
                                   Fraternal  Review
Editor - Ralph A. Herbold



No. 675

7-15-93

FEDERAL JUDGES
James A. Zimmerman, Grand Master, in the April 1993 Wisconsin Masonic Journal,
passed along information from the Grand Master's Conference that included:

The Committee on Codes of Conduct of the Judicial Conference of the United
States has advised the Honorable Charles R. Richey, United States District
Judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, that
membership in the Masonic family of fraternal organizations is appropriate for
Federal Judges.

This advice was based on the submission by Judge Richey of the Declaration of
Principles promulgated by the Supreme Council, 33 degree, Southern Jurisdiction,
U.S.A., and what a wonderful job they did.  We are so thankful.

BENEFITS OF FREEMASONRY
Bill Martin, in "What's In It For Me?" in the March 1993 New Jersey Freemason,
told of the tangible benefits of being a Freemason:

Improved Public Speaking - Many people have a fear of public speaking.  From
examination to lectures, we make men get up and speak from prepared text. I
know of people who have taken expensive courses and still don't have the
confidence that I have seen men acquire in the Lodge.

Improved Memory and Vocabulary - Again the ritual grows on you.  The more times
that you listen, the more these words creep into your everyday speech.  If you
begin to memorize the ritual, you open parts of the mind that we no longer use
in the computer age.

Increased Knowledge - The very nature of our fraternity seems to make us all
historians.  We base eveything on historical events or time periods.  And with
so many famous men having either been in the fraternity or written about it
right up to the present day there is much for an inquisitive mind to learn.

Networking - This was a phrase thrown around quite a bit in the past decade.
It isn't what you know, but who.  Masonry is the oldest form of networking.
Our association with the fraternity brings us into association with people that
we might never had reason to be with.  This gives us an opportunity to get
advice from a realiable source, or at least one you are familiar with.

Those are just a few of the tangible reasons.  For the most part they cause the
intangible.  Masons are usually successful in business.  For years it was
assumed that this was because they had "brothers" in key places.  The truth
then is the same as now.  Anybody willing to give time to better himself and his
fellow man is going to work harder at everything.  He is used to sacrificing his
time to get the job done right.  The Mason is articulate and able to handle any
situation.  Men who have served as Master are used to handling crises and
changes on a moment's notice.  All Masons meet challenges at the various fund
raising and social events that we run, be it for their Lodge or an appendant
body.

And so we come to the final answer.  Masonry makes good men better by giving
them a chance to experience parts of life without causing permanant harm to
themselves.  As a Past District Deputy once said, "We can't fire you, can't
take money away from you, all we ask is that you try your best."  And isn't that
all we really ask of our brothers?

ROYAL ARCH
Excerpts from "Texas Vs. General Grand Chapter" by Tom Noble in the Spring 1993
The Texas Mason:

In 1841 representatives of four Chapters, one, San Feline de Austin, holding a
charter from the General Grand Chapter, the other three dispensations from the
Grand Lodge of Texas.  San Feline de Austin refused to sign the Constitution.

In 1847 the General Grand Chapter adopted a resolution forbidding Royal Arch
Masons form holding intercourse with the Grand Chapter of Texas which, in 1849
dissolved and turned all assets over the the Grand Lodge of Texas.

In 1850 seven Chapters, one with a Charter and six under dispensation from the
General Grand Chapter, formed a Grand Chapter.  Unhappy with the General Grand
Chapter they withdrew in 1857.  Uniting was brought up, the last time in 1943,
but Texas stayed where it was.

MASONIC EDUCATION
Masonic education is apparently big business in Pennsylvania, witness this
report in the May 1993 Pennsylvania Freemason:

The Office of Masonic Education of the Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic
Education has been given new and enlarged offices on the first floor of the
Temple, One North Broad Street, Philadelphia.  The new office facilities
include a Masonic Awareness Room, which contains informative materials about
the Fraternity, continuously running video tapes on Grand Master Fowler's Hiram
I Program, and other Masonic topics that are available to the public and to
Brethren who visit the Temple.  Mrs. Joanne Ford, Administrative Assistant,
will be able to serve the Fraternity better from her new office.  A small
meeting room has been established for the Masonic Education Committee.  A large
distribution room has been set up to handle the high volume of educational
materials that are distributed to the Lodges.  (Sounds like my garage)

COLLECTORS
The December 1992 Masonic Philatelist had information on Masonicalia Society of
Alberta, P.O. Box 4271, Station C, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2T 5NI, and you
can contact Tom Hargreaves at this address for luther information.

Comprised of collectors of Masonic related artwork, books, gadgets, jewels,
ornaments, photographs, regalia, stamps, summonses, tokens, furniture, etc.,
with focus on collecting, study of items and dissemination of information, and
safeguarding and preservation of such collectibles.


