
               From the Virginia Masonic Herald October, 1989
          
          
          
                             FROM THE GRAND EAST
                           M.W. Cabell F. Cobbs
               Grand Master  Grand Lodge A.F & A.M. Of Virginia

            Recently, it was necessary to set aside the ballot in a
         Northern Virginia Lodge and order the acceptance of a black
         petitioner who met every moral and character test for
         admission in the Lodge and Craft.  Brethren who had voted
         adversely to him both inside and outside Lodge declared that
         their rejection was motivated by racism.
          
            On appeal by the Worshipful Master, I personally
         investigated the matter, set aside the law and directed a
         reballot.  I attended the stated communication at which the
         petition was once more called up for action.  No one present
         other than the vouchers and the investigating committee knew
         the petitioner.  The committee report was favorable.  I called
         upon anyone present to give any reason for the rejection of
         this man - - an officer in our armed forces, a Sunday School
         teacher in a large white church and a man whose probity
         seemed beyond question.  No reason was forthcoming.  Once
         again, he was rejected, and it was clear the sole reason was
         his color.  Accordingly, I again set the ballot aside and
         directed the Secretary to record the individual's election to
         receive the degrees in Masonry.  On August 7, he was initiated
         an Entered Apprentice in the presence of some seventy
         Brethren and now is being instructed on his catechism.
          
            Our ballot is both secret and sacred, and I regard it as
         such.  But when it is deliberately cast, not for reasons of
         morality or fitness, but as a tool of bigotry and prejudice,
         the ballot looses its sacred character and is properly
         subject to cancellation.  Here, it was evident it had been so
         misused.
          
            As we approach the ballot box, we each make our dueguard
         to remind ourselves of our Masonic obligations, the
         seriousness of our vote and the principles by which we, as
         RAISED men, have voluntarily elected to be governed.
          
            First and foremost among these tenets is BROTHERLY LOVE,
         and by its exercise, our beautiful ritual declares:
          
              "...we are taught to regard the whole human species as
         one common family - the high, the low, the rich and poor, who
         as created by one Almighty Parent, are sent into the world
         to aid, support and protect each other. On this principal,
         Freemasonry unites men of every country, sect, and opinion,
         and conciliates true friendship among those who might otherwise
         remain at a perpetual distance."
          
            If brotherly love has any vitality; if our teachings are
         meaningful to us; if hypocrisy and deceit are truly unknown
         among us, then racism can play no part in our balloting.  The
         blackball cannot be used as a shield behind which to hide our
         prejudices, our petty quarrels, or that splenetic hatred
         which seems so often to infect our deliberative processes.  On
         the other hand, if we merely intend to pay lip service to the
         tenets of our profession and to make the noble works of our
         ritual a meaningless recitation, then we will neither
         survive, nor deserve to survive.
          
            Many Brethren disagree.  They look upon the ballot as a
         sword with which to strike out at supposed enemies, an
         instrument of retribution against those at whom they are
         angered, and as a say of secretly evening the score against
         some unsuspecting Brother.  Thus, we have seen Lodges in which
         every candidate is blackballed - sometimes for years; Lodges
         in which some old curmudgeon seeks either to have his
         way or to punish a supposed transgression by blackballing
         innocent persons.  Of course, he always lets the Lodge know
         what he is doing!  It is no fun unless everyone is aware of
         why the blackball is cast.  And that is the case here, how
         many Brethren we have who do not seem to have the least
         knowledge or attachment to the principles of our Order!
          
            If the foregoing does not satisfy these Brethren (And I do
         not expect it will), then let me state that Federal law
         prohibits a tax-exempt organization from discriminating
         against applicants on the grounds of race, color, or creed.
         We are such an organization and, if we lose our tax-exempt
         status, our Masonic Home, our Grand Lodge, our Lodges, and
         all our income, be it from dues, donations, or what have
         you, will be subjected to taxation.  The Home's Endowment
         presently stands at $22,000,000, its physical plant in the
         tens of millions, our Grand Lodge in the millions, and the
         buildings, etc. of our various subordinate Lodges in the
         hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions.
          
            Loss of our tax-exemptions would be ruinous, and I will
         not risk it happening in order to pander to the prejudices of
         a few.  If, therefor, one cannot accept my setting aside the
         ballot adverse to a black petitioner on the grounds of
         Freemasonry's universal brotherhood, then let him accept it on
         the basis of Federal law and the stringent penalties to be
         incurred if discrimination is permitted.  Take your choice,
         either way, the evidence of discrimination was apparent.  My
         duty was clear, and whenever is established that the
         ballot is being so grossly misused, I shall not hesitate to
         set it aside.