             PERSONAL GRIPES -- PUNY AND JUMBO           x
                From the Executive Secretary

    The receipt of addresses without zip codes is
frustrating. It takes an enormous amount of time to look
them up. In February 1967 the Editor of The Philalethes,
John Black Vrooman, reminded his readers that no copies of
the magazine could be mailed without a zip code. And that
was four years after the postal service had asked for
cooperation! Shouldn't we have learned something in 25
years?

    Why do men scribble their names so secretaries and
others can't decipher them? I've heard men claim a scribbled
signature indicates how affluent a person is. Maybe! These
men become particularly violent and abusive when they
receive anything with their names misspelled. I know of
secretaries, and others, who toss such scribbling into the
round file immediately -- and they have my applause. There
is absolutely no excuse for such nonsense. Far, far too
often I receive applications for membership that can't be
deciphered.

    Then there are those folks who never change a typewriter
(or printer) ribbon. Their letters consist of broken spaces
or letters that can't be deciphered.

    Frequently I'll receive requests for information with no
return address on the letter. Often there's no return
address on the envelope either. Our foreign Brethren are
famous for this. Evidently they trust their postal service
much more than Americans do.

    It's disturbing to read books, articles, letters, and so
on from otherwise learned men who don't know "masons" are
workers in the honorable stone and brick trade. On the other
hand, "Masons," or preferably, "Freemasons," are members of
the oldest and greatest fraternal association in the world.
This error might be excusable for the uninitiated but
certainly not for a member of the Craft (not "craft").

    Example: Our brethren of yesteryear worked in the mason
trade and met in buildings called lodges. They were called
operative masons and worked with their hands as well as
their minds. At some period in the 14th century they were
termed "freemasons," or in some quarters, "Free masons." Our
Brethren today are Speculative Masons, who build "spiritual
buildings" rather than actual edifices. Today Freemasons
meet in groups and their meeting places are called Lodges.
Although "Freemason" is the actual term for a member of
"Freemasonry," common usage has made "Mason" (but NOT
"mason") and "Masonry" (but NOT "masonry") acceptable. The
capital "M" makes the difference in what we're saying.
Doesn't this make sense?

    Incidentally, the word is Masonry or Freemasonry, NOT
    Masonary.

    It's possible to accept a lower case letter for "lodge";
"fraternity"; "association"; or "organization" when writing
about Freemasonry, although in most cases it would be better
to capitalize them to set the Fraternity apart.

    Today there are no such words correctly associated with
the Craft as Free Mason or Free Masonry. The two words
actually mean little until they are joined.

    We still have writers who don't know how to spell and at
least be somewhat grammatically accurate. Our educational
system for years has promoted this evil. I don't count
letter-writers in this group.

    Frequently we must alter our thinking, our writing, our
words, but the altar at which we took our obligations
remains unalterable. Yet we far too often find writers
telling us we took our obligations at an altEr instead of an
altAr. Around this altAr stood our Brethren, not our
Brethern. The former, BrethREN, is correct; who the brethERN
are is unknown.

    Then there are writers who submit articles for possible
publication on odd sized paper, or write in longhand. The
opportunities for errors are always with us. This sort of
writing increases the opportunity for mischief enormously.
No would-be writer should be without access to a typewriter,
or preferably, a computer printer.

    Why would "writers" steal the phrases of others and use
them as their own? How many names have been attached to the
writings of Joseph Fort Newton and a few other Masonic
authors? There's no excuse for theft and that's what
plagiarism is.

    How prevalent is complete incompetence? Rarely does one
find a sales clerk who has been properly trained to be of
service to customers. Too seldom is a caller directed to the
proper problem solver. Actually, try to find a problem
solver any more! Courtesy and helpfulness appear to have
disappeared from our dictionaries. Isn't this far too true
everywhere, including Freemasonry?

    Over the centuries it appears we have learned but little
in this "people business" in which Freemasonry should excel.
Men are still appointed to important positions who have no
knowledge about what they are supposed to do. And little or
no training is available for them. "The good ole boy"
network continues to run rampant.

    Doesn't it disturb you to find thousands of Freemasons
who have been given the titles of "Worshipful," "Right
Worshipful," and "Most Worshipful" who never earn them?

    How many good men haven't petitioned a Masonic Lodge
because of the lies spread by anti-Masonic preachers and
writers? Why do intelligent men believe the lies of the
Mason-haters? Could it be because, like the proverbial
ostrich, the leaders of Freemasonry choose to bury their
heads in the sand and say "this, too, shall pass away"?
Hitler wasn't the first, but he certainly proved a lie told
often enough will be accepted as truth, especially if the
truth is buried by otherwise perceptive men.

    Why does Freemasonry continue to re-invent the wheel
rather than improve on it? Could it be because we don't know
what has been proposed, and is being proposed, even in our
own jurisdictions? Is it because Conferences are constantly
held but information not disseminated? Wouldn't it be wise
for the Grand Lodges to organize a clearing house to
coordinate the Masonic knowledge available, then distribute
it to those who need to know?

    Isn't it disturbing to find appendant bodies, whose
lives depend on the strength of Ancient Craft Masonry,
ignoring our Lodges and Grand Lodges? How long will our
Grand Lodges accept this arrogance?

    The list can go on, but let's chew on these few tidbits
    for now.

                                                           Your
                                                         Servant
                                                         Allen
                                                         E.
                                                         Roberts
