THE BUILDER MARCH 1925

How Two Clandestines Were Shown the Error of Their Ways

By Bro. OSCAR C. TAYLOR, Massachusetts

BRO. TAYLOR gives us an account in familiar style of how he
converted two clandestines. Before he had gone far with them he
found himself involved in questions of Masonic history. It is
always so! His account of how the clandestine "St. John's Grand
Lodge" came into existence will be found of special value to
brethren following the present series of Study Club articles.

ONE of the bosses in the mill where I had just started to work
hailed me as a Mason and asked the name of my lodge. On being told
"De Witt Clinton, No. 15, of Northfield, Vermont," he replied that
he belonged to a lodge which has a number also--"Antiquity, No.
18."

"Where is it located ?"

"Right here in Lowell, on Middlesex street."

"But Massachusetts lodges have no numbers."

"Mine has, just like yours up in Vermont, and I think they won't
let you into the ones that haven't a number."

As I had visited Massachusetts lodges before, I saw something was
wrong and left my sample with the chemist and hurried back to the
dye house. In a few minutes, however, Mr. A. followed me and
brought with him another boss, Mr. B., who would "tell me all about
it." Mr. B. said he was the Senior Warden and wanted me to promise
that I would come to lodge the following Wednesday. I hesitated
about promising and was informed that the lodges that were not
numbered were irregular and that Masons from outside of
Massachusetts always visited Antiquity, No. 18, and not Ancient
York, Pentucket, William North, or Kilwinning. After more
discussion in which I finally had to refuse to answer any questions
about the Ritual, I promised to read a book Mr. A. would bring me
the next day.

This booklet turned out to be an impassioned address by "R. W.
Charles F. Eddy, District Deputy Grand Master for the First Masonic
District," and was entitled "An Arraignment of Irregular
Freemasonry in Massachusetts. Printed by St. John's Grand Lodge, A.
F. & A. M." Besides a great deal of oratory it contained some
statements of fact. The following are fair samples:

"We have been obliged to dig down into mouldy graves, closed for a
century, to disclose the skeletons of two imposters in Masonry, to
show that the GRAND LODGE of MASSACHUSETTS (so-called) in its
pretension was born of two dead beings--a doubly posthumous child--
and which dead parents while they did live their lives of
imposition, did not have the right to live; to show that this
miraculously born Grand Baby was still-born, and ever since has
been, and now after more than a hundred years of pretension,
usurpation and irregularity is still, a pretender, a usurper and
irregular as the Devil is wicked.

"All this has been shown to you tonight by the lecturer to whom you
have listened.

"The facts, figures and authorities presented by him are
incontrovertible. Controvert dispute, deny and defend, men of the
MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION, if you can. YOU CANNOT DO IT.

"We have told you so a hundred times, and yet you take not up the
challenge. You content yourselves by saying, so far as opposition
speech is heard, 'Fakes!' and 'Fake Masonry'.

"In God's name, men of Massachusetts, who are the 'Fakes' and what
is 'Fake Masonry' in view of the un-impeachable evidence?

"We say that Joseph Webb and his 'associates' had no Masonic right
or authority to form a Grand Lodge and produce the Masonic law and
authorities. Assert and show to the contrary, if you con. YOU
CANNOT.

"We say that a most damnable Masonic outrage was perpetrated in
Massachusetts, 1882-3.

"It is called 'THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTURE' by your own people.

"You get your right to exist, one of your wise men has said, by
'Revolution and Assumption.'

"You have turned around so many times and so rapidly that no one
knows who or what you are, or whence you came. Is that what you
mean? You have assumed and assumed your Grand Usurpation to be
'It', until the bump of Assumption has grown so big that it looks
like a Grand Lodge to you. Is it that?

"The Masonic world is looking upon you, men of Massachusetts, and
what you fail to do in purifying and cleansing your Masonic temple
the Masonic world will some day compel you to do by ignoring your
Masonic existence."

On being pressed by Mr. B., I had to admit that the book was mostly
"hot air" and that it contained no definite information as to
Antiquity, No. 18, or St. John's Grand Lodge. The next day he
brought his diploma, made out on a form identical with the one used
by many regular lodges; and a leaflet called, "Who are Regulars ?"
This was a perversion of Masonic history which quoted Gould and
other "authorities". It also contained the "Act of Incorporation"
under the laws of the District of Columbia of "Saint John's Grand
Lodge Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts." ( The italics are my own.)


To escape the frequent urgings to attend their lodge where
"everything would be explained" I wrote to M. W. Henry H. Ross,
Grand Secretary of Vermont, who kindly but emphatically informed me
that Antiquity, No. 18, was clandestine. I showed his letter to the
irregulars and informed them that I considered the matter closed.
After some talk the matter was dropped, and I consigned the affair
to the rubbish heap.

THEY CLAIMED HARDING

At the time of President Harding's death some weeks later, Mr. A.
revived the discussion by asking me why President Harding belonged
to their organization if it were irregular. I countered by saying
that it was no use to argue for

"A man convinced against his will 
Is of the same opinion still."

This he finally answered by saying he would withdraw from his lodge
if he was shown definite proof of the falsity of its claims. Mr. B.
later made a similar promise.

This challenge placed me in the position of a man who tries to
prove that the world is round. Further, the two irregulars placed
perfect faith in the wild statements of their lodge orators,
especially those of one "Past Grand Master" Leithead. In this, they
resemble many regular Masons who accept without reservations wild
fancies about the antiquity and universality of the Order.

As I was separated from my back number of THE BUILDER I could not
find the name of President Harding's lodge, and addressed a letter
to "Masonic Temple, Marion, Ohio." It was answered by return mail
by J. A. Knapp, a Past Master and the Secretary of Marion Lodge,
No. 70. The letter was admirably fitted to my purpose. I also
received a letter signed by Secretary Christian enclosing a list of
President Harding's Masonic affiliations. Thus one point was nailed
down.

To organize my campaign I selected the claims which were most
important in the eyes of the two irregulars:

(1) That St. John's Grand Lodge was accepted everywhere in the
United states outside of Massachusetts.

(2) That the Grand Lodge of which Arthur D. Prince of Lowell is a
Past Grand Master was not so recognized.

(3) That St. John's Grand Lodge was recognized by the Grand Lodge
of England and the Massachusetts Grand Lodge was not.

(4) That St. John's Grand Lodge was incorporated under the laws and
in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as well as the District of
Columbia.

(5) That the Massachusetts Grand Lodge was not incorporated at all.
A letter from the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts--a
mouthfilling and most impressive title--established the fact that
St. John's Grand Lodge was not incorporated in Massachusetts. Why
should a Grand Lodge which uses "Commonwealth of Massachusetts" as
a part of its title have been incorporated in the District of
Columbia? The answer could only be that the laws on that subject in
the District were lax. A trip to the library showed that the
Massachusetts Grand Lodge was incorporated before the Civil War
(1859).

A letter from Bro. Robert A. Shirrefs, Secretary General of the
Supreme Council 33d, Northern Jurisdiction, said: "I have no
knowledge of any 'St. John's Grand Lodge,' although I think there
is a Negro organization which uses 'St. John' as a part of its
title." In the public library I found an American edition of
Gould's History of Freemasonry that contained this statement which
I copied:

"This Grand Lodge (Massachusetts) has adhered with almost wonderful
tenacity to the ancient laws and usages of the craft resisting all
attempts to introduce modern methods and ideas, and its solid
growth, high reputation, and splendid prosperity are undoubtedly
largely attributable to this fact." (Vol. IV, p. 361.)

This controverted a previously quoted statement in the booklet of
the irregulars. I could not use Gould further because of his length
and style, but I could refer to him because the four volumes were
in the public library. I obtained from home my copy of Gould's
Concise History, 1920, revised edition. As this was published in
England and contradicted statements in the clandestines' book I
could use it to good effect.

All this was good, but a "clincher" was needed. Guessing that a
clandestine orator would become cautious if he wrote to a regular
and so contradict his own speeches, I got a letter from "Past Grand
Master" Leithead of Lowell. This letter is worthy of study from
several angles, but the following served the purpose then. The
italics are my own.

"* * * One of our members who has learned his work as all Master
Masons should do (is?) admitted to most any regular lodge of Masons
that is not dominated by the Scottish Rite or higher degrees. The
most of the lodges in the U. S. are so dominated."

Armed with these documents, I presented the case to Mr. A. and Mr.
B. during a noon hour. I began by saying that I had gone to
considerable trouble in the matter not only because of friendship
for them, but also because it was a bad thing to have two reputable
men lending dignity to a dishonest organization. At the end of my
argument they said I had more than sufficient proof and that they
were glad to get free from a tainted scheme.

HOW "ST. JOHN'S G.L." WAS ORGANIZED

From a study of the published Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of
Massachusetts I have obtained the following information:

In 1882 an amendment to the constitution of the Grand Lodge was
proposed which named the regular bodies of the "Scottish" and
"York" Rites and "declared that any Mason who is hereafter admitted
in this jurisdiction, into any other Order, as Masonic, whether
called the Rite of Memphis or by any other name, is acting
un-Masonically, and for such conduct shall be liable to be expelled
from all the rights and privileges of Masonry, and shall be
ineligible to membership or office in this Grand Lodge." At the
quarterly communication in June this was reported unanimously from
committee and was debated. Learned Masons from outside
Massachusetts such as E. T. Carson, Cottrill, R. F. Gould, Findel,
and Hughan sent letters approving it and showing that Grand Lodges
in Europe, the British Isles, and America recognized that the Grand
Lodge was the supreme Masonic governing body of its territory. The
amendment was passed 319 to 28. In 1883 this amendment was given
the final vote of 351 to 52.

In 1901 the Rite of Memphis bobbed up again, and some brethren
protested that these amendments violated the Landmarks of Masonry,
but it was shown that this contention had no basis and that the
amendments were in harmony with both the Massachusetts
Constitutions and with the acts of Masonic Bodies throughout the
world. The petitioners were given leave to withdraw. One of the
petitioners was a proxy to the Grand Lodge and started to vote in
the negative and then lowered his hand. The vote was unanimous.
This humorous incident closed the "Masonic departure" referred to
by the clandestines.

In July, 1902, there was started an irregular lodge under the title
of "Ancient Landmark Lodge, No. 1, Boston, Mass.," claiming to hold
a dispensation from. a so-called Grand Lodge in the state of Ohio.
This body met frequently in a small building called Castle Square
Hall at 446 Tremont street, Boston, and sent out emissaries
soliciting anybody and everybody to "join the Masons" at the price
of ten or fifteen dollars, five dollars of which went to the
brother bringing in the candidate. Some of the victims demanded and
obtained their money back ! This was the start of "St. John's G.
L." !
