Contents
Our Masonic Heritage
The Bicentennial
Of the American Revolution
Shades of Rudyard Kipling
DeMolay Leadership Conferences
Set
Footsteps That Echo
Recommended Masonic Reading
International
Congress Concludes Sessions
Our Lives, Our
Fortunes, And Our Sacred Honour
Dr. Francis Joseph
Scully, F.P.S.
Chat, Comment and Masonic
Queries
John Black Vrooman, F.P.S., Editor
P.O. Box 402
St. Louis, Missouri 63166
OFFICERS
Robert V. Osborne, F.P.S., President
3624 Gifford Road
Franksville, Wisconsin 53126
Eugene S. Hopp, F.P.S., First Vice President
2000 Van Ness Ave.
San Francisco, California 94109
Dwight L. Smith, F.P.S., Second Vice-President
Masonic Temple, 525 North Illinois St
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Franklin (Andy) Anderson, F.P.S., Executive Secretary
P.O. Box 529,
Trenton, Missouri, 64683
Ronald E. Heaton, F.P.S., Treasurer
728 Haws Avenue
Norristown, Pennsylvania 19401
LIVING PAST PRESIDENTS
Philalethes Society
Lee E. Wells FPS
Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S. (Life)
Dr. Charles Gottshall Reigner, F.P.S.
Judge Robert H. Gollmar, F.P.S.
William R. Denslow, F.P.S.
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Jerry Marsengill, F.P.S., Editor
2714 Park Place
Des Moines, Iowa 50312
Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S. Life., Assoc. Editor
237 Millbridge Road
Riverside, Illinois 60546
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY EMERlTUS
Carl R. Grelsen, F.P.S.
Volume XXVIII, No. 4
----o----
A Guest Editorial
By Alphonse Cerza. F.P.S., Life
The celebration of the Bicentennial anniversary of the formation of our country presents Freemasons with an opportunity to review our past, examine the present, and to make plans for the future of our Fraternity. To date there has been an inclination to spend most of our effort in viewing the past and calling attention to some of the vital aspects of our history. This effort is a logical one to start with because we should first learn about our history and take pride in our Masonic heritage before we examine the present situation and probably become discouraged. Unfortunately, a few of our enthusiastic members have stretched their imaginations and have tried to make every outstanding historical event a Masonic incident. This sort of thing misleads our members and makes the outside scholar laugh at either our unjustified bragging or profound ignorance!!
A great deal of emphasis is being placed on the great men who lived during the War of Independence who were members of the Craft. Some may view this as undignified bragging. But this is not really the reason for calling attention to this. Persons make an organization in spite of all the stress placed on events by historians; it is the individuals who are making the events and this phase should not be overlooked. When we note the great men who have been attracted to the Craft we are merely calling attention that the Craft must have something worth while to have attracted their attention and then induced them to become a part of our Fraternity. It is an effective way of telling the world that the Craft has something valuable to offer the world.
There is fear in some places that looking back may be overdone. It is hoped that this will not be done and that once we have examined the past that we will give some attention to the present and decided how it can improve itself to face the future. Our Fraternity can continue to serve the world only if it does not overlook its fundamental purpose for existence and strives to perfect itself in order to do a good job. The question is how the three phases can be utilized to good advantage.
For too long in many places there has been too much emphasis on form rather than on the substance of the Craft. We should begin to go beyond form and give much more attention to the substance that is within the Craft.
As we study the history of our Fraternity we will discover that the key to success is that we be dedicated to our work and that we strive to attain Quality rather than Quantity in our membership. There is a need to inform our members fully about the Craft because an informed Mason is a better Mason. We should recognize that conferring the degrees on a candidate makes him a member, but that he becomes a Mason in name and in fact only after he has learned the lessons taught by the ritual and has become familiar with the Masonic Way of Life. Finally, we should strive to determine the talents possessed by each member and utilize these talents insofar as possible in the work of the Craft; a working member is always an interested member.
Featured in this issue . . .
"OUR MASONIC HERITAGE," A Guest Editorial, by Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S., Life
WASHINGTON TAKES COMMAND, by Norman C. Dutt. F.P.S.
WE WELCOME A NEW MASONIC JOURNAL
SHADES OF RUDYARD KIPLING
THIS IS ELECTION YEAR - LEARN HOW TO VOTE
DeMOLAY LEADERSHIP CONFERENCES SET
FOOTSTEPS THAT ECHO, by Louis L. Williams, M.P.S.
WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS
RECOMMENDED MASONIC READING, by Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S., Life
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS CONCLUDES SESSIONS
OUR LIVES; OUR FORTUNES AND OUR SACRED HONOUR, by Jerry Marsengill, F.P.S.
IN MEMORIAM - DR. FRANCIS J. SCULLY, F.P.S., by Kenneth C. Johnson, M.P.S.
MIDWEST CONFERENCE DISCUSSES VARIETY OF TOPICS
CHAT, COMMENT AND MASONIC QUERIES, by Jerry Marsengill, F.P.S.
----o----
The Bicentennial Of the American Revolution
11. Washington Takes Command
by Norman C. Dutt, F.P.S.
General George Washington arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts July 2, 1775 and assumed command of the troches that were assembled there. Rather than an army it was the epitome of military confusion. As to the number of effective soldiers, it was any one's guess. The first order issued was for a complete muster of the troops. That took exactly one week, and when completed a total of 13,745 men were found ready for duty. An average of nine rounds of ammunition per man was on hand, the various rifle regiments having more than the musket regiments. British army troops carried 60 rounds per man.
There were a number of rifle companies, around a baker's dozen, the remainder being militia regiments, armed with their own muskets or a copy of the long land musket of the British army. Many were armed with that famous musket that had been stored in various armories throughout the colonies. Also some were veterans of the French and Indian War (actually that fracas should have had another name: "The war that would decide whether this country should be, Protestant America or French Roman Catholic America.") On hand were cartridge boxes, canteens, haversacks, and other military equipment, which as time moved along became hard to get items. Bayonets and slings for the muskets were also in short supply, even extra flints were lacking for a few months. The shortage of various military supplies of necessity were to plague Washington throughout the entire struggle for independence.
Uniforms were practically unknown, but the various colonies had some concrete ideas as to how their militia units should be uniformed, and that idea continued for the course of the war. The uniform that Washington recommended was a dark blue coat, with buff trim, buff waistcoat and coveralls of white, and a black tricorn hat. The coveralls to button over the shoes, which needless to state was never completely realized. The troops wore linen in the summer and wool in the winter. Captured uniforms in part were utilized and those that came from France served to outfit the army. When they wore out, homespun and buckskins became the mode of dress.
Regiments varied in size from 500 to 1,000 men, and controlled by regulations as laid down by the state from whence they came. After acceptance in the Continental army the troops were then under the Congress of the U.S.A. From the start of the war until the cessation of hostilities Washington would be faced with desertion, short timers, and militia units in the field for a limited length of time. Desertions ran to 70% at times and never dropped to less than 30%. It was nothing at all for Washington to take to the field with an army of 16,000 men. only to have it shrink to less
========================================================
The current article in our Bicentennial series is written by Norman C. Dutt, F.P.S., a noted contributor to many Masonic publications. A Fellow of the Philalethes Society, a member of Canal Zone Lodge, at Ancon, Canal Zone, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, Naval Chapter No. 35, R.A.M., Vallejo, California, King Solomon's Council R. & S.M. at Vallejo, California, the Scottish Rite Bodies in Balboa, Canal Zone, and Abou Saad Shrine, A.A.O.N.M.S., Ancon, Canal Zone. He is the honored wearer of the Joseph Warren Masonic Service Medal of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and the winner of the Certificate of Literature award of the Philalethes Society.
========================================================
than 7,500 in a month. He was never able to muster over 20,000 troops at any one time. This was one reason why he could never take the field for a full scale attack against the enemy, or conduct a real campaign against an enemy well schooled in battlefield drill and tactics, and properly supplied. Despite the shortcomings he was able to develop the fine Continental line that became the backbone of the army. These numbered between 2,000 to 3,000 troops most serving for the duration.
Congress had authorized 88 regiments and 80,000 soldiers, a figure that was never achieved, only a paper lion army.
The troops were made up of men of all ages, but with the progress of the war there was a scarcity of young men. In the ranks were a few blacks, fewer Indians, mulattoes and half breeds, but the bulk were white. Prince Hall, for whom the most reputable Black Masonic Lodges are named was a soldier in a Massachusetts regiment, serving from 1776 to 1782. He was not only a cook of distinction, but spiritual leader to many of the soldiers as he was an ordained minister, thus he was an impromptu chaplain.
Washington wanted the young men in the 18 to 24 age bracket, these making ideal soldiers, but this group of young men found privateering far more profitable than soldiering. It did not take too many trips to sea and he was fairly well off, and many became quite rich for the times. Nearly 70,000 young men were serving in privateers during the crest of the conflict, and there were a goodly number that died in the rotten hulks of prison ships that Britain maintained.
Three artillery regiments were authorized by Congress, and these were then broken down to serve with the various infantry units. The field pieces were a mixed lot of various types, no standard as that was impossible. Many came from captured ships and from ordnance stores making up, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12 and 24 pounders along with 4 1/2, 5 1/2, 8, 10, and 16 pounder howitzers, a few 18 pound carronades completed the battery. The range was from 1200 to 1600 yards for the guns, and that was to remain for many years to come. As casualties mounted in the artillery, artillerymen were drawn from the infantry ranks thereby weakening these units. The French sent over fine field pieces, but the tubes only, the carriages being made in the colonies.
Only a few artillery pieces came to this country with the French troops, and a number can be seen at Yorktown.
Artillerymen were armed with carbines, musketoons, short swords and pistols, but as the war moved along carbines and pistols became their chief arm. During the first phase of the war they wore a uniform same as the regiment in which they served. Changing times brought them to the short jacket, blue or black with facings the color of the unit to which they were attached.
Four regiments of cavalry were authorized by congress upon the recommendation of Washington. Each planned regiment never reached its full strength and was always short of officers. If a soldier could supply a horse and some equipment so much the better, an officer was expected to have his own horse and saddle. The few partisan corps such as Pulaski's and Armand's legions had cavalry units attached. These were armed with the same type as the regular horse units, carbines, musketoons, pistols, but the sword was the main weapon. Many Brown Bess muskets were cut down for cavalry use, but with French arms coming into the fray, those were gradually phased out and placed in reserve. The carbines and musketoons were of 65 calibre and the French pistols were of the same. Swords were a close copy of the British and both sides did not hesitate to use captured arms of the cutting type. When the war was over just about 200 mounted troops were all that were left in the army.
A really sore spot with General Washington was the high cost of artificers and specialists. Congress under his prodding soon authorized these corps to be integrated with the regiments, but there were never enough. It became necessary to draft men from the infantry regiments to serve with the engineers.
Rations were of prime importance to the Commander in chief and it galled him no end the way this had been set up, this being in the hands of private Purveyors of Victuals. It was only a matter of time before Washington had his way and the food profiteers were out of business. The army would feed its own and did, but often there was nothing to supply the troops. No matter what happened the soldier was always hungry, and hunger was to cost the Continentals victory in a few battles.
It may be of interest to know what the regulation ration allowance was per day for the Continental Army -
1 pound of bread
1/2 pound of beef, 1/2 pound of pork, if no pork 1 1/2 pounds beef
1 1/4 pounds salt fish 1 day per week
1 pint of milk, no milk, 1 gill of rice
1 gill peas or beans or other equivalent
1 1/2 pounds flour
1 gill whiskey or spirits (RUM)
1 quart spruce or malt beer
½ pint vinegar if it could be had
1 pound of soap per week for 6 men
After the defeat of Burgoyne and his surrender the French became generous in their aid to the colonies. Silas Deane one of the Commissioners sent to France had obtained the excellent French army muskets. Ever since the disastrous Seven Years War the French had improved their arms, and as the older models were placed in the armories, these became available to Deane. St. Etienne, Maubeuge and Nozon, better known as Charleville were the three big French army arsenals. All the French muskets soon became known as the Charleville, and that design became the pattern for all gunsmiths to follow in the U.S.A. It was to become the standard for almost forty years in this country.
No matter where manufactured they all conformed to the standard set by the French Artillery engineers, being lighter, stronger, of 69 calibre, with three barrel bands to secure the barrel to the stock, instead of being pinned as the Brown Bess and the Committee of Safety arms, also supplied with a bayonet, sling and steel tipped ramrod. Instant acceptance by the troops who really appreciated a lighter weapon and that pleased Washington. But, it had one common fault as did Brown Bess and other muskets, the ball still caromed along the barrel in its initial flight to the enemy.
The other arms were relegated to the reserve list, with many going to various militia and fencible regiments. The excellent Dutch muskets that Brother Ben Franklin purchased as agent for the Massachusetts Bay Colony went to militia companies with regret from their previous bearers.
Dr. Arthur Lee, the third Commissioner, let himself get suckered into buying worse than useless French arms, and he must have been a fool to get taken a second time, buying the same kind of junk from would-be-arms makers near Liege, Belgium. Fortunately regimental armorers caught them before they were issued to the troops. These were then dispatched to private arms contractors who salvaged as much as they could from the clunkers.
Uniforms were among the vast stores of military supplies sent by the French, and they varied in color. Washington then devised a lottery plan to dress the regiments, so they would be outfitted when they passed through Philadelphia, and that plan was executed. Blue coats with red facings went to the North Carolina and Maryland regiments, blue with buff facing went to New Jersey and New York Regiments. The brown coats with red facings were issued to the regiments from New Hampshire, Massachusetts which was the color they wanted at the beginning of the war, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the not-so-Royal Canadian Regiment under the command of Col. Moses Hazen. Connecticut and Rhode Island somehow managed to outfit their troops with blue coats faced with buff.
Captured British uniforms went to the drummers and fifers of the regiments, also those that had bands. One regiment of cavalry was completely outfitted with the lobsterback uniform and that lasted briefly.
The Marines wore green coats with white facings and at times were confused with some militia companies that wore the same or almost the same color.
Cavalry and artillery troops soon were wearing a short jacket that was either blue or black but with facings of the color of the regiment in which they served.
Wagoners were an important part of the army and Washington recommended they wear brown or gray and so they did, complete with a slouch hat and cowhide boots. There were a number that preferred buckskins, and they were never questioned as to their attire.
Washington knew that music was an important factor in an army, and bands were authorized by his orders. A regimental band usually consisted of nine members, sometimes 10 or 11 when they could persuade a drummer or two to join them. Christian Febiger and Samuel Welch's regiments had their own private bands. Col. Febiger paid the musicians from his own funds, and when he sought redress from congress was promptly turned down.
Hospital was the term applied to the medical department, and so used to cover all of those facilities. Four main hospitals were established. But the field hospitals that traveled with the army functioned best. Washington knew that an ailing soldier did not fulfill the best interests of all concerned, and that at least 18% would be ailing most of the time. A soldier knew that his chances of survival when hospitalized was 60 to 75%, so many concealed their aches and pains rather than turn in for treatment.
Pay was non-existent at times, but they did get paid infrequently. One must remember that the Congress did not have the power to levy taxes at that time. By various methods, often rather devious, means were found to pay the troops. One French Commander drew $30,000 of his own funds to pay the troops and earned the eternal gratitude of Washington.
This talk would not be complete without mentioning some of the officers who helped Washington forge an army. General Von Steuben the drillmaster who wrote the regulations for drill that served the army for 30 years; Tadeuz Kosciuszko who paid his own way to this country and was an outstanding military engineer; Pierre Charles l-Enfant the cartographer, some of whose fine charts and maps still survive. Major General Henry Knox the bookseller who became an artillery expert; Horatio Gates as Adjutant General, was an organizer, but he blew it as a field commander; Lord Sterling, who cast his lot with the Continentals, was a shrewd tactician. General Nathanael Greene was an able and excellent field commander; and Generals Mordecai Gist and John Sullivan who were dependable field commanders. Colonel Brigadier Daniel Morgan, later Brigadier General, who knew how to use riflemen, and Casimir Pulaski the cavalry expert who never had a chance to really exploit his talent.
REFERENCES
1. The Book of the Continental Soldier by Harold L. Peterson.
2. The Revolutionary War, National Geographic Society.
3. Decisive Bottles of the U.S.A. by J.F.C. Feller
4. Red Coat and Brown Bese by Anthony D. Darlino.
5. The French Army in North America by Col. Edmund P. Hamilton.
6. L'arme Blanche de Guerre Francaise Auixvill, Siecle Paris
7. Histoire de la participation de la France a l'estabissment des Etat-Unis d'Amerique (6 Vols.), Henri Doniol.
8. NRA Gun Collectors Guide, National Rifle Association.
9. The Navy by Fletcher Pratt.
10. History of the U.S. Navy by Commodore Dudley W. Knox U.S.N. RET.
11. Medical History Continental Army (4 Vols.) by Howard Lewis Applegate.
12. Uniforms American, British, French, German, 1776-1783 by Charles Leffrets.
13. History of Weapons, American Revolution by George C. Neuman.
14. Introduction of British Artillery in North America by S. James Gooding.
15. The Military Arms of Canada by The Upper Canada Historical Arms Society.
16. U.S. Military Firearms by Major James E. Hicks.
17. Military Music by Henry G. Farmer.
18. Small Arms & Ammunition in the U.S. Service 1776-1865 by Berkeley R. Lewis.
19. America's First Army by Burke Davis.
20. European & American Arms by Claude Bair.
In Our Next Issue
There will be two (2) articles in our October issue of the magazine for our Bicentennial series:
1. "American Navies in the American Revolution", by Richard Tutt, Jr.
AND
2. "The Marines in the American Revolution" by Lt. Gen. Herman Nickerson, Jr., M.P.S.
----o----
We Welcome A New Masonic Journal
Too often we note the decease of an active Masonic publication. It is refreshing, therefore to bid welcome to "Masonic Square", Volume I, Number 1, of England. The introductory paragraph of this interesting Masonic journal states - "Unlike normal commercial activities, masonic publishing has no appeal to the popular world. This very limitation gives it strength because author and reader have a common bond - their understanding and acceptance of a way of life and standards of behaviour".
Published quarterly, this interesting magazine has a variety of subjects and discussions - "Pad's Viewpoint", "Pad" being the pen name of a Grand Lodge officer, who briefly discusses Masonic ceremonies, the Candidate, the Proposer and Second, Recruitment, etc. A careful study of Masonic charities presented in the "Bagnell Report", a study by a special committee appointed by the Grand Master to analyse and study all phases of Masonic charity, brings a condensed and interesting point of view on British charitable activities.
Other topics discussed are "Royal Arch Banners", "The Father of Masonic Literature" a resume of the activities of Dr. George Oliver; "Joining a Chapter", "Our Operative Brethren", and a number of other interesting articles is followed by the usual features - "Letters", "Books", "Overseas", and a panorama of thought-provoking material.
----o----
By Harold VanBuren Voorhis, F.P.S.
In "The Freemason," London, March 28, 1925, Rudyard Kipling said that he was "Entered by a Hindu, Passed by a Moslem and Raised by an Englishman," it being assumed that the latter was a Christian.
Kipling, born in India on December 30, 1865, received his Lodge degrees in Hope and Perseverance Lodge No. 782, E.C., at Lahore, Punjab, India in 1886. For this to be done a Special Dispensation was given as he was but 20 years and 6 months of age at the time. The Initiation and Passing were done by G.B. Wolseley and the Col. Oswald Menzies - the Raising by Wolseley. Kipling acted as Secretary of the Lodge at the time and the record is in his penmanship.
----o----
This Is Election Year, Learn How To Vote:
Ballot Is Enclosed In This Issue - Use It!
This is election year for the Triennial election of officers for the Philalethes Society. In order that you may know how to vote, and for whom, we give a short resume of procedures and information.
Stapled to the center of this issue of the magazine is a BALLOT. Read carefully the information about our officers, the method of casting your ballot - then fill in your ballot and send it IMMEDIATELY to:
CARL R. GREISEN, F.P.S.
Chairman, Ballot Committee,
The Philalethes,
P.O. Box 68
Boone, Nebraska 68625.
The Nominating and Ballot Committee, appointed by our President, Robert V. Osborne, F.P.S., at the annual meeting of the Society in Washington last February, is composed of, CARL R. GREISEN, F.P.S., Chairman, Estel W. Brooks, M.P.S., and Frank K. Ray, M.P.S. This committee was asked to nominate the officers for the Triennium 1976-1977-1973 and they have submitted these names, which we list in this article. Read these names, mark your ballot and mail as directed above. While the names submitted are suggested by the committee, it is the privilege of any member to vote for ANY MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY that he wants to vote for. Use your own good judgement, but CAST YOUR BALLOT.
The ballots will be opened by the chairman of the Ballot Committee on OCTOBER 10, 1975, with the assistance of two other members of the Society to help him. The results of the ballot will be announced in the December issue of the magazine.
Names submitted by the Nominating Committee for the Triennium are -
For President - Eugene S. Hopp, F.P.S.
For First Vice President - Dwight L. Smith, F.P.S.
For Second Vice President - Conrad Hahn, F.P.S.
For Executive Secretary - Franklin J. Anderson, F.P.S.
For Treasurer - Ronald E. Heaton. F.P.S.
We have enjoyed a fine activity under the present officers. We regret the death in April 1974 of our President, William E. Yeager, F.P.S., and the necessity of moving up the present line of officers and placing Dwight L. Smith, F.P.S., in the chair of Second Vice President. These officers have served well, and we are happy.
Robert V. Osborne, F.P.S., assumed the presidency, and carried on with great zeal, assisted by Eugene S. Hopp, F.P.S., First Vice President; Dwight L. Smith, F.P.S., Second Vice President; Franklin J. Anderson, F.P.S., Executive Secretary, and Ronald E. Heaton, F.P.S., Treasurer. We are indebted to these leaders for an increased growth, both in numbers and in activity.
Selected by the Nominating Committee for the place of Second Vice President, is Conrad Hahn, F.P.S., a past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Connecticut, and Executive Secretary of the Masonic Service Association. His active Masonic background, and his contribution to Freemasonry stamp him as a logical choice for this important position.
Read carefully - fill in your ballot, and mail it AT ONCE, as directed, so that we may complete our work for participation in the wonderful Bicentennial program of Freemasonry projected for 1976.
----o----
DeMolay Leadership Conferences Set
The 1975 edition of DeMolay Leadership Conferences will get underway on June 15 and run through August 31. The conferences will be held in almost every corner of the United States and offer DeMolay fun and fellowship, plus a wealth of "how to" information about virtually all phases of DeMolay.
DeMolay Leadership Conferences have continued their growth in popularity every year since their inauguration in 1963. While the conferences are basically designed to provide all-around training in DeMolay programs, projects and activities, each camper receives a great deal more. He shares his ideas and problems with DeMolays from many parts of the United States, and has the opportunity to enjoy a wealth of DeMolay brotherhood.
The basic conference schedule allows a lot of time for sports activities and recreation. The morning hours are spent in lecture and discussion sessions. Afternoons are devoted to organized and individual sports activities, while the evening hours provide entertainment, optional training and inspirational sessions.
Transportation to and from each of the Leadership Conferences is normally the responsibility of the individual conferee. Once he arrives, all expenses are included in the basic fee, with the exception of snacks and other extras, like additional camp tee-shirts or sweatshirts, or personal items.
While at a conference, typical DeMolay chapters are formed for the week. Officers are elected and sports teams are organized. A great deal of good-natured competition is encouraged. Some DeMolays participate in a ritual display, which is given on the last night at the conference, and some work on the daily conference newspaper. Certificates of achievement are presented at the closing banquet on the final night of the conference and later in the evening a meaningful rededication service is held. There is something for everyone at DeMolay Leadership Conferences.
Reservations should be submitted early so that you can be sure and attend the conference of your choice. Reservation forms may be obtained by contacting DeMolay Headquarters, 201 East Armour Boulevard, Kansas City, Missouri 64111. The dates and locations of the conferences are as follow:
Midwest No. 1, June 15-21, Mt. Vernon, Iowa;
Southeast No. 1, July 6-12, Lynchburg, Virginia;
Southeast No. 2, July 6-12, St. Simons Island, Georgia;
Western No. 1, July 13-19, LaHonda, California;
Northeast No. 1, July 13-19, Powling, New York;
Midwest No. 2, July 20-26, Potosi, Missouri;
Southwest No. 1, July 27-August 2, Jonesboro, Arkansas;
Northeast No. 2, August 3-9, Smithfield, Rhode Island;
Rocky Mountain, August 17-23, Greeley, Colorado;
Southwest No. 2, August 17-23, Trinidad, Texas;
Great Lakes, August 17-23, Akron, Ohio;
Northwest, August 24-30, Bremerton, Washington;
Western No. 2, August 25-31, Running Springs, California.
----o----
By Louis L. Williams, M.P.S.
(A paper read as the Keynote Address at the Midwest Conference on Masonic Education, Kansas City, Missouri, May 2, 1975).
When Robert Ingersoll, a lawyer from Peoria, one of the great orators of all time, and really much better than his reputation as a confirmed atheist gives him credit for being, came to Bloomington about 1890 to give his famous address on Shakespeare, he did a most uncommon thing. Without a master of ceremonies, or anyone to introduce him, he walked out on the stage alone, took his stand, and said, "William Shakespeare was the greatest genius the world has ever seen." No words of introduction; no funny stories to loosen up the audience; no wasted idle chatter. But today, tradition requires that we say a few words of greeting, and tell a story or two; and who am I to defy tradition, especially Masonic tradition.
I have chosen as my subject this morning, "Footsteps that Echo," and I believe it will fit in very aptly with the theme of your Conference this year which is "Individual Growth Through the Spirit of Masonry - Activities for Making Good Men Better." As I pondered on what I might say to you this morning, I found that over and over there kept coming into my mind the verses of a poem by Douglas Malloch. You are all familiar with it, I'm sure, and it epitomizes in a few words the whole aspect of Freemasonry. And perhaps without the poet ever having intended it, its three final stanzas define Masonry in three tenses - past, present, and future. That is exactly how I intend to present my theme to you this morning - Masonry: Past, Present, and Future.
Our poet says:
"We walk the path the great have trod!
The great in heart, the great in mind,
Who look through Masonry to God,
And look through God to all mankind;
Learned more than sign or ward or grip;
Learned man's and God's relationship."
Many writers and thinkers have tried to define Masonry, but it really defies definition. It is too complex, too profound a conception to be easily expressed in words. Perhaps the simplest and best definition of all is the phrase, "The Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God." Our Masonic forefathers had a deep understanding of human needs and human aspirations. They may never have dreamed of the mindless computer which governs our lives; or the fission of matter which threatens our lives; but they understood human nature, and what motivates the spirit of man. Thus, from a simple process of using stone and mortar for building, they progressed to the most important of all of life's functions - the building of character.
What their labors have accomplished we now accept as a matter of course, but you may be sure it didn't come easy. Anthropologists tell us that man has been thinking for about 300,000 years. We know that our recorded history dates back only 7,000 years. Christianity has existed for 2,000 years; Protestantism for but 450 years, and organized Masonry is just 250 years old. What tremendous strides we have made in that short period of time. But the pace of the world has quickened, and we must quicken our pace if we are to keep abreast of civilization. As James Russell Lowell so aptly said,
"They must upward still, and onward,
Who would keep abreast of Truth."
So, today we do "walk the path the great have trod." Each time I study the history of our Fraternity, I marvel at the vision of the men who brought it into being, and nurtured and developed it. I certainly do not intend to belittle Desaguliers and Anderson, who were giants in their time, but I wish to speak more at this moment of Preston, who clarified and codified the ritual, and who almost single-mindedly gave us our lectures used today.
William Preston was a self-educated printer. Remember, there were no public schools in his day, and three-fourths of the people were illiterate. So he saw the answer to this crying need in the program of the Lodges, and he thus conceived that Freemasonry could and should be a great educational force. You see, Preston was the educational chairman of his day, and practically alone he built the Masonic educational program of the Eighteenth Century. He organized a club in his Lodge, which met twice a week to hear his lectures and to criticize his work. After seven years of this procedure, the Grand Lodge adopted his system, and we deliver his lectures to this day.
Preston attempted to cover the whole field of knowledge in a few short lectures. They were admirably suited to his time and place, but we know that today they only scratch the surface. His treatise on Geometry; on the Five Senses; on the tools and implements of architecture, impressed his contemporaries, but they are not sufficient to teach us anything today, with this exception. They clearly point the need for knowledge, for more light, and that is what Masonry is all about, and what this Conference is assembled for.
But Shakespeare said in the Tempest, "What is past is prologue." We revere the past, we study that we may learn from the lessons of the past; but it is the present in which we must work. As Malloch, in his next verse wrote.
"To him who knows, who understands,
How mighty Masonry appears;
A Brotherhood of many lands,
A Fellowship of many years;
A Brotherhood so great, so vast,
Of all the Craft, of all the post."
We may readily ask ourselves what Masonry has stood for in the past, and just as readily find the answer. It has promoted fellowship; it has nurtured brotherhood. It has practiced charity; it has taught education; it has been founded on Truth and the cardinal virtues. But what is Masonry's great mission in life today? What should be the thrust of modern Masonry? Those are answers we are presently seeking, and on our success in finding answers to these questions depends the future of our Fraternity.
Five hundred years ago, in 1473, the great astronomer Copernicus was born in Poland. His birth date was of little consequence, but the year he died, 1543, something happened that shattered the frontiers of the entire world. Copernicus was educated, first in Poland, and then in Italy. Destined for the priesthood, he was taught all the then knowledge of the learned man. When he received his degree of Doctor of Canon Law in 1503, at age 30, he was said to know all there was then known of mathematics, astronomy, medicine and theology.
Our ancient brethren quite understandably believed that the earth was flat, that it was the center of the universe, and that the sun revolved around it. This theory was officially published by the great Egyptian astronomer, Ptolemy, about 150 A.D. You may then imagine the consternation that occurred in 1543, when just before his death, luckily, and when he was 70 years old, Copernicus produced his book. entitled, "Concerning the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies," and first announced and proved to the world that the earth was round; that the sun was the center of our part of the universe; and that the earth and other known planets revolved around the sun. In one fell swoop he upset all existing knowledge of the world and the universe, and pushed the frontier of man's knowledge of himself into the limitless and unbounded future.
Copernicus didn't stay around to feel the full wrath of the Church. But his follower, Galileo, who invented the astronomical telescope, and who eighty years later, published full proof of the Copernican theory, was forced to recant, which he did rather than be burned at the stake as a heretic. Such was the fate, in those days, of men who dared to push outward the frontiers.
For about fifty years past, science has undergone a figurative and literal explosion. We have split the atom. We have overcome the laws of gravity, conquered space, and put "footsteps that echo" on the moon. Our lives are slowly being controlled by computer robots. We are using up our material and natural resources at a self-destructive pace. Just a month ago, our Supreme Court refused to stop a Minnesota Mining Company from dumping asbestos fibers into Lake Superior, perhaps endangering life in unborn generations. Some of our leading scientists, not undue alarmists, tell us that we are destroying the ozone layer in the atmosphere by the use of aerosol spray cans, but we pay little heed. We are like the cigarette smoker who thinks that lung cancer won't happen to him.
We know that Masonry can't answer the problems of scientific knowledge that confront us, but it does have other answers for a civilization that seems to be hurtling headlong to destruction. Brotherly Love; Relief; Truth Temperance; Fortitude; Prudence; Justice - these are far more important to human development, to human relations, to human life, than are the rules of science. It's simply a question of physical or spiritual values. Just a few days ago, I read a thought-provoking article entitled, "Can Freemasonry Endure?" We may survive, but can we endure? Mere survival is not enough. Unless we have a viable program suited to this day and age, we will not endure.
Just as we have seen the explosion of science in the last fifty years, so too have we seen the explosion of Masonic membership, beginning about World War I. Originally an elite society, Masonry suddenly became popular. Thus we have enrolled tens of thousands of members as Masons who have no conception of what Masonry is, what it stands for, or what it can do in one's life. They are happy to wear the insignia of a Mason, and be counted among its adherents. Nor would I deny them membership. It fulfills some need in their lives and thereby enriches life for them.
To those of our Masonic brothers who are intrigued by the outward show of Masonry, I say, "More power to you." But it is to the student of Masonry, the brother who would probe deeper into the knowledge of our Craft, that we must address our educational efforts. What other institutions - church, college, business - seek to teach within the limits of creed, science, business relations - we seek to teach in the universal fields of culture and civilization. If the ideal of the eighteenth century, of Preston and his followers was knowledge; if the ideal of the nineteenth century, Oliver, Pike, etc., was individual moral life; then the ideal of the twentieth century must be universality - to transmit knowledge and morals and character and culture to the whole human race. That's quite a large order, isn't it? No wonder it seems at times so frustrating a task.
So how can we approach it? What tools may we use to accomplish the purpose? We live in an age of instant mass communication. We hear the President speak and know at once what everyone else knows. A great scientist lectures, and not fifty students in a classroom, not five thousand in an auditorium, but ten million may hear his message. But that is not the way individual character is built. We are still primitive enough that the best method of teaching and learning is one on one, man to man, by example and by precept. "The attentive ear receives the sound from the instructive tongue, and the secrets of Freemasonry are safely lodged in the repository of faithful breasts."
So our Masonic education, universal though it may seem to be, will still depend on individual effort, and not mass production. Oh, yes, we must use pamphlet and book, lecture and motion picture, but we must never forget that "words fitly spoken are like apples of gold in pictures of silver." For every Lodge of Masons must be a focus of civilization; a high example of the best in human life, radiating reason to put down prejudice and ignorance; and advancing the cause of justice that peace and harmony may prevail, not just among ourselves in the tyled precincts of our Lodge, but in our community, our nation, in the world. Such is our Mission, and we must strive to do no less.
Today, in the mad onward rush of civilization, we tend to become impersonal. No longer are we individuals, but numbers. We lose our identity. Freemasonry is just the antithesis of this condition. It is dedicated to recognize individual worth. And it is as individuals that we must labor in Masonry's vineyards. The word "dedication" has been used so much that we lose sight of its value. But I tell you that the future of Masonry lies in its hard core of dedicated brethren. Certainly it is rightfully said to be a philosophy of life, so we must dedicate ourselves to that philosophy. This is the price we must pay, and this is the ultimate answer.
Each of us is a lamp unto the feet of others. More men are led into Masonry by the examples we set as individual Masons than we realize. By the grace of God, we are "touched by fire" and are charged to spread the sacred word.
Rudyard Kipling was a great man, a great Mason, a great poet. He wrote many Masonic poems. He wrote a little-known poem called, "The Explorers," which deserves to be better known. This poem does not mention Masonry at all, but the theme so ably describes Masonry's attempts to advance its frontiers that Kipling might well have had Masonry in mind as he wrote it.
The poem tells the story of an old man, the Explorer, who at the end of his life tells the listener, any listener, of the one great discovery of his lifetime, and how the memory still haunts him. As he went about his ordinary tasks, God began to whisper to him:
"Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the ranges.
Something lost behind the Ranges.
Lost and waiting for you. Go!"
So the old man, urged by this still small voice, that ofttimes comes to each of us, crossed the foothills, then the mountains, then the desert, and finally came upon the land of promise, rich beyond belief, with pure water, green grass and never-ending beauty. As he gazed upon it, unpeopled, he could picture in his mind the busy people, the wondrous cities and the commerce that would someday fill the land. Then he returned to the place whence he started and in his old age told the listener, any listener, how it all came about, and of his unselfish gift of this great discovery to all the people. He said: -
"God took care to hide that country till He found His people ready, then he chose me for His whisper, and I've found it, and it's yours."
Then in a glow of rapture that exhibits both humility and pride, the old Explorer ends the story of his vision, his search, and his ultimate conquest with these beautiful words:
"Anybody might hove found it but, His whisper came to me!"
Masonry is always beckoning to us in the words of the old Explorer:
"Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges. Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!"
The frontiers of Masonry, the frontiers of the spirit, are bounded only by the limitations we place upon them. Within this fraternity we call Freemasonry are untold and undiscovered beauties of the heart, the mind, the spirit, waiting to reward us just for the search. True, it is hidden, but only from those who fail to "look behind the Ranges."
What is the Masonic light that from the moment of our first entrance into Masonry we are told to seek? True, it is knowledge, it is education, but it goes far deeper than that. It is a sense of the meaning of life, of its deserts of difficulty and frustration and denial; of its mountain peaks of inspiration and yearning; and thereafter, of its valleys of fruition and peace. It is the light of hope and understanding, of compassion and love and truth. This great light of Masonry is ours for the seeking. As the days go by, as the lessons of Masonry sink deeper and deeper into our hearts and minds, as we push outward the frontiers that bound our own lives, we may well say with the old Explorer:
"Anybody might hove found it;
But, His whisper came to me!"
In the last stanza of his great poem, Douglas Malloch speaks of our Masonic future, of our Masonic destiny, as he says:
"And so I say a sacred trust
Is yours to share, is yours to keep;
I hear the voice of men of dust;
I hear the steps of men asleep;
And down the endless future, too,
Your own may echo after you."
Every challenge presents an equal opportunity. The future of Freemasonry is in our hands. May our footsteps echo down the distant future, repeating the story of Truth and Brotherly Love.
----o----
Welcome To
New Members
FRANK J. ZELTMANN, 719 Bay Ridge Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11220. Recommended by Allan D. Parsons, M.P.S.
DAVID HOEY PRESTON, P.O.Box 10590, Cleveland, Ohio 44110. Recommended by Harold P. Bull, M.P.S.
JOHN CLARENCE BOWERS, P.O.Box 23, Lincoln, Ill. 62656. Recommended by John W. Heater, Sr., M.P.S.
ROBERT CHARLES ALT, 10721 Casper Street, Kensington, Md. 20795. Recommended by Joseph C. Richmond, M.P.S.
OLIVER BEVERLY RAMSEY, 2280 Dodson Dr., East Point, Georgia 30344. Recommended by Walter M. Callaway, Jr., F.P.S.
GEORGE ARMOND MCCOLLUM, JR., Box 68, Eagle, Colorado 81631. Recommended by Gordon R. Merrick, M.P.S.
JAMES CAMPBELL, 54 Summerhill Gardens, Toronto, Ont., Canada M4T 1B4. Recommended by Allan D. Parsons, M.P.S.
JAMES CAMERON ELDER, Rte. 2, Box 120 No. 9, Buckeye, Ariz. 85327. Recommended by Estel W. Brooks, M.P.S.
PAUL O. VOELKER, 2424 Hampton Ave., Allison Park, Pa. 15101. Recommended by Arthur B. Besnecker, M.P.S.
EDWARD R. SCHMIDT, 210 Early Ave., Sandston, Va. 23150. Recommended by Allen E. Roberts, F.P.S.
DESSERT ANDREW MADSEN, 22902 Sheridan Street, Dearborn, Mich. 48123. Recommended by Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S.
HARRY FREDRICK LANG, 207 N. Woodbury Road, Pitman, New Jersey 08071. Recommended by Allan D. Parsons. M.P.S.
HY CHINKES, 5335 Chemin De Vie, Atlanta, Georgia 30342. Recommended by Walter M. Callaway, Jr., F.P.S.
RALPH E. LEWIS, Lakeshore Drive, Nassau, New York 12123. Recommended by Wilmer E. Breese, M.P.S.
LEROY TURNER SHOEMAKER, 1817 Glenwood Apts., Rome, Georgia 30161. Recommended by Fred H. Crouch, Jr., M.P.S.
GERALD RICHARD FAIRLEY, 12815 S.E. Third, Bellvue, Wash. 98005. Recommended by Albert L. Woody, F.P.S.
SVANTE JOHNSON, 425-48th, Brooklyn, New York 11220. Recommended by Allan D. Parsons, M.P.S.
THOMAS FRANKLIN POTLUCK, 243 West Lime Ave., Moravia, Calif. 91016. Recommended by James R. Case, F.P.S.
RALPH EDWIN HEUSER, 210 Benton Drive, Rome Georgia 30161. Recommended by Fred H. Crouch, Jr., M.P.S.
ROBERT ALAN MARTENS, P.O. Box 550, Newcastle, Wyo. 82701. Recommended by Albert L. Woody, F.P.S.
JAMES C. HOOPER, 609 Bob White Road, Wayne, Pa. 19087. Recommended by James M. Alter, M.P.S.
NORRIS GREEN1EAF ABBETT, JR., 1180 Narragansett Blvd., Apt. G-1, Cranston, R.I. 02905. Recommended by Ronald E. Heaton, F.P.S.
DUANE MICHAEL PETERS, P.O. Box 532, Coldwater, Mich. 49036. Recommended by Executive Committee.
AEMIL POUTER, 5409-19th Avenue, Hyattsville, Md. 20782. Recommended by John B. Vrooman, F.P.S.
HERBERT A. BEDDED, 96 West Street, Whitehall, New York 12887. Recommended by Allan D. Parsons, M.P.S.
STEPHEN RICHARD GORMAN, 1517 East View, Danville, Ill. 61832. Recommended by William B. Barnes, M.P.S.
GERALD FRANK LEVY, 610 Maryland Avenue, Norfolk, Va. 23508. Recommended by William B. Oshman, M.P.S.
ROBERT HUDSON BIBB, 226 North G Street, Muskogee, Okla. 74401. Recommended by F.M. Lumbard, M.P.S.
B. GEN. ALBERT E. TARRANT, 5342 Roxanne Dr., San Jose, Calif. 95124. Recommended by James R. Case, F.P.S.
ROBERT KINGSLAND MEYBOHM, 1471 Peony Arch, Virginia Beach, Va. 23456. Recommended by Herbert A. Fisher. M.P.S.
JOHN F. FENN, 227 Hauser, Apt. A, Helena, Mont. 59601. Recommended by Ernest A. Neath, M.P.S.
DR. DONALD LEWIS BOWMAN, 1908 East 33rd Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50317. Recommended by J. E. Marsengill, F.P.S.
DONALD GLENN MEREDITH, 1711 Glendale Ave., Bowling Green, Ky. 42101. Recommended by Charles Snow Guthrie, M.P.S.
HARVEY R. HANSEN, 85 East Emerson, Apt. 301 West, St. Paul, Minn. 55118. Recommended by Robert A. Rogers, M.P.S.
ROBERT LEE PARKER, 740 Clouds Ford Rd., Kingsport, Tenn. 37665. Recommended by James P. Wagner, M.P.S.
VIRGIL ALAN CLINE, R.F.D. 2, Box 331, Garrettsville, Ohio 44231. Recommended by Royal C. Scofield, M.P.S.
ROBERT EDWARD O'NEILL, 328 S. LaGrange Rd., LaGrange Ill. 60525. Recommended by Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S.
DONALD JAMES McKINNON, 1112 Highland Street, Holliston, Mass. 01746. Recommended by Wallace P. Walker, M.P.S.
----o----
By Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S., (Life) Illinois
The Walter F. Meier Lodge of Research, No. 281, of Seattle, Washington has been publishing papers on Masonic subjects for years. Brother Raymond J. Brown, a Past Master of that Lodge, has compiled a list of the papers still available together with the price for each.
Anyone interested in securing a copy of this list of papers so he can order some that cover subjects of interest, may write to Brother Jack R. Lewis, Secretary, 7481 So. 118th Place, Seattle, Washington 98178.
* * *
The Texas Lodge of Research was formed in 1958 and it has published nine volumes of Transactions. For a limited time Volumes 1 to 8, both inclusive, are available at $27.25 postpaid; Volume 9 is available at $15.50 a copy postpaid. The annual dues at the present time are $12.00 a year. The lodge meets four or five times a year in various parts of the State of Texas; one of these is always in Waco where the Grand Lodge maintains a fine library. The first three volumes are cloth bound; the balance are paper-bound.
The recently published volume 9 contains the papers read before the lodge between March, 1973 and March, 1974. Here is a sampling of some of the subjects covered: Secrets of Freemasonry Revealed to Our Wives; Moon Lodges; National Sojourners; Masonic Historic Markers in Texas; Heroes of '76; Rev. David Barnard, Anti-Mason; Acacia, A Masonic University Fraternity; and William Wirt: Anti-masonic Enigma.
Anyone desiring information about this research lodge should write to Dr. George H. T. French, 7221 Staffordshire, Houston, Texas 77025.
* * *
The June, 1975 issue of the Quarterly Journal of Northern California Research Lodge has a fine article entitled "Desaguliers - One of the Twelve Apostles." Unfortunately, the article starts out on an unrealistic note stating that the origin of the Craft can be traced back thousands of years, and ends with the extravagant statement that Freemasonry has conquered the world. But the main theme of the article is very good in giving the basic facts about the life of Desaguliers and the influence he had on the Craft during the early Grand Lodge days.
Anyone interested in the subject should communicate with Brother Paul S. Boren, Secretary, 1947 Tiffin Road, Oakland, Cal. 94602.
* * *
For years Brother Giordana Gamberini, M.P.S., of Ravenna, Italy, and editor of the Masonic Review (official magazine of the Grand Orient of Italy) has been making a study of the biographies of famous Masons and collecting their pictures. In each issue of the Review a number of biographical sketches are included plus the picture of the person mentioned. Now we have a fine volume which collects a number of these biographical sketches and pictures under the title "The Faces of a Thousand Masons". Our readers who can read any of the Latin languages will find this an interesting volume with the sketches in Italian.
Available from Ediizioni Soc. Esrasmo, Casella Postale 287, 00100 Roma, Italy, for 10,000 Lire.
* * *
I note with interest that there has been held a debate on the subject "The Craft Seen Against the Background of this Modern World" before Phoenix Lodge No. 30, a research lodge working in the English language in Paris, France. The Worshipful Master of the Lodge is Alec Mellor. It is hoped that the debate will be printed in the Transactions of the lodge.
Interested readers should communicate with Brother A. W. Barnett, Secretary, 8, rue J.M. de Heredia, 75007, Paris, France.
* * *
Did you ever dream of possessing a Masonic classic that has been out-of-print? Or held in your hand a rare Masonic book while visiting a library and wished you had a copy for your very own?
If you have had such an experience, send the name of the author and of the book to Alphonse Cerza, Secretary of the Masonic Book Club, 237 Millbridge Road, Riverside, Illinois 60546. The Club has on its trestleboard books that are to be issued for the next several years, but is looking forward over the horizon to supply its members with out-of-print classic for many years to come.
----o----
International Congress Concludes Sessions
The XI International Conference of Supreme Councils of Scottish Rite Freemasonry concluded its five-day meeting at Indianapolis, Indiana on June 5, with general resolutions and declarations pledging efforts to continue to work for world peace, goodwill, justice and attitudes of brotherhood among all peoples. The resolutions were approved by the 29 participating jurisdictions from Europe, the Middle East, South, Central and North America.
In other action the XI Conference selected George A. Newbury of Buffalo, New York, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Northern Jurisdiction of the U.S.A., as President; Dr. Giovanni Pica of Rome, Sovereign Grand Commander of Italy, as First Vice-President; and General Juan Jose Gastelum of Mexico City, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council for Mexico, as Second Vice-President. These officers will serve for the five-year interval until the XII International Conference of Supreme Councils is held. The delegates chose Florence, Italy, as the site of the twelfth world-wide Scottish Rite meeting in 1980.
Additional resolutions were adopted expressing the appreciation of the 200 visiting delegates, observers and ladies for the fine facilities and hospitality afforded the Conference by the Scottish Rite Bodies of Indianapolis which made their noted Cathedral available for the first such international Scottish Rite gathering ever held in the Midwest.
Social events and sightseeing trips held during the week were climaxed by a closing banquet at Conference Headquarters, the Indianapolis Hilton, where a colorful exchange of national flags brought the XI International Conference of Supreme Council to a close.
----o----
Our Lives, Our Fortunes, And Our Sacred Honour
By Jerry Marsengill, F.P.S.
(A paper read at the semi-annual breakfast meeting of Missouri Lodge of Research, St. Louis, Mo., April 29,1975).
We are now celebrating the bi-centennial of our American Revolution. This is probably not the way in which our War for Independence should be identified. The American Revolution was not really a revolution as most revolutions go. Most of the speeches which we have been hearing would make it appear that our American Revolution was some type of Masonic meeting. Let us dismiss that at once. Our Revolution was not a Masonic sponsored affair, and those who would make it such do not understand the basic principles of the fraternity.
There were many Masons, and good Masons, who were patriots. There were also many Masons, and good Masons, who were opposed to the Revolution. Let us look at the War for Independence in its proper perspective. It, in its earliest form, was not a Revolution at all. It was primarily a rebellion of Englishmen who claimed that their rights as Englishmen had been violated.
Had their petitions been received and accepted, or had the English government made conciliatory overtures to them at any point, there would have been no Revolution and the United States would have never come into existence. We would be living today in the same approximate position as does Canada. This, however, was not to be. Any petition for the redress of grievances from the colonists was met with a cold shoulder on the part of parliament. George III was a megalomaniac who had delusions of returning to a strong monarchial form of government in England and he was surrounded by a group of Tory ministers who pandered to him and to his delusions.
They kept the rule of the colonies firmly entrenched in London.
The colonists were not without their partisans in parliament. The Whig Party, always the guardians of personal rights, fought for those rights to be given to the colonists. Pitt left a sickbed to come to parliament and to inveigh for the colonials to have the fundamental right of all free born Englishmen, including the right of representation in parliament. Not that all of the colonials were in favor of the idea of freedom. They were just as divided as was parliament. They were so divided in their sentiments that when the call for independence was made it was not an overwhelming majority which favored the idea. Probably the patriots were about equally divided and a large group left which didn't particularly care one way or another whether or not the colonies had independence.
The colonials were not particularly in favor of the idea of war, even after the first shots had been fired, the first lines drawn and the first battles fought. But circumstances combined to insure that there must be war.
On June 12, 1776 Admiral Howe and his brother, Lord Howe, came to America authorized to offer terms to the rebels and to restore peace by negotiation. But Admiral Howe, and through him England, did not know to whom to offer these terms. Congress could not be approached, since this recognition would have given the continental congress some official status. Walking the tightrope between open recognition of the rebel government and the official position that there was actually no rebellion except for a few discontented men, the Brothers Howe could find no one with whom to negotiate. When they finally made a decision, they addressed themselves to George Washington, Esquire. Washington, naturally, refused to receive their message since this put him in the position of being a private citizen, in open rebellion against a rightful government.
The Howes then attempted to negotiate with the colonial governors, but they found that these Royal appointees had left their posts with the single exception of William Franklin, governor of New Jersey, who was under close confinement at East Windsor Connecticut. Consequently through blundering ministers, and through the manipulations of those in England, who were afraid that they might lose their exclusive trade franchises, were rights granted to the colonials, the machinery for war was set in motion, and when once started, it would be hard to stop. We had thrown down the gauntlet of defiance, and when the Declaration of Independence was signed the document merely confirmed what had, by that time, become a grim reality. The infant United States was in a life and death struggle for independence and, on the outcome of that struggle, rested the future of the new World.
In those days, patriotism was not a spectator sport. When the brave men who signed the declaration and pledged their "lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honour", they were not merely making empty statements. It might be a little hard to measure how their "sacred honour" could be collected, but there was no doubt of their fortunes or their lives. It was win or perish. Had the revolution been a failure, George Washington would have been subjected to the jolly old English sport of drawing and quartering, and portions of him would have been displayed in the four corners of the kingdom while his smoked head would have decorated a pike set up over one of the gates of London. The lives of all of these men would have been likewise forfeited, and their fortunes would have been confiscated.
Treason was one form of human employment of which England, in those times, took a dim view. If there is any doubt of the severity of the punishment which would have come to these traitors, just read of the punishments which the victorious colonials meted out to the American Tories who fell into their hands at the conclusion of the revolution. This treatment of the people whose only crime was that they remained loyal to the mother country is one of the black marks on the escutcheon of American History. When Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne was defeated by Arnold, the final stages of the war was set. Although America had been seeking the aid of France since the beginning of the war, and although France was friendly to the American cause, France refused to come out openly in favor of the Colonies.
The effect of Burgoyne's defeat was to weaken the king and to cause the ministers to change policy. The tea-duty and the obnoxious acts of 1774 were repealed, the principles of colonial independence of Parliament, laid down by James Otis and Patrick Henry were admitted and commissioners were sent to America to negotiate terms of peace. It was hoped that by ample concessions, the war might cease and that some ground might be found which would leave America a part of the British Empire. As soon as France saw the weakening in English policy, she declared herself in favor of the United States. While England and her colonies were killing one another, France would not interfere, but when it looked as if England might be able to save her American colonies France was compelled to intervene. France's policy was dictated solely by hatred of England and she had determined to revenge her defeat in the 7 years' war.
On February 6, 1778, the treaty of alliance was signed at Paris. The colonials soon came to depend on France. It was to the advantage of France to be the strong friend of the United States and there was no way in which England could break this alliance except to grant independence to the United States. Had France withdrawn from the United States in 1779 or 1780 after the Colonies had placed their dependence in her and in her navy there would, most probably, have been a bloodbath and an English victory.
Now I am an unabashed hero worshipper. I revere the founding fathers and I admire the spirit which made a small group of colonies dare to challenge the might of England. I know all of the faults of the various American patriarchs and pay very little attention to them. All that they prove is that these men were human beings and very little else remains to inform us that the men who founded this great country were that, human. They made as many mistakes, committed as many sins, and had as many problems as do our national leaders today. But they had one thing which seems to have been lost somewhere in the shuffle, they had their "sacred honour". Had France proved undependable and had she withdrawn from her alliance, there would have been no United States.
In his farewell Washington urged us to "avoid foreign entanglements". In our modern age we cannot, in any manner, live in a state of isolation. But following the two Great World Wars, our country has entered into foreign entanglements on a magnificent scale. We have become the greatest real-estate subdividers in the history of the world. Whenever a country had a communist majority, under the guise of "containing communism", we have divided it into a north and south country, or an east and west country, and set up a democratic form of government. This has placed us in the same position as were the hated colonial powers. When Vietnam conquered France and forced her withdrawal, we took the place of France. We have backed corrupt governments, loosely organized them under the forms of democracies and have pledged them our assistance.
These were not the governments of the people and the people were not well enough educated to try to form an actual government of their own. Suddenly, the climate in the United States changed. When peace was made in the cold war and when we established relations with the communist countries, we were left in an embarrassing position in these subdivided countries.
Our big mistake was not in deciding to get out of these struggles, it was in ever becoming involved in a land war in any part of Asia. Not that these countries will not now become Marxist, for they will. It is inevitable. We have postponed this for some 20 years with great loss of American lives and American dollars. Now we have pulled out, under cover of a so called peace treaty. It was a shameful, and a cowardly thing to do. We have sold the Vietnamese people down the river, under the pretense of establishing a democracy in their country.
When the bloodbath comes, and come it will, the responsibility will be laid directly on our own doorstep. Not that the leaders are not corrupt, for they are. Not that we did not think we were doing the right thing in establishing the southern government, for we did. But the common people, whose only real worry is getting enough to eat or a place in which to sleep will be the ones who suffer. They trusted us and we betrayed them. The rattlesnake flag of the American colonies had the picture of a rattlesnake ready to strike and the legend "don't tread on me" inscribed on it. Now the snake has his head buried in the sand and the inscription reads "Don't Count on Me".
Vietnam is lost. We can do nothing there except to try to save a few of the people from destruction. Vietnam can do nothing for us, but we can do one thing from this debacle, we can learn a lesson.
We can learn what kind of price tag there is on our "sacred honour". We are in another conflict whether or not we will admit it. We are involved in the middle east. Pressures are being put upon us to abandon our commitments to Israel. Israel is a small country, but it is an enclave of western civilization in a desert of Oriental barbarism.
It has the sea on one side and hostile neighbors on all the others. Israel would not have come into existence had it not been for Missouri’s own Harry S. Truman. He was the architect who laid the plans for the building of Israel. Before Truman, there was nothing.
We now stand at the crossroads where Israel is concerned. If we yield to blackmail from other countries and abandon our commitments to Israel, we will be responsible for another genocide. The St. Louis was a ship carrying refugees from Nazi Germany. The ship was turned back from all ports in all countries, including the United States and finally sent back to Germany, bearing the occupants to certain death. Many of them committed suicide, rather than face the horrible death which they knew awaited them. Vespasian killed Jews. The churches of the Middle Ages killed Jews. Hitler killed 6,000,000 Jews. But, unless we keep our promises to this small country, we will be responsible for more than any of these. We will be responsible for the destruction of the only Jewish homeland which has been established in 2,000 years. This we cannot afford. All of our early training should cry out against it.
Now there is anti-Semitic feeling in parts of the Masonic institutions. Before you raise your hands in pious horror, let me say that I have heard it. When we elected our first Jew as Grand Master of Iowa last year, there was much anti-Jewish talk around the corridors of Grand Lodge. Hate mail is being sent to many Masons, some of which would make the Ku-Klux-Klan and other such white hooded morons seem like a troop of boy scouts. Some will say that only the ignorant in the country are anti-Semites. To a large extent this is true. But when good men sit on their hands and do nothing, bad men triumph.
I do not suggest that the Masonic fraternity get into partisan politics, we cannot and we should not. But I do suggest that each member of the Masonic order examine his own conscience and write to his senators and his representatives, expressing concern for the fate of Israel and a strong determination to see that the United States stands behind the commitments which she had made.
----o----
In Memoriam Dr. Francis Joseph Scully, F.P.S.
1891-1975
BY KENNETH C. JOHNSON, M.P.S.
Francis Joseph Scully was born in Bottineau, North Dakota on June 28, 1891. He received his early education in that community and then entered the University of Wisconsin, where he graduated in 1912 with an A.B. degree. He then attended Rush Medical College in Chicago, and received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1915.
After completing his internship in Cook County Hospital, Chicago, he served two years in the United States Army Medical Corps with Base Hospital No. 14, in France. In May 1920 he came to Hot Springs where he has since engaged in the practice of his profession.
On October 29, 1919, he married Miss Bea Estelle Wolfe of Columbus, Ohio.
He was a member of the Garland County and Arkansas State Medical Societies, a Fellow of the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians, India diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and the National Board of Medical Examiners. He was the author of many published articles on medical subjects, including a number especially relating to the effects of the Thermal Waters at Hot Springs. He held membership in the American Geriatric Society, the American Rheumatism Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Botanical Society, the American Fern Society and the Arkansas and Garland County Historical Societies. He was a Past President of the Hot Springs Rotary Club.
Among many writings are included the Seventy-fifth Anniversary History of Hot Springs Chapter No. 47, R.A.M.; The Centennial History of Hot Springs Lodge No. 62, F. & A. M.; the Seventy-fifth Anniversary History of the Grand Commandery Knights Templar of Arkansas; the Centennial History of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Arkansas; and the official history of the Grand Encampment Knights Templar of the United States of America. His last completed work was the History of the City of Hot Springs and Hot Springs National Park, published in 1966.
He divided his vast library of books to those he thought could best use them, including the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, Hot Springs Library and several Universities in the state.
He was Raised July 21, 1921 in Hot Springs Lodge No. 62, and served as W.M. in 1944. He was a Charter member and P.M. of Arkansas Research Lodge No. 739 and was Corresponding member of a number of Research Lodges both in this country and foreign countries. He was Grand Master of Masons in Arkansas in 1954-1955. He was Exalted November 24, 1922 in H.S. Chapter No. 47 and served as H.P. in 1941. He was Grand High Priest of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Arkansas in 1950 and a member of the Order of High Priesthood. He was Greeted May 30, 1923 in H.S. Council No. 23 and served as T.I.M. in 1933 and as Grand Master of the Grand Council of Arkansas in 1938. He was a Charter Member and Past T.I.M. of Arkansas Council of T.I.Ms. He was Knighted February 27, 1923 in H.S. Commandery No. 5 and served as E.C. in 1930 and as Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery K.T. of Arkansas in 1937. He served as Chairman of the Committee on Templar History of the Grand Encampment K.T. of the U.S.A. He was a Charter member and P.P. of Holy Grail Tabernacle No. XI, Holy Royal Arch Knights Templar Priests and served as Grand Preceptor of the Grand College of America, H.R.A.K.T.P. in 1953. He received the 32d Scottish Rite in Arkansas Consistory in November 1939; received K.C.C.H. in November 1945 and was Coronetted an Honorary Inspector General 33d on October 21, 1949.
He was a Charter member and P.P. of Albert Pike Priory No. 20, K.Y.C.H.; Past Sovereign of St. Giles Conclave, Red Cross of Constantine; member of H.S. Chapter No. 69, O.E.S.; member of Sahara Shrine Temple, A.A.O.N.M.S.; member of the Royal Order of Scotland; member of the Great Priory of America, C.B.C.S.; Fellow of the Philalethes Society; member of the Grand College of Rites; Knight Masons of the U.S.A., Society of Blue Friars; Council of Nine Muses; Grand Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees of which he served as Sovereign G.M. of the U.S.A. in 1962-63.
No Arkansas Mason has ever served in so many positions of service or received more honors than Brother Scully. Known as a "Four-Star General" in the York Rite, he was equally well known and loved in Scottish Freemasonry.
His wife, Bea, who predeceased him by three months, was influential in his being confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church a few years before his death. Before his confirmation, he had a clear understanding with the authorities of the Church that he would not be required to give up any of his Masonic ties and affiliations. He passed to his reward on March 10, 1975, following a lengthy illness. Religious services were conducted in the St. Mary of the Springs Catholic Church in Hot Springs on March 13, 1975, after which the body was bourne to Calvary Catholic Cemetery and laid to rest with Masonic Honors, graveside services were conducted by the Gr. Lodge of Ark.
----o----
Midwest Conference Discusses
Registering at the Continental Hotel in downtown Kansas City on Thursday evening, was followed by a delightful social hour and hospitality Hour, where the delegates, new and old met and became acquainted.
Friday morning the meeting was opened by Richard D. Kelsey, P.G.M. of the Grand Lodge of Kansas, Conference president. The splendid keynote address, "Footsteps That Echo", was given by Ill. Brother Louis L. Williams, of Illinois, immediately after the official welcome by M.W. Brother Herman A. Orlick, Grand Master of Missouri, the host, and a suitable response was given.
An interesting paper "Masonic Clergy Night", was read by Donald L. Gilbertson, of Wisconsin, outlining a longtime program instituted by that Grand Lodge some years ago by which to create better relations between the Masonic Fraternity and the Clergy.
A topic that has become more and more profitable and entertaining in the past few years - "Planning for the East" was presented by Brother Richard H. Sands, of Michigan, and was followed by an interesting and searching period of questions and answers which clarified and enlightened the delegates.
M.W. Brother Clyde E. Hegman, of Minnesota, one of the longtime leaders of the Conference, presented an interesting discussion of the activities of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota on "Masonic Leadership Training in Minnesota". He found many similarities and some differences between their problems and methods and those of the other jurisdictions.
Closing the morning program was a paper read by Jerry Marsengill, a member of the Iowa Committee, and Associate Editor of the "Philalethes" magazine - "Research Groups - Their Uses and Abuses". A lengthy and talented discussion followed, with many new points of interest involved.
Following the luncheon period, at which members of the several committees sat together and discussed their problems, Alphonse Cerza, of Illinois gave a brief resume and outline of Bicentennial Plans by Members of the Midwest Conference. Each group was summarized, and the intent and activity of the several committees represented were outlined and briefed. There is definitely a trend toward greater cooperation and a similar desire to avoid duplication and overlapping of activities.
One of the most interesting and profitable projects of the Conference, a series of DISCUSSION GROUPS, bringing each participant in the Conference into one of the roundtable groups, centered about the topic - "Making Good Men Better". Each group had a Group Leader and a Secretary. Each group approached the subject in a different manner, and at the completion of the hour and a half, each Secretary of the sub-groups gave a resume and analysis of what the group had done, the estimate of the discussion and the summary of what the group concluded was the ultimate result of the discussion. It was an extraordinary and stimulating project and brought much new information and emphasis to the Conference.
After the last portion of the afternoon's program, buses were waiting at the door and took the delegates and their ladies to the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, where a guided tour was conducted for the ladies while the delegates met to listen to a talk about the Library and its contents. After the meeting all took time to tour the points of interest, after which the buses took the delegates and their ladies to Stephenson's Old Apple Orchard, nearby, where a dinner was served and delightful entertainment provided, prior to returning late that evening to the hotel.
On Saturday morning the delegates were the guests of the Missouri, Host Committee on Masonic Education for a bountiful breakfast, thoroughly enjoyed by all.
A business meeting and the election of officers resulted in naming Lester C. Noerr, of Wisconsin as President, Fred J. Nehrenberg, of North Dakota as Vice President, and the re-election of Dr. Dawson E. Grim, of Iowa as Secretary-Treasurer. Alphonse Cerza gave his always interesting paper on "Books of Interest to Masons".
"Show and Tell", an interesting and unusual presentation was given by M.W. Royal C. Scofield, of Ohio, "The Art of Communicating" was realistically brought to the attention of all by Lewis C. "Wes" Cook of Missouri, and "Putting Together a Film Catalogue" created interest from the paper read by Howard L. Knupp of Iowa.
"And Finally - " a very unusual and brilliant creation by M.W. Forrest D. Haggard, past Grand Master of Kansas, concluded the events of the Conference. Wisconsin, with its new President of the Conference, will get the 1976 Conference in early May.
A saddening incident following the Conference was the announcement that M.W. Brother Howard J. Hunter, Chairman of the Nebraska Committee on Masonic Education had passed away suddenly after his return to his home. Howard was a past Chairman of the Conference in 1954 (before officers were elected), and President of the Conference in 1965. He was a diligent and ardent worker and admired by all who knew him.
----o----
Chat, Comment and Masonic Queries
News, Views and Items of Interest about Our Members - Requests For Masonic Information and Other Data – Comments - Plan Mail and Discussion - Bits of Pfoolishness!
This Page Conducted by Jerry Marsengill. F.P.S., 2602 Terrace Road. Des Moines, Iowa 50312.
Would you believe it? A mistake found in the Philalethes? We are in receipt of a letter from Herbert Jennins in Shreveport, La. Bro. Jennins takes exception to Bro. Norman Peterson's statement in our April issue page 40 where it states: ''Anyone who has ever given any thought to the Scottish Rite knows that the Rite has Thirty-three degrees, but that the first three degrees are never conferred in countries where the Blue Lodge is functioning." He further states: "In Louisiana we have Etoile Polaire Lodge No. 1 Chartered Aug. 15, 1812 which uses Scottish Ritual. (English Lang.) Perseverance Lodge No. 4. Original organization 1810. Chartered Aug. 15, 1812, uses Scottish Ritual (English).
Cervantes Lodge No. 5 formed by union of Los Amigos del Order Lodge No. 5 and Silencio Lodge No. 9. Organized September 17, 1883. Chartered Cervantes No. 5, February 13, 1884. Uses Scottish Rite Ritual (Spanish Lang.) :
Germania Lodge No. 46. Chartered April 18, 1844. Uses Scottish Rite Ritual changed from German to English on 100th anniversary.
Union Lodge No. 172. Chartered Feb. 17, 1865. Uses Scottish Rite Ritual (English Lang.)
Dante Lodge No. 174. Used Scottish Rite Ritual. (Italian Lang.) Chartered February 14, 1866. The above 6 lodges are all in the city of New Orleans."
In addition to these Andy Anderson informs me that Aurora Lodge of Milwaukee, Wisc. also works the Scottish Rite three degrees in German Language.
* * *
And still another one. Al Woody informs us that in correcting the statement by DeMoville P. Jones that Masonry came to Illinois in 1840 with formation of a Grand Lodge that date. First Grand Lodge in Illinois was formed at Vandalia, Ill. on Dec. 11, 1822. Last known proceedings were January 1-23, 1827. First G.M. was Gov. Shadrach Bond. Second and present Grand Lodge was formed at Jacksonville, Ill. on April 6, 1840. The first Lodge in Indiana Territory, (now Illinois) was the Western Star Lodge No. 107 at Kaskaskia, warranted by Pennsylvania on June 2nd, 1806.
Ha!! I knew it all the time, Al. Even to P.G.M. Abe Jonas and his political maneuvers within the body politic of Freemasonry.
* * *
Al Woody was elected an honorary member and honorary Past Master of Walter F. Meier Lodge of Research. He was elected last October and notified of it in April. The mills of the gods grind slowly, but this time they did fine. On Thursday, May 22nd, at the request of Harvey Lodge No. 832 of Harvey Lodge No. 832 of Harvey, Illinois of which Al is the oldest living Past Master, Walter F. Meter Lodge of Research No. 281 of Seattle presented him with his 50 year certificate and pin. Al received a special poem by Al Cerza and greetings from Andy Anderson, J.B.V., Connie Hahn, H.V.B. Voorhis, Homer Zumwait, Irvin A. Uphoff, Harold R. Kopfman, and Chet Steele. Many times a 50 year certificate means that the recipient has merely lived for 50 years. Not in this case. This is for 50 years of hard, Masonic work.
* * *
M.W. Brother William H. Chapman, M.P.S. has been appointed chairman of they Board of Governors of the St. Louis Unit of the Shriners Hospital for crippled children. Bill was Grand Master during the sesquicentennial year of the Grand Lodge of Missouri 1970-1971. Bill is also an active member of Iowa Research Lodge No. 2.
* * *
Mrs. Virginia Ball, wife of Edmund Ball, M.P.S., P.G.T. of the Grand Encampment K.T. of U.S.A. was awarded honorary degree of "Doctor of Humane Letters" by Wabash College on May 18th, 1975.
* * *
Walter M. Callaway, F.P.S. and 184 other loyal sons and daughters of the Sovereign state of Georgia went to Scotland and England on May 21st. They were absent for eight days spending equal time in London and Edinburgh. There were 83 Freemasons, the rest were wives, widows, and youngsters. At the May 1st 1975 Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, Walt was commissioned the Grand Rep. of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, near the Grand Lodge of Georgia and a ceremony was given at the Lodge St. Clair No. 349 on May 26th. Walt was presented his credentials by the Immediate Past Grand Master Mason of Scotland Bro. David Liddell-Grainger. The Grand Master of Georgia was also on hand for the ceremony. Our sincere congratulations to Walt for another well deserved honor.
* * *
The University of Missouri, South East, June 29, 1975 dedicated the Harold O. Graul Building, named after Past Grand Minter Harold O. Graul. Harold was a long time instructor at the University. Now he has both a lodge and a University Building named after him. These are both well deserved honors. Our congratulations to Brother Harold.
* * *
Henry Emmerson, F.P.S. was recently in the hospital for removal of a kidney stone which was about the size of a marble but is home now and getting along fine.
* * *
Read this months Knight Templar magazine (June 1975) and note the art work on pages 18 and 32 by L. Sherman Brooks. We understand that, for a nominal fee, Brother Brooks will do this kind of Gothic lettering for various Masonic organizations.
* * *
Irv Uphoff rides again. The tireless, energetic District Educational Officer from Illinois sends us an invitation to their educational meeting at Trenton Lodge No. 109, Trenton, Illinois on June 14th. Woulds't that I had been born rich rather than blessed with so much wisdom. I'd like to make this one. Irv Uphoff is one of the workhorses, who always presents an interesting program and who makes young masons want to learn.