THE BUILDER OCTOBER 1919

THE PEACE CELEBRATION OF THE GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND

BY BRO. GEO L SCHOONOVER, P. G M, IOWA

Early last Spring, when the development of the armistice proved
that peace was shortly to be concluded between the Allied and the
Central Powers, and that the peace was to be a dictated peace, the
Grand Lodge of England invited the Grand Masters and Grand
Secretaries of the Grand Lodges in all English-speaking countries
to participate in a celebration of the happy event, during the week
of June 23-29, 1919. It was not presumed at the time the
invitations were issued, that the final signing of the Peace Treaty
would be delayed as late as the above date. It was fortunate, and
indeed striking, in a way, that the signatures of the various
plenepotentiaries were actually affixed to the Treaty during the
week selected.

Those brethren who represented our American Grand Lodges in London
in response to the invitation were as follows: Arizona, A. A.
Johns, P.G.M., Morris Goldwater, P.G.M.; California, William Rhodes
Hervey, P.G.M., John Whicher G.S.; Colorado, C.M. Kellogg, G.M.,
Charles H. Jacobson, G.S.; District of Columbia, Joseph H. Milans,
G.M., A.W. Johnston, G.S.; Florida, T. Picton Warlow, G.M.;
Georgia, Robert G. Travis, G.M., Raymond Daniel, A.G.S.; Iowa,
George L. Schoonover, P.G.M.; Kentucky, John H. Cowles, P.G.M.;
Louisiana Rudolph Krause, G.M., John A. Davilla, G. S.,
Massachusetts, Frederick W. Hamilton, P.G.M., G.S.; Michigan, Hugh
A. McPherson, G.M., Lou B. Winsor, G. S.; Montana Major Dr. R. E.
Hathaway, S.G.W.; Nebraska, John Ehrhardt, P.G.M., Francis E.
White, G. S.; New Jersey, Austin McGregor, G. M.; New York, W.S.
Farmer, G.M., Robert J. Kenworthy, G.S., Townsend Scudder, P.G.M.;
West Virginia George S. Laidley, G.M., John M. Collins, P.G.M.,
G.S.-a total of twenty seven.

There were also present representatives of the Grand Lodges of
Scotland and Ireland, British Guiana, Burma, Ceylon, Eastern
Archipelago, Gibraltar, Hong Kong and South China, Jamaica, Madras,
Newfoundland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Queensland, South America and
Victoria (Australia), of Britain's Overseas Dominions.

In the number present, and in representation from all parts of the
globe, it was undoubtedly the most representative and notable
gathering in the history of Anglo-Saxon Freemasonry, and as such
deserves careful consideration, because of its Significance for the
future weal of Masonry, as well as of all civilization.

SHALL FREEMASONRY, as represented in the English-speaking Countries
of the world, make a decided stand in the reconstruction period now
begun in behalf of those age-old principles which are its heritage,
and endeavor to convince the world of the necessity for their
recognition as a method of saving the future? Is the kind of
Democracy in which Masonry believes and of which it is in truth a
pattern, to be preserved to coming generations, to the end that the
prophecies of the brotherhood of man shall not continue to be a
mirage ?

These are, in effect, the questions which it was intended that the
Peace Jubilee of the Grand Lodge of England should answer. No
agenda of the meeting was published, and no one ever spoke these
questions publicly. But it was taken for granted that Anglo-Saxons,
representing all the English-speaking countries of the earth, and
closely in touch with the world-problems pushed to the front as a
result of the war, could by no chance gather together in a joint
conference, without answering them. Nor was it intended that what
visiting delegations should utter would be direct answers to any
such question. Yet it was as certain as anything human is certain,
that once this group of brethren assembled, loyalty to the mother-
tongue and veneration of a joint heritage of principles would
compel that unity of spirit which alone can settle these questions,
and bring true brotherhood to a world thrown out of joint.

It must have been something like this which inspired the call for
this meeting. It must have been a comprehension, perhaps more or
less dim, that some such significance would attach to the proposed
meeting, which caused representatives twenty-seven in number,
hailing from sixteen States of the American Union to leave their
homes and their business to attend, at a time when every American
feels that his personal problems demand his individual attention.
Some good omen must have appeared in the sky. The attendance from
the States was much larger than those of us in touch with the
probabilities of things expected, only a few weeks previously. To
those who attended, and to those others who will hear from their
lips the story of Masonic reconstruction already begun, the
prophecies will seem well fulfilled.

A glance at the program of the week will reveal little of the
significance which has been thus expressed. A reception dinner by
Grand Lodge, luncheons and dinners with nine or ten other London
lodges, visits to The Royal Masonic Institution for Boys and
another to that conducted for Girls, visits to various places of
interest in and near the city of London, a dinner with the Lord
Mayor, at the Mansion House, a three hour session of the Grand
Lodge itself, (this being the formal Peace Celebration proper,) and
various other courtesies these, with no mention whatever of any
conference, do not convey a real conception of what this week of
Jubilee meant, or was intended to mean.

For be it known that when your Englishman wants to talk seriously
with you, and has a real desire to get acquainted with you and
measure you, he does not tell you that this is his purpose.
Instead, he invites you to dinner. After dinner, you talk, briefly
and to the point. If he gives you his confidence, you are ready to
deny all the stories you ever heard about him being an
"imperturbable person," for you find him, at least in Masonic
circles, with his guards down, and a real, living heart palpitating
underneath. This, at least, was the experience of the delegations
from the United States. They met the heads of English Masonry at
these luncheons, under conditions most ideal, not wishing to
understand one whit more than the English Masons wanted to be
understood, and to understand us.

The discussions, if such may be called the exchanges of opinion and
of good will which characterized all these festivities, took the
form of after-dinner toasts. An English brother, after the formal
toasts had been responded to, would propose the health of "Our
Visitors," and couple with it the names of those American brethren
who were designated to make the responses. In every case the
proposal of this particular toast was accompanied by expressions of
esteem, friendliness and a wish to understand us which must needs
be accepted at par. There could be no thought but that the proposer
voiced the genuine desire of the English brethren, or that the
motive underlying his remarks was a good motive. Frankly and openly
were we greeted, not as "cousins," but as brothers enlisted in the
cause of humanity. The hand of fellowship was extended, palm opened
upwards. The English Masonic leaders, understanding the needs of
the world as they saw them, wanted us to know and appreciate the
spirit in which they faced those problems, and did not hesitate to
hope for an equally frank expression of American opinion upon the
same subjects.

Received in such a spirit, the American representative could do no
less than grasp the hand of fellowship so graciously tendered,
particularly when what had been said of welcome and of hopefulness
for the future was so exactly in accord with the things which we,
too, have come to see are the great needs of our Craft. And as the
week wore on, friendships ripened in a never to be forgotten
manner. We began to understand and appreciate both the men who
preside over the destiny of England's Masonry, and their opinions.
Everything which a host could do to insure the happiness and
tranquility of his guest was done. Every word which would tend
toward the elimination of reserve was spoken. Consciously was this
done at first  the passage of the days caused it to become
unconscious. The Anglo-Saxon was coming into his own. He was
understanding himself, and his brethren.

No summary of the meetings held with the various London lodges
would be complete which did not take account of the admirable
personality of H. R. H. Lord Ampthill, Pro Grand Master, who
performed the function of Worshipful Master in one lodge and
Installing Officer of another with no less of grace and dignity
than characterized his presiding over Grand Lodge itself. Withal he
was so human that for most of us at least, he ceased to be a part
of Royalty to us, we forgot all else save his breadth of
understanding and his gracious fellowship. We had no opportunity,
unhappily, to meet the Grand Master, the Duke of Connaught, for the
reason that he was so indisposed physically as to be unable to be
present at any of the functions. A message from his own pen
expressed his regret for his illness, which was a source of great
disappointment to us all. His warm fraternal greeting to us was
deeply appreciated, none the less, and one of the prized souvenirs
presented to us was a beautiful colorgravure of the Duke himself.

Of the reception accorded us in the various London lodges, one
could not speak in appreciation without distinctions between them,
and there were none such. Warm and sympathetic and fraternal they
all were, memorable to all. If the joint meeting with "Antiquity
No. 2" and "Royal Somerset House and Inverness No. 4" had any
characteristic more notable than the others, it was only in the
fact that neither is chartered by the Grand Lodge of England, nor
has a Warrant, because each is older than the Grand Lodge itself !
To sit in these lodges is to realize something of what "time
immemorial" means.

We had opportunity to Witness the installation of a Worshipful
Master, and took an extra breath when he calmly announced his
appointees, beginning with the Wardens and running through a list
longer than most of ours. The Master is the only elective officer
in the English lodge, all the others being appointive. We saw all
of the three degrees conferred in full, and were struck with the
simplicity and brevity of the work. The approximate time of
conferring each of the degrees was, E. A., twenty minutes, F. C.
about the same, and the Raising occupied about thirty-five minutes.
Let it be set down that there was no emasculation of a single vital
point or part. Nor was there a mere rush of lip service. The work
was done with dignity and solemnity, without verbiage or
redundance, or slurring of syllables. Leisurely and understandingly
it was done, and, while probably less than one-third as many words
were used, the essentials were in no wise neglected. Where as a
rule our American rituals are extended, theirs were condensed;
where we dramatize, they explained. They can teach us much in the
matter of ritual.

It is not, however, the purpose of this article to argue from the
impressions gained. A chronicle of the events is asked, and a
chronicle it shall be, reserving perhaps for a further discussion,
the tremendous themes which were suggested by attendance upon these
various functions.

If there is to an American visitor an apparent lack in the
intercommunication between the lodges of the various classes, a
loss of something which we in America dearly prize, it cannot be
said that within the lodges themselves there is anything but the
closest, most intimate brotherhood. Their numbers are few, but
their tastes are similar, their understanding is complete, and
their meetings, formal though they may be, are satisfying in the
extreme. Again there is the temptation to speak in more detail, for
it is in matters of ritual and internal efficiency and fellowship
that, with one exception, we can learn most from our English
brethren.

That one exception, however, overtops all the others. It is in the
matter of their charities. Whatever of social unity may be lacking
between the lodges which compose the Grand Lodge of England,
certainly they are one in their humanitarian instincts. Their
financial support of their Boys' and Girls' Schools makes our
American efforts in this direction, even the most pretentious, loom
small in comparison. Consider their annual expenditures mount to
something like five dollars per capita on their entire membership -
this sum taking no account whatever of endowments - and you begin
to realize what the joint efforts of the lodges of England are
accomplishing. These sums too, come from individual pocketbooks,
not from lodge treasuries.

We visited these Schools. They are not carried on in a way to
"institutionalize" the children. They are educated in civic duty,
and account is taken of the part which they are hereafter to play
as men and women of the Empire. The Arts and Sciences receive
attention, along with practical tradesmanship. Their teachers are
as a rule products of the schools themselves, this being
particularly true of the Girls' School. The result is a family
relationship, and a family tradition, too, which makes for a
splendid morale.

The climax of the entire week was the three hour session of the
Grand Lodge at Royal Albert Hall. The introduction of the twenty-
five visiting deputations,  each under escort of two Grand
Stewards, was itself productive of a deep impression upon the
visitors, and no doubt also upon the nine thousand members of the
Grand Lodge of England there assembled. As one of the visitors, I
confess my inability to describe the emotions which surged through
me when, after being for many presented to the Pro Grand Master, I
was directed to the seat assigned to me and faced the throng. The
appeal to the eye was in itself inspiring. Nine thousand brethren,
dressed in the light blue regalia designating the officers of the
lodges represented, gathered together in that enormous oval
building, filling its main floor and the six surrounding galleries;
the Grand Stewards with their red collars, seated in two rows on
the main floor and forming a cross against the back ground in light
blue symbolized in a very real sense the Masonry of England. The
knowledge that thousands could not be assigned to seats bespoke the
intense interest felt in the event. The deep blue of the officials
banked in rows upon the rostrum formed a harmonious contrast
indeed. 

There was an appeal to ear. The voluminous melody from the enormous
organ had no sooner filled the great audience chamber than one
realized the awesome import of the world-derived gathering. Then
those English brethren sang. Their National Anthem our own in
everything but the words employed "Now thank we all our God" and "O
God, our help in ages past." It was a unique commentary upon the
universal belief in the righteousness of the Allied Cause that this
latter song, long suppressed as unfraternal and unchristian, was
revived, and sung with the fervor of crusaders returned from the
overthrow of the antichrist. The business of the occasion was the
Peace Jubilee, expressed in the formalism of moving an address of
loyalty to the King, unanimously carried, of course, the unanimous
passage of a resolution expressing the sentiments of the Craft
toward His Majesty's Forces, and a motion tendering the floor to
M.W. Bro. W. S. Farmer, Grand Master of New York, M. W. Frederick
W. Hamilton, P. G. M. of Massachusetts, and M. W. Bro. W. H.
Wardrope, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province
of Ontario. The addresses of the Pro Grand Master, Lord Ampthill,
and Brother Right Hon. T. F. Halsey, P. C., the Deputy Grand
Master, were upon a high plane, scholarly, refined and warmly
fraternal in their tone,  and were ably responded to by the
American and Overseas Dominions representatives. Brief, one and
all, modest, Anglo-Saxon to the core.

It is a peculiarity of the English that the one way in which they
give free expression to their emotions is through some formal,
prescribed method a ritual, or a song. The pleading or exaltation
of the orator they seem to disdain. But given a ritual, or a song,
they will render or sing it, as the case may be, with a dignity,
expressiveness and whole-heartedness which puts to shame the
studied oration so common to our Western system. It carries
conviction to man; one must needs believe that the Most High is
attuned to such expression as well, for reverence colored the tone
of the voices of the throng, in a definite though indescribable
manner.

Schooled as we had become in the methods of expression of these
people we could not misunderstand the music of English Masonry thus
presented to us. If it was awe-inspiring, it was heartrending, too,
for the hozannas were tinged with a great sorrow, though no
suggestion of loved one lying in Flanders fields was worn. The
commemorative jewel of the occasion was at one with the spirit of
the day, and we who had come thousands of miles to join in that day
left the stupendous Albert Hall hushed and reverent and chastened 
we had truly seen the great soul of English Masonry, and were to
carry its remembrance to the end of trims
