October,1957
Volume X Number 5
Contents
Too Small a Backyard How The Rituals Grew
MASONIC PRESIDENTS Henry Price, Provincial Grand Master
Body Erect Pusan (Korea) Children's Hospital
Two Hundred Fortieth Anniversary A Delaware Military Lodge
Harry S. Truman Library Be My Guest
The Book of Job
Notes, Queries and Information
Published bi-monthly at
Franklin, Indiana
By
THE PHILALETHES SOCIETY,
JOHN BLACK VROOMAN, F.P.S.
Editor
P.O. BOX 402, St. Louis, Mo.
ALPHONSE CERZA, President, 130 Akenside Road, Riverside, Illinois.
DR. WILLIAM MOSELEY BROWN, First Vice President, Box 276, Elon College, North Carolina
ELBERT BEDE, Second Vice President, 2316 N. E. 42nd Avenue, Portland 13, Oregon
JOHN BLACK VROOMAN, Executive Sec'y. and Editor, P. O. Box 402, St. Louis, Missouri
G. ANDREW MCCOMB, Treasurer, 3615 Euclid Avenue Cleveland 15, Ohio
PUBLICATION COMMITTEE
A.L. WOODY, F.P.S., 3502 Wesley Avenue, Berwyn, Illinois.
EDWARD J. FRANTA, F.P.S. Langdon, North Dakota.
LAURENCE R. TAYLOR, F. P. S. c/o The Indiana Freemason Franklin, Indiana
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An Editorial by Elbert Bede, F.P.S.
Second Vice President
The Philalethes Society
I like the story of the kindergarten teacher who asked her little pupils, "How many stars can you see at night?" Some guessed in the hundreds, some in the thousands, some in the millions, and one little girl said there were too many to be counted, but one little boy's answer was "three." The astounded teacher inquired, "How do you explain that you can see so few when the other children can see so many?" "Well, we have a very small backyard," the lad responded.
Doesn't that story illustrate something that we find in Freemasonry! Ask a number of the Brethren what they see in Freemasonry and their answers are likely to vary as much as the answers of the kiddies in the kindergarten class.
Some will point to a few lessons of the obligations. Others with larger vision will add lessons to be found in the several lectures, particularly the Middle Chamber and Geometry lectures. Others with greater vision may add lessons of the Working Tools. Others with even larger vision will add lessons contained in the Allegories, Legends and Symbols. Others with larger vision will add spiritual lessons. Others with even greater vision will add a great number of lessons which escape most of us.
Then there will be some whom we highly regard and enjoy having with us who will describe Freemasonry as largely something which provides a place in which they may spend a pleasant evening with their fellows. That also is an important part of Freemasonry. I'm a good Knife & Fork Freemason myself, but it may be suggested that the one who finds nothing else has too small a backyard.
Let us be like the one tot who said the stars were too many to be counted. No one has been able to count the lessons to be found in Freemasonry. No one ever will live long enough to complete such a task, but each day we may enlarge our backyard a little.
THE IMPULSE TO WRITE
Since the dawn of history, when primitive Man first drew pictures on the walls of his cave, it has been the habit of the human race to write.
Our Society has as one of its principal aims, the interchange of ideas, Masonic research and a very personal discussion of Masonic problems. We are most anxious to have these ideas, that they may be published in our magazine; that they may create interest, that they may bring to light interesting, informative and new Masonic data.
We are particularly fortunate in the scope and quality of our membership. Some unusual and well-developed research has been presented in the pages of the magazine.
We need more Manuscripts! We are anxious to continue to publish material that will attract the attention of thinking Masons. Send your manuscripts to the Editor for reading.
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A MASTERPIECE
by HENRY W. COIL, F.P.S. (Calif.)
THE PECULIAR WAY BY which the rituals grew in the early days is illustrated by the jointure of three unrelated subjects or items into one combined formula, which is now accepted without examination or question as logical and meaningful and may even be thought of by some as of ancient origin. The example referred to is the weaving together of the Points of Entry, the Signs, and the Cardinal Virtues. The result has been the esoteric closing phrases in the lectures on Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, and Justice which have no logical or substantive connection with the preceding portions of those lectures.
The four Points of Entry or Entrance (formerly called Principal Points) have never been very clear either alone or in connection with other matter. Do they refer to the entrance of the candidate into something or of something into the candidate? The former would seem to be the more reasonable yet, the latter is more according to the wording. One writer has suggested that the first of the four refers to the entrance of the candidate upon penal responsibilities; the second, entrance into the Lodge; the third, entrance into a covenant; and the fourth, entrance on the instructions, all of which sounds forced and unconvincing.
The Points of Entry are not recited in order of importance, for the first and third are virtually the same thing, and they are not in chronological order, since, in the degree working, Point Two appears before Point One. The naming of portions of the human body in connection with Points of Entrance imports the entrance of something into the candidate, yet, such scarcely appears credible.
These portions of the lectures probably antedated the Grand Lodge era, though in different form and even coming from three separate portions of the pre-Grand Lodge working. The modern form is unquestionably a consolidation and abbreviation made in the eighteenth century. The whole of the E.A. degree, either as a primitive single ceremony or as a later First Degree, has to do with the entry or entrance of the candidate whereby he becomes an Entered Apprentice and his name is first entered in the membership records of the Lodge. The Points of Entry were not points of location as places in the Lodge or places on the person of the candidate. They were points in the sense of items or salient features in an argument or course of instruction.
In this, as in other similar instances, we gain valuable aid from some of the old MSS. and especially from those exposures or publications of rituals which began in 1723 and continued for many years, and the earlier of which are printed in Knoop, Jones & Hamer's The Early Masonic Catechisms, Manchester, 1943.
Dumtries MS. No. 4, estimated as of about 1710 is a combination of an earlier Gothic Constitution MS. and a catechistical ritual. Among the first of the questions and answers appears the following:
"Q. What are you?
"A. I am a Man.
"Q. How shall I know it?
"A. By all true signs in the first part of my entry I'll heal and conceal."
The Trinity College, Dublin MS. (endorsed 1711 but probably of later origin) has this:
"Q. What manner of man are you ?
"A. I am a Mason.
"Q. How shall I know it?
"A. By the signs, tokens and points of my entry.
"Q. Where were you entered?
"A. In a full and perfect lodge."
In A Mason's Examination (expose of a catechistical ritual at London, 1723) occurs the following:
"Q. How shall I know it?
"A. By Signs, Tokens, from my Entrance into the Kitchen, and from thence into the Hall.
"Q. What is the first Point of your Entrance?
"A. Hear and conceal."
(Kitchen was the usual code word in those days for the place of the Entered Apprentice, and Hall, for the Fellow Craft.) Thus far, Entry was related to the entrance of the E.A. into the Kitchen and of the F.C. into the Hall, and the Point or Points thereof were related to Signs, Tokens, Penalties, or other esoteric matter.
In 1724, the expose called The Grand Mystery of Free-Masons Discover'd exhibited at the top of the first page the words Gutteral, Pedal, Manual, and Pectoral, the first three followed by representations of angels and the last by that of a cross. These were denominated Free - Mason's Signs. They seem to have had no connection with the subject of Entry, which was treated somewhat later in the body of the text:
"Q. How shall I know you are a Free Mason?
"A. By S . . ., T . . ., and Points of my Entry.
"Q. What is the Point of your Entry ?
"A. I Hear and Conceal."
In the following year, The Whole Institutions of Free-Masons Opened was published, which made no reference to Penalties or to Gutteral, Pedal, Manual, or Pectoral, but simply stated:
"How shall I know you are a Free-Mason. - By true Words and Tokens at my Entry. What was the first Point of your Entering a willing desire to know what I now know." (Punctuation and capitalization were often lacking.)
A Mason's Confession of 1727 and The Mystery of Free-Masonry of 1730 refer to the Points of Entry but give no explanation of them.
The most modernized of the catechistical rituals up to 1730 was Samuel Prichard's Masonry Dissected, published in that year, it being the first to refer to the three degrees and to divide the work into three parts.
A Dialogue Between Simon and Philip, published in 1740 and the Essex MS. of 1750 refer merely to the Words, Signs, and Tokens of Entrie or simply Entrie.
Up to the middle of the eighteenth century, there was no reference to Cardinal Virtues in any Masonic MSS., and, where Points of Entry or Guttural, Pectoral, Manual, and Pedestal were mentioned, there was no settled connection between the two groups. These and secret signs or penalties were first conjoined probably by William Preston in the formulation of his lectures about 1772, but the reason for that is puzzling, since there is little in common, except the number four - four Signs and four Cardinal Virtues - and even then the Signs had been given as four in only one MS. The Points of Entry had usually been stated as two, Hear and Conceal, but these had to be expanded and identified with the Signs.
The Four Cardinal Virtues were not of Masonic origin but were derived from the Christian Church, which obtained them from Plato. They naturally came to dominate the four little lectures and are the only parts of them which have any considerable moral or prudential value. They are not secret and need no protection from penalties or penal signs. The Points of Entry remain about as inexplicable as ever. It will be observed that the terms, Gutteral, Pedal, Manual, and Pectoral, underwent some change in the Prestonian version. All this was typical of the work of the first great Masonic ritualist. He invented nothing but he rearranged and embellished what he found already existing. Sometimes the material was so assembled as to be scarcely recognizable but it was all gathered painstakingly by actual visitation of working Lodges. In the present instance, the several incongruent elements seem to be rationalized and logically merged, though they are not. The Cardinal Virtues all belong to the E. A. degree, but Points of Entry, if they exist at all, should naturally vary in both number and substance in the three degrees.
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Officers Are Nominated For Triennium 1958-1960
THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE appointed by President Alphonse Cerza to name those who are to be voted on as officers of the Society for the Triennium, 1958-1960, inclusive, has made its report.
Harry W. Bundy, F.P.S. (Colorado), reporting for the committee as a whole (Brothers Glenn G. Radcliffe, M.P.S., Iowa; and William E. Yeager, M.P.S., Pennsylvania, being the other members), place the following in nomination for the several offices:
President
Dr. William Mosley Brown, F.P.S.
First Vice President
Elbert Bede, F.P.S.
Second Vice President
Dr. Charles Gottshall Reigner, F.P.S.
Executive Secretary
G. Andrew McComb, F.P.S.
Treasurer
James R. Case, F.P.S.
The Nominating Committee has worked diligently, has had voluminous correspondence relative to the matter of placing in nomination those who might best serve the Society, and has, we feel, selected an outstanding slate of candidates for the continued progress of the Society and its work.
The Philalethes Society will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary on October 1, 1958. During the years of its existence it has been a medium of great activity in Masonic education and the spreading of Masonic information.
With nearly every state of the Union having at least one member, and interested members in Canada and every foreign country with which American Freemasonry is on fraternal good fellowship, and with an increasingly large number of interested Masons who "Seek more Light, and have more Light to impart" there is every indication that the triennium just ahead will be one of the most important in the history of the Society.
There are, at this writing almost five hundred Fellows and members of the Society, with many subscribers to The Philalethes, the official publication of the Society, and it is fully expected that there will be many new members added.
The President has named Albert L. Woody, F.P.S., Cecil Ellis, M.P.S., and Sam Dapin, M.P.S., members of the Election Committee. All ballots will be counted on October 30, 1957, at 7:30 P.M. at the office of the Illinois Committee on Masonic Education, 201 North Wells Street, Chicago, Illinois. All interested persons are cordially invited to attend.
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D r . WILLIAM MOSLEY BROWN. F.P.S. - Distinguished scholar, one of the outstanding Masons of today, a Past Grand Master of Virginia, presided over most of the officially-recognized Masonic bodies of the Masonic world. At present, the First Vice President of the Society. His prestige will give the Society a steady growth that will be as healthy as it is permanent.
ELBERT BEDE, F.P.S. - For many years a Masonic writer, Editor of the OREGON FREEMASON until his retirement to devote all his time to Masonic activities. Well-known and respected throughout the Masonic world. He is the present Second Vice President of the Society, and will do much to preserve its place in Masonic life.
Dr. CHARLES GOTTSHALL REIGNER, F.P.S. - One of the outstanding Masons in the educational field, he is the President of the H.M. Rowe Book Company, and active in methods of simplifying and clarifying education. It is but a step to transfer his devotion to Masonic education, and in his writing, public addresses and other Masonic interests, he has become one of the leaders of the Society.
G. ANDREW McCOMB, F.P.S. - Buried in the archives of the Cleveland Masonic Library, where he has done a marvellous job of making available Masonic information, "Andy" is not as well known as he should be. Being of retiring and modest nature, his work has been in quiet, but it was of such quality as to give him the recognition of being elected a FELLOW of the Society recently.
JAMES R. CASE, F.P.S., No man has done more for Masonic research, especially in his own state of Connecticut, than Brother Case, the Grand Historian for both Grand Lodge, AF&AM and Grand Chapter, R.A.M. His contributions of Masonic lore and historical data seem almost inexhaustible.
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News, achievements and items of interest about our Fellows and Members - Discussion and comment on Mutual Topics.
- Pfan Mail and Observations -
DR. MELVIN M. JOHNSON, F.P.S. who became ill while on his European vacation trip this last summer, is at his home recuperating. Fine reports from Brother McIlyar H. Lichliter, F.P.S., Grand Prior of the Supreme Council, AASR (Northern Jurisdiction), indicate that Brother Johnson is well on his way to recovery, but with the additional admonition that he will not be allowed too great activity until completely rested. Dr. Johnson's many admirers and coworkers wish him a happy recovery.
BROTHER ELBERT BEDE, F.P.S., and Second Vice President of the Society, has, after 18 years, severed his connection with the Oregon Freemason. His was a very active and full stewardship during his years as owner and editor. His contribution to Masonry and community thought and culture resulted from his deep devotion to his task. He writes that he will still write and work for Masonic advancement and, as an officer of the Society, we may expect to profit from his action. Brother R. V. Carleson, M.P.S., is the present owner of the Oregon Freemason.
THE YORK RITE ASSOCIATION of Jefferson County, Kentucky, of which Brother William S. Conaway, M.P.S., is President, sponsored a public installation of officers of the various Chapters of the Royal Arch Eighth District and the Third Grand Arch of the Grand Council, R&SM, at which seven Chapters and four Councils were represented.
Installing officers were Judge Robert E. Lee, M.P.S., Grand High Priest, and Companion Thomas Todd, Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Council, who officiated in the place of Companion Oscar Wheeler, M.P.S., the Grand Master, who was unable to be present.
The speaker for the occasion was Brother William O. Ware, Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, and also a Member of the Society. Brother Conaway, who reported this fine meeting, states that it is intended to repeat it in other areas of the state.
THE NEWLY ELECTED and installed Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Oregon, is Most Worshipful Brother Clarence A. Kopp, M.P.S., the election taking place at the 107th annual communication in Portland, June 12-14 last. Congratulations to our Brother, who is also an Episcopal minister, and active in many phases of Masonry.
A STORY APPEARED in the July issue of the Northern Illinois Masonic Journal, edited by our good friend, Brother Oscar H. Anderson, M.P.S., about the Shrine ceremonial, parade and funfest in Tokyo, Japan, in November 1956 at which Noble Tamotsu Murayama, M.P.S., and Representative of the Society in Japan, was extremely active.
The article went on to say that Brother Murayama was the first Japanese national to become a Mason, that he translated the ritual from English to Japanese, and that he is a member of the Japan Times staff. It is a fine thing to have interested, capable and active Brethren ready to help on occasions like these.
While on a short wait between trains in Chicago, Brother James R. Malott, F.P.S., with his wife, stopped for a short visit with Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S., President of the Society.
POINTING TO THE FACT that publicity in the CHAT & COMMENT columns, lists of New Members, and other publicity may do some good, Brother Warren Fowler Mellny, M.P.S., writes: "In your list of new members for June, you mention Brother Eliezer Dubinsky (M.P.S.) . . . the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Israel, and Leffman, (Alfred Leffman, Mattoon, Illinois, whom Brother Mellny persuaded to join the Society recently) was Master of Lodge No. 26 in Jerusalem for three years and Grand Treasurer of the old Grand Lodge (of Israel) for seven years. The listing of those two men in one issue of your magazine brings them together over a span of 6000 miles. Life is indeed strange."
SPEAKING OF BROTHER MELLNY, further, there has come to the Editor's desk a number of appreciative articles about his articles appearing in a recent issue of the magazine - "Some Day I'll be a Mason." In fact, Brother Walter E. Belt, M.P.S., Oregon, wrote a poem about it, which we hope to be able to publish in part when we can spare the space. Brother Mellny has just returned from a layout in the Veterans Hospital at Dwight, Illinois, but is home at Mattoon, and is gradually improving.
READ WELL! THINK! VOTE YOUR CHOICE!
THIS IS ELECTION YEAR, and the membership of the Society must elect a new slate of officers. It should be emphasized that it is an individual duty, and for the good of the order, vote. 'Nuff said.
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James Buchanan was the first President to become a Royal Arch Mason, being installed in Chapter No. 43 (Pa.) May 20, 1826 . . . Andrew Jackson was the first President to become a Knight Templar and a Scottish Rite Mason, the latter degrees being conferred upon him in the library of the White House at Washington . . . On May 22, 1901, President William McKinley attended a reception given in California Commandery No. 1, San Francisco . . . The corner stone of the Army War College was laid in the presence of President Theodore Roosevelt with Masonic ceremonies in Washington, D.C., February 21, 1903 . . . President Harding was elected to receive the 33d but because of illness of his wife was unable to attend to receive it and died before the next session of the Supreme Council. - Oklahoma York Rite Magazine.
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They Have Passed The Veil
SHERWOOD V. WESTLAKE, M.P.S.
April 27, 1957.
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Henry
Price, Provincial Grand Master
New England's Early Masonic Leader
by FRANK H. WILSON, M.P.S. (Mass.)
Henry Price, under whose leadership Freemasonry hod great impetus, and through whose activity Masonry became firmly established in New England and the Atlantic coast, is a personage of great interest. The address by Brother Frank Wilson, M.P.S., on the occasion of the annual meeting Of the Henry Price Club, of Townsend, Massachusetts, May 26, 1957, is of some interest.
Brother Wilson is Grand Master of the Most Illustrious Grand Council of Royal & Select Masters of Massachusetts, and a Past Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery of Knights Tempter of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The pertinent facts relative to Brother Price are authentic, although there have been from time to time, controversies about some miner details connected with his activities. Readers of this discussion may form their own opinions, then delve into the historical data to determine matters of controversy.
BROTHER HENRY PRICE, the First Provincial Grand Master of New England, came to live in Townsend, Massachusetts in the year 1763. His estate was large and embraced several farms with buildings, mills, a blacksmith shop, wood lots and hundreds of acres of land.
His was the Hartshorn Farm, which came into his possession in 1742, by an execution levied on the property of one Thomas Phillips of Boston, who was indebted to him. This paved the way to Henry Price making Townsend his final resting place.
The population of Townsend when Henry Price came here was about 600 inhabitants which increased to nearly 900 at the time of his death.
Currency at the time was in English denomination.
Legal papers referenced Townsend, as for example, "Within his Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England." Also referenced such as "This 25th day of March in the 15th year of His Majesty's Reign A.D. 1775." (This referred to the reign of King George III.)
Titles of men were generally given as "Yeoman" a word used as an addition on legal documents in England.
Personally I have been very much interested in the history of the early days in Townsend. My Revolutionary ancestor, John Wilson, was born here on October 16, 1761; and with his older brothers, Benjamin, Jr. and Joseph, all three saw service in the Revolution. John, on whose record I became a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, had three enlistments, serving in 1778, 1779 and 1780, at Winter Hill, Massachusetts, West Point, and Butts Hill, Rhode Island, respectively. Joseph was in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Benjamin, Jr., had a shorter service, the record shows he was recalled with others in Capt. Samuel Douglas' Company of Col. Jamies Prescott's Regiment, who were ordered back "to take care of Tories in Townsend."
Henry Price's age prevented him from taking part in the contest with Great Britain but his active sympathies were undoubtedly with the colonies for in a conveyance of 1779 he adds after the date and year "and third year of the independence of the U.S.A." He had however, previously represented Townsend in the Provincial Legislature in 1764 and 1765, and served upon several committees, usually referred to as Major Price.
The rank of Major was bestowed upon him in 1733 by Governor Jonathan Belcher, when he was appointed a "Cornet in the Governor's Troop of Guards," corresponding to the office of Standard Bearer.
Henry Price's neighborly and friendly spirit was shown in many ways, one to a fellow townsman, Benjamin Wilson, Sr.; my great, great, great grandfather. Benjamin, Sr., settled in Townsend at the time of his marriage November 26, 1747, to Sarah Whitney. When Benjamin, Sr., died in 1774 the papers of his estate bore the name of Henry Price among several other accounts and underneath Henry Price's name is what appears to read an item: "clothing for children’s dresses, 16 shillings, 6 pence." Henry Price was in the dry goods business.
He had several places of business in Boston. He formed a partnership for a few years with Francis Beteilhe, Secretary of the First Lodge in Boston, who was a shopkeeper, and also carried on a dry goods trade at a location which was near what is now Bedford and Washington Streets.
From the epitaph on the slate stone which formerly stood at the head of his grave in the Old Village Cemetery in Townsend we learn that Henry Price was born in London, England, in 1697, came to Boston in 1723, and died in Townsend, May 20, 1780. His first marriage was to Mary Townsend, daughter of Samuel Townsend of Boston, in the fall of 1737. In October 1738 a daughter, Mary, was born. In 1751 the first Mrs. Price died and on May 25, 1752, he married Mary Tilden of Boston. Following the death of his wife in 1759 and the death of his daughter, Mary, on October 8, 1760, he took up his residence again in Boston.
Remaining in Boston but two or three years he then removed to Townsend. On September 17, 1771, he was married in Townsend by the Rev. Samuel Dix to Lydia Randall Abbott, a young widow with a minor son. Two children were born to them by this third marriage, Mary and Rebecca.
In 1857 M.W. Grand Master John T. Heard visited Townsend and called on the only living descendant of Henry Price, a William Wallis, fourth son of Mary. William Wallis was a bachelor, living alone. From William Wallis the M. W. Grand Master obtained a portrait of Henry Price, painted from life and one always regarded by the family as an excellent likeness.
Henry Price was a member of Lodge No. 75, Rainbow Coffee House, York Buildings, London, England, which was constituted July 17, 1730. On the minute book of the Grand Lodge of England for the year 1730 the names of 63 members are given; the fifty-third name on the list is that of Henry Price.
On July 30, 1733, Henry Price called together ten Brethren at the house of Edward Lutwytch at the "Bunch of Grapes" tavern located on the westerly side of Kilby Street at the corner of State Street, Boston. Here his commission or deputation, dated April 30, 1733, London, from the Right Honorable and Right Worshipful Anthony, Lord Viscount Montague, Grand Master of the F&AM Masons of England, was produced and read, appointing Henry Price Provincial Grand Master of New England and authorizing him to form a Provincial Grand Lodge, appoint his officers and constitute Lodges. By virtue of this deputation, Henry Price formed and opened a Provincial Grand Lodge, known as St. John's Grand Lodge, and appointed as his Deputy Grand Master, Andrew Belcher, son of the Governor, who was the Registrar of Probate for Suffolk County.
The first business was the making of Masons of eight others. These eighteen Brethren immediately on the same day, petitioned Henry Price to constitute them into a regular Lodge. The document was drawn up and signed by the eighteen Brethren and formally presented to Henry Price "who did then and there in the most solemn manner according to Ancient Right and Custom and the form prescribed in our printed book of Constitutions" constituted them into a regular Lodge. Thus was Masonry founded in New England."
The new Lodge was designated as the "First Lodge in Boston" until 1792 when it took the name of St. John's Lodge, and has been in continuous existence.
In 1734 Henry Price received orders from the Grand Master of England to establish Masonry in all North America. Henry Price confirmed this in a letter in which he stated that Montague's commission was extended over all North America.
Benjamin Franklin in that year, wrote a letter to Henry Price from Philadelphia, saying, "That we have seen in the Boston prints an article of news from London that his deputation and power were extended over all North America." Other correspondence between these two ensued.
When Benjamin Franklin came to Boston in June 1734, he became acquainted with Henry Price and "Henry Price recognized Franklin as Grand Master when he officially wrote him on October 23, 1734." (quoted - "Franklin Bi-Centenary Volume, 1906, R:W: Grand Lodge F&AM of Pennsylvania, p 201).
Henry Price granted a warrent in response to a petition from six Brethren in Portsmouth, N. H. dated February 5, 1735 for "The Holy Lodge of St. John" at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
On December 27, 1735, he granted a warrant for "The First Lodge in South Carolina" at Charleston.
Thus in his four years of administration, Henry Price established four Lodges.
As a churchman, Henry Price attended Trinity Church in Boston where he owned one-half a pew. He also was in possession of three pews in the Townsend meeting house, evincing a strong sympathy he had for religious instruction.
Some time early in the year 1888 learning that the headstone originally erected over the grave of Henry Price had become badly cracked and in danger of total destruction and deeming that the spot where his remains rested should be commemorated by a more suitable monument, the Grand Lodge placed at the disposal of the Board of Directors the sum of $500 for this purpose.
The Board of Directors subsequently reported they had prepared a suitable monument which would be ready for dedication.
On June 4, 1888, the remains of Henry Price were removed from the old village cemetery to the new cemetery. Most Worshipful Henry Endicott, Grand Master and Right Worshipful Sereno D. Nickerson, Recording Grand Secretary, came to Townsend that day and saw the remains removed.
The slate headstone from the old grave was removed and a replica set up in the walls of the corridor in the Grand Lodge headquarters of the Masonic Temple in Boston.
The dedication of the new monument erected over the remains of our first Provincial Grand Master of New England took place at a special communication of Grand Lodge held in Townsend on Thursday, June 21, 1888.
Some thirty members of Grand Lodge, together with forty members of Henry Price Lodge of Charlestown and one hundred members of St. Paul and Caleb Butler Lodges of Ayer arrived by special train in the forenoon. A procession was formed and all marched to the Odd Fellows Hall, accompanied by the Townsend band where Grand Lodge was opened in ample form. The procession reformed and marched to the new cemetery where the Grand Lodge officers assumed their appropriate stations around the newly erected monument precisely at noon.
A deed duly executed conveyed to Grand Lodge this plot of land containing 529 square feet upon which the monument was erected to commemorate the services of Henry Price to Masonry.
Wor. Bro. Albert Lewis Fessenden of Townsend secured from the town the free gift of the lot in the new cemetery, he superintended the removal of the remains and had them safely deposited in a small brick vault under the new monument. He arranged for the transportation of the old headstone to Boston and made all the necessary arrangements for the dedication ceremony.
Following the exercises and address by the Grand Master, the company returned to the Hall where Grand Lodge was closed.
The portrait of Henry Price previously mentioned was made when he was around 43 years of age. He was dressed in the style of a gentleman of the period, wearing a wig and queue, white neck cloth and single-breasted coat cut flowing away. His face betokened mildness and gentleness. The eyes were large and full, soft and expressive, the forehead broad and expansive. His whole face shown with animation and conveyed the idea of a gentleman. As we look upon the portrait, upon that gentle countenance, it can be understood why his family and friends inscribed as the last and best tribute to his memory, those expressive words in the last line of his gravestone, "An honest man, the noblest work of God."
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by ALEXANDER HORNE, M.P.S. (Calif.)
IT IS A CURIOUS FACT that, in the explanations given by the Worshipful Master in the second section of each degree, no explanation is attempted of an item that is apparently so important that it is referred to on two separate occasions in each of them. I refer to the 'body erect, facing the East."
Why "body erect" ? In at least one Jurisdiction I know of, this instruction is amplified to some extent by saying, "body erect, as a man ought to be" - but even this leaves us somewhat in doubt as to the purpose of the injunction, or as to its background or possible meaning.
We have to seek for this back ground and meaning, I think, in the social conditions of the Middle Ages, when the operative Mason Guilds first began to flourish, and when many of those customs and practices first began to develop which have by continuous tradition passed over into and been adopted by, our present "speculative" Fraternity. In those more or-less feudal days, when a large section of society was "bound" in one way or another to those in the class immediately above, a tremendous amount of emphasis was laid upon personal freedom, and a correspondingly large amount of respect was held for those who possessed it, either by right or privilege. Serfs had no freedom at all.
As a result, the system of apprenticeship, among the Mason Guilds, and no doubt among the other craft guilds as well, required that a would-be apprentice be "free - born," bondage being a hereditary entailment. As it is said in one of our two very oldest of old constitutions from which so many of our Masonic traditions flow - the Cooke MS., of about A.D. 1410 - "The fourth Article is this -that no Master . . . [shall] take no apprentice . . . that is born of bond blood," and two reasons are given for this. First, that the bondage to another may not interfere with the apprentice's (and, later, the Craftsman's) freedom to come and go at will, a freedom necessary for the practical execution of his art; and, secondly, it is said, this custom "took [its] beginning of great Lord's children freely begotten" - this is, the concept of "freedom" was looked upon with a certain awe and respect, as properly belonging only to a high social level, which the Craftsman was taught to emulate.
And consequently the apprentice - later to become a Fellow of the Craft - had above all to be a free man. It was only the serf who cringed before his master, and kept his eyes downcast; the free man stood erect "as a man ought to be" and dared to look his fellowman in the eye. So in one of our earliest "exposures" - The Three Distinct Knocks, of 1760 - the Master asks, in "The Enter'd Apprentice's Lecture" -
"Pray, what Manner of Man ought a Mason Man to be?"
- and the answer is given,
"A Man that is born of a Free Woman."
And further on, in response to the announcement that a candidate stands at the door of the Lodge, "who begs to have and receive part of the benefit of this right worshipful Lodge, dedicated to St. John, as many Brothers and Fellows have done before me," the Master asks, "How do you expect to obtain it?"
- and the candidate answers;
"By being free born and well reported."
In the later eighteenth century English rituals, this idea of being not only free but also free-born, is elaborated upon in various ways. Thus, in a ritual practiced at one time in the Lodge of Lights, at Warrington, in the North of England, the catechism runs on as follows:
"What kind of men ought Free and Accepted Masons to be?
"Free Men born of Free women, Brothers to a King, Fellows to a Prince and Companions to a Peasant or a Beggar if a Mason.
"Why Free Men?
"That the vicious habits of slavers might not contaminate the true principles on which Masonry is founded.
"Why born of Free Women?
"Because the Masons who were chosen by King Solomon to work at the Temple were declared Free and Exempt from all imposts duties and taxes for them and their descendents. . . ."
In this manner did they give both a Speculative and Operative explanation to the necessity for being free-born, just as our ancient Brethren did in the old operative days, though now with greater elaboration, as behooves those who aim to be truly "Speculative" Masons.
In present-day England, the formula has been reduced to the following form:
"Who are fit and proper persons to be made Masons?"
- and the answer is given,
"Just, upright, and free men, of mature age, sound judgment, and strict morals."
And in England, and in all the British Dominions "whithersoever dispersed," as in America, the candidate is made to exemplify all this, by standing proudly before the Master, with "body erect, as a man ought to be, facing the East."
But we are permitted, in our true character as "Speculative" Masons, to go a step beyond the superficial explanation, and speculate on the more inward character of the word "freedom." Our English Brethren, for example, give the following question - and answer, in their explanatory catechismal "lectures":
"Why are we called Free-Masons?
"Because we are free to, and free from.
"Free to, and free from what?
"Free to good fellowship, and ought to be free from vice."
There - in quaint but perfectly understandable language - we have the true inward character of our "speculative" freedom, the "freedom from vice," a propensity associated by our "ancient brethren" with the condition of slavery; or, as the "Lodge of Lights" ritual has it, "it being generally remarked that the minds of slaves are much more contaminated than the free born" - a generalization that our more scientific sociologists today would probably decry.
But is there not a slavery of the mind and spirit, as well as slavery of the body? It is here that we touch upon the highest expression of our insistence upon "freedom." We are all, in this sense, in greater or lesser measure, slaves still. Slaves to our passions and desires, slaves to our more material ambitions and cravings; slaves, above all, to our shackling prejudices, social, racial, intellectual, and religious. And until we are truly "free from" this higher but more insidious form of slavery, we are not the "kind of men" that "Free and Accepted Masons ought to be," nor free to enjoy "good fellowship" with the G.A.O.T.U.
Some day we shall be truly "free." Every age and every people has yearned for this highest form of "freedom." The Hindu yearns for Moksha, "liberation"; the Buddhist, for Nirvana, mistranslated "annihilation," but really denoting a form of beatitude, produced by (among other things) freedom from Maya, "illusion," and freedom from the thirst for sentient existence, tanha, that thirst which keeps us chained by our own "free will and accord" to this "round of births and deaths." The monotheist - whether Christian, Jew, or Moslem - likewise prays for liberation from this "vale of tears," and the freedom to sit in rapture for all eternity at the footstool of the Almighty.
Some day, each one of us will have attained his measure of "freedom." It may be, as the monotheist believes, at the end of this one life, or after the dread Day of Judgment; or it may be, as the Hindu and the Buddhist believes, and as the mediaeval Cabalist and as "our ancient friend and Brother" Pythagoras believed, at the end of a long pilgrimage of births and deaths - life being a truly "progressive science, taught by degrees only." But, one way or another, we shall all, some day, stand free of all our imperfections; the Perfect Ashlar at last, divested of all the "vices and superfluities of life" - a perfect stone in that "house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Then, and then only, will we have earned the right to stand before our Maker, for all time, with "spirit erect, facing the East."
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Pusan (Korea) Children's Hospital
"OF ALL THE SPONTANEOUS CHARITIES which have mushroomed all over war-town Korea, none have caught the public fancy to the extent demonstrated at the Happy Mountain Orphanage and Children's Hospital at Pusan." This quotation from the 28 August 1951 issue of the Stars and Stripes aptly describes the interest which developed in this Hospital - the first children's hospital in Korea. Until that year there had never been a single medical institution which was devoted entirely to children in all that teeming land!
Now, six years later, its successor The Pusan Children's Charity Hospital, is fulfilling the dreams of its early pioneer staff for a permanent building "with real beds, a tiled operating room, a tiled bath with running water, fully staffed and equipped with modern Stateside equipment." Between the beginnings of this dream and the present reality there are years of labor, set-backs, planning and accomplishment. Here is the story -
In 1950 hundreds of thousands of refugees from all parts of Korea fled southward to escape the Communists and the ravages of war. Many concentrated in Pusan, tremendously swelling its population. Among them were many orphan children who needed everything - food, clothing, medical facilities and loving kindness. The Korean government, already strained to the limit because of the war, vainly struggled to cope with the problem of providing care for those homeless and bewildered waifs. Their plight beggars description. Daily they could be seen running through the streets, wearing nothing but tattered burlap sacking and carrying tins cans with which to collect food. At night they huddled together for warmth in any doorway which offered some protection from the freezing weather.
The situation became so acute that the Civil Assistance Section of the U. S. Army headquarters in Pusan organized a small orphanage (called "The Happy Mountain") to care for these destitute children. No sooner had its doors been opened than it was swamped beyond capacity. Many of the children were sick or wounded, and it soon was necessary to open a small clinic to care for them. Military medical officers volunteered their services, devoting many extra hours to treat these wretched victims of a "grown-up peoples' war."
By the spring of 1951 there were so many patients at the orphanage and clinic that it was expanded to form the Pusan Pediatric Hospital. To provide additional medical service refugee Korean members of the Severance Medical School staff were hired and paid from U. S. military funds; the army furnished equipment and medical supplies as well.
Providentially, a small group of Masons had met in Pusan during October 1950 and formed a club to get together and enjoy mutual fellowship. Almost before they organized, their work was cut out for them. They became concerned with the orphan refuge problem, and chose the motto: "Dedicated to kindness to mankind rather than outright charity." Within a short time the crowded conditions and great need at Happy Mountain were brought to their attention, and the club threw its weight behind the infant institution, adopting it as the main project. Many members devoted their time and gave financial support to Happy Mountain. They solicited food, clothing, and donations from people in the United States as well.
Space was excavated for an additional ward in the basements isolation wards were constructed for severe infectious cases; an infant ward was installed. Members from the navy showed up with paint, while others brought lumber and electric wiring. Salvage military cots were obtained for beds, and army blankets provided warmth. The folks at home sent thousands of packages containing every kind of supplies. Army nurses pitched in to help and the United Nations World Health Organization sent much needed pharmaceuticals.
At various times during this first year the Masonic Club discussed plans for the future and how they could insure the continuation of the hospital, once the American troops had left Korea. A committee studied the subject and various solutions were suggested. Construction of a new building was discussed, but the idea was rejected as being too expensive and the future in Korea too uncertain.
In the meantime the army found it necessary to stop paying the staff, and the Masonic Club assumed that obligation. With the need for more adequate quarters, it was decided to separate the hospital from the Happy Mountain Orphanage, and to provide a health center that would serve the children of all orphanages in the Pusan area. In the fall of 1951 the Douglas Aircraft Corporation of Long Beach, California, sent a donation to the Mayor of Pusan, which he used to make over an old Japanese hotel into the new Children's Hospital. Responsibility for operation was vested in the Kyong Sang Namdo Social Welfare League, and a Korean administrative board was appointed. It is interesting to note that the Vice-Chairman of the Board, Dr. Lee Kyu Yong, has served as chairman for the past three years. Volunteer helpers, including many members of the Masonic Club, assisted in reconditioning the building, and conch tributed both labor and materials When completed, the hospital consisted of an operating room, pharmacy, x-ray room, laboratory, nursery, isolation and general wards, as well as nurses' quarters.
On 7 January 1952 the Pusan Children's Charity Hospital opened with the transfer of patients from the Happy Mountain Orphanage, and the work of caring for sick children in Pusan was expanded. There were facilities for 25 small babies, as well as 80 larger children; a greater number were often admitted, even if they did have to occupy both ends of an army cot! The out-patient clinic treated from 40 to 80 children each day.
Thus a truly children's hospital was at last established in Korea.
One could well believe that this is the end of the story - but such is not the case. Many trials and vicissitudes were to follow, and a real crisis developed the following year. In January 1953 the hospital was struggling against terrific odds. Many of the original military supporters had returned to them United States. There was no puret water supply; the building was so crowded that there was no place for the patients to exercise, and they had to stay in bed. The wooden building was a firetrap; the electric wiring was in such bad condition that it had to be completely replaced. Financial difficulties beset the board, and the club had difficulties with the extremely low dollar-won exchange rate which was permitted to military personnel.
However, relief from these conditions resulted from the formation of a Hospital Steering Committee in the Masonic Club, with representatives sitting on the Administrative Board. An official of the YMCA volunteered to act as agent with the Bank of Korea to secure a better monetary rate, and new plans were drawn up to build in a better location. In the meantime two raffles had been held among the troops in the area, and a considerable bank balance was achieved. Various sites for the new building were inspected, and a great deal of enthusiasm developed among the members of the club.
The signing of the armistice in July 1953 was both a blessing and a blow to the hospital. A blessing because it made possible the new building as a project under the "Armed Forces Assistance to Korea" program - a blow because a great many active committee members were transferred to other stations about that time. However there were other forces at work, about which the club had no knowledge. On two different occasions a representative of the Evangelical and Reformed Church had visited the hospital. Each time he went back to the United States with the idea that something should be done to improve the lot of these youngsters. Finally he persuaded the Men's Brotherhood to make the hospital their project in 1954, and their efforts resulted in enough money being raised to insure the construction. Coupled with this was a considerable share of the "community chest" which the Commanding General of the Pusan Military Post raised among the troops for the various health institutions in Pusan.
The actual construction was commenced in the spring of 1955, and the patients were moved into the new building last November. The hospital occupies a new, two-story modern concrete building, able to care for 80 patients and located in the same compound with the Medical School of Pusan National University. Some day it will be the teaching clinic for pediatricians where the doctors of Korea can learn the latest techniques in modern child care. Recently a project for a nurses' home was approved and it will be built soon with army materials and with funds from the Evangelical and Reformed Church.
In September 1955 a move was made to establish a permanent, chartered organization to carry on the Stateside support of the hospital. Working to secure the aid and endorsement of prominent individuals and organizations, both in and out of the military service, a group of Masons have established The Friends of Pusan Children's Charity Hospital, Inc. Chartered in Maryland in May 1956 the "Friends" are gradually assuming the place that is planned for them as a permanent backlog of support and assistance.
All this makes a wonderful story - how a handful of Masons in the military service saw the need in war-time in a foreign land, and pursued a project of this magnitude because their hearts were touched.
Surely there is no better demonstration of Masonry in action than this "Monument in Korea."
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Two Hundred Fortieth Anniversary of Grand Lodge of England is Commemorated
UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE GRAND LODGE of the District of Columbia called into special communication, with the Grand Lodges of Maryland and Virginia participating as guests, the 240th anniversary of the founding of the Mother Grand Lodge of England on St. John the Baptist Day, 1717, was celebrated in appropriate manner at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Washington, D.C., on Sunday, June 23, 1957
DR. EDWARD G. LATCH, Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge FA AM of the District of Columbia was the principal speaker, emphasizing the theme 'Young people of today should be set a pattern of living that they can emulate."
Ray Baker Harris, F.P.S., Grand Master of the District of Columbia, Charles H. Cover, M.P.S., Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, and John M. Stewart, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia headed the delegations of their respective Grand Lodges.
The Cathedral was crowded to capacity for the service with more than 2,000 Masons, their families, Grand Officers, Past Grand Officers, Masters, Wardens and guests from the Cabinet, the Courts, the Senate, House of Representatives, Diplomatic Corps, and officials of the District of Columbia.
Renah F. Camilier, a Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia was chairman, and Edwin S. Bettelheim, another Past Grand Master, District of Columbia, was co-chairman.
The Rev. Luther D. Miller, canon precentor of the Cathedral led the service, and Rabbi Lewis A. Weintraub read from the Old Testament.
Leading the 120-voice Masonic choir, was J. L. McLain, Director of Music of the Metropolitan Methodist Church. This choir was especially assembled for this service, and included participants from other churches, Masonic Lodges, and members of the Order of the Eastern Star. The music was especially appropriate, and was well-received by all who heard it.
The Order of Service which was followed, was:
The Prelude.
Hymn, "God Of Our Fathers."
The Sentences, "The Lord is in His Holy Temple."
The Precess, Minister and Congregation.
Responsive Reading, Psalm 100.
The First Lesson, Rabbi Weintraub, Isaiah II; 1-5.
Canticle (choir), "The Heavens Are Declaring," Buck.
The Second Lesson, Philippians IV; 4-8
Canticle (choir), "Send Out Thy Light," Gounod.
The Apostles' Creed (All participating).
The Lord's Prayer.
The Prayers of Thanksgiving.
The Grace.
The Offertory Sentences.
The Presentation, "Old Hundred - Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow."
Hymns: "America"; "God Save The Queen", "Two Countries By The Sea."
The Sermon, the Rev. Edward G. Latch, D.D., Grand Chaplain, Grand Lodge, FAAM, District of Columbia.
The Prayers.
The Benediction.
Hymn, "Faith Of Our Fathers," St. Catherine.
The Postlude.
The Order of Procession was: M:W: Grand Master and Officers, Grand Lodge, AF&AM of Maryland; Grand Master and Officers of Grand Lodge, AF&AM of Virginia; Grand Lodge FAAM, of District of Columbia, Past Masters, Wardens, Worshipful Masters, Past Grand Masters, Most Worshipful Grand Master and Officers of Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia; The Crucifer, the Choir, the Flags, the Clergy, and the participating Clergy.
A PROCLAMATION OF THANKSGIVING was issued by M:W: Brother Harris, designating this day as one of special importance to all Masons and their families.
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To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury; and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasion, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony. - William Henry Channing.
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A Delaware
Military Lodge
Baron DeKalb and the American Revolution
By CHARLES E. GREEN, M.P.S. (Delaware)
Military Lodges have had their dag, and the late Brother Robert Frecke Gould, of Masonic historical fame, has written a book on Military Lodges. American Military Lodges, however, with few exceptions, have not had the publicity they deserve.
Brother Green, who has written this interesting and informative article, is the author of the History of the Grand Lodge AF&AM of Delaware, has done much research in colonial and period history, and his work is acknowledged to be authentic and accurate. The current article is especially appropriate because of its inclusion of Baron DeKalb, a noted Mason and military leader.
IN ATTEMPTING RESEARCH ABOUT THE REGIMENTAL MASONIC LODGES in the armies of the colonies during the Revolutionary War, one is faced with the lack of records. (The only exception is American Union Lodge. Its records are practically complete and available). This meagerness of information is due to many factors. The uncertainty of holding regular meetings; the trials and tribulations of war interfering with the sending in of reports and remittances to the Grand Lodge, the possibility of theft and loss of minutes and records while on the march, in the field, at the front and in battle and the assigning of detachments from one regiment to another.
Masonic history reveals that there were ten military Lodges working under regimental warrants in the Continental Army. One of these military Lodges was Hirams Delaware Regimental Lodge No. 30, A.Y.M. The warrant was issued by the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in the spring of 1780 for the members in the Delaware Continental Regiment.
It is true that the Delaware Regiment was only one of many that fought in the Revolutionary War. Here was a regiment that endured seven years of active service with distinctive honors - a regiment distinguished for length of service, endurance of hardships and gallantry in action - a regiment that fought in every battle of major importance in which the army under Washington, in the North, and the army under Gates and Greene, in the South, were engaged.
Dr. David Ramsey of South Carolina, a contemporary historian of the Revolutionary War, wrote, "The Delaware Regiment was reckoned the most efficient in the Continental Army. It went into active service soon after the commencement of the contest with Great Britain and served through the whole of it. Courting danger wherever it was to be encountered frequently forming part of a victorious army, but oftener in the gloom of disaster. The Delawares fought at Brooklyn, at Trenton, at Brandywine and at Germantown, at Guilford and at Eutaw, until reduced to a handful of brave men, they concluded their services with the war in the glorious termination of the southern campaign."
Colonel Henry Lee of Virginia wrote, "The State of Delaware furnished one regiment only; and certainly no regiment in the army surpassed it in soldiership."
General Nathaniel Greene said, "The Delawares exceed all soldiers I've ever seen, for they fight all day and dance all night."
In the histories of the Revolutionary War that furnish details of battles, you will find that the Commander-in-Chief, General George Washington, cognizant of the intrepid bravery of the Delaware Regiment, assigned them the post of honor - the front in battle; and the post of danger - the rear in retreat. Many of these soldiers were our Brothers.
Unfortunately, the jewels, charter, minute books and records of Hirams Delaware Regimental Lodge No. 30, A.Y.M. are lost. From the archives of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, the warrant was granted in the spring of 1780, prior to the departure of the regiment for the South. The commanding officer, Colonel David Hall, was named Worshipful Master.
David Hall was born in Lewes, Delaware, on January 4, 1752, and died there September 18, 1817. He was raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason in Lodge No. 18 (Dover, Delaware), under the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania on May 18, 1776. Hall was admitted to the bar in Delaware in 1773. On January 16, 1776, he was commissioned a captain in the Delaware Regiment under Haslet and was in the Battles of Long Island and White Plains. In April 1777 he was commissioned colonel of the Delaware Regiment. At the Battle of Germantown, October 4, 1777, he was wounded. In 1779 he was appointed a member of the court martial to try Benedict Arnold on charges involving fraud and misuse of official powers but did not take part in the proceedings being at Lewes on furlough on account of illness.
Hall was charter Worshipful Master of Lodge No. 63 (Lewes) under the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. This charter was granted May 28, 1784. His father, also named David Hall, was the first Senior Grand Warden of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and is so recorded on the warrant of 1761. Colonel Hall was Governor of Delaware for the full term of three years, 1802-1805, and was appointed Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Sussex County, 1813 until his death in 1817. He was buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery at Lewes.
The Delaware Brethren were in the disastrous battle of Camden, South Carolina, August 16, 1780 - a defeat due to the obstinacy, overconfidence and poor leadership of General Horatio Gates, yet a combat which added lustre and laurels to an intrepid regiment.
General Gates formed his line of battle during the night of August 15 with the Second Maryland Brigade and the Delaware Regiment, under Brother General Mordecai Gist, on the right. The North Carolina Militia, under General Richard Caswell, in the center; and the Virginia Militia, under General Edward Stevens, and Colonel Charles Armand's Cavalry, on the left. The First Maryland Brigade, under General William Smallwood, was held in reserve in the rear. General Baron DeKalb, charged with the line of battle took post on the right with the Maryland and Delaware soldiers. Colonel Armand's corps was composed of deserters and many other undesirable men. The Virginia and North Carolina Militia were green troops never before under fire.
At dawn on August 16 the British a solid body of scarlet and glittering steel advanced. They fired one volley at the Americans and then charged with bayonets. Fear seized the raw troops of Virginia and North Carolina and throwing away their arms, they turned and fled. Fifteen hundred fear-stricken troops burst into their own reserves without firing a shot at the enemy. The right wing of seasoned Maryland and Delaware troops under Gist and DeKalb, were left alone to hold the field. "Firm as a rock the phalanx of DeKalb and Gist remained." In their eyes, the battle was progressing favorably for the Americans. Baron DeKalb and Gist did not know that the others had retreated and that they with their few men, were alone. Had they known these facts, we feel sure they would have retreated in order to have no further sacrifices of their men. They fought on. Long after the battle was lost, the gigantic form of DeKalb, unhorsed and fighting on foot, was seen directing the movements of his brave Maryland troops. His head had been laid open by a sabre-stroke and Brother Captain Peter Jaquett of Lodge No. 14 (Wilmington, Delaware), fighting by his side, bandaged the wound. The hand-to-hand fighting was fierce - flashing sabres, lunging bayonets and clubbing muskets. Cornwallis now concentrated his entire force of over 2000 men against DeKalb and his less than 600 men. Almost surrounded, DeKalb called for bayonets and he and his men crashed through the ranks in front of them, then turned and attacked from the rear. Finally, weak from the loss of blood pouring from eleven wounds, DeKalb fell on the field and the battle was over.
Where was Gates? In the first minutes of the battle when the torrent of fear-stricken militia swept back on him, he rode out the flood on a fast horse and never stopped until he was in Charlotte, eighty miles from the field of battle.
General Baron DeKalb was one of the bravest Masons to give his life for American freedom. He was honest, energetic, an ideal leader of a combat force in action and though sixty years of age exhibited remarkable endurance. Wounded on the field of battle he was carried off a prisoner and propped against a wagon. He had pulled himself to his feet, gripping the wagon with both hands, head bowed and bleeding to death from his wounds when Brother Lord Rawdon second in command of the British forces, rode by and ordered him carried to his own tent. There he saw that DeKalb received every attention. He died three days after the Battle of Camden and was buried as a Mason with military honors. Baron DeKalb won undying fame at the head of the brave Delaware Regiment.
It was during this disastrous battle that the baggage of the Delawareans was lost including the warrant, jewels and records of the Regimental Lodge. At the first opportunity, George Purvis, Secretary of the Lodge, sent the following note to Alexander Rutherford, Deputy Grand Master at Philadelphia.
"Memmorandum
"The Warrant and Jewels of Hirams Delaware Regimental Lodge were taken at the Battle of Camden the 16th of August, 1780, by the Brittish Troops, and supposed by some of Colonel Tarltons Legion they being in a waggon brought into Camden the day after the action.
Col. David Hall, Master
"Geo. Purvis, Sec'ry to said Grand Lodge and in Camden when ye Waggon came in."
Brother George Purvis, Secretary of the Lodge, and the only known member, was a native of Delaware. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in Captain John Pattens' company, promoted successively first lieutenant, regimental adjutant and captain. He was wounded at Germantown but served to the close of the war and became one of the original members of the State Society of the Cincinnati. From a certificate granted him by Lodge No. 18 (Dover) on June 11, 1782 (which is now in the archives of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania), it appears he was made a Mason in St. John's Regimental Lodge of the United States Battalion, held in camp, near Morristown. This Lodge was warranted by the Provincial Grand Lodge of New York "Moderns" on July 25, 1775.
Ten days after the Battle of Camden, DuBuysson, aide to DeKalb, sent this letter to Gist and Smallwood from Charleston.
"It is with particular pleasure I obey the Baron's last command in presenting his most affectionate compliments to all the officers and men of his division. He expressed the greatest satisfaction in the testimony given by the British Army, of the bravery of his troops; and he was charmed with the firm opposition they made to a superior force, when abandoned by the rest of the army. The gallant behavior of the Delaware Regiment and the companies of artillery attached to the brigade, afforded his infinite pleasure. And the exemplary conduct of the whole division gave him an intense sense of the merits of the troops he had the honor to command. "
"The gallant behavior of the Delaware Regiment" that statement from the dying lips of a brave general and Mason is a thought to treasure forever.
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Dedicated with Masonic Honors
Honoring an ex-President of the United States, himself a Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge AF& AM of Missouri, with the ritual of dedication performed by the present Grand Master of Missouri, Most Worshipful Brother Harold M. Jayne, assisted by his Grand Lodge officers, in the presence of Chief Justice Earl Warren, of the Supreme Court of the United States, and a Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of California, the Harry S. Truman Library was formally dedicated to the cause of enlightenment and progress at Independence, Missouri, on July 9 last.
Many national and international leaders were present. Masonry, civil life, intellectual advancement and community pride were a part of the age-old ceremonies of Masonic approbation of a public project.
Former President Herbert Hoover, Mrs. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and a host of other nationally known persons were present to pay their tribute to a former farm boy who rose to fame by his own efforts, and gave to the nation and to the world, the documents and records of one of the most momentous periods of American history.
Following the giant parade, with bands, marching men, Masonic dignitaries and friends, the ceremony of the cornerstone of the Library was laid by Grand Master Harold M. Jayne of Missouri, assisted by Frank Briggs, Deputy Grand Master, and Robert L. Aronson, Grand Senior Warden.
A box containing pertinent material relative to Truman's activities, coins, newspapers and other data, was placed in the stone before the ceremony.
At a luncheon at the Laurel Club in downtown Independence, Chief Justice Warren delivered an off - the - cuff address which was thoroughly enjoyed by all who heard it.
The day's program concluded with a series of conducted tours through the Library, with a view of the many interesting documents which have been brought to Independence for safekeeping and for future use by those who want to have authentic records and data on the period of history included in Mr. Truman's term as President.
While the Truman Library is primarily to be used for national and international material, it is interesting to note that the Missouri Lodge of Research, the charter for which was secured in large measure by the personal efforts made by Mr. Truman while he was Grand Master, and which was signed by him will have a section of the Library for its own library and museum. Thus it is that Freemasonry has played an important part in the dedication and future use of the Truman Library.
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Welcome to New Members
Since the last issue of the magazine, we are pleased to welcome the following new members of the Society:
John H. MacDonald, 730 First Street, West, Dickinson, North Dakota.
Thomas R. Foster, 209 North Chestnut Street, Hammond, Louisiana.
Harold M. Ross, 2785 Jackson Street, San Francisco, California.
Reginald G. Willcox, Seneca Street, Interlaken, New York.
Rev. George L. Brown, 2900 Nashville, Orlando, Florida.
J. Winston Coleman, Winburn Farms, Russell Cave Road, Lexington, Kentucky.
Arthur A. Schmidt, P.O. Box 29 Klipriver, Transvaal, South Africa.
Harry Gershenson, 542 Warder, University City, Missouri.
Emmett H. Conant, 8917 White Avenue, St. Louis 17, Missouri.
Charles H. Winn, P. O. Box 4350, Portland 8. Oregon.
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NEEDED FEATURE
We are most pleased to present the feature now appearing on page 80, under the able sponsorship of Brother James R. Case, F.P.S., and one of the most interesting and accurate Masonic writers of his time. In these columns will be presented matters of Masonic interest, questions about happenings and people, and we hope, there will be opportunity to bring accurate answers to the research problems of our readers.
Our readers are urged to make use of this very important feature, for their own enlightenment.
- The Editor
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By S. CHARLES MOSS, M.P.S. (Ohio)
THE SLIM ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS is a spectre which haunts the head of every Masonic body. In fact, Lodge attendance has received some staggering shocks in the last few years dealt by changes in industrial, leisure, and entertainment values. Nevertheless, we realize that to keep Masons interested in the study of Freemasonry, and the practice, and understanding thereof, we must induce the members to attend our meetings. Some leaders say that Lodge attendance is out-of-date. Perish the thought - attendance must and can be improved.
Not too many years ago our regular meetings enjoyed an attendance of 30% of membership; a "spectacular" usually went over 50 %. Now we muster 5% and 10%, respectively. Teaching and preaching to empty seats and bare walls are not fruitful and add nothing to our Masonic learning. We read interesting dissertations on why a Mason pays his dues, but never goes to Lodge. They recount the monetary sacrifices made to retain membership. They explain the brotherly ties which add to a world-wide fraternal understanding. It's beautiful music, but the lyrics do not rhyme. Masons who only pay dues, and learn nothing more than what they heard and saw when they took the degrees remain in the dark; as much so as they were when they petitioned, and now they have added confusion to their groping efforts. They pay dues for a privilege.
While our service clubs (Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis), do not boast 100 percent attendance, their meetings continue to hold a high level of interest, particularly when compared to Masonic convocations. The irony of it is that, many of the members of those clubs are also members of the local Masonic organizations. Why do our Brothers attend service club meetings regularly, but never show up in the Masonic Temple? What is being done to compete for that interest and attendance? These questions are often heard in lunch time conversations, but little or nothing is programmed in rebuttal.
As an individual, you may be one of the faithful; those few who go to Lodge often, or even regularly. Have you urged your friends, social, and business, who belong, to show up at a meeting? Have you called attention to a special event on the program?
As the head of a Lodge, Chapter, Council, Commandery, or the Scottish Rite bodies, or the affiliated organizations have you studied the need for increasing attendance? Why not try a dinner at a moderate (even low) price for a starter? A speaker for a short after-dinner talk always proves an attraction. Our Fraternity lacks no talent.
A cleric or a business man recently returned from a world-wide trip will bring the Brothers in, to hear what he has to say. A popular local jurist, can talk on past experiences, or a current topic such as juvenile delinquency, traffic problems, or world politics.
In the absence of a dinner meeting preceding Lodge you often serve a lunch after the meeting. Why not add a movie travelogue, or show several hundred slides some Brother took where he lived or now lives in some remote part of the world. To illustrate: a Brother from Alaska was visiting friends locally. We had a meeting scheduled and had heard he was showing slides of his home, and upon request, he gladly gave a showing after Lodge. By properly advertising the talk, we provided our local members with an educational bonus and doubled attendance credits for the evening.
For those social and business friends who pass up the Masonic meetings but go to other affairs, let's have a Ladies' Night with a "hen party" and card games for the women while the men take in a Lodge meeting. That will give the wives a break and a look-see at the Temple. Or ballyhoo among your associates the special nature of the meeting to which you extend the invitation: inspection, movie, travel show, dinner, lunch, etc. Some may turn you down, but often you will receive a favorable response. Be persistent. Many fraternal societies make attendance a, requisite for membership.
You know of some aged Brother who has been absent the past year, though he used to attend regularly. Stop by and visit him. His condition or conversation will quickly explain his Lodge absence and your invitation and offer to pick him up some meeting night will no doubt bring forth an appreciative response, if not another name on the register book. You might even learn a good deal of the early history of your Temple and the formation of the Masonic bodies that are a part thereof. Those are good topics for conversation.
To bring some members to Lodge, you must apply reciprocal psychology. Go to their Lodges. Get them to attend your Lodge. The Moslem saying about "taking Mohamet to the mountain" applies very well here. Take yourself to their Lodge in order to bring them to your own Masonic preference. It may be that in your vocation you meet Masons from Jurisdictions other than your own. Visit their Lodges and always invite them to yours.
We find some Brothers refrain from visiting a "foreign" Lodge because they are afraid to try to work their way in. Here is where we should apply a mixture of caution, diplomacy, and compassion. There is no use asking a man to come to Lodge and then torture him to extract a confession of membership in the Fraternity. Within a modicum of safety make it easy for your guest to sit in your Lodge room with you. A total stranger who walks in from the street needs a stronger interpolation than one who is a local citizen of your acquaintance. Common sense should dictate the procedure to be followed. Remember, it is an unwritten irrevocable law of Freemasonry, that a Mason in good standing must never be turned away from a Masonic Lodge. Let's keep it that way.
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It is not the fundamental teaching of Masonry that needs to be accommodated to this mad scene of modern living. It is the mad scene into which our civilization has collapsed, that needs to be changed according to the teachings of Masonry. Our fundamental teachings have come down through the ages.
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by Rabbi H. Geffen, F.P.S. (Va.)
THE BOOK OF JOB is a real initiation service. It tries a man to see if he will stand suffering and still remain faithful. In that book is a very philosophical discussion concerning difficult, complicated problems: It is but the symbol of all Masonic initiations; before man obtains the right conception of religion, he must first of all become initiated or tried. That book, poetical in its expression, is very difficult for us to comprehend. The author expressed his ideas not in a scientific literary style, but chose rather to clothe them in an envelope of beautiful poetry. The debates are arranged in wonderful psychological order. What is the main purpose of this book, and what does it symbolize? We must acknowledge that it is a very important study. But we do not find in Job an answer or interpretation of all his questions. Even his friends who came to console him did not find an answer, but they just justified God's judgment upon him. He who thinks that to be the intention of the author, makes a mistake; it is recorded in the beginning of the Book of Job that Satan came to present himself before the Lord, and turned the Lord against Job. The story is well known, the great poet Goethe having made use of that story in the introduction of his play Faust. We know now why Job suffered - not because it was the intention of Almighty to punish a righteous man like Job, but only to test hire. Indeed, Job was until the trial, "a perfect and upright Godfearing man, and one who eschewed evil," but Satan said to God: "Does Job fear God for naught?" - seemingly thinking Job could not stand the trial. The Lord Himself witnessed: "You have not spoken to Me the thing that is right as my servant Job hath." He doubted the righteous guidance of the Lord, yet it was not counted to him a sin, because Job repeated with the greatest humility: "Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer you ? I will lay my hands upon my mouth.
Therefore, I said that I understood not things too wonderful for me, which I knew not."
The Book of Job is Masonic literature, because there is no sign or inkling of dogmatism. The character of Job is dominated by innocence, piety and modesty. Such virtues are the fundamental principles of Freemasonry.
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McComb Elected
It is with a great deal of pleasure that the Executive Committee of the Philalethes Society makes the announcement of the election as a Fellow of the Society, of G. ANDREW MCCOMB, who has been so active as Treasurer, during the past year.
His work as Librarian of the fine Cleveland (Ohio), Masonic Library, where he has done such a splendid job of co-ordinating the work of the Library, has richly merited him this high honor.
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WANTED - INGENUITY
In view of the popularity of picture books and the telling of things in the form of cartoons we might well assume that this medium may be used to good advantage by the Craft. At first this method of conveying information was rather restricted but in recent years the cartoonists of the country have told many Biblical stories, the life of Davy Crockett, and portrayed numerous historical events in this way.
There is wanted a Mason with a bit of imagination and the skill of an artist to supply this technique to the telling of the history of the Craft. The possibilities are limitless.
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Notes, Queries and Information
On Items of Masonic Research
By JAMES R. CASE, F.P.S.
1957 - No. 1
THE NUMBER OF LETTERS CONTAINING QUESTIONS watch relate to mattered of fact in Masonic history and biography, seem to justify their treatment in a column separate from the Editor’s CHAT & COMMENT, where they hare previously appeared.
Our members and readers are invited to send in material appropriate for use in this new column, especially information concerning research currently under way. The Editor will assist the sponsor of this column, which will be supervised and run by Brother James R. Case, F.P.S., but ALL COMMUNlCATlONS should be addressed to the mailing address of the magazine.
ORDRE DU TEMPLE - The information requested by A. V. Cassiett, 6006 Vine Street, Vancouver, B.C., in a letter published in CHAT & COMMENT for August 1957, can be found in Masonic Rites and Degrees, by Ray V. Denslow, F.P.S. (Life), which is quoted as follows: "This is a non-Masonic organization formed in Paris between 1805-1810, basing its claims on the forged doctrine of transmission - the Charter of Larmenius. In 1810, a manual was published, declaring to the world its authenticity and the Grand Mastership of Bernard Raymond Malaprat. Nothing is heard of the Order after 1840, when Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith, the head of the Order, died. At one time there existed four convents of the Order in British Dominions - Scotland, India, London, Liverpool. The ritual of the Order appears in Nocalore, Vol. VI, page 148."
LAFAYETTE - Last - year newspaper accounts told of the discovery of more of the papers of Lafayette, including some Masonic items. Do they show where and when Lafayette was made a Mason? E.K.
SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE - A list of those who were Freemasons, with documentation from the earliest available sources, is being revised by Ronald E. Heaton, 728 Haws Avenue, Norristown, Pennsylvania, who will welcome any contribution of recently-discovered facts relating to his research.
QUERY - Who can supply dates and degrees which enter into the Masonic record of Brevet Major General Orson Henry Hart, born in Hartford, Connecticut, 1830, resided in New York City 1860-1865, and died in St. Louis, 1872? Please write Irving E. Partridge, Jr., 79 Elm Street, Hartford 15, Connecticut.
WANTED - Citation of any Masonic activity of George Rogers Clark prior to arrangements by Abraham Lodge No. 8, of Louisville, Kentucky, for his Masonic funeral.
A KT DATE WANTED - Col. Calvin Merrill, born Amherst, Massachusetts, 1797, and died at a place unknown 1872, was a charter member of DeMolai Commandery, Knights Templar, in Michigan. Anyone who can state where he was knighted, and where he is buried, is asked to write Charles Fey, Grand Historian, 27821 Red River Road, Lathrup Village, Michigan.
INTERESTED RESEARCHERS who can give a reliable and early reference to source information concerning the Masonic Feast alleged to have been given by Major General Anthony Wayne, under the apple blossoms at Valley Forge, is asked to inform this column.
QUERY - Where was Nathan Hale, the Patriot Spy, made a Mason? Answered by J.R.C. - "Nathan Hale (1755-1776) of Connecticut was not a Mason. But Colonel Nathan Hale of New Hampshire troops, captured at the battle of Hubbardton, and who died in captivity in 1780, was made a Mason in St. John's Lodge at Portsmouth, 20th February, 1777.
MC, OF ST. LOUIS, ASKS - "Why is the quadrant used in place of the square in the Past Master's Emblem, and what is its signification? What is the history of the development and use of this Past Master's emblem?"