			GEORGE WASHINGTON VISIT
				TO A BLUE LODGE

*** <At outer door>
JD  <Announces> WM, there is an alarm at the outer door 
		<attends to it, and reports>:
	Our invited guest, General and Brother, 
		George Washington is without, properly clothed, 
			and desires admission.
	WM--Admit him.

GW--Enters, clad in a Colonial wig, jacket and breeches, and
carrying a surveyor's transit or level and bag of tools 
(hatchet, pocket knife, plumb, transit plumb, chain).  The 
lodge can be dark except for the G, great lights, and 
candles or hurricane lamps E, W & S.  JW, SW, WM & 
Sideliner are players--their lines are in italics.  
(Note--GW  was customarily addressed as 'General.')

WM <sign>, Brothers--Thank you for inviting me to speak in 
		Lodge today.
You may have heard me say before, I would rather 
	persevere in my duty, and remain silent;
		but you have asked me to speak on Freemasonry,
			an institution to which I am attached.
What I would like to talk to you about is from my own 
		experience, that is,
	how my life as a surveyor when I was young
		helped me to understand Masonry.

When my father died, he bequeathed to me his surveying
		instruments.
	I began surveying in 1745, when I was 13 years old.  
In 1748, when I was 16, I was invited to join a party 
		surveying the lands of Lord Fairfax.
	I worked first as a rodman, later as a chainman and 
		then as surveyor.
	We slept in our clothes under the stars, 
		and often had to forage for our victuals.
That winter, I studied surveying, and in 1749,
	I was commissioned the surveyor for Culpeper County.
		That year I conducted over 200 surveys.
My life as a surveyor taught me how a soldier 
		can survive in the wilderness;
			it also helped prepare me for Freemasonry.

I was initiated an entered apprentice in 1752, at age 20, 
		and passed and raised in 1753, 
			just after my 21st birthday.
<Optional--begin here >
WM, if I may inquire of your SW:  BSW--how many compose a 
		Master Masons Lodge?
	SW--Three or more.
When composed of only three, who are they?
	SW--The W.M., S. and J.W.s.
A survey crew is also composed of three or more--
	when composed of only three, they are the surveyor,
		chainman and rodman.
These stations of surveying have some similarity to the 
	Master and Wardens of a lodge,
		especially because of their working tools.
	Let me illustrate.  

<Looks in bag and takes out tools.> 
	I thought I had a plumb with me.
		Is there, by chance, a plumb in the Lodge?
	<Sideliner--Look to the south>
Of course!  The JW.  BJW, have you ever worked as a 
		surveyor?
	JW--Yes I have, General.  I have surveyed on my farm.
Good, BJW.  Would you please step down and assist me 
		as the rodman?
BJW, here are your tools for working as a rodman 
	<gives them to him>, a chain, an ax or hatchet, and, 
		see if there isn't a plumb in that bag.
	JW--Here it is!. 

Good.  What are the tasks a rodman performs on a survey
		crew?
	JW--A rodman's job is to walk through forest and field, 
		to the next survey point, 
			dragging the chain with him.

What does he do with the hatchet?
	JW--He uses an ax or hatchet to clear a line of sight 
		for the surveyor, from the surveying instrument 
			to the next survey point.
	<Sideliner>  Is that the Cherry Tree hatchet?
Did someone say "cherry tree"?  No, THIS is not THAT 
		hatchet!
	I just don't know how that story about the cherry tree 
		got started.
	Cynics say that as a boy, I was so backward, so 
		ignorant of the commonest accomplishment of youth,
			that I couldn't even lie.
	Of course, we Masons know that truth is the great 
		object of Masonic study!

This tool may be of more interest to you.  <displays>
	This pocket knife was given to me by my Mother, 
		as a reward for not running off and joining ... 
			King George's Navy!

Brother Rodman, after you clear a line of sight to the next 
		survey point, what do you do?
	JW--I help to locate the survey point, 
		under the direction of the surveyor.
What tool do you use to locate the point, Brother Rodman? 
	JW--A  plumb-bob.
WM, may our Brother Rodman approach the dais?  <WM assents>
	The surveyor then directs the rodman where to position 
		the plumb line, using hand signals. 
			<Locates point.>
What do you do next, Brother Rodman?
	JW--I mark the spot left by the tip of the plumb 
		in the dirt, using a stake or nail; 
			then I place the measuring rod on the point,
				and the surveyor reads and notes the 
					elevation.

Brother Rodman, how do operative Masons use a plumb?
	JW--To try perpendiculars.
Exactly.  And that is how a rodman uses the plumb.
	A plumb line is an absolute--there is no such thing as 
		"almost plumb", or if there is, it is a mistake;
				the higher an almost-plumb wall gets, 
					the more sure it is to topple.
We Free and Accepted Masons are taught to use the plumb 
	for a more noble purpose--
		Brother Rodman, what does the plumb teach us?
	JW--To walk uprightly before God and man.

My Brothers, the plumb-bob is a Biblical instrument--
	We read in the Book of Amos that the Lord said:
		"Behold, and I will set a plumb line in the midst
			of my people Israel ...."
In imitation of that, we can cast a plumb line in this 
		lodge.
WM, would you please raise the Brethren?      
	<WM--***>
		Brother Rodman, would you please set a plumb line. 
			<JW casts plumb line>
Brothers, as the plumb finds its perpendicular, 
		we see manifested in this lodge the power
			of the Great Architect of the Universe.
<GW drops his hand to signal setting the point.> Amen. 
	<WM--*>

Brother Rodman, what do we do next?  
	JW--We measure the line, General.
Brother Rodman, hold the head of the chain over the new 
		survey point, using the plumb. <Done>
The surveyor holds the end chain over the old point.  <Done>
	The chainman then ensures that the chain is level, 
		using ...a level!

<Looks in bag>  Is there a level in the Lodge?
	<Sideliner> Look to the West.
Yes!  The SW!  Of course!  BSW, have you ever worked as a 
		surveyor?
	SW--Yes I have, General.  I have surveyed in the 
		wilderness and laid out city streets 
Very good, sir.  Please assist me as Chainman. 
		<GW escorts him to the midpoint of the chain.>

Brother Chainman, what is your job when we take the 
		measurement?
	SW--When the line is plumb over the new survey point,
			the Rodman shouts "plumb".
		I then tell him and the Surveyor which end of the 
			chain to raise or lower,
 			and when the chain is level, I shout "level".
Excellent!  Let us measure.	 <They level the chain and 
		measure the distance.>

Brother Chainman, how do operative Masons use a level?
	SW--To prove horizontals.
Yes!  And that is how a chainman uses the level.
		The level, like the plumb, is an absolute.
			There is no such thing as "almost level", 
				or if there is, it is a mistake. 

The level is not mentioned in the Sacred Writings.
		It is not a Biblical instrument.
But you can see, from how the Chainman uses the level,
		he suspends it like a plumb-bob,
			that the level is educed, or derived, 
				from the plumb.

Brother Chainman, how should Masons meet? 
	SW--On the level.
Brothers, this concludes our field work for the day.
		Brother Rodman, please meet us on the level, 
			and bring that chain with you.
	<Begins escorting SW and JW to their stations.>

Brothers, what does that mean, to meet on the level?
	In the late war, I remember visiting Cambridge Lodge, 
		where the WM was an Orderly-Sergeant,
			while officers occupied some of the stations
				and places in the Lodge.
In the battalion, the sergeant was a sergeant,
	and the officers were officers,
		but in the Lodge they met as Masons, on the level.
	The Orderly Sergeant, of course, 
		was given all the respect due a WM.

Another example of meeting on the level is in our 
	Constitution, where it prohibits titles of nobility.
		The citizens of our Republic should also 
			meet on the level.
Speaking of titles of nobility, you may have heard the rumor
	(I hear it attributed to our Brother,
		Alexander Hamilton), that I should be made King!
	Can you imagine that?  We just divested ourselves 
		of one King George, and now they want me to be ...
			another ... King ... George!

After the surveyor runs his lines for the day, 
	he goes to his office or field desk, reviews his notes,
		draws his plats, and plans the next day's work,
			using a square.
I need a square!  Is there a square in the Lodge?  
	<Sideliner>  Look to the East.
Yes! The WM!  WM, have you ever worked in surveying?
	WM--Yes I have, General.  I surveyed with the Artillery 
		during the late war.

Excellent.  WM, how do operative Masons use a square?
	WM--To square a rough ashlar, or unite a building.
You can see how an Apprentice uses a plumb, 
		he merely suspends it, that it is easy to use.
	The level requires more skill; 
		a Fellow of  the Craft must align two planes.
	The square is most complex.  In uniting a building,
		testing whether two walls and a floor are proper,
			a Master Mason must align three planes,
				in three dimensions.

W.M., what is the square a symbol of? 
	WM--Morality.
Yes!  W.M., if you would lift your square by its apex, 
	so that its ends point upwards,
		you can see why we emblematically call it 
			the Square of Virtue. <WM demonstrates>
WM, how does the Master of a lodge use a square?
	WM--To lay out the designs on the trestle-board.
Yes!  And that is how a surveyor uses a square. 
	The square is also a symbol of planning and leadership.
From the insight of the plumb, to walk uprightly,
	we derive the outlook of the level,
		   the equality of men before the Supreme
			Architect of the Universe.

When you add the power of the plumb, a vertical line,
	and the work of the level, a horizontal line 
		<demonstrates with hands>, you get a square,
			the symbol of morality and leadership.

I was taught that the square is so important a symbol 
	to Freemasonry, that all Masonic due-guards 
		are given upon three squares. 
			<demonstrates; omit paragraph if untiled>

Thus, the surveyor and the operative Mason both use 
	the plumb, the level and the square.
So you can see how my life as a surveyor, when I was young,
		helped me to understand Freemasonry.  
	<Packs up tools.>

<Optional ending.>
Nowadays, some Ministers are saying that Freemasonry 
		is a religion!  Can you imagine that? 
	Consider the symbols of Masonry--
		the plumb, the level, the square ... the trowel--
			are these the symbols of a religion?  No sir!
	When I go for religion, it is over to Christ Church, 
		at Alexandria.

Freemasonry is not a religion, it is a philosophy, 
		based on natural law.
	What is natural law?  
		Lucretius would say, it is The Nature of Things.
Natural law is based on the Sacred Writings, of course,
	but also on literature, belles letters, science
		and <points, but omit if untiled> ... mathematics.

An example of natural law is in our Declaration of 
	Independence, where it refers to 
		"the laws of Nature and of Nature's God":
	"We hold these truths to be self evident, 
		that all men are created equal--
			that they are endowed by their creator
				with certain inalienable rights."

No sir, Freemasonry is not a religion,
		it is a philosophy of natural law,
			based on the ancient, applied science 
				of stonemasons.
	It is an austere philosophy, but one satisfying to men,
		going back to a time from which the mind of man 
			runneth not to the contrary.

Worshipful Master, Brothers, thank you for inviting me to 
		speak in Lodge today.
	It is always a pleasure for me to meet in Lodge with my 
		Masonic Brethren.
 <Sign, exit.>
						#


Will G. Crocket, W.M., Centennial Lodge No. 47, Carson City, 
Nevada, 1993.  Intended for use in the blue lodge.  Comments 
and suggestions can be sent to 2445 Trentham Way, Reno, NV  
89509-2351, (702) 348-0591.  Rev. 11-30-94.

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