THE BUILDER MAY 1927

The Coming Men of America

By BRO. J. HUGO TATSCH, Associate Editor, Iowa

AS this caption is read, I am sure it will revive memories in many
who now wear the Square and Compass in lieu of a six-pointed star,
with the initials C. M. A., at the points, and a large letter F in
the center. C.M.A. stood for "Coming Men of America," and O.T.N.
for "Our Turn Next." And who is there who will deny that the
neophytes without the gates did not faithfully learn that F was 
the initial of Friendship, Fidelity and Fealty ?

In spite of the fact that this secret society for boys, founded in
the nineties, had more than one hundred thousand members when it
collapsed about 1907 (my certificate is No. 53,475, dated October
1, 1902), very few know of it today. It was founded by a Mason, and
partook of the gentle spirit of Freemasonry in a most marked
degree. I learned, to my sorrow, when visiting my youthful home in
the Far West last summer, that the box below the attic eaves,
containing boyhood treasures, had become food for the flames but a
short time before; hence I shall have to rely upon my memory for
such facts as may be recalled about the society's early history.
Fortunately, my certificates, secret work and lodge ritual were
preserved with other papers in a safe deposit box and are used in
part to illustrate this article.

THE ORIGIN OF THE ORGANIZATION

The Society was founded, if memory serves me correctly, by one
William Hunter of Oak Park, Illinois. At the time I first heard of
it, Jos. R. Hunter, whom it was my pleasure to meet a few years
later in Chicago, was the Grand Secretary. C.R. Philip appears as
President upon the various documents. The membership fee was the
nominal price of fifty cents, and also covered a year's
subscription to The Star Monthly, a juvenile publication which
contained interesting material. From the vantage point of more
mature years, I now suspect that the Society played an important
part in keeping the periodical alive; but be that as it may, the
membership received full value for their money, and even to this
day a quarter of a century later, I can recall articles, comments
and names which appeared in the publication. A vivid illustration
of youthful impressibility !

The object of the C. M. A. was to unite clean and moral young men
into closer ties of friendship and fellowship. It appealed to the
age-old ideal of secrecy--a sharing in something which others
perhaps did not possess. I cannot do better than to quote from the
manual given to every new member, and in which was published
monitorial instruction, the key to the secret cipher, known as
"Bestography," and the signs, grips and words of the Order. The
book opens with these words:

Of your own desire, fully endorsed and recommended, we deem you
worthy of membership, and under the seal of your sacred promise of
secrecy (the word of honor) now for the first time hail you as
friend and brother in the bond, imparting to you herein the sacred
secrets, signs, tests and signals, whereby members of the Coming
Men of America may know and be known to each other in all parts of
the world and in all circumstances. Ponder well the teachings of
the C. M. A. As you are a true brother in the bond, try to live up
to the precepts of the fraternity, so that no word, act or deed of
yours shall ever besmirch its fair escutcheon, or bring discredit
on our noble order. 

Think, brother, what an honor it is to be a Coming Man of America;
remember also the responsibilities connected with your privileges
as a future American citizen. Remember that you have a sacred trust
to take up when your turn does come, the duties of manhood and
citizenship. See to it that you are prepared for that trust, so you
will not fall below the high standard set by our forefathers. The
remaining mystic symbols on the badge are secret, are known to
members only, and ever kept sacred and inviolate.

The C. M. A. inspired lofty principles of patriotism. Too young to
participate in the Spanish-American War, I nevertheless was stirred
by the patriotic sentiments which were printed in the book, and
which partially covered the explanation of the colors used in the
membership badge:

In the three colors again, we recognize our country's flag, the
glorious stars and stripes, which you may some day be called upon
to defend. When War's alarm rang throughout the land, many brothers
of the C. M. A. risked their strong young manhood for the flag
whose colors they wore on the badge. Many a brother was sacrificed
on the altar of his patriotism in the war with Spain, but he did
not consider any sacrifice too great to make for his country, nor
did the fond mother who now cherishes a "badge with a single star"
in remembrance of the boy she gave to defend her country's honor
and principles. Today the country boasts no braver defenders than
the boys in blue, who likewise owe allegiance to their order, the
C. M. A. On the breasts of sturdy patriots the emblem of our order
has penetrated the remote fastnesses of the Philippines, has scaled
the walls of Pekin, has charged up San Juan Hill, has sailed into
Havana, Manila and Santiago, under Dewey, Sampson and Schley, and
today on battlefield, in camp, in barracks and afloat with the
White Squadrons in many and far distant seas, it adorns the breasts
of soldier and sailor lads who learned their first lessons of
patriotism in the lodges of the Coming Men of America.

But the most potent lesson of the Order was that of Honor. Let me
quote again:

What means this word of honor ? It is Young America's most sacred
pledge. Back of it lies strength of purpose and a conviction that
a broken word of honor renders one unfit for friendship and trust
of any kind. Even thieves and outcasts have their word of honor
that is a safe and certain seal of secrecy. True manhood and
success depends upon the first principle of keeping a promise.

"My word of honor is as binding as an oath," was a slogan used very
effectively.

THE CEREMONIAL AND DEGREES

When six or more members lived in a community, application could be
made for a charter to found a lodge. One such was Juneau Lodge, No.
3643, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, chartered Sept. 13, 1903. Of the six
"brethren" mentioned therein--J. H. Tatsch, Harry Schlafer, George
Meulendyk, James Bal, Roy L. Dodd and Edward L. Klein--I have lost
track of all but one, and he, an old schoolmate and my first
intimate friend, is now a brother of the Craft residing in
Minneapolis. The fraternal ties established in youthful days have
been strengthened as we grew to manhood and became members of our
great Masonic Fraternity--a logical outcome. It was also my
privilege to organize a lodge in Spokane, Washington, chartered as
Lewis and Clark Lodge, No. 4551, July 26, 1905. By that time a
"uniform rank" had been developed in the Order. Of the eight
charter members, I know of only one other who became a Mason.

Members who joined the Order through lodges were passed through
solemn and impressive initiatory ceremonies. I shall never forget
the thrill I experienced, when, as Junior Deacon of Oriental Lodge,
No. 74, Spokane, I welcomed a Mason whose name I recognized also as
a C. M. A. member. It had been given to me in 1904 by the Grand
Secretary of the C. M. A., but I did not meet the youth when I went
West; yet five years later, when he was introduced by a Masonic
examining committee at my lodge, I recognized his name at once. He
was Bro. C. Homer Boydston, and as a result of our meeting shortly
afterward became a fellow employee of the bank in which I worked.
Service for the Order was recognized by the conferring of three
higher degrees, the fifth, tenth and fifteenth. The badge of each
degree was basically that of the ordinary membership but enlarged
by a narrow band of color. Among mementoes of boyhood days, I
cherish a Fifth Degree certificate awarded Nov. 5, 1903, for
organizing the Milwaukee lodge, and another of the Tenth Degree,
dated April 16, 1906, for activities in Spokane. The Fifteenth
Degree was not attained by me. The only Fifteenth Degree member I
can recall is Otis A. McKelvey, an energetic young man of very
pleasing personality, last a resident of San Francisco.

It would be interesting to know how many readers of THE BUILDER
were members of the C. M. A. I am sure that a few letters regarding
such membership will be granted space in the Correspondence column.
Speaking for the Iowa Masonic Library of Cedar Rapids, to which I
shall give my own papers, rituals, etc., it will welcome a few
issues of the old Star Monthly and some of the booklets of the
Society, if such have escaped the ravages of time. They would be a
welcome contribution to the history of secret societies, especially
those for boys, in the United states. In my opinion, it was the
forerunner of the influential boys' societies now flourishing in
our midst, and if my own experience be any criterion, it exerted a
most beneficent influence in the life of a boy when the principles
of the Order were most timely.

