THE BUILDER MAY 1917

CORRESPONDENCE CIRCLE BULLETIN---No. 8
DEVOTED TO THE "STUDY SIDE OF MASONRY"
Edited by Bro. Robert I. Clegg

(Note: The following article is one of a series prepared by Brother
Robert I. Clegg for reading and discussion in Lodges and Study
Clubs. This series is based upon the N. M. R. S. "Bulletin Course
of Masonic Study" and consists of a leading article each month by
Brother Clegg to which is appended a list of references pertaining
to the same subject from which the members of the Lodges and Study
Clubs adopting our Course of Study may prepare additional papers
for reading and discussion at the same meeting at which Brother
Clegg's paper is used.

We recommend that the Lodges and Study Clubs use the current paper
at their study meeting one month later than its appearance in the
CORRESPONDENCE CIRCLE BULLETIN to give their members time for the
preparation of additional papers.

Members of the N. M. R. S. living in communities where the
"Systematic Study of Masonry" has not been taken up either in their
Lodge or in a Study Club are earnestly invited to correspond with
the Secretary's office and learn how easily the plan may be put
into operation in their own community.

The plan may be taken up at any stage of the Course. It is not
necessary to start with the first installment of the series. The
course is based upon a few books--Mackey's Encyclopedia and the
Bound Volumes of THE BUILDER--in order that Lodges and Study Clubs
may enter upon the work systematically, and at the least possible
expense.

Interested Masons are requested to write us for information. Our
"STUDY CLUB DEPARTMENT" is organized for the purpose of assisting
in the organization and conduct of the study of Masonry in Study
Clubs or as a long-neglected but necessary feature in monthly Lodge
meetings.)

CEREMONIES OF A LODGE
By R. I. Clegg

A set form or system is used in the opening of a Lodge or indeed in
any other of the ceremonies. Methodical in the fullest sense of the
word is the manner of conducting Masonic work, and the opening of
a Lodge is simple, direct and all take part. While the parts played
in the opening by each of the members and officers are not the same
in kind or in scope yet the fact that there is uniformity year in
and year out in each jurisdiction and that all in some way
participate gives the growing weight of custom and tradition that
impresses every member as well as by his co-operation giving him
the first principles at every communication of team work, and the
latter sentiment is very important to the success of Masonry.


There is nothing unusual in a religious body having a uniform
ritual for its opening or closing ceremonies. Every church service
impresses the spectator. It is equally so in legislative
organizations as well as in the field of business. The directors of
a commercial or industrial institution meet and start their
business by clearly defined means and methods because time is saved
by such systematic labors and the mere formality carries into
speedy and approved effect the orderly flow of events.

Law courts continue the same sequence of acts. Entrance of the
judges is marked by a very serious and ceremonial reception by the
minor officials. Phrases of an oldtime flavor and quaintness are
employed. These are but the machinery of the work but they do
indeed add to the dignity of the proceedings.

So of old it was with the followers of the ancient mysteries.
Little is known of the details of the ritual. Here and there we get
hints of what was done. Truly these are so suggestive in many
respects that we can easily guess at the indebtedness of our
fraternity to the practices of the members engaged in the
mysteries.

PURGING THE LODGE

First of all we may employ the old term, "Purging the Lodge." Back
still further in the ages we have the spectacle of the Herald in
the mysteries announcing that all those not by right entitled to
remain should go. Both in Greece and Rome a like ritualistic
sentence was used. This is often found translated into English as
"Depart, depart, ye profane." But the word "profane" might almost
if not entirely be given as "unclean" or "unsanctified." As the
preliminary act in the mysteries was to perform some ceremony of
symbolic and literal or actual cleansing of the candidate, it would
not be lacking in exactness to speak of the uninitiated as the
"unclean."

The several steps in opening the Lodge may in brief be stated. Upon
the Worshipful Master is the responsibility of starting the Lodge
labors. While the by-laws of the Lodge usually state when is the
precise time for the beginning of the opening ceremony, it is like
most other incidents of Lodge work, entirely for the presiding
officer to make the actual start. His formal announcement being
made to that effect, the brethren take due notice of the
instruction and assume the essential Masonic clothing with whatever
jewels of office that any are entitled to wear. This done they all
proceed to their several stations with due dignity and dispatch.

Now comes the purging of the Lodge, the separation from those
properly entitled to remain of those not so qualified. We look to
the West for care of the most stringent character in performing
this duty. The wise Senior Warden will not wait idly until the
moment has actually arrived for making an announcement upon this
point. For some time prior to the opening of the Lodge he will
circulate industriously among the assembled brethren, fully
acquainting himself with all whose faces are strange to him.
Nothing can be more aggravating than the mortifying experience of
being at the last moment obliged to say that a certain brother is
unknown and then find him perhaps to be a member of that very lodge
whose attendance has been infrequent for perhaps many years.

Nor should the brethren ever "take a chance." There is the well
known rule that to vouch properly for the presence of anyone you
must have sat in lodge with him. This is playing safe. It will
never leave you with any uneasy feeling that you have done less
than your plain duty. Far better that many of the worthy are held
back for a searching examination by an investigating committee than
that any of the unworthy should pass by into the sacred halls. When
a brother admits he thinks a brother or visitor is a Mason he
should be firmly but of course courteously informed that "thinking"
is not sufficient. He must know and he cannot know too positively.
Satisfied that everyone has a perfect and unquestionable right to
be present, there is next undertaken due inquiry of the passages to
the Lodge and the manner of their protection and care. Officers are
placed where all approaching persons are seen and stopped before
they can gain improper sight or entrance of the Lodge. From time to
time as the ceremonies require the guardians of the entrances are
appropriately instructed as to the conditions prevailing in the
Lodge and how and when admission may be granted by the presiding
officer.

All the officers satisfy the Worshipful Master and through him all
the other brethren that they are fully informed as to their duties
and when the Master is thoroughly convinced that each officer is
properly placed and fully instructed as to what he may be called
upon to do, the presiding officer then makes due announcement of
his purpose in the proceedings. Upon this he demands of the
assembled brethren to join in certain ceremonies which testify to
the eye of each of those present his own individual ability and
that of every one of his neighbors that he has a knowledge of the
degree in which the Lodge is to be opened and that he is in accord
with what is being done.

At the point when all the technical essentials of secrecy are
obtained for the subsequent ceremonies, when all the avenues of
approach have been guarded, when critical search and inquiry have
been made about the Masonic qualifications of all those present,
when all the officers have been placed precisely where they belong
and when they are fully made known to the assembled brethren as
duly informed about their duties, and when formal statement has
been given from the East, and all the brethren have combined in
that ceremony that exhibits so well the unity and capability in a
bit of Masonic ritual, then comes the appropriate moment for
inviting the blessing. Here indeed is the beginning of an important
undertaking and we all rightly hold that we ought then to
reverently seek in all our doings the favor of Almighty God. To
this devout and dutiful invocation the brethren respond by a common
sentiment expressed in an oldtime phrase well known to all Masons.

Now the Lodge is announced as duly opened and the precise manner of
the opening, whether in the one or the other of the degrees, is
duly communicated to the officers charged with the care of the
entrance and is by them told to the visitors who arrive after the
Lodge has been opened. With this information the expert Freemason
is enabled to enter with decorum and in perfect good taste and
accuracy, fulfilling in every way the truly Masonic requirements.

From of old it has been the practice that the Worshipful Master in
opening his Lodge shall give a lecture or a part of one. Careful
observers of the ceremonies will see how closely this has been
followed. It will also suggest to the attentive brother how the
brethren of old employed their time when candidates were few and
far between and when the ceremonies might with propriety be
lengthened. Then the lectures were doubtless freely used at the
opening and it is equally probable that all the brethren present
took a more lively and thorough part in the proceeding than now.
These are samples of the differences between the old practices and
the new about which there is much room for wide variation of
opinion.

Let not the thoughtful brother overlook the fact that the opening
ceremony has direct reference to the particular degree which it
precedes. This aptness of the introduction paves the way to a
better understanding of what is to be done. It is another reminder
of the coherence of Masonic labors, that each fits as the links in
a chain, contributing its strength and service to bind the whole
into a unity, each for all and all for each, typical of the unit
part of Freemasonry, the unit being the individual Mason.

CLOSING THE LODGE

There is but one officer to determine when the Lodge shall be
closed, and he is the Worshipful Master. From his action there is
no appeal. He is not as the Chairman of a Committee, and indeed
there is about Lodge work nothing that corresponds to the Committee
of the Whole with which we are all familiar in legislative and
other bodies. There is no moving of the previous question or any
similar parliamentary trick to bring things to a focus. Debate
ceases when the Master rises in his place. Neither is there appeal
from his decisions on the floor of the Lodge. He has no peers among
those present. You may impeach him but not by any appeal in the
usual legislative style from the decision of the chair. All that
you can do is to carry your grievance, if you have one against the
Worshipful Master, to the Grand Lodge. There and there only have
you redress if he prove unmindful of your demands.

Thus it comes at the moment when the lodge labors apparently ended,
the Master alone determines the proper moment to act. True, he does
invite as a usual thing an expression of opinion from the officers
and the members as to the possibility of anything having been left
undone that should be done. The officers respond, as do any of the
remaining brethren who have anything to offer, and then the Master
acts according to his best judgment. He neither permits nor
announces anything that savors of an adjournment. When he closes
the Lodge he does not reopen it in the same degree to rectify some
error, a lodge opened and closed for a definite purpose is for that
date permanently closed.

Having determined to close, there are like ceremonious steps to be
taken in duly closing the lodge. These so closely resemble the
opening that little need be said as to their order of events. There
are Masters who by impatience to get things over are tempted to
shorten the ceremony in one degree or another but this is usually
a mistake. Particularly is it objectional to shorten any ceremony
of closing or opening a degree if a young member or a candidate
having but one or two of the degrees be in attendance. For his sake
at least let the temptation be resisted.

For all of us the proceedings will be the better if we see the
labors done fully, nothing overlooked and there will be nothing
Masonically overthrown. Better save the time elsewhere by not
wasting any. See that the labors do not drag, that nothing
interferes or blocks, that everything moves serenely and smoothly
without the slightest friction or excitement or fuss. Thus the last
benediction invoked of the Great Architect upon the gathering
around the altar will be indeed a fitting climax to the worthy work
of the day.

In many of the jurisdictions there is a neatly appropriate allusion
in the closing of the duties of a Mason as symbolized by the jewels
worn in the East, West and South. Here too is an appropriate bit of
symbolism that might well be universal. The way that we should meet
each other and act toward each other and how we should part from
our brethren are lessons that cannot be impressed too vividly and
thoroughly upon our minds. No criticism is intended of those who do
not use this symbolic teaching and it is only here alluded to
because of the effective manner that it has been seen to impress
most Masons who have witnessed it. The action is so suited to the
word that it is difficult for a brother accustomed to the ceremony
to avoid giving it in full even when in Lodges that do not employ
the ceremony.

CALLING OFF AND ON

"Calling off the Lodge" is a phrase, and a very old one, that
broadly speaking refers to the announcement of a recess. Of old it
was not at all rare to halt the proceedings at any opportune moment
and in the lodge room or any convenient place enjoy refreshment or
the greater formality of a banquet as the case might be. An old
author familiar with the work of a hundred or more years ago says
of the custom: "At a certain hour of the evening, with certain
ceremonies, the lodge was called from labor to refreshment, when
the brethren enjoyed themselves with decent merriment." With us the
custom prevails of ending the work of the day with the banquet
though it is not rare to find a city Lodge in these days of high
pressure in ritualistic labors to call a communication early in the
afternoon, have dinner about six o'clock and then continue the work
of conferring degrees.

Grand Lodges are different from other Lodges in that the method of
calling on and off from day to day is not uncommon. Neither is it
rare for Grand Lodges to adjourn from day to day or for even longer
periods. It is therefore not wise to assume that the rules
governing the one class of bodies apply equally in detail to the
others.

There are at the stations of the Senior and Junior Wardens certain
columns. These have a particular usefulness when the lodge is
called from labor to refreshment or from refreshment to labor. The
brethren are familiar with their use and it need not be detailed.
There is a strong likelihood that these columns have had of old a
somewhat different appearance and usefulness than at present. Now
they are columns symbolic of the qualities represented by the
respective officers before whom they stand. They have also the
designation of one or other of the orders of architecture. All this
is as explained in the lectures and monitorial instruction.

It is also probable that the columns are a survival of the gnomens
of primitive sun-dials such as would, be prepared by the brother
thrusting a stick into the ground and relying upon its shadow to
tell the time and the duties therefor of the day. Again it is well
to suggest to the thoughtful brother that he attend to the ritual
of the respective officers in the recital of their proper province
and then determine for himself what were all the functions of the
columns in the West and South in the days of yore.

It is proper to state that while the current phrases are "Called
Off" or "Called On" as the case may be, yet the sentences of which
these should be parts are frequently heard as "Called from," etc.

DUE FORM

"Due" simply means what should be done. Lodges are opened in due
form when the proper ceremonies are performed by at least the
requisite number of qualified Freemasons. Due form means that the
right thing has been done in the right way by the right persons. It
is in brief a Masonic expression of legal fitness. Truly in Masonry
we do stand for having all things done at least decently and in
order. Then they are done in due form.

DEDICATIONS

The rite of dedication is of the utmost antiquity. Ceremonials of
dedications have been performed by all peoples on such occasions as
putting altars or temples or other places to sacred uses. The
tabernacle was consecrated and dedicated by Moses. So also did
Solomon with the first Temple. When the returning exiles came out
of their captivity and rebuilt the Temple of the Lord the memories
of Babylon quenched not their love for a profound gift of the fruit
of their labor to the exclusive service of their God.

So therefore is a Masonic Temple by mystic rites, in serious
imitation of these pious and ancient examples earnestly and
religiously consecrated to the sacred purposes for which it has
been constructed and completed by its builders. Thus it is set
apart for a holy object, the vigorous and thorough cultivation of
the several tenets of a Mason's profession. Hereby does it
therefore become to the conscientious Mason invested with a
peculiar reverence, a place to be trod as holy ground.

At the ceremony it is planned to conduct the proceedings in ample
form, all the ritualistic positions of the officers being filled by
the persons elected to them or such others of the fraternity as may
be appointed. The ancient sacrifice of the poured oil, corn and
wine is performed. The entire ceremonial differs but slightly in
the various jurisdictions so far as the present writer has had an
opportunity to examine the methods.

In connection with the dedication of Masonic Halls it is proper
here to state that the authorities do not usually favor the joint
use of the rooms with any other body not recognized as Masonic or
closely affiliated with Masonry. The complete details of this rule
are not uniform in all jurisdictions and have been changed even in
the same jurisdiction. It has happened that for some reason or
another, as in the case of a Masonic Temple being destroyed by
fire, there has been no other local opportunity to meet for the
brethren unless they occupied a room temporarily that was also used
by the members of some other organization. In such case the method
is to secure an emergency order from the Grand Master or his
representative, this waiver of the law's strict provisions being
known as a "dispensation." Such release is void as soon as
conditions change and the lodge is enabled to again comply with the
letter of the law.

INSTALLATIONS

The installation of the officers of a lodge is required to be
performed within a certain time after election. This period is a
matter of Grand Lodge enactment. One code of laws stipulates that
the installation shall take place not more than sixty days after
election. Sometimes it is made a public ceremony. In such cases the
lodge is opened and closed in ritualistic form in an adjacent room,
or before the audience arrives the lodge is opened and closed after
the visitors depart.

An old custom that is still retained is that the retiring Master
installs his successor and then the installed Master in turn
installs his officers. It has happened that the retiring Master
installs all the officers but this only occurs where the installed
Master waives his right to install his own officers.

In many jurisdictions, prior to the installation of the Master, it
is necessary that he shall have been invested with the Past
Master's degree which can only be conferred by not less than three
Past Masters.

"Installed" has the same significance as to be seated; placed in
the chair of authority.

PROCESSIONS

Of the order of public processions it is evident that roughly the
order of the brethren is for the Tyler and Stewards to head the
line in that way and then come the Master Masons followed by the
rest of the officers according to their place in the list and
concluding with the Past Masters and then the Master. Of course if
the ceremony is a cornerstone laying, then the Grand Lodge officers
follow the Lodge officers but adopt the same order of rotation in
office, the lowest in rank coming first.

REFRESHMENT

The word "refreshment" does not to a Mason have the same meaning as
to those outside the fraternity. When the labor of the lodge halts
by order, the lodge is at refreshment. Usually the stop is short,
merely as a rule for the purpose of taking up a different line of
work. Sometimes as already intimated a banquet may intervene
between the opening and closing of a lodge and the call to
refreshment then probably becomes what it may have actually been to
our ancient brethren of the operative craft, a time for food and
drink, the hour of rest and repast.

LODGE MEETINGS

"Stated" or "regular" meetings, or communications, are those
specified by the laws of the governing body as the minimum. It is
sometimes required that a lodge shall hold no fewer than twelve
meetings a year. Most lodges meet by their rules twice that number.
Whatever the number specified may be are the "Stated" meetings.
"Special" or "called" meetings are additional meetings to the
"Stated." These may be called for the purposes of conducting
funerals or conferring degrees. Nothing but the object for which
the meeting was originally called is permitted to be done at the
"Special" communication of a lodge.

REFERENCES

In addition to the topics suggested in the sub-heads in the above
article, see the following--all in Mackey's Encyclopedia:

Adjournment 
Adoption, Masonic 
Ample form 
Annual Communication 
Baptism, Masonic 
Burial 
Center, Opening on the 
Chair, Passing the
Communication
Cornerstone
Dedication of a Lodge
Eulogy
Labor
Meet on the Level
Public Ceremonies
Quarterly Communication

WHAT WILL MAKE A GREAT LODGE?

A Master and officers who can confer the degrees with all the power
and nobility which is inherent in them. Who can so inspire the
candidate with the fundamental truths underlying the ritualistic
work that he will apply them to himself in all his human relations.
A more practical application and use of those principles upon which
our Fraternity is founded, Brotherly Love and Charity, by the Lodge
itself in its relation to its members.

A proper course of Masonic Education upon which the newly raised
and enthused Brother may start at once, easily accessible and
comprehensive so that he may become well acquainted with Masonic
traditions, symbolism and history. If these things are done in a
thoroughly efficient way then we may know that we are being
successful in the building of Masonic character, which is the real
and final aim of our Fraternity Paul P. Doddridge, Grand Lecturer,
Indiana

MASONIC STUDY AND RESEARCH
BY BRO. ANDREW L. RANDALL, TEXAS

(An address delivered before the Grand Lodge of Texas on December
5th, 1916)

It was my intention to use this opportunity to address my brethren
on the subject of the "Master and Past Master: Their Prerogatives,
Duties and Responsibilities in Early, In Later and In Modern
Times." But I was not quite able to satisfactorily complete my
studies upon that subject, which can be made one of great interest
and profit to us all, and at the last moment I have discarded it
for the present purpose, and have concluded to offer some plain and
simple observations upon another subject which lies very near to my
heart--that of the vital necessity for Masonic study and research--
if we would hope to do our full duty to Masonry, to society and to
ourselves. The fact that we have neglected its proper consideration
in the past, and that this Grand Lodge has recently shown a
disposition to provide for and foster this most important element
of our labor and refreshment, has encouraged me to believe that my
brief remarks may be neither untimely nor unwelcome.

We all remember when we finally stood in the presence of the Master
and were made to realize that our Lodge had granted to us that
peculiar mark of its favor because of our evident zeal for our
Institution, the progress we had made in its mysteries, and our
steady conformity to its useful regulations. From that memorable
hour we have continued, to a degree, to have zeal for our
Institution, and, in a measure, to conform to its useful
regulations. But how many of us have continued to make progress in
our mysteries, to study, and to grow in the knowledge of what
Masonry really is; whence it came and by what way whither it leads,
and how shall it reach to its ultimate destiny? How many of us have
been content merely to believe that it is an ancient and honorable
institution, having a history luminous with achievement for the
progress of the human race? How many of us have been content merely
to proclaim in general terms its possession of a beautiful
symbolism, a splendid literature, a wonderful philosophy of life
and conduct, a God-given mission to humanity? How many of us, oh,
how many, have been satisfied with knowing only its signs, grips
and passwords, added to a somewhat imperfect knowledge of its
esoteric work? I, for one, must confess to my own shortcomings in
this regard.

Yet neither you nor I would waste our time with Masonry if it were
but a secret order with a sign, a grip, a password and an emblem.
We give cheerfully of our time and money to our Lodges, and to this
Grand Lodge, without hope of fee or reward; because we feel in our
hearts that it is all worth while; but we are not able to tell why
and wherein Masonry is a living and essential instrument of God for
good. To the large majority of Masons, especially in this Grand
Jurisdiction, the great book of Masonry, with all the riches of its
lore, cannot be opened because it is not even available, and they
could not turn its precious pages if they would. Yet turn them they
must, my brethren, if they would give to Masonry that zeal and
conformity to its laws which Masonry demands of them. For there can
be no real zeal for an institution whose history and mission we
only vaguely comprehend, no real conformity to regulations,
expressed and implied, whose precepts and requirements we only
vaguely understand. Knowledge of great principles and great deeds
is the foundation of true zeal; only knowledge of laws and
regulations will bring about true conformity to them.

We have dotted the hills and valleys of this State and Nation with
innumerable schoolhouses, colleges, and universities. We have
sacrificed ease and comfort that they might be erected and
maintained, that our children might attend them and enjoy their
benefits and blessings. Of the splendid courses of instruction
offered our children in these institutions we would sacrifice all
before we would permit them to give up the history and literature
of their own people. These are the important studies of the
children of each generation, far more so than arithmetic or
geography or physics. Because the history and literature of any
Nation are expressive of its life, its genius, its ideals; and
their study the sole foundation of its present patriotism and its
future progress. No generation can find the solution of its own
problems without a knowledge of the problems of the generations
gone, nor will it have the courage and self-sacrifice to grapple
with these problems and overcome them unless inspired by the
example of the fathers before it. If I had to make the choice, I
would rather that my children would know the inspiring story of the
wise courage and heroic piety of their forefathers and foremothers
and be unable to write their own names, than that they should speak
the fluent tongue of a dozen languages and hear not in their hearts
the patient prayers of Valley Forge; see not, with dimmed eyes, the
ever living spirit of self sacrificing service which brooded,
smiling, over the dead giants of the Alamo.

Oh, with infinite pains we study the history of the human race from
the earliest day, throughout all the ages of its vicissitudes, its
sorrows, its struggles, its progress, finding not only the records
of the rise and fall of the nations, but the reasons, purposes, and
policies that brought them all about--finding in the last analysis
that the divine desire in the human heart for higher things is the
moving finger which writes every line of every page of that
wonderful history. We thrill our hearts and feast our souls upon
the song and story which compose the literature and portray the
life of our people, from the saga of yesterday to the epic of
today, and draw from them that reverence for the old and that
devotion to the new out of which along can come the spirit of
service which makes each generation forge its way to higher ground.
Without these, this history and this literature, the citizen is an
aimless, purposeless, useless being to his State and race, unable
to serve because unable to render intelligent service. With them,
he becomes the trained soldier of humanity, armed with the
experience of the ages, inspired by an indomitable purpose to
render, as his fathers before him, his full share of consecrated
service to his God, his country, his neighbor and himself. Yes, we,
as citizens, study the history of the world and the story of the
progress of its people, and we constantly and carefully teach them
to our children. But we, as Masons, do not study the history of
Masonry, the record of its achievements--from the early times of
its wandering master architects and builders down through the
centuries, as it has lived and spread and grown in its power and
influence throughout the earth. Nor to the newly-made Mason do we
over the slightest opportunity or material for study and
instruction. Yet, next to religion, there has been no influence so
potent in the shaping of history as the influence of Masonry and of
Masons.

In this land of liberty, which has become the hope of the world, we
celebrate the settlement of Jamestown and the landing of the
Pilgrim Fathers, but we do not investigate to learn what part
Masonry played in those events so auspicious for civilization and
freedom, nor inquire upon what rock or shore, upon what highest
hill, or in what lowest vale, was first opened the Book of the Law,
were first erected the pillars of Wisdom, Strength and Beauty. We
follow with wonder those pioneers of this great State in their
journeys of hardship, suffering and endurance from the East to the
West; we read with reverential awe of their heroic sacrifices at
the Alamo, at Goliad, at San Jacinto; we look back with gratitude
to their labors in that early capital at "Old Washington on the
Brazos." But we do not seek to find the sustaining power of Masonry
in their weary hearts, its unyielding strength in their valorous
arms, the glint of its eternal truths upon their flashing blades.
We attend in patriotic spirit the first meeting of the little
Congress of the New Republic. But we do not go with Anson Jones and
his five brethren to that hallowed spot behind Brazoria, in the
little thicket of wild laurel; nor, meet with them, the brethren of
old Milam and McFarlane, to follow the birth of the new Republic
with the birth of a new Grand Jurisdiction. We glory in the courage
of each forward step of those great men of early days, and apply
our hearts unto the far-sighted wisdom of their laws and policies.
But we do not even attempt to trace through their statesmanship
down into the blessings of our present development, that Masonry
which has played so momentous and so conspicuous a part in it all.

We only know in some vague way, because we have heard it so, that
in almost every age and every clime the onward-struggling race has
found Masonry a place of refuge in hours of darkness, a tower of
strength in days of conflict; that always and everywhere it has
laid upon the hearts of men the responsibility of unselfish service
to the cause of humanity and the glory of the ever-living God. If
these things were not so there would be no Masonry tonight. It
would never have been able to survive the persecution or escape the
cunning of its enemies--enemies to it because enemies to those
principles of Freedom and Truth for which it stands. It survived
with the survival of the fittest, because it is one of the
instruments chosen of God to direct the onward march toward the
perfect civilization and the Ultimate Day, an essential guide of
the happiness and advancement of mankind. If it is necessary to
good citizenship that we study the history, read the literature,
and comprehend the policies and ideals of the Nation, is it not
equally necessary that we, as Masons, should know the history,
literature, symbolism and philosophy of that Institution which,
more than any other except the Church, has contributed and will
contribute to the attainments of our National aims and ideals?
There is but one answer. We must not only be zealous and law
abiding Masons, but we must, I repeat, in duty to the Craft, to
society and to ourselves, become informed and learned Masons, also.
It is our duty not alone because of an obligation taken, but
because we cannot otherwise become proficient in the use of the
weapons of Masonry against evil, or skilled in the exercise of its
arts and practices to promote the general good.

I say to you again, my brethren, that as Masonry has exerted a more
powerful influence upon the lives of nations in the past than any
instrumentality or institution except the Church, so it is now more
essential to the forward-looking life of this Nation than any other
institution or instrumentality except the Church. History proves
that it is essential. Washington found it so. In the long hours and
longer years of his problems and perplexities he clothed himself in
the Apron as in the armor of righteousness against trials and
temptations, and struck down with the Mallet the evils of avarice
and ambition. And when he had devoted his great mind and greater
heart to years of the study of Masonry, he declared it to be an
ever-living institution for the promotion of the happiness of
humanity. Anson Jones and his confreres found it essential. Neither
the lurking foes of the forest nor the craftier enemies of another
and abler race, neither the countless privations, the manifold
hardships nor the innumerable duties of the time, could retard
their Masonic labors or quench their Masonic spirit.

If Masonry was essential to the earlier generation of pioneers of
the State and Nation, it is equally so to this generation. If the
world has needed it heretofore, its need for Masonry is even
greater now. If it pointed the paths of progress to the pioneers of
another day, it will point them just as certainly to us. For every
generation is one of pioneers. One may have to overcome the forces
of death and destruction that lurk in the wilderness; another, the
subtler and more insidious forces of corruption and decay that
linger incitadels and capitals. But all must do battle with one or
another, and each must fight its way to a higher plane of living
and of citizenship; and Masonry has been, is, can always be, the
Great Pioneer of Civilization--moulding the character, directing
the thought, and guiding the footsteps of the advancing forces of
humanity.

In our analysis of its record, we apply to every age a descriptive
name, the dark ages, the golden age, the barbaric, the philosophic,
the heroic. I hope and pray that history may nominate ours the Age
of Service. We have learned as never before to apply a test unto
all things--whether material, political or spiritual; to science,
to literature, to religion--the test of utility, the test of
service. Whether you be lawyer or laborer, merchant or mechanic,
the world of today asks, "What can you do?" And the service
demanded is intelligent, trained, consecrated service.

The lesson we have learned from the lives of the Fathers is the
lesson of service; we have realized that the moving purpose of
their heroic deeds was solely the purpose of service; we have come
to understand that their sustaining and uplifting spirit in patient
endurance was the Spirit of Service.

It is that spirit and that purpose which is expressive of the
genius to America--the capacity of this government and its people
to serve humanity, to promulgate, dispense and protect the sacred
principles of Freedom, Justice, and Right. It is because of that
spirit and that capacity that America is the hope of the world. And
now, more than ever, is her mission amplified and intensified;
because when the horror of the present conflagration of human lives
is over, the people of the old world, arising from the ashes in
which have been burned away the shackles of ignorance and the
fetters of tradition, will turn with outstretched hands and
pleading hearts to this government of liberty and law, and pray
that it may lead them all into the paths of righteousness and
peace. This country needs intelligent and unselfish service now as
never before in its history. New conditions have arisen, new
problems, both internal and external, present themselves for
solution. The call has come to America now ---the- call to stand up
to the test of her right to live, her right to lead, her right to
set Democracy upon the throne of Monarchy, the God of Justice upon
the throne of the God of Might.

My brethren, where shall the Nation turn in the hour of its trial
and its opportunity if not to Masonry ? Who shall deny that to
Masonry the Fathers turned, and not in vain? Who shall deny that in
every age our Institution has answered to every call, whether to
forum, field, or fireside? What Mason will deny that in its tenets
and philosophies there may be found a panacea for all civic ills?
What Mason doubts that Masonry will stand the test of consecrated
service? Yet Masonry will stand the test of the world only if we
can stand the test of Masonry. Are we, as Masons, prepared to do
so? How shall we look to an unlearned and untutored Masonic
membership to help, aid and assist in the application of Masonic
remedies to the national and international diseases which threaten
the present stage of the life of the world? How shall we call upon
the wisdom of its precepts if we know them not? How shall we unfurl
its flag if we see not its wonderful combination of colors? How
shall we use its weapons if we are not taught their mechanism and
construction ? How shall we invoke its strategy if those great
battlefields upon which that strategy has been developed remains
unexplored? Without study, training, discipline, instruction, we
are as helpless to lead its forces of civic righteousness as a
new-sworn private to lead the victorious armies of a great war.

The only avenue to light, more light, and further light, in Masonry
is that found in the thoughtful study of its history--in
painstaking research into its voluminous records. They are as if
they do not exist, for him who may not search them out. Like the
laws and commandments of God, they are given only to those who seek
to find them. Like the natural resources of wealth which God has
provided for men, they are nonproductive and valueless unless
cultivated and utilized.

We glory in our natural resources, the fertility of the soil, the
sweet waters of the earth, which make it blossom and produce, the
wealth of mine, of forest and of field. We boast of bursting
granaries, rejoice in the song of whirring spindles, follow with
prideful eye the stately ships that sail the charted highways of
commercial seas. We think and speak of those things which make up
the wealth of the world as if they were riches in themselves,
forgetting that they become riches only when the masterful touch of
men has awakened or re-created them into wealth. To the savage of
the Western wilds the mountains of iron were but skulking places,
whose moulten crevices were merely caves of refuge; the forests but
shade from summer suns or trapping grounds for winter game; the
valleys of plenty, which feed and clothe the world, but grazing
places for his wild horses and wilder herds. Those mountains,
forests, and plains were the same then as now, wonderful
storehouses of material wealth; but they brought forth no iron or
gold, no timber or wheat, because the savage neither delved, nor
tilled, nor felled; sought not to find their hidden treasures,
brought no intelligent, creative genius to their development,
dreamed not of world-markets of exchange. Another race came, one
which from the inspiration of the centuries gone caught a far
vision of those that were to come; one, therefore, mighty in its
ambition, its desire to know, to understand, to utilize, to build.
They observed the seasons, turned the soil, dug deep into the
hillsides, felled the mighty timbers of the forest. To the learning
and example of the past they added study, investigation,
experiment, determination. Today that race finds shelter in the
happy homes and worships in the stately temples of the richest and
most enlightened nation of the earth.

My brethren, the riches of Masonry lie dormant beneath the careless
feet of the untutored and uninspired Mason content to exist upon
the crusts of Masonry; always concealing, never revealing, their
fabulous wealth. The golden nuggets of its principles, the shining
silver of its philosophy, the glistening diamonds of its
everlasting truths enrich him not; he builds no house of refuge
from its Cedars of Lebanon; he may not transport its
life-sustaining treasures to alleviate the wants of his struggling
brother man. I want this Grand Lodge in its wisdom to find some way
to enable us to gather the riches of Masonic History, Symbolism and
Philosophy--to become learned in those eternal principles and wise
precepts that have for centuries promoted, and will for centuries
to come promote, the reign of Happiness, Righteousness and Freedom.
For thus only may we be trained for an inspired, consecrated
service to Masonry; and Masonry, through us, continue to lead
mankind up the shining pathway which reaches to the gates of the
Eternal City, into the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Everlasting Temple.

THE MASTER'S HAT

During the Middle Ages, when a traveling Fellow approached a lodge
of Masons in prescribed form, he first exclaimed: "May God bless,
direct, and prosper you, Master, Pallirer (wardens), and dear
Fellows!" Whereupon the Master, or in his absence the Pallirer, was
instructed by the ordinance of Torgau to thank him in reply, in
order that the visiting brother might see who was custodian of the
lodge. And having obtained suitable assistance, the wandering
craftsman removed his hat and thanked the brethren with an
established formula. From the preceding ceremony, it is evident
that neither the Master nor the Wardens of a medieval German lodge
were distinguishable by distinctive tokens while at mechanical
labor; otherwise, no regulation was essential or obligatory upon
the officers to make proper response to a visitor for the purpose
of determining the Master.

Curiously enough, the implication is direct and clear that the
Masons of ancient times, when regularly convened for work, and
during the formal reception of a traveler, pursued their daily
avocation and attended to usual Masonic demands, within closed
portals, with covered heads. At the present day the custom has
materially changed, and, with one exception, the members of a lodge
at labor noticeably divest themselves of their hats. This is
unquestionably a transformation of recent origin, and with it the
instruction usually incident to the distinction has been adapted to
the innovation.

When the initiatory rites in a medieval lodge were performed, the
Master was not thus prominently contrasted with his brethren. I
speak with especial emphasis upon this point, because the esoteric
and sublime signification involved in the Master's hat has been
recklessly perverted and destroyed. It was typical, during the
Middle Ages, of superiority, and was so interpreted in the
ceremonies of initiation by the Masons of France at the termination
of the eighteenth century, all of whom sat in open lodge with
covered heads. (1) Among the Germans, this article was used as a
symbol of transfer of chattels, and landed property. The judge held
a hat in his hands; the purchase must receive it from him, and with
it the title passed. Frequently the ceremony perfecting a sale was
performed by the contract parties thrusting their hands into a hat,
and upon withdrawing them the estate changed owners.

By the expression "putting hands in a hat," was also meant a mutual
oath between persons to a confederation or conspiracy. But the most
important signification of this covering for the head was its use
as a symbol of power and authority, and in such sense it was
oftentimes set up as a signal of compulsory assemblage. When thus
elevated or fixed upon a pedestal, it convened the people of the
neighborhood. Gessler's well-known emblem of subjection and
superiority, was a hat erected on a pole or column. Ancient Germans
shared the symbolism of this article with the Romans, who also
regarded it as a type of freedom or as a release from servitude.
(2) Upon the death of Nero, so much joy was manifested by the
populace, that, in the excess of their delight, they rushed about
the eternal city with hats on.

Gothic justices wore a cap or suitable head-dress when presiding
over court, as emblematic of authority, and manifestly the people
wore their hats while attending the tribunal as symbols of personal
liberty. (3) And with this typical allusion general acquiescence
originally harmonized; but the distinctive and exceptional feature
of a Master's head-dress contains the secret symbolism of authority
at the present day, while medieval Masons worked with covered heads
as a sign of freedom. Both customs, descended from a remote
Teutonic antiquity, have long since dissipated their vital forces,
while the ordinary interpretation possesses less significance than
a dilapidated mile-post!

--Fort--Antiquities of Freemasonry.

(1) At the conclusion of the rites in French lodges, the Master
handed the candidate his hat, and said: "For the future, you shall
be covered in a Master's lodge." This very ancient usage is a sign
of liberty and superiority.

(2) It was thus symbolized by the Gallic craftsmen of the 18th
century, when the initiate was covered with his hat.

(3) In an engraving, dating from the 15th century, given in
Lacroix, op. cit. p. 379, all persons attendant upon court are
presented with heads covered.

THE THREE STATIONS

The Master's chair is approached by three steps or grades--an
arrangement apparently descended, with numerous appointments, from
Scandinavian antiquity. In the Upsala temple the Norse gods--Odin,
Thor, and Frey--were presented sometimes as enthroned on high
seats, one elevated above the other. Thor was placed on a throne to
the left of the principal divinity, while Frey sat on the right
side. These thrones upon which the deities were seated, according
to the prose Edda were graduated by an intervening step. Odin's
stood highest, on three grades; Thor's next, on two; and Frey's
seat was the lowest, and numbered one.
--Fort--Antiquities of Freemasonry.

