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Dear Brother Marsengill.

Having read The President's Corner in
the October issue I am ofthe opinion that
he has completely forgotten the portion
of our ritual which states " Freemasonry
regards no man for his wordly wealth or
outward appearance." To say that how
one is dressed in Lodge is more impor-
tant than the fact that he is there is rub-
bish. True, I would be unlikely to appear
wearing clothing which looked as though
I had just slopped the hogs, but if that is
the only way a brother can make it to
Lodge I certainly would not see him ex-
cluded .

From experience I can say that far too
much emphasis is placed on dress. I once
attended a communication in July in a
non-air conditioned temple. All of the
doors and windows were open, but there
was no breeze and everyone was drip-
ping sweat. Although the brethren on the
sidelines were allowed to remove their
coats and ties the officers were not - and
I am SURE that the continual mopping
of brows with handkerchiefs that were
soon sopping wet greatly improved the
degree work over what it would have
been had the officers been allowed to
appear in short-sleeve shirts.

One of the best meetings I have at-
tended in my thirty-eight years as a
Mason was in a small country Lodge
where I was the only person wearing a
white shirt and one of three wearing a
coat. At that time I saw an excellent
Fellowcraft degree and was treated like a
long lost friend. Without question the
worst was a city Lodge where the officers
wore tails and the members tuxedos.
Both the ritual and floorwork of the
Master Mason degree were putrid, their
costumes look as though they had not
been cleaned in thirty years, and I was
ignored as a leper because I was wearing
a regular suit. I suspect that the only
reason that I was allowed in was that I
had previously attended another Lodge
in the same temple and was therefore
automatically vouched for.

His "ten points" seem to indicate - al-
though it seems odd that he should not have
travelled enough to know it - that he believes
that everything is done in exactly the same
way in every jurisdiction. It is NOT!


1. I agree. The proper way used to be
taught in our Lodges of instruction
until the format was changed a few
years ago. Apparently it no longer is

2 In some jurisdictions the proper way
inside the coat.

3. I agree (see comment on #1).
4. I haven't the foggiest idea what he is
referring to. The only time I remember
any mention of a Master's Carpet is in
connection with the three steps in the
Third Degree; and the rooms may have
anything from one to a dozen.

5. Smoking in open Lodge? Around
Massachusetts you had better not get
any closer than the anteroom with
lighted smoking materials whether the
Lodge is open or closed, and many
temples bar them on the same floor.

6-8. I agree. (I am amused by the refer-
ence to a "buzzard's roost" since our
Past Masters sit wherever they happen
to please.)

9. I agree, and this has been one of my
major "beefs" over the years. Chris-
tian ministers serving as Chaplain are
most likely to be guilty of this - probably
because they are also the most likely to
be occupying the office - but I have
heard such from others.

10. Although I agree, it is unlikely that
the passing of off-color stories will ever
be stopped. The President, however
must reside in a much more liberal
jurisdiction than I for here, with a few
exceptions, no drinking or toasting is
done other than at a Table Lodge and
there the number of toasts and amount
of wine per toast are specified by Grand
Lodge and are read before starting the
ceremony.

With the "final suggestion" I again
feel constrain to take exception. While it
is not clear what he means by excessive
patriotic and national references, the dis-
cussion of partisan politics (and sectarian
religion) is already banned in our Lodges
so it appears that he is saying that we
should not pledge allegiance to the flag
or sing the national anthem. Baloney!
We should never hide our patriotism
and I disagree emphatically that this
should be subordinated to the " an-
tirational dimensions" of Masonry. I
have attended many Masonic functions
where brethren,from several countries
were present - both when I was one of the
natives and when I was one of the for-
eigners - and I do not know of any em-
barrassment on the part of anyone.

Well, Jerry, this has become longer
than I intended. As usual I made a num-
ber of typos; those that I caught in time
I corrected with Liquid Paper, the others
had to be done in ink. If you do not print
this, I would appreciate your forwarding
it to Brother Hilliard. I have discussed
the article with a few others and got
much the same reaction.

Donald S. Robinson, MPS

Dear Brother Marsengill:

Few American Freemasons have been
as consistently "servant leaders" of the
Craft than Allen Roberts. Countless
books, articles, films, speeches, offices,
and uncompensated hours have made
him a modern Macoy, Morris and
Mackey - all in one congenial, loving and
lovable Brother.
Yet it does in no way diminish his con-
tributions, gifts, and capacities to say
that he has overstepped propriety and
good sense in his recent editorializing in
The Philalethes (December, 1990).
Brother Roberts has advocated, in one
sweeping set of statements,

1. Recognition of the Grand Orient of
France.
2. Masonic discourse with the head of a
tyrannical state, which while edging
toward some form of potential
democracy, is yet precarious in this
pilgrimage, and determined to forestall
independence within its regions.
3. Questioning the methods and proce-
dures of the United Grand Lodge of
England in matters of recognition of
regular and irregular Masonic bodies.
These are silly proposals at best, and
gravely foolish at worst.
The Grand Orient of France engages in
activities which are easily deemed par-
tisan and political. Whatever the direc-
tion of the Soviet Union, it is naive for
Freemasonry to engage in direct dis-
course with any foreign head of state.
The United Grand Lodge of England is
a far more authorltative and competent
resource for deeming what is regular,
and what is irregular in Masonic activi-
ties than any other single Grand Lodge,
for at least three reasons:

1. They have the staff and expertise to
make such assessments in a careful and
disinterested manner.
2. They have far greater experience in
matters of international affairs than in
most American Grand Lodges, few
(New York, Massachusetts) of which
have had overseas Lodges.

3.They possess a guiding ethic of
patience and civility which invariably
informs such decisions.
It is not clear what has motivated
Brother Roberts to advocate such unpre-
cedented steps, nor what kind of hearing
he will have among the various Grand
Masters and Grand Lodges who are ac-
tively concerned about international re-
lations. It is at least worth, however, this
one Mason's judgment to say that - for
once - his instinct is wrong and his pro-
posals are dangerous.
William H . Stemper, Jr., MPS

Dear Brother Marsengill.

This time I am writing an answer to an
article that appeared in The Philalethes.
One of these days I may write another
article for you (I am the one that wrote an
article sometime ago on the Masonic
Presidents). After reading my friend
John Hilliard's article in the last issue, I
may feel the need of enlarging upon his
comments. Whether you print it or not is
up to you, as I am another Mason who
calls a spade a spade, much to the chagrin
of some of my Brothers.

In the December 1990 issue of The
Philalethes, there appeared an article by
Brother Steven A. Schwartz, entitled:
"On Admission Of Black Americans To
Freemasonry. " I take no issue with what
Brother Schwartz has to say; however, it
is not true that all Lodges of Freemasons
judge a man by the color of his skin, nor
the religion he professes. My Lodge over
the past several years has raised a num-
ber of black Americans to the sublime
degree of Master Mason. One might
think that such a Lodge would probably
exist in or near the inner city of some
metropolis; nothing could be further
from the truth.

Northfield Lodge No. 426 is situated in
upstate, western New York in Pittsford,
often considered to be the most pres-
tigious, affluent and conservative suburb
of Rochester, New York. The first black
Mason was raised when I was Master of
the Lodge some years ago, and others
have joined in the intervening years. All
of these men have been truly Masonic
Brothers, living and practicing the prin-
ciples of Freemasonry, with some of them
serving as officers in the Lodge. Further-
more, we have raised a number of Jews,
Roman-Catholics and Hindus in our
Lodge, whereby we feel that we are truly
practicing Masonic Brotherhood. North-
field Lodge's antecedents go back more
than 150 years, and it continues to play
a prominent role in the community, as
well as being one of the strongest and
most active Lodges in upstate New York.
Fraternally,
Raymond R. Beardsley, MPS

Dear Brother Marsengill:

It is gratifying to note that such a gentle
and simple article like "An Epidemic of
Change" generated such an animated
response from your readers. It demon-
strates that some Masons really care
about the present and future state of the
Craft.

What is so puzzling about the reply by
Bro. Dean, is that it is longer than the
article. This is seldom the case, but per-
haps it is due to the fact that his method
of distorting the opinions expressed, and
then in his long winded dissertation, at-
tack the distortions. For example, he
quotes from the article, "it is feared that
our beloved Fraternity will become just
another club, " then misstates the phrase
by inserting "great" fear to make his
point. It's an old ploy. My opinions ex-
pressed my concern over the principle
that the major changes being advocated,
and indeed carried out, would affect the
unique status of the Craft.

Bro. Dean states he read and re-read
the article several times, so it is surpris-
ing that he misses the substance of it. His
belief that removing the penalties was
the same as forgetting part of a Lecture
shows how misguided he is. Forgetting is
not a modification of the Ritual, but it
could be expressed as an interpretation.
Removing the penalties is a modification
which should concern us all. His com-
ment, "Welcome to the 21st century"
is a catchall phrase to excuse all the dras-
tic changes that are being made today.
What a lame excuse.

The question that Bro. Dean should be
concerning himself with is, "What is
wrong with the Craft to necessitate
changing it?" The answer which seems
to escape him is, "Nothing." The pro-
blem is with Freemasons, not Free-
masonry.

At the beginning of his oration, he
states, "I am obligated by my sense, or
lack of it." I humbly suggest that he
should have quit right there, he was right
on his latter statement.
Yours fraternally,
Denis Scott, MPS

The Philalethes, April, 1991
