ARRAUM.ASC



                                   MASONIC COURAGE

                              THOMAS C. RAUM, JR., 33
                     Sovereign Grand Inspector General in Kansas
                      3149 Keywest Court, Wichita, Kansas 67204


       Through the years we have seen many examples of Masonic
courage.  One of the most recent and most outstanding is that of
U.S. District Court Judge David Sentelle who was nominated by the
President to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia.

       Confirmation of the nomination was delayed for many months
by certain Senators who criticized Judge Sentelle's membership in
the Masonic Orders.  It was even suggested that he resign from our
Fraternity.  He adamantly refused to do so, and thus jeopardized
his entire career.

       Another example of Masonic courage, more remote in time,
involved the impeachment trial of our Brother, President Andrew
Johnson.  Johnson was the only President to receive the Scottish
Rite Degrees while in office, and he had the distinction of having
the Degrees Conferred in the library of the White House.  Brother
Andrew Johnson assumed the office of President at one of the most
turbulent periods in the history of our country.  He was determined
to carry out Lincoln's policy of reconciliation with the South.
Certain radical leaders in the Congress were just as determined to
administer the down- trodden Southern states as conquered provinces
which had forfeited their rights under the Constitution.

       The radical leaders in Congress determined to remove this
stubborn man who stood in the way of their efforts.  Andrew Johnson
was impeached and tried by the United States Senate.  The two-third
majority required for conviction failed by one single vote.  It is
particularly significant to me that the deciding vote was cast by
our Brother Edmund G. Ross, United States Senator from my own State
of Kansas and a member of Topeka Lodge No. 17.

       In the days before the vote was taken, everyone knew that
the result would be extremely close. No one knew how Edmund Ross
would cast his ballot.  Pressure on the Senator from Kansas was
tremendous.  President Johnson was unpopular in Kansas.
Delegations by the dozen called upon Senator Ross.  Letters by the
hundreds poured into his office.  Editorials in Kansas newspapers
threatened Ross with defeat if he did not vote for conviction.

       On the day the vote was taken, still no one knew how Ross
would cast his ballot.  The Senate was tense and hushed.  The
gallery was packed.  People were on the edge of their seats, and
every eye was on the Senator from Kansas as the Chief Justice of
the United States spoke these words:  "Mr. Senator Ross, how say
you?  Is the respondent Andrew Johnson guilty or not guilty of a
high misdemeanor as charged in this article?"

       Ross later wrote of his feelings at that moment.  He said,
"I looked down into my open grave. Friendship, position, fortune,
everything that makes life desirable to an ambitious man were about
to be swept away by the breath of my mouth, perhaps forever."

       Then came the words, loud and clear, "NOT GUILTY!"  Thus our
country was saved from a devastating reign of terror, and
constitutional government in the United States was preserved for
our citizens.

       True to their promise, the people of Kansas defeated Senator
Ross at the next election.  However our Masonic Brothers President
Andrew Johnson and Senator Edmund B. Ross, like Judge David B.
Sentelle, will remain in history as men who placed their principles
above their careers and their country above their own ambitions.
Each demonstrated Masonic courage in the finest sense of the word.

       Today, we are living in one of the most exciting times in
the history of the world.  The winds of change are sweeping through
Europe and Asia.  In Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and East
Germany the "Iron Curtain" has crumbled.  Although delayed for a
time, the demand for democratic reform is still stirring in the
Republic of China.  In all parts of the world we find a rebirth of
liberty-- freedom of thought and expression, freedom to worship and
freedom to vote.  These precious freedoms, which we take for
granted, have been suppressed in those countries for more than
forty years.

       How ironic it is, at this time of revolution and
reinstitution of democracy in the world, that our Fraternity is
under attack for what it believes.  We, as Masons, have been
accused of everything that is vicious and evil.  Among the
accusations of the anti-Masonic movement is that Freemasonry is
incompatible with religion.  Certain fundamentalist groups have
even inferred that our Fraternity is actually anti-American.

       Yet, there are today, and have been in the past, members of
the Fraternity with the courage to speak out in its defense.

       Our Brother Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, 33, GC, does not
think that Masonry and religion are incompatible, and he does not
hesitate to say so.

       Our Brother Dr. Forrest Haggard, Past President of the World
Convention of Churches of Christ, recently authored an article
entitled, "Freemasonry and Religion Are Compatible."  It is
published in the "Short Talk Bulletin" by the Masonic Service
Association of the United States.

       As to the charge that Freemasonry is not patriotic, those
Masons who led the fight for freedom in World War II--Brothers
Douglas MacArthur, Omar Bradley, Mark Clark, George C. Marshall,
Jonathan Wainwright and Hap Arnold--did not think that Freemasonry
was anti-American.

       Our Brothers George Washington, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford,
and twelve other Masonic Presidents of these United States did not
think that our Fraternity and Americanism are incompatible.

       Masonry has endured many fire storms in the past.  In each
instance we have witnessed examples of Masonic courage.

       At this time in history we should ask ourselves some serious
       questions.

       Do we need to apologize because we believe in the
Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God?


       Do we need to be ashamed because we believe in the
Immortality of the soul?

       Should we be criticized because we believe in the
separation of church and state as a fundamental principle of
government, established by our forefathers who founded these United
States?

       Should we quietly endure attack because we believe in
support of the public schools, a citadel of our nation's liberty?

       Should we be vilified because we attempt to instill in the
minds of young men, through the Order of DeMolay, virtues of love
of parents, patriotism, courtesy, reverence, cleanness, comradeship
and fidelity?

       Should we be condemned because we believe in the
inculcation of patriotism, respect for law and and order, and
undying loyalty to the Constitution of the United States of
America?

       My Brothers, our answer should be an emphatic NO!

       We must not be intimidated by the ignorant, prejudiced and
       misinformed.

       We should not cower before lies.

       We should not accept condemnation of an organization which
stands for everything that is right and good and true in the world
today.

       How then should we respond to those who attack us?

       Judge Sentelle concluded his article, previously mentioned,
with a quotation from the Book of Matthew:  "Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify
your Father which is in Heaven."

       In defense of our Fraternity there is no need to brag or to
boast.  There is no need to be abrasive.  But, additionally, there
is no need to be timid.  Timidity is not becoming to this great
organization.

       My Brothers, our mission is true and our cause is just.

       Let us be judged by our actions and our deeds, but ALSO, let
each of us have the courage to hold up his head and proudly say, "I
AM A MASON!  I AM AN AMERICAN!"


(The following may be highlighted within the article)

On the day the vote was taken, still no one knew how Senator and
Brother Ross would cast his ballot.  The Senate was tense and
hushed.  The gallery was packed.

Our Masonic Brothers President Andrew Johnson and Senator Edmund B.
Ross, like Judge David B. Sentelle, will remain in history as men
who placed their principles above their careers, and their country
above their own ambitions.

How ironic it is, at this time of revolution and reinstitution of
democracy in the world, that our Fraternity is under attack for
what it believes.

We must not be intimidated by the ignorant, prejudiced and
misinformed.

In defense of our Fraternity there is no need to brag or to boast.
There is no need to be abrasive.  But, additionally, there is no
need to be timid.  Timidity is not becoming to this great
organization.


[Editor's note:  The above article was given as an address to the
Grand Secretary's Banquet in Salt Lake City, Utah, on February 19,
1990.]


Retired as Senior Judge of the 18th Judicial District in the state
of Kansas after 34 years on the bench, Inspector Raum is also a
Past Master of Albert Pike Lodge (the world's largest) in Wichita;
Past Grand Master, Grand Lodge of Kansas; Past Potentate, Midian
Shrine Temple, and Past Grand Secretary of the International
Supreme Council, Order of DeMolay.

