THE BUILDER, JANUARY 1919

THE CEDAR RAPIDS MASONIC CONFERENCE
MASONIC SERVICE ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES

BY BRO. GEO. L. SCHOONOVER. GRAND MASTER, IOWA

HE WOULD be a seer, who would have attempted to forecast what the
result of the Cedar Rapids Conference would be. And he who would
interpret that result now that the Conference is a matter of
history, must have been present, have felt the mellowing influence
of the voices clad in khaki, have realized that this Fraternity of
ours, far from forgetting its glorious accomplishments of the past
is taking them to heart and applying its age-old principles to the
problems of the present. More than this, he must also appreciate
and not undervalue that element of conservatism which has come to
us of today from the days of old, that close adherence to first
principles to which we are obligated and which, from one viewpoint,
is the very genius of our Masonic system.

Withal, he who would understand the Cedar Rapids Conference must
focus his mental vision, not upon the three days of this meeting,
but the century and a half of Masonry in America, and the century
and a half of development of a national consciousness within that
America itself. As we stand in the sunlight of the great awakening
which these years of war have brought to America we wonder at the
days and years which went before. Our whole civilization has been
reborn, as it were, and our newly-opened eyes are still blinded by
this wonderful brilliancy of accomplishment --a national
accomplishment of which we did not know we were capable.

It would be surprising indeed if these slow-moving but irresistible
forces could have accomplished their wonders in Masonry without
travail. On the surface there was little indication of their
working. But he who has observed with care the tendencies of late
could not be blind ta them. Here was a great Fraternity, grown so
rapidly that its functions of life-maintenance overshadowed all
else. Its men of action were bound down by detail--the never-ending
grind of degrees to be conferred upon the thousands who flocked to
our gates. What wonder that there was only a dulled and
half-efficient transmission of the deeper impulses of the ordinary
member to those who have been the leaders of recent years--and
those leaders themselves sapping their energy to accomplish the
extraordinary duties which both patriotic and Masonic instinct told
them they owed to their assaulted Country.

Reproach is not the proper word to use in speaking of the lack of
prompt appreciation by Masons of what Masonry could do in a crisis
like that of these two years. "My Country comes first!" is but a
natural war-cry for a Mason, and we all know why. And not until the
new and arduous duties of patriotism had in a measure become a part
of the day's work did any of us really begin to ask ourselves what
Masonry as an institution ought to be doing. We had been content to
do as we had been taught to do, guided by the ancient charges of
loyalty, and we did not stop to ask ourselves whether these
turbulent days offered to our Institution a duty.


Those who first felt the burden of this new responsibility raised
their voices with caution, lest they might have misread the
trestleboard of Fate. Presently they began to make solemn inquiry.
Then came a great, an awful conviction, that a new day had brought
new ties and responsibilities, and that they must be met. Brought
together at the Government's call, a few of the leaders of the
Craft tried to study the problem, at Washington, last December.
Undigested opinion did not visualize the problem, yet. But down in
New York, with a constant stream of our young men in khaki passing
before their eyes, on their way to Europe to fight the battles of
Democracy, and a presently returning stream of physical wrecks
making mute appeal for brotherhood, there awoke at last to
realization, full realization, the Masonic leaders of that great
Jurisdiction. The genius of doing things responded to the appeal,
and those leaders began to visualize what Masonry's problem really
was, and went to work to see how they might act in the premises.

They applied to the Government for permission to act as their
consciences told them they ought to act, and as a knowledge of what
this Brotherhood of ours was worth to a man in his hour of trouble
dictated would be a practical method of acting. "For whom do you
speak?" was the query of the officials. "For Masonry" was the
response. "For the Masonry of New York?' "Yes." "But we cannot
recognize State organizations."

Then came the New York Conference, called to meet the immediate
need, and meeting it, in part. The paths leading from that
Conference have been troublous. That part of the story must come in
a later chapter. But the need was finally visualized, and the Grand
Jurisdictions of America generally got behind New York in their
plan of solving it. The weak link in the chain was that they did
not make that plan their own. Co-operation was promised, on the
other side of the water. It might have worked, had the plans then
proposed been successfully begun in France. Why they were not so
begun is still another story, which THE BUILDER will tell, in due
time.

And so May turned into June, and September followed August and
July, with no tangible results. Diplomacy was trying to solve the
difficulties in the way, so that harmony might prevail. It is to
the interest of Freemasonry that the whole story shall be told, and
told it shall be. Those who would indict our Fraternity for its
apparent indifference must reckon with that story.

The writer was elected Grand Master of Iowa in June, 1918. As the
months went by, smatterings of the truth, hints of the reason why
things were going as they were crept into his official
correspondence. A brief trip East brought knowledge of a part of
it. Perhaps impatience is my middle name. Be that as it may, the
information coming from overseas the latter part of September, and
the insistent challenge to me, as the official head of Iowa Masonry
to do something definite, caused my outburst of October third last,
the letter to my fellow Grand Masters which appeared in the
November issue of THE BUILDER.

In a very brief time my correspondence showed that others had
received the same challenge, and were as deeply moved by the
apparent need for action as I was. Wherefore, on November 1, I
called a Conference of Grand Masters and Representatives of the
several Jurisdictions to meet in Cedar Rapids on November 26th to
28th, hopeful that opinion would there crystallize into action. The
kind of action which seemed to me necessary was that the New York
plan should be made actually National, by its specific adoption,
and that the Masonic Fraternity should definitely make it
impossible for us to be placed again in the humiliating position we
have occupied for more than a year. The challenge to us, and the
opinion of us which I feared did not come from the public. It came
from our own-- our boys in khaki, who knowing our doctrine and our
teachings, but not knowing our discouragements and our trials,
would be prone to ask us why those teachings had not been put into
practice in their behalf. It seemed to me it was time to put on
perpetual record the defense which was ours, and at the same time
to insure our Fraternity against future indictments of like
character, by organizing ourselves so that, in times of emergency,
we might have a National Voice.

And so we met together on that eventful morning of November 26th,
1918. Thirty-six Jurisdictions we represented definitely.
Twenty-two were there in person, represented by about fifty leaders
of the Craft. Fourteen others regretted their inability to come,
but expressed themselves as favorable to action. Influenza kept
many away. But they sent us their good will-- sometimes expressing
their infinite trust in us. Mindful of this trust and of our
responsibilities, we tried to do God's work for Masonry. He had
promised that "where two or three are gathered together in My name,
I will be in their midst and bless them." We believe now that He
kept His promise.

The following is a list of Grand Masters and Representatives who
were present:

Delaware  A. Victor Hughes Grand Master
Florida   T. Picton Warlow     "
Idaho     George Lawler    Past "      of Washington (Rep. Grand  
                                         Master)
Illinois  Austin H. Scrogin     Grand Master
          Arthur M. Millard    President Masonic Employ. Bureau
Iowa      Geo. L. Schoonover   Grand Master
          Newton R. Parvin     Grand Secretary
          Frank S. Moses       Past Grand Master
          Louis Block           "    "     "
          Fred W. Craig         "    "     " and General Grand High 
                                                Priest
          Charles C. Clark      "    "     "
          W. A. Westfall        "  D.G.M.
          Ernest R. Moore       "    "
Louisiana George A. Treadwell   Grand Master
          John A. Davilla       Grand Secretary
          Rudolph Krause        Past Grand Master
Maryland  Chas. C. Homer Jr.    Grand Master
Michigan  Hugh A. McPherson      "     "
          Lou B. Winsor         Grand Secretary
          George L. Lusk        Past Grand Master
          Charles A. Conover    General Grand Secretary General   
                                Grand Chapter
Minnesota Wm. N. Kendrick       Grand Master
          John Fishel           Grand Secretary
          Geo. N. Stowe         Dep. Grand Master
Montana   E. M. Hutchinson      Grand Master
Nebraska  Ambrose C. Epperson   Grand Master
          John A. Ehrhardt      Past Grand Master
          Robert E. Evans       Past Grand Master
New York  Wm. S. Farmer         Grand Master
          Robert Judson Kenworthy  Grand Secretary
          Robert H. Robinson    Dep. Grand Master
          Townsend Scudder      Past Grand Master
          Wm. C. Prime          Rep. G.L. England
North Carolina Henry A. Grady   Dep. Grand Master
North Dakota Henry G. Vick      Grand Master
          Walter L. Stockwell   Grand Secretary
          Capt. Chas. I. Cook   United States Army
Oklahoma  Joseph W. Morris      Grand Master
          Wm. M. Anderson       Grand Secretary
Pennsylvania Louis A. Watres    Past Grand Master
Rhode Island E. Tudor Gross     Grand Master
          Frederick I. Dana     Treas. Masonic War
South Carolina J. L. Michie     Past Grand Master
South Dakota Geo. A. Pettigrew  Grand Master
          C. L. Brockway        Grand Secretary
Tennessee Samuel W. Williams    Past G.H.P.
Utah      Arthur C. Wherry      Senior Grand Warden
Washington George Lawler        PAst Grand Master


The first day was spent in surveying the situation. One after
another the brethren who by fortune of circumstance had been
brought in intimate touch with one or another feature of the
problem spoke to us. It was a day of chastening of spirit. Fact
after fact came out, incontrovertible, proving conclusively that
General Apathy, Selfishness and Disunity were the three assassins
of Masonic accomplishment. To each was charged a portion of the
guilt. If apathy within the Craft was offset to a degree by
selfishness within and without the ranks of our Fraternity, it soon
became apparent that the heavier portion of the blame lay with
Disunity.

Ere the evening session closed, all were convinced that the way of
future accomplishment led to the broad highway of co-operation. To
reach it meant the removal of Disunity. With a sweetness of spirit
eminently characteristic of brethren desiring to dwell together,
this third and most treacherous enemy was done away with. An
organization was declared by unanimous resolution to be the prime
necessity to avoid like complications for all time to come, and a
committee was charged with the responsibility of finding the type
of organization which would at once accomplish the vital needs of
the present and provide a way for like accomplishment for the
future, without interference with the established usages and
customs of the Fraternity, as exemplified by and in our present
Grand Lodge organizations.

There was no dissenting voice when it was suggested that the only
way to meet both of these conditions lay through organization for
Service. Masonic service it should be and must be. And so it came
about that at the afternoon session of the second day there was
presented for consideration in committee of the whole, a proposed
Constitution for the Masonic Service Association of the United
States. The tentative Constitution follows:

THE CEDAR RAPIDS MASONIC CONFERENCE

CONSTITUTION

Whereas, The several Masonic Jurisdictions in the United States of
America have been invited to attend a Conference of Grand Masters
at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on the 26th, 27th and 28th of November,
1918, for the purpose of considering and taking action in respect
of the present war emergency and the opportunity for Masonic
service in connection therewith; and

Whereas, Twenty-two Jurisdictions have responded to said call, and
fourteen Jurisdictions have expressed-their approval, in general
terms, of the purposes of said Conference, and have given assurance
in writing, of their support through their respective Grand
Masters; and

Whereas, It has been made clear to said Conference that the Masonic
Fraternity will be enabled to render more efficient service to
mankind and to fulfill its mission among men by bringing about a
more perfect cooperation among the several Masonic Grand
Jurisdictions of the United States; and

Whereas, It is apparent that there is a pressing need of Masonic
service among the men with the United States forces overseas during
the period following the signing of the armistice and peace and
reconstruction, at home and abroad, the duration of which is wholly
problematical; and

Whereas, The assembled representatives of Grand Lodges have by
their unanimous expression agreed that the need for service is
real; that the opportunity is present and compelling and that they
unanimously desire to participate in and render a more satisfying
service, and that to fail to take some affirmative action in this
matter at this time will lead to irretrievable injury and
impairment of the Fraternity's future usefulness; and

Whereas, It is the sense of this Conference that plans be now
tentatively formulated for effective service wherever and whenever
the opportunity and need to render the same shall be present, said
plans to be submitted to the several Grand Jurisdictions for
consideration and action thereon; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That there be organized the MASONIC SERVICE ASSOCIATION
OF THE UNITED STATES, a voluntary association of Masonic Grand
Jurisdictions of the United States of America, for Service to
Mankind.

All Masonic Jurisdictions of the United States of America shall be
entitled to membership therein on equal footing on expressing their
approval of this constitution and acceptance of the responsibility
and privileges outlined therein. Any member shall be entitled to
withdraw at any time on ninety days' notice, provided it shall have
complied with all of its assumed obligations. Such notice shall be
delivered by registered mail to the Secretary at his post office
address.

OBJECT
The object of the Association shall be the Service of Mankind
through education, enlightenment, financial relief and Masonic
visitation, particularly in times of disaster and distress, whether
caused by war, pestilence, famine, fire, flood, earthquake or other
calamity; and presently and immediately ministering to, cherishing,
comforting and relieving the members of the Fraternity, their
dependents and others engaged in the United States forces, in the
present great war, wherever they may be stationed and upon whatever
duties engaged in the service.

ADMINISTRATION

For the purpose of administration the United States is divided into
departments as follows:

NEW ENGLAND DIVISION
Connecticut 
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Vermont

CENTRAL DIVISION:
Arkansas
Kansas
Kentucky
Missouri
Oklahoma
Tennessee

NORTH ATLANTIC DIVISION: CORN BELT DIVISION
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Iowa
Minnesota
Nebraska
North Dakota
South Dakota

SOUTH ATLANTIC DIVISION
Delaware
District of Columbia
Maryland
North Carolina
South Carolina
Virginia
West Virginia

GULF DIVISION:
Alabama
Florida
Georgia
Louisiana
Mississippi

GREAT LAKES DIVISION:
Ohio
Illinois
Indiana
Michigan
Wisconsin

NORTH PACIFIC DIVISION:
Idaho
Montana
Oregon
Washington
Wyoming

SOUTH PACIFIC DIVISION:

California
Colorado
Nevada
Utah

SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION:
Arizona
New Mexico
Texas

Upon the occurrence of a disaster of greater magnitude than a local
calamity, the Grand Masters of the several Grand Jurisdictions
within the department, in which the said disaster shall occur,
shall appoint a committee to survey the need, appraise it and
report forthwith its findings to the department. The department
shall thereupon take action on the report of the committee to the
end that the fund necessary shall be provided and properly
disbursed.

The Association may enter into correspondence and affiliation with
similar agencies in other lands or under other governments, the
better to teach the Fatherhood of God, and to promote the
Brotherhood of Man.

The powers and duties of the Association may be enlarged or
curtailed from time to time; but no member shall be bound thereby
without its express assent.

Each department shall meet annually on a date and at a place to be
fixed by it; or oftener if it shall so determine. A meeting may he
called at any time on the request of three Grand Jurisdictions. A
general meeting, of all departments. shall be held triennially on
the eleventh day of November, or oftener on the call of ten Grand
Jurisdictions. Notices of the time, place and object of the
meetings shall be issued by the Secretaries.

At each meeting, departmental or general, a presiding officer shall
be elected by ballot, for the purposes of the meeting. Each
department shall select a Secretary whose duties shall be to keep
the records and attend to the correspondence of the department.

The sole officer of the Association shall be the Secretary who
shall be selected at the general meeting, or during the pleasure of
the Association, and his functions shall be purely clerical.

Realizing also that there must be some practical way of knitting
together the immediate efforts to vitalize the New York Plan, as
well as of getting the principles embodied in the above
Constitution before the several Grand Lodges of the United States,
and having them interpreted in the spirit in which they were
adopted, an Executive Commission was authorized to perform these
important duties, in the following resolution:

Resolved, That in order to carry out and effectuate the objects
specified in the Constitution this day adopted, and for the purpose
of meeting the instant need of service to the soldiers and sailors
overseas, a Commission of fifteen be appointed with Grand Master
Schoonover of Iowa as chairman thereof; said Commission to be
selected as far as possible according to their geographical
situation; which Commission shall have in charge the entire work
contemplated in said Constitution, in respect to the men engaged in
overseas duty.

Resolved Further, That the said Commission be authorized to enter
into immediate correspondence with the several Grand Jurisdictions
here represented, and with those who shall hereafter adopt said
Constitution; and, in a general way, exercise the functions of an
administrative body, until such time as a set of by-laws may be
adopted by said Association.

Resolved Further, That this Commission be known and designated as
"The Executive Commission of the Masonic Service Association of the
United States."
Of the fifteen members of the Commission, ten have already been
appointed, the naming of the rest being dependent upon future
developments. Besides the chairman, Past Grand Master Townsend
Scudder of New York is named as the Overseas Commissioner, in
charge of all activities deemed advisable on the other side, and
the following brethren:

George L. Schoonover, Grand Master, Iowa, Chairman;
Robert Judson Kenworthy, Grand Secretary, New York; 
Hugh A. McPherson, Grand Master, Michigan;
A.C. Wherry, Senior Grand Warden, Utah;
Charles C. Homer, Jr., Grand Master, Maryland; 
E. Tudor Gross, Grand Master, Rhode Island;
Walter L. Stockwell, Grand Secretary, North Dakota; 
George A. Treadwell, Grand Master, Louisiana;
T. Picton Warlow, Grand Master, Florida;
George Lawler, Past Grand Master, Washington.

Of the spirit of exaltation which pervaded the Conference, from its
beginning to its end, little can be told in cold type. Iowa
welcomed the delegates in the spirit of "The Rose of Sharon," which
was sung by the Consistory Quartette. It became the official song
of the Conference, and was sung over and over again. When the first
informal vote was taken upon a resolution which denoted action, and
was in fact the first indication of the sentiments of the men there
gathered, every hand was raised in the affirmative. Applause grew
into cheers, while strong men wept, their quivering lips
restraining tongues that could not cheer. The vote taken upon the
tentative Constitution to be presented to the Grand Lodges for
their action was likewise unanimous, the roll call being by States.
A declaration to that effect was greeted by the entire Conference,
without suggestion, rising to sing America. And again the tears
mingled with the cheers. It may be truthfully said that not a
single hour of any session but was characterized by cheers and
tears. The spirit of exaltation never left the conference room. Not
a word was spoken in rancor. The Spirit of Brotherhood was never
more present at any gathering. Every one weighed his words,
conscious of the responsibility resting upon him. Only one story
was told during the entire sessions, and that dealt with George
Washington's position in the constitutional convention. Always the
atmosphere was electrical, with a gentleness and consideration
given to every speaker; his humor was appreciated, his
broad-mindedness conceded, his earnestness and sincerity taken for
granted. In a word, to have been privileged to sit in this
gathering was to be allowed a glimpse into Utopia.

The action of the Conference was wholly informal, resting upon no
buttress of law, and everyone knew it. No pretense was made that
the action taken was binding upon any Grand Jurisdiction until that
Jurisdiction chose to make it so. The individuals simply gave
expression to a unanimous opinion that Masonry ought to consider
the line of action indicated, and if deemed reasonable and wise, it
ought to act upon it. There the matter was left, each Brother
present binding himself to go forth and interpret the action to his
own Grand Lodge in the spirit of the Conference.

It is interesting to note that the Grand Lodge of Georgia, which
was holding its annual communication at the same time as the
Conference, consequently having no delegates present, but which had
been apprised of the subjects to be discussed, sent the following
telegram:

"Grand Lodge closed today. Endorsed your convention unreservedly.
Authorized Grand Master to appropriate funds needed."

The Grand Lodge of Texas, meeting the week following the
Conference, took action substantially after the same manner,
arranging also for the official attendance of its delegates at the
meeting to be held in November, 1919, providing a sufficient number
of Jurisdictions approve the action taken at the Conference so that
a working organization is assured.

Likewise the Grand Lodges of Alabama and South Carolina have
endorsed the project.

The first triennial meeting of the Masonic Service Association, if
said organization is approved by 15 or more Jurisdictions after all
have had opportunity, will be held on Liberty Day, November 11,
1919, as proposed in the tentative constitution.

Thus is formally presented to the Craft an opportunity to ally
itself for any mission of mercy that may occur. Education and
enlightenment, as provided for in the objects listed, should go a
long way toward unity of thought and action in the directions which
are the basic and fundamental purposes of the Institution. I do not
personally believe that an alliance of our Grand Lodges after this
manner, permitting the voice of brotherhood to be raised in time of
need and the hand of mercy to be extended when men suffer, can be
considered unmasonic by any Grand Jurisdiction. I do not believe
that, if our action is properly understood and interpreted, there
is any Mason in America who will not be willing and anxious that he
may help to support it. Control by law is not intended or expected-
- the Conference unanimously passed a resolution that "nothing in
the formation of this organization shall be construed as a move
toward the organization of a National Grand Lodge." Opportunity is
afforded, however, for fraternal intercourse of the warmest and
most intimate kind, and in time of emergency, the Voice of Masonry
may speak, and action may be had in an organized way, for the
amelioration of distress.

That the Craft will accept the opportunity tendered to them in the
spirit which governed the Conference itself, is all that can be
expected, for that spirit was ideal. Those who participated do not
believe that the Voice of Masonry, raised in behalf of a
humanitarian service will be a harsh, discordant voice. They
believe that it will be expressive of all the gentleness and
altruism embodied in the spirits of its votaries, and they are not
afraid of the result.

To summarize the spirit and the attitude of the Conference, and to
make its action fit into the history of American Masonry in what I
believe to be its proper niche, one needs but to quote the words of
Brother Edwin Markham:

"He drew a circle that shut me out, 
Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to flout;
But love and I had the wit to win;
We drew a circle that took him in!"


I NEED NOT FEAR

If I live a life that is clean and square
And love my fellow man,
And lend him a hand to help him bear
His burden whenever I can,
I need not fear what the future holds,
Nor what the reward shall be,
For the mighty love that all enfolds
Will most surely care for me.

If I speak a word of good cheer to one
Whose sorrows have borne him down,
And I give him new hope to journey on
And change to a smile his frown,
I shall not dread when the shadows fall
And the end of life draws near,
For that wondrous love that shelters all
Will drive away my fear.

For my life is measured by what I mete,
And I earn my own reward,
So the love I give makes my heart complete,
And through it I gain the reward.
For whether I dwell in a house by the road
Or far from the haunts of men,
If only my love makes bright the abode
No fear shall enter it then.
--Author Unknown.

THE RED CROSS COMES
BY JEANNE: JUDSON

Lest we forget the simple joys, 
The kindly thoughts, the human tears, 
The harmless laughter and the song, 
We knew in other happier years, 
Lest we grow hard, and cruel and cold, 
And being young, our hearts are old, 
Held in the grasp of death undied, 
The Red Cross comes to fill again, 
The cup of mercy long since spilled; 
Bids in our hearts the birds to sing, 
Reviving joy that anger killed.

