The Philalethes

THAT we should give serious consideration to the men who are representing us in the many phases of government, and the administration of public affairs.

This is election year. It is a time for a more-than-casual scrutiny of the candidates who are presented to us for election to office. There is more than political polish needed to make anyone worthy of representing the people of his constituency - there is a moral element that deserves precedence over the expediency of shallow popularity.

Among other things to be noted is the tendency of Masons in government to play down the fact that they are required to play politics at the expense of conscience and truth. It is not well to believe that such men must take the easy way of appeasement in doing the things which are for the betterment of the people, and vote according to the dictates of those who are selfish in their attitude and action.

The tenets of Freemasonry are, or should be, translated into everyday life - especially into the life of serving the well-being of the community. It is not easy, sometimes, to make a choice between questionable action for special interests or groups, and ignoring these special interests for an expression of integrity.

Some men cannot distinguish between strict adherence to party or to tradition, and the principle of acting according to Masonic principles. Masonic principles not labeled as such, but adhering to all the traditions of the Golden Rule, right living and righteousness, can only become effective if and when its members, called to high places. come to a full realization of the fact that what they have been taught as Freemasons, must be lived.

We are all well aware of the fact that many of our number who have accepted public office, have started out with the ideal of living their ideals, of doing all things that are required of a practicing Mason, of voting and acting according to conscience and not according to pressure from those who would selfishly turn governmental activity to their own use.

It is, no doubt, easy to run with the crowd, vote with the majority, act with selfish motives. The man who is great is he who decides what must be done for the good of the most people, acts according to this decision, and defies the tradition and snare of pressure brought by those who hold threats over his head, and by reprisal, seek to eliminate him from the arena.

There are many today who, having accepted public service, give lip service to their task-fearful lest by some means they be eliminated from the field.

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Operation Rehabilitation by Kansas

Was Most Successful Charity

As has so often been pointed out, Masonic charity is not the mere giving of alms, or the issuing of a Lodge warrant for "relief." There is for more than that in the exercise of true Masonic charity - something which money cannot buy.

When a sneak tornado struck across mid-Kansas early this spring, it left devastation and sorrow in its woke. Masonic Lodges, Masonic members and their families were pitched into a mental and physical turmoil which needed help - and Kansas Masonry did help - but let Brother Charles S. McGinness, M.P.S., and Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Kansas tell the story, as he wrote it in the Information Bulletin sent out by him each month:

And The Storms Came!

"May 19th will long be remembered by the Masons of Meridian, Oskaloosa, and some other northeastern Kansas communities who were dealt destruction in a tornado that tore through the countryside levelling everything that it touched.

"The small community of Meridian, ten miles northeast of Topeka was worst hit. Almost every building in the little city of 350 inhabitants was destroyed or unroofed. The Lodge hall was one of the latter, but after the roof and windows were blown away, torrents of rain came down and ruined furnishings, warped floors and generally added to the ruin. The only good thing about it was that loss of life was limited to just one. Hundreds could easily have perished. The Lodge at Meridian has a membership of 199.

"Recovery from the storms is going forward with dispatch. A roof was back on the Meridian hall by Decoration Day. The grocery store downstairs began business immediately. That was the first order of business, for when your auto is gone and you have to walk, when you have no freezer, no stove, no salt or sugar, a neighborhood store can get mighty important.

"Eventually the Lodge hall will be restored - and probably it will be better than before. I wish that every Mason could see what I have seen from this vantage point - Masonry in action. Believe me, it is a beautiful sight and one that makes you feel 'all warm inside.' The Lodge at Hoyt, 12 miles away, graciously sent word that the Meridian Brethren or O.E.S. could use it. There have been many other neighborly expressions and acts."

Continuing, Brother McGinness writes that members' houses were completely destroyed, and all personal effects "gone with the wind," but that the Brethren took time from their own cleaning up, to rebuild and refurnish the homes, barns, etc. Every family was a part of the common clan, and as such. deserved and received help in getting back some of the losses sustained. It was a human operation with every Mason acting out his solemn obligation to help, aid and assist those who needed it.

"Almost overnight," continues Brother McGinness, "contributions commenced to come in from Lodges in all sections of Kansas. $5, $10, $25, $50, and several $100 contributions have swelled the fund to more than $1,250, which is additional to the $2,000 made available by the Grand Lodge itself.

"The Grand Master's Committee and the Masters of the Lodges affected, have found 60 Masonic families who were 'wiped out’ or who suffered material damage. The funds will be distributed on orders of the Grand Master and the recommendation of the Committee."

And here is the greatest thing that Brother McGinness writes - note it well, "It isn't the money or the amount, it is the fact that Masons have come to the relief of their Brethren. This kind of thing cannot be measured in moriey or by any yardstick - this is Masonry in action according to the finest traditions of our Craft."

One little Lodge of 39 members way off in northern Kansas sent $25 "it isn’t much, but we wanted to help," they said.

Letters began to arrive at the Grand Secretary s office asking for information about the need and what sympathetic Lodges could do. One sister Lodge didn't wait but sent one of their members to view the scene and then voted $50 for relief.

Appendant bodies also were quick to get in motion. The Worthy Grand Matron of the O.E.S. sent out a request for donations and Chapters here and there opened up their coffers to send money and gifts to swell the funds for relief.

What does it all mean? To some of us, it isn't the money or the size of the gift. If we are any judge of people, those who were in the storm’s path needed a lift. When everything you have is blown away, you need someone to say a kind word or extend a friendly hand. Assistance in that kind of an emergency means much more than the gift itself - it says to the downhearted that there are friends who stand beside them, and who are ready to lend assistance in whatever way help is needed.

Here is the way one great Mason, Carl H. Claudy, said it:

In Masonry "we are taught not only to relieve a Brother's material wants, the cry of hunger, etc., but to fellowship with him upon our own level, stripped of worldly titles and honors. When we thus appeal to him, giving spiritual advice, lifting him up morally and spiritually with no sense of humiliation to him, we set him free from his passion and wants. To such charity there is a reciprocity rich in brotherly love and sincere appreciation."

Brother Gen. Lew Wallace said: "The happiness of love is in action: its test is what one is willing to do for others."

Or, James Russell Lowell:

Not what we give, but what we shore,

For the gift without the giver is bare;

Who gives himself with his aims feeds three, -

Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me.

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Freemasonry and the Materialistic Doctrine

by EDGAR F. SMITH (Calif.)

2619 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 57, California

EACH GRAND LODGE within its own Jurisdiction is the supreme Masonic authority, limited by the provisions of its own constitution and regulations, and by a strict adherence to the Ancient Landmarks of the Fraternity. These Ancient Landmarks have existed from time immemorial and are the final Masonic authority on all subjects which they cover.

In the Ancient Landmarks it is declared that Freemasonry is "a speculative science" founded "upon an operative art, and the symbolic use and explanation of the terms of that art" are to be used "for the purpose of religious or moral teaching."

There as been for a long time a close and intimate relationship between Freemasonry, philosophy, and science. The Master Masons of the Guilds of Operative Masons were architects and engineers. In the practice of their profession some of them traveled from country to country, including Moslem countries. In the Moslem countries they erected magnificent buildings, and brought back to Western Europe a knowledge of Arabian mathematics long before the Crusades. In their travels Master Masons became acquainted with the customs and beliefs of many people and they exchanged ideas with the scholars in the countries they visited. Thus they extended the horizon of their knowledge and in their own countries became the friends and companions of scholars who were not Operative Masons. Many of these were "accepted" as honorary members of the Guilds of Operative Masons.

With the decline of the Guilds of Operative Masons, the "accepted" Masons began to hold meetings to discuss and "speculate" about philosophical, scientific and religious subjects. The meetings of the "accepted" Masons evolved into Lodges of "Accepted" or "Speculative Masons," and in 1717 a few of these Lodges organized the Grand Lodge of England of Free and Accepted Masons.

Meantime, "accepted" Masons participated in the organization of the Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge. This society was first incorporated in 1662 by a group of learned men in London "who met to promote scientific discussion, concerned particularly with the physical sciences." (1)

Philosophy means. literally, "the love of wisdom." Wisdom enables a person to judge rightly and to choose the soundest course of conduct. Reason and perception are not infallible guides to wisdom, and in the absence of exact knowledge philosophy is forced by necessity to engage in speculation. Philosophy in its speculations has often been wrong.

Our Masonic Brother Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) was a lawyer, poet, dramatist, novelist, scientist, and philosopher. He was also a linguist. He knew German, French, Italian, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He attached significance to outward form and inner substance. "All things transitory are but symbols," he wrote in Faust. In a poll taken of a large group of scholars Leonardo da Vinci, Goethe, and Dr. Albert Schweitzer were named as the three greatest "all-around" intellectuals of the Christian Era. (2)

"If," as wrote Goethe, on the subject of knowledge, "man will stick to the accessible, and, in exploring this region in all directions and confirming his gains, he will push back the confines of the inaccessible. Even so, he will have to admit in the end . . . that nature retains problematic aspects too deep for human facilities to fathom."

Long before Aristotle was born, philosophers began to make crude experiments and the regularity with which the same natural phenomenon occurred was noted. From these early beginnings science was born. Scientists are not infallible. They fail more often than they succeed, but they are persistent. A scientist may make hundreds of experiments without success, then, sometimes, at long last, that which he sought to find is found, and a speculation are theory becomes "accessible knowledge and "the confines of the inaccessible" are pushed back.

While the scientist is not infallible, the methods of his work and study are progressive. All knowledge acquired by science has become or will become public. When by the scientific method it is established that something previously speculative is true, any one with the requisite training and competence can obtain the same results by following the same procedure. What the scientist establishes as not true is not true because he says it is; not because of any ethical or emotional reason, nor because of feeling of certainty. It is established as being true because the evidence compels acceptance.

In addition to its work in the field of speculation, philosophy has the obligation to appraise, interpret, and evaluate knowledge that has become "accessible." This presupposes on the part of philosophy an acquaintance with the conclusions of those who have already acquired knowledge.

In the performance of its task as the appraiser, interpreter, and evaluator of knowledge, philosophy is obligated to find an answer as best it can to such problems as the meaning of human life, the significance of the universe, and how man can by his thoughts and actions best control his destiny. When philosophy is able to answer correctly such questions, and when a majority of men are willing to be guided by their answers, genuine progress toward an ideal civilization can be expected.

Statements are made by uninformed persons that Freemasonry is neither a philosophical nor a "speculative science" because it teaches dogmatically that there is a God and that man is immortal. Such statements are erroneous. The scholars who brought about the revival of Freemasonry were endeavoring to escape from those who would deny to others freedom of thought. From ancient

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Chat and Comment

News, achievements and items of interest about our

Fellows and Members - Discussion and comment on

Mutual Topics.

- Pfan Mail and Observations -

IT WAS PARTICULARLY NICE to note that Brother Alphonse Cerza. F.P.S. (Life) has been honored by the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite, N.M.J., by his election to receive the MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD.

Brother Cerza has been extremely active in Freemasonry. A former President of the Philalethes Society, a member of the Illinois Committee on Masonic Education, and an active member of the Speakers' Bureau of the Grand Lodge, he has written many articles for Masonic publications. Sincere congratulations.

OUR ATTENTION HAS BEEN CALLED to the fact that several items intended for "Notes and Queries on Masonic Items," has appeared in "Chat and Comment." The most recent was that relative to No. 76, written by Frank Wilson, M.P.S., relative to Military Lodges. For this we apologize to James R. Case, F.P.S., our genial editor of "Notes and Queries " In our hurry, we juggled our material, and the appearance, while in the magazine, was in "the right Church, but the wrong pew."

HARVEY N. BROWN, M.P.S., has sent us a couple of interesting trestleboards from Lodges without the continental United States - that of Berlin Lodge No. 46, Germany, chartered under the jurisdiction of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and East and West Lodge No. 1491, New Delhi, India, under the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

Berlin Lodge, in addition to giving a list of the newly raised Brethren, gives the text of several toasts to be drunk at the festive board, and other very interesting information.

The trestleboard of East and West Lodge gives a list of the officers, Past Masters and members, among which are found several Americans living in the area. It is interesting to see such evidence of fraternal good will from two widely separated parts of the world.

AMONG THE WIDELY-TRAVELED Brethren of the Society within the past weeks, has been Brother James R. Case, who reports that he has attended the annual communication of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia, Grand Chapter of the same, Grand Chapter of Prince Edward Island and of Newfoundland, Grand Council of Eastern Canada, Royal Order of Scotland, a Shrine ceremonial, and the annual communication of the Grand Lodge of Prince Edward Island.

WE LIKE THE REPORT of Brother Andrew J. White, M.P.S., on "Masonic Ornithology" in which he segregates the several sorts of "birds" met in a Masonic Lodge. Many are recognized as being found in other Lodges than in Ohio, being "Masonicus Querulous," "White Aproned Snatcher," "Masonicus Criticus," "Reversicus" (common name, Backward-looking Hiram), "Lazy Dropouticus," and the "Flying Gadabout." He was glad to find, too, a large number of the valued species "Fratericus Loyalis." We like this classification, and can find any one, perhaps more, of them, in any Lodge we attend.

Summer is at hand, and all of our readers are urged to relax, have a pleasant vacation, and come back to work ready to help stimulate the work of the Philalethes Society with added zeal.

times until the present time dogmatic theology has been the enemy of all philosophical and scientific speculation, and of scientific research. (3) The Ancient Landmarks of Freemasonry declare that no man is eligible to receive the degrees of Freemasonry who does not have "a belief" in the existence of God and "a belief" that man is immortal. There isn't anything dogmatic in expressing "a belief" that something is true.

Materialism, in philosophy, is a widely held system of thought which seeks to explain the nature of the world as entirely dependent on matter and motion. This thought was formulated as early as the fourteenth century B.C. by Democritus. He sought by his doctrine to explain all phenomena by atoms and their motion in space.

Dialectic materialism was developed by Karl Marx and Frederick Engel. As presented by Marx in Das Kapital (1867) it is an inversion, or reversal, of Hegel's dialectical idealism. According to the Marx thesis, communism would have its origin in a highly developed industrial nation and would result in "a classless society." Marxism, on a national scale, was forced upon the people of one of the most backward nations, where the people had never known freedom, and in that nation today the distinction between "classes" is as great as the world has ever known. (4)

The inevitable conclusion of materialism is that matter is the only reality and that everything in the universe, including life, thought, will, and feeling can be explained in terms of matter. Under this system of thought the idea of a Supreme Intelligence, Power, and Wisdom that men call God is excluded. While Marxism was built on the doctrine of materialism, not all materialists are his followers. Many materialists are humanitarians who devote thought, time, labor, and money in a sincere effort to better the lot of mankind and to make the world a better place for men, women, and little children to live.

The materialists think, and say, that those who believe in man's immortality are "wishful thinkers." There are several eminent scientists who believe that there will come a time when life will have ceased on this planet, and that this will occur from natural causes. There is also the possibility that man, in his mad lust for power, will destroy all life on this planet. It seems that man now has, or soon will have, the means of doing just this. If and when life ends in this world, what becomes of the "wishful thinking" of the good materialists who hope, dream, and work for the perfecting of civilization?

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Nominating Committee Reports:

Gollmar Recommended For Election

The Nominating Committee of the Philalethes Society, in accordance with the provisions of the By-Laws of the Society, has made its report, and placed in nomination those considered best qualified for the 1961-1963 triennium of the Society.

The report submitted by Charles F. Adams, M.P.S., Chairman, and Andrew J. White Jr., M.P.S., and Glenn Radcliffe, M.P.S., members of the committee is as follows:

To the President, officers, Fellows and Members of the Philalethes Society:

The undersigned. the members of the Nominating Committee heretofore appointed by the President, herewith submit the names of the Brethren selected by them as nominees for the several offices of the Society for the ensuing triennium:

For President, ELBERT BEDE, Portland, Oregon.

For First Vice President, DR. CHARLES GOTTSHALL REIGNER, Baltimore, Maryland.

For Second Vice President, ROBERT H. GOLLMAR, Baraboo, Wisconsin.

For Executive Secretary. CARL R. GREISEN, Omaha. Nebraska.

For Treasurer, RONALD E. HEATON, Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Respectfully submitted this June 27, 1960.

It has been customary to advance the regular officers, elect a new Second Vice President, and re-elect the Executive Secretary and Treasurer to their office.

The men who have been nominated to lead the Society through its cycle are each of them, Iongtime devotees of Craft activities. They have done much for Masonry in general and the Philalethes Society in particular. A thumbnail sketch of these men will show the wide variety of their work, and the contributions they have made.

Elbert Bede, F.P.S., is currently the First Vice President of the Philalethes. He is former Editor, and now Editor-Emeritus of the Oregon Freemason, and has written articles for many Masonic publications. Brother Bede is now serving as chairman of the important Membership Committee, and has been active with the Society for many years.

Dr. Charles Gottshall Reigner. F.P.S., is Second Vice President of the Society. He is one of the country's most noted educators and writers, and is President of the H. M. Rowe Company, publishers of modern textbooks of all kinds.

Robert H. Gollmar, Past Grand Master of Masons in Wisconsin, has been for some years the man who interprets for the information of his Grand Lodge, the activities of other Grand Lodges - the Foreign Correspondent - under the title "Our Masonic Neighbors" and has written many Masonic articles, both for The Philalethes magazine and others.

It is hardly necessary to write about Carl R. Greisen, F.P.S., the present Executive Secretary of the Society, for he is probably as well known in many places and for many Masonic activities as any other member of the Society. He is Grand Secretary of each of the Nebraska Grand Bodies, and connected with almost every Masonic group now active.

Our Treasurer, Ronald E. Heaton, M.P.S., when he is not caring for the finances of the Society, is diligently gathering historical material on Masonic subjects. His studies on Freemasonry in the period of the American Revolution. with its men and actions, has given him a unique place in Masonic circles.

Ballots will be sent the membership soon, with instructions as to voting. Ballots will be counted at a date selected by the Balloting Committee, under the leadership of Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S. (Life), probably about the middle of October, and the results of the election will be announced in the December issue of The Philalethes magazine.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE either in the election of our Society or in the national election in November. It is essential that vie take advantage of our opportunity to name those who will lead us - vote intelligently - VOTE AMERICAN.

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DR. REIGNER HONORED FOR MANY MASONIC ACTIVITIES

At a dinner held in his honor at the Lord Baltimore Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland, May 28, Dr. Charles Gottshall Reigner. Second Vice President of the Philalethes Society was successively named "Honored and Outstanding Citizen" by the Mayor of Baltimore, "Distinguished Citizen," by the Governor of Maryland, and given a token of appreciation by many of his friends attending the event. Certainly, all of his many friends and co-workers will add their word of appreciation for this signal honor.

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MANY DISTINGUISHED GUESTS ATTEND NORTH CAROLINA EVENT

May 7 was a special occasion for the Companions of Greensboro Council No. 3, Royal and Select Masters, for en that day this venerable old Council celebrated its one hundredth anniversary - just two days after actual anniversary date.

Much of the success of the event can be given Brother Earley W. Bridges, M.P.S., Recorder of Greensboro Council, who was most active in arranging the details.

John Bridges Phelps Grand Master of the General Grand Council, Royal and Select Masters was the guest speaker, and talked on the spirit of Cryptic Masonry. and its advance during the past decade .

The Grand Master, A.F.&A.M.. Grand High Priest, R.A.M., Grand Commander, K.T., were present, and the Grand Master of the Grand Council, who was ill, was represented by the Deputy Grand Master, Walter Delamater, Past Grand Master of the Grand Encampment, K.T., U.S.A., and other dignitaries added much to the occasion.

A history of Greensboro Council, and of the Grand Council of North Carolina was read, and many items of interest were discovered. The meeting was one of the outstanding gatherings of the year in the state.

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Long afterward in an oak,

I found the arrow, still unbroke:

And the song, from beginning to end,

I found again in the heart of a friend.

- Longfellow.

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Masonic Snobs

by BLISS KELLY, M.P.S. (Okla.)

IN A MASONIC LODGE all ranks are levelled and all distinctions donnish The general and the private are equals within the sacred walls of the Lodge, and the laborer, the professor, the mechanic and the industrialist, the common man and the famous meet upon that level which only Masons can truly understand.

Masonry has prided itself, that it regards no man for his worldly wealth or honors and that it is the internal and not the external qualifications of a man which should recommend him to be made a Mason.

These principles are impressed upon every candidate many times as he passes through the ritual of the degrees. If any one thing may be said to be stressed more than any other it is this insistence upon equality. It is also said that every man should be accorded that respect which is due him because of his achievements, but no true Mason expects anything more than respect from other Masons.

Why, then, are there some Blue Lodges which require all officers to appear at all communications dressed in formal clothing? Does this tend to promote the idea of equality? Does it create a desire to attend Lodge on the part of those who do not have (or want) formal attire? Or, does it make him feel out of place or on a lower level than those who strut in tuxedos?

When an officer of such a Lodge is asked such questions he explains formal dress adds dignity and impressiveness to the ritualistic work and proceedings of the Lodge.

This may be true but what kind of dignity? The stonemason who observes the judges of a supreme court, clothed in black robes and sitting in high-backed chairs upon elevated benches, is impressed with the dignity of the court. But is there any equality there? These judges have the power to take away his property, his Rife, his children even his life.

There are those who would go to the other extreme. Recently, on a hot summer day, an Entered Apprentice degree was being conferred by a team without coats and a man who presided in the East wearing a battered straw hat and a wad of tobacco in his cheek, with no tie and his shirt unbuttoned at the neck. The candidate was not impressed; in fact, he never returned to receive the other degrees.

Contrasting this was a Master Mason degree conferred in a country Lodge which had the ancient pot-bellied stove for heat no carpets and painted boxes for pedestals and an altar. Yet, the proceedings were highly dignified. The team was composed of two farmers, one merchant, a lawyer, a rural mail carrier, a teacher and a certificate teacher of the work. It was impossible to determine, from appearances or actions, the occupations of any of them. The rural mail carrier, a teacher and Master. The candidate was almost overwhelmed with the great lessons of the degree, expressing a desire to begin working in the Lodge as soon as he could prepare himself.

Then there are those Lodges whose members seem to think they are superior in some way to members of other Lodges, and want to convert their meeting places into country clubs or town clubs, hoping to attract "high class" men as members. Is this Masonry, or merely a means of indirectly soliciting members? Can one Masonic Lodge be "better" or more "high class" than any other?

These are challenging questions in this fast-changing world, and merit serious discussion. Many believe that the attitude of the Masonic Fraternity should change to meet these conditions; that the mere recital of ritual is not attractive enough to bring rank-and-file members to Lodge meetings, and insist that something more must be offered.

Fraternization with other members at Lodge meetings, usually mentioned as a central attraction, has little to offer. The active workers and officers are too busy for anything more than friendly greetings, and the others are mostly old men whose minds dwell in the past. What is there to do besides sit in uncomfortable chairs and watch incompetent degree teams stumble and falter in conferring the work?

Most Lodges have tried socials and evenings of entertainment for members and their families. Attendance is seldom good, and so very few of these are planned.

Some Lodges are now planning to build recreation and entertainment facilities around a centrally located Lodge hall. Some plan to add a golf course, swimming pool and other facilities where members and their families may enjoy themselves or the families can amuse themselves while members are attending Lodge meetings.

What would be the cost of all these things, and how high would dues and assessments have to be to pay for all this? Would this attract the well-to-do who could afford such luxuries and drive away the common man?

Wouldn't this make greater Masonic snobs out of the members of such Lodges?

After all, Masonry must be kept upon the level of equality and Masons must meet upon that level: otherwise, it will deteriorate into a social fraternity and lose its identity as Masonry, ancient and unchanging.

True Masonry needs nothing more than its landmarks and its ritual to make it attractive to every good man, when it is properly viewed. The difficulty seems to be that we expect Masonry to be all things to all men. It was never intended to be that.

When Masonry has conferred its degrees and taught its members the sublime principles for which it stands, it has laid that foundation upon which to build a righteous life, and its work is finished. From there on, it is up to the individual members to practice brotherly love, relief and truth, acting upon the plumb of rectitude, meeting upon the level of equality and parting upon the square of virtue and morality.

In that case there can be no Masonic snobs.

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The Law of Love

by JACOB JOHN QUILLIN, M.P.S.

THE WORD LAW and the word love are each almost synonymous with the word mystery. Man has faced mystery through the ages. He stands for a time in a little circle of light, and tries to penetrate beyond. Ruskin wrote that "Wheresoever the search for truth begins, there life begins; wheresoever the search ceases. there life ceases."

Every Freemason, indeed every thoughtful individual, must make the search for himself, he must construct his own philosophy if he is to escape mystery. Thinking is part of the answer and the product of true thinking, the coming of the moral law within each human heart, is miraculous to behold.

Albert Pike is authority for the statement that it is in the province of Masonry to teach all truths - not moral truth alone, but political and philosophical, and even religious truth, so far as concerns the great and essential principles of each. In the body of Freemasonry, as everywhere in the world, darkness struggles with light. and clouds and shadows intervene between you and truth.

Go to any group of Freemasons, here in the U.S.A., and they will tell you that our glorious American history was made by the faith and fidelity of God-fearing, liberty-loving men and women; but seemingly some of them do not know or care that these imperishable ideals will be of little worth to the world unless we, the defendants of these spiritual forefathers, meet the highly organized enemies of freedom in our day with equal faith and fortitude.

On every hand we hear those who deplore the decay of the American home. They assign all kinds of reasons to this decline but seldom mention the repudiation of the sacred vows of marriage. They ignore the fact that our whole civilized order was built upon, and is safely guarded by, the Lord's austere and holy law of marriage. All about us are undeniable evidences of human loss - loss of radiant faith in life, loss of moral reality, loss of understanding of the will of God.

What does the casual observer see as he looks out upon the world today? Nations divided into opposing camps. Hate like a vast black cloud, has spread over the earth. The liberty for which men died has been taken away from countless numbers in a single day, and vast sections of the earth have fallen into the hands of plunderers. A recent state visitor to our land appears to be their international representative. But let us not be easily deceived.

In the Great Light is a well-known verse of the Old Testament Proverbs 29:18: "Where there is no vision the people perish." This verse is rich in its suggestiveness; it is a reminder that great and good things do not come by chance. If one does not cherish high ideals, pursue worthy goals, and live under the mastery of some great convictions, he is sure to lose his way and miss his God-given destiny. Our generation needs more than anything else to have restored to it the consciousness of God and the sense of our responsibilities to Him. We need to relearn the lesson that some things are too precious to be left behind. If we miss the glory of yesterday, we are apt to miss the greatness of tomorrow.

Perhaps our greatest need is the recovery of a chastened spirit and a due sense of our own responsibility. We dare not miss the significance of this hour, for the nature of man without God is miserable.

The amazing thing is that there are so many who are so much engrossed in life's affairs that they seem incapable of realizing the tremendous impact socially, morally and spiritually of the profound changes taking place - changes in government, economics and religion. We are at last beginning to recognize that the real problems of this age are neither political nor economic, but spiritual. Now men are discovering that the world's redemption will come not through this or that social or political theory, not through violent or ill-considered changes in government, not in storm or the whirlwind, but in the still, small voice that speaks to the conscience and the heart of man.

May I quote one of America's greatest military leaders, General Omar N. Bradley?

"We have too many men of science, too few men of God. We have grasped the mystery of the atom, and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living."

Should the average American today be required to write out the basic beliefs of his life, isn't it quite possible that many would have to confess, in all honesty, that the major articles of his creed would read about like this:

"I believe that indulgence is better than obedience, that life owes me a living, that others must serve me, that I must look out for Number One, that I must live my own life."

They forget that we save only by serving, that we lift only when we stoop, and that no man blesses until he bleeds. Any man who goes forth into life thinking first of his pleasures, his profits, and his preferences consigns himself to the shallows and dooms himself to mediocrity - he knows not love - the desire for, and earnest effort to promote the welfare of another, especially as seen in God's solicitude for man and in man's due gratitude and reverence for God.

We must remember that love is the active involvement in the welfare of another in such a manner that one contributes not only to the survival of the other, but does so in a manner calculated to stimulate the very best qualities of the other, and promote his welfare to the very highest degree. The best qualities of which human beings are capable include kindness, compassion, tenderness and merciful consideration, for the essence of law is love, and nothing less than hunger and thirst after righteousness insures personal fulfillment. Briefly, the law of brotherly love means to communicate to the other fellow that you are all for him, that you will never let him down, or fail him when he needs you. That you will always be standing by to give whatever encouragement may be necessary.

Get wisdom, get understanding, lay hold of divine laws and learn how to use them. Know that love is the motive power behind all divine activity and the only creative power. Love must be the atmosphere in which we live, where the rising tide of conviction that a man must be viewed in the light of an eternal destiny, has produced a new demand for the recognition of the rights of man, and a new concern for the sacredness of humanity.

One of America's great metropolitan newspapers recently carried an interesting observation - that an encyclopedia published in 1768 allowed four lines for the word atom and five pages for the word love. But in the mid-twentieth century edition of the same encyclopedia five pages were given to atom, and the word love did not appear at all! The whole problem of our time is not lack of knowledge but lack of love. Truth comes before freedom. The realists of the Kingdom of Heaven today are those who know love.

Atoms can be split to release physical power, but love, being of the spirit, is not of primary importance! What a parable of our times! We seem to have gone all out in an attempt to reduce human life to physical things, but the condition of the world and the emptiness in men's hearts and minds do not testify to our success. We may fairly conclude that while pleasant surroundings and financial security are nice things to have, they do not deal with the real problems of human life.

The happiest men find contentment in their giving and sharing. They develop their gift for friendship, and they live with their families under the law of love. The ultimate and really important questions are personal, which is to say spiritual.

My own conclusion is that no man has a right to call himself a Freemason until he has boldly looked into the deep abyss of the world's life and hammered out for himself upon the anvil of his own faith the firm conviction that "all things work together for good to them that love God."

The truth is that the man who has discovered liberty of soul and mind is one who has tested in the fires of daily living his own beliefs and his own creed. Having tested his faith at every turn and ventured out into the dangerous places of life with it, he is not afraid of the competition of the open market. It is the man who has come by liberty too easily who is uncertain and suspicious. For the truth is that freedom is faith. Men are free who are masters of their fear. Men are free when they are master of themselves - when they have disciplined themselves. Men are not free when they are afraid of ideas.

Have you ever thought of the idea that the Great Light of Freemasonry is also the greatest textbook of liberty in the world today? From the beginning to end the Bible is the story of God's attempt to set people free. He tries to free them from their enemies but particularly from themselves.

The light of God in the heart of man is the source of his freedom, and the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord. Yet we come back to God as the source of man's meaning and the true source of his nature. Once we have lost sight of this we have lost sight of our true credentials and our real authority. It is in God's service that man finds perfect freedom.

Freemasonry can be a great adventure in intellectual and spiritual progress. It proclaims the accessibility of God to every seeking soul who comes in the spirit of humanity and faith. It affirms the dignity and worth of every man's life, the freedom of the individual conscience, and thus gives eternal significance to living.

Freemasonry contends for the right of every man to think for himself and to believe for himself, without the restraint of council or government.

Freemasonry declares that church and state both serve a necessary purpose in the world but are separate in function and purpose. Ancient Craft Masonry has helped mightily to create and sustain our from of government. It has always recognized and supported individual rights. It is always on the side of religious liberty and freedom of human spirit. It has helped to foster a yearning for justice and always springs to the defense of every movement that strives for genuine representative government. Its salient characteristics are initiative, energy. and constant insistence upon individual liberty and freedom of conscience.

The light is still shining in the darkness, for the darkness has never put it out.

And so, out of infinite complexity, the foreshadowing of a final unity, of that, "One God, one law, one element, and one far-off divine event, to which the whole creation moves "

Remembering the law of love, may I conclude with Browning:

"I spoke as I saw. I report as a man may of God's work, All's Love, yet all's Law.

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Committee Is Planning

1961 Masonic Worship Session

Charles K. McGaughey, M.P.S., Chairman of the Masonic Workshop Committee, is hard at work making plans for the 1961 Washington meeting which will take place during "Masonic Week" next February. There is much to be done yet, to assure the splendid meeting that the committee contemplates. It needs the help. aid and assistance of all interested members of the Society, that it may represent the best that can brought to fruition.

In a letter to the several members of the Masonic Workshop Committee, Brother McGaughey has asked them to suggest ideas and plans which can be used to the best advantage, to suggest topics which might be placed on the agenda, and most of all - a series of panels which will be the meat of the plan.

It is well-known that the Masonic Workshop is, unlike a Research group, a laboratory in which methods, ways and means and processes of action in the gathering and compilation of Masonic data for use by individuals and groups can be put to its best use. It is, in fact, set up to help the inexperienced and eager Masonic student learn how to read and translate into logical sequence, his ideas and work.

It is planned, though not definitely decided, to have an informal dinner served for the members and other interested Freemasons, just prior to the opening of the Masonic Workshop, with a distinguished guest speaker who will sound the keynote of the topic to be discussed, and a short round table discussion to follow just before the formal opening of the Masonic Workshop.

The dinner will be individually selected and will be the means of greater fraternal fellowship. It will stimulate thought and discussion, and will also serve to bring to a focus some of the many ideas for future activity and enlargement of the Masonic Workshop.

In order that the committee may have a better idea of what the membership would like to discuss, it has been suggested that every member who has such an idea should write the chairman of the committee, telling him what his first, second and third choice is for the general topic that will constitute the 1961 discussion.

It is further pointed out that this topic must be one of method not a topic for research or study. Send your suggestions, plainly written and with all the detail necessary to:

CHARLES K. A. McGAUGHEY,

Richmond Road, Route 7

Lexington, Kentucky.

He will be most happy to have your cooperation and it will aid the committee in planning another great program for the advancement of the Society.

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Bede And Group

Doing Splendid Job

Of Selling

Elbert Bede, F.P.S., First President, and Chairman of the very active Membership Committee of the Society, has announced the acceptance of several interested members of the Philalethes to head the activities of the committee and in aiding the plan of getting more Masons interested in the work of the Society.

While not stressing numbers, as such, it has been the policy of Bede and his committee to tell the story of the work of the Society to many Masons who might not otherwise know about it, suggest that these men study the affairs of the Society more carefully, and, if interested, become members, whereby they might participate in the work.

As previously announced in The Philalethes, the country has been divided into zones comprehending areas of influence and activity, each of which will be led by a Zone Chairman, who, in turn, will have others working with him to establish contact with Masonic publications and Masons who might participate in our work.

As of now, the following Brethren have accepted the assignment of Zone Chairman, and each will make a detailed campaign to coordinate the work in their area, and see that informative material about the Society is put into the hands of those interested:

LEE W. HARRIS, South Central Zone, comprising the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama.

CAPTAIN KENNETH F. CURTIS, Southeastern Zone including the states of Virginia West Virginia North Carolina, South Carolina Georgia and Florida.

JOHN LANDIS RANDALL, Eastern Zone with New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, District of Columbia. Delaware and New Jersey.

LLOYD ELLISON, New England Zone, of Maine, New Hampshire. Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

SAMUEL HARRIS, Canadian Zone, Central Division, with the central provinces of Canada under his jurisdiction.

This is a splendid start, and other Zone Chairman will probably be announced by Bede within a short time, but it will take hard work and concerted effort to accomplish the task that he has set, and every member of the Society is urged to note the personnel, that he may help in the great work. If any remember is interested in taking a specific part of this work, he is cordially urged to write to Bede that his talent and enthusiasm can be put to immediate use. The committee deserves the support and help of every member of the Society. Let's not evade our responsibility.

The efficiency with which the committee has functioned need only be noted in the list of new members secured through the efforts of the committee as shown in every issue of The Philalethes magazine for the past year. This is no time to let up in our efforts.

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Shanghai Unique in Masonry

Shanghai, China, now possesses a Masonic world record in that it is believed to be the only city in the world having Masonic lodges working under six different constitutions. On January 25, 1933, "Lux Orientis" Lodge was chartered under the Grand Lodge of Vienna, the first lodge to be consecrated under that constitution in the Far East.

The ceremony was conducted in the presence of nearly 300 Masons of different nationalities and of the several constitutions. Addresses were made by some of the members who bear obedience to the different Grand Lodges,

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Masonry Is Not Witch Hunting

by Judge C. Clyde Myers, M.P.S.,

Court House, Kansas City, Kansas

AN ARTICLE we saw recently, after making all sorts of "exposure of Freemasonry, ended up with this statement:

"But it (Masonry), is, in fact, a sort of higher-class Friendly Society: rather old-fashioned perhaps, but possibly useful, and certainly perfectly harmless, acknowledging as it does, God as the Architect of the Universe, and displaying an open. Bible among its symbols."

The article was meant as a violent denunciation of Masonry and all its tenets, but, these words coming as they do from a vehement critic boils down to a pretty fair encomium when you analyze it.

The critic calls Masonry "a higher class Friendly Society." It is indeed all that and more. It is a society wherein each member is Brother to every other member. He is pledged to love, protect in every lawful way, and serve every other member. It is a society that has grown and prospered since time immemorial on friendship, love and truth.

Masonry is indeed a high class society. It has never knowingly accepted a base or unworthy man into membership. It has never fostered a base or unworthy cause and has always sponsored the goods and worthwhile things in life. These and many other things would seem to make it a high class society.

The critic calls it "rather old fashioned perhaps." That is true if it is "old fashioned" to teach of a belief in God, truth. and brotherly love, good morals and service to God and men. If these things make it "old fashioned" then indeed Masonry must plead guilty as charged.

"Perhaps useful" - if the things just enumerated be not "useful," then we have no words with which to describe usefulness.

The critic makes this concession (It is) "certainly perfectly harmless, from the religious point of view," etc.

Masonry is not a church, yet, it teaches a code of religious precepts which may be practiced by Christian, Jew, Moslem, Braham, etc., without in any way violating any of the precepts or practices of his own particular creed.

Masonry teaches a code of morals, ethics and religion that does no violence to the religious creed of any Mason.

Masonry has no apostles and does not seek for members. Membership must be sought, and, if the applicant is worthy and well qualified, then, membership in the society will be granted him.

Masonry would seem "harmless from the religious point of view.

H.L. Haywood discusses this topic in his book, More about Masonry (p. 189). When he says:

"The Fraternity engages in no quarrels or brawls . . . it respects its own enemies and neither despises nor holds them in contempt . . . because it knows that honorable men "may disagree with each other."

The world has seen "believers," burned at the stake, hanged, crucified guillotined, drawn and quartered, etc., because opposing religious zealots thought them heretics, yet, notice what the orator in one of the higher degrees in Masonry has to say about Masonry upon that subject:

"Masonry has never shed one drop of human blood. It has made no widows and orphans. Its weapons have been charity and persuasion. It teaches man his duties, what he owes to God and what he owes to himself and his fellow man. Its mission is that of peace, harmony and brotherhood."

Yes, the Brother was right - Masonry is indeed harmless and useful; high class and friendly.

A most interesting thing upon this point came to our attention some time since - a good man of our acquaintance expressed a desire to join a certain "playboy" order. His wife's religion forbade its men to join the Masons, yet the wife was wise. She said, 'No not that order. If you want to join something, join the Masons, they can give you something."

That wife knew that Masonry is a useful, harmless friendly and constructive society and that no woman needs to worry about the morals, conduct or associates of her husband when he attends his Masonic Lodge meetings.

This person became a Mason, is a Past Master, is a Lodge worker and has many nice Masonic honors.

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The Great Seal of the United States

by Edmund R. Sadowski, M.P.S.

(Illinois)

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress after declaring the American Colonies to be free and independent States, appointed a committee and others, to work a satisfactory design to be used as the "Great Seal of the United States." In the spring of 1782. Charles Thomson, the Secretary of Congress, gave to that body a device suggested to John Adams, by Sir John Prestwich, an eminent English antiquary. This suggestion was made the basis of a design adopted by Congress June 20, 1782, which is composed of a spread-eagle, the emblem of strength, bearing on its breast an escutcheon with thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, like the national flag. In its right talon the eagle holds an olive branch. the emblem of peace, and in its left, thirteen arrows, emblematic of the thirteen states ready for war should it be necessary. In its beak is a ribbon bearing the legend - E Pluribus Unum, From Many, One - many States making one nation. Over the head of the eagle is a golden light breaking through a clouded panoply surrounding thirteen stars, forming a constellation on a blue field. The reverse shows an unfinished pyramid, emblematic of the unfinished republic, the building of which goes on forever. In the zenith is the All-Seeing Eye, surrounded by celestial light, over which is proclaimed - Annuit Coeptis, God Favors the Undertaking - in Roman numerals below, is the date 1776, and below this - Novus Ordo Seclorum, A New Order of the Ages. It would seem that the Great Seal of the United States bears strong witness of the Masonic ties of the men who proclaimed liberty under God forever.

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WITHIN THE CABLETOW

by LEE W. HARRIS, M.P.S.

ALEXANDRIA, LOUISIANA

IN THE MIDST of beautiful grounds and various shrubbery and tall pines through which the zephyrs whine, lies an Institution for Mental Patients. Thousands have entered, a few have returned.

The setting for this story is in central Louisiana, the time: it matters not, but Masonry reached in and tugging at the intellect of two members brought them back and into society. While others have been helped these two cases are mentioned.

When a younger man he came from Kentucky to Louisana, married, became a Mason and in the commercial field manager of a large oil distributing company. His health broke and with it his mind collapsed, necessitating confinement. Improvement came slowly; he was made a trusty and permitted to go outside the grounds to make purchases for other inmates. His enthusiasm for Masonry was still high and when on buying trips, if he had the time, he would visit the Secretary's office. His condition was such he could be released except that his wife, appointed custodian, refused to let him come home.

Over a period of a few years his father and mother would come from Kentucky to visit him, and they, too, never let an opportunity slip by to visit the Masonic Temple. Masonry had a grip on this young man's life. The last trip made by the parents became eventful and fruitful for after a visit to the Secretary they called on a lawyer, a Master Mason, who for only court costs, $15, and no fee for himself, immediately went into action, succeeded in changing guardianship from the wife to the father, and in twenty-four hours release and return to society was effected.

A highly esteemed citizen of a community worked hard day-after-day and year-after year without taking time off for vacations. His physical strength left and his collapse was total requiring hospitalization, and with his mental condition broken institutional treatment was needed. There he sat day-in and day-out in a rocking chair, his head hung low on his chest: wasting away. His wife and children visited him - no response. He sat there, head resting on his chest. Death seemed to be in the offing.

During his long years of labor without rest he became a Mason, applied himself, studied and held a Certificate of Proficiency, served as Master of his Lodge, continuing attendance at Lodge meetings and participation in the work. Here was a Past Master broken in body and mind, one who had brought to light so many in past years, apparently deserted and alone under those tall pines, waiting for the end.

The Fraternity, which he loved so much, came to his rescue in a rather peculiar way. A Mason who had retired from his job on a pension insufficient for his needs was employed as an attendant at the Mental Institution and placed in charge of a ward. About this time he was also appointed Tyler of his Lodge. One evening at Lodge the Secretary approached the Tyler asking. "Is Tim _____ on your ward?" Surprised, the old Tyler answered, "Tim ? Why yes." The Tyler continued to talk and wanted to know if Tim was a Mason. Assured that Tim was a Mason and a Past Master he asked, "May I say something to him about being at Lodge and seeing you?" The Secretary replied, "Try it."

A week later the Lodge was in session and the Tyler told the Secretary of his experience with Tim; of how Tim raised his head and smiled and talked. It was not long before the Superintendent told the Tyler that he could take Tim to a Lodge meeting if the Lodge gave its approval. He was greeted by all. The Entered Apprentice degree was being conferred; Tim sitting on the sidelines, and with each error made he would hold up a finger and smile.

A few more visits to Lodge and Masonry had prepared him for his dismissal. He returned home. A few years later his Lodge conducted grave side services over his body.

Development of friendships and enjoyment of fellowships are our benefits, and to restore peace to the troubled bosom is the great aim we have for others. Masonry can reach into the darkest corners, awaken and recover mended minds, restoring them to society. Financial assistance restores peace to a troubled bosom of one in need. The one whose mental capacity has been crippled needs something too, which Masonry has to offer, intellectual assistance.

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International DeMolay Elects Officers

At the 40th annual session of the International Supreme Council of the Order of DeMolay held in Tucson, Arizona, on April 11, Albert J. McNally, 32d, K.C.C.H., of St. Joseph. Missouri, was elected Grand Master and Clarence W. Head, 33d, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was elected Secretary General.

McNally succeeds Earl E. Dusenbery, of Des Moines, Iowa, as Grand Master; and Head assumes the chief administrative post of DeMolay that was held by the late Frank S. Land for more than 40 years. Land founded the youth in 1919 and was Secretary General until his death on November 8, 1959.

In becoming head of the youth movement's over 2,100 Chapters in 12 countries and territories. McNally said. "We are not going to lose any time in building this organization into the greatest in the world."

In accepting the post of Secretary General, Head told the Council members, "The job before us is by no means an easy one, but with understanding, strength and determination by everyone associated with DeMolay, we can work together with dynamic force toward one common goal - that goal of building better citizens out of the young men of the world as a perpetual living memorial to our beloved Founder, Frank S. Land."

McNally, who is 59, was born in Meaford province of Ontario, Canada, and became a U.S. citizen in 1929.

Masonically, he is a member of St. Joseph Lodge No. 78, Mitchell Chapter No. 14, R.A.M.; St. Joseph Council No. 9, R.&S.M.; and Hugh de Payens Commandery No. 4, K.T. McNally is a 32d, K.C.C.H. member of the St. Joseph Scottish Rite Bodies and was Master of St. Joseph Consistory No. 4 in 1949 and Rose Croix Chapter No. 14 in 1958-59. He is also a member of the American Rite Bodies and was Potentate of Moila Shrine Temple in 1943.

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RECOMMENDED MASONIC READING

by ALPHONSE CERZA, F.P.S. (Life), Ill

THE MAY 1960 issue of A Journal of Church and State was received recently. It contains four fine articles plus the United Nations Proposed Code on Religious Liberty. The articles are as follows:

Gaylon L. Caldwell, "Augustine's Critique of Human Justice."

T.B. Maston, "The Church, the State, and the Christian Ethic."

Arcot Krishnaswami, "The Status of Religions in Relation to the State."

The subject of church and state relations is current and alive. It will continue to be discussed for many years to come. No real American can afford to close his eyes to this matter. All thinking Americans should read the material issued from time to time by the J. M. Dawson Studies in Church and State, Baylor University, Box 258, Waco, Texas.

The July 1960 issue of the Reader's Digest, "Book Section," contains a summary of "Battle of Bunker Hill," from a forthcoming book by Thomas J. Fleming. A picture of Dr. Joseph Warren is in the magazine article; he was an active Mason of the period and lost his life at the Battle of Bunker Hill.

The United Masters Lodge No. 167, of New Zealand, has the publication of volume two of the reprints of its Transactions. The price is $1.50 and orders should be sent to Brother R.F. Newton, Secretary, 71 Selwyn Road, Howich, New Zealand. The first volume contained much interesting material of a general nature. Securing volume two is recommended.

The May 1960 issue of The Indiana Freemason has an interesting story entitled "Lafayette Takes a Boat Ride." In the years 1825 and 1826 this great hero and Freemason visited this country. While in Indiana the boat he was riding had some difficulty and he fell in the water. He had to remain in the area a short time. The folks for miles around came to meet the great man.

The May 1960 issue of the Transactions of the Masters' and Past Masters' Lodge of Christchurch New Zealand, was an unusually good issue. One article deals with the subject of what to do when the Lodge has a shortage of candidates: Have some instruction; do not apologize because there is no degree work as some Lodges have too much and have no time for anything else. Another article suggests that when we complain about too large a loss of members we ought to give some thought to subject of having taken in too many who should never have been made Masons: this can be controlled by exploring the reasons some folks petition for membership and denying admission to those who are not "good timber."

The May 1960 issue of The Freemason, Canada's national magazine, contains a splendid address by Brother Horace E. Read. entitled "The Proposed Bill of Rights and the Spirit of Masonry." The speaker discusses basic human rights and liberties and shows clearly that they are in keeping with Masonic principles. He shows clearly and with feeling that Masonry recognizes the dignity of the individual, man's inherent right to freedom, and that all men have a common interest.

It is reported by authoritative sources that by the time this magazine is in your hands there will be off the press a book entitled American Culture and the Catholic Schools, by Brother Emmett McLoughlin. The author's fine book The People's Padre has gone through many editions. If you have not read this popular book be sure to do so at once. This new work is awaited with interest and is bound to be most interesting and revealing.

We must not forget some of the "old timers." We have mentioned a few from time to time and will continue to do so.

In 1928 Brother Ruben Lennhoff, wrote and published in the German language his fine book The Freemasons. A second edition was published in 1932 in a popular format. The book was translated and published in English in 1934. The book has long been out of print and becomes more valuable each year. It is an excellent book and is especially good on the details it gives on Masonic history in Europe. The story of Freemasonry in Italy after the Fascists came into power is told, for example, with many details and paints a clear picture of what happens to the leaders of the Craft when dictators come into power and ruthlessly push aside all things not in harmony with their thinking. It is a sad story of persecution, imprisonment, and death for being a Freemason and preaching the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.

For those who like to read poetry and inspiration items, we recommend A Treasury of Masonic Thought, by Brother Carl Glick. This book was published in 1953 and contains many old favorites and many good items that are not too well known. Even the classification and chapter headings are Masonically inspired. While most of the selections are from the writings of Masons, many are not from such sources but yet sneak the language that is universal and capture the spirit of the Craft. A visit with the authors will bring you in touch with John Bunyan, Lord Chesterfield, Charles Darwin, Benjamin Franklin, Marcus Aurelius, Plato, and Albert Schweitzer.

One perennial favorite is H.L. Haywood's Freemasonry and the Roman Catholic Church. Published in 1943 by the Masonic History Company, Chicago, Illinois, it will become increasingly important with the passing years as the discussion of the relationship of the Roman Catholic Church in its nonreligious functions is discussed more openly in America. The book sets out in full the Papal Bull "Humanum Genus" issued in 1884. The reply by Albert Pike is also set out in full. One who wishes to know the attitude of the Roman Catholic hierarchy about Freemasonry and the basic doctrines of Americanism is invited to read this encyclical. You will find declarations of this group against the separation of church and state, against the public school system, and against democracy.

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Henry Price Medal of Massachusetts

by HAROLD V.B. VOORHIS, F.P.S. (Life) New Jersey

In 1888, R.W. Samuel C. Lawrence suggested a medal be struck by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts to commemorate the memory of Henry Price. It was that year that the remains of "The Father of Masonry in America" were removed from the old cemetery at Townsend, Massachusetts and a monument erected over the lot where his remains were placed in the new cemetery in Townsend. A motion to that end was adopted and in 1888, the Board of Directors of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts reported that they "had caused to be struck one of the finest Masonic medals ever issued in this country. The dies were engraved by Brother Henry Mitchell, of this city, Boston, an artist who probably has no superior in that line - at least in America. Upon the obverse is the bust of Henry Price, beneath which is the date, June 26, 1888, the whole surrounded by his own words, 'Founder of Duly Constituted Masonry in America.' The reverse is a facsimile of the seal of the Grand Lodge. Copies of this medal in bronze may now be obtained of the Recording Grand Secretary."

In 1916, by Resolution, the Grand Lodge confined the wearing of the medal "hereafter" to "members of Henry Price Lodge, by Permanent members of the Grand Lodge; by those who have been members of the Fraternity for fifty years or more; and by such others as may be selected by the Most Worshipful Grand Master as worthy of this special Masonic recognition." This came about because the medals had ceased to be worn by those who had them and they were no longer being purchased. This latter circumstance was brought to light when M.W. Melvin M. Johnson, then Grand Master, found a lot of the medals "in an old shoe box in the vault." He presented one to a charter member of Athol Lodge at their Fiftieth Anniversary; one to the Earl of Kintore, visiting the United States (he was a Past Grand Master of Masons in South Australia and M.P. Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Rite - the Scottish Rite - of England; and at the Fiftieth Anniversary of Roswell Lodge to its first Master who again presided for a few minutes. In 1926, the Regulations were changed so that it could only be presented to "such distinguished Brethren as may be selected by the Grand Lodge or the Grand Master as worthy of such special Masonic recognition."

During the six years prior to the adoption of this Regulation. 202 Henry Price Medals were awarded, 18 of them to Brethren outside of Massachusetts - an average of 37 per year (3 outside of the State).

Since the regulation of 1926, there have been 248 such awards recorded in the Proceedings, and a few that are not recorded, known to the writer, who himself was awarded the Medal by M.W. Curtis Chipman, on December 27, 1933.

Henry Price was born in London, England, about the year 1697 and came to New England about 1723. Governor Jonathan Belcher appointed him cornet in his troops of guards with the rank of major. Such an appointment was considered an especial favor, and of itself conferred honorable distinction. In 1736 he formed a partnership with Francis Beteihle, a shopkeeper, which continued until 1740. For the first three years Price conducted a tailoring department, and on giving this up he remained a merchant or shopkeeper until his retirement in 1750. He died at Townsend, Massachusetts, at the age of 83 on May 20, 1780, leaving real estate of great value and extant.

On April 13 or 30, 1733, Price received from Anthony Lord Viscount Montague, Grand Master of England, a Deputation as Provincial Grand Master of New England, the authority of which was extended over all North America in August 1734. The authority was exercised on July 30, 1733, by organizing the Provincial Grand Lodge of Massachusetts (Moderns), at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern in Boston, the first duly constituted Masonic body in America. This body is historically known as St. John's Grand Lodge, and Price served as its Grand Master in the years 1733 - 1737, 1740 - 1743, 1754 - 1755, and 1767 - 1768.

On the same date, July 30, 1733, Price constituted the first Lodge in Boston, now known as St. John's Lodge. In 1734-5 Price granted Benjamin Franklin's petition to establish a regular Lodge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and in 1736 he authorized the constitution of a Lodge in Portsmouth. New Hampshire. Price was also the first Master of Master's Lodge, Boston, constituted February 15, 1749 or, '50.

By exercising the authority of his deputation Price may be rightly termed the Founder of Duly Constituted Masonry in America.

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Welcome to New Members

Alfred W. Griffith (M), 301 West 5th, Fulton, Missouri.

LeRoy E. Shaut (M), 28 North St., Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

William H. Bertenshaw, Jr. (M), 25 St. Lawrence Ave., Maplewood, New Jersey.

Primo 1. Guzman (M). Mandaluyong, Rizal, Philippine Islands.

Jerry Ronald Erikson (M), P.O. Box 424, Pico-Rivera, California.

Alfred Ellis Merrill (M), 818 S. Broadway, Coos Bays Oregon.

William George Peacher (M), 54 Ely Drive, Fayatteville, New York.

Paul Erculisse (M), 19 Rue de laeken a, Bruxelles 18, Belgium.

John E. Johnston Fahlgren (M), Cochenour, Ontario, Canada.

George J. Bickle (M), Box 805, Lakeside, Oregon.

Kenneth Ridley (M), 978 Belle Ave., Teaneck, New Jersey.

William F. Clark (M), 660 Belmont St., Watertown 72, Massachusetts.

Solomon Frederick Brokeshoulder (M), 1470 Cosmo Court, Dayton 32, Ohio.

Floyde Ray Garawood (M), 1619 West 3rd St., Amarillo, Texas.

Stanley Albert Butera (M), 34 Turk St., San Francisco, California.

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The power in which we must have faith if we would be well, is the creative and curative power which exists in every living thing.

- John Harvey Kellog.

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OREGON TABLE LODGE

HOLDS FINE MEETING

Sixteen members were present June 29 for another of the Table Lodges which have been held for several years by Philalethes members in Oregon at intervals of three or four months. One member, Claude G. Stotts of Coos Bay, traveled a distance of abut 170 miles one way, and another member Walter W. Stuart, Jr., although a Scotchman, financed gas for a round trip of some 150 miles.

Henry Bauer, one of the pioneer Philalethes members in Oregon and chairman for 1960 of the Table Lodges, at the suggestion of Elbert Bede, International Vice President, gave an enlightening address on the Dead Sea Scrolls, to the study of which he has given considerable time. There was a lively discussion following Brother Bauer's presentation.

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WITH THE HELP OF GOD

President Eisenhower is quoted as saying: "It is a matter of record that George Washington had a difficult second term. When I consider the weak, inconsequential things the papers say about me, compared to what they said about him, who I think is the greatest human the English speaking race has produced, then I can be philosophical." - Exchange.

Even if there is never an end to life on this planet, the physical body of each individual must die. According to the materialistic doctrine, when the individual dies the effect on him is the same as if all living things had died, because he has lost consciousness forever. Therefore, his search for further knowledge and wisdom is at an end; never again will he have any concern about what happens to those who are living when he dies, or for the generations of men who follow him in life, and to a final extermination. Society and civilization begin and end with the individual. The materialist, who is also a humanitarian, is thinking about and working for the welfare of men, women, and little children as individuals. But to the materialist the life of any individual is a short and temporary affair. To Freemasonry the life of an individual is a permanent, an everlasting thing, and it seeks to help men build a life that is worthwhile both for time and eternity.

Some materialists assert that those who believe in God and immortality are dependent for their beliefs on what other men claim that God was directly revealed to them by His own spoken words, or by angels, or by visions. John Locke, a deeply religious man and one of the world's greatest thinkers and philosophers, in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding wrote that he believed it possible for God to make direct revelations to men, but that no one is required to accept the purported revelations which others claim to have received direct from God, when such alleged revelations are contrary to all human experience and do violence to the reason and understanding that God has given to all rational men. (5) In the discussion that follows an attempt will be made to show, without any reference to any alleged direct revelation from God to man, that a belief in the existence of God and in man's immortality is reasonable, logical, and rational.

This marvelous universe is a fact. The planetary systems are in motion; their movements are governed by law. Experience and observation teach that for every creation there is a Creator and for every law there is a Lawmaker. To reject a belief in the existence of a Supreme Intelligence and Energy that men call God is to assume that the universe and everything in it, including life and the human mind, and the law that governs the planets is no more than a "happenstance" or a mere accident.

To the great majority of men it is as natural to want a continuation of life after the death of the physical body as it is to want food, light, and air. To want these things is a part of the natural law. Provision has been made whereby men can obtain food, light, and air. Is it not true that man's desire for immortality is likewise a part of the natural law although knowledge of the state and nature of this part of the natural law is still "inaccessible." If immortality is a part of natural law we may be assured that adequate provision has been made whereby man's desire for immortality will be supplied. Symbolically, the Masonic concept of Deity is that of a Supreme Architect who has a universal plan and purpose, and that immortality is included in it. If this be not true, can there be any permanent meaning to life?

The late Dr. Sir Charles Scott Sherrington of London, world famous brain specialist and neurologist and a Nobel Prize winner, in a lecture on the subject of the brain delivered a short time before his recent death, using all the caution of a great scientist, said: "Mind, meaning by that thoughts, memories, reasonings, and so on, is difficult to bring within the class of physical things." What is mind if it is not a physical thing? It is a spiritual thing? If the mind, as distinguished from the physical braid is a spiritual thing then consciousness, memories, reasonings, and so on, survive the incident that men call death and man is truly immortal, just as the Holy Bible and the sacred books of other world religions teach.

Another scientist, M.F. Bettencourt, M.D., divides man’s existence into three stages: the prenatal, the terrestrial, and the cosmic. He suggests that the mind and soul, or spirit, are one; that the mind with its memories survives the death of the physical body: that it will reside in "the great Cosmos" and will there enjoy "a progressive acquisition of knowledge and enlightenment. (6)

Scientists assure us that there are about 12 million cells in the human brain and that they function in a manner somewhat similar to the sending and receiving sets of radio and television and do so by means of electric impulses created by the physical body. We know from actual experiments that we can control our thoughts, can change our thinking from bad to good thoughts. Whether we call this "will-power" or "mind" the fact remains that the normal healthy physical brain is subject to control by a force or power outside itself. Full exact knowledge of the mind is still "inaccessible," but there is reason to believe that if man will explore this subject "in all directions" and confirm "his gains, he will push back the confines of the inaccessible."

1. "Freemasonry and Freedom of Thought," by Edgar F. Smith, November 1955, New Age magazine.

2. "Dr. Albert Schweitzer," by Edgar F. Smith, May 1955, New Age magazine.

3. A History of the Welfare of Science with Theology in Christendom, by Dr. Andrew D. White. This book was first published in 1895 and republished in 1955. Dr. White was the first President of Cornell University.

4. "Karl Marx," by Edgar F. Smith, September 1954 New Age magazine.

5. "John Locke, Philosopher of Freedom," by Edgar F Smith, August 1955 New Age magazine.

6. "Layman's View of the Future," by M. F. Bettencourt, M.D., November 1955 New Age magazines

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Notes, Queries and Information On Items of Masonic Research

by JAMES R. CASE, F.P.S.

1960 - No. 4

THE NUMBER OF LETTERS CONTAINING QUESTIONS which relate to mutters of fact in Masonic history and biography, seem to justify their treatment in a column separate from the Editor's CHAT & COMMENT, where they have previously Appeared.

Our members and readers are invited to send in material appropriate for use in the 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 COMMUNICATIONS should be addressed to the mailing address of the magazine.

8 - Nathan Hale. Correcting a statement in "A Student Inquires, etc.," in column 2 on page 45 of the June 1960 issue of The Philalethes magazine. The young patriot Captain Nathan Hale was not a Mason but Colonel Nathan Hale of New Hampshire troops, captured at the Battle of Hubbardston, and who died as a prisoner of war in 1780, was made a Mason in St. John’s Lodge at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 20 February 1777.

69 - George Washington. In a paragraph concerning George Washington and Freemasonry in column 3 on page 45 of The Philalethes magazine for June 1960 Richard P. Cerza mentions a connection of Washington with a Lodge at Williamsburg when it is obvious that Alexandria is intended. To be precise Washington was named as Master when the Lodge was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Virginia, surrendering a Pennsylvania charter under which it had worked for some years. (We understand a history of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 has recently been completed by William Moseley Brown, P.G.M., Virginia, and President of Philalethes. J.R.C.)

76 - Army Lodges. A note on this query was published under "Chat and Comment" on page 37 of the June 1960 issue. Please note the request of M.W. Brother Harris in the April 1960 "Notes and Queries" column was for information in newspapers and local histories.

105 - William Howard Taft. (June 1960) According to the records of Harold V. B. Voorhis the subject is listed as a visitor to no less than seven Lodges and Grand Lodges. The original query should have been phrased to question whether or not Taft was examined before admission as a visitor.

106 - Oliver Hazard Perry. (June 1960) The earliest reference to the subject is in a letter dated 9 September 1829 written by Samuel Mallin, defending Masonry, printed in the New England Anti-Masonic Almanac for 1835. This is reported by Conrad Hahn, P.G.M., Connecticut, and Editor of the Masonic Service Association, who also notes that an Oliver Perry, member of Aurora Lodge (9) of Vermont was suspended in 1820, whereby the name, minus the middle name or initial, was widely publicized.

110 - Wall Decoration. Refer to page 39 of the June 1960 The Philalethes magazine for an illustration and the query. Reginald V. Harris, P.G.M. of Nova Scotia, cites A.Q.C., volume IV, page 56, and this extract, "Some of my Masonic Brethren were puzzled by many of the symbols, especially the embroidered jewel, between the Cock and Cross Keys, with the motto 'We stop at Philippi.' This Order of Philippi is said to have been invented circa 1812, by Finch, a Masonic impostor; so that from these proofs I think it can be clearly established that the apron had its origin in the North of Ireland soon after the years 1817." (The wall painting is thought to antedate 1812. J.R.C.)

111 - Smithsonian Institution Items. Two Masonic aprons, said to have been presented by George Washington to general officers serving under him, are understood to be in the Smithsonian at Washington. Will some member or reader in Washington, or one who may have a catalog of Masonic items in the National Museum, please verify the above and identify the recipients for Edmund Sadowski of Chicago?

112 - First Lodge In America. Richard P. Cerza in his article on page 38 of the June issue, near the bottom of column three, states "it is debatable which was the first Masonic Lodge to be formed in the Colonies." The First Lodge of Boston, now St. John's Lodge, was chartered by St. Johns Provincial Grand Lodge of Boston (or the Provincial Grand Master J.R.C.) on July 30, 1733, and is claimed to be the oldest in America. D.W.R., Mass. However, the first Lodge "formed," if we thereby mean a congregating according to ancient usage, was traditionally about 1720 at Kings Chapel in Boston.

113 - French Lodges. Edmund Sadowski of Chicago has the names of at least three French Lodges active before 1800 in the United States, and wonders what connection they had with military or regimental Lodges.

114 - Royal & Select Masters. Please recommend a book telling of the origin of R.&S.M. asks E.T.S. of Brooklyn, New York. A two-volume History of the Cryptic Rite by Hinman, Denslow and Hunt was published in 1931 but may no longer be available by purchase. It should be available in the larger Masonic libraries, certainly in the Grand Lodge Library at 71 West 23rd Street, New York.

115 - Freemasonry. "In this unstable modern era would the best interests of our Fraternity be better served if the Brethren were more often called Freemasons instead of Masons? Should we stress more the Free in Freemasonry to emphasize to nonmembers that Freemasonry implies Freedom of thought; Freedom of Political and Religious Control; Freedom of Prejudice, etc.?" If the answer is in the affirmative, why do Masonic editors and Masonic leaders in general neglect or avoid the use of the words Freemason and Freemasons? J.H.S., N.Y.