Contents
The President’s Corner It Seems To Me
Iowa's Masonic Magazines Hiramic Monologue
The Cathedral Builders Masons to Take the Mystery Out
Harry S. Truman - Mason M.S.A. Distributes Its Latest Film Nationally
Masonic Presidents Masonic Radio Commercials Now Available
Scratching The Surface On Communication The Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences
Kipling and the Law of Brotherhood Books of Interest to Masons
Jerry Marsengill, FPS Editor
2714 Park Place
Des Moines, IA 50312 (515) 244-2540
Alphonse Cerza, FPS, Life, Assoc. Editor
237 Millbridge Road
Riverside, IL 60546
John Black Vrooman, FPS, Life
P.O. Box 402 Editor Emeritus
St. Louis, MO 63166
OFFICERS
Allen E. Roberts, FPS, President
Drawer 70, 1-A South Holly Ave
Highland Springs, VA 23075 (804) 737-4498
John R. Nocas, FPS, 1st Vice President
P O. Box 2366
Inglewood, CA 90305 (213) 678-2594
Jerry Marsengill, FPS, 2nd Vice President
2714 Park Place
Des Moines, IA 50312 (515) 244-2540
S. Brent Morris FPS Executive Secretary
5088 Lake Circle West
Columbia, MD 21044 (301) 992-9431
John Mauk Hilliard, FPS Treasurer
30 - 70 48th St. Apt. 3-G
Astoria, New York 11103 (212) 274-5295
LIVING PAST PRESIDENTS
Philalethes Society
Lee E. Wells
Alphonse Cerza, FPS (Life)
Judge Robert H. Gollmar, FPS
William R. Denslow, FPS
Robert V. Osborne, FPS
Eugene S Hopp, FPS
Dwight L Smith, FPS
Robert L Dillard Jr., FPS
Bruce H. Hunt, FPS
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY EMERITUS
Carl R. Griesen, FPS
TREASURER EMERITUS
Ronald E. Heaton, FPS
CONTENTS
The President's Corner
It Seems To Me
lowa's Masonic Magazines
Hiramic Monologue
The Cathedral Builders
Masons Assist Olympic Guests
Harry S. Truman - Mason
M.S.A. Distributes Film
Masonic Presidents
Masonic Radio Commercials
Scratching the Surface on Communication
The Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences, Yesterday and Today
Kipling and the Law of Brotherhood
Al Cerza Reviews Books of Interest to Masons
Through Masonic Windows
On the Cover
The cover artwork is from the Macoy Masonic Print Collection, courtesy of the Macoy Masonic Supply Co., Inc. The print collection consists of 26 different pictures on 16 permalife sheets and is available for $25. 00 plus $3. 50 postage. A copy of this cover alone (without overprinting) is available for $5.50 including postage. Send your orders to P.O. Box 9759, Richmond, VA 23228.
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by Allen E. Roberts, FPS
Reports from the Commissions noted in the last edition indicate they are at work. Articles are being scrutinised leading toward the award of The Certificate of Literature. It is already evident that the Commission is going to have difficulty making selection. And the year isn't half over!
The Commission on the Annual Feast has been busy. It reports interest is high. The Internal and Public Relations Commission is working on programs the Chapters can use. The first of these will be available before the year has ended. Ideas from Chapters are being solicited. We want to share their success with everyone.
If our Society is to be as viable as it should be, we must encourage the formation of Chapters everywhere. Chapters of the Philalethes Society can be important to Freemasonry in general. They aren't restricted by ritualistic formalities. Its few rules and regulations encourage, rather then prohibit, the exchange of Masonic information. They are free to reach out and touch Freemasons and their friends anywhere.
it doesn't take much to form a Chapter. Any three or more interested members of the Society, or potential members, may apply for a dispensation. This only costs $10. After the Chapter is formed, adopted simple bylaws and has become active, it can apply for a Charter from the Executive Board. This only costs $50. The charter received can be proudly displayed anywhere.
Want to form a Chapter? Contact John Nocas, our First Vice President, or me. We'll give you all the help you need.
We still want your input. We want to know what you want from the Society. We want to know what type of programs you would like to have us develop. We want to know in what areas you would like to work to help make the Society a more useful tool for Freemasonry.
I want to thank the many contributors to our publication for their excellent material. Our Editor, Jerry Marsengill, does an excellent job, but the contributors have made a difficult job easier. It's good to know that our magazine continues to have excellent material to chose from.
As Hugh Downs says: "We're in touch, so you keep in touch."
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by John Black Vrooman, FPS
THAT the Philalethes Society is definitely on the up-swing in its activity and its general purpose - to convey LIGHT to our members and give useful and accurate Masonic information to those who want and need it.
Your Editor Emeritus has had quite a number of requests for special data on a number of Masonic topics, and although he has been hospitalized for nearly half a year, he is becoming more able to search out and give the information that has been requested.
Your patience is asked, because he is not yet fully capable of doing all of the research that he once did, but given time, he hopes to answer questions that are received, and give the data that has come to him. It take time to get back to the usual influx of questions that have come to him, but there is every indication that within the next few months it will be possible for him to answer all the queries that he has received. We ask your indulgence!
Our editor, Jerry Marsengill, is doing a tremendous job with the "Philalethes" magazine, and there seems to be more variety and a greater number of fine articles printed in each issue of the magazine than there has been for several years.
This is good, but let us remember that in addition to articles about Masonic activities, there is still a need for articles on the HOW TO - phase of the Craft, and it is our suggestion that some of our members who are capable of doing so should write more about the mechanics of Masonic research, and the means of accomplishing more in methods of research in Freemasonry.
Writing about Masonic activities, research and similar topics, can easily lead to concentration on topics that have, as yet, but received but little attention from our members. Let us start a campaign for more varied and deeper research in the study of Freemasonry, the transition from Operative to Speculative Freemasonry - and, in fact a whole category of a study of what to publicize and how it can be done.
There is now, as always, a great need for intelligent Masonic research, a need for more and more of the exposition of the inner workings of the Craft, and what it means to each of us to make Freemasonry REALISTIC, PRACTICAL, and up to date.
This is our task, and it behooves each member to evaluate his personal talents, ascertain his ability to contribute something new to our Society, and become a dedicated worker who will make valuable contributions to the knowledge of the Craft.
One word further - it has been the custom of some of the local Chapters to send articles to the Editor Emeritus. These are appreciated, but they must be then sent to the Editor for publication. Please send all manuscripts to Brother Marsengill, so that they may be printed in the "Philalethes" magazine.
BUT KEEP THE QUESTIONS COMING TO THE EDITOR EMERlTUS!
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The Grand Lodge Bulletin
by Keith Arrington, FPS
Begun as The Occasional Bulletin of the Iowa Masonic Library at Cedar Rapids in April 1897, it wasn't until the arrival of C.C. Hunt in the 1920's that The Bulletin really began to come alive.
The eight page first issue of The Occasional Bulletin carried a brief outline of the contents of lowa's unique library with the balance of the space given over to miscellaneous library notes. In December of that year, a twelve page Bulletin included, in addition to the library notes, "Information for Lodges" - Moon Lodges and Music in Lodge Work as well as a gathering of short Masonic items.
The Parvins - Iowa's pioneer Grand Secretary Theodore S. and his son and successor Newton R. -- created The Bulletin "to promote the growth and usefulness of the Library; to give information as to matters of interest to all engaged in Masonic Library work; to aid in building up its several departments, making it a power for good in our state." It was added that The Bulletin "will not in any respect occupy the field of a Masonic magazine."
T.S. Parvin was by no means new to Masonic magazine publication, having had previous experience with The Evergreen and with The Western Freemason, although neither of these had lasted for long. Of T.S. Parvin, Harry Haywood wrote in 1947: "Without any undue straining of the meaning of events in the history of Freemasonry in the United States, almost everything in that history at least in its more inward significance, could be told in a thoroughgoing biography of each of four Masonic statesmen Albert G. Mackey, Judge Josiah Hayden Drummond, Albert Pike and Theodore Sutton Parvin."
Apparently encouraged by the reception given The Occasional Bulletin, and with Grand Lodge approval, the decision was made to publish on a quarterly basis beginning in January of 1898. With nine pages of paid advertising, this 32 page issue featured on its cover a picture of the library building, "The Only Library Building Ever Erected by a Grand Lodge." A subscription price of fifty cents per year was set and an edition of five thousand copies went "to every state in the Union."
Short articles on some of the interesting possessions of the Library both books and curios appeared. In addition to news of public libraries, other Masonic periodicals were given good coverage, with listings of the leading articles in some of them. "We fully believe that the publication of such references will interest many in Masonic magazines, and we hope in this way to awaken an interest among the brethren in Masonic literature in general."
Despite the original resolve not to become a Masonic magazine, Masonic news gradually crept into the pages of the publication. Brief news items had been carried almost from the start and in August of 1899, a reception for the Grand Master and social features of Grand Lodge were reported. In December, space was given to "The Grand Secretary's Summer Outing."
Joseph E. Morcombe, later to be editor of his own American Freemason, contributed some of the first signed articles, writing on the value of the library and reviewing the Mackey and Singleton History of Freemasonry In August 1900, he had an article on Symbol and Ceremony.
The elder Parvin died in 1901 and Newton R. became Grand Secretary-Librarian-Editor. Morcombe was listed on the masthead of The Bulletin in April 1902 as Assistant to the Grand Secretary. Also listed were two women clerks. Newton Parvin was now urging the lodges to send in new items.
As time went on, The Bulletin looked more and more like a magazine. Morcombe was listed as Editor in April 1903. Newton Parvin explained the changes which were taking place: "When The Bulletin was first issued there was no thought of its permanent existence. It developed and became almost a necessity, both to the library and to the brethren, unconsciously. The work of its preparation was taken up in the intervals of other labor and was therefore intermittent and at least to ourselves unsatisfactory. But the growth of the little publication has been such that a more definite policy must be secured. With this object in view, Brother Joseph E. Morcombe, chairman of the Committee on Correspondence. is designated as its editor and will have charge of all matters pertaining to its publication and subscription list. His training and tastes are such to fit him for the work, and we believe readers of these columns will acquiesce in this announcement."
However, in September of that year, Morcombe "severed his connection with the office." In February he was reported working in the state capitol as a newspaper correspondent and as secretary to a legislative committee, although he did promise to furnish articles to The Bulletin.
This brief five month period was, apparently, the only time during the eighty-seven years of The Bulletin that anyone other than the Grand Secretary served as editor.
Both the title and the regularity of the publication were subject to change during Newton Parvin's reign. Number one of volume ten was called "Library Bulletin" and appeared in January of 1907. The next issue did not appear until October of that year and was once again an "Occasional Bulletin." Explanation was made that the Grand Secretaries time was occupied with official duties and he had not time or opportunity to look after The Bulletin.
For the next couple of years two or three issues a year, varying in size from four to twenty-four pages, were issued. By 1911 an enlarged office staff made possible the resumption of a quarterly basis of publication. Advertising gradually disappeared from the pages of the journal and by 1911 it was gone for good.
The name of Joseph Fort Newton appeared in the columns of The Bulletin in April 1914, with the reprint of a lecture he had given, as Grand Chaplain, before Cedar Rapids Masons in March. This was a portion of Newton's book, "The Builders."
Robert D. Graham, of Denver, Colorado, the first contributor to the Library's Robert Burns collection and "instrumental in securing many rare and choice volumes for this collection," in 1917 wrote for The Bulletin "A Freemason's Treasure House," a brief description of the First Things in Freemasonry found in the Iowa Masonic Library. He also contributed other articles from time to time, including his "Science of Freemasonry" series in 1920.
Many articles on Freemasonry were now appearing in the journal, most of them borrowed from other publications. Although the library notes no longer dominated the magazine, giving way to general Masonic information, the library was by no means forgotten or neglected. News of lodge activities and Grand Lodge events occupied increasing amounts of space. Templar Park, the Knight Templar vacation resort on Lake Okoboji, built as a result of efforts by George L. Schoonover and others, was given much space.
Charles Clyde Hunt's name first appeared as Deputy Grand Secretary in October 1917. His first signed article, "The Wearing of the Apron," came in the October issue. From that time on until his retirement in 1945, scarcely an issue of the magazine was without one or more scholarly and informative essays by Hunt.
Harry L. Haywood called C.C. Hunt "this man of Information." Declaring "that over a quarter of a century C.C. Hunt was the greatest specialist in Masonic reference anywhere in the American Craft," Haywood explained that Masonic reference is a wholly different activity from Masonic research. "Masonic research is the endeavor to find, or discover, or unearth facts about Freemasonry which nobody knows - at the very least, facts which the researcher himself does not know." Masonic reference, on the other hand, "deals with Masonic facts which are already known and which the reference worker himself knows, but the facts are nowhere collected in one place, and since they are not, they are not very useful.
"To run down such facts calls for unlimited patience, perserverance, a doggedness of purpose, and a loving care for details. Very few men possess in themselves the equipment for it. The two kinds of work are worlds apart and call for two kinds of men: whether the one or the other is the more important depends upon what is needed."
Recalling when Hunt first came to the Grand Lodge, Haywood wrote: "It was for him a period of uncertainty of tentativeness, of experimentation, of feeling out the ice before risking his weight upon it. He was already in middle life. After graduating from Grinnell College he had taught school for some meals, and then for more than a decade had worked in a public of fine in one of the Iowa counties. It was difficult for him under the circumstances irrevocably to commit himself to Masonic work as a life-time profession: and his own private difficulties were complicated by the fact, which must be confronted by every man who makes Masonic work his profession, that the Fraternity is not a generous employer. Moreover, his superior officer was to be Newton R. Parvin, a man not easy to read.
"From what I saw at the time; and from what he told me afterwards in many conversations, he was led to make that commitment, and to make it once and for all, by the first large task which was placed in his hands." That task was to attempt to set up an index of the contents of all the books in the Iowa Masonic library.
"Once he had undertaken it, Hunt kept at it with unremitting labor, week after week, month after month, year after year, part of the time assisted by a typist; part of the time alone." Starting with the bound volumes of the more important of the Masonic magazines which had been published since 1792, he went on to the published transactions, proceedings, treatises and papers of the research lodges and societies throughout the world. "He did not go over them wholesale or in haste, but ran his eye over every paragraph and whenever he came upon an item, however small, of any value for permanent reference purposes, he entered in on a 3x5 index slip, giving the title, date, and page number. It was that laborious task carried on over a period of years which gave him his encyclopedic knowledge of the multitudinous facts about the history of Freemasonry throughout the world, over eight centuries of time, and made him the prince of workers in Masonic reference."
The many essays and articles which C.C. Hunt wrote were a direct result of this reference work. "A half hundred or so" were published in The Bulletin. Others went into his book "Masonic Symbolism" while still others were in corporated in the two volume history of the Cryptic Rite which he wrote in collaboration with Eugene Hinman and Ray V. Denslow. Many others appeared in periodicals or in the form of leaflets, booklets and brochures. C.C. Hunt retired in 1945 and passed away in 1948, at the age of eighty-two.
C.C. Hunt served as a special government witness against the American Masonic Federation at the trial of that bogus organisation and its perpetrator, Matthew McBlain Thomson. This experience was the basis for his July 1922 article, "Clandestine Masonry."
The March 1925 Bulletin was a memorial to Newton R. Parvin, who passed away in January of that year. Charles C. Hunt now became Grand Secretary and gained a free hand with The Bulletin. The title was changed to "Grand Lodge Bulletin" and it became a bimonthly briefly, until the decision was made in July to publish on a monthly basis. The cover was redesigned with a cleaner, more modern appearance. Now more signed articles, often with photos of the authors, were in evidence.
From August until the following May, J. Hugo Tatsch conducted "The Half Hour Study Club" on Masonic History. Tatsch was engaged at the Library in early 1926 and contributed to the excellence of the magazine with articles on American Masonic history, Masonic books and many other subjects. With other articles written for the magazine and with a sharp pair of scissors and a fast paste brush, Hunt managed to make each issue of The Bulletin interesting and informative.
In 1927, it was found expedient to omit July and August issues of The Bulletin. This practice continued through the years. J. Hugo Tatsch left the employ of the Grand Lodge in early 1929, resigning to eventually become an executive of McCoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Company. While at the library he had found his future wife, Miss Harriet Hughes, the secretary first to Newton Parvin and then to C.C. Hunt.
News of the Craft in Iowa, short items about lodge happenings, was an early feature of The Bulletin and to his day is one of the most popular features receiving a large amount of space in each issue.
The Haywood years were, with no reflection upon C.C. Hunt, the best years of The Bulletin. Harry L. Haywood first appeared in the pages of The Bulletin in October 1925, His contributions were frequent until his death in 1956 and original material by him continued to be published for another year or two. In the 1947-48 years, for instance. Haywood had fifteen essays plus thirteen offerings from the "Information Desk," a regular department made up of short items by Haywood on a variety of interesting subjects gleaned from the library by him.
Harry Leroy Haywood deserves much more space than is available here. Alphonse Cerza, close friend and associate of this Masonic literary legend, paid tribute to him in the Indiana Freemason of August 1953. This masterful article is recommended reading to all who would know Haywood the man, the Mason, the student, the teacher, the writer.
Brother Cerza writes, in part: "In April, 1947, he (Haywood) joined the staff of the Iowa Masonic Library at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Here he was perfectly at home with his beloved books; here he could follow every idea from one source to another. The letters that came to the library, with their many questions, stimulated his mind and gave him plenty of work to do; and while many of the letters asked simple routine questions, there were others that gave him new views on old problems.
"Each issue of the excellent Iowa Grand Lodge Bulletin began to have at least one article by H.L. Haywood. The columns of this periodical were used to stir up the readers' interest and to secure many slants on some of the subjects under discussion. During his labors for the Iowa Library, Brother Haywood prepared numerous booklets that are being distributed by the Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Education. He also spent much time working with Earl B. Delzell, Grand Secretary of Iowa, and with Forrest P. Hagan, secretary of the Iowa Committee on Masonic Education: and in his spare time he classified the rare books and other valuable items in the library."
Ill health forced Haywood to take a leave of absence from the library in 1951. He returned in July 1955 to work as author and in research for the Grand Lodge until his death in early 1956.
The flow of scholarly articles slowed in early 1961, with none appearing in The Bulletin from February until June. There was more lodge news with photos now. In January of 1963, the size of the publication was reduced to five by seven inches, a neat pocket size which was no doubt less expensive to produce.
Intended or not, the magazine has reflected the changes in editorship throughout its life. C.C. Hunt, of course, with the help of his assistants J. Hugo Tatsch and H.L. Haywood, was able to present a scholarly, lively, informative publication. Earl B. Delzell personally wrote interesting material for The Bulletin and still had Haywood to give substance to the journal. Haywood continued into a portion of the reign of Ralph E. Whipple, a teacher of English who set high standards for all contributions.
Charles T. Jackson, fourth in the line of teachers become-Grand Secretary, was able to supply articles from his own pen and called upon assistants Tom Eggleston and Keith Arrington for frequent contributions. Jerry E. Marsengill, during this period, was also a contributor of well researched, well written essays on a variety of Masonic subjects. Grand Secretary Jackson carried a camera with him wherever he went in his extensive travels about the state and filled The Bulletin with news photos of Iowa Masonry.
Tom Eggleston, the present Grand Secretary-editor, has continued this practice. Eggleston has also livened the appearance of the journal with occasional changes in color of ink, with the use of a full color cover, with specially drawn art work, and with imaginative use of type for headings and copy. His own writings have tended to be of the inspirational and patriotic vein. He is much in demand as a speaker and his writings have the same flavor as his popular speeches.
In recent months the size of The Bulletin has once again been changed. It is now published five times annually in an eight by nine inch two column format. Mailed free of charge to all Iowa Masons who request it (an annual request is required). approximately ten thousand copies of each issue are printed.
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By F.J. Cooper PM 2076 ER:
Revised by W. McLeod MPS and R.A.K. Richards PM 343 GRC
(A man is sitting at a large table covered with pins and drawings. He has a pair of compasses in his hands and he its describing an arc on a design. The telephone rings. He takes no notice except to frown. It rings again. Exasperated, he lifts the receiver.)
Hello! Hiram here! (pause) Hello, hello! Hiram of Tyre speaking!
No, no, not His Majesty! His Nibs is up in the hills, where it's cool. This is Hiram Abif. Who is this calling?
Adoniram! Great to hear from you! Where are you? What are you up to?
Lebanon! You luckly son of a camel! And in charge of the saw-mill operation too! That's great! No wonder we're getting all the wood-products up to specification! Wish I could say the same about the quarry stuff! No labour problems, I hope?
How many thousand? I know there's a policy of full employment in Lebanon, but that's ridiculous! What are you doing with them all?
One working and ten looking on? Well, that system isn't unique, you know. Adda.
We're moving along all right, I suppose, but I'm getting a lot of trouble over the rationing. I said at the start that this system of giving these young boys a weekly allowance of corn, wine and oil would never work. We supplied them with little hand-mills for the corn and field ovens for the baking - but they just wouldn't use them. As soon as they got their ration each week, they flogged the corn for the wine - with the predictable result. We got some pretty funny looking ashlars! However, things are better now. We do our own baking, and issue the rations already cooked - but still there's a lot of fiddling going on.
I'm worried to death really. We have this deadline for the openings but it will be a miracle if everything is ready in time for the Dedication. The trouble is that You Know Who can never make up his mind on detail. He's continually changing the plans. Now, after we thought that we had everything under control, he has this brilliant idea about the Memorial Pillars.
That's right, Memorial Pillars! (pause.) You know - the Fire and Cloud and all that jazz!
Well, it was too late to incorporate them into the actual building, and so they'll have to be placed outside the Porchway or Entrance. His idea is to make them out of metal, as if stone wasn't good enough. There's only one place I know of to cast something that big, and that's down there between Succoth and Zeredatha; you know, in the claygrounds on the bottom land of the Jordan. Transportation is going to be a nightmare. Uphill all the way; and just one jolt, and the wretched things'll crack.
No. I haven't a clue who he thinks he's going to get to supervise the casting. Oh, and I forgot to tell you he wants them formed hollow, with only a hand's breadth of material. And he wants to put Archives in them. (pause) Yes, Archives: scrolls of vellum and parchment and so on. Can you imagine keeping the files in there? Once these young clerks and secretaries get in there and start messing about, they'll be in there all day!
We tried to get the names of the Pillars out of him, so that we could include them in the casting, but he'll only tell us about one of them. That's to be named after his great great grandfather. But he's being very coy about the other one. I think he's going to announce it on the day. Probably going to honour one of the officials who take part in the Ceremony.
You know how it is, Adda. It's always the fellow who can do a good piece of ritual that gets the honour, not the one who's been doing all the background work. Gawd. I hate these masonic politics!
But my main trouble here is the unreliability of the overseers. Some of them can't even read a blueprint! Do you know, every morning when I get in to the office (and that's about the sixth hour), there's a line-up of Fellowcrafts, supposedly overseers, asking me to explain detail that should be obvious to anyone competent. I spend half my time doing work that should be done by the overseers. I tell you, Adda, I'm convinced that if I ever took a day off, the whole Project would be plunged into utter confusion.
Apart from that, the overseers are quite incapable of carrying out the trade-testing. This means that a lot of fair workmen who should be getting trade pay are not receiving any differential - and it's causing a bit of bad feeling. And when the work ends here, and they move on to other jobs, they won't have any evidence of their grade.
As a matter of fact, I had three of them in my office the other day who were very rude to me about the delay in their trade-testing. I promised them faithfully that I would carry out their test today after the midday break. So we'll have to see about that!
Now, is there anything else on your mind; (pause) I don't want to appear rude, but it's almost time for the noon whistle. I like to make a bit of an inspection during the lunch break. Also, Phase One is completed now, you know, and it's cool and peaceful and quiet in there; great view over the valley from the gateways. Not a soul in sight, and it gives me a chance to collect my thoughts. Only moment of quiet I have all day! Then, after a few minutes there, I'll come back here, have a bit of bread and cheese, and maybe a pomegranate, and then I'll be all set for the afternoon.
Oh, yeah, sure! I'm okay. It's just the pressure the constant pressure. It gets to me! I sometimes feel I don't have much time...I don't have much time. But it'll soon be over with!
Well, it's been nice talking to you! We must get together when you're in town again. Take care now! Good bye!
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by L.L. Walker., MPS
Masonry, in its most romantic disposition, sees itself as descended from those craftsmen who, beginning seven centuries or more ago, built the cathedrals which even now enchant the eye and defy the practical mind. That any Order could be descended, however tenuously from craftsmen such as these is a cause for pride and reason to preserve, at least in some speculative form, the system under which these artisans labored. So it is that Masonry, in the names it gives to its degrees, and in mane other ways, remembers "the cathedral builders."
When we speak of the cathedral builders in this sense we are speaking of the craftsmen who erected ecclesiastical buildings of a specific form of architecture, a style which we call Gothic. The work of building in stone did not begin with these craftsmen; by no means. Churches had been built, some of which still stand, in what is called Romanesque style. Massive, thick-walled, they were often built of whatever stone was at hand, all joined with liberal amounts of mortar. While they were not without their charm and beauty it can be said that they did not require the highest order of masonry in their construction.
Some time about the middle of the 12th century, someone - we do not know who - perfected the pointed arch. Perhaps it was not just one person at all; it may have simply evolved. However that may be, the use of the pointed arch made possible an architectural form never before seen. This was Gothic.
Gothic architecture was characterized by thinner, higher walls, walls which necessitated more careful selection of stone and far more accurate cutting and fitting. While Romanesque walls were thick from top to bottom and for the entire length, broken only by small windows, the Gothic wall made use of piers set at intervals to support the roof, with large glass windows between the piers.
Another characteristic was the flying buttress. The weight of the roof, although carried on the piers, tended to force the tall, thin walls apart. To counter this force supporting structures were built so as to receive the lateral pressure at particular points. Not only did these structures, called flying buttresses, serve an essential structural function, but, together with other architectural embellishments, they served to enhance the impression of great height which was a prime object of Gothic architecture.
The impression of height is the first that meets the eye. It has been said that not all Gothic churches are in fact very tall, but that all Gothic churches look tall from the inside. The pointed arch and the vaulted roof, with slender ribs carrying the weight to the piers, all lead the eye upward, and the impression is of a roof soaring far higher than its actual height. Whether one realizes it or not the ornamentation of the interior of a Gothic cathedral is all above eye level, so that to appreciate the beauty one must look upward. This effect, this complement to worship, may have been a conscious effort on the part of the Gothic architect.
Between about 1175 and 1250 the whole approach to architecture changed to Gothic, and we must suppose that in that period of time the stone masons had to re-learn their trade, responding to the challenges of a style which demanded of them finer finish and finer fit. For three centuries or more Gothic style flourished. and with it the demand for the craftsmen whose virtues are sung by modern Masonry.
The construction of a cathedral was a very long process, often lasting beyond the lifetime of a number of architects or master builders. The records of Wells Cathedral, for example, recite the names of seven such masters (the word is used here in no definitive way) in the years from 1174 through 1465. Even so, there are several periods, one of almost sixty years when no names are listed. Work, we should understand, was not always continuously in progress. War, pestilence, finances, or even ecclesiastical indifference would interrupt the project. In such times it was almost certainly the practice of the craftsmen to look elsewhere for employment... But one can imagine that under the most favorable of conditions a settled craftsman might easily have spent his entire working life on a single building.
Another practice of the operative Masons which has been preserved by Royal Arch Masonry is that of adopting and recording Mason's Marks. Presumably, every mason adopted a mark, a more or less distinctive pattern by which to identify his own work. It is a well established fact that such marks were not cut on every stone. The frequency of the use of the mark seems to have varied with time, place and perhaps the demands of the master directing the work at the time.
Such marks are also called "banker marks," taking that name from the "banker," the name given to the sculptor's or mason's workbench. It is a well established fact, too, that many or even most marks were "banker" marks, cut at the workbench before the stone was put in place.
In England a great deal of systematic study of mason's marks has been done, leading to partial identification of workmen and the places where they worked. It has been found that similar marks occur at widely separated places and at long intervals of time, indicating that masons of the same generation, or of different generations, conceived of and adopted the same mark. It may be, too, that sons adopted the marks of father, leading to further confusion. Generally speaking, however, within a particular time period and within a specific geographical area, the work of an operative mason can be identified by his mason's mark, or banker mark.
The fact that so many of the Gothic cathedrals still stand is evidence enough of the excellence of the work of the men who erected them. Skilled and dedicated to their craft, they took pride in their workmanship. As modern Speculative Masons seek to emulate these ancient craftsmen, it is not too much to expect that the work they undertake should be good and square work, and that each Mason should make his mark with pride.
From the book: "CATHEDRAL"
By David McCaulay
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Masons to Take the Mystery Out of Los Angeles Freeway for Olympic Guests
The establishment of a "Masonic" Host and Information Center" to assist Masons from around the country and overseas to the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles has just been announced by E. Arthur Haglund, Grand Master of Masons of California and Hawaii.
The Center will be located at the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple located at 4357 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles. It will officially open July 1, and will be in operation between the hours of 9AM and 5PM during each day of the Games. The phone number at the Center is (213) MASON 84 (213) 627-6684. That number is now in operation.
"Although we are prepared to assist many visiting Masons from around the world," - Haglund said, "we will also be directing Masons from around our country to the special Masonic social events that will be held during the Games, and also to local Masonic lodge meetings in the area."
The Center will have a unique method for overseas Masons to keep in touch with family and friends back home. "Our Center will operate a special shortwave radio unit that will enable guests to send messages to their home towns around the world," the Grand Master stated.
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by C. Warren Ohrvall, MPS
May 8, 1984, marks the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of the 33rd President of the United States, Harry S. Truman. We, as Masons, also celebrate the year 1984 because March 18, 1984 marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of our Brother Truman's being raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason. Many of the Masonic and Masonic-related bodies throughout the Nation are planning some recognition of Truman during this year. Thus we felt that it was fitting that we publish an article on Truman as a Mason.
Although born in Lamar, Missouri, Truman is primarily connected with Jackson County, named for his hero and the other President to have been the Grand Master of his Grand Lodge, Andrew Jackson. (Contrary to popular belief President George Washington did not serve as a Grand Master. He refused the offer of the Grand Lodge of Virginia during the War because he had not been the master of his Lodge. He was elected as the Master of his Lodge in the fall of 1788 and was its Master when he was sworn into the office of the Presidency in March, 1789. In February, 1941, the Columbia Broadcasting Company carried a broadcast on Washington the Mason by Truman, then the Senator from Missouri and the Grand Master of Missouri. The Missouri Grand Lodge reprinted the message and suggested that it be read in each Lodge in the jurisdiction, "not only because of its patriotic message, but because of its treatment of Washington's Masonic connections.")
In Volume I of his Memoirs, published in 1955, President Truman told of his entry into the Masonic order:
"One day in late 1908 a cousin of my mother came to the farm to look at some stock. I noticed a Masonic pin on his coat and told him I had always wanted to be a member. A few days later he brought me an application for membership in Belton Lodge No. 450 at Belton, Missouri. On February 9, 1909, I received my first degree."
Truman continued by describing how he became "letter-perfect in [the ritual of] all three degrees."
As an indication of his interest in Masonry he qualified and was elected the Junior Warden of the Lodge in 1910. The next year he was instrumental in organising the Lodge at Granview, Missouri, and served as its Master under dispensation. He then became its first Master when it became a chartered Lodge.
In the recently opened correspondence between "Harry and Bessie" is a letter of June 16, 1911. Mr. Truman tells Bessie that "A new Masonic Lodge is being organized at our town and they have given me the principal office. I have the big head terribly. The deputy Grand Master was out to see us Wednesday night and handed me an awful lot of hot air, haven't quite recovered from the effects yet."
On July 29, 1911, he wrote that he had been working like "Sam Hill" at the Lodge. He reported that they had "had their first degree work last night and I conferred the first one that was put on." He continued rather prophetically, "You see some time in the far distant future I'll be bragging about having performed that ceremony."
Both of Mr. Truman's grandfathers were members of the Fraternity but his father was not a member. His father did not always appreciate Truman's interest in his Masonic work. In a letter to Bess on July 1, 1912, he wrote that his "papa says he supposes if some of the family were dying and they'd send for me to put on a degree I'd go." Truman's brother Vivian, belonged to Grandview Lodge as did several of his nephews. His sister, Mary Jane, was very active in the Order of the Eastern Star in Grandview and in Missouri, serving as the Worthy Grand Matron of the state in 1950. President Truman was an honored guest at her installation.
Although Mrs. Truman's father, David Wallace, was very active in Missouri Masonic organisations, none of his three sons joined the order, nor did Mrs. Truman or Margaret join the Eastern Star. Mrs. Truman apparently approved of Harry's activities in the order because he often referred to his Masonic work in his letters to her. As he wrote he often explained some of the philosophy of Masonry to her.
Mr. Truman continued to be active in the Grandview Lodge and served as Secretary and again as the Master in 1917, just prior to entering the Army. While in the Army he occasionally attended Masonic functions. He had entered the Scottish Rite Lodge of Perfection and the Chapter Rose Croix in Kansas city in 1912 and completed the Scottish Rite degrees in 1917 before going on active duty. While at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, his Commanding Officer apparently gave permission for the Masons under his command to attend a Scottish Rite initiation at Guthrie, the closest consistory to the Fort. He wrote to Bess from Oklahoma city on February 4, 1917. He said that he was "like a parrot without his cage," because he was away from camp. He told her that the General had first allowed a four-day pass to Guthrie and then had revoked the authorisation but he had gotten his pass and left before it had been revoked. He admitted that he had first intended to go to Kansas city to see her but reconsidered and thought he had "better not risk it. They [the Regular Officers] are always hunting for some good excuse to rim a N.G. [National Guard] officer and if they should suddenly take a fool notion to call me at Guthrie and I not be there it would be all up but the signing."
After returning from military service he continued his work in Masonry. He was appointed District Deputy Grand Master and Lecturer for the newly formed 59th Masonic District in 1925, serving until 1930. Shortly after this he entered the Missouri Grand Lodge line and served the state as Grand Master in 1940-41. He was only the second Masonic President to serve as a Grand Master. His idol, Andrew Jackson, had served as the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee. It was during Mr. Truman's term that the Missouri Lodge of Research was reorganised. He served as Master of that Lodge in 1950, while he was President. President Truman was always proud of his membership in the Masonic fraternity. In a letter found in the President's Personal File #13, Masonic Matters, he wrote to a friend on the occasion of his fortieth anniversary of being made a Mason:
"The exalted teaching of Masonry and the honors which the Fraternity has conferred upon me through two score years have been a source of increasing satisfaction."
In 1960 a gentleman wrote to President Truman and asked if he were an "active mason" during the time he was President. The main question he asked was "whether or not a President while in office could attend any meetings, or be a member of any organisation?" In his response Brother Truman wrote:
"I have been a member of the Masonic Fraternity since 1909 and I have had every honor that is connected with that organization, including the highest one that a man can have and that is Grand Master of the great State of Missouri.
I never found it necessary to discontinue my connection with the organization, or difficult to carry on the necessary programs in connection with the honors which that organization has conferred upon me."
His Brothers had a high opinion of Mr. Truman as a Mason. In 1946 Frank S. Land, the founder of the Order of DeMolay and a good friend of Truman wrote to him:
"Your great prominence in Masonry and being President has done something for American Masonry that cannot be measured by ordinary standards. You have put new life and prestige into the order that is tremendously heartening to the ordinary Mason and Masonic leader . . . Men everywhere, because of your leadership, are letting it be known as never before that they take pride in being members of the Order....Your connection with the Fraternity has reached down into the grass roots of the Craft...You have captured their devotion and interest. You have become the head and front of Masonic endeavor in this Nation, something that has never happened before in our National history."
Although President Truman's primary Masonic interest was the Blue Lodge he did belong to most of the appendent bodies. In the Scottish Rite he was honored by being coroneted as a 33d Honorary, in October, 1945. This was for his service to his country and to Freemasonry. He was the only President to that time to be accorded this honor. He was awarded the Gourgas Medal by the Northern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite for "notably distinguished service in the cause of Freemasonry, humanity, or country."
In the York Rite President Truman received the Chapter and Council degrees in Kansas city in 1919 and the Orders of the Commandery in Palestine Commandery, Independence, in 1923. He was also honored as a Knight Companion of the Red Cross of Constantine in Mary Conclave, Kansas City.
President Truman was created a Noble of the Mystic Shrine in Ararat Temple, Kansas City, in 1917. He served as Orator of the Temple in 1933 and Second Ceremonial Master in 1934. Upon his election to the United States Senate that year he resigned from the divan line due to official and Grand Lodge duties.
As a result of his military service, President Truman was a member of the National Sojourners, an organisation of Masons who were officers in one of the armed forces of the United States or the Public Health Service. Truman was invited to attend the national convention of the Sojourners in 1948. In regretfully declining he wrote the Secretary:
Fraternal bonds, always strong, are further strengthened by the close association incident to a common peril. The responsibilities which you were called upon to discharge during hostilities were exacting and heavy. In war and in peace the ideals and teachings which we hold as brother Masons should be an inspiration to lofty patriotism and faithful service."
It is interesting to note that his Sojourner mail was always addressed to "COL Truman, White House."
In 1950, Truman was made a Royal Jester in Kansas city and in 1943 he was initiated in Kallipolis Grotto, Mystic Order. Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm.
As a close friend of the founder of the Order, Frank S. Land, and because of his interest in the youth of America, Brother Truman accepted membership on the Grand Council of the Order of Demolay, and was its Honorary Grand Master.
The President was the recipient of many honorary memberships in Masonic bodies throughout the world. He was appointed Honorary Deputy First Grand Principal of the Supreme Grand Lodge of Royal Arch Freemasons of Scotland. He was also honored as Honorary Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Israel, and awarded its Medal for Merit.
At the funeral of President Truman, Most Worshipful Brother W. Hugh McLaughlin, Grand Master of Missouri Masons, gave the Masonic eulogy. In it he praised Mr. Truman as a man, a politician, and a Mason.
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M.S.A. Distributes Its Latest Film Nationally
The Masonic Service Association of the United States has produced a 23 minute film that tells the heart-warming story of the great national charity of the care and concern for the hospitalised veteran patients in the V.A. Medical Centers, State Veterans Homes, and Nursing Care Facilities across the nation.
The film is titled "When the Band Stops Playing." It has an introduction by Brother Danny Thomas and features a speech in a open meeting by M.W. Thomas R. Dougherty. PGM and National Director of Hospital visitation for M.S.A.
The film shows Masonic Volunteers actually working in the V.A. Hospitals helping, aiding, and assisting the patients just as they do everyday of the year.
Copies of the film have been distributed to every Grand Secretaries office in the country. Arrangements to show it can be made through the Grand Secretary. Copies are also available through the M.S.A. Film Library for showing at a cost of $10.00 to cover the cost of mailing.
Write to: M.S.A.
8120 Fenton St.
Silver Spring, MD 20910
This film should be seen by Masons, their families, and members of every community in the United States.
It gives our Fraternity a good image and tells the world that we are our Brother's keeper.
Make arrangements for your Lodge and your community to see "When the Band stops Playing. "
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by Hubert L. Koker MPS
How many Masonic Presidents were there? Would you believe me if I told you, that all the Presidents and all the vice Presidents were Masons? Probably not, but if I told you, that all the Presidents and all the vice Presidents of the Republic of Texas were Masons you would think again. Who were these Presidents and the vice Presidents of the Republic of Texas?
The Republic of Texas existed historically from March 2, 1836 when the Texas Declaration of Independence was adopted until February 16, 1846 when the final ceremony of raising the United States flag over Texas took place at Austin.
Without going into too much Texas history the Convention called for by the general council or Consultation in 1835 met at Washington on the Brazos March 1, 1836. Of the fifty-nine delegates twenty-two were known to be Masons. This Convention wrote a Declaration of Independence, a Constitution, selected brother General Sam Houston to head the Army, and created and installed an ad interim government. David G. Burnet was selected to head this government and Lorenzo de Zavala was selected as his vice president.
Sam Houston left the Convention to take command of the Army at Gonzales March 6, 1836; the day the Alamo at san Antonio fell. At San Jacinto, April 21, 18236 Sam Houston's Army defeated the Mexican Army and captured the Mexican dictator General Santa Anna (a Mason). The Republic of Texas was assured of its place in history.
In July 1836 President Burnet issued a proclamation calling for an election September 1st. The election was held and the first elected government inaugurated October 3, 1836. Sam Houston, the hero of San Jacinto, was sworn in as President and Mirabeau B. Lamar as his vice President.
Mirabeau B. Lamar was sworn in as the second President December 10, 1838 and David G. Burnet as his vice President. It was during the Lamar administration that the ill fated Santa Fe Expedition took place.
On December 13, 1841 Sam Houston was again inaugurated as President and with him Edward Burleson as Vice President.
The fifth and last administration of the Republic of Texas was elected in September of 1844. It continued until Texas was admitted to the Union and consisted of Anson Jones as President and Kenneth L. Anderson as Vice President.
David Gouverneur Burnet, was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1788. He was a member of Franciso de Miranda's expedition to free Venezuela from Spain in 1806, and is said to have fired the first shot for South American independence. By 1836 he and Lorenzo de Zabala were joint empresarios in Texas.
U.S. Senate and served fourteen years. Sam Houston was elected Governor of the State of Texas in 1859 and was Governor when the secession was signed. Samuel Houston was a member of Cumberland Lodge No. 8, Nashville, Tennessee the same lodge as Andrew
Jackson. He died July 26, 1863.
Manuel Lorenzo Justiniano de Zavala was born in Yucatan in 1789. An educated and very energetic politician he served the Republican government in Mexico from 1820 until 1835. He then made his home on Buffalo Bayou and represented Harrisburg at the Consultation of 1835 and the Convention of 1836. He was member of Ajusco Lodge No. 56 of Mexico and was Worshipful Master of Independencia Lodge No. 454 when the Grand Lodge of Mexico was formed in 1826. Lorenzo de Zavala died November 15, 1836 and is buried in the family cemetery, now a part of San Jacinto State Park.
Samuel Houston was born in Virginia in 1793. He enlisted in the Army for the Indian Wars in 1814 and resigned in 1818 as a Lieutenant. He studied law in Tennessee and rose to Adjutant General of the State. In 1827 Sam Houston was elected Governor of Tennessee. He came to Texas in 1832 and represented Nacogdoches at the Consultation of 1835 and the Convention of 1836. He was elected President of the Republic of Texas in 1836 and again in 1841. In February 1846 he was elected to the U.S Senate and served fourteen years. Sam Houston was elected Governor of the State of Texas in 1859 and was Governor when the secession was signed. Samuel Houston was a member of Cumberland Lodge No. 8, Nashville, Tennessee, the same Lodge as Andrew Jackson. He died July 26, 1863.
Mirabeau Bonapart Lamar was born in Georgia in 1798. He came to Texas from Georgia in 1835 with Colonol Fanin. Lamar was commissioned a Colonel at the battle of San Jacinto and ten days later was made Secretary of war in David G. Burnet's administration. He was sworn in as President of the Republic December 10, 1838. Lamar served as a Lieutenant under General Taylor in the Mexican War. He was appointed U.S. minister to Nicaragua and Costa Rica in 1857. Mirabeau B. Lamar died December 19, 1859 and is buried in the Masonic Cemetery at Richmond, Texas. Lamar was a member of Harmony Lodge No. 6, at Galveston.
Edward Burleson was born in North Carolina in 1793. After serving in the militia of North Carolina and Tennessee, Burleson came to Texas in 1830 and in 1831 became a part of Austin's second colony and became a Colonel under Austin in 1835. He served in the Texas Legislature from 1837 to 1839 and was sworn in as vice President December 13, 1841. Edward Burleson died December 26, 1851 and is buried in the State Cemetery at Austin. He was a member of McFarland Lodge No. 3 at San Augustine.
Anson Jones was born at Seekonville, Massachusetts in 1798. He was a doctor by trade and had spent two years in Venezuela before coming to Texas in 1833. Jones served in the second congress and was appointed Texas' minister to the U.S. in 1838. He was Secretary of State under President Sam Houston and was elected President in September of 1844. He was serving in that position when Texas was taken into the Union. His last official statement as President was uttered on February 16, 1846. As the flag of the Republic of Texas was being lowered for the last time he declared, "the Republic of Texas is no more." Anson Jones was the first Worshipful Master of Holland Lodge No. 36 at Houston and first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Republic of Texas. Holland Lodge was the first Lodge in Texas and was named after Grand Master John Henry Holland of Louisiana who had issued the dispensation. The Grand Lodge of the Republic of Texas was formed December 20, 1837 and Holland Lodge took Number 1. Anson Jones took his own life January 9, 1858.
Kenneth Lewis Anderson was born September 11, 1805 in North Carolina. He came to Texas in 1837 and was Customs Collector at San Augustine. Anderson served in the sixth congress and later as district attorney. He was elected vice President September 2, 1844. Kenneth L. Anderson died July 3, 1845. He was a member of McFarland Lodge No. 3 at San Augustine.
Yes, all five Presidents and vice Presidents of the Republic of Texas were Masons as well as many other members of the government. On February 16, 1846 the United States flag was raised over Texas and the Republic of Texas became a State of the Union. The new or first Governor, James Pinckney Henderson, was a member of St. Johns Lodge No. 5. The President of the United States at the time Texas was taken into the union was James K. Polk a member of Columbia Lodge No. 31 in Tennessee, but that is another story.
References
The Handbook of Texas, Two Vols, Austin, Texas, The Texas State Historical Association, 1952.
James D. Carter, Masonry in Texas, Background, History and Influence to 1846, Waco, Committee on Masonic Education and Service for the Grand Lodge of Texas, 1955.
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Masonic Radio Commercials Now Available
We are pleased to announce that three professionally produced radio commercials are now available without charge.
The three commercials have been created to stimulate interest in Freemasonry and to promote a better understanding of our great Fraternity.
Produced through a grant from the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, the three 60-second commercials are available without charge on a single 6" sound-sheet.
We invite you to send for either a review copy or you may request as many copies as you feel you can use.
These radio commercials were developed in response to many requests from Masons and Masonic Lodges and organisations across the nation. Because of the overwhelming response received from the four print ads, it was felt that it would be helpful to add a series of radio commercials.
Although some radio stations may be cooperative in airing the three commercials as Public Service Announcements, we recommend that air time be purchased in order to make the greatest impact.
If appropriate, we hope you will want to assist us in making the series of commercials available to as many Masonic groups as possible.
If you have questions or comments, we look forward to hearing from you.
GEORGE WASHINGTON MASONIC
NATIONAL MEMORIAL
Alexandria Virginia
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Scratching The Surface On Communication
(PART FOUR OF A SERIES)
"l can't get anyone to come to Lodge," is the all too prevalent cry. "We had an excellent speaker. He traveled more than 200 miles to get here, but only 21 men showed up to hear him," one Master lamented. These and hundreds of other anguished statements are heard constantly.
Why? Why can't we get more than five or ten percent of our members to come to our Lodges? Why won't the members, and visitors, come to hear an excellent speaker? Perhaps, just perhaps, it's because of lack of communication. We don't get the message out.
During a workshop I conducted I mentioned that our lodges were wasting money by printing and mailing their "trestleboards," "bulletins," or whatever you choose to call them. The Reason? Of the 50 or so that cross my desk each month about one percent are worth looking at. The others are filled with the names of officers, past masters, committees, and members. A short space is left for the Master, or Secretary, to tell the members there's going to be a meeting. Why the meeting, other than to fulfill the law, isn't mentioned.
The wrath of a goodly number of those present fell upon me. One Master, indignantly, told me he kept his messages short, because "my members are busy and don t have time to read!" Another goodly number backed up my statement and chided that Master (who hasn't spoken to me since). Not too surprisingly, many of the bulletins improved over the next several months.
You can bring in the greatest Masonic speaker in the world, the best out-of-state degree team, or have other excellent programs and have no increase in attendance. Or you can reverse the trend. It's communication. or the lack of it, that will make the difference.
Do you know that Freemasons are supposed to be good communicators? Isn't rhetoric one of the liberal arts and science we are supposed to master? It says so in our ritual, and our ritual is supreme. Ask almost any ritualist if this isn't true. Then ask the ritualist what the ritual means. You just may be amazed.
Aristotle discussed rhetoric, or communication, at length. In it, he said, we must search for "all available means of persuasion." This Third Century B.C. Greek philosopher wrote his books on Rhetoric more for lawyers than the layman. Yet,. his system for communicating hasn't been improved on over the centuries. Thousands of volumes have been written on subject, but those worth reading espouse the principles of Aristotle.
I'll digress for a moment to note a parallel in my statement with that of Freemasonry. Over the centuries there have been millions of words written and spoken about morality and brotherhood. None have improved on the true concept taught, but seldom learned, in the Craft. That old axion about the more things change the more they stay the same holds true.
"Rhetoric," - wrote Aristotle, "may be defined as the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion. This is not a function of any other art." He later added: "Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds. The first kind depends on the personal character of the speaker: the second on putting the audience into a certain frame of mind: the third on the proof, or apparent proof, provided by the words of the speech itself.'' How can anyone improve on this?
The man who is to be believed must be able "(1) to reason logically, (2) to understand human character... and (3) to understand the emotions." And can we refute his claim that "of the three elements in speech-making - speaker, subject, and person addressed - it is the last one, the hearer, that determines the speech's end and object."
Aristotle's advice to speakers is just important for writers; they are communicators, also. He emphasizes that to communicate "one must study three points: first, the means of producing persuasion; second, the style, or language, to be used: third, the proper arrangement of the various parts of the speech" (or communication).
Let's set up a model to follow, based on Aristotle's logic of the Third Century B.C. and what communications experts of today follow:
1. the communication source;
2. the encoder;
3. the message;
4. the channel;
5. the decoder;
6. the communication receiver;
These are the main ingredients, although there are many other factors that can be considered. But what does this jargon mean? Let’s take a simple example:
You meet a friend in a coffee shop. He expresses a desire to become a Mason. You believe he'll make a good one, so you decide to discuss Freemasonry with him. You become the Communication Source. You construct a message through your nervous system. Your speech mechanism serves as the Encoder; it produces the Message about the background of Masonry. This message is transmitted by sound waves thereby becoming the Channel. Your friend's hearing mechanism picks up your message and becomes the Decoder for the Communication Receiver - your friend. If your message has followed the suggestions by Aristotle, the receiver will ask for a petition.
Actually, what you and I are doing right now follows the outline above. I'm serving as the Source; my computer has served as the Encoder (along with the printing press); the Message is contained on these pages; it's transmitted (Channeled) to you by way of this magazine by means of light waves: your eyes Decode the words; and your central nervous system becomes the Receiver.
With a little thought this model can be put to work for every conceivable situation. Even so, communication continues to be the weakest link in almost every organisation. Because of a breakdown in communication the top doesn't know what the bottom is doing, and the bottom could care less about what the top thinks.
A breakdown in communication is one reason the Master who had an excellent speaker had no attendance. He didn't let the members know who was going to be in his Lodge, what they could expect, why and when they should be there.
Guide 13 is reproduced below from my book Keys To Freemasonry’s Growth. You will note the "source" (or sender) must be closely attuned to the "receiver" socially and intellectually for communication to be successful This is true in verbal and written communication. Although there are only 26 letters in our alphabet they are formed into more words with more meanings than anyone can ever learn. The 500 most commonly used words have over 14,000 dictionary meanings! Can we wonder why effective communication is so difficult every where?
To add to the difficulty we have "jargon" - language peculiar to an organization, profession, or occupation and non-verbal expressions which can often convey a better message than voice or print.
Every member of every Lodge, every Lodge of every Grand Lodge has a right to know what has been done and what is going to happen. This can be accomplished only through communication. The day will come in Freemasonry, as it already has in many areas of business, when closed circuit television, or video cassettes, will be widely used. But, as Freemasonry is always years behind technical advances we have only the printed word with which to communicate. We must use it wisely.
Lodge bulletins and newsletters, Grand Lodge magazines and newspapers, should be well-written, thought-provoking, and full of Masonic news and inspiration. If this attempt is made by all concerned, there will be a whale of a decline in demits. Members quickly lose interest in organizations that don't keep in touch. Surveys have proven this over and over again. Yet, we continue to ignore this fact.
These periodicals must be written so they'll be understood. Bureaucratic writing should be avoided. Take this case: A plumber found hydrochloric acid was good for cleaning pipes. He told the Bureau of Standards this. The Bureau responded: "The efficacy of hydrochloric acid is indisputable, but the corrosive residue is incompatible with metallic permanence." The plumber thanked the Bureau for agreeing with him!
Another letter was sent by the Bureau: "We cannot assume responsibility for the production of toxic and noxious residue with hydrochloric acid and suggest that you use an alternative procedure." Again the plumber thanked the Bureau for agreeing with him.
The Bureau finally broke down and wrote: "Don't use hydrochloric acid, it eats hell out of the pipes."
Reminds me of when the problems I had in registering "Imagination Unlimited!" For months I received documents I couldn't interpret. But a phone call to D.C. always straightened me out quickly. After the fourth or fifth such communication I asked the fellow on the other end of the phone why he hadn't put in writing what he said over the phone. "We have forms we must follow," said he. "We can't treat you any differently than we do anemone else."
I agree. We should all be treated alike. We all should be given stuff we can read and understand. Whether the communications comes from Washington, lawyers, insurance companies, banks, or Freemasonry, we should be able to enjoy and understand what we receive. Isn't that what our Guide 13 said? We must learn to empathize - to put ourselves in the other fellow's shoes. Thousands of volumes have been written on the subject of communications. Thousands more will be written. The space alloted for this article permits us to only scratch the surface. If you will follow what has been written, you'll find we've made a fairly deep scratch.
[Note: For further study of this subject you’ll find many good books in your public library. Key To Freemasonry’s Growth and Breaking Barriers to Communications a film available from Imagination Unlimited! also covers the subject at greater length. Next edition we'll discuss organizing the organization.]
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Who Is Who In Freemasonry Now Available
Many in the Masonic world have been waiting for the release of this book which lists many of the Masonic leaders of today. After many frustrating experiences by the editors it is now available.
The almost 9" by 11'' book is hand library bound in deep Burgundy. It contains 188 pages with approximately 1400 biographies of many of the leaders in the Craft, industry professions, politics and trades. It has been termed a beautiful work of art by many Masonic officials.
One Masonic leader wrote: "In years to come, this book, and others of the same after it, will be the desk reference of masonic writers, students, and members of the Craft all over the globe...Thank you for such a fine book for my library and future reference." Alphonse Cerza said it is "an outstanding job." A Masonic supply house found it paid for itself the first day it was received.
The editors of Who is Who in Freemasonry told us that the favorable comments have made the "sweat, blood and tears" they shed in inaugurating this publication well worthwhile.
This limited First Edition is $40, postpaid, and is available for immediate shipment from Anchor Communications, Inc., P.O. Box 70, Highland Springs, VA 23075.
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The Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences Yesterday and Today
by Douglas R. Knauer, MPS
Introduction
In the January, 1984, issue of the New Age Magazine, a very timely question appeared. It was submitted by The Committee on The State of the Order and Unfinished Business of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, USA. That report in part asked:
"In the 18th century, Masonic lodges served as schools for the imparting of knowledge not only on ethics, religion, and human relations, but also on astronomy, music, arithmetic, architecture and so on. This is apparent through the lectures of William Preston, a London printer, who wrote the Middle Chamber lectures which 200 years later are still used in many Grand Lodge Jurisdictions. Should Blue Lodges continue to teach their 20th century candidates 18th century learning on subjects where knowledge is not eternal?"
That is what this paper is answering.
Freemasonry is an allegory of human life, with the Lodge representing the world into which the individual mason is born, lives, and dies. The Fellowcraft degree symbolises the attainment of the individual to manhood. The mason, through a long course of personal development requiring the most profound knowledge, is at the door of his personal and professional life. Throughout the Second Degree Lecture, the candidate is challenged to acquire useful knowledge through education; not only masonic knowledge, but also moral, and intellectual wisdom. The importance of this lies not merely in the accumulation of knowledge; but in the control and use of that knowledge to develop personal standards of a moral, ethical, professional, and religious nature, to be able to live a "good life" with due regard for his fellow human beings.
The Lecture stresses the necessity of cultivating the intellect and acquiring the habits of industry. By using the standards and values of the seven liberal arts and sciences this can be achieved. The acquisition of this knowledge should be one of the most fascinating and ennobling of human pursuits.
In the process of preparing one's self for living, a solid foundation to build upon is needed. This foundation is a good, well rounded education. By education is meant the training of the mind, soul, and body. Noted educator Emmanuel Kant said, "Man can only become man by education. He is merely what education makes him." From the Middle Chamber Lecture then we learn that our education is to be of a moral, masonic, and intellectual nature; to teach the individual to be a good man and a good mason; to build the "Spiritual Temple not made with hands".
The sources of education are limited to skills, experiences, and instructions. Everyone has a skill or talent that makes him special. The development of that God given skill enables him to provide joy and pleasure for others, as well as providing a means of support for himself and his family.
The events and experiences of every day living are used to learn and to grow. However, an individual's possible experiences are limited. By examining the experiences of those who have come this way before us, and of those around us, we are able to extend and increase our store of useful knowledge.
The third way to receive an education is through instruction. This instruction may be obtained by formal schooling and self-teaching. This instruction "is to promote knowledge and intellectual excellence."
The object of education is knowledge: knowledge of a moral, physical, and spiritual nature. Moral knowledge is learning how to live with others. Physical knowledge is learning how to support ourselves and families. Spiritual knowledge is learning what God has planned for us.
The sources of knowledge are observation and experience, personal judgement and reflection, tradition and instruction. Knowledge is obtained through education. T.S. Eliot states that the results of education and knowledge prepare a man to make a living equip him to be a good citizen, and develop his powers, and so enables him to enjoy a good life. In other words, knowledge through education is to prepare the individual to play his full part in society. H.L. Haywood said that, "The work of the world, the great enterprise of human life, rests on the shoulders of those who have knowledge, skill, and experience, and as such is the principal idea of the Fellowcraft Degree."
The portion of education stressed in masonry, and particularly in the Second Degree, is the study of the seven liberal arts and sciences. Preston wrote in lllustrations "at your leisure you are required to study the liberal arts and sciences, and by that means, with a few private instructions, you will soon attain a competent knowledge of the mysteries". These mysteries, when solved, are the answers to life and being a good mason.
The idea of the liberal arts and sciences dates back to Ancient Greece. The Greeks regarded both science and handicrafts as belonging to the realm of art. The arts were classified as ''liberal," "artes liberales" and "vulgar", "artes vulgares". The "liberal arts" were intellectual arts, versus the "vulgar arts" which required physical or mechanical work. Physical work was thought to be demeaning, thus the idea of "vulgar arts". Ovid, writing in about 35 B.C. said, "To have faithfully studied the honorable arts softens the manners and keeps them free from harshness."
This idea of liberal arts was prevalent in the Middle Ages and the Age of Enlightenment. Hugh of Saint Victor wrote, "Art can be said to be a knowledge which consists in rules and regulations". This medieval idea of art embraced handicrafts and sciences as well as fine arts. The "liberal arts" were considered as "arts proper" and consisted of grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. The "vulgar arts" of Ancient Greece were no longer thought of as demeaning, and they became the "mechanical arts".
The medieval system of academic studies was divided into the "Trivium" and the "Quadrivium". The "Trivium" or basic study consisted of grammar, rhetoric, and logic. The "Quadrivium", or advanced study, included arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. This was the beginning of our modern liberal arts curriculum and the liberal arts colleges.
The basis of our modern rituals and lectures, The Old Charges, include a section admonishing masons to study and become proficient in the seven liberal arts and sciences. From the Regius Poem dated approximately 1390:
"Grammar forsooth is the root!
Whoever will learn on the book:
But art passeth in his degree,
As fruit doth the root of the tree,
Rhetoric measureth with ornate
speech among,
And music it is a sweet song;
Astronomy numbereth, my dear brother
Arithmetic sheweth one thing that is another,
Geometry the seventh science it is.
That can separate falsehood from truth, I know
These be the sciences seven,
Who useth them well he may have heaven.'
Practically all of the Old Constitutions or Charges made much of the seven liberal arts and sciences. Brother William Preston, whom we are indebted to for our ritual and lectures wrote a pamphlet in June, 1778, explaining his work. The pamphlet "State of Facts" explains that his ritual and lectures were compiled from the literature and facts then known. He said.
"To the institution of Masonry I shall ever bear a warm and unfeigned attachment. I know its value and I am convinced of its utility. To the Society of Free Masons I profess myself a true and steadfast friend.
I have been employed upwards of fourteen years in establishing a system for the honor of the Society, in the course of which, I have consulted the best authors? ancient and modern. I have in me possession extracts from about two thousand volumes on the subject."
Preston met with others of learning and also corresponded with the most experienced masons in foreign countries to aid in the development of his system of masonic lectures. He recognised the Old Charges as valid sources for the history of the Craft and used them as the basis of his materials.
In 1772 Preston arranged a "Gala Meeting" to deliver his lectures to the Grand Officers and other leaders of the Craft. This Gala was so successful that he printed the lectures in lllustration of Masons. The book achieved instant success. It served to correct refine, and amplify the old workings; and together with the lectures provided a complete and uniform system of work. Preston intended, in the Middle Chamber Lecture, that the study of the liberal arts and sciences should be the foundation for a liberal education which was so esteemed in 17th and 18th century England. He wrote, "Masonry includes within its circle almost every branch of polite literature. Under the sanction of its mysteries, is comprehended a regular system of science."
A great American mason, Thomas Smith Webb, in 1797, published his book The Freemason's Monitor. This was intended to make the mode of working the same throughout America. In his preface of the original edition he wrote, "The observations upon the first three degrees, are many of them taken from Preston's Illustrations of Masonry with some necessary alterations". He continued, Preston's work, "not being agreeable to the mode of working in America, they (the lectures) are differently arranged". The Webb system of instructions, actually the Webb Preston system, is currently used by the majority of jurisdictions in the United States.
Why does the Middle Chamber Lecture include the seven liberal arts and sciences? It is imperative for every man to understand his own nature and that of the men with whom he lives and associates. To train a man in nothing but his vocation is to rob him of the idea of getting along with others and fulfilling his role in society. Man's capacity for enjoyment and pleasure is limited by useful knowledge. The seven liberal arts and sciences points to the acquisition and use of knowledge as most befitting and proper. We are all charged to improve in human relations.
Grammar, the first of the liberal arts and sciences, is the basis of all the others Grammar is communications. With its rules, it teaches the proper use of words and sentences. The present business community requires its employees to have good oral and written communications. Poor speaking and letter writing, atrocious spelling, and a lack of that good oral and written communication, shows a need for the study of Grammar.
Rhetoric teaches the arrangement of writing and speaking in proper sequence. That sequence is divided into 5 parts; introduction, narrative, arguments, subsidiary remarks, and conclusion. The proper use of words and sentences, grammar, is not enough. Rhetoric, the proper arrangement of the parts, must also be employed to enable the reader or listener to understand the ideas being conveyed.
Logic teaches us to draw conclusions from statements. It is reasoning, or thinking straight and clear. In our everyday lives we have need to make the right or best choice. Logic or reasoning must be employed.
In our ever increasingly complicated world, the "Trivium", grammar. rhetoric, and logic is needed more than ever. By their use we are able to translate our thoughts, ideas, and emotions into words. Communication is a necessity for everyday living.
Arithmetic is the art of computation. It teaches counting, computing, adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. With the advent of calculators and computers to do the calculations for us, we still must be able to understand and do computations ourselves. In this complex society, how could we survive without a knowledge of arithmetic?
Geometry, the fifth science, is based upon measurement of areas, masses, angles, spaces, and the relationships between them. Geometry or measurement, is fundamental to all of the sciences. Geometry is said to have developed in ancient Egypt where it was used to locate property lines after the yearly flooding of the Nile river. In the lecture we are told that geometry is the basis upon which the superstructure of Masonry is built. Geometry, one of the parts of mathematics then teaches us the vast proportions of the universe, how it exists, and that we are but an infinitesimal portion of the great whole. Benjamin Franklin in his Pennsylvania Gazette wrote, "As to the usefulness of geometry, it is certain that no curious or mechanical work can be either invented, improved, or performed without its assisting principles."
The art of music teaches how to make tunes and songs for the pleasure of the listeners or for divine worship in church. In the past it was considered necessary for "ladies and gentlemen" to have a musical aptitude. Although no longer required, an appreciation of the fine art of music softens and refines, as well as brings pleasure to the performer and listener. As the lecture states, music displays the emotions of the heart and soul, and communicates love.
The seventh science, Astronomy, teaches the order of the heavens, the firmament, the stars, and the courses of the planets. Astronomy is used to calculate the time, day, month, year, and season; along with forecasting the daily weather. It is an indespensible part of our lives, and as such, we need to have a practical knowledge of its usefulness. It is said that 'the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork."
The seven liberal arts and sciences not only have literal meanings as explained in the lecture; but also serve as symbols of a good, well rounded education. Grammar and rhetoric symbolise proper use of language and communications with our fellow human beings. Logic is all thinking and reasoning, and what can be accomplished by thought. Arithmetic and Geometry are symbols of all science, since science is but calculation and measurement. Music means, not only sweet melodies, but all of the fine arts - poetry, sculpture, painting, nature, all that is beautiful. Astronomy is more than a study of the operation of the solar system. It is the symbol of that which is beyond, a symbol of heaven and the spirit of God.
The arts and sciences used to be called the "The Humanities". We should continue to refer to them in this manner, because what are the arts and sciences but a study in human relationships. H.L. Haywood in Symbolic Masonry wrote:
"The brother who understands enough grammar to write a paper to be read to his brethren: who has studied enough rhetoric to learn how to speak well in open Lodge, who has disciplined his mind by logic as to think straight and clear without prejudice or passion: who has an appreciation of a fine art like music so as to be mellowed and softened by the charm it throws about one's personality who has had his mental outlook broadened and his store of knowledge enriched so as to have useful information to place at the disposal of the craft; such a brother it seems to me, is one who exemplifies the masonic love of light and learning."
What Haywood said was not enough, for he omitted arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy Arithmetic may be employed by a mason to subtract nothing from the character of his neighbor, to multiple his benevolence to his fellow creatures to divide his means with a suffering brother, and to always remember that in the lodge room and in the eyes of God we are all equal. Geometry, or the science of measurement, reminds us to always maintain the proper moral and ethical conduct by which we as men, and especially masons, are measured. Astronomy, we are told, is "that divine art by which we are taught to read the wisdom, strength, and beauty of the Almighty Creator in those sacred pages, the celestial hemisphere." The study of the seven liberal arts and sciences is truely a study in human relations.
Civic, business, and political leaders, along with educators, and other responsible people in our society are currently pointing to the evident lack of adequate education in our school systems. Even among those who possess the advantage of college degrees there is a lack of understanding of the basics. This country was founded upon the principles of freedom, freedom from intolerence and ignorance. To maintain those high ideals and standards of our forefathers, we must educate. Not the specialised and limited courses of study now used; but a study in the Humanities, the seven liberal arts and sciences. H. Cart De Lafontaine wrote in his paper on the subject, "I would boldly maintain that the cultivation of such arts and sciences as grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy was never more necessary than in the present day, not only to raise people to a noble ideal, but to encourage art, to sustain religion, to promote intellectuality, to secure a proper nicety in speaking and writing, to revive an oldtime eloquence in the assemblies of the great, to enable us to think in proper sequence, to cultivate the organs of hearing, to give us a proper sense of numerical value."
"Should Blue Lodges continue to teach their 20th century candidates 18th century learning on subjects where knowledge is not eternal," was the question presented at the beginning of this paper. Yes, the teaching of the seven liberal arts and sciences are pertinent today. It has been shown that the study of liberal arts is a study in human relations and needed for survival in today's world. When each of us was passed to the Degree of a Fellowcraft, we heard the charge. "The study of the liberal arts, that valuable branch of education which tends so efficiently to polish and adorn the mind is earnestly recommended to your consideration." To be better men and masons, let us continue to give it the consideration it so richly deserves.
Bibliography
Foreign Countries, Claudy, Carl H. (1971)
Introduction To Freemasonry, Claudy, Carl H. (1931)
The Ahiman Rezon, Dalcho, Fredrick (1975 edition)
The Collected Prestonian Lectures, "The Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences," De Lafontaine. H. Cart (1967)
Symbolic Masonry, Haywood, H.L. (1923)
Little Masonic Library, "The Symbolism of the Second Degree of Masonry", Haywood. H.L., (1977)
The Spirit of Masonry, Hutchinson, William (1775)
Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, "William Preston's Second Lecture of Freemasonry," James, P.R. (1970)
The Masonic Monthly, (1864)
The Regius Poem, Masonic Service Association
The Short Talk Bulletins, Masonic Service Association (various)
The Builders, Newton. Joseph Fort (1951)
Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Pike, Albert (1958)
Illustrations of Masonry, Preston, William (1775)
The New Age Magazine, (various)
The Freemason's Monitor, Webb Thomas Smith (1868)
Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Wiener, Phillip P. (1974)
The Meaning of Masonry, Wilmshurst. Walter L. (1980)
Acknowledgements
To Right Worshipful Brother Vahl Wilson, Past District Deputy Grand Master, grateful thanks for the use of his masonic library.
To Most Worshipful Brotherly, Harry White Grand Master, a special thank you for the honor of being invited to present this paper.
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Kipling and the Law of Brotherhood
by Robin Carr
Through the centuries Freemasonry has had fewer followers among men in the arts than among those engaged in other pursuits. Among the most notable exceptions, however, is the British author Rudyard Kipling. This famous author whose place among men of letters is still controversial, informs us that "In '85 I was made a Freemason by dispensation (Lodge Hope and Perseverance 782 E.C.) being under age, because the Lodge hoped for a good Secretary. They did not get him, but I helped, and got the Father to advise, in decorating the bar walls of the Masonic Hall with hangings after the prescription of Solomon's Temple. Here I met Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, members of the Araya and Brahmo Samaj, and a Jew tyler, who was priest and butcher to his little community in the city. So yet another world opened to me which I needed" (11:58). The record of Kipling's raising is, interestingly enough, in his own handwriting and, but a short six months later, the young author delivered a paper, "On the Origins of Masonry and the First Degree in Particular," to his Brethren in Hope and Perseverance Lodge (14-3). That this zeal for the Fraternity continued throughout the author's lifetime is questioned by biographers Hilton Brown and Elliot Gilbert who accuse Kipling of joining the Masons just "to be in the know" (4:95) and because he enjoyed "secrecy" (17:43).
But - to penetrate behind the veil, to subscribe to the tabu, to exchange the secret password when the fingers were laid upon the lips - therein, it seem to Kipling, lay the delight of delights and the consummation of wisdom. All through his life he yearned, with a persistence that survived more than one disappointment, to join some sort of Society, to be Initiate to be a Member. That he became a Freemason as early as possible goes without saying he could not have been a Mason (4:95).
Proof, however, of Kipling's commitment to Freemasonry lies in the great understanding of the ideals of the Craft, which he presents in his art, his laureateship of Cannongate-Kilwinning Lodge No. 2 in Edinburgh, Scotland [a successor to Robert Burns who was initiated in February 11. 1787 (12:125) and the fact that just "before his death, realizing that he would never return to Lahore, he sent the lodge a gavel which bore the inscription 'Hope and Perseverance"' (36:6). Thus, Kipling honored his lodge of initiation forty-eight years after he wrote "Mother Lodge" in 1886.
That Kipling guarded the privacy of his personal life, including his Masonic comings and goings, does not negate his commitment to the Fraternity and his expression of its ideals in his work. Like Goethe, Burns, and Voltaire, Kipling did not hide his Masonic connections but instead emblazoned, for all to see, to ponder and to accept or reject, Masonic symbols, words and philosophy upon the pages of his short stories, poems and novels. Often his symbols are obvious as in "The Man Who Would Be King" which according to Harry Carr, eminent Masonic scholar is
... based on the idea - commonly held among Masonic travellers and students of folk-lore during the past hundred years or so that many primitive and civilized tribes in the Near and Far East use signs and symbols which are known and used in Speculative Masonry. Dravot, by some accident, makes this discovery and the rest of their story, apart from its tragic end, is almost pure Masonry (6:265).
The Square and Compasses, the Fellowcraft's grip the Mosaic Pavement, and the Master's Mark (10:733-734) are used to frame this story in which two men carry to its ultimate the Masonic ideal of Brotherhood and the Biblical idea "Greater love has no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friend (John 15:13). However, even though this Masonic principle of Brotherhood governs the personal relationship which exists between Peachy Carnahan and Dan Dravot, it is the breach of this principle on the global or universal level which leads to Dravot's downfall. In "Masonic Allusions and Themes in The Works of Rudyard Kipling," Thomas Wendelmoot concludes an enlightening discussion of "The Man Who Would Be King" by saving
the whole thetnatic idea in the story is that anyone whom through selfish motivation and ambition attempts to exceed the moral restraints of order imposed by the natural laws of man and society as well as the Masonic Order, is doomed from the start.
... The first thing that is asked a candidate for the Degrees in Masonry is whether he comes to the Order "uninfluenced by mercenary motives," and he is subsequently warned several times of the risks he takes if he becomes a Mason for selfish reasons.
... "The Man Who Would Be King" is Kipling's admonition to those who would abandon the principles of the Order...
(49:128-132)
Similarly, Kipling sets "In the Interests of the Brethren" within a Lodge allowing him to suggest that many of man's physical and mental problems, especially those resulting from war, may be relieved and made bearable by the soothing, calming, restorative power of the ritual and fellowship found among Masons (28:67). As pointed out by Carr, in "In the Interests of the Brethren"
There is no story - just a picture of worn and weary men withdrawn for a few brief moments from the terrors of a world in chaos, into a haven of peace and sanity where the teachings of Brotherhood acquire a new and poignant meaning against the background of their suffering ... for this is no ordinary Lodge of Instruction, but an ideal; it is an appeal to the craft to awaken to its responsibilities (6:275).
The same Lodge frame and "curative" power are commented upon in Angus Wilson's discussion of "A Madonna of the Trenches" (42:314). The Masonic frame for this story, however, seems to become a nonce symbol suggesting that the ritual of Masonry cannot only soothe the troubled individual, but can also heal a troubled world.
The world of the 1880's, into which Kipling emerged as a writer, was a troubled one, largely ignored by literacy circles as they sought to deal with loftier, more uplifting ideals rather than with the daily affairs of men. For a writer to concern himself almost exclusively with the common man and the problems of society surprised and, in many ways, offended Kipling's contemporaries, yet, the power of his craftsmanship was not to be denied. Some including T.S . Eliot, Andrew Lang, Rider Haggard, George Orwell, and C.S. Lewis (18:vi) hailed Kipling as being among Britain's greatest living authors. Others were virulently anti-Kipling, accusing the young author of being vulgar and mundane. Henry Austin (2:327) accused Kipling of having a "dangerous illness," William Lyons Phelps (40:223) declared that he had a "passion for ghastly detail," and Harold Laski (34:287) thought Kipling's work "the literature of hate, of malignant grandiosity and jingo ambitions." The most scathing criticism, however, came from Robert Buchanan who called Kipling "The Voice of the Hooligan," and found in Kipling's work "no glimpse anywhere of sober and self-respecting human beings - only a wild carnival of drunken, bragging, boasting Hooligans in red coats..." (5:26).
These detractors found little in Kipling's stories which rose above the commonplace or which attempted to uplift the spirit of man. The volume of their criticism rose dramatically after 1900 as Kipling began to be perceived an imperialist and warmonger. Thus, a clear judgment of the literary merit of Kipling’s work became impossible as the critics, unable to separate creator from the created, judged Kipling's art "...on moral grounds without caring to read between the lines, generally dismissing him as a jingo imperialist and a superficial writer" (22:1).
It is true that Kipling believed in Britain and her basic ideals. He believed in law, order, and civilisation. He also believed that Britain, as one of the world's most advanced civilisations, could best effect change in the world. Judged on this basis Kipling was an imperialist. But to reject him as an explicator of the human experience on this basis alone is to do him a great injustice, for Kipling's idea of imperialism went beyond Britain and national politics and, instead, centered on a moral foundation upon which to build a better, more civilized, world. This, he hoped could be accomplished not through government, but through discipline and morality, goals to be achieved by teaching obedience to The Law (note the upper case "L").
The Law, as defined in Shamsul Islam's book, Kipling’s Law: A Study of His Life, is "a principle of order that is essential for the establishment of an ideal social structure as well as for inner harmony on an individual level. This ideal order is made possible by strict adherence to the rules of conduct sanctioned by reason, custom, tradition - the forces of social control which impose upon individuals a code which they break at their peril" (22:141). Islam's work brilliantly outlines how thoroughly The Law permeates Kipling's work and effectively illustrates the positive moral basis of The Law.
A damaging flaw, however, exists in Islam's work, for, in what seems to be an attempt to come to grips with the vacillating opinions of Kipling's contemporaries, Islam accuses Kipling of being inconsistent in his definition of The Law: "He was not a thinker or a Sociologist: he was primarily an artist. And one cannot expect a logical and consistent philosophy from an imaginary writer..." (22:147). Such a statement from one who has so brilliantly illustrated the positive foundation and extended use of The Law in Kipling's art is unbelievable, for The Law exists and is consistent in all of Kipling's work. It is the backdrop of the tragedy his characters must face and the basis for any happiness they may find. The Law is ever present to be followed by Kipling's characters or to be broken at their peril. Yet, even when broken because of callousness, misunderstanding of ignorance, The Law still stands, absolute and unchanging. It is not negotiable. It demands its just due. It reminds the offender of the positive nature of its purpose. For moral law, like natural law, cannot change to suit the will and pleasure of each or any man but treats all men equally.
That this Law, which controls the destiny of Kipling's characters, is related to the author's commitment to Freemasonry cannot be doubted. At almost every turn, The Law is taught to Kipling's characters, and readers, through allegory and symbolism which can be directly, and absolutely, connected to the Masonic Fraternity. In fact Kipling indisputably links The Law to the Masonic idea of the Brotherhood of Man when in his introduction to "The Man Who Would Be King" he uses the Masonic epigraph
'Brother to a Prince and fellow to a beggar if he be found worthy'.
"The Law, as quoted, lays down a fair conduct of life, and one not easy to follow" (29:718). As can be seen, Kipling connects not the law, but The Law, with the idea of Brotherhood which is the essence of the first line. This principle of Brotherhood is also apparent in "A Song of the English," where the poet likens the world to a lodge in disarray, a lodge where members are cautioned to keep The Law and are reminded that The Law is necessary because we are "...neither children, nor Gods, but men in a world of men." The poem sings softly to all who are alert that "...a new Word runs between: Whispering, 'Let us be One!’" (27:10). In this line Kipling very simply defines the philosophy of Freemason; The Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God, a harmony expressed so well by Goethe, a fellow Freemason, over one hundred years earlier.
The primacy of this definition of The Law is strongly supported in "In the Interests of the Brethren" when Kipling has an old soldier explain his philosophy of life: "Yes, veiled in all'gory and illustrated in symbols - The Fatherhood of God, an' the Brotherhood of Man, an' what more in Hell do you want?" (28:67). This Brotherhood, implying the subjugation of the individual to The Law for the benefit of all mankind, is Kipling's philosophy. Islam states this so very well when he writes "The Law is a means whereby the individual realizes the self and society attains an ideal social order: the two processes are simultaneous and interrelated" (22:148). The law must be obeyed by each and all if the ultimate good of mankind is to be achieved. Yet each individual is important, for each adds to, or mars, the perfection of the whole. In "The British Mind: An Interpretation" Kipling calls both individuals and nations alike to "do our duty to God and our neighbors," and suggests that the actions of the individual are important to the progress of civilisation (33:590). To Kipling this progress is the sole purpose of The Law. It is for this reason that he calls the eye of all of British Society in "Recessional" when he warns powerful individuals in the British government against the temptation to politically and economically subjugate its colonies once the purpose of The Law is accomplished. He cautions them against becoming proud, boastful and grasping - like "those without the law" (31:967). He calls the leaders of his country back to the essence of The Law, a commitment to God and the Brotherhood of Man. Application of The Law in this Masonic light debunks past interpretations of "Recessional" as an Imperialist's frantic wish to return to the Empire of the past," and even allows the controversial phrase, "and lesser breeds without The Law" to be seen in its true essence, as a call for all men and all governments to hold fast and true to high principles (31:967). Kipling also uses the Masonic Cabletow in "The Man Who Would Be King," "The Native Born," and the "Song of the English" to suggest that the Fraternity should attempt to unite the whole world under the principles of Brotherhood, Relief and Toleration. He presents the Lodge as the Mother of all Brothers reaching out as Wendelmoot states "encompassing all men in its moral embrace" (49:131). Wendelmoot discovered the same theme in "The Widow at Windsor" and speculates that
the "Lodge o' the Widow" may not be the Empire at all, but the worldwide Masonic Fraternity. If this is so - and it is, at least possible - the entire poem becomes a hidden plea by Kipling to English Masons to "return to their 'ome," that is, to come back to the principles of Toleration and Brotherhood called for by the Masonic creed. The large number of professional military, religious and political leaders who were members of the Order would be quick to recognize the allusive theme of "the Widow at Windsor" though we can only speculate what effect, if any, this great Masonic poem had on Imperialist policy (49:69).
In the judgment of many critics, Carr and Wendelmoot included, Kim is the work in which Kipling most effectively revealed the ideology and symbolism of Freemasonry. Carr sees its theme as "a spiritual search" (6:274) while Wendelmoot believes
If "The Man Who Would Be King" is Kipling's admonition to those who would abandon the principles of the Order, Kim is his paean for those who adhere to its principles...Kipling, in Kim, embodies every one of his personal, ethical and philosophical principles responsible law and order, morality, pride in one's craft, love of ritual, moderation, relief for the distressed, and above all, tolerance and universal brotherhood. Kim is truly "The Little Friend of All the World ... Kim has become an Entered Apprentice in the Great Game of Life, where devotion to duty, mastery of one's craft, mutual respect, order, responsible authority, morality, tolerance and brotherhood are the principles by which the game is played. Freemasonry, uniting all men as brothers, as the Mother Lodge of Life (49:130-132).
According to Islam, "Kipling's whole habit of mind, all of his life, was didactic; he was frankly a preacher and a moralist" (22:142). Much of Kipling's meaning - in fact his deepest meaning - can only be understood when illumined by the light of Freemasonry. To the Mason Kipling's symbolism should be clear. To the uninitiated he offers The Law to live by, for he believed that "men are not naturally kindly and humane when freed from convention; their condition without law is the Hobbsian one, nasty, poor, solitary, brutish and short" (48:617). Kipling's characters are often just such brutish men, totally without the law, but not always beyond redemption, whose grave conditions demonstrate the necessity of The Law. The reader who studies each of Kipling's stories and poems in this light will find that, had the various characters adhered to the elements of The Law of Brotherhood, which are Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth, they would have overcome the baseness of their lives.
Rudyard Kipling was a great man much realigned because critics could not separate the lofty ideals of The Law from the laws of the Queen. It is cheering that many of today’s critics are reassessing the merits of Kipling’s work removed from the bias of the times and are finding a craftsmanship unparalleled by many. Kipling revealed much of Freemasonry to the world. It is up to Masons to help the world understand his message.
Bibliography
1. Allen, (Sir) Stephen. "The Janeites." The Kipling Journal, XIX, 102 & 103 (July, October 1952), pp. 3-6, 10-12, respectively.
2. Austin, Henry. "The Kipling Hysteria." Dial 26: 327-328, May 16, 1899.
3. Bazley, Basil M. "Freemasonry in Kipling." The Kipling Journal, XXVIII, 140 (December 1961), pp. 7-13.
----- "Some Kipling Crypticisms." The Kipling Journal, No. 45 (March 1938). pp. 80-11.
4. Brown, Hilton. Rudyard Kipling, New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1945.
5. Buchanan, R.W. and Sir Walter Besant, "from The Voice of The Hooligan," Kipling and the Critics. (See below Gilbert).
6. Carr, Harry. Harry Carr's World of Freemasonry, London: Lewis Masonic Publishers, 1984.
7. Carrington, Charles. Rudyard Kipling: His Life and Work. London: MacMillan & Co., Ltd., 1955.
8. Chesterton, G.K. The Victorian Age in Literature. 1913; rpt. London: Oxford University Press, 1966.
9. Dobree, Bonamy. The Lamp and the Lute: Studies in Seven Authors. 1919; rpt. London: Frank Cass and Co. Ltd., 1964.
10. Eliot, T.S., ed. A Choice of Kipling's Verse. Garden City, New York: Anchor Books, 1962.
11. Farrell, Byron. Queen Victoria's Little Wars. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1969.
12. Fitzhugh, Robert. Robert Burns: The Man and the Poet. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin Co., 1970
13. Frankau, Gilbert. "Rudyard Kipling." Kipling: The Critical Heritage (See below, Green).
14. "Freemasonry," Funk & Wagnall's Near Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnall's Inc., 1979.
15. Frost, Albert. "R.K's Masonic Allusions." The Kipling Journal, IX, 63 (October 1942), pp. 16-18.
16. Fussell, Paul, Jr. "Irony, Freemasonry and Humane Ethics in 'The Man Who Would Be King." ELM, XXV, I (1958). pp. 216-33.
17. Gilbert, Elliot L. The Good Kipling. Oberlin, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1970.
18. Gilbert, Elliot L., ed. Kipling and the Critics. New York: New York University Press, 1965.
19. Gould, Robert Freke. The History of Freemasonry: Its Antiquities, Symbols, Constitutions, Customs, Etc. 3 Volumes. London: Thomas C. Jack, 1887.
20. Green, Roger Lancelyn, ed. Kipling: The Critical Heritage. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1971.
21. Harbard. R.E. "Kipling and Free-Masonry." The Kipling Journal, XXVIII, 140 (December 1961), pp. 30-31.
22. Islam, Shamsul. Kipling’s Law: A Study of His Philosophy of Life. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1975.
23. Jarrell, Randall. "On Preparing to Read Kipling." A Sad Heart at the Supermarket: Essays and Fables. New York: Atheneum, 1962.
24. Karim, M. Enamul. "Freemasonry in 18th Century India.'' The Kipling Journal, XLII. 193 (March 1975), pp. 3-4.
25. Kipling, Rudyard. The Burwash Edition of the Complete Works in Prose and Verse of Rudyard Kipling. 28 Volumes. New York: AMS Press, 1970.
26. ----- Rudyard Kipling's Verse: Definitive Edition Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1952.
27. ----- "A Song of the English." The Seven Seas. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1897.
28.----- "In the Interests of the Brethren." Debits and Credits. London Macmillan and Co. Ltd., 1926.
29. "The Man Who Would Be King." (See below Kipling, The One Volume Kipling.)
30. ---- The One Volume Kipling. Garden City, New York. Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc., 1893.
31. ---- "Recessional." (See above Kipling, The One Volume Kipling.)
32. ---- Something of Myself: For My Friends Known and Unknown. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc., 1937.
33. ---- "The British Mind: An Interpretation." Living Age, 305: 590-594.
34. Laski, Harold. "Four Literary Portraits." Living Age, 359: 285-293, November 1930.
35. Lewis, C.S. "Kipling's World." Kipling and the Critics. (See above Gilbert.)
36. Masonic Services Association. "Kipling and Masonry," in The Short Talk Bulletin Part I VoI. XIII, October 1964 No. 10. Washington, D.C.
37. "Maugham, W. Somerset, ed. Maugham's Choice of Kipling's Best. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1953.
38. Meyers, Jeffrey. "The Idea of Moral Authority in "The Man Who Would Be King’." Studies in English Literature. 1500-1900, Vlll, 4 (Autumn 1968), pp. 710-23.
39. Orwell, George. "Rudyard Kipling." Dickens, Dali & Others. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Inc., 1946.
40. Phelps, William Lyon. "Kipling." Forum, 42:217-226, September 1909.
41. Pike, Albert. Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry 1871; rpt . Washington, D.C.: Roberts Publishing Company, 1950, 1966.
42. Rutherford, Andrew, editor. Kipling's Mind and Art: Selected Critical Essays. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1964.
43. Smith, Esther Marian Greenwell. "The Prophetic Qualities of Rudyard Kipling's Work." Diss. University of Florida, 1972.
44. Stewart, J.I.M. Rudyard Kipling. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1966.
45. Tingey, A.J.C. "Kipling's Allusions to the Mithraic Cult." The Kipling Journal, XXIX. 142 (June 1962), pp. 10-18.
46. Trilling, Lionel. The Liberal Imagination: Essays on Literature and Society. London: Secker and Warburg, 1955.
47. Tompkins, J.M.S. The Art of Rudyard Kipling. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1959
48. Watson, George. editor. The New Cambridge Modern History Volume 5. p. 617. Cambridge. England: Cambridge University Press 1967.
49. Wendelmoot, Thomas L. "Masonic Allusions and Themes in the Works of Rudyard Kipling." Diss. University of South Florida, 1980.
50. Williamson, H. S. ''Masonic References in the Works of Rudyard Kipling.'' The Kipling Journal. No. 31 (September 1934), pp. 76-92.
51. Wilson, Angus. The Strange Ride of Rudyard Kipling: His Life and Works. New York: The Viking Press, 1978. [Also New York: Penguin Books. 1979.]
52. Wilson, Edmund. The Wound and the Bow: Seven Studies in Literature. 1929; rpt. New York: Oxford University Press, 1959.
53. ---- "The Post-war Kipling." The Crew Republic, LXXI, 912 (May 25, 1932). pp. 50-51.
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AI Cerza Reviews Books of Interest to Masons
General history books seldom mention Freemasonry and Masonic history books rarely mention items of general history. This defect is sought to be cured in part in a new book written by a Texas Mason, Deed L. Vest, a college teacher and an active Mason. The book is entitled "Pursuit of a Thread" and starts with the country Sumer, which existed 3000 B.C. and describes how the people lived in those days. He then proceeds to cover world history seeking items that can be linked or associated with our present day Craft. It is an interesting book to read and has a new approach to presenting Masonic history. He states clearly that he is not exploring the origin of Freemasonry but only noting the many sources which have been utilized in creating the Craft as it is today.
Available at $20.00 a copy, from the Grand Secretary P.O. Box 446, Waco, Texas 76703.
Every Mason at some time or other has heard the phrase "making a Mason at sight" and many conjure up a vision of the Grand Master looking at a non-Mason, pointing a finger at him, saying the magic words, and making him a Mason at once. We now have a complete presentation of the background of the subject, its legal basis, and how the ceremony is conducted. The book also contains what has happened on this subject in each state, in Canada and in the Philippines. This book represents a great deal of research by an able and devoted Mason, Louis L. Williams, of Bloomington, Illinois, and it is entitled "Making a Mason at Sight."
Available at $4.00 a copy. from The Masonic Book Club, P.O. Box 1563, Bloomington, Ill. 61701.
Men make Freemasonry what it is and they are the most important element of the organization. It is the members who meet the financial obligations of the Craft and who do all the necessary work that keep the organisation alive. Allen E. Roberts, FPS, and current President of our Society, spent innumerable hours planning, organizing, and preparing the manuscript for the new book "Who Is Who in Freemasonry" containing the biographical sketches of living members of the Craft and others who may be of interest to Masons. Only lack of cooperation by our members in supplying him with the details of their lives prevented the book from having more members listed. This book fills a big void in Masonic literature and will serve as a valuable reference work for years.
Available at $40.00 a copy, from Anchor Communications, lnc., 110 Quince Avenue, P.O. Box 70, Highland Springs, Va. 23075.
Harry Carr, of London, England, departed this life on October 20, 1983. In his lifetime he was the greatest listing Masonic scholar in the world and he made many valuable literary contributions to the Craft as a speaker and as a writer on Masonic subjects. There has been published a great book with the title "Harry Carr's World of Freemasonry" which collects together some of his most important and interesting works. Fifteen of his works can be found in this book. Here are a feast of the subjects covered: Six Hundred Years of Craft Ritual; The Transition from Operative to Speculative; Lodge Mother Kilwinning No. O; Freemasonry in the U.S.A.; The Letter G; Kipling and the Craft; Women and the Craft; and The Evolution and Ritual of the Third Degree.
Available at $16.50 a copy, from Macoy Masonic Publishing Co., 3011 Dumbarton Road, Richmond, Va. 23228.
William Preston (1742-1818) was an active Mason, teacher of the ritual and the author of "Illustrations of Masonry," a Masonic monitor which went through many editions and influenced the development of the ritual. On his death he left three hundred Pounds with direction that the interest from this fund be used in the selection of a person annually to give a lecture on Freemasonry.
This was done for a number of years and then was discontinued. In the meantime the income was used to increase the principal of the fund. In 1925 the Lectures were resumed and have been given each year with some regularity. In 1965 there was published a volume entitled "The Collected Prestonian Lectures, 1925-1960;" which volume has long been out-of-print. There has now been published volume two of the Collected Prestonian Lectures, 1961-1974. Here are some of the titles of the Lectures reproduced in this book. King Solomon in the Middle Ages; Folklore into Masonry; The Genesis of Operative Masonry, The Evolution of the English Provincial Grand Lodge; The Grand Lodge of England - A History of the First Hundred Years; and In Search of Ritual Uniformity.
Available at $18.00 a copy, from Lewis Masonic Publishers, Shepperton, Middlesex TW17 8 AS. England.
Masons are constantly asking themselves where and when did Freemasonry originate? We do not know the answer to this vital question, and about two dozen theories have been advanced over the years displaying a great deal of ingenuity in exploring this subject. One of the obscure theories is that Freemasonry originated at Stonehenge, that place in England which has been a mystery for centuries. We now have a full scale presentation of this theory in an attractive book with many illustrations, having the title "Stonehenge: An Ancient Masonic Temple," written by Russell A. Herner, of Ohio.
Until recently it was believed that the stones were built by the Druids, but in recent publications it is stated that they were started around 2700 B.C. and were completed about a thousand years later. The author of this new book has made a study of the subject for years, has visited the site several times, has made a scale model of the area, and has studied the literature on the general subject. He has accepted certain theories advanced by students of Stonehenge as his starting point, made certain assumptions, and has compared what he has observed with a modern day Masonic lodge. From the claimed similarities he concludes that Stonehenge is where the Craft originated.
The theory is ably presented but is far from convincing. The existence of similarities is not evidence or origin and we must recognise that the Masonic ritual is not a recital of history but a vehicle in symbolic form conveying basic moral lessons. Using the method employed by the author most of the theories so far advanced on this subject would be considered sound.
Available at $17.45 a copy from Macoy Masonic Publishing Co., 3011 Dumbarton Road, Richmond. Va.
Persons concerned with the apathy within the Craft will be encouraged by a book which discusses three basic forces within the Craft that assure its continuance and success in the future. With an able consideration of the past as a foundation of Freemasonry, its present situation, and its basic purpose, the author, William H. Stemper, Jr., in "Freemasonry and the Force" presents an interesting and important analysis of the values within our organisation and how it is making a valuable contribution to the welfare of society and to its members.
Available at $6.00 a copy from Research Lodge No. 2, 212 North Riverside Drives Ames, Iowa 50010.
In 1956 there was published "Freemasonry and the American Indian," by William R. Denslow, FPS, and Past President of our Society. This is the most comprehensive and authoritative coverage of the subject. Long out-of-print, with constant demand for copies, the book has been reprinted as a service to the Craft.
Available at $10.00 a copy from the Missouri Lodge of Research, P.O. Box 480, Fulton, Mo. 65251.
Volume 15, Number One, of the Transactions of the American lodge of Research, contains fifty-two papers written by Wilmer E. Bressee, MPS, who has been an able student of Freemasonry for many years. While some of the subject relate to New York most of the material is of general interest. Here is a sampling of the subjects: The William Morgan incident; Masonry's Part in the Building of the Erie Canal: Suggestions for Numismatists; General Jacob Morris; Masonry and the Civil War; Hawaiian Freemasonry; Masonic Literature and Burgoyne’s Invasion, 1777.
Available at $6.00 a copy from the Lodge, 71 W. 23rd St., New York, N,Y. 10010.
The Masonic Service Association has been issuing a great deal of material in recent months. Some is new and some is old material that has been up-dated. Here is a partial list of the material: Why This Confusion in the Temple, by Dwight L. Smith, FPS. and Past President at $2.13 a copy; Artifacts and Gadgets, by H. Wallace Reid, useful to collectors of items with Masonic connection at $1.62 a copy: Masonic Questions Answered by the Courts at $1.88 a copy: Masonic Feasts, Banquets and Table Lodges, at $1.88 a copy: and a 23 minute 16mm color film with the title "When the Band Stops Playing," at $150 a copy, with the film on a video cassette at $55.00 a copy.
The Association maintains a Standing Order List which enables members to get all material as issued and billed at the time of publication. A new catalog of the material published by the association ought to be ready any day.
The address of the Association is 8120 Fenton Street, Silver Spring, Md. 20910.
We have many members who are collectors of items that have Masonic symbols on them. It is an interesting hobby if one is interested in being a collector. An interesting booklet has been published with many illustrations with the title "Timepieces, Rings. Balls & Watch Fobs," written by C. Clark Julius, MPS, which can be valuable to collectors.
Available from the author. P.O. Box 115. Dover Pa. 17315, at $6.00 a copy
There is available a booklet entitled "King Solomon’s Temple and Hiram Abif Revisited," written by John Keliher which seeks to reconcile history, myths, and tradition connected with the subject of King Solomon's Temple and Hiram Abifs relation with the Temple.
Available at fifty cents a copy, from Meier lodge of Research, P.O. Box 217, Seahurst, Wash. 98091.
In 1983 Medinah Temple, of the Shrine, located in Chicago, celebrated its hundredth anniversary with many programs. One of the projects was the publication of a history of the Temple. This book of 145 pages 7 1/2 x 11 in size, with at least one picture on almost every page, is the result of the skilled work of half a dozen Shriners and is a pleasure to behold. It presents the birth and growth of the Temple, a summary of the 1983 programs, a description of the Crippled Childrens' Hospitals, and a detailed explanation of the Mosque with its Arabic words and designs. There is also presented a list of the officers of the Temple and a bibliography. This volume is a good illustration of what a good Masonic history can be if able persons with a variety of skills are selected who have the time and ability to work on the project.
Available at $17.95 a copy, from the Medinah Centennial Convention Corporation. 600 No. Wabash Avenue. Chicago, Ill, 60611
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by Allen E. Roberts, FPS
The Square and Compasses of the Grand Lodge of India carried extracts from the Grand Master's address. When asked what is done at Lodge meetings, it's difficult to answer, he said. "if you go to a Lodge meeting to open, conduct the rudimentary business, close, have a drink and then go home." (In this country the ''drink" would be coffee or pop.) He later added: "With an active programme, many interesting discussions can generate. For each question asked, we have to do research and ask others. As we find one answer, it often suggests another question and thus interest develops. If the Lodges would spend some time delving into Freemasonry, then it would not be difficult for members to say that the principles of Freemasonry are symbolically portrayed, in order to improve their character."
Charles R. Glassmire, MPS, Editor of The Maine Mason writes: "Some folks have no idea where they stand in relation to their work. They wander aimlessly from job to job and finally arrive at the age of retirement without having accomplished anything of real substance ... Many Masons hardly know anything about the Craft. Having taken three degrees, they consider themselves Master Masons, when in reality they are simply members of a lodge." Charlie is a Freemason who wears many hats. He's a PGM of Maine, Grand Master of the Grand Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees, in line in the Grand College of Rites, and President of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association, among other things. "Tis little wonder he retired as a Medical Doctor.
Keith Arington, FPS, has written an interesting article for the Iowa Grand Lodge Bulletin on the Iowa Masonic Library. He notes the library was started by T.S. Parvin with one Masonic book. He found it in the home of a lady friend and became so absorbed in it he overlooked her. That happened in 1884. For several years the Grand Lodge graciously appropriated $10 for the purchase of more books. Keith covers the tenure of the father, T.S. Marvin, for 57 years, and then his son, Newton, who carried on the work until his death in 1925. Together they served for 81 years! The present Library, Museum, and Administration building was dedicated in 1955.
The Haboneh Hahofshi ("The Israel Freemason") Informs us that the Grand Lodge had a "Hosting Committee." During 1982 it hosted large groups of Masons and their ladies from Germany, Illinois. Australia and Belgium. Individuals aren't forgotten. The magazine recorded the Grand Master's inaugural address. Within it he urged his members to involve their ladies in the workings of the Lodge. "As I inspect the situation of the Lodges," he said, "I find that the Lodges which maintain an active and interested circle of ladies, are better off and stronger, and the sense of Brotherhood amongst the Brethren is much more apparent. There are 61 Lodges in Israel. The majority of them work in Hebrew, but others work in English, Arabic, German, French, Spanish and Romanian. There are 61 Lodges with 621 members, which would indicate there are many dual and plural members. One of its Lodges, Holy Land No. 50, is composed of Brethren living outside of Israel. Its officers are the Grand Lodge officers.
Harry S. Truman was born May 8, 1884. This year Freemasonry throughout the country will be commemorating the activities of this great Mason. Rightly so. He is one of the few famous men who never hesitated to proclaim his membership in the Fraternity. He took the lead in boosting The Masonic Service Association's work for our servicemen and women in World War II. Although he was a politician, he didn't let politics stand in the way of this work for the Craft. He became a perfectionist in the ritual of Missouri. In 1911 he formed a new Lodge as its Worshipful Master and in September became its Charter Master - and this while he was courting Bess! He remembered his Grandview Lodge even while President of the United States. He continually returned to install its officers.
While campaigning for the United States Senate he was elected Grand Master of Masons in Missouri. Even after his election he continued to do the job he was elected to do. He helped revive the Missouri Lodge of Research and served as its Master in 1950.
Charles W. Ohrvall, a Worshipful Master, is Archivist at the Truman Library, Independence, MO 64050, I understand the library has a Masonic packet for those interested.
It is encouraging to find more and more Lodges throughout the country participating in community affairs. Some Grand Lodges encourage this activity. Funds are being raised in varying ways to help the distressed, most of whom are not connected with Freemasonry. Help has been extended for children and adults to receive medical attention doctors and hospitals refuse to provide without "up front" money. Needed equipment for the disabled is being purchased and presented - often without fanfare. The MSA Hospital Visitation Program, run strictly on donations, is being helped. Other organisations such as the Red Cross, "Ronald McDonald House," and others are the beneficiaries of Masonic assistance. This doesn’t take into account Freemasonry's "organized" charities which are dispersing over a million dollars a day.
Ernest Leonardi, New York’s Grand Master, has adopted a novel idea. He reported in his message in The Empire State Mason that he has formed the "Leonardi Legion." This is composed of all District Deputy Grand Masters and Staff Officers from 1982-84. He has promised to keep his Legionaires active after he goes out of office. The primary goal appears to be a war against APATHY in the CRAFT. An excellent goal, indeed. Hope we'll be able to follow the Legion in its fight. The Grand Lodge of New York has established a fund to restore the Statue of Liberty. Earlier we reported why Freemasons should help in this endeavor.