papers were "established by the zeal, and supported by the liberal contributions of the middling and unambitious classes of society; with no motive but the attainment and dissemination of those alarming truths, which they sought for in vain, through the ordinary channels of intelligence". (27) The work of these papers was supplemented by a profusion of pamphlets, discussing various phases of the one subject that was uppermost in the public mind, and by exposes which purported to give all the work of the several degrees.

 

As was to be expected, the churches took a prominent part in the controversy. The period under consideration was characterized by frequent religious revivals; great "camp meetings" brought together thousands of people whose minds were peculiarly susceptible to mystical phenomena; the Bible was practically the only literature; the church was the only means of social intercourse; it dominated the entire social consciousness. (28) Reference has been made to the activities of "renouncing" ministers. Under their leadership, or independently of it, organized Christianity entered the fray with a fervor, bigotry, and bitterness of invective which at first blush passes comprehension. But the reason for this becomes plain when it is recalled that for a quarter of a century or more there had been great religious excitement, and confusion, and turmoil, and doctrinal controversies - surprisingly vindictive and unchristian in character - out of which had been born several denominations and a multitude of sects and isms. Among these a wordy warfare had been waged against one another. Now they joined forces in an attack upon what was conceived to be a common enemy.

 

In this assault, the Presbyterians appear to have been in the van, but they were scarcely a step in advance of the Congregationalists, Methodists, Baptists, and Lutherans, and even the Universalists, who up to this time had been fighting for a foothold, and whose liberality and detestation of spiritual tyranny it was supposed would be a safeguard against any attack of bigotry, did not escape the infection. (29) At District and State Conferences, Conventions and Consociations -  and by individual churches, even - resolutions were adopted, aimed not only at ministers' but at the Masonic laity as well, ordering all who were connected with the Fraternity publicly to withdraw or suffer excommunication from the church. (30):

 

FREEMASONRY WAS CONDEMNED ACCORDING TO FORMULA

 

Sometimes the action taken was not quite so extreme. Here is an example of the milder form - a resolution adopted by the Genesee Consociation, in June, 1828: "Resolved, That the Consociation will neither license, ordain, or install, those who sustain any connexion with the institution of Masonry, or who will not disapprove and renounce it; nor will we give letters of recommendation in favor of such persons to preach in any of the churches in our connexion.'' (31) Churches refused to listen to preachers who belonged to the Craft, and insisted, where their pastors were Masons, that they should not only renounce Masonry, but denounce it as well, and this, not in any terms they might choose, but according to a fixed and approved formula; and instances are on record where churches dismissed their ministers because they belonged to the Fraternity. (32)

 

Events and activities multiplied incredibly, all of which were calculated still further to inflame the passions, and to solidify antagonism to Masonry. AntiMasonic papers carried innumerable editorials, special articles and letters which abounded in the most extravagant assertions and claims. As a sample of the lot, here is part of a letter (Italics and all) which appeared in one of the newspapers about a year after Morgan had disappeared:

 

"The Lodge and Chapter in this [Batavia] and other places," declares the writer, “acted in concert and under the direction of the Grand Lodge of the State, and the said Grand Lodge did cast lots who should come out and despatch Morgan and Miller if necessary to suppress the development of Masonic secrets." (33) And this was written by a seceding Mason!

 

Grand Juries were summoned and after having used every means in their power to ascertain the truth, reported, that while many rumors were afloat, sufficient evidence for an indictment could not be secured. Still another Grand Jury spent four days and examined forty-six witnesses, and reported back that no facts had been disclosed upon which they "could impeach, or make presentment, or indictment against any citizen for the offense aforesaid, or for any opulence connected "hereunto".

 

Trials were held of men who were charged with conspiracy to abduct William Morgan, and its consummation, but the testimony was not of a character to connect the defendants with the crime, and they were acquitted. (34)

 

POLITICAL ANTI-MASONRY WAS LAUNCHED

 

On the 24th of June, 1827, a meeting was held at Batavia, the people, some 3,000 in number, "of all ages and sexes," and from various parts of Genesee county, coming together to consider "the question which has produced so much excitement in the western part of the State". Resolutions were adopted in which, among other things, the people present pledged themselves not to support any Mason for public office.

 

Late in September, following the meeting just referred to, one Timothy Monroe was drowned in Lake Ontario. A month, or thereabouts, later the body was recovered. It was at once proclaimed, and accepted, as the body of William Morgan. A coroner's jury so declared, upon the testimony of a number of witnesses, including Mrs. Morgan. In due time the widow of the drowned man learned of the discovery of the body, and the statements of some of the witnesses at the inquest led her to suspect that the body was that of her husband. Upon her representations disinterment was made, and a second inquest was held and the body was identified by the widow, a son and a friend, as beyond a doubt that of Timothy Monroe. Concerning the first inquest, the editors of what appears to be the most impartial paper of the period, expressed the opinion: "By the description of the clothing of Timothy Monroe, no shadow of doubt remained that the jury had been mistaken, or deceived on the testimony of the witnesses themselves, we hope, mistaken," (35) and the body was finally buried as that of Timothy Monroe. This incident added greatly to the excitement that had prevailed for more than a year.

 

Ambitious politicians, without a party and with no other means of furthering their own interests and gaining the attention of the people, took advantage of the situation, and through skilfully manipulated conventions rode into prominence and power, if not into place. (36)

 

Renouncing Masons regaled the curious at largely attended gatherings by exemplifying the several degrees and lecturing on the atrocities of Freemasonry; excited mothers met in conventions and passed resolutions declaring that their daughters should never marry Masons; a candidate for sheriff announced in his advertisement that if elected he would use his "best endeavors to prevent Masons from being selected as jurymen" (37); candidates for office, and even the President of the United States, were interrogated concerning their attitude toward Masonry (38); by virtue of the fact that an agent of the Government was in charge of Ft. Niagara when Morgan was taken thither, a memorial was presented to Congress asking for an investigation (39). In fact, Anti-Masonry touched every interest, found its way into every walk of life. It entered the home and divided families; it shattered friendships that had weathered every other gale; it ruptured social relations; it denied the sacrament to communicants; it rent churches; it ruined business and impoverished many. Its effect upon Masonry was far reaching and disastrous. Before the biting fury of this storm hundreds of Masons scurried like rats from a sinking ship; lodges went down like block houses, and even Grand Lodges in some states barely continued to exist, or entirely suspended labor. (40)

 

JOSEPH SMITH WAS NOT IMMUNE

 

In taking leave of this phase of the subject the reader is reminded of the fact that the preceding paragraphs are not to be regarded as a comprehensive account of the Morgan affair. Only so much has been presented here as, it is hoped, will enable those who have not looked into the Anti-Masonic episode to gain a fairly accurate understanding of the character of the environment in the midst of which Joseph Smith prepared and published the Book of Mormon. Enough has been said, it would seem, to convince the impartial student of that particular period that it is highly improbable that anyone who lived in the very thick of such intense, prolonged and volcanic excitement - unparalleled in our history, we are asked to believed -  (41) an excitement from which none was immune; which left no interest or institution untouched, or as it was before, and which entered with unhallowed tread the most sacred precincts, and scattered devastation wherever it came - it is not only improbable, but incredible, that the Mormon prophet alone, of all the people of that region, escaped unaffected by the Anti-Masonic upheaval. That he did not constitute an exception in this respect, the Book of Mormon itself, more particularly the first edition, furnishes most conclusive proof. And the fact is significant that church apologists admit, as necessarily they must, the very great influence of environment upon the "boy prophet", and they do not challenge the testimony offered in support of this fact, save in a single particular - Freemasonry! "The Book of Mormon says nothing of free masonry," declares one of the leading teachers of the church. (42) According to him all references to secret societies found in the Book of Mormon relate to societies which existed among the Jaredites and the Nephites - ancient American nations! One inclined to be a little skeptical, and the student who seeks to discover facts connected with the period and events, here being passed under review, are certain to find difficulty in accepting such an explanation. They will feel that this does not adequately account for the inclusion in the Book of Mormons a part of the history of those "ancient secret societies" - practically every charge laid at the doors of Freemasons by their enemies during the AntiMasonic persecution of the time we are considering, and this with a most significant and remarkable fidelity to detail! (43)

 

(To be concluded)

 

NOTES AND REFERENCES

 

1. Curiosities of Literature, Isaac Disraeli, vol. 2 p. 421, ef. The Founder of Mormonism, I. W. Riley; 1903, p. i64.

 

2. New Witnesses for God, B. H. Roberts, 1909, vol. 3, pp. 409, 413, 415, Mormon Point of View, N. L. Nelson, 1904, p. 115.

 

3. Psychological Tests for the Authorship of the Book of Mormon, W. F. Prince; American Journal of Psychology, vol. 28; 1917; pp. 373-489; The Founder of Mormonism, I. W. Riley; p. 148f; Delusions: An Analysis of the Book of Mormon, Alex. Campbell, many references, Two Thousand Changes in the Book of Mormon, Lamoni Call; 1898; much of the book.

 

4. New Witnesses for God, B. H. Roberts, 1909 - vol. 3, p. 484.

 

5. The Myth of the Manuscript Found, Geo. Reynolds, 1883; p. 43; History of the Church, Period I, Joseph Smith, B. H. Roberts, vol. 1; pp. 10-16; Mormon Point of View, N. L. Nelson; 1904; pp. 107, 108, 110.

 

6. The Anti-Masonic Party: A Study of Political AntiMasonry in the U. S., 1827-1840, Chas. McCarthy Annual Report, American Historical Association; 1902; p. 371.

 

7. Anti-Masonic Review; vol. 1; 1828, pp. 55 80, Opinions on Speculative Masonry, J. C. Odiorne; 1830, p. i94.

 

8. Autobiography of Thurlow Weed; vol. 1; 1883; pp. 46 86, 306.

 

9. History of Freemasonry in New York, C.T. McClenachan; 1892; vol. 2; pp. 463-464.

 

10. W. L. Stone, quoted by Drummond, History of Portland Lodge, No. 1; 1881, p. 112.

 

11. It appears that this was not Miller's first venture in printing works of this character. Some twenty years before he brought out a new edition of Jachin and Boaz, a book that was first published in 1762. Miller was initiated at Albany N. Y., about the time he was at work on the book just named. See The Broken Seal, S. D. Greene; 1873, pp. 45-46.

 

12. Proceedings of the U. S. Anti-Masonic Convention, Philadelphia, 1830, Whittlesey's Report; pp. 15-32.

 

13. History of Freemasonry in N. Y., McClenachan; 1892; vol. 2; pp. 505-509.

 

14. Proceedings of the U. S. Anti-Masonic Convention, Philadelphia; 1830; Whittlesey's Report, p. 21; Niles Register; 1829; vol. 35; p. 355.

 

15. Anti-Masonic Review, vol. 1; 1828; pp. 57, 209, 244, 275; Opinions on Speculative Masonry, J. C. Odiorne, 1830, pp. 103194, 115f, 164-165, 275; An Inquiry Into the Nature, Etc., J. G. Sterns, 1826 pp. 106, 09

 

16. The Anti-Masonic Party, McCarthy, Annual Report American Historical Association, 1902, p. 368, History of the People of the U.S., McMaster, 1900; vol. 5, pp. 82-122, Autobiography of Thurlow Weed, 1883, vol. 1; pp. 355-359; Mormon Group Life, Erieksen; 1922; p. 14.

 

17. The Broken Seal, S. D. Greene,. 1873, pp. 118-119.

 

18. The Anti-Masonic Review, vol. 2; 1829, pp. 130-131.

 

19. Catalogue Anti-Masonic Books, H. Gassett; 1852; p. 88; cf. Proceedings U. S. Anti-Masonic Convention, Philadelphia; 1830, p. 98.

 

20. The Anti-Masonic Review, 1829; vol. 2, p. 248.

 

21. The Anti-Masonic Review, 1829; vol. 2, p. 241.

 

22. Opinions on Speculative Masonry, J. C. Odiorne, 1830; p. 33, Note; of. Letters on the Masonic Institution, J. Q. Adams, 1847; p. 229.

 

23. History of Freemasonry in N.Y., C.T. McClenachan 1892; vol. 3; p. 507; Freemasonry in Michigan, Conover, 1897 vol. 1; p. 169; cf. Niles Register, 1828, vol. 35, p. 253.

 

24. Niles Register, 1827; vol. 32, pp. 59, 60, 121. The Committee on Courts and Justice - in the Legislature - to which these memorials were referred requested that it might be discharged from further consideration of the subject in view of the feet that a majority of the Committee were Masons. This request was granted and a special committee of Anti-Masons was appointed, but the resolutions it presented were rejected by the Assembly, by a vote of three to one.

 

25. Proceedings U. S. Anti-Masonic Convention, Philadelphia 1830, p. 42; The Anti-Masonic Review, 1828; vol. 1, p. 62.

 

26. Niles Register; 1827; vol. 32; vol. 32; pp. 59, 60.

 

27. Proceedings U.S. Anti-Masonic Convention; Philadelphia; 1830; pp. 41, 42.

 

28. Mormon Group Life, Ericksen; 1922; p. 14.

 

29. Memoirs of the Life of Nathaniel Stacy; 1850; p. 250. History of Utah, H. H. Bancroft; 1891; pp. 37, 38.

 

30. The Anti-Masonic Movement, E. S. Gibbs; Proceedings Grand Lodge Massachusetts, 1917, p. 497.

 

31. The Anti-Masonic Review; 1828; vol. 1; p. 226, Opinions on Speculative Masonry, Odiorne; 1830; p. 128; Niles Register; 1829; vol. 37, pp. 53, 149.

 

32. Cf. McMaster, History of the People of the U. S.; 1900; vol. 5; p. 115.

 

33. S. D. Greene, National Observer, Oct. 2, 1827.

 

34. Niles Register, 1827; vol. 32, pp. 59, 60, 82, 181, 326.

 

35. History of the People of the U. S., McMasters, 1900; vol. 5; p. 117; Niles Register, vol. 33, pp. 161, 162.

 

36. Autobiography of Thurlow Weed; 1883; vol. 1; pp. 298f.

 

37. Niles Register, 1830; vol. 38; p. 339.

 

38. Masonic Light on the Abduction of Wm. Morgan, P. C. Huntington; 1880; pp. 136, 137; Niles Register; 1828; vol. 35; p. 5.

 

39. Niles Register; vol. 34; p. 198.

 

40. History of Portland Lodge, No. 1, Drummond, 1881, pp. 130f; Early Records Grand Lodge Vermont, 1794-1846, pp. 373f 407f, 396f; History of Freemasonry in the State of N. Y., Ossian Lang; 1922; p. 176; Freemasonry in Michigan; Conover; 1897; vol. 1; pp. 136-138.

 

41. Niles Register; 1827; vol. 32, pp. 59, 60.

 

42. New Witnesses for God, B. H. Roberts, 1909, vol. 3; p. 484; Mormon Point of View, N. L. Nelson; 1904 p. 183, Note.

 

43. The Founder of Mormonism, I. W. Riley, 1903, p. 160; The Latter Day Saints, Kauffman, 1912, pp. 125, 126; Psychological Tests for the Authorship of the Book of Mormon, Prince American Journal of Psychology, 1917, vol. 28, pp. 373f Authorship of the Book of Mormon, Schroeder, American Journal of Psychology; 1919; vol. 30; pp. 66-72.

 

----o----

 

Daniel Coxe's Relations to American Freemasonry

 

By Bro. DAVID McGREGOR, Historian of Union Lodge, No. 2, Orange, N. J.

 

In order that readers who have not followed previous discussions in THE BUILDER may catch the full significance of Bro. McGregor's contribution we ask his permission to make a word or two of explanation concerning the points at issue. The principal point arises out of the friendly rivalry between the Grand Jurisdictions of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts as to which can justly claim, on the basis of records, priority in the establishment of regular and duly constituted Freemasonry in this country. In the letter alleged to have been written by Henry Bell to Dr. Thomas Cadwallader the writer affirms that Daniel Coxe had issued a charter to a lodge in Philadelphia in the autumn of 1730. Massachusetts brethren argue that we have no proof that any such letter ever existed, and affirm that Daniel Coxe could not have issued the charter because he was in England during the two years covered by his deputation and therefore never exercised the authority that had been given by him. In his Beginnings of Freemasonry in America, page 56, Bro. Melvin Johnson states the Massachusetts position in this manner: "There has appeared no evidence, however, that he exercised this deputation or even that he was on this side of the Ocean during the said two years." Bro. McGregor now comes forward to prove that Coxe was in this country during that period and offers the evidence. At the same time he comes to the support of the famous Bell letter. Consult THE BUILDER Vol. I, pages 111, 174, 229, 251, 245; Vol. II, pages 70, 211, 317, Vol. V, page 35, also November, 1923, page 329 and April, 1924 page 109. See also The Study Club in this issue. - The Editor.

 

IN THE Builder of April last there appears an article by Bro. Melvin M. Johnson, P.G.M. of Massachusetts, criticizing one by Bro. Ernest A. Reed, P. G. M. of New Jersey, on "Freemasonry in New Jersey," in which Bro. Johnson says:

 

"The feet is, that while Coxe was appointed June 5th, 1730, as Provincial Grand Master of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, for two years, he was not on this side of the Atlantic at any time during those two years. During that entire period he remained in England.... When therefore in January 1730-1 Coxe attended the Grand Lodge in London, he naturally was recorded in accordance with the Commission which he held although he had never exercised it."

 

To give expression so emphatically to such unqualified statements of fact, based solely on the lack of evidence to the contrary, especially by one who is recognized as an authority on American Masonic history, and who so strongly condemned the tendency in others "to give credence and currency to errors of the past by their re-publication," is, to say the least, surprising. Doubtless the fact that such opinions have gone so long unchallenged has given rise to the belief that they must be true; but recent research on the part of the writer has uncovered documentary evidence to prove that Coxe did return to America, and was a resident of New Jersey during part of the period covered by his deputation, viz., from June 24, 1730, to June 24, 1732.

 

This evidence is to be found in the records of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, and in the voluminous manuscripts of James Alexander now in the possession of the New York and New Jersey Historical Societies; and the strange thing is that such readily accessible evidence has remained so long unnoticed.

 

Before proceeding, however, to present this indisputable evidence, it may be well to say something about Alexander. He came to Perth Amboy in 1715 as surveyor-general of East and West Jersey, an office he held for many years. He was a prominent lawyer and attorney general of both New York and New Jersey; is especially remembered as having defended Peter Zenger in his fight for the liberty of the press; and also as the father of Major General William Alexander (Lord Stirling) of Revolutionary fame.

 

Coxe had engaged James Alexander's services in certain suits of ejectment entered by him against several residents of Maidenhead (Lawrenceville) and Hopewell who occupied lands he claimed as his.

 

In Alexander's Account Book, Vol. I, page 309, under date of May 17, 1729, the following entry appears: "Received of Daniel Coxe in his Maidenhead suit 3.3.9 pounds." At the foot of page 323, under date of April 19, 1730, he has entered: "Received of Reed in behalf of Col. Coxe 12 pounds proclamation money towards carrying on the suit in Chancery." On the following page under date of July 11, 1730, we find: "Received of Col. Coxe in his suit ads. Smith procl. 4.10.0 pounds." On that same day he argued this suit before Governor John Montgomerie, acting as chancellor.

 

It will be noticed that the first and third items acknowledge the receipt of money directly from Coxe himself, while the second item acknowledges the receipt of money on Col. Coxe's account through an intermediary, suggesting the thought that he was here on May 17, 1729, and on July 11, 1730, but not on April 19, 1730. That he was in New Jersey until late in 1729 is proven by a deed given by him to his son Daniel Coxe, Jr., on Aug. 27, 1729; and by giving his bond as administrator of the estate of Charles Weston, of Burlington, on Oct. 2 of that year. On Feb. 12, 1730, he received a deed from Daniel Bird of London for an extensive tract of land in New Jersey, indicating that he had reached London some time previous, and we know from the records of the Grand Lodge of England that he was there on June 5 when he received his deputation as Provincial Grand Master.

 

CONFIRMATORY EVIDENCE IS GIVEN

 

As already stated, the wording of his entry in the account book under date of July 11, 1730, would make it appear that he had returned to Jersey. This of itself, however, would not be accepted as positive proof of such a claim unless supported by confirmatory evidence. Fortunately we are able to present something more positive and convincing in the form of a letter written by Daniel Coxe to James Alexander, dated Trenton, July 31, 1730, in reply to a letter he had just received from Alexander and in which he refers him to the contents of a letter written to Mr. Murray, Alexander's partner, on the 29th inst., dealing with the subject of Alexander's inquiry, showing not only that Coxe was in Trenton on July 29, 1730, but had been in Perth Amboy some time previous to that date; while at the same time it strongly confirms our surmise that he was in Jersey on July 11. We have other reports to prove that he continued a resident of New Jersey until late in 1730. On Aug. 28 he signed a deed at Burlington for land to William Merrill at Hopewell, and from the records of the Supreme Court of New Jersey we learn that he gave his bond on Nov. 16, 1730, "at Burlington by his certain writing" for 1750 pounds to be paid to Cap. Warren or demand.

 

It has thus been clearly shown that Daniel Coxe did return to America and was a resident of New Jersey about four months of the year 1730.

 

It will be noticed that Coxe's deputation was dated June 5, 1730, although it was not to go into effect until June 24. This leads us to inquire what was the reason of its being granted nineteen days ahead of time ? Our answer is that he might take advantage of an opportunity to sail for America on or about June 5, in order to appear before the Court of Chancery as soon as possible in the suit he had pending there. The interval of five weeks between the date of his deputation and his presence here on July 11 was not an unusual performance at that time. The New York Gazette of Nov. 22, 1731, was disappointed that "it did not find by the London Prints of the 15th of September last that they have not any account of the death of our late Governor Montgomerie", which occurred on July 1, 1731, thus allowing only six weeks for the transmission and publication of news; while in the same newspaper of May 31, 1736, we find a notice to the effect that "On Saturday last Captain Warren in His Majesty's ship, The Squirrel, arrived here eight weeks from England, and on Thursday last a ship arrived at Philadelphia having had five weeks' passage." The Captain Warren referred to is the same person that is mentioned in Coxe's letter, a photographic copy of which is here reproduced in order that there might not now or hereafter be any doubt upon its authenticity, as has been in the case of the noted Bell letter, on account of our Pennsylvania brethren not being able to produce the original.

 

We feel that the publication of this letter at this time justifies a reconsideration of the criticism that has been directed against Bell's letter, whereby its authenticity and truthfulness has been seriously questioned, even though the Grand Lodge Library Committee of Pennsylvania stated that it bore all the marks of being genuine, and they had no doubt of its being correct. It is to be deeply regretted that the original Bell letter is not available so that the question of its authenticity might be definitely settled; and it is also unfortunate that Bro. Francis Blackburn did not copy the letter in full when he had the opportunity to do so in 1873, as the context might have been helpful in confirming its veracity. Yet as it stands, there appears to be sufficient circumstantial evidence to render the statements in that letter entirely acceptable to an unprejudiced mind.

 

The excerpt of this letter said to have been written by Bro. Henry Bell of Lancaster, Pa., to Dr. Thomas Cadwallader of Philadelphia on Nov. 17, 1754, is as follows:

 

"As you well know, I was one of the originators of the first Masonic Lodge in Philadelphia. A party of us used to meet at the Tun Tavern in Water Street and sometimes opened a Lodge there. Once in the fall of 1730, we formed a design of obtaining a charter for a regular Lodge, and made application to the Grand Lodge of England for one, but before receiving it we heard that Daniel Coxe of New Jersey had been appointed by that Grand Lodge as Provincial Grand Master of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, we therefore made application to him, and our request was granted."

 

WE KNOW LITTLE ABOUT HENRY BELL

 

As to the identity of the writer we know little save that the name of Henry Bell appears in the tax list of Derry Township, Lancaster, Pa., about that time. The recipient of the letter, Dr. Thomas Cadwallader, was a prominent citizen of Philadelphia, who had been educated in the Friends' Academy and then took up a course in medicine and surgery in London. On his return he established an extensive practice in Philadelphia and became a noted physician. He was admitted to membership in St. John's Lodge, No. 1, on June 6, 1737; and on June 24, 1738, was appointed one of the Grand Wardens of the Grand Lodge.

 

He became actively identified with the public life of the city and was associated with Franklin in many of his public activities. He was one of the founders of the American Philosophical Society and of the Pennsylvania Hospital. He moved to Trenton for a time and while there was selected in 1746 to be the first Chief Burgess (Mayor) of the town, Daniel Coxe, Jr., son of Col. Daniel Coxe, being also one of the members of that body. In 1750 he again took up his residence in Philadelphia, where he became professionally associated with the new Pennsylvania Hospital.

 

Not having the complete text of Bell's letter we are forced to venture a surmise as to the object of his that time, and on that particular subject; there was evidently some special reason for his doing so, which reason may be found in the fact that early in 1754 the brethren of the "Grand and First Lodges of Philadelphia" opened a subscription list for the building of a Masonic lodge, which was formally opened on June 24, 1755, the first of its kind in America, and in which ceremony Dr. Cadwallader took a prominent place. In view of such a ceremony it may be that Cadwallader wrote to Bro. Bell asking for what information he could give as to the establishment of the first lodge in Philadelphia, more particularly the part played in it by one who had been a noted resident of the town which had so signally honored him by making him its first mayor. He was evidently aware that Bell had taken an active part in that movement which is implied by the first sentence quoted in the letter, "As you well know."

 

The evident intent of the letter was to establish the regularity of -St. John's Lodge, and it is scarcely conceivable that Bro. Bell would make such an historically, important statement to another brother Mason, eminent in the public life of the city and in the ranks of Masonry, and one so closely associated with Franklin, Allen and Daniel Coxe, Jr., without it being founded on truth, and the burden of proof as to its being unreliable rests upon those who would seek to discredit his assertions.

 

Conscious of this burden, those have sought to do so on two grounds: first, that Bell's name does not appear among the original members of St. John's Lodge; and second, that the time mentioned, "the fall of 1730," would not permit of doing all he claimed was done in time to institute the lodge late in 1730, or early in 1731.

 

THE TWO OBJECTIONS ARE CONSIDERED

 

Concerning the first objection, it is easily possible that Bell found it necessary to move from Philadelphia before the lodge was duly constituted, although he had taken an active part in the preliminaries of organization; even the first Master, William Button, found it necessary to do so a few months after his installation; nor does Bell's letter make any claim to his having been a member of it. The only connection with it that he lays claim to is that he was "one of the originators".

 

As to the second point, it must be remembered that this letter was written twenty-four years after the event, and it is not surprising that he was rather indefinite as to the exact date; there are but few of us frail mortals who can charge our memory with precision as to dates so long gone by. Of course the second criticism was made solely on the theory that Coxe was in London in the fall of 1730, which has been proven untenable; his presence here during that period must be looked upon as one of those corroborative facts which the Grand Lodge Library Committee of Pennsylvania considered desirable to give full credit to the letter, and make its statements entirely acceptable. There appears, therefore, no just reason why Bell's statement should not be accepted as fact, and that Coxe should be credited with exercising his authority, at least in this one instance.

 

While we willingly admit that St. John's Lodge, No. 1, of Philadelphia, was the first regularly constituted lodge in America, which entitles the City of Brotherly Love to the honor of being known as the Mother of Freemasonry in America, we feel that New Jersey is at the same time entitled to the credit of having as one of its noted citizens a brother who is equally entitled to be called the Father of American Freemasonry, inasmuch as he was the first Grand Master in America, and the medium through whom, and through whom only, the institution of the first legitimate lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in America could and did take place.

 

----o----

 

The Grand Vizier's Quest

 

By Bro. SIDNEY MORSE, Executive Secretary, Bureau of Social and Educational Service, New York

 

If all the seas were one sea

What a GREAT sea that would be!

And if all the trees were one tree

What a GREAT tree that would be!

And if all the axes were one axe

What a GREAT axe that would be!

 

And if all the men were one man

What a GREAT man he would be!

And if the GREAT man took the GREAT axe

And cut down the GREAT tree

And let it fall into the GREAT sea

What a splish splash that would be!

 

ONCE upon a time, as the fairy tales say, there was born in the royal palace of the Caliph of Bagdad a prince destined to be renowned in story as the great Haroun-al-Raschid.

 

When the early course of his education was drawing to a close, the Caliph one day summoned the Grand Vizier, Abin El Yusef, and set on foot an inquiry for a suitable tutor for the heir apparent. One after another the most famous scholars of that era of learning sought to embrace the opportunity of having as their disciple the future Caliph. But each applicant desired to teach only a single subject and seemed to be largely ignorant or disdainful of other branches of learning. The celebrated mathematician, Abdullah El Hasin, knew little of dialectic and avowed a poor opinion of its value. Even masters of the same forms of knowledge could not agree among themsleves how these subjects ought properly to be imparted. In short, they quarreled fiercely and agreed only in holding all knowledges but their own in slight esteem.

 

When this state of affairs was reported to the Caliph his brow darkened. Summoning the Grand Vizier, he said:

 

"Far from finding a suitable tutor for the Prince, you have added to my perplexity. The heir to the Caliphate is not to become a mathematician, a dialectician, or a philosopher, but a king and ruler of men. He must learn obedience and reverence for age and for the wisdom of the fathers. How can he fail to imbibe prejudice from the bickerings of these pedants ? How can he arrive at truth among such contradictory opinions? Reverence he is not likely; to learn from men who have no respect for themselves to teach them what is due to one another. Go among them and announce that this is the Caliph's test. The Prince's tutor must have equal knowledge of every subject. He must be at peace with himself and with all the world. He must have a blameless reputation for wisdom. He must have skill in all the arts of peace and war. Make proclamation that I will endow such an one with honor and riches. I will give him a Princess to wife, a portion from my own table and equal authority with myself over the Prine's person."

 

The proclamation was made and ambassadors were sent to foreign parts to extend the tidings. At first the wiseacres declared that no one had ever heard of such a man but, incited by the hope of reward, scholars, priests, warriors and impostors from all parts of the world began to flock to the royal city by the Tigris. Examinations under the directions of the Grand Vizier were conducted daily, but to no avail. No one gave the slightest promise of passing the Caliph’s test. The city and its environs swarmed with hungry hords of chagrined place-seekers, all of whom refused to abandon hope until the prize had been actually awarded. The Caliph's test was the topic of the hour. The ordinary interests of the realm languished. At last, to check the nuisance of rival claimants, the Caliph announced the pains of death against him who attempted the test unsuccessfully. Danger served only to fan the zeal kindled by the brilliance of the proposed achievement. Hundreds paid with their lives the penalty of their rashness. When finally a number of the most renowned scholars in the Caliph's dominions had been executed, he one day summoned the Grand Vizier and bade him withdraw the proclamation.

 

"For," said the Caliph, "I see that Wisdom is humble and abases herself. It may be that she is not to be found by proclamation of rewards and honors, nor by awaiting her in courts or palaces. Let us make diligent search for her among the lowly. The duty of every age is to transmit to posterity with usufruct its heritage from the fathers. The education of the Prince is therefore my chief concern. If you fail in this, you fail in all things. I give you a year and a day to bring me one who shall pass my test. Otherwise I must appoint your successor and banish you to perpetual exile."

 

THE GRAND VIZIER HAD A WEARY TASK

 

The Grand Vizier, bending low, received to aid him in his search the Caliph's signet, and made his way from the royal palace with a sad heart. Having furnished himself with a belt full of jewels and gold from the royal treasury, he bade adieu to his favorite wife, Sadie, left his harem in the charge of his chief eunuch, Balthassah, and, with many misgivings, set out upon his journey.

 

It would take too long to recite all that befell the Grand Vizier. Suffice it to say that he visited by turns every district of the Caliph's empire. All doors flew open to the royal signet. The fame of his quest outran him. The faithful vied with each other in directing his attention to every subject who had any, even the slightest, reputation for wisdom. As he traveled away from Bagdad he found, to his surprise, few indeed who knew even by reputation the eminent doctors there congregated. Each community had its own wise men who embodied the traditional lore of the vicinity. There were many of blameless life and catholic sympathies, but they were without learning. They had much lore of stars, desert, and mountains; of beasts and plants of the field and those of stall and garden; of measuring and surveying; of leadership in war and government in peace; of the nature of men and women and the love of little children; of justice and of true religion; but of mathematics, astronomy and other sciences, and of dialectic, philosophy or theology they had never heard. Obviously, such men were unfit to venture their lives on the test of the Caliph.

 

Many long nights, under the gorgeous eastern firmament, gloriously blazoned and tapestried with the stars, did the Grand Vizier consult on the state of the Caliph's realm with these common men. As the year of his quest drew to its close and its object seemed more and more to be unattainable, he lost sight of his own unhappy lot in a heart-felt yearning to undo, by means of the vast fund of wisdom he had thus unwittingly acquired, the mistakes of his earlier years in the Caliph's service. At length, when less than a month remained before his banishment would become perpetual, the Grand Vizier, in his camp on the eastern foothills of the Hindu-Kush mountains, chanced to hear rumors of a vastly wise Nan, an anchorite, dwelling in a cavern overlooking the desert of Gobi. Resolving to leave no stone unturned, he determined to throw all upon a single cast of the die. Descending to the bed of the Karkand and thence by the valley of the Tarim, he made his way by incredible exertions thither.

 

The shadows of the last evening but one of the Caliph's year were chilling alike his body and his spirit as he toiled, painfully and alone, up a rocky pathway toward the entrance to the sage's cavern. The aged man arose at his approach and welcomed him in silence but with gentle dignity. The two broke their fast without speaking. The experience of the past year had taught the Grand Vizier that the words of the wise are few in proportion as they are precious. When at last the full moon arose, silvering the weird expanse of the ancient desert into the likeness of a wide, mysterious sea, the aged seer broke the silence.

 

"You are not unheralded," he said, "nor unexpected. You have lost yourself in the search and have thus found the will and the way to serve your fellowmen. You have accordingly been led by Allah to the one place on earth where your quest can be satisfied. With prayer, vigils and much mortification of the flesh, for many years, I have sought the secret of wisdom. I have been successful. But my life has unfitted me to enjoy its fruits. The Caliph has wisely asked for his heir wisdom rather than power, riches or honor. Hence all these may be added unto him. The Prince is destined to be by far the most celebrated among the Caliphs of Bagdad. To you it has been granted to receive a revelation of the sources from which universal wisdom is derived."

 

Checking the Grand Vizier as he was about to acknowledge with joy this welcome intelligence, the sage busied himself with drawing together upon an open patch of stone at the entrance of his cave the embers of his scanty fire. Blowing gently upon the coals until they glowed again, he scattered among them a few grains of incense, gesticulated mysteriously, and whisperingly gave utterance to the mighty Name.

 

Instantly a thin column of fragrant smoke rose from among the ashes. As it curled gradually upward a light gust of air, like a tiny whirlwind, caught it up and detached it from its base. Slowly at first but with gathering intensity an ever-increasing cloud of smoke or mist, like the top of an inverted pyramid, spinning spirally, made its way toward the open sands down the vista of a gorge fronting the anchorite's cavern. A low hum sharpening to a hiss and then deepening to a shrieking roar apprised the ear of its accelerating progress. The mighty funnel, writhing and twisting as it went, swept the sands of the desert aloft as some gigantic waterspout might lift the waves of the sea. In plain view of the awe-struck onlookers it paused, balanced itself, rotated slightly and, such was its magnitude, clean-swept the accumulated sand of centuries from the primeval rock, and for a vast space laid bare the hidden bones of the world. Smoke, mist and sand finally vanished and only the raucous voice of the gale vibrating stridently across the moonlit void and the altered aspect of the sands were left to offset the sense of unreality.

 

WISDOM'S MAGIC IS COMPLETED

 

At last the sage signalled the Grand Vizier to rub with his palm the Caliph's ring. As he complied, instantly, from all quarters of the globe, its entire human population, as disembodied spirits, was summoned to appear. Men, women and children of all races and conditions, past and present, were swept by the four winds from every land, washed by the seven seas. Grasped by the all-compelling vortex they were caught up and whirled resistlessly aloft. At the touch of the wondrous current each human frame miraculously fell apart into its component elements. Limb fell from limb and organ from organ. Nerves, muscles, fibres and cells parted company, to reassemble, like with like, as the elements of a new and greater whole. Rapidly the majestic drama was enacted. Ere the moon set the entire range of the Thian Shan was darkened by the shadows of a colossus in human form towering majestically among the stars.

 

Every human heart that ever beat had gone to the making of this heart of Man. Every human brain that ever thought was united in this brain of Man. Even in stature the body of Man, the product of the combination of earth's billions of living and dead, towered over the globe many times her own diameter. With few strides Man could have circled the planet, overstepping earth's greatest rivers, fording her oceans and spurning her loftiest mountains in his march. Thus he stood, capable of treading cities and armies beneath his feet, or of destroying the beautiful world itself with a single blow of his mighty fist.

 

The face of Man could not be seen. The dumb roaring of the blast subsided. The desert air commenced once more to vibrate, but this time with a prelude of softest harmony. Suddenly the earth quaked once and again. The gigantic frame shuddered and seemed to wrestle with an inward agony. Life had commenced. The functions of all the individual members, set up anew, poured as it were into one mighty caldron the total product of their individual selves. The contents and workings of every man's brain were suddenly fused into one. All feeling, emotion and sentiment of the hearts of every man found itself in the heart of one.

 

What a heart was there! Into its mighty depths was poured the fierce glow of barbaric victory and the ecstacy of Christian martyrdom. Heroism of warriors and fanaticism of zealots blent with melting tendernesses of lovers, of mothers and of little children. The gentle sympathies and affections of saint, sage and poet, united with the crude affections of camp, court and market-place. Not one was lost, but from their union was created a greater than them all, a mighty cord of universal brotherhood, of human sympathy that, rendered audible by some heavenly instrument, enraptured the listener's soul as if by the fabled music of the spheres.

 

In like manner was built up the great and common brain. As each group of cells in the brain of every man discharges a distinct function and thus represents certain characteristics acquired by the interplay of blood and breeding, so were grouped those parts of the united brain that registered similar memories. Thus met the thoughts and minds of those that had knowledge of the stars and those that knew about the soul; and so of all other branches of our knowledge. And as the mind of man cannot contain opposing errors but they will kill one another and all will fall dead in the presence of Truth; so after brief war, from the shock and conflict of opinions came peace and inward harmony. As when with fierce reaction in the alembic of an alchemist, many crude ingredients resolve themselves into a sovereign elixer, so from the crux of meeting creeds, systems, prejudices and opinions seething together, was distilled the clear elixer of Truth.

 

The harmonies became ecstatic. The Heavens opened. And from their bonded depths a host appeared hovering enraptured above the form of Man. At length a deep toned voice caught up the heavenly close in accents unmistakably human. A new self had been awakened, a universal consciousness in which all mankind had part. Humanity had found itself.

 

MANKIND BECOMES THE TEACHER OF MAN

 

Once more the sage signalled the Grand Vizier to rub the Caliph's ring. As he complied, the mist swiftly settled upon the desert. The gigantic outlines of universal Man became indistinct in its shadows and were quickly blotted out. The full moon sank. The Grand Vizier's spirits fell. But ere he could voice a question or assure himself whether he waked or dreamt the bulk of an approaching figure took shape from out the mist and a stranger entered the circle of light radiated by the anchorite's tiny fire. Although no more to outward seeming than the normal stature of mankind, he bore indelibly stamped upon his person the impress of his origin. He was no other than Humanity, the universal Man! The Grand Vizier's quest was at an end!

 

An onlooker of that austere mountain side might have been supposed to see a group of three men bowed with years, the world worn Vizier, the prematurely aged victim of self-mortification, and, oldest of them all, the Universal Spirit of Mankind. His figure embodied no less than the entire thought content of the race. His memory was one with human knowledge. His recollection embraced all erudition. His sympathies ranged from the greatest to the least of human affections. His nervous system tingled with every skill and aptitude of craftsman or of artist. But, in fact, it was not a withered and decrepit old man who answered to the Grand Vizier's inquiring glance. The universal spirit had assumed a younger form. He seemed as one whose earthly life had yet to run more than half of the allotted three-score years and ten. Ruddy, erect and vigorous, his form and eye bespoke the fire of a warrior, the energy of an enthusiast. The gentle dignity of his carriage betokened a reverent respect for wisdom and for age.

 

What councils were held about those dying embers it were too long to tell. Enough to say, according to the ancient manuscripts of the historian, Ben Rydyl (discovered in a library at Granada, nearly a century after the expulsion of the Moors), that the distance from the Thian Shan to the valley of the Tigris presented no insuperable obstacle to the universal wisdom.

 

The Caliph convened his court upon the morrow to appoint the Grand Vizier's principal rival, head of the opposing family of Ommiades, as his successor, and to announce the deposed minister's banishment. But to the immense confusion and discomfiture of his opponent, no less than to the Caliph's joy, who should appear at the nick of time but the Grand Vizier himself ! And in his company appeared the long-sought tutor who, in the resulting examinations, by conquering in succession the most celebrated scholars, warriors, artists, craftsmen, poets and musicians who opposed his election, made good his claim to the humble title of El Mu'allim (the teacher) for which he modestly avowed a preference.

 

It is related that the young prince welcomed most kindly his new instructor, who thus combined equal skill in every manly accomplishment with universality of knowledge. The future conduct of his education was transformed by the love he bore El Mu’allim from a thing of heaviness to a means of constant inspiration and delight. In time, half by unconscious imitation, half by conscious effort, the prince imbibed the major part of the wisdom and accomplishments of El Mu'allim. At the mysterious disappearance of the latter (which occurred on the occasion of the Caliph's death) there remained but little to choose between the conduct of the disciple and the master. The renown of the great Haroun-al-Raschid is the all-sufficient testimony to the worth of the tutor, El Mu'allim, which the merits of his illustrious disciple have obscured.

 

And it is regarded as a significant thing by the original historian, in support of the authenticity of this legend, that Haroun-al-Raschid himself should have sought for wisdom among the commonalty of his realm, having often, in the guise of adventure, mingled freely in the khans and bazaars, with shopkeepers, craftsmen, travelers and others, and thus kept at all times in closest touch with human good in "widest commonalty spread." Thus he sought, in the opinion of Ben Rydyl, in emulation of his departed master, to himself embody the spirit of human brotherhood and the substance of the practical knowledge and wisdom of his race.

 

----o----

 

" Do It Now! "

 

A Letter From Bro. GENE T. SKINKLE, Illinois

 

Early in the year word went out to the Round Table of Masonic editors that the unique and beloved Gene T. Skinkle had resigned the tripod of Oriental Consistory Magazine. Would he also resign from activity in the Order? Ye Editor immediately wrote him to ask that important question. No, he replied, he would stay in the good old game, but not as an editor. He was retiring into an attic at Wilmette, Ill., and would therefrom issue such edicts and pronunciamentos anent things Masonic as the spirit might move him. The project for a national Masonic Tuberculosis Hospital in the Southwest moved him mightily, as witness his hand in the following:

 

DEAR Bro. Editor:

 

I tender to you, and to Bros. Robert J. Newton, of Texas, and W. O. Saunders, sincere expressions of congratulation and appreciation for what I consider two of the best articles on practical Masonic progress published in many years. I refer to the articles in the October edition of THE BUILDER captioned "J'Accuse ! - A Challenge to Freemasonry", and "Let's Stop Blowing Bubbles," both of which are worth reading and re-reading - and then considering seriously and deeply. We need more and more Newtons, Mike Thomases, Louis Blocks, Forrest Adairs, W. O. Saunders and such thinking, practical Masons and a few less feeding, smoking, entertaining limelight Masons.

 

For more than thirty years I have been out with a sledge hammer pounding Masonic profligacy and waste, praying for a Moses to lead "the children of light" out of the wilderness of words, into the promised land of practice, and others have been "seeing the signs" and blazing the trail to redemption. The day is dawning when, I hope, preaching will give way to PRACTICE.

 

That Bro. Newton's estimates of cost and operation of Tuberculosis Hospitals is conservative is evidenced in the report of the Secretary of the National Methodist Hospital and Home Association for the year 1922, extracts from which, and my own computation of averages of investments per bed and cost per patient, I enclose herewith.

 

Our good friend and brother, W. Freeland Kendrick; 33d, saw the star and followed its guidance when, after a visit to the hospital at Atlanta, Georgia, he fought for, and eventually secured the support of the Imperial Council of the Shrine to the Orthopedic Hospital development that is proving such a blessing to crippled and maimed children in America.

 

Louis Block, 33d, of Iowa, had a dream of Masonic concentration to practical purposes and saw his dream come true in the organization of the Masonic Service Association.

 

Mike Thomas, 33d, of Texas, demonstrated practical Masonry when, as Grand Master, he caused to be built the dormitory for the Lone Star State University.

 

Robert J. Daly, 33d, and James McCready, 33d, of Illinois, are doing splendid practical work for the Masonic Orphan's Home, at LaGrange, and the Old Mason's Home, at Sullivan, Illinois.

 

Everybody knows what Forrest Adair, 33d, has accomplished for practical Masonry in Georgia; to repeat his record would require the space of many of your editions.

 

In Buffalo, New York, George K. Staples, 33d, has worked for years in behalf of the betterment of the waifs from the streets and alleys; and in Pittsburg, Pa., "Uncle Bill" Brown, 33d, and his Nobles of Syria Temple, have kept an eye on the boys and kept them out of troubles. So also "Freer" Kendrick (the Mayor) keeps an eye on the "kiddies" of Philadelphia.

 

There are others, many others, that could be cited illustrating diversified practical Masonic progressive

 

=================================================================

 

NATIONAL METHODIST HOSPITAL AND HOME ASSOCIATION

Dr. E. N. Davis, Corresponding Secretary

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1922

 

 

INSTITUTIONS	No.	Beds	Patients	Cost of Maintenance	Value of Property	Free Service Value
Hospitals	80	6,650	220,000	6,600,000	23,000,0000	1,053,000
Homes for Aged	38	1,936		600,000	7,000,000
Homes for Children	44	2,670	3,200