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A. G. PITTS. The American Freemason - June 1912
ONE is apt to think that there must be some excuse for the existence of the Scottish Rite, in view of the amount of time and money spent upon it. Therefore I am not surprised that the editor of THE AMERICAN FREEMASON, in his article in the April number, gave that organization credit for being, at least potentially, a system further elucidating and explaining the degrees of Masonry. I am convinced that the editor gave it too much credit. It would perhaps be correct to say that it was the original aim of the body to do such work. But it is out of date. Every intelligent man who has gone through its ceremonies admits that it has no significance; that as a key to Masonic mysteries it is negligible; that where the makers of a certain one or two degrees appear to have had a glimmer of truth, that glimmer has been dimmed, and for all practical purposes extinguished, by the ritual-mongers. See the testimony of Albert Edward Waite in his new book, The Secret Tradition in Freemasonry, as the latest piece of evidence. There was a great plenty of it before.
It seems to me that the third degree, rightly understood, asks a momentous question, and leaves it unanswered. It is not strange that many attempts have been made to answer it. It is not strange that as many as 1400 Masonic degrees have been invented in the attempt to give an answer to this question. Not one has succeeded, and each has been practically abandoned as its failure has become evident. The final conclusion is not that the question is unanswerable, but that there is no one answer for all seekers. One Mason gets his answer in the Christian religion, another even in Mohammedanism, another even in agnosticism. If this matter were rightly understood the universality and the tolerance of Masonry would have a real and a definite meaning. Nor would we hear any more nonsense to the effect that Masonry is a religion - "religion enough for any man," is the common formula. Masonry is the introduction to religion. It has to do with a certain loss - a loss of real consequence. For the loss actually represented is only a symbol. The question it asks is, how can that which is lost be recovered and that is a question which for some men must be answered by religion. It a man is of that sort, Masonry leads to religion.
Masonry is tolerant and the perfection of tolerance, and that without any effort. Masonry does not have to aim to be tolerant: it can be nothing else. For it leads up to a certain door and asks a certain question, which door is the important door and which question is the all-important question for every man - Jew, Gentile, Chinaman or Negro. And there it leaves each man to find the answer for himself, and by the very fact that it itself gives no answer, it intimates in the clearest possible way that the answer is not the same to every man. Indeed, I sometimes wonder if the lesson of Masonry is not that the way back to God is different for each soul - that there are as many ways as there are souls; that one should not put his trust in any fixed formula, in any well- trodden path, in any set of guide-posts.
Now in the eighteenth century, and especially in France - the age and the land of systems - men were unwilling to leave Masonry in this apparently incomplete state, and each man who had a solution to the question of Masonry thought it the one solution for all the world. Result: not fewer than 1400 Masonic degrees, each set fondly believed by its concocter to be the one answer - the one final chapter of Masonic philosophy.
These fall into certain categories, the more important of which are degrees founded respectively upon Ceremonial Magic, Philosophical Alchemy, Christianity, the Cabbala, Gnosticism, Rosicrucianism, Mysticism and Hermetical Science. It is very likely that these several categories are not exclusive, and that some of them shade off the one into another. It is not worth while to inquire, for they are all out of date and out-worn. I do not mean to say that Christianity is out-worn, but Christian degrees never had any more excuse for existence than would have Mohammedan degrees. To the Christian man Masonry propounds the riddle of the universe, and if Christianity solves it to his mind, it sends him to the church - to any variety of the Christian church which satisfies his conscience. It propounds the same riddle to the Mohammedan, and if Mohammedanism solves it to his mind, it sends him to Mohammedanism, which has its sects also. There is no excuse for Christian degrees, unless they shed some new light on Christianity - unless there are not enough of Christian sects - unless they teach a variety of Christianity differing from that of any or all the sects - unless some Christian soul must have some new way back to God charted for him through Christianity.
At this very day in some parts of the world Masons are trying to follow up Masonry through Philosophical Alchemy, through Gnosticism, through all the different categories of Masonic degrees already catalogued. Such men have right to continue to struggle with the Rite of Memphis, the Rite of Misraim, and what not. But what sense can there be in a hodgepodge of Masonic degrees of all categories at once? That is what the Scottish Rite degrees are, and, in this country, most absurd of all, the men who go through the motions of studying and of practicing them are usually professing Christians.
The truth is that the Scottish Rite degrees in America have no other than an archaeological interest. But men who never heard of Philosophic Alchemy or Gnosticism or Hermeticism; men who could not define one of these terms, profess to be disciples and students of Scottish Rite philosophy. The truth is, of course, that the Scottish Rite degrees have, in American hands, lost all semblance of philosophy; that the peculiar doctrines which they once taught, traces of which can be found in the rituals by a really enlightened student, have been cut out and covered up until not one initiate in ten thousand ever guesses what the degrees originally meant, and would be shocked and alarmed if he did guess.
If one were really interested in Occultism he might well study the Scottish Rite degrees as well as, but not more than, the rest of the 1,400, or perhaps a selection of 300 or 400. When a scholar makes this broad study, his conclusions as to the merit of the Scottish Rite will be those of Albert Edward Waite. I quote from his book, The Secret Tradition in Freemasonry:
"The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is inchoate and negligible as a system." - Vol. I, p. 127.
"The unreason of its practical grouping." - Ibid.
It is only the Rose Croix degree of which he speaks respectfully. This because he is himself a partisan of Christian high degree Masonry. But he makes it pretty plain that from his standpoint the Christian Rose Croix degree can be found in much better form elsewhere than in the Scottish Rite, and especially the Scottish Rite as re-written by Albert Pike, who was not himself a Christian, and who labors in his "Morals and Dogma" to prove that the Rose Croix degree is not Christian.
It follows that if anyone wishes seriously to study Christian high degree Masonry in any aspect, or in all aspects, he must go further than the Scottish Rite.
How is it to be accounted for that the Scottish Rite has come to be regarded by nine American Masons out of ten as an integral part of Masonry, and in fact the most important part - the real Masonry to which the Lodge is only the vestibule - while all other high degree rites are by them neglected and despised? It is a marvelous thing that it may be accounted for to a certain extent by one who understands the American character.
Americans worship success. No true American cares a rap how any rich man got his money - he wants only to be sure that he has it, and a plenty of it. Forthwith he falls down and worships. Partly by accident, partly because of its system of government, putting all power and the handling of large funds in the hands of a very few, the Scottish Rite was the one selected within our time to be pushed by some able and selfish and ambitious men - notably Bros. Pike and Drummond. Within our time, I say. For while the Rite can trace its origin back to a group of Jews in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1801, it never had any real existence in this country until within our time. How it came to succeed so marvelously would take too long to tell, and I am not sure I could tell if I were to try. I will venture to say that Pike and Drummond were themselves astonished at their own success.
But it is no mystery why it is so highly regarded today. It is rich and successful! No American Mason goes back of these two facts. No American Mason feels the need of doing so. Witness the debonair way in which men who never took the Scottish Rite degrees and never studied Scottish Rite history vote in Grand Lodges relative to the "legitimacy" of rival Scottish Rite bodies. It is nothing that from the standpoint of Master Masons all are illegitimate together. But those of us who have taken the trouble to unravel the tangled skein have all found that in point of origins and of early irregularities there is absolutely nothing to choose between the various bodies. But the average Grand Lodge has no trouble in deciding "which is the richest and most successful one" and that is "the only legitimate body."
You and I would have some respect for and some sympathy with a Mason who had made a serious study of the high degrees. But to speak of the Scottish Rite Masons whom we know and of serious study in the same breath is only a good joke. Ninety per cent of them suppose that the Scottish Rite has always been a part of Masonry, and do not believe us when we tell them that it is Masonic only in so far as it has lately succeeded in attaching itself to Masonry.
Moreover, if a Mason wished to study the "high" degrees, it would be most irrational to join the Scottish Rite, and stop there. In the first place it is not necessary to join anything and to burden one's conscience with a heap of obligations presented by men in whom he can have and ought to have little confidence. In the second place the Scottish Rite is only a part, and a small part, of the whole subject. And in the third place the really significant part of the story is what these degrees were originally, not what they have become after being re-written half a dozen times, and modernized by Albert Pike and his contemporaries. As it is, you and I know more about it than 90 per cent of the Princes, and it is funny to have them assume, as they always do, that we are not entitled to have opinion concerning the Rite, because we have not taken the degrees.
To sum up: Many degrees were invented to give answer to the riddle of Masonry. All these answers are obsolete. Today we realize that no answer is possible - at least no one answer for all men. That it is not the function of Masonry to solve, but to propound it, and to stimulate each man to search for his own solution. Each continuation of Masonry has been tried in turn, and has been abandoned. They no longer have any message, and no interest to any but a few students of occultism - studied not as a practical science, but as a curious illustrations of the ways of the human mind. The least important of these systems is the Scottish Rite, because it was never a complete and harmonious system, but a patchwork of unrelated fragments. In its modern form it is still less significant and interesting.
As to the harm it does, you, Brother Editor, have covered the ground partially. Let it be added that it seeks to control the Lodges as well as Grand Lodges. I have sat in Lodge and seen a combination of Rite Masons carry a vote against the interest of the Lodge and in interest of the Scottish Rite. And there is also the money cost, the amounts paid for things absolutely worthless. Genuine Masonry suffers because of this waste, and the best purposes of the fraternity are thereby kept back and impoverished.
Taken from "The American Freemason" - September 1913 (Concluded from the June Issue.)
ONE has need to be in the company of ghosts for some time, as I found, and during the hours of more serious occupation, before rightly entering into the spirit of their relaxed moments. Sundry interruptions during progress of the Lodge meeting to which the shade of my great-great grandfather invited me, had prepared me in a measure to expect the period of diversion which followed, according to the ancient custom of the Craft. I was, however, surprised and amused to note how dexterously the evidences of Masonic labor were whisked aside. Benches, chairs and tables were speedily put into place, that so the refreshment consequent to labor might proceed to the liking, the comfort and the custom of our ancient brothers. Whether the clumsy furniture of the inn, which appeared to me as of very solid oak and iron, did indeed possess any qualities of weight and substance; is beyond my telling. It is most likely that they were but shadows of wood and metal, as best befitting their uses. But the ponderability of ghosts, and their domestic and other conveniences was not then, nor is it now, a matter of great concern. I was chiefly interested to note how the accoutrements of cheer were so quickly disposed, as being the chief business that had called these to "revisit the pale glimpses of the moon.
"Egad, sir," said one of the truculent individuals before mentioned, but whom I found, upon acquaintance, to be mild-mannered as the most timid could wish; "egad, sir, it is to be hoped that our host has more than cold ale such as we drank here a fortnight agone. By my faith, but I came near to expiring a second time because of the chill and windiness of that same. A ghost of right taste and touchy vitals, and he but drank thrice of such brew, might come to a lightness of constitution that even mortal air would prove a coarse intoxicant - which may the Fates forefend! In days of earth it took good body and zest of wine to stir me from a devilish melancholy humor to a proper mood. As for the raw spirits, or even Nantes of proof, they are fit only for new-fledged ghosts; we who are seasoned with a century or two of use, look with discernment on the bottle or the cask. But pray thee, brother," thus he continued, "in thy own Lodge of mortal place and time dost drink wines that are well ripened and chosen with care, and is the ale of thy ordinary cheer of such quality and strength as befits the drinking by brothers of our ancient fraternity"?
So here had I started to tell this inquisitive shade that the age had greatly changed, bringing other sentiments and changes even into the Craft of Freemasonry; that brothers could no longer bring refreshments, within his meaning, into their places of gathering. I rather plumed myself, as I now recall, on the sobriety and decorum of our solemn feasts, making comparison somewhat to the discredit of that other age. But all my moralizing was lost upon this poor ghost, who appealed on the spot to his fellows whether they could indeed be Masons who refused at any time, and especially after Lodge, their proper food and drink. And these, having been men accounted wise in their own time, held to the unanswerable force of his arguments, and were of accord that no other years could improve upon the settled and satisfactory habits of their own generation. Very like you and me, again, in cocksureness as to the superiority of their own ways and the impossibility of betterment.
I am glad, brother," quoth a lean ghost, sliding up unperceived, "to know that the godlessness of our time has not continued to your own. I am so informed by sundry pious ghosts who make shift to know the latest news of earthly life, and what our descendants are doing in London and even beyond the seas. You are, as I take it, and all your fellows in the colonies, strong for the Protestant succession, the crucifying of the flesh and the coming of the kingdom? The blood in thy veins is of a righteous sort, for though this grandfather of thine here present is light-minded, his father was a stern and godly man."
But here was I immensely relieved to avoid answer, as a roisterer came shoving in to declare that the tables were prepared, and that the Master Mason was ready to start in with the round of toasts and songs. For it might easily have happed, in my ignorance, to have stirred rancor even upon the edge of conviviality. "The last of the Fifth Monarchy men," I fancied that my ancestor whispered, as he passed me with beckoning finger and a gesture of warning.
An oddly-assorted company, truly! So I thought as those about me pushed their knees beneath the tables. Yet there they sat, cheek by jowl, as if never a dividing interest in life had kept them erstwhile apart in all but the bond of Masonic brotherhood. What else could there have been in common to the mortality of yon sedate citizen, exchanging gossip as to the lading of ships that had foundered or rotted at the wharfs many years ago with another of his kind, and this nearer one who would have died more happily on a stricken field than in his bed, could he but have given blows to the enemies of an exiled king! Yet, after all, not so greatly different from our own meetings and the diverse individuals that come together in them for an hour's fraternizing, going thence to do and to be done, even by each other.
Very excellent ghosts, too, so far as a mere mortal might presume to judge of ghostly company. With some petty notions and a few prejudices wore deeply engrained, perhaps, because of long disseverance from the changing flesh, though at bottom not so much unlike ourselves. And, as showing in themselves the changes in common thought that Time had effected, these jovial shades were for the time more interesting and amusing to me than any gathering of living men could possibly have been.
Our forbears of the eighteenth century, if we have been rightly informed, and as was now proven to me by example of their doings, needed but small excuse for their potations. A toast or a song of any sort seemed to be provocative of an instant thirst. And as for these toasts, I could not but notice they were carefully arranged and recited in order to stir loyalty to the reigning house and to pledge support to those in power. Yet I caught some sly glances exchanged, indicative of mental evasion, and that the "king over the water" was substituted in the minds of a few for "Farmer George," in their time upon the throne of England. But so long as the drink was to all their likings it was not wise for one to question his neighbor as to unexpressed subterfuges, nor to quarrel 'with sentiments that gave such frequent occasion for acquaintance of lips and pewter mugs. As for the songs, for the most part they went to rollicking airs, and what more was to be asked. The words were as negligible as those strung together in Masonic poetry of our own times, though perhaps some of our own verses might take the more readily if hitched to tunes that could hide the lack of ideas and the rude measure of the lines.
Are ghosts concupiscent? I would have thought before that with the laying off of flesh there was thenceforth a freedom from the carnalities. But here were the shadows of men exchanging witticisms, that may have passed muster in another time, the sole point of which for the telling was some vulgar situation or intrigue. Just such jests, unwholesome in words and suggestion, have I heard when a knot of men, salaciously-minded, gathered in a remote corner of the Tyler's room of our own days and Lodges. And, as I noted, they had the selfsame stories then as are now in currency. Tradition holds best, apparently, to the worst rather than the best.
What subtle stimulating essence was in this their drink would, as I imagine, defy any earthly analysis to detect. But it sufficed to put into these shadows at least the semblance of a great hilarity. Perhaps this was the sole event worth mentioning in their colorless existence, and for the next fortnight it is likely that they hail but the memories of their thin potations. Be that as it may I failed altogether to note the passing of time - if indeed there be any time for men disembodied - until the antique Tyler proposed the famous closing toast, "to all poor, distressed and wandering brothers, whithersoever dispersed on sea or land. May they have speedy relief and a safe return to home and friends."
How, after this, those present slipped away, or perhaps just faded from my sight, I cannot say. My great-great grandfather alone remained, and with him I went through the shadowy hall, past the wide stairs that ran up to guest chambers never occupied, unless by some ghost the worse for his liquor, and back for a moment to the ancient chimney corner seat.
"It is time for thee now to be gone, for the hospitality of my inn goes not to beds for those of flesh and blood." So spake this respectable ancestor, and then he added, as in a tone of a final farewell: "Thou art altogether too unchancy in humor and speech to mix rightly, and to my credit, with decent and God-fearing ghosts. Yet am I glad that thou hast been to our Lodge, and I would wish thee and all thy brothers well."
THE AMERICAN FREEMASON - AUGUST 1911
ONE of the most impregnable safeguards against the admission of an unworthy applicant into the Masonic Fraternity ought to be the Committee to whom his petition is referred for investigation as to character. It is naturally assumed that none but those whose record will bear the closest scrutiny can emerge unscathed from the Committee's ordeal. This, however, is not always the case. It sometimes happens that the name of a man whose record is tainted, and who may at some time or other have been guilty of acts which would make an honorable and upright citizen blush, is permitted to cross the threshold of Freemasonry and brought on a level with those whose unimpeachable character has given to the Fraternity the dignity and prestige it has always enjoyed among the organized bodies of the community.
Even in far off New Zealand the necessity for this safeguard has been recognized, that as in other parts of the world, too much care cannot be taken in the admission of candidates for Freemasonry, and that the portals cannot be too carefully guarded. To further this purpose in the Christchurch District, New Zealand, an association has been formed of Past Masters of various Lodges. From this association came a suggestion for the establishment of a United Board of Inquiry which was eventually formed, and has proven a grand success. It was therein agreed that no man should be admitted to membership to any Lodge duly represented in this Board of Inquiry, until his name had been submitted and approved by that body. The plan proved to have been a wise proposal, because whilst it does not question the right of a Lodge to admit any man it pleases, even though he may have been rejected by the Board; minor difficulties, it appears, have arisen; but were met in a truly Masonic spirit.
This Board of Inquiry has issued a pamphlet, a copy of which is in the Grand Lodge Library of Pennsylvania, setting forth the duties of both proposer and seconder. Many of the suggestions set forth in this paper apply as well here in America as they do in the antipodes, and should be carefully read by every Master or Brother into whose hands this copy may fall.
The desire for membership should in every case emanate from the candidate and never by suggestion from a Mason. The candidate is called upon to declare that he has not been influenced by solicitations; it therefore behooves us to be extremely careful that no man shall ever be placed in the position of having to give a false answer to the first question put to him in a Masonic Lodge. He should realize that he confers no privilege upon Masonry by joining the Craft, but on the contrary that the privilege is bestowed upon him.
Freemasonry is made far too mysterious; Masons are too reticent in talking about Masonry to the outside world. Let us examine the facts fairly, and we shall recognize that the only real secrets we hold are those dealing with methods of recognition: all else in Masonry is free to all men and cannot be too widely known. Surely the knowledge of the duty which every man owes to his God, his neighbor and himself is not the sole prerogative of Masons.
The duties which Masons are taught in the Lodge are not intended to apply to one day per month only; but each day an advancement in Masonic knowledge is enjoined upon every Brother on initiation; and what is Masonic knowledge but a due appreciation of those duties above mentioned?
Candidates should understand that the basis of Masonry is the practice of the highest principles of piety and virtue and a strict observance of civil law. How many men have joined the Order who afterwards were disappointed in finding that true obedience to the laws of the state were insisted upon; they were surprised to learn that Almighty God was recognized as the Supreme Ruler of the Universe and that Masonry was a distinctly religious and not a revolutionary organization. If these great principles were more closely identified with practical Freemasonry, how much more good would have been accomplished.
Candidates should be further instructed that personal benefits of a social or pecuniary character must not be expected, that the very thought of such is in itself a disqualification, for they are called upon to declare that they are uninfluenced by such motives. Let them understand that no man by reason of his wealth can purchase membership to the Order; that the fee demanded of him at his initiation is not a payment for admission, but simply as an earnest of his desire to give to those requiring aid. He is called upon to publicly declare his sentiment, when placed for a moment in a position of helplessness and utter destitution (a position which unfortunately is occupied in reality by thousands of his fellow-men), and from this trial to learn the duty he owes to those needing assistance.
These fundamental principles should be explained to, and understood by every candidate. To admit a man without this knowledge might render Masons liable to an accusation for obtaining money under a misapprehension.
Every Mason should, for the protection of the Craft, maintain proper safeguards against the admission of men who may be unfitted by reason of social or moral disqualifications, and whilst admitting Masonry is a luxury, we do not for one moment infer that the qualifications for membership can be judged by the possession of pounds sterling; on the contrary it must be admitted that very often the cleaner lives are found in the ranks of those who are struggling for existence.
Still it should be closely understood by every candidate that Masonry is not a benefit society, neither does it undertake to confer pecuniary benefit upon its members. Care must also be taken against proposing or seconding a man for membership whose application is based upon curiosity; it is therefore imperative that more than a passing acquaintance should exist before accepting the responsibility of naming him to the Brethren. Cases have been known where a Brother has seconded a proposal pro forma; this should never be done, because the proposer and seconder occupy equal responsibility. Care should be taken to explain that the benefits of Masonry are purely ethical, that its mission is to raise the moral code, that its principles are based upon the Volume of the Sacred Law. It prepares its members for the great and mysterious future and to this end it insists upon the practice of every social and moral virtue by the exercise of a vigorous personal discipline. It aspires to raise the Order to such an eminence that the great Masonic principles of life may be so reflected in its members that all good men may desire admission to its ranks. If candidates are instructed on these lines and after understanding what Masonry really is, still desire membership, then we may welcome such men and profit by their admission.
It may here be asked when can a proposer or seconder feel safe in accepting the responsibility of nomination? We cannot lay down any rule, but simply say if the proposer and seconder are fully alive to the importance of the act, conscience governed by prudence will seldom fail them.
Never allow the financial position of your Lodge to influence you. If your Lodge is strong it may add to its usefulness by the admission of men who will carry on the work of Freemasonry. If your Lodge is weak, tax yourselves and make it strong. If temporary misfortune overtakes you, which your united effort is unable to meet, call upon your Masonic Brethren for assistance and avoid the humiliating position of going outside for capital to enable you to carry on the work of your Lodge. The drowning man will clutch at a straw, but it will not save him; he knows it full well, but the urgency of his position causes him to take hold of the first substance his hand can reach; in like manner we fear many Lodges, for financial reasons, have admitted men into the Order more for their guineas than for their fitness for membership. Consider whether it would not be better to surrender a Charter than to use the power which that charter gives, by admitting men into the privileges of Masonry who may be unworthy.
In conclusion we wish to make it clear that nothing in this paper is intended as a reflection upon any Brother or upon any particular Lodge, quite the contrary; it is intended to apply to every Mason and to every Lodge not as a direction but simply as a Masonic idea expressed by one Brother to another for the good of Freemasonry in general.
The American Freemason - November 1914
THOU shalt not make unto thyself any pretentious graven image of the Masonic faith, nor bow down thereto, for Freemasonry is more than the blazonry of big buttons or the ballast of weighty watch charms. Yea, the true Mason may lose his lapel label yet cares he not; lo, is it not with him blown into the glass for keeps. Therefore, my son, be thou wise and right speedily thereunto get next.
Thou shalt not take the name of Freemason in vain nor fail to live up to it.
Remember the Lodge night and show up thereon.
Honor thy Mother Lodge that the stranger from afar off may envy thy Masonic home.
Thou shalt not kill the cheery prospect ahead, therefore help thou the good work along and block not the game.
Thou shalt not commit buffoonery as Steward nor lack dignity as Master.
Thou shalt not steal away thy brother's pleasure, neither dilute thou his due joys.
Thou shalt not bear falsehood nor grouch against any thy brethren.
Thou shalt not covet another's Lodge.
Get busy.
Thou shalt not be other than brotherly - making friends by being one.
By Bro. HAROLD MARSHALL, Massachusetts -- The Master Mason - June 1924
Here is a story of a great man and a great Mason, who, discovering the Golden Rule to be as much a law of human relations as the law of gravitation is in the physical world, applied it to industry with amazing results - as shown by the fact that on May 23, he distributed $600,000 worth of stock in his Company to his fellow-workers. A fuller account of Brother Nash and his work may be read in his book entitled The Golden Rule in Business, in which we are shown how a profound spiritual experience worked itself out in a great industrial enterprise - solving the tragic problem of capital and labor by doing away with it altogether, and making use of a new - old principle taught in our lodges and preached in our pulpits, but seldom used. Brother Marshall, the writer of the present article, is also a Mason, and though a close friend, writes with fine insight and detachment.
MASONRY is a fellowship of seekers for the lost way of life. "It is not an accident of human association nor an invention of ecclesiastics, but a fraternity rooted in the nature and need of humanity; an order of men initiated, sworn and trained to uphold all the redeeming ideals of society and to make righteousness and the will of God prevail."
The story of Arthur Nash is the story of a man far wandered from "the way," who rediscovered it for himself in terms of Masonry, and is revealing it to his fellows in terms of industry.
The son of devout parents, educated in religious schools, and destined for the ministry of a church that makes tip in perfervid zeal what it lacks in numbers, Mr. Nash might well have said with the Apostle Paul, "After the straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee."
Then came the shattering vision of a larger life than could be contained in his little system. He escaped expulsion for heresy by leaving his church before he was cast out, but he did not escape from becoming an outcast. The young minister had to take whatever work offered, wandering from job to job, and casual labor made him a casual laborer.
"I am often asked," he says, "how much my personality has to do with the success of our company. I want to answer definitely and positively that I had no personality until I accepted a principle, and that it is out of the principle that the personality developed. When I was carrying the hod at the Soldiers Home at Marion, Indiana, I had the personality of a hod-carrier; when I was working in a bridge gang on the Vandalia Railroad, I had the personality of a bridge gang worker."
Speaking recently in the neighborhood of his birthplace in Indiana, Mr. Nash said: "Last night as I walked the streets of this city and my mind went back thirty years and I remembered how I tramped these same streets in rags, a tramp lost, without God and without hope in the world, working at all kinds of jobs but never sticking to any for more than a few weeks, sleeping often in the woods, I never became so little in my own eyes, so humble before God."
A short time ago the Masons of Cincinnati undertook to raise $2,000,000 for a new temple. It was a big undertaking, and after a little seemed to halt with a threat of failure. Then came a day when something happened. "Much like a revival meeting, with men springing to their feet to confess their faith, so yesterday's noon-day report of the zone chairmen and team captains in the $2,000,000 Masonic Temple Campaign. Swayed by the eloquence of Arthur Nash, who delivered a stirring address on the ideals of Masonry, the men at the meeting vied for the privilege of increasing their personal subscriptions to the new fund. Mr. Nash himself led in this by doubling his personal subscription of $5,000, making his new pledge $10,000. It was the second time he had increased his gift.
" 'I thought I had given all I could,' he said, 'but when I stopped to think of what Masonry did for me - how it took me, hardly more than a tramp, when I came to Cincinnati, and its ideals made me what I am today - I felt that I had given all too little, and I am here to tell you today that I want to do more - I am going to start by doubling my subscription. We are not here to build a temple merely of stone and mortar. If this new temple is not going to make better Masons out of us, I am not interested in this building.
" 'I went into the Masonic Blue Lodge in 1909 in Waterville, Ohio. At that time the lessons of the Degrees made no great impression upon my mind, perhaps because my mind was not in a condition to be impressed. I took the higher degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry in what was known as the Golden Jubilee Class of 1919, at Cincinnati, and later in the same year went through the York Rite. Then during the troublesome war times, in which my heart was crying out in agony for deliverance of humanity from the bondage of hatred, envy and murder, it was altogether another story, and as I have often said, my soul was not awakened at a church revival, but through the exemplification of the lessons of the higher degrees of Masonry, the new birth came to me and I became a new creature.' "
"To those who have caught a vision of its meaning," said Walter Rauschenbusch, "democracy is a holy word." And to Arthur Nash the word "brother," which to so many of us is in merely a part of our ritual, became also holy and a literal living reality.
Shortly after this vision of brother-hood came to him, he had to decide how far he was prepared to live it in his own life. He was forced to take control of a sweatshop in which men and women had been exploited as they have been from time immemorial. The pay-roll sheet which he took home with him that night showed a wage scale ranging from a maximum of $18 per week for men down to a minimum of $4 for women, at a time when the war had doubled living costs. It burned and quivered before his eyes like the letters of doom on the walls of Belshazzar's palace. For him it was the day of decision. The next morning he went down to the shop, called the little group of workers together, told them that he had been made to see that they were his brothers and sisters, and that he intended to make the Golden Rule the governing law of the factory. That meant that when any policy was decided he must ask himself, "If I were in your place and you were in mine, what would I want you to do?" And he told them that he expected them to let the same rule govern their actions.
Now, of course, any sane business man would instantly see that such a policy could only lead to bankruptcy and ruin, especially in the clothing industry, where competition is fierce and merciless. There is a homely old saying, however, that the "proof of the pudding is in the eating," and the verdict as to whether Mr. Nash's policy of making the Golden Rule the governing law of his factory was sane or insane must be decided by results.
There was nothing in Mr. Nash's own business past or in the previous history of his company to lead anyone to anticipate a rapid growth, but bear in mind that Mr. Nash insists that brotherhood is not a counsel of perfection but a divine law of life. He insists that the Golden Rule is God's greatest economic law, the divine law governing human relationships. Now all modern-minded men have come to realize that to discover and obey the laws of the universe is to succeed, to ignore or disobey them is to fail. What evidence can Mr. Nash offer to sustain his assertion that the Golden Rule is the law of life?
In 1918, the company occupied half a floor in a small building containing many other clothing manufacturers and had twenty-nine employees, and the total business for that year amounted to $132,000. In 1919, the business amounted to $525,000; in 1920, $1,580,000; in 1921, $2,077,000; in 1922, $3,750,000; and in 1923, nearly $6,000,000.
This means that from making a few hundred suits and overcoats a month in 1918, they have increased to an output of 10,000 to 12,000 a week, which means four completed suits or overcoats a minute for every working day.
The capital of the company had grown from $60,000 to $1,000,000, and is now $3,000,000.
But this is not the story of a factory but the study of a man. One who knows him intimately remarked not long ago that the most remarkable development of these six years has been Arthur Nash himself. When he determined to make brotherhood the law of life, it was with the expectation of business failure, not with the hope of business success. By 1920, however, he saw his faith in brotherhood as the law of life working an industrial miracle. The Golden Rule was for him becoming literally the Rule of Gold.
But this threatened to make him personally the victim of another kind of misfortune. "I became conscious," he says, "that with a company working in obedience to this law, while practically all other companies were drifting or disobeying the law of success, a spectacular development was inevitable. As I owned practically all the stock of the company at the beginning of the experiment, in the natural course of events I was doomed to become a rich man. Please let that word 'doomed' register in your mind, for that was the horrible mental picture that was before me. A little later I met my friend, Harold Marshall, of Boston, and told him something of this. He seemed to sense deeply the thing that was in my mind, and I have heard him many times tell great audiences that I had said to him with a look of deep concern in my face and agony in my eyes that I saw no way to keep from becoming a millionaire."
Mr. Nash has not told the whole story of that interview, moved perhaps by generous consideration for the writer of this article. For he himself had then decided to escape from the possession of great wealth by giving the business to the workers. He outlined to me the plan by which he proposed to supplant his corporation by a co-operative workers' association. The discussion lasted far into the night, he insisting that he must do it immediately, I insisting that he was dealing with a group still incoherent and most of whom were economic children, and that he must keep control until he had taught them self-control and given them opportunity to develop a group consciousness. Finally he yielded, saying, "Well, if I must, I must, but how I dread it!"
"Yes," I said, "but remember this, that crucifixion is not a fact of history but a process of life. This is what Paul meant by 'dying daily.'"
Of course, misunderstanding has been inevitable. Many times and by many people the old sneering question has been raised, "Does job serve God for naught?" Three or four years ago certain magazines made bitter attacks on his motives and his integrity, based on entire misstatement of facts. I then wrote a statement of what I knew to be the truth, but before publishing it sent a copy to him. Here are some paragraphs from his reply.
"Once and for all remember that we have passed the point where it should ever occur to you that I have any human feeling. We are only pawns in the great game of life, to be moved as seems best regardless of what particular square we may be on or the direction in which our inclination would carry us.
"I note what you say about making reply to the charges that have been made. I hope you will think carefully regarding this before you do so. Read over again the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah and study carefully the seventh verse, and remember that war is destructive, whether it be a battle of words or a battle of cannon and that there is only one standard in the final judgment and that is 'By their fruits ye shall know them.' What we need is not someone to fight battles for us or someone to answer our tormentors, but the prayer of all the Father's children that the mind which was in Christ Jesus may be in us."
To have watched not only Arthur Nash's own development but the way in which the workers associated with him have caught his spirit and in turn passed it on to the newer workers in the group has been a rich and thrilling experience. Step by step they have found their way to ever-increasing economic efficiency. Day by day they have developed an ever closer fellowship. It would have been easy to understand how the small original group could have been welded into a family under the influence of a great personality, but there are now nearly four thousand of them, recruited from many races, members of diverse and often conflicting religious sects. Yet together they have taken and together they are living this workers' pledge:
"In the spirit of Jesus we unite ourselves in the Fellowship of the Golden Rule, pledging our utmost endeavor to make God's law of brotherhood the law of our lives."
Here is an adventure in dynamics, not an experiment in mechanics. It ignores our common class and caste philosophy and advances to a new insistence upon elemental democracy. It is as illogical, as thrilling, perhaps as prophetic as primitive Christianity. If there is any body of men in the world who ought to understand it, to sympathize with it, and to imitate it in their own lives, it is the brothers of our Great Fraternity.
BY JULIUS F. SACHSE. -- Taken from "The American Freemason" June 1911
THERE are but few Masonic historians in America. For the one thing, original material is scarce and opportunities for study along productive lines are few. The ordinary chronicles of Lodges and Grand Lodges are, of course, not to be counted as serious historical work. It is necessary and valuable labor, but it throws no great amount of light on things and times obscure. Then, again, a peculiar type of man is required for historical work worthy of the name. He must have the resources both of scholarship and of native ability. He must have an absorbing love for research, an almost infinite patience, and an analytical faculty denied to most. And then, as Masonry goes in America, he must have abundant private means or the steadfast backing of a rich Grand Lodge or other body.
Were we asked to give first place among those who in jurisdictions of the United States have devoted themselves to Masonic historical work, the choice would fall at once, and most likely by common consent, upon Brother Julius F. Sachse, Grand Lodge Librarian of Pennsylvania, Bro. Sachse has all the essential qualities enumerated above. He possesses likewise the training which comes of years of such work, and an enthusiasm proof against all disappointments and discouragements. For the rest, he has a rich field in which to glean - that of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Whatever can be gathered there is of interest to every American Mason, as added light is cast thereby upon Craft beginnings in what is now the United States.
On April 29 the Masonic Veterans of Pennsylvania, having as their guests Masonic Veteran associations from all over the country, met at Philadelphia for a three days' session. Before these assembled and singularly informed Masons Bro. Sachse delivered an address, which are here permitted to give in full. It will be found replete with information. - EDITOR FREEMASON.
It is meet and right that you should meet here in Philadelphia - the City of Brotherly Love - the mother City of Freemasonry in the western world. We may well say, Masonically speaking, that this is holy ground. Here within the bounds of the old city proper, the first altar was erected in the new hemisphere, upon which rested our Great Lights, within the well-tiled portals of the Masonic Lodge. The Brethren were few in number at that early day.
It was at the beginning of the eighteenth century, when the several brethren who had been made abroad, and now living in the Province, came together in this city and erected a lodge of Free and Accepted Masons according to the "immemorial usage" and began to work according to the old Manuscript Constitutions. That the example of these Masonic pioneers was followed in other parts of the Province is shown by Franklin's notice in his "Pennsylvania Gazette" No. 108, December 3 to December 8, 1730, wherein he states that lately several Masonic Lodges have been erected within the Province. The written records of these early Lodges, alluded to by Franklin, have all been lost with the exception of the Ledger of St. John's or First Lodge in Philadelphia - and a draft of their By-Laws. We have also the Manuscript Constitution of St. John's lodge, written by Bro. Thos. Carmick, dated 1727, which, according to well founded tradition, was the legal Masonic authority under which our first Lodge and Grand Lodge were formed; the latter in the year 1731, it being the third oldest Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in the world - England in 1717 and Ireland in 1729 being our only seniors.
The earliest work in America was undoubtedly the same work and ritual which obtains within this jurisdiction to the present day.
About the time our first Grand Lodge was formed in Philadelphia, certain conditions arose in England which in the wisdom of the brethren composing the Grand Lodge of England, brought about changes in the time honored ritual; changes in which the Grand Lodge of Ireland refused to concur; thus came about the term "Moderns" as applied to the Grand Lodge of England, while those Brethren who refused to acquiesce in the changes were termed "Ancients."
When these changes in the ritual became known in Pennsylvania, they were accepted by the local Grand Lodge, thus conforming to Grand Lodge, and they became and were known as "Moderns."
It was during the middle of the eighteenth century a number of Brethren in England, longing for the old ritual, and such as owed fealty to the Grand Lodge of Ireland formed Lodges in London and elsewhere, the outcome of which was the "Grand Lodge F. & A. M., according to the old Constitutions" which in turn issued a warrant for a Grand Lodge in Pennsylvania, dated July 15th, 1761. It is under this Grand warrant, as it were, that you are now assembled; a copy of this document lies here before you.
In the sixth decade of the eighteenth century, you will note there were two Grand Lodges in Pennsylvania, the "Moderns," 1731, and the "Ancients" of 1761; the former composed chiefly of the aristocratic element of the Province; the latter of the bone and sinew of the infant community; and as the political troubles, owing to the Stamp Act and other encroachments of the home government increased, the "Moderns" gradually lost ground, while the Lodges and prestige of the "Ancients" rapidly increased.
When, finally, the Revolution broke out, it sounded the death knell of the "Moderns" organization in Pennsylvania, whose members were chiefly Tories, while the Grand and Subordinate Lodges of the "Ancients" were almost solidly patriotic.
To illustrate this point. we have but to look at the list of warrants issued during those troublesome times, which it is well stated "tried men's souls."
No. 19. A Regimental Warrant was issued for the Pennsylvania Artillery in the service of the U. S.
No. 20. A Regimental warrant for the North Carolina Line.
No. 28. One for the Pennsylvania Line.
No. 29. One for the Military Line, Pennsylvania.
No. 36. One for the New Jersey Brigade.
No. 37. One for the Maryland Line.
Lately a number of documents relating to these old Military Lodges have been found among the archives of the Grand Secretary and are now in the custody of the Librarian for collation and indexing, and the writer is happy to say that we will now have some insight into the vicissitudes of these Lodges, and in several cases a complete list of those patriotic Brethren who fought and in some, cases gave up their lives to achieve the liberty of this country which we are now all enabled to enjoy.
The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania "Ancients," being the oldest in America, was from the beginning looked upon by the Brethren in adjoining Provinces and abroad as the Masonic fountain-head, as it were, in the Western World. Petitions for warrants under its Jurisdiction were presented almost as soon as its organization was completed. Thus from 1765 to 1770 seven of these warrants were granted, viz: Three for Maryland, two for Delaware, one for Virginia and one for New Jersey.
Subsequently, up to the year 1832, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania warranted no less than fifty-one foreign Lodges, and one Provincial Grand Lodge, viz:
Delaware 5 -- Nos. 18-33-44-63-96 Georgia 1 -- No. 42 Illinois 1 -- No. 107 Louisiana 8 -- Nos. 90-93-109-112-117-118-122-129 Maryland 6 -- Nos. 16-17-29-34-35-37 Missouri 1 -- Nos. 111 New Jersey 2 -- Nos. 32-33 N. W. Territory 1 -- No. 78 Ohio 1 -- No. 105 South Carolina 4 -- Nos. 27-38-40-47 Virginia 2 -- Nos. 39-41 Buenos Ayres 1 -- No. 205 Cuba 2 -- Nos. 175-181 Cape Francois 1 -- No. 146 Havana 5 -- Nos. 103-157-161-166-167 Mexico 1 -- No. 191 San Domingo 8 -- Nos. 47-87-88-89-95-97-98-99 Provincial Grand Lodge Trinidad 1 -- No. 77 Uruguay 1 -- No. 217
The Lodge in Uruguay, No. 217 on the roster, was warranted during the anti-Masonic excitement, February 6, 1832. So great was the feeling against the Fraternity that eleven years intervened before our Grand Lodge was petitioned to warrant a new Lodge. This was Honesdale Lodge No. 218 in Wayne County, September 4th, 1843, and which is still a bright luminary in the Masonic horizon. It will be seen that during the existence of our Grand Lodge, from the time of its formation until the anti-Masonic period, no less than 152 local Lodges were warranted, of which 50 are still on the active roll, the others having been vacated, surrendered their warrants, or succumbed during the eventful years of emotional bigotry in 1827-1832.
The Masonic Fraternity of Pennsylvania, working according to the old Constitution, "Ancients" passed through several periods of serious trial - for instance, the Revolutionary War, 1775 - 1783; the financial period of Continental money, 1782 - 1789; the loss of Freemason's Hall in Lodge Alley, 1786; the burning of the Chestnut Street Hall, 1819; the anti-Masonic period before mentioned; the panics of 1837 and 1842, which necessitated the temporary sale of the Chestnut Street property. All, however, were eventually successfully overcome, until now our Grand Lodge is housed in this magnificent Temple, which is rightfully called the "Masonic Wonder of the World," owned by the Brethren without a single penny of debt or encumbrance.
Now let me say a word in regard to our library and museum. If you will refer to the preface of our first Ahiman Rezon, original edition of 1783, you will find the following advice to the brethren at large:
"The officers of Lodges, and those members who wish to be more completely learned in the grand science and sublime mysteries of Ancient Masonry, will think it their duty, as opportunities offer, to furnish themselves or their Lodges, with at least one copy of all approved and duly authorized books on Masonry, which may be published by the learned Lodges, or illustrious Brethren, in different languages and countries of the world, from time to time."
This advice our present Committee on Library have sought to carry out to its fullest extent, and we are now in a position to claim that we have the largest and most diversified collection of Masonic literature in America. Over eleven thousand volumes, both pro and con; over thirty thousand volumes of proceedings and of Masonic periodicals; we have on file every one published in America, besides many published abroad, all of which are available to the members of the Craft.
As to our museum and its collection of Masonic exhibits, this will have to speak for itself. I will say it has no equal in the Masonic world. The prime mover in planning and the establishing of the Museum was Bro. Samuel W. Latta, a member of the Committee, in which he was heartily seconded by the Chairman, Bro. Wanamaker, and the fellow members of the Committee on Library. The Committee's plans were approved by R.W. Grand Master Kendrick in 1907. In 1908, this room was set aside for museum purposes by the Committee on Temple under direction of R.W. Grand Master Orlady. At the beginning of July the cases were completed, and early in October (Founders Week) the exhibits were installed. You will see many relics here of the past, not alone from our own country, but from almost every quarter of the globe. Nor is the present period, our own time, wanting. You will find that this Masonic exhibition is not merely a Pennsylvania one, but that it is a Universal one; taking in every state in our Union, the British possessions in America; Asia, Africa and Australia, as well as Great Britain and the Continent from Sweden and Norway in the north to Italy in the south, from France in the west to Turkey in the cast. The collection is not limited to nation or kind so long as the subject bears on Freemasonry.
You will note that this monument is but in its swaddling clothes, it is as yet but three years old, and the Committee in charge is still active and ever alert to add to and increase this great collection for the edification and instruction of the Craft.
Special attention is called to the unique copy of the Masonic portrait of Washington, painted in pastel by William Williams in Philadelphia in 1794, for his Lodge at Alexandria, Virginia, originally warranted by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in 1793, being No. 39 on our own roster, and now No. 22 under the Grand Lodge of Virginia. The painting before you is the only replica ever permitted to be made of this portrait, and is doubly interesting as the work was done by a great granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson. Before you also is the Masonic apron embroidered by Madam Lafayette for Washington, and brought over to him by General Lafayette in 1784. It was also worn by Brother Washington when he laid the corner stone of the present Capitol in September, 1793. Many of the relics you see here date from provincial, colonial and revolutionary days. The most precious and important of all, however, are the manuscripts and documents in our own archives, which are now gotten in condition to make them available.
These documents for almost a century were supposed to have been destroyed in the burning of the Chestnut street hall in 1819, Such, however, was fortunately not the case, as a large part of these old records were saved and taken to the house of Grand Secretary George A. Baker, at the N. E. corner of Fourth and Cherry Streets. These papers and documents were listed and placed in six wooden boxes securely locked, and were successively stored in the rebuilt Chestnut Street Hall, Washington (Third Street) Hall, the New Masonic Hall of 1855, and lastly in one of the vaults of the new Temple at Broad and Filbert Streets in 1873. Here they remained for years unknown and forgotten, until after the death of the R. W. Grand Secretary, Michael Nesbit, in 1896, when it occurred to Bro. John A. Perry, Deputy Grand Secretary, to investigate the contents of these old boxes, and upon seeing what they contained, at once recognized their great value, and brought his important discovery to the notice of the Grand Officers, who now have placed them at the disposal of the Committee on Library, under whose direction the Curator is arranging, collating and indexing these precious historical documents.
In conclusion, I will express the hope that after examining this great universal Masonic collection, you will bear it in mind, when you return to your homes, and see that your own jurisdictions are worthily and properly represented in this educational exhibition.
Taken from - The American Freemason - January 1913
THE following, taken from an address delivered to the Grand Lodge of Scottish Freemasonry in India by Brother Col. R. H, Forman, then Grand Master, is pithy and pertinent. The extract is from The Freemason (London);
Permit me, brethren, to draw your attention to a point in Masonic ethics which is always too prominently in evidence. I may well describe it as the straining at the gnat and swallowing the camel. Freemasonry must be one of two things: either it is a mere allegorical olla podrida of empty forms and ceremonies. dressed in a fictitious and tawdry cloak of mysticism; or it is a something far nobler and grander, containing within it those deeper and profounder truths which are at once the hope and the despair of all religions and of philosophies. Did I believe that the former was its sole aim and object -- did I think that its symbolism had to be accepted solely at its face value, so to speak -- I would resign my position tomorrow. wash my hands of a puerile and contemptible farce, whose only petty claim to respect is a childish clinging to obsolete superstition, and I would recommend every self-respecting and intelligent man to follow my example. But believing, as I do, that it is much more, and knowing that its deeper truths are obscured by a slavish adherence to the letter to the extinction of the spirit -- that controversy which is as old as humanity -- I stand by the Craft, hoping that I may be able, be it in ever so small a degree, to lift the cloud which oppresses her.
May I illustrate my meaning by example? Freemasonry acknowledges no ritual, and rightly enough, looked at from one point of view; yet we find individuals and Lodges continually bickering over points of ceremonial, as often as not contained in some printed ritual which it has pleased some brother to write, and which gradually assumes the dignity of a sacred volume, especially in the eyes of the neophyte. Ay, more, we frequently find ruling bodies flatly contradicting themselves - on the one hand denying any existence to ritual, and on the other delivering ponderous rulings on points of ritual. So common has this become that there is danger that ceremonial may take precedence of the landmarks, the outward form overshadow the inward meaning, the husk replace the kernel, the spirit succumb to the letter. I am not advocating slipshod working. On the contrary, I am a strong supporter of uniformity and thoroughness, recognizing that the frame sets off the picture; but what I want to insist upon is that the frame is not the picture, but an adjunct thereto. Ceremonial and ritual are good things in their way, but they never were, and never will be, of the essence of Freemasonry. There has been many a stout pillar of the Craft who has never known a word of ritual, and similarly there has been, I regret to add, many an impressive ritualist whose subsequent actions gave the lie direct to his professions, and stamped him a recreant. We argue, and hotly contest, such trivialities as the knocks which should be given at the closing of a degree, and get solemn rulings thereon from august bodies in conclave assembled, or prate of the sacredness of the ballot when some Lodge, or members of a Lodge, with as much grasp of the true meaning of Freemasonry as an infant has of the differential calculus, black-balls en bloc Brother Masons of high repute. Verily a straining at the gnat and swallowing of the camel!
I plead, Brethren, with all the earnestness at my command, for the cultivation of the spirit and the relegation of the letter to its proper place. In that direction, and in that direction only, the future welfare of the Craft lies. Without the motive power of the spirit the Order degenerates into a whitewashed sepulcher, pure without, corrupt within; and only rescued from contempt by reason of its efforts in the cause of Charity. Nor need it plume itself too much on that virtue, as the records of a Peabody, a Mitchell, a Carnegie - or, nearer home, a Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy - clearly show. We don't want secrecy, mystical ceremonies, and general bogyism to inculcate the lessons of ordinary morality; why should we?
Two days ago an old P.M. related to me an incident, with, I am afraid, a certain degree of approbation, about a Lodge refusing admission to a well-known and distinguished Brother because he did not know the P.W., it having pleased them to decree that the t. of g. p. was that P.W. It was quoted as an instance of the strict adherence to Masonic principles - save the mark - maintained in that Lodge, Do you know what I would term it? Childish rudeness and impertinence, with a strong flavoring of perjury, in that they had sworn never to do an unkind action to a Brother. Little wonder that the Brother in question washed his hands of an Institution which tolerated nonsensical mummery of this kind. I plead for broad-mindedness in Freemasonry, for tolerance, for brotherly love. Ignore the gnat, Brethren - it will not choke you; and strive to see that Masonry is a thing that soars far above mere forms and ceremonies, being, as it is, an expression of man's yearning towards the divine which is within him, and having ever before it the ideal of the regeneration of humanity. To those who can pierce through the outward seeming to the inner soul, I appeal, for therein lies the vindication of Freemasonry. Behind the veil there stands the awful Eidolon, the Pleroma filling more than conceivable space, dispensing with the conditions of form, and obtruding beyond the upper and nether ring of eternity,
by R.W.Bro. W.Bruce Porter, Senior Grand Warden, Grand Lodge of Manitoba, A.F. & A.M.
52ND INTER-PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE OF THE OFFICERS OF THE FOUR WESTERN CANADIAN MASONIC JURISDICTIONS
In the Canadian Work, the Immediate Past Master, when asked; Why the Master is placed in the East?, responds that he is to "Open his Lodge and employ and instruct the Brethren in Freemasonry."
This seems to be a rather curious reply, unless it refers to only the duties immediately at hand. There is no inference of the duties of governance, administration, leadership, or due observation of the laws relating to the Lodges.
It is apparent in some cases that Masters, unprepared for their essential position of leadership, accept this reply as satisfactorily fulfilling the responsibilities of the office. The status quo is then maintained for the year by opening and closing the Lodge, repeating the ritual as required, reading the minutes, discussing committee reports and participating at the festive board.
Unfortunately, these Masters have neglected to read, or at least be cognizant of the other instruction and admonitions to the Master, throughout the "Work" and ceremonial. For example, the Installation Ceremony in usual allegory and symbolism, advises that the Brethren have committed the government of the Lodge to the care of the Master, and he is responsible for the proper discharge of the associated duties.
The Master Elect, in like manner, is encouraged to educate the members about Freemasonry; to practice in the community at large, benevolence, justice and the precepts of the Craft; and to observe above all the rule and guide of our faith, the VOTSL.
The Master Elect is further advised, that in order to successfully discharge his responsibilities, he should be firm in principle and able and willing to undertake the management of the work. A close scrutiny of various other publications of the Grand Lodge, will complete the list of expectations of the Master.
One would wonder, how much preparation was done by a Master Elect, aware of all these duties and responsibilities and would still arrive on the night of installation without any detailed plan to ensure a fulfilling and successful year.
The Master Elect can not be excused from his responsibility to undertake the management of the work, but first he must have as much or more knowledge about the work, as those, who he is to teach. But how and where does he gather the necessary information?
The Grand Lodge of Manitoba, as in other jurisdictions has the information available for the Master to use in understanding the full scope of his position. How many Masters actually take the time to seek out all this information? How many realistically have the time? To be adequately informed, a Master would have to review the following sources:
Many Lodges do not have an officer training program nor do the officers have these publications at their disposal prior to being installed as Master. The problem is obvious, the Master Elect is not adequately prepared and in this circumstance tends to imitate his predecessor or does the minimum to get by.
Much of the information on the duties of the Master is wrapped in the envelope of the ritual. There are many and varied views on the strict sanctity of the work. We are admonished to keep the confidentiality of what is written, but the Craft in general has learned collectively over the years that Masonic education requires an explanation of the message and so we have a great variety of Masonic books and literature discussing the system, within due bounds, would it not be appropriate to do in the same manner, a summary of the duties and responsibilities of the Master including those that originate in the work?
This would provide a giant step forward in the instruction of the Master Elect, without detracting from his enjoyment of using or listening to the original version in the work. This may also provide an opportunity to usefully employ the custodians of the work.
At this particular time in our history, with membership generally declining and some Lodge doors closing, the quality of leadership is particularly critical, with the advent of Masonic renewal in many of the jurisdictions, the responsibilities of the Master will become more onerous and time consuming The Master will have to be more innovative in Lodge activities and programs, for example, the Master must be committed to carefully allocating the use of time.
A significant factor indicated by research into the expectations of men, considering membership in a service or fraternal body, is the amount of time required to participate and what the time would be used for, ie: amusement, personal development, social activity, family involvement etc.
This is just one of the important factors in the overall plan for the year to meet the requirements of an increasingly diverse membership. To be effective in his one year term of office, a Masonic education and leadership program dedicated to the Master should be mandatory, during his term as Junior and Senior Warden.
If a comparison were made between the organization chart of Grand Lodge and that of a private business corporation, we would find many similarities. The Grand Master, would be the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, with jurisdiction over the entire sales or service area covered. Assisting the Grand Master would be a multitude of committees and bureaucrats preparing and publishing various plans of instruction and directives. There would be a "Board of Directors" to scrutinize all suggestions from the hinterlands that might result in change. The District Deputy Grand Master would be the Region Manager, responsible to the C.E.O. for the efficiency of collecting delinquent accounts, supervising the labors of the volunteers and generally ensuring the harmony of the work place. The Master of the Lodge would be the local Branch Manager, accountable for whatever went wrong, regardless of where it happened. Sound familiar? Such is the way of progress.
While this is a frivolous comparison there is a valid point to be made. In real world terms, a C.E.O. responsible for the well being and contentment of thousand of company members, would never hire a Regional Manager or a local Branch Manager, without first providing them with a suitable education and leadership training plan. Masonic jurisdictions would be well advised to institute a similar practice.
The Grand Lodge of Manitoba in concert with the Masonic Renewal Committee of North America is actively developing a Masonic renewal plan for the jurisdiction. There is much confidence that this approach will directly improve and prevent recurrence of those problem areas that have been building over the last thirty years. There is much yet to do, but at least the problem is finally recognized and is being addressed.
Through the ages Masonry has withstood great adversity and survived, with some adjustments, to carry on, better than before - and it will again. The enduring life of Freemasonry is the system itself, the principles, tenets, the altruistic teachings, the beliefs of it's adherents and it's universality in brotherhood. We learn that the earliest manuscript constitutions began with a convocation to the Almighty Father in Heaven and subsequently included a series of what is now called - "The Old Charges" which was intended to govern the Craft and their behavior. These old charges also included procedures used to make a Mason and an obligation. The beginnings of Masonry, then included a religious connotation, moral instruction and an obligation. Through the Eighteenth Century, the ritual slowly took shape by the efforts of many minds until reaching full development following the union of the two English Grand Lodges.
The ritual is of vital importance, as it serves as a common thread throughout the Masonic world. Even through some variation in the wording and form of ritual is evident, they all exemplify the same fundamental truth. The great importance of the ritual is that it is an essential means of passing Freemasonry from one generation to another and of teaching the noble precepts which have served the Craft for hundreds of years. The Initiate, even though interested and impressed by the spectacle and quaint phraseology of the words, may view it many times but not fully grasp the essential message contained in the presentation.
It is necessary to live out the precepts set forth in the ritual to discover the full meaning of the teachings of Freemasonry. To just portray a good degree and leave the understanding to the new Brother, is not enough. The ritual must be explained to bring out the tenets and principles alluded to and then the full meaning of these must be conveyed to ensure understanding. This done, the candidate must be reassured of what he was taught by seeing in his new Brothers the exemplary attitudes and conduct that give visual expression to the principles taught.
I have found, that most newer Brethren have an interest in how Ancient Freemasonry really is, and how far back the teachings of the Craft can be traced. Some time ago, I came upon an historical record, that illustrates the point. Robert The Bruce, King of Scotland, sent in a letter to the Pope in 1320, a document known as "The Declaration of Arbroath", which really was a declaration of Scottish independence. The declaration outlined unjust interference of England in the affairs of Scotland, in which activity, England was being supported by the Pope. In an impassioned manner, the Scots declared they would protect their rights and liberties in these words;- "For it is not glory, it is not riches, neither is it honor, but it is freedom alone that we fight and contend for, which no honest man will lose, but his life." The letter went on to gently remind the Pope that he was " Vice Regent of one who makes no distinction between Jews nor Greeks, Scots nor English."
When Freemasonry was de-christianized, five hundred years later, this prescript was introduced and became one of our most cherished principles that permitted Freemasons of many faiths to join together at the same altar, without compromising their freedom to worship the God of their choice.
I have touched on the requirement to not only teach the principles and tenets of Freemasonry, but it is equally important to teach the meaning of these fundamental precepts. The new Brother, as well as those of long standing, will appreciate further understanding beyond that which is given in the ritual. Not because the traditional intent is inadequate, but that we must at all times encourage the best possible enlightenment of the membership.
The teachings of Freemasonry are well founded and have remained the universal standard of good human relationships through good times and bad. As the cycles of history continue to be repeated, the morals and behavior of the masses are affected by the fashion of the day, but Freemasonry continues intact.
I never cease to be amazed, when I read of conditions and events long past, so different and yet similar to what is being experienced today. For example, a recent magazine article stated the following:
Abuse did not suddenly appear in the 1960s' with the feminist movement, as has been claimed. A British philosopher, John Stuart Mill, commented on the subject as early as 1869: "From the earliest twilight of human society, every woman was found in a state of bondage to some man. How vast is the number of any men in any great country, who are little higher than brutes, and this never prevents them from being able through the laws of marriage, to obtain a victim." In British Common Law, husbands were authorized to chastise their wives with any reasonable instrument. Later the law was modified so men could beat their wives so long as the weapon was no thicker than a man's thumb - which is how the phrase - Rule of Thumb -came into use. In the 19th Century, a judge stated: "if no permanent injury has been inflicted by the husband, it is better to draw the curtains, shut out the public gaze and leave the parties to forget and forgive."
Such was the views of those who were charged with guiding moral behavior of the public during the same time span when Freemasonry was confirming it's form " In perfect unanimity and accord, in which we all greatly rejoice, so may it long continue until time shall be no more."
It is a testament to the vision and vital purpose of those who framed and maintained the "Genuine Tenets of our Time - Honored Institution." In a period of greatly different public conception of ethics and morals. Translating what has happened in the past, we must make Masonic education, including the teaching of the meaning of our tenets and principles, first priority.
The Scottish Rite Bulletin in Minnesota published the Ten Commandments of Freemasonry, which was reprinted in the Freemason in November 1975. This is an excellent example of explaining the meaning of Masonic Terms:
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF FREEMASONRY:- are the key to those things which are fundamental of a way of life, which Masonry teaches, and endeavors to impress on it's members. The first group of three may be termed - attitudes towards others - Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth.
The next group of three may be termed - The spiritual attitudes. These are Faith, Hope and Charity.
The third group may be termed physical and mental attitudes. They are Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Justice.
These TEN COMMANDMENTS OF MASONRY present no new fundamental truths, but they simply present time honored standards of conduct which have in all ages contributed to a well ordered society.
The American Freemason - May 1912
"I THINK you are making a mistake," writes a kindly brother, "in unsparingly condemning that phase of Masonry that is concerned with ritualistic performance. Is it not true - an unpalatable truth, perhaps - that for most of us this ritualism must remain as chief aim and purpose of our connection with the Fraternity? We know that there is an intellectual side to the Institution, where the scholar and the student find highest satisfaction. But why should those who have not yet reached that high plane, or who may not be able to appreciate the full value of these advanced studies, be denied such pleasure and such profit as is available to them in lower paths?"
My kindly critic gives opportunity to discourse briefly upon the proper balance of Masonry, It is true that in these pages, as elsewhere, the editor has urged insistently the higher imperatives, as those which should have dominating force in the world of Masonic thought and action. He would hold out to all brothers the intellectual promise, rather than show in grosser terms the rewards and satisfactions of the Craft. He would have every Mason enter upon the quest "for that which was lost," though convinced that few there be who shall achieve to complete object of the search. As from King Arthur's table many valiant knights arose, with high resolve to seek the Holy Graal - men bold of heart and true of soul - though only to the few was granted vision of the chalice sacred, mystical. And yet, if so I read aright these meaning stories of the past, the knights that travailed long in places perilous, doing bewhiles great deeds of fealty and of faith, although denied the precious thing for which they fought and prayed, were made the better, braver, nobler, even because they were accounted to have failed.
The properly balanced Masonry is that which gives full place and scope to all the workmen. The Master who draws designs upon the trestle-board may not speak with contempt of those who labor faithfully in the mountains and the quarries. He may indeed seek for disciples and scholars among the more eager and ambitious, who are most likely to profit by his instructions. These, indeed, he will urge to higher things, knowing full well that the great cause is to be advanced most surely and speedily by men trained to highest capabilities of head and heart. But in Masonry, as in the world without, there must ever be the greater number content with tasks of lesser thought. Yet to them - to all - should be unrolled and explained the full plans and meanings of the structure to which their toil and skill are dedicated. They should gain significance of the timbers and the stones upon which their labor is expended. Such brethren are not mere wage-workers, put by task-masters to their various toil. They are free Craftsmen, and should receive instruction, increasing ever with their understanding. So for the Temple of Humanity and Brotherhood should Wisdom put forth ever nobler effort, with Strength evident in the mass and Beauty showing in every detail.
I know of no other comparison for Masonry than the great religious systems of the world, past and present. From them we may, perhaps, learn where proper balance lies, where associative effort before has failed and where and how best purpose has been served. So we find that wherever in the world's history an organized system has made successful appeal to the masses of men, there has ever been ample allowance for the varying capacities of adherents. The exoteric, outward showing is for the greater number - for that larger body of worshipers content to remain in the outer court. Where subtler wants are not felt, the higher spiritual sufferings would be unmeaning. It is enough for such exoteric religion that the norms of conduct be established, and that fear of punishment or hope of reward shall be so adjusted to unawakened intelligences as to enforce compliance therewith. I know that this will be called superstition, and in no way to justify comparison with aught in Masonry. But superstition, as I take it, has two distinct meanings. To the man who has advanced beyond the necessity for grosser compulsions, the term represents no more than do the old definitions and enforcements of the common law, altogether superseded by higher mandates. The outworn things are for him valuable as records of the spiritual evolution through which he himself, or his ancestors, have passed. But for the unlearned and unleashed radical the word "superstition" stands for such things as he will not and can not seek to understand, which he is concerned only to revile ignorantly, and to proclaim his refusal of obedience. For him the commands of ancient force no longer hold, not that they are without reach or meaning, but that his soul has gained only to a stage of irrational rebellion against authority. Like an immature boy, such a one seeks only to express a newly-sensed independence, being altogether unaware of the eternal compulsions, When I hear "superstition" cried the loudest, in matters of faith or symbolism, l am inclined to linger longest, that so I may hope to discover something more of what has been preserved from an ancient time, and is today found worthy of the adherence of men. For whatever endures has in itself the heart of truth.
And, likewise, what is true of religious symbolisms and observances, is true of Masonry in its exoteric form. There is a superstition, perhaps, of the fraternity, and it may be regarded from the same standpoints as mentioned above. The radical by condemning and rejecting indiscriminately, loses much of highest value. It is only by providing and maintaining the proper balance, by serving the needs of the greatest possible number of men, embracing the broadest range of intellectual capacities, that this or any like institution can hope, to achieve and hold real meaning in the world. The brother who can only grasp the outward phases of Masonry will certainly receive all that can have use for him. Go into your anterooms after the conferring of degrees, and answer if this is not true. Hear those who are grateful and appreciative after receiving the Master's degree, and have been impressed for good, though no hint even of the esotery has come to them. The true learner will from that point still seek and find, will ask and receive, will knock thereafter at many doors, hidden oftentimes, and these will be opened to him. But also for him who chooses to remain in the outer court, to be satisfied with sensuous observances, there is gain, nicely calculated to capacity. For those having ears to hear, there are things cryptic, mystical; well worth the hearing. For those who are content with the ringing of bells, the bells will ring, and in beautiful harmony. It might perhaps be permissible to compare Masonry of the Lodges - the Masonry of routine and of ritual - with those old chthonic religions, while the real esotery of the Craft rises to the region where subtle inspirations are received and understood by highest processes of thought.
In answer to my brother, I esteem very highly that one who finds in ritual his best enjoyment, though I will not cease to urge upon such a one that he should use this ritual as a guide to upper paths. But Masonry, even in its simplest requirements, demands more than that one should go and remain upon the tread-mill of verbiage, making no advancement upward or forward. If advancement is made, whether by means of ritual, or by study or by intuitive process, be that advancement less or more, in so much is Masonry honored and benefited, and by so much has the individual brother made his gain.
The American Freemason - May 1912
FOUR centuries ago a Spanish patriot having yielded after long and hopeless fight against oppression, was doomed to death. While waiting the hour of execution he thus wrote his wife:
If your grief did not affect me more than my death, I should now deem myself happy. For the end of life being certain to all men, the Almighty confers a mark of distinguishing favor upon that person for whom He appoints such manner of death as mine, which though lamented by many, is nevertheless acceptable and well to be borne by him.
Don John Padilla indulged in no heroics. The stresses and the crises of his life and death were the real tests of his heroism.
As these lines are written the echoes of a great tragedy are still to be heard, thrown back and forth between the continents. Even morbid curiosity has been sated with the details of unprecedented disaster that have come to us from the engulfing seas. Here is no place, nor is mine the pen, to repeat aught of the awful story. The elements have again asserted their mastery over man, and have again made cruel mockery of his strife against their strength. This is the hour that comes, now and then to the generations - the hour of humiliation and defeat, that so men may not in pride and boastfulness forget their mortality, nor the frailty of their handiwork.
Yet though the elements may have dealt their heaviest stroke, still is man the victor. For there as been thus proven anew, in a time when perhaps new proof was needed, that courage has not weakened, nor has the moral fiber of manhood decayed. Peace and luxury and the worship of Mammon have, after all, but hidden and disfigured with a false and thin veneer the enduring qualities of courage and devotion and supreme self-sacrifice. Again we know that in the moment of crisis men can look with steady and level eyes into the very face of death, and meet whatever be the blow of Fate with hearts unafraid. In the image of God was man created, and the god-likeness has ever shown clearest in moments of utmost peril.
The story of the Titanic disaster will live long in the consciousness of the race. It will pass into the splendid record of the soul's nobility, and will serve far in the future as incentive and example. Among the tenderest, most cherished memories of the nations will be preserved the picture of those gallant men, holding back every show of grief while they parted from the ones they loved, lest in the imminent moment these should lose all heart and hope.
Is Nelson's famous signal at Trafalgar more worthy of remembrance by the English-speaking peoples than the plain sea-captain's words, "Men, remember that you are British!" These words had the inspiration of a bugle-call, and common, un-named men, hearing the simple sentence, felt the old pride of race, and were ready for any sacrifice. It is well for the world," despite all croakings of pessimists, when among such as these it can be shown that stamina and endurance and the well-knitted texture of soul have not weakened, and that the toiler can rise on call of occasion from the sordidness of life to the full majesty of death. To the memory of the dead men of that crew - the men of the engine-room, and the deeper places of the fires, and those of the upper decks - there is needed no monument. Because they died thus nobly, quietly, in the way of duty, others of their kind and race will in times of peril yet to be gain heart of courage.
Never before, perhaps, in the history of the world had sudden disaster applied the same and highest test to men widely separated as the poles in thought and manner of life - in all that life can mean. And never before to such a test has the response given like exemplification of the Brotherhood of Man. I can imagine in those last awful moments that the millionaire, the man of letters, the soldier, the seaman and the laborer drew nearer to each other, giving and receiving courage. Each one stood fast in his place, or shrank away, as he was endowed with or lacked the elemental qualities of real manhood.
Not as meek martyrs went those to death; not as saints, with ecstatic vision fixed on Heaven, and heedless of mortality. For most of them the future was filled with promise and hope and love. Yet who can say for them a nobler, more meaningful word than that they went to their deep-sea grave as MEN.
Out beyond the sinking ship were the boats filled with agonized women and children. On the tilted decks were those about to die, waiting with firm-set lips the final plunge of that great palace of the sea. And on the still night air rose the notes of the universal hymn, heard ever in hours of trial or of helplessness or of sorrow, "Nearer My God, to Thee!" To what more appropriate sentiment, or with what truer stimulus to courage than is in the familiar cadences could these men have died? The wild-eyed mob may be incited to carnage and destruction by the fierce chant of the "Internationale;" the soldier rush to the "imminent breach" carried on by the battle-song of his race. But the man who with stern-set face looks on the sudden-shown front of death, will turn instinctively to that faith which has ineradicable roots in every human heart.
There were Masons among those who thus died. Let us hope they were of those who died well, manfully, and with quiet faith. How many of our brothers perished I do not know. One of them I met a few months ago in the Lodge room - the quiet, self-contained man, with all the courtesy and high-bearing of a soldier. The survivors tell us of his place in the last picture - of this brother leaning out to the departing boats, the hat raised in instinctive courtesy, speaking words of kindliness and cheer, and with a smile upon his lips. I can best catch the spirit of that leave-taking in these lines:
Whether we shall meet again, I know not,
Therefore our everlasting farewell take; -
Forever and forever, farewell, Cassius!
If we do meet again, why we shall smile,
If not, why then this parting was well made.
No carpet knight was this, but a prince among men; in every way worthy to die in such gallant, goodly company. God's benison be upon their souls! They were all our brothers - ALL WERE MEN!