Chapter 1
PREPARING TO BE MASTER
The greatest honor comes to any brother with his
elevation to the Oriental Chair of a Masonic Lodge. Few
Wardens but look forward with mingled pleasure and
anxiety to that day when in their hands will be placed
the gavel of authority. He who early prepares to be a
Master in more than name only arrives in the seat of
authority with some confidence.
The wise Warden does not wait until elected Master to
become familiar with the official books of his
jurisdiction; the Proceedings of his Grand Lodge; the
book of Masonic law--it has many names, such as Code,
Methodical Digest, Ahiman Rezon, Constitution and
By-laws, etc.; the Manual in which is printed all that
may lawfully be put in type of the ritual and
Ceremonies of the degrees, and most especially the
by-laws of his own Lodge.
PROCEEDINGS
A Master is not only leader of his Lodge, but a member
of Grand Lodge, in which august body he represents his
Lodge. Familiarity with the Grand Lodge procedure,
questions pending, legislation enacted, etc., gives him
a perspective and enables him to act with intelligence
and understanding. In the Proceedings of most (not all)
Grand Lodges is the report of the Committee on Foreign
Correspondence, under which apparently misleading title
an official reviewer summarizes the activities of other
Grand Lodges. The Master who realizes that he is not
only an important cog in his own Masonic machine, but
an integral part of a world-wide Freemasonry, early
grasps the real importance and responsibilities of his
position. Study of the Proceedings gives a perspective
on the activities of Grand Lodge, with special
reference to its charity, whether exercised in Masonic
Home, Orphanage, Hospital, Foundation, outside relief
or other form.
BOOR OF MASONIC LAW
To be Master of a Lodge is quite different from being
president of a club or society. The Master is called
upon to decide questions of law and practice which he
cannot leave to his brethren; the honor of leadership
carries also the responsibility. That his decisions be
wise and just, and of such a character as will draw
commendation, not condemnation, from Grand Master or
District Deputy, he must know the laws of his
Jurisdiction, his own powers and limitations. He can
obtain this knowledge only from a faithful study of the
book of Masonic law.
RITUAL
In some Jurisdictions only the Master may confer the
Master Mason's Degree; in many he may empower either
his officers, a Past Master, or a well qualified
brother to fill the East during the ceremonies of the
three degrees. Never will the Master get the best
cooperation in putting on a degree if he himself cannot
"do the work." The Master who knows his ritual can
lead; he who will not-- or cannot--"learn the work" is
in a poor position to criticize faulty performances by
others. Hence, an early study is important.
The degrees of Freemasonry are among the beautiful
ceremonies of the world. They should be inspiring,
uplifting, heartening, lovely to hear. If they fall
short of perfection the Master is responsible--aye,
even if he have only inefficient helpers, his is the
responsibility.
Both Lodge and Master owe service to those elected to
receive the degrees. The elected candidate has signed
his petition, answered the questions, paid his fees,
stood his investigation, come when called, submitted to
proper preparation. Now his brethren-to-be are so to
induct him into the mysteries that he may desire with
all his heart to become "a good and faithful brother
among us." He is entitled to a degree which will
impress him; he has a right to hear the grand old words
so spoken that they will make a deep and lasting
impression on his mind. What he sees and hears should
convince him of the age, the dignity, the importance,
the solemnity of the Ancient Craft.
All this is a Master's work. The wise Warden lets no
time go by before preparing himself for those busy days
ahead, and regards dignified degrees, well put on, as
important both to Lodge and candidates.
FRIENDS
Few assets are more valuable to a Master than friends.
In Freemasonry, as in the profane world, the art of
making friends is encompassed in one phrase: "to have
friends we must be friendly." Millions of men are so at
heart; cold of exterior from no better cause than
shyness. Many a man wants to extend his hand, wishes to
say a cheery word of greeting, desires with all his
heart to be "one of the fellows" . . . and does not
know how.
Yet it is so simple! For the root of personal shyness
is fear of laughter--and laughter, like thunder, has
yet to hurt anything living ! The shy brother need only
assure himself: "I will not be afraid of something
which cannot hurt me--I will not think my brethren are
more critical of me than I am of them--I will not waste
time and strength wanting and not doing, when to say a
cheery word and put out my hand needs but a muscular
effort!"
Friendliness begets friendliness. The brother who is
cordial will find hands springing out to meet his; will
see smiles begetting smiles: will learn that genuine
interest in a brother produces real interest in him.
The Warden who leaves the West for the East interested
enough to know all regular attendants by name will
enter his year of responsibility with an asset than
which there is no greater for the leader of a Lodge.
Chapter 2
POWERS OF A MASTER
The Master of a Masonic Lodge has more power than the
presiding officer of any secular body. The "rules of
order" under which business is conducted in other
assemblies apply only partially in a Lodge. The by-laws
of a profane organization may enclose a president or
chairman as with stone walls, fetter him as with
chains; in a Masonic Lodge no by-law which restricts
the inherent powers of a Master can be passed, or, if
passed, will be sustained by Grand Master or Grand
Lodge.
A railroad engine is a potent tool for wise use, but
who would ride in a train pulled by a locomotive at the
throttle of which was a ten-year-old child. A book of
matches may kindle the fire which cooks our food or
destroys a forest. A thirty-eight calibre revolver may
defend one's country or commit a murder. Power is
constructive only when used with knowledge. The Master
who does not know his powers cannot use them
intelligently. The Master who knows what he may and may
not lawfully do will lead with wisdom, discretion and
success.
Laws differ in the forty-nine Grand Jurisdictions of
continental United States, but certain powers of a
Master are universally acknowledged. The Master is
responsible only to the Grand Master, the Grand Lodge
(or the Deputy of the Grand Master) for his acts;
consequently he must have full authority and, within
limits, be the ruler of his Lodge. But while Grand
Masters uphold Masters in all lawful exercise of
authority, they are quick to frown upon arbitrary
rulings.
With one or two exceptions, only the Master may call
special communications of his Lodge. In one or two
Jurisdictions the Lodge has power to summons the whole
membership, but these but prove the rule.
No one but the Master may preside over his Lodge, in
his presence (except the Grand Master or his Deputy)
unless by his order.
DEBATE
Masters have full control of debate. A Master may
propose a motion, second it, put it, close discussion,
refuse to put a motion, at his pleasure . . . but let
him think carefully before refusing to put any motion.
If the proposer of the motion which the Master refuses
to put lays the matter before the Grand Master, the
Master must have a good reason or may be convicted of
arbitrary use of his power and disciplined.
During the war an enthusiastic Lodge member moved that
the Lodge sell all its assets and invest in liberty
Bonds. The Master refused to put the motion. The
brother was incensed and complained to the Grand
Master. The Master's reason, that such a drastic
performance should have the advice of the Finance
Committee before Lodge action, the Grand Master thought
excellent. In another Lodge a motion to spend a certain
sum for charitable relief was made. The Master refused
to put the motion. On complaint being made, he stated
that he needed the money for entertainment! The Grand
Master reprimanded him severely for arbitrary refusal
to permit the Lodge to spend its own money on its own
Masonic business. Good reasons for refusing to put a
motion may be: that there is not time enough to discuss
it, when a degree is scheduled with candidate duly
notified and in waiting; that the motion will disturb
the peace and harmony of the Lodge; that the matter
requires the study of a committee before being brought
before the Lodge, etc.
APPEAL
No appeal lies from a Master's decision, either to the
Lodge, to a committee, or to any Past Master. Some
Masters are weak, and afraid they cannot sustain an
unpopular ruling. These have been known to allow some
brother to "appeal to the Lodge" and have then abided
by what the Lodge decided.
This is subversive of the dignity of the Master's
station. It is not John Smith in the Chair who is thus
over-ruled--it is the Master. He is a good Master who
insists on all respect being paid the dignity of the
office. The brother with the gavel is not only John
Smith, but Worshipful ("Worchyp," old English for "greatly respect.") Master. To permit
interference with the ancient usages and customs which
surround the Master's Chair decreases reverence for
tradition.
No motion to "lay on the table," "to postpone, to
adjourn," "to close"; for "unanimous consent for a
brother to speak," for "the previous question" should ever be entertained,
much less put. It is only for the Master to say whether
this subject is to be discussed now or later. The Lodge
is opened and closed at his pleasure (except that he
must not do business at a Stated Communication at an
hour earlier than that stated in the by-laws; some
by-laws in some Jurisdictions provide a stated time f
or a Stated Communication to be opened; in such the
Master should not open before that specified time).
It is for the Master to say who may and who may not
speak. He can be responsible for the "peace and
harmony" of his Lodge only by controlling its
deliberations. But he is also responsible for the
Masonic fairness, charity, courtesy and reasonableness
of his actions; while his brethren may not appeal to
the Lodge for redress for any wrong, real or fancied,
they may appeal to Grand Lodge, Grand Master or
District Deputy Grand Master. Where an appeal is to be
made depends on the law in the particular Grand
Jurisdiction; consult the book of Masonic law to
ascertain.
The appeal, if sustained, may have serious
consequences.
COMMITTEES
The Master has the sole right of appointing committees.
The Lodge may refer a matter to a committee, but may
not name its personnel. Were it otherwise the Lodge
might control the Master, not the Master the Lodge. Too
much care can hardly be exercised in appointing the
personnel of committees and the minor officers. The
sapling of today is the tree of tomorrow; the Master
whose appointments are made with care, forethought and
particular reference to the fitness, by training and
education, of certain brethren for certain positions,
will see his appointees grow to greater and straighter
stature in the years to come.
The Master fills all vacant offices by appointment; if
the Senior Warden is absent, the Junior Warden does
not, of inherent right, assume the West. The Master
sends him there, or puts another brother or Past Master
there, at his pleasure. But if the Master is absent,
the Senior Warden does, by inherent power, occupy the
East for that period; the Junior Warden, in the absence
of both Master and Senior Warden.
MINUTES
The Master may not alter the minutes nor may he spend
Lodge money without consent of the Lodge. (Note: many
Lodges provide a limit in emergency relief to which the
Master may go without authority of the Lodge.) The
Master may refuse to permit minutes which he believes
contain improper-to-be written material to be
confirmed; if any brother insists, it is for Grand
Master or District Deputy to decide. The Master may
decline to put the motion to confirm minutes which he
deems incomplete, but he cannot change the account of
facts so that they state that which is not so.
VISITS
The Master controls who may enter and who may leave the
Lodge. There is a vast difference here between power
and right. The Master has the power to refuse to open
the door to any one--member or visitor (except the
Grand Master or his Deputy). But he must have excellent
reasons or subject himself to discipline. How far the
"right of visitation" extends is still a moot point.
Here the local law upon the subject will probably be
explicit. In some Jurisdictions the visitor must be
admitted (supposing him to be vouched for or passing a
proper examination) unless some member objects; in
others the matter is left wholly to the Master. The
Master would run a risk of complaint should he admit a
visitor with whom some member objected to sit.
The Master who is conciliatory, smiling, friendly and
peaceable; who refuses to take offense; who does not
exercise his great power unless he must; who rules
justly, governing with brotherly love, and who believes
that the dignity of his office is best upheld by that
"harmony" which is the "strength and support of all
well regulated institutions" is wise and successful.
Chapter 3
DUTIES OF A MASTER
Numerous and diversified, a catalog might easily be a
fear-inspiring document! But with determination to do,
and interest in accomplishment, difficulties smooth
themselves away and the multiplicity of duties becomes
a pleasant experience.
The duties of a Master may be summarized as: duty to
the Lodge, duty to the members (including ill, absent
and charity cases) and duty to the dead.
The Master's first duty to his Lodge is to lead it to
success and prosperity. This requires a combination of
diplomat, financier, adviser, councillor, friend,
critic--and executive!
Some Masters consider scheduling the work, getting out
a monthly notice, and conducting the meetings, as
"success." But these are but the skeleton; to clothe
such a program with flesh the Master must provide
entertainment, instruction, inspiration; his monthly
notice should be of sufficient interest to attract
attention and draw attendance. Successful presiding
requires far more than merely answering salutes and
putting motions (see Chapter 5).
LODGE NOTICES
Variously called "Monthly Trestleboard," "Lodge
Notice," "Lodge Bulletin," etc., the Craft too often
suffers under a plague of dull reading sent out monthly
by Masters who then wonder why attendance is small.
Certain routine matters must, of course, be in all
Lodge notices, but to fill up the balance with alleged
humor, pointless personal news and trite platitudes is
to consign the Lodge notice to the waste basket in
advance. Make them interesting, make them snappy, make
them say something, and they will be read.
FINANCE
Careful consideration of, and attention to, Lodge
finance is a duty too important to discuss with general
statements; some thoughts on financial ways and means
are developed in Chapter 9.
PLANS
Masonic entertainment, as opposed to singing, music,
vaudeville, motion pictures, lectures on non-Masonic
topics, pack the Lodge room whenever fairly tried. The
Master must select the entertainment which pleases his
Lodge and plan accordingly, or appoint a capable
chairman of an entertainment committee to do it for
him. Interesting Lodge meetings do not "just happen."
Success follows the age-old instruction to Masters--
"first program your work; then work your program."
Plans for six months ahead (with sufficient elasticity
to permit changes for unexpectedly and happily
necessary degree work) are wise. To know that on the
first meeting in the year a contest is to be held; on
the third, a debate; on the fifth, a Masonic spelling
match, will cause many a member to plan to attend who
otherwise would remain comfortably at home with the
evening paper.
It should be emphasized that the duty of a Master is
first to the members of his Lodge; the possibility of
much "work" on many candidates should be a secondary
consideration.
SPEECHES
Few Lodges successfully can compete with picture shows,
vaudeville theaters, concert halls or restaurants. A
member can see a better program or buy a better meal
than his Lodge usually provides. The Master who depends
only on amateur, or second rate professional, talent
for "entertainment" need not wonder why he has empty
benches.
One thing and only one thing a Masonic Lodge can give
its members which they can get nowhere else in the
world.
That one thing is Masonry.
Give the brethren plenty of Masonry and they won't want
expensive and hard-to-get secular entertainment.
No, Worshipful Sir, the author does not-- Oh, most
emphatically he does not!--mean dry-as-dust addresses.
Some speakers can fill a hall to suffocation, electrify
an audience, make the brethren gasp with the beauty,
humor, interest of their talks on Masonry. But how many
such has the average Master on his staff? Too many
"Masonic speeches" are mere words; few men want to be
preached at in Lodge. If a speaker has history, law,
symbolism, romance, humor, oddities of Masonry at
command-- yes. If all he has is an exhortation to
practice brotherly love, better not use him.
But there is a way to sugar-coat Masonic instruction;
to combine Masonry and human interest (see Chapter 7).
The Master who provides such "good and wholesome
instruction" need never complain of non-attendance.
HARMONY
A Master's paramount duty is to preserve peace and
harmony, a matter on which no specific instructions can
be given. The majority of Lodges are harmonious,
without cliques or factions. Some are sharply divided;
in these, criticism is often more fault-finding than
constructive. Plain sailing usually follows a sincere
effort to steer a middle course. The occupant of the
East is Master of the whole Lodge, not just of the
group with which his sympathies happen to lie.
Ingrained in Americans is a love of justice and fair
play. The Master whose rule is just and fair, whether
it favors his own convictions or the opponents of his
ideas, will gain respect and support even from those
who do not agree with him.
No Master can afford a temper, and should not expect
courtesy or consideration from his brethren if he does
not show both from the East. Luckily, few men attain
the East without long experience which generates
appreciation of the honor, and creates a desire to rule
justly, fairly, impartially, courteously. The Master's
great power increases with lack of asserting. The
mailed fist is no less potent that it wears a velvet
glove.
Alas, at times the velvet glove must come off. For the
sake of the Lodge, a Master should not permit his acts
to be questioned, his rulings flouted, his authority
set at naught. When necessary, authority should be used
fearlessly and firmly. The Grand Lodge is behind and
will support such a Master. As a matter of course, a
Master will avoid conflicts if it can be done with
dignity; if radicals in Lodge must be controlled,
Masonic control will be gentlemanly but ironlike in
firmness.
PROMPTNESS
A Master's duties to his members--including candidates-
-are, specifically: to open on time, to plan
interesting meetings, to provide dignified degree work,
to preserve order and harmony, to promote brotherly
love.
Brethren who know the gavel will fall at the specified
hour soon get the habit of arriving on time. Those who
are morally certain the Master will be late in opening
are themselves late. An interested Master will arrive
early enough to encourage the Tiler, perhaps to help
him arrange the room; to greet by name and handshake
every brother.
Similarly, a Lodge meeting should close early, except
when a "large evening" of unusual entertainment value
is planned. An early closing means much to many
brethren who wish to go home to read or retire; those
who wish to stay can have an hour of fellow ship after
the final gavel falls as well as before.
Of such small details is success composed!
DEGREES
Masters of Lodges which pride themselves on beautiful
degree work have an easy time. Many Lodges struggle
with but indifferent success to attain that beauty,
serenity, perfect coordination which makes a degree
ideal.
But no Lodge need be without dignity in its work. Many
brethren possess no sense of drama; some workers can
but speak their parts like parrots. The Master who can
inspire his workers with an ideal, so that they are
willing to rehearse; who is willing to step out of the
picture whenever he can to let some able Past Master
shine in the work he can do best; who is wise enough to
intrigue into minor parts some brethren from the
benches; he can stage a degree which, whatever it may
lack in beauty, will at least be dignified and smooth
running. This he owes not only to his members, but to
his candidates. Whether he is taking part, or watching
his fellow officers do the work, no Master worthy the
name will permit levity or talking while a degree is
being put on.
No ceremony of any kind can be well done without
rehearsals. The wise Master calls rehearsals for
degrees and makes them so interesting his officers like
them. But the responsibility is the Master's; it is not
advisable to ask officers if they "want to" rehearse or
"will rehearse" but to say "There will be a rehearsal"
and expect officers to come. Most officers will be as
proud of the results as most Masters.
BROTHERLY LOVE
How does a Master promote brotherly love? A question
impossible to answer except in general terms. But much
may be done by a "glad hand" committee of members or
Past Masters. The enthusiastic Master who wants happy
meetings, and call inspire a committee with the same
feeling, will soon see a difference in the smiles of
the brethren. We are simple-minded animals, we humans;
it does not take much to please us ! We respond easily
to suggestion, and Masons especially are usually easy
to please. Give us a cordial word of greeting; see that
we know by name the brother sitting next us; ask us to
sit with a visitor to play host to him; suggest that we
say a word to old Dr. Brown, who is so deaf he can't
even hear himself talk, but who has been in that same
seat since the memory of man runneth not to the
contrary, and we respond as men always do respond to
leadership.
One of the delightful surprises--and they are many--
which the East provides, is the quick response of
brethren to any attempt to make them feel at home, or
secure their help to make others enjoy their evening.
Brotherly love is not a tangible commodity. We cannot
touch it or weigh it, smell it or taste it. Yet it is a
reality; it can be created, it can be fostered, it can
be made a dynamic power. The Master who has it for his
Lodge and his brethren will find that Lodge and
brethren give it back to him. The Master too worried
over the cares of his office to express friendliness
need never wonder why his Lodge seems so cold to his
efforts.
As has before been written, to have friends we must be
friendly.
THE SICK
Problems presented by the ill, the absentees, the
charity cases, are so different in city and small town
Lodges that only the fundamentals, the same for all
Lodges, may here be considered.
Freemasonry has a standing in the community, and the
general public respects it. Respect and standing are
predicated largely on the few points of contact which
the profane world has with Freemasonry. One of these is
the attention given to the ill.
What is too often properly called the "Sick Committee"
--which should be a healthy Committee for the Sick--is
frequently the reliance of a Master who thinks thus to
eliminate from his busy days a duty not always
pleasant. As such committees do not always function,
the Master is well advised who insists on weekly
reports.
At the end of the year he will be better satisfied if
he has personally called on every brother reported ill.
This is not always possible in a big city and a Lodge
with a membership in four figures; it is possible in
most Lodges. Only the Master who has devoted his spare
Saturday afternoons, Sundays, and many evenings to
calling on the ill knows how it redounds to the credit
of his Lodge. The sometimes pitiful surprise, the
invariable pleasure, and the often lasting joy given by
an unexpected fraternal visit are Master's Wages,
pressed down and running over. The Master who has the
fraternal care of his ill heavily upon his mind and
often practiced will join the ranks of Past Masters
well beloved.
One tried and proved plan is to call for volunteers for
the Committee for the Sick, with the assurance that no
member need make more than one visit per month. If the
Master has twelve committee members, and four brethren
ill, to each committee member he assigns a sick
brother, with instructions to call at two day
intervals. If he also calls, the ill brother receives
four visits in eight days. Such diversifying imposes a
burden on no one, yet assures the Lodge that the ill
are properly comforted.
ATTENDANCE
A certain Master appointed six young and enthusiastic
members as a Committee on Attendance. The Master
divided the Lodge roster into six parts (this Lodge has
a membership of three hundred, two hundred and forty
nine of whom are resident), crossing off the regular
attendants. He instructed his committee to call up, go
to see, or write a letter to, every man on his list,
advising of the next Lodge function, and asking
assistance.
He had difficulty in seating the crowd which responded.
THE ABSENT
The Master of a large Lodge (1200), with some three
hundred brethren out of town, made it his business to
write four letters during the year to every absent
brother. These letters were individually typed, and all
personally signed (this Master was a work horse!). The
response to the first letter was interesting, to the
second encouraging, to the third enthusiastic and to
the fourth amazing. Many brethren said they had never
heard from a Master before. Half a dozen had been
considering dimitting to join Lodges in their then
locations, but changed their minds because of the touch
with the Mother Lodge. Absent members wrote letters of
greeting, of homesickness, of appreciation; one brother
sent a beautiful gavel as a token of thanks for the
brotherly attention. All, apparently, were highly
gratified that the Master had remembered them. The
Master quoted briefly from many letters in his Lodge
Bulletins, that all might recall the absent. One
unexpected result of this publication was the bringing
together in large cities of several brethren of this
Lodge, who did not know any fellow Lodge members were
in the same municipality.
CHARITY
Every Lodge is--and should be--a law unto itself in its
methods of charity and relief. Some have special
charity funds; others have a Committee on Relief;
others leave such cases in the hands of the Master;
still others want to act in stated meetings on every
case. The essential thing from the Masonic standpoint
is speed. No charity call should be put off; if a Lodge
has "called off" for the hot months (common practice in
many Jurisdictions) it is obvious that a widow who has
lost her job and needs food cannot wait for the Lodge
to decide whether to spend five or ten dollars for
flour and eggs! The Master may decide or call a special
communication to consider the case. Whatever he does
should be done as soon as possible.
Freemasonry is NOT a relief society, and no brother, or
his dependents, is promised charity by the lodge. But
Masons are charitable, and he belongs to a poor Lodge
indeed who goes hungry or shelterless while his Lodge
is in funds. Here, as in the profane world, "he gives
twice who gives quickly."
It is not here presumed to give advice to Lodges; the
statement which follows is merely the result of
nation-wide experience. Lodges which loan money to
their members usually get in difficulties. Relief as an
outright appropriation rather than a loan is in the end
far more satisfactory to a Lodge. A generously inclined
Lodge, which might be willing to "loan" a brother a
hundred dollars, may hesitate to "give" more than
twenty-five. Many Grand Lodges frown decidedly on a
Lodge acting as a private bank.
Whatever the attitude of Grand Lodge, the Master's
position will be sound if he personally investigates
relief calls, and then so guides Lodge action that the
Lodge does not suffer, while the brother receives the
aid he needs.
In almost every Lodge is to be found the overly
sympathetic brother who sees only the immediate
present. With mistaken but sincere zeal he wants to
spend all Lodge funds on relief. He thinks it
"wasteful" to spend Lodge money on a "big feed" or "an
entertainment" when "hungry mouths need food and the
widowed and the fatherless have no homes. "Such
pathetic appeals not infrequently move other brethren
to action which saner counsels would prevent.
A Lodge is not held together with steel bands, but by
the silken ties of brotherhood, woven of interest,
friendliness, good times, wholesome fraternal
intercourse. A Lodge which spends all its money on
charity and none on fraternal meetings will soon have
no money to spend on anything. During the war
battleships needed oil. Had the railroads given all
their oil to the navy, the trains which had to carry
the oil to sea ports could not have moved. The same
principle applies here; relief must be proportioned to
treasury, and a fair allocation made to all legitimate
Lodge expenses.
FUNERALS
Two important public contacts with the Fraternity are
at cornerstone layings and funerals. Many a brother has
never seen a cornerstone laying, but to all Lodges and
to all brethren comes at times the sad duty of laying
away the mortal remains of a brother of the Mystic Tie,
under the Sprig of Acacia of immortal hope.
It is important to the family that the Master conduct
an inspiring service; because of the many who thus see
Freemasonry on public view, it is of interest to Lodge
and Master that the ceremonies be dignified.
As words read from a book are never so impressive as
those spoken from the heart, the Master who takes the
small trouble to learn the funeral services "by heart"
just as he learns the work of a degree, embraces an
opportunity to help the families of his departed
brethren, and impress the general public with the
solemnity of Masonic ideals.
If the ceremony has not been committed to memory it
will be easier performed if it is read and reread, so
that in public there is no hesitation over a difficult
word, no misplaced emphasis, no halting delivery.
In Lodges so fortunate as to have little or no calls
for funerals, it is wise to rehearse the funeral
exercises at least once, preferably early in the year;
the call may come at any time. The dignity and beauty
of Masonry, in one of its few points of public contact,
is the better exemplified after such preparation.
It is one of the privileges of a Master Mason to be
laid to rest by his brethren. To perform this last duty
well is to be brotherly; to offer what small comfort
may come from a noble service, nobly rendered, is to
succeed in making brotherhood manifest.
IN GENERAL
Important duties of a Master, in addition to these
specified, include:
To obey, enforce, defend, the Ancient Landmarks, the
laws, rules, edicts of Grand Lodge and Grand Master,
and the by-laws of his Lodge.
To enforce and defend the prerogatives that belong to
his office; never to permit any brother to en encroach
upon these, no matter what feeling of personal modesty
may dictate to the contrary. The Master has a duty to
those who follow him to hand down the office with its
dignity and its rights, its privileges and its
responsibilities, unchanged.
To preserve order in his Lodge at all times; it is
disagreeable to call a brother to order, but it is
unthinkable that any brother be allowed to interfere
with the solemnities of a degree.
To see that his officers learn, and perform, their work
in a proper manner. The Master is responsible; it is
the Master's part to demand and receive enthusiastic
cooperation from his officers.
To train all his officers, and familiarize even the
minor ones with Lodge affairs. A weekly meeting of all
officers, at lunch or some officer's home in the
evening, is a splendid way of getting opportunities to
" talk things over." Where this is not practical, a
half hour officers' meeting before or after a Lodge
meeting is a means of providing unity of effort and
ideals in conduct of Lodge affairs.
To preserve the secrecy of the ballot. This, not only
that the statutory mandates be observed, but to lose no
chance of impressing members with the importance of
this bulwark of the Fraternity. In some Jurisdictions
Lodges have a by-law regarding the secrecy of the
ballot, which itself makes its reading mandatory after
any unfavorable ballot. For the benefit of those in
whose Lodges is no such by-law, one is quoted herewith:
"No one shall inspect the ballot of any petitioner for
the degrees or for membership except the Master and
Wardens. No member shall make known to another the
manner in which he intends to cast or has cast his
ballot. No member shall question another respecting the
manner in which he intends to vote or has voted, and in
case a petitioner is rejected, no member or visiting
brother shall inquire into or by any means whatever
attempt to discover who opposed his election, under
penalty, if a member, of such punishment as the Lodge
shall determine; if a visitor, of his never more being
admitted to the Lodge. That none present may remain
ignorant of this by-law, the Master shall cause it to
be read immediately after the rejection of a
petitioner."
Chapter 4
MASONIC LAW FOR A MASTER
It is the business of every Master to see that his
Lodge abides by the laws, resolutions and edicts of his
Grand Lodge, its own bylaws, and maintains and supports
the Landmarks and "ancient usages and customs of the
Fraternity."
WRITTEN LAW
The laws of Masonry, like the laws of nations, are both
unwritten--the "common law"--and written. The written
laws, based on the "General Regulations" and the "Old
Charges," are the Constitution and by-laws of Grand
Lodge, its resolutions and edicts, and Lodge by-laws.
The Ancient Landmarks are written in some
Jurisdictions; in others they are a part of the
unwritten law.
In a foreign Jurisdiction a Mason is amenable to its
laws as well as to those of his own, just as an
American residing abroad is amenable to the laws of the
nation in which he lives, while also expected to obey
the laws of his own nation; for instance, an American
residing abroad is not exempt from the United States
income tax laws. Neither is a Mason from California
exempt from the laws of the Grand Lodge of that state,
merely because he happens to sojourn in Maine.
The "General Regulations" set forth in "Anderson's
Constitutions of 1723" were adopted shortly after the
formation in 1717 of the Mother Grand Lodge in England.
The work was first published under date of 1723.
Unquestionably it embodied the laws of Masonry as they
were known to the members of the four old Lodges which
formed the first Grand Lodge, and hence have the
respectability of an antiquity much greater than their
printed life of two hundred and twelve years.
In general, the "Old Charges" are concerned with the
individual brother and his relations to his Lodge and
his brethren; the "General Regulations," with the
conduct of the Craft as a whole. The "General
Regulations" permit their own alteration by Grand
Lodge--the "Old Charges" do not.
ENFORCEMENT
Law in Masonry is so much more a matter of the heart
than of the head, so much more concerned with setting
forth conduct than in assessing penalties, that,
thoroughly to comprehend it, a Master must be willing
to revise his ideas of law as created by the enactments
of legislatures.
Many civil laws are provided with measures of
enforcement and penalties for infringement. Masonic law
knows but four penalties: reprimand, definite
suspension, indefinite suspension, and expulsion. These
Masonic penalties for serious infractions of Masonic
law may be ordered after a Masonic trial and a verdict
of guilty, but mercy is much more a part of Masonic
than of civil law. Infractions of Masonic law resulting
in trial and punishment are rare, compared to the
number of Masons, the vast majority of whom are so
willing to obey the laws that "enforcement" is seldom
required.
UNIVERSALITY
There is no universality in Masonic law in all
Jurisdictions. Different latitudes, different
characters of people, different ideas, have all left
their marks upon our forty-nine Grand Lodges and their
enactments. In the majority of essentials, they are
one; in some particulars, they hold divergent views. A
large majority of Grand Lodges in the United States
adhere to the spirit of the "Old Charges," and--so far
as modern conditions permit--to the sense of the
"General Regulations."
It is, therefore, of real importance that a Master
desiring to understand the laws by which his Lodge is
governed, and the legal standards by which Grand Lodge
measures its "laws, regulations and edicts," should
read both the "Old Charges" and the "General
Regulations of 1723." When he reaches the last
(thirty-ninth) of the "General Regulations," he will
read: "Every Annual Grand Lodge has an inherent Power
and Authority to make new Regulations, or to alter
these, for the real benefit of this Ancient Fraternity;
provided always that the old LandMarks be carefully
preserv'd," etc.
LANDMARKS
The "old landmarks" or the "Ancient Landmarks" as
customarily called, are those foundations of the law of
Masonry which are not subject to change. Had the Grand
Lodge which first adopted these "General Regulations"
formulated the "Ancient Landmarks" it would have saved
much confusion in subsequent Grand Lodges. Apparently,
however, the unwritten law of Masonry--the common law--
was so well understood and practiced that it was then
not thought necessary to codify it.
A great body of unwritten law which Masons customarily
observe--"Ancient usages and customs "--are not
specified in print. But the Landmarks have been reduced
to print and made a part of the written law in many
Jurisdictions. Mackey's list of twenty-five Landmarks
has been adopted as official in many American Masonic
Jurisdictions; others have condensed his list into a
lesser number, still keeping all his points; a few
Jurisdictions have a greater number of landmarks,
including some not specified in Mackey's list. Those
Jurisdictions which do not include a printed list of
the Ancient Landmarks in their written law, usually
follow and practice them as a part of their unwritten
law. In a few instances, some of the Landmarks as
listed by Mackey are not recognized as such; for
instance, Mackey's Eighth Landmark, the inherent right
of a Grand Master to "make Masons at sight" was
specifically abrogated by an early Grand Lodge in
California. In general, however, whether written or
unwritten, Grand Lodges adhere to the spirit of all of
Mackey's list.
The Landmarks may be regarded as bearing the same
relation to Masonic law in general, including the "Old
Charges" and the "General Regulations," as the
provisions of Magna Charta bear to modern
constitutional law. Just as Magna Charta specified some
of the inherent rights of men which all laws of all
governments should respect, so the Landmarks
crystallize the inherent characteristics of Masonry--
those fundamentals which make Freemasonry Freemasonry,
and without which it would be something else.
LAW MAKING
With these as a foundation, the "Old Charges" for
precedent, the first "General Regulations" for organic
law, Grand Lodges write their Constitutions and by-laws
and particular Lodges write their by-laws, which are
usually subject to approval by Grand Lodge, a Grand
Lodge Committee, or the Grand Master. Grand Masters. ad
interim, formulate edicts and make decisions; often
these are later incorporated by Grand Lodge into the
written law of the Jurisdiction. All of these together,
except where they conflict (as some of the early
"General Regulations" necessarily conflict with later
enactments made to supersede them) form the legal
structure of Freemasonry, to understand which is a duty
all Masters should be eager to perform.
Undeniably it is much looser than the similar body of
law for the government of a nation. If a Master
interpreted Masonic law wholly by the letter--as is
necessarily the case in civil law--the government of
his Lodge might often be as loose as Freemasonry's
statutes. But as a matter of fact, the Craft is well
governed. Its "ancient usages and customs" so soon win
their way into the hearts of new brethren that there is
a great resistance to any attempt to change the old
order, unless necessity shows that it is inescapable.
Masons much prefer to whisper good counsel to an erring
brother, than to subject him to Masonic trial.
The Fraternity in this nation deals yearly with very
large sums of money. The Craft erects and maintains
numbers of expensive Temples, and Homes for the
helpless Mason and his dependents. The Institution
disburses a large amount of charity. The majority of
its executives serve long and arduous apprenticeship.
These very practical matters are all conducted in
accord with a more or less loosely woven body of law--
and yet the Fraternity as a whole can take great pride
in the undoubted fact that it is orderly, well
governed, almost completely law abiding, and very
reluctant to make any more new laws for itself than are
absolutely necessary.
He is a capable Master who recalls the answer to the
classic question: "Where were you first prepared to be
made a Mason?" and delves enthusiastically into the
sources of Masonic law of his Jurisdiction, that he may
rule wisely, decide justly and lead his Lodge with real
authority.
MASTERS SHOULD KNOW
Specifically, the Master must familiarize himself with
Grand Lodge Law upon applications, amendments, ballots
and balloting, burial, candidates (residence,
qualifications, physical perfection, etc.), charges,
correspondence with other Lodges, degrees, dimits.
dispensations (especially as to when they are
necessary), dual membership (if authorized by Grand
Lodge or not authorized by that body), dues, education,
elections, examinations, finances, installation,
jurisdiction, membership, minutes, motions (when not in
order), objections to candidates, offenses. petitions,
processions, proxies, rejection, returns of Lodges,
special communications, summons, Sunday observances,
trials, visits and visitors, votes and voting (when
paper ballot required; when majority; when two thirds
and when unanimous needed, etc. ), waiver of
jurisdiction.
Learning all this is not easy, but being a good Master
is not supposed to be easy. To have been elected Master
presupposes a willingness to labor, and here is labor
and plenty of it.
Some Masters never look at the law, to their shame be
it said! Grand Master after Grand Master reports
decisions in his annual message, plaintively adding:
"If Masters would only look up the law in the books
provided, ninety percent of the questions need not have
been asked."
Not to know the law may plunge the Lodge into real
difficulties; knowing the law is like knowing the
currents and the channels; the mariner who knows does
not run his ship on the rocks.
While study of the book of Masonic law of his
Jurisdiction will satisfy almost all need for
knowledge, the Master who will read a good volume on
Masonic law and practice will have a much clearer
vision of his problems (see book list at end of this
volume).
Chapter 5
THE ART OF PRESIDING
"Preside--to sit in authority over others." (Standard
Dictionary.)
The first principle of successful presiding is to use
authority without any one being conscious of it!
The presiding officer elected by a secular organization
is amenable to its dictates, and may be removed by the
electorate; an appeal may be taken from his decision to
the body over which he presides; generally he is
supposed to conduct its meetings according to the rules
of order (usually Robert's).
None of this is true for the Master of a Lodge. While
elected, he is not controlled by the dictates of his
Lodge; he can only be removed by Grand Master or Deputy
under authority of the Grand Master; no appeal to the
Lodge may be taken from his awards; "rules of order,"
while followed in general, are actually the Master's
will and pleasure.
MOTIONS OUT OF ORDER
In any secular body a motion to adjourn, for the
previous question, to lay on the table, to refer to a
committee of the whole, are always in order; in a
Masonic Lodge, never. Only the Master can decide these
questions, and even a Master should never permit the
Lodge to resolve itself into a committee of the whole,
since a committee presupposes a Chairman, and a
Chairman is the servant, not the ruler, of the
Committee.
With the usual business of Lodge: confirming of
minutes, accepting petitions, ordering a ballot,
putting motions to expend, etc., Masters have little
trouble. It is when difficult questions arise; hard
fought battles to raise dues; revision of by-laws;
putting standing resolutions on the books; accepting
and confirming a report which reflects on some officer,
etc., that the Master must temper justice with mercy,
and authority with discretion.
KEEP COOL
That rule is usually wise which avoids heated debates.
When debaters become so personal as to forget brotherly
acts in the warmth of partisanship, a Master is
justified in closing debate for the time, to act on the
question when cooler moments arrive. A Master may
always call from labor to refreshment, to permit
"cooling off." If he does this with a smile, and some
remark about his own need for a little reflection, he
will offend no one.
GAVEL
The Masonic gavel in the hands of a Master is all
powerful. Brethren must--and with practically no
exceptions always do-- obey its mandate. Grand Lodge
frowns upon the brother who flouts the authority of
Master; a brother not willing to cease speaking when
"rapped down," or who insists on speaking when not
recognized, is subject to Masonic trial and punishment.
Because of the power of the gavel the good Master uses
it sparingly; he will never "rap down" a brother if it
is possible to avoid it. If a brother insists on doing
something illegal, the Master must, of course. But
there is a vast difference in the way this is done by
different Masters.
A certain Past Master was offended at the adverse
report of a committee on investigation of a petitioner.
Securing recognition he began: "I think we should
disregard this Committee report unless we know why the
committee reported unfavorably; I demand their reasons.
. . . "
The Master could have brought his gavel down with a
bang and said: "Brother Past Master, you are out of
order; a Past Master ought to know better!"
What he did do was bring his gavel down with enough
decision to be heard, then said: "Brother Past Master,
I regret exceedingly to rule out of order one of my
illustrious and learned predecessors. But my
understanding of Masonic law is that the reasons for
reporting unfavorably by a committee are as sacred as
the ballot. I am sorry --"
This seems almost too simple to chronicle, and yet it
is just this difference between the hard and fast
exercise of undoubted power which men are apt to
resent, and the patient brotherly courtesy which Masons
appreciate, which marks the successful from the
disliked presiding officer.
A "GOOD SPORT"
A finance committee brought in a report which severely
criticized a Master's administration, practically
accusing him of running wild with the Lodge finances.
Shocked but game, without a word of defense he put the
question as to the disposition of the report. Brother
after brother arose to discuss the report, to delete
this and strike out that, to remove that offending
phrase and to soften this one. After some ten minutes'
debate, one brother, a loyal partisan of the Master,
moved rejection of the whole report and appointment of
a new finance committee. "I am sorry not to entertain
that motion," the Master said with a smile. "I think
the committee has rendered a fine report. I do not
refer to their opinions, but to the hours of labor and
the results in this excellent financial statement. I
would be ungrateful indeed if I discharged this
committee, or failed to express our appreciation of its
efforts."
The Lodge applauded vigorously, and the result was the
acceptance of the financial part of the report, with
all criticism stricken out. Most important, the members
of the committee, sincere and honorable gentlemen, felt
that the Master had been just; thus any schism was
avoided, the Master was protected, the Lodge satisfied
and the committee content.
One wrong word, and a first class Lodge quarrel might
have started!
SNAP AND SPEED
Some men think like a lightning flash and others think
slowly. Even the slow thinker can speed up his business
meetings by having previously written notes before him.
The Masters who depend on their Secretaries to tell
them what to do next are legion--what would some of us
do without those hardworked and loyal officials! But
the Master who lets the Secretary do it all rarely has
the respect or veneration of his members.
LET THEM TALK
A good Master remembers that he is Master of all the
Lodge--not just those members with whom he is in
sympathy. He knows that what is unimportant to him may
be vital to some other brother. The member who insists
on a bowling match or a golf game with a sister Lodge
may feel it just as important as the Master's plans for
a Masonic evening --let him talk about it! Of course,
there is a limit to all things, and a scheduled degree
should not be delayed so as to keep the few faithful up
half the night, sending the rest home without seeing
it. But, within reason, the Master who encourages his
members to speak, who calls on Brothers Smith and Jones
for a few remarks about some question, will have a more
unified and interested Lodge than he who is anxious to
shut off debate.
WELCOMES
They are as different in different Lodges as chalk is
from cheese. Some Lodges extend no special welcomes; in
others a word of greeting to all visitors is customary,
especially those vouched for by a committee after an
examination. In some Lodges the Past Masters are known
only by their jewels; in others the Master calls on
each by name, says a pleasant word and offers him the
pretty courtesy of a "seat in the East." Now and then a
Master is so anxious to be courteous that he offers the
"seat in the East" to every visitor, which rather
destroys its value as a mark of special consideration
for those who have borne the heat and burden of the
day. (The reader, of course, will take this with a
grain of salt, remembering it is a Past Master who
writes this book!)
One small error many a Master makes with only
politeness in his mind; taking off his hat whenever he
speaks, especially when he extends a welcome.
The "hat snatcher," however well-intentioned, displays
a fundamental ignorance of the meaning of the Master's
hat. It is not, strictly speaking, a hat at all, but a
badge of office. There is no more reason to remove it
when speaking than there is to take off apron or jewel.
A Master need remove his hat on but four occasions;
when speaking of, or to, Deity; when speaking of a
death; when the Grand Master or his Deputy comes into
the Lodge room wearing a hat, or when tendering the
gavel of authority to another to preside.
RESPECT
It is emphatically the Master's business to insist upon
profound respect for his office. Many a modest man
refrains from correcting a wrong Lodge action in the
mistaken idea that brethren will think he is "high
hat." A brother may be plain John Smith, but when John
Smith is Master, he should receive the respect which
that office demands.
The brother who makes the wrong salute should be
smilingly corrected--but he should not go unchallenged.
The brother so careless of his manners as to salute
with a cigar in his mouth may be privately admonished,
but he should hear from the East. The brother who
crosses between Altar and East should learn that
brethren do not use the space between Master and Great
lights for a passageway because, as the Great Lights
are in the Master's charge, he is entitled to keep them
always in view. The brother who speaks out of turn, the
brother who tries to leave the room during a ballot,
the brother who forgets a proper salute when addressing
the East--all should receive some word of friendly
counsel. Whether it be done before the Lodge, or by
sending a message by the Senior Deacon, is for the
Master to decide. His brethren in the end will think
the more of him if he passes his high station to his
successor with its dignity unimpaired.
SMILE
Nothing succeeds in the East like a smile. Two Masters
reigned in sister Lodges at the same time; one a
brilliant lawyer, smart as a steel trap, wit like a
rapier. . . and cold and austere as a lump of ice. The
other Master was a railroad conductor; he had not one
tenth the education wit or brilliance of the lawyer,
but he knew the gentle art of making friends. Whatever
pleasant he had to do, he did as if he liked to do it--
with a smile. Whatever unpleasant was his task he did
as if it pained him, but with a smile. The railroad
brother's Lodge was crowded and the brilliant lawyer's
all but empty, most of the year.
Smiles, alas, cannot be made to order. Set smiles,
machine smiles, mere facial contortions won't work.
Effective smiles come from a smiling heart. By all of
which it may be seen that the art of presiding
successfully has its foundation in sympathy and
understanding, and its cornerstone in good nature and
tolerance. With these a Master can hardly fail to be a
beloved presiding officer.
NERVOUS?
It is only three steps from the Lodge floor to the
Master's platform--but what high steps! The brother
presiding for the first time in a Masonic Lodge who
says he is not nervous is fooling himself, but no one
else.
But there is no need to continue to be nervous. In a
traffic jam the motorist can always stop--the worst he
will get is a lot of horns tooted at him, and perhaps a
"bawling out" by the policeman. In a parliamentary jam
the Master can always stop to look up the law or
precedent, or call to refreshment while he consults
some one; he will hear neither horns nor bawlings out.
Go slowly; consult the agenda; depend on the Secretary
for help; use the gavel sparingly; smile . . . and
presiding becomes a pleasure and a Master a joy to his
brethren.
Chapter 6
ENTERTAINMENT AND ATTENDANCE
The Master whose entertainment program is strictly
Masonic has to send to the basement for extra chairs
for most of his meetings.
Most Masters find the attendance problem vexatious;
especially is this true in a Lodge in which the members
have to some extent lost interest. But attendance, in
itself, is of no value if nothing is given those who
attend. Ten thousand Masons may stand before a world
series score board, but receive no Masonic light.
Attendance is not an end, but a means. Any Lodge room
can be packed by advertising to exhibit a pair of
Siamese twins, or a tattooed man from Borneo, but
merely "packing them in" is of no Masonic value. It is
when the Master packs his Lodge room with brethren
eager for Masonic entertainment, which conceals
instruction and information beneath a covering of
pleasure and amusement, that attendance is important.
On the average, an attendance of ten percent of the
membership is looked upon as a "good" turnout. Yet
there are Lodges which have a much greater number at
almost every communication.
DIFFERENT
The way to arouse interest is to do something different
from what is normally done in Lodge. A Lodge
overburdened with degree work can increase attendance
by holding special meetings for social and fraternal
purposes. A Lodge in which a speaker from another
Lodge--and better, another Grand Jurisdiction--is
seldom heard may increase its attendance by making such
addresses a feature. A Lodge in which Masonic education
is unknown may increase attendance by putting on an
educational program.
If a speaker is secured from another Lodge or
Jurisdiction, particular consideration should be given
his comfort. Such entertainers usually sacrifice time
and energy for their brethren; Masonic hospitality
should see that everything possible is done for their
comfort. Particularly if a speaker is brought from a
distance with a promise to pay his expenses, should the
check for those necessary expenditures be given to him
promptly.
EXTRA LODGE ACTIVITIES
All Masters meet, in one way or another, proposals that
the Lodge do this or that, support this or that, take
part in this or that. And it is often difficult to
decide where the line should be drawn between what a
Lodge may do, and what its individual members may do.
Two safe tests to apply to any such proposal which
involves Lodge activities are these; will acceptance of
the invitation cause a difference of opinion among
members which may disrupt the harmony of the Lodge?
Will it be a precedent which may cause embarrassment in
the future?
If either question may be answered in the affirmative,
the wise Master will avoid Lodge participation.
COMMITTEE
The Master is faced at the start with two conflicting
principles; the more of his own members he can persuade
to take part in entertainment, the more interest he can
arouse among them and their friends; the more he goes
outside the Lodge for amusement, the more he is apt to
interest all its members, most of whom have heard the
home talent before.
Any program of entertainment or instruction is best put
in the hands of a competent chairman of a committee.
Give him plenty of assistance, and then let him run it
without interference. Some Masters appoint a chairman
and then attempt to do all his work, or dictate how it
should be done. A chairman should be a willing worker,
and in sympathy with the Master's ideas, but unless he
has ideas and initiative of his own, he is not
qualified to be a chairman; if he has ideas and
initiative, he is not properly used unless allowed to
employ them.
A small committee is better than a large one; if the
plans are elaborate, the committee may divide itself
into sub-committees with sub-chairmen, who may call to
their assistance all the help they need. But a large
central committee is difficult to handle; too many
ideas and conflicting desires prevent success. An
entertainment committee of three, or five at the most,
is sufficiently large.
Masonic dignity and honors are not the first requisite
in an entertainment committee chairman. The senior Past
Master has not necessarily the most original mind; the
Senior Warden may be an excellent officer and a
prospective Master of charm and ability, without being
constituted by nature to be a good chairman. Use the
brains and enthusiasm of the younger members. It is
easy to gain the cooperation of the older members, and
of those the Lodge has honored, by asking them to give
way to the young and untried that these may show their
quality.
A few plans which have been tried and proved successful
in increasing attendance.
A SURPRISE MEETING
Advertise to the membership that a surprise awaits
them. Tell them there will be "something doing" which
they have never seen before. Then arrange with a
capable committee to exemplify a dozen or more matters
of law and behavior. Have a new brother deliberately
cross the room between Altar and East. Call him down
for it. Have a Past Master explain why this is not good
Masonic usage. During a ballot have a brother enter the
room by way of the West Gate. Declare the ballot
illegal and take it over again. Have a Past Master
explain why it is illegal. Let some brother move that
the Lodge adjourn. Have some one else explain that
parliamentary procedure which governs most assemblages
cannot apply in a Masonic Lodge because of the powers
and prerogatives of the Master, at whose pleasure alone
the Lodge convenes and is closed. Get a debate started
on something, anything, and have a brother appeal from
the decision of the Master to the Lodge. Rule him out
of order, and explain that the only appeal lies to the
Grand Master, and why. Have some brother give the wrong
salute on entering or leaving; correct him, and have
some one make a short talk on the reasons for the
salute and how the brother may always know by an
examination of the Great Lights upon what degree the
Lodge is open. Think up half a dozen more matters in
which the customs, the etiquette or the law of Masonry
may be violated, and have an explanation and an answer
ready for each one. The interest of such a practical
demonstration is surprising.
A MASONIC EXPERIENCE MEETING
In any Lodge some brethren have had some pleasant,
different, unusual experience of Masonry. One has had
to borrow money in strange city, and did it through
Masonic connection. Another has discovered a Masonic
impostor. A third has made a pleasant friend in another
city through mutual Masonry. A fourth has found
interest in the manners, customs and usages of Masonry
in a sister Grand Jurisdiction. Another has seen a
funeral service in another Jurisdiction, quite
different from his own. Get a committee to ascertain
the names of half a dozen such brethren, and persuade
them to give their experiences. Advertise it in the
Lodge circular and see the increase in attendance.
A LODGE DEBATE
Choose some interesting Masonic subject, on which
opinion is divided, appoint two teams of debaters, of
two brethren each, and stage a contest to run not over
forty minutes. A is given eight minutes for the
affirmative, B eight minutes for the negative, followed
by C with eight minutes for rebuttal and D, eight
minutes for rebuttal. Each is then allowed two minutes
to close. The decision is to rest on the vote of the
Lodge. A few suggested topics are: "Resolved, that
Masonry would be more effective if all Lodges were
limited in size"; "Resolved, that perpetual
jurisdiction over rejected candidates is unjust";
"Resolved, that a Master's powers should be limitable
by a Lodge," etc.
It should be explained that these subjects are debated
purely for the information such discussion may bring
out, with no thought of attempting by Lodge action to
alter existing law or practice. A Lodge debate may be
humorous in character: "Resolved, that business should
not interfere with golf"; "Resolved, that the
Worshipful Master should pay the Lodge a salary for his
privilege"; etc. If debaters are ready speakers, such
simple entertainment can be made very effective and
interesting.
PAST MASTERS NIGHT
Fill the chairs with the Past Masters, in order of
seniority, for the conferring of a degree. If no
candidate is available, and there is no local
regulation against the practice, use a dummy candidate
from among the members, or have the degree conferred on
the oldest Past Master. Officers who have borne the
heat and burden of the day are usually proud of the
opportunity again to get into harness, and the
membership is usually interested in the performance.
"TELL US WHAT YOU THINK"
Have ten brethren, each with an idea, give four-minute
talks on what the Lodge needs This does not mean a new
hall, or new equipment, or more money, but what it
requires to be better, more alive, more interesting.
Such a discussion will bring out many ideas. Throw the
meeting open to the membership as soon as the arranged
speakers have finished; often the unprepared speech
will be the most illuminating of the evening.
THE QUESTION BOX
Put a small box with a slot in it in the Lodge, and
invite the brethren to submit questions regarding
anything Masonic; assure them that as many of the
questions as possible will be answered the next
meeting. See that half a dozen brethren, instructed in
advance, drop questions in the box. As the Master will
probably get a number for which he has not arranged, he
can have prepared half a dozen answers to the questions
he has inspired and these answers delivered to the
Lodge in five-minute addresses. Questions and answers
both, of course, can be obtained from books. Some
questions interesting to most Masons are:
How old is Masonry, and how do we know its age?
What are the ten most Masonic verses in the Bible, not
including those quotations from the Great Light used in
the ritual?
Who was William Morgan and what happened in the Morgan
affair?
In wearing a Masonic ring, should the points of the
compass point towards the wearer or towards his finger
tips, and why?
What is the origin of the Masonic use of the word
"profane," meaning one not a member, and why is he so
called?
England permits dual membership. What American Grand
Jurisdictions permit it and what are some of the
arguments for and against it?
What and where is the oldest Lodge in the world, in the
United States, in this State?
THE SONGS OF MASONRY
Good Masonic poetry is scarce. But there is enough to
furnish a pleasant and interesting hour of instruction
and entertainment. Pick out half a dozen of the best
known Masonic poems, and half a dozen brethren who will
memorize them, and prepare a little talk upon them. Let
each brother recite the poem of his choice, and then
comment upon its significance. Good poems for an
evening of this kind are Kipling's "The Palace" and
"Mother Lodge," Burns's "Masonic Farewell," Goethe's
"Mason Lodge," Leigh Hunt's "Abou Ben Adhem," Carruth's
"Each in His Own Tongue," Burns's "On the Apron,"
Meredith's "Ebony Staff of Solomon," Bowman's "Voice of
America," Malloch's "Father's Lodge" and Nesbit's "I
Sat in Lodge with You."
CLUB
It is often possible to awaken interest in a Lodge by
the formation of a glee club, a dramatic club, a study
club, all good ways to increase attendance.
RITUAL
A little "stunt" which always holds the attention of
the members is having some part of the Masonic ritual--
it may be the charge to a candidate in one of the
degrees, a section from the Middle Chamber lecture, or
perhaps the prayer from the third degree-- committed to
memory by half a dozen brethren. These brethren then
deliver the same work to show how different the appeal
may be, as done in different ways. The parts selected
should be short. If the brethren are willing to
sacrifice themselves for the good of the evening, a
prize may be put up for the most effective rendition,
the decision, of course, to rest with the Lodge. The
vote on the best rendition should be by paper ballot.
But do not do this unless the brethren have been
previously consulted and are willing to enter into the
spirit of the little contest.
DISPATCH
In a Lodge which has much work and much business, the
Master will add to the interest and the attendance if
he runs the meeting with dispatch. The dragging
business meeting, with a great deal of "hot air" from
well-meaning brethren who really have little to say, is
often sufficiently boresome to keep members away. It is
not suggested that the Master shut off debate
arbitrarily, or rap any brother down. But it is
perfectly possible to run the first part of the
business meeting snappily, have a prepared speech or
so, very short and interesting, and then have a couple
of "planted" brethren comment on the shortness and the
snappiness. The round hand of applause which such
comments usually draw will keep the prolix and the
long-winded off their feet!
EDUCATION
It adds to the interest and, therefore, to the
attendance, if the Master always has something to tell
his Lodge. "Give them good and wholesome instruction"
means what it says. A five-minute talk by the Master
upon some matter of interest to Masons generally will
prove an interesting feature. The Master must be
careful not to "talk the interest to death." Nor should
he ever be witty at the expense of his members unless
it is that kindly wit which compliments at the same
time it brings a smile.
It means work for the Master to get up some twenty
little addresses during his year, but Masters expect to
work--or else they are much surprised brethren when
they get in the East!
Source material for such talks is the copy of the
Proceedings of Grand Lodge, which contains much of
interest to all members. A clever Master will have no
difficulty in finding in this volume enough topics for
many five-minute talks.
BIRTHDAYS
An idea which produces results is the sending of
letters to brethren on their Masonic birthdays
reminding them "On such and such a date you were raised
to the Sublime Degree. Our nearest meeting to your
anniversary is such and such a date. Will you not come
to Lodge that night, to join the other brethren whose
Masonic birthday is the same, and give us the pleasure
of offering you our good wishes?" The same is true of
real birthdays, especially those of the older members.
CURIOSITY
Man is incurably curious; his desire to know and to
understand is the mainspring of invention, discovery,
civilization, progress; the driving force which leads
men to learn.
Masters can make use of this desire to know to make
better Masons of the brethren.
A "sugar-coated" Masonic educational meeting is
interesting, intriguing, alive, vital, satisfying a
great curiosity. Lodges which have tried the
educational experiments here listed usually repeat
them, and almost invariably the repetition is to a
"packed house."
DISSECTING A DEGREE
Especially recommended for Lodges which have little
work to do is the dissection and explanation of the
first section of any degree. A dummy candidate is
initiated, and the ceremony interrupted at each stage
by some brother who offers a little explanation of the
symbolism of the part of the degree under discussion;
entry, circumambulation, rite of destitution, the
antiquity of the apron, origin of the Lesser Lights,
etc. Such dissection and exposition require some little
study by those who take part, but giving each brother
who offers an interruption only one subject minimizes
the work of preparation and increases the variety by
having many take part.
Inquiry should first be made of the District Deputy, or
the Grand Master; in some Jurisdictions the practice of
using a dummy candidate has been frowned upon, as
derogatory to the dignity of our ceremonies. When it is
explained that the purpose of the idea is educational,
however, it is probable that no difficulty will be
experienced in obtaining enthusiastic cooperation from
those in authority.
"YOU MUST--YOU MUST NOT!"
The average Lodge member knows little about Masonic
law. The very term "Jurisprudence" seems repellent. Yet
Masonic law is intensely interesting, and may be made
to appear so to the Lodge by any brother who will
devote a little time and attention to developing a talk
on those parts of our legal system which most
intimately touch the brethren. Masonic law is vastly
different from civil law; most Masonic law is a matter
of "thou shalt" rather than "thou shalt not." A few
salient points chosen for their interest to the average
Mason, and explained, first as to their origin, and
second as to their use or necessity, will interest any
Lodge. It is not an arduous task for a clever brother
to arrange such a talk; he may use any good book on
Jurisprudence as a foundation, Mackey or Pound for
choice, as both are complete and concise.
CONTESTS
The more brethren take part in an educational meeting,
the greater the enjoyment. No scheme for an educational
meeting yet developed exceeds the Lodge contest in this
respect, since it gives every one an opportunity to
participate.
The educational contest is conducted by a Master of
Ceremonies asking a series of questions, carefully
prepared in advance, the correct answers to which can
be given in one or two words, a date, a name. Supplied
with paper and pencils, the brethren write and number
their answers to the questions, as they are asked. Then
they exchange papers, the correct answers are read, and
the brethren mark the replies "right" or "wrong"
according to the facts. The winners, of course, are
those who have the greatest number, next greatest
number and third greatest number answered correctly.
Interest in such a contest is increased by offering
prizes. These may be very inexpensive; a good Masonic
book, a subscription to a Masonic magazine, a Masonic
lapel pin are all appreciated.
The questions should not be complex; answers should be
facts, not opinions. For instance "In what Lodge was
George Washington raised?" "Who is Grand Master in this
State?" "How old is this Lodge?" "How many Lodges in
our Grand Lodge?" are all questions needing but a word
or two to answer with facts. Such questions as "Do you
think Masonry is a religion?" should not be included,
since any answer must be an opinion, not a fact.
Questions like "Explain the part Freemasonry played in
the Revolution" should not be asked, as they require
lengthy replies.
In giving out the correct answers, a clever Master of
Ceremonies will offer some "good and wholesome
instruction" of Masonic value; for instance, if the
question be "How many landmarks are recognized in this
Jurisdiction?" and the correct answer is "Twenty five,"
the Master of Ceremonies may explain that some
Jurisdictions have less, others more; that many
Jurisdictions have adopted Mackey's list, while others
have condensed Mackey's twenty-five into a less number,
which nevertheless contains all of Mackey's points, and
so on.
CLIMAX
In any Lodge entertainment, whether purely amusement or
Masonically instructive, arrange the program to reach a
climax; when it culminates, close the evening. If the
program includes a principal speaker, have him come
last. After he has spoken, do not call on half a dozen
brethren to talk about the speaker and his address.
Nothing makes a fine talk fall flatter than far less
able speakers giving short resumes of what has been
said and telling the Lodge how good it was. Past Master
John Smith and Brother Henry Robinson are good men and
true, beloved of the brethren, listened to with
respect, but unless they are orators of high calibre,
their supplementary remarks on a thought-provoking
address usually throw a cold wet blanket which is very
chilling to enthusiasm !
The old adage for speakers: "Stand up, speak up, shut
up!" may well be applied here; when a program is ended,
consider it finished! Far better that the brethren go
home wishing the evening had been longer, than with the
feeling "I'm glad that's over!"
BE DIFFERENT
Any Master may largely increase interest in his
meetings by departing from the custom of previous
Masters, doing what they did not do! This does not mean
a criticism of previous Masters; what they did may also
have been interesting and different. The new is always
interesting; that which is interesting usually
stimulates attendance. With good reason, depart from
the usual order of business; it is a Master's
privilege. Have some brother, the more obscure the
better, who has done something, anything, escorted to
the Altar, and thank him, congratulate him or comment
on his work; the more unexpected this is, the more
interesting to the membership. Extend a special welcome
to the oldest Past Master, or most beloved brother. If
the Lodge has no regularly appointed chaplain, or if he
is absent, call on some brother to take over the simple
duties of Lodge chaplain. Encourage debate; ask for
comments on any question which comes up on which no one
voluntarily has anything to offer; the more members get
on their feet the greater interest there is in the
meeting, always providing they are not long-winded
about it.
Chapter 7
"SET THE CRAFT TO LABOR"
The enthusiastic Master usually heads an enthusiastic
Lodge.
No one can inculcate enthusiasm in others if he does
not possess it. But many a Master is enthusiastic over
his Masonry, his Lodge and its activities, who does not
know the few parlor tricks of the East which inspire
others.
It is trite but true: men like to work when they don't
have to!
The Master who puts many brethren to work at something-
-just what is not important--will have enthusiastic
meetings.
ACTIVITIES
Brethren may be interested in dozens of activities. A
glad hand committee, not only for visitors but to greet
every member as he comes in, is always an asset. Rival
committees--perhaps as many as six--may be asked to
provide entertainment, each for one meeting. A prize
may be given the committee staging the most popular
evening. (Note: different Lodges have different
methods. In a Lodge which must count pennies, the
Master may offer the prize personally. Suitable prizes
are: an evening at the theater for all the members of
the committee; a Masonic book for each member of the
committee; a Masonic button for each member.)
Very successful are large committees to call on
delinquent members; committees to call on the
stay-at-home brethren with personal invitations to
attend; sojourners' committees, to call on brethren of
foreign Lodges temporarily within the jurisdiction of
the Lodge; committees on the sick; rival degree teams
for each degree.
A Master may thus put a hundred brethren to work, often
with amazing results in the new interest brethren take
in Lodge when they have definite tasks.
PAY WAGES
The laborer is worthy of his hire. The only pay a
committeeman can receive is Master's Wages. Pay them,
pay them generously, pay them often. Make them stand
up, tell the Lodge what good workers they have been,
thank them. In especially meritorious cases have the
brother-to-be-thanked conducted to the Altar, and speak
to him there. In the Middle Chamber the workmen
received their wages in corn, wine and oil. Do not
leave all the oil in the oil fields ! A little poured
from the East is good Masonic diplomacy.
JOURNEYS
Most Grand Jurisdictions have some pet project--a Home,
a Hospital, an Orphanage, a Charity Foundation, a
library--all excellent pegs on which to hang garments
of enthusiasm. Get some brother who can talk to visit
the institution and tell the Lodge about it. Organize a
bus pilgrimage to the Home, at special rates, advertise
it well, make a ladies' picnic of it if the Lodge likes
to bring its better halves along. Find a successful
graduate of the Home School and ask him to tell the
Lodge about it. Has the Home a band? Organize a
"Concert Committee" to raise funds to bring it to
Lodge; invite the neighboring Lodges. Probabilities are
the Lodge room won't be big enough.
Many Lodges have a sister Lodge, in their own or a
neighboring Jurisdiction, with which we ties of union
are unusually close.
Annual visits between such Lodges result in large
attendance and fraternal evenings. If no such sister
Lodge is tied to a Master's by special bonds, hunt up
one and start the ball rolling by inviting that Lodge
to visit yours. Pick the newest Lodge, the oldest
Lodge, the most historic Lodge, the biggest Lodge, the
smallest Lodge; a Lodge with a Master who has your
name; a Lodge with the same name as yours--anything
will do for an excuse.
If the rules of Grand Lodge permit, ask a sister Lodge
in another Jurisdiction to put on a degree. Before
sending such an invitation be sure your Grand Lodge
looks with favor on such interchange of work; consult
District Deputy, Grand Secretary or Grand Master.
Has your State some nearby historic place, marker,
monument, park, house, battlefield? Organize a visit of
your Lodge. Especially is this worth while if there is
a Masonic significance to the place visited. A journey
to your local Yorktown, Williamsburg, Valley Forge,
Custer's Last Stand, Fort Dearborn, Meeting on the
Mountain, etc., can always be hooked up with Masonry,
since all such have some associations with great men
who were Masons.
SERVICE
Masons are not "men with pins on their coats." Masonry
is a vital force in the lives of many; one touch on the
right key and Masonic enthusiasm simply pours out of
members.
A brother was injured and a blood transfusion
necessary. The Master of his Lodge learned it on the
night of a third degree. It was his custom to make a
little talk before each ceremony on one of its
significances. An opportunist, the Master junked his
prepared speech and spoke for five minutes on the Five
Points--then called for volunteers for the blood
transfusion.
Fifteen brethren rose to clamor for the chance to show
their Five Points meant something to them.
The Master of a small midwestern Lodge, poor in
finances, had a pressing relief case; a brother had
lost his home by storm. He had told the Lodge about it.
The Treasurer arose to say: "But we have no money, Wor.
shipful."
"Who said anything about money?" retorted the Master.
"I want volunteers with tools, who will give each a
day's work, two days, whatever you can spare. We can't
buy Brother Jones a new home, but we are sorry sons of
pioneers if we can 't build one !"
Thirty-four men rebuilt Brother Jones's home for him,
and then pleaded with the Master for "another happy
time and good day's outing like that!"
FOR LOVE
Give the brethren a chance to do something, anything,
no matter how small or unimportant. A brother convinced
that he is helping is enthusiastic. One Master
appointed a young brother as assistant to an old,
feeble and forgetful Tiler--who was much beloved. The
young assistant did no more than bring out the aprons,
sort out and put away the officers' jewels, but he was
company for the old man for the half hour before and
after the meeting. At the end of the year, thanking the
lad, the Master said: "Doubtless you'll be glad that a
new Master will give your thankless job to some one
else."
"Glad? I'll be all broken up if he doesn't reappoint
me!" was the answer. The boy had never missed a meeting
and now that he has the habit, probably never will.
A certain old Past Master came only once or twice a
year. It was said that "Brother Smith was a very active
Master and now that he has nothing to do, feels lost in
Lodge."
"I 'll give him something to do!" determined the new
Master, then offered the old Past Master the Chaplaincy
of the Lodge. The old Past Master protested that he was
too old; the Lodge had a minister (who could seldom
attend); he had not done any work for years . . . the
Master overrode him. The Past Master took the position,
and the storm does not blow that can keep him away from
his Lodge. Flagging enthusiasm was aroused by a small
job, with something constructive to do.
Will there be a "big night"? Appoint half a dozen
assistant stewards to lug in chairs and benches. Is
there a "big feed" for some special occasion? Plenty of
brethren will gladly give up that evening in Lodge to
help prepare the tables and serve the meal. Have you a
semi-invalid who cannot easily get to Lodge? Responses
will be generous to a request for volunteers to call
for him and take him home. The Master may urge many
members to watch for opportunities to furnish
transportation to brethren residing in their
neighborhood; the Lodge member without a car will
appreciate a lift from his more fortunate brother.
A Master does not need much imagination to think up a
thousand and one ways to interest his members in Lodge
work, nor will he need more than two or three meetings
to demonstrate the effectiveness of this simple and
easy way to create enthusiasm, increase attendance, and
swell to delightful proportions the pride and joy which
men thus set to labor for the common good will find in
their Lodge.
Try it--you'll be surprised!
Chapter 8
SECRETARY, WARDENS, PAST MASTERS
A Master's greatest asset is a competent and loyal
Secretary. A good officer to his left is a balance
wheel, a touch with the past, a compendium of
knowledge, a very present help in the time of trouble.
Per contra, a lazy, indifferent or incompetent
Secretary, or one antagonistic to the Master, is a
severe handicap.
MINUTES
It is usual to depend on a good Secretary for much, but
it can be overdone. It is not the Secretary, but the
Master, whom the Grand Master holds responsible for his
Lodge. The Secretary writes the minutes, the Lodge
confirms them, but the Master must shoulder the
responsibility of seeing that they contain all things
proper to be written, nothing not proper to be
recorded, are accurate, complete, unbiased.
The Master may not confirm minutes. Nor may he alter,
amend, delete or add to them, except as any brother
may, by suggestion that something was left out which
should have been put in, something put in which had
better be unrecorded.
But the Master may refuse to put a motion to confirm
improper minutes, and Grand Master or Deputy Grand
Master will invariably sustain him if he is right.
Masons are human beings, and therefore not perfect.
Occasionally a Secretary stubbornly refuses to record
what should be written, or wants improper minutes
confirmed. Here the Master can use a Big Stick or the
smooth oil of diplomacy, but he must see that his
minutes will not draw censure from higher authority.
It is the Master's duty to oversee the Secretary's
books, records and receipts. No good Secretary resents
this; on the contrary, he knows that the responsibility
shared is a responsibility halved.
WHO RUNS IT?
There are Lodges of which it is said: "Oh, the
Secretary is really the Master-- he runs it."
If true, it is because too many Masters have been
content to slide through their term of office in the
easiest way. The Master tells the Secretary: "You
suggest the names of the committee on that petition,"
or "Tell me the best arrangement of the work for the
next two or three months. "The Secretary obliges. After
a while he does not wait to be asked--petitions are
handed to the Master with the committee names already
written; a ready-made schedule of work is handed to the
Master. In a few years it is really the Secretary, not
the Master, who controls the Lodge.
The Master who avoids responsibilities because the
Secretary is willing to shoulder them hurts the Lodge,
spoils a good Secretary and must leave the East with
the feeling that he has done little.
The Master who is Master; who aids his Secretary
wherever possible, asks his advice and receives his
suggestions, but who makes his own appointments,
schedules his own work, conducts his own Lodge as he
sees fit, and lives up to all the responsibilities of
his office, will increase respect for the Oriental
Chair and finish his year knowing he was what he was
supposed to be--a leader.
It is sometimes difficult for a new Master, perhaps a
young man, to take from the hands of an old and
respected Secretary work which generations of
predecessors have shifted from their fingers to his.
But the Master has always the comfort of knowing that
Grand Master (or Deputy) is behind him in "all his
laudable undertakings" and that a good Secretary
respects a Master who lives up to his job. Here, as
elsewhere in Lodge, tact, diplomacy, the soothing oil
of flattery and good nature, work wonders. While
occasionally it is the Secretary's fault if the
relations between his desk and the East are strained,
as a general rule it is the Master who must be blamed
if he cannot ' get along with" a faithful and tried
officer to his immediate left.
WARDENS
The Wardens should be a Master's right hand left hands.
Perhaps no ancient usage and custom of the Fraternity
is more universal than the government of Lodges by a
Master and two Wardens. Mackey lists this requirement
as his Tenth Landmark; whether they have adopted
Mackey's twenty-five landmarks or not, all Grand Lodges
recognize the Wardens as essential in the formation,
opening and governing of a Lodge.
Not only are the Wardens essential to every Entered
Apprentices', Fellow Crafts' or Master Masons' Lodge,
but they have certain inherent powers, duties and
responsibilities. Mackey sets these forth substantially
as follows:
While a Master may use others than the Wardens in the
conferring of the degrees, he cannot deprive the
Wardens of their offices, or absolve them of their
responsibilities.
TRIPARTITE
The government of a Masonic Lodge is essentially
tripartite, although Lodges may be legally opened, set
to labor and closed by the Master in the absence of the
installed Wardens, the chairs being filled by temporary
appointments. The Senior Warden presides in the absence
of the Master, and the Junior Warden in the absence of
both Master and Senior Warden.
No other brethren in the Lodge have this power,
privilege or responsibility. The Warden who presides in
the absence of his superior officer may, if he desires,
call a Past Master to the chair to preside for him, but
no Past Master, in the absence of the Master, may
legally congregate the Lodge. That must be done by the
Master, the Senior Warden in the absence of the Master,
or the Junior Warden in the absence of both.
Mackey further states that while the Senior Warden
takes the East by right in the absence of the Master,
the Junior Warden does not take the West by right in
the absence of the Senior Warden. Each officer is
installed with a ceremony which gives him certain
duties; a Warden in the East is still a Warden, not a
Master. It is the Master's privilege to appoint
brethren to stations temporarily unfilled. The Master,
when elected and installed, or Senior Warden acting as
Master in the real Master's absence, may appoint the
Junior Warden to fill an empty West. But the Junior
Warden cannot assume the West without such appointment.
In the absence of the Master, the Senior Warden, when
present, is the only brother who can assume the East
and congregate the Lodge.
Thus runs the general law, generally adhered to. Grand
Lodges may, and not infrequently do, make local
regulations contrary to the Old Constitutions, the Old
Charges, even the Landmarks--the fundamental law of
Masonry.
If a Grand Lodge rules that in the absence of Master
and both Wardens, the oldest Past Master present may
congregate, open, and close the Lodge, that law is
correct for that Grand Lodge, but it is not in
consonance with general Masonic practice.
MEANING
Wardens are found in all bodies of Masonry, in all
Rites, in all countries.
Both its derivation, and its translations give the
meaning of the word. It comes from the Saxon weardian,
to guard, to watch. In France, the second and third
officers are premier and second Surveillant; in
Germany, erste and zwite Aufseher; in Spain, primer and
segundo Vigilante; in Italy, primo and secondo
Sorvegliante, all the words meaning to overlook, to
see, to watch, to keep ward, to observe.
DUTIES
The Government of the Craft by a Master and two Wardens
cannot be too strongly emphasized. It is not only the
right but the duty of the Senior Warden to "assist the
Worshipful Master in opening and governing his Lodge."
When he uses it to enforce orders, his setting maul or
gavel is to be respected; he has a "proper officer" to
carry his messages to the Junior Warden or elsewhere;
under the Master, he is responsible for the conduct of
the Lodge while at labor.
The Junior Warden's duties are less important; he
observes the time, and calls the Lodge from labor to
refreshment and refreshment to labor in due season at
the orders of the Master. It is his duty to see that
"none of the Craft convert the purposes of refreshment
into intemperance and excess " which doubtless has a
bibulous derivation, coming from days when
"refreshment" meant wine. If we no longer drink wine at
Lodge, we still have reason for this charge upon the
Junior Warden, since it is his unpleasant duty, because
he supervises the conduct of the Craft at refreshment,
to prefer charges against those guilty of Masonic
misconduct.
USE THEM
The importance of the Wardens has been set forth at
length that no Master plead ignorance of their vital
importance in Lodge affairs. The Master who considers
his Wardens as only less valuable than himself will
leave his Lodge a legacy for which it may thank him for
years to come.
In the natural course of events, Wardens become
Masters. Failing some unusual upset, some local
condition different from the general rule, the Senior
Warden succeeds the Master, the Junior Warden attains
the East the following year.
What kind of Masters will they make?
The responsibility is not theirs alone, but that of the
present occupant of the Oriental Chair. If he is so
swelled in the cranium with the dignity of his position
that he is unwilling to consult with his Wardens, they
will have the less opportunity to become familiar with
important Lodge affairs. If the Master takes counsel
with his Wardens on every occasion, asks their advice
in regard to Lodge policies, sees that they have all
possible information of charity, relief, finances,
membership, and puts a reasonable amount of outside
work on their shoulders, they will arrive in the East
with a broad vision of Lodge work and a Master's
responsibilities.
The dignity of the office of Master adds to the stature
of any man: no man is so important that he can add to
the dignity of the office. No man may take from the
dignity of the office of Master, although he may abuse
it. Therefore no consultation with Wardens, no sharing
with them of the problems of the East, can in the
slightest take away from the importance, the dignity,
the solemnity of the Master's position. The Master who
plays a lone hand because he fears that Wardens other
than figureheads will detract from his leadership
displays a fundamental ignorance of the invulnerability
of his position. He who uses his Wardens as they were
intended to be used not only has secure props for his
administration on either hand, but benefits his Lodge
by providing well instructed-- educated, if you will--
candidates for the East a year, two years hence.
PAST MASTERS
Fortunate the Lodge which has many; poor that body of
Masonry in which Past Masters have lost the interest
with which they once presided in the East !
The honorable station of Past Master is generally
considered as second in importance only to that of the
presiding Master. He is a good Master who sees that the
brethren in his Lodge understand that "Past Master" is
no empty title, but carries with it certain rights and
privileges, certain duties and responsibilities.
GRAND LODGE
A Past Master has no inherent right of membership in
the Grand Lodge, such as is possessed by the Master of
a Lodge. But in many American Jurisdictions, by action
of the Grand Lodge, Past Masters are members of the
Grand Lodge. In some Jurisdictions they are full voting
members; in others they have but a fraction of a vote,
all the Past Masters of a Lodge having one vote between
them on any Grand Lodge question to be decided by a
vote by Lodges. That a Past Master may receive such
recognition at the hands of his Grand Lodge must be
considered as one of the rights and privileges of a
Past Master.
RIGHT TO PRESIDE
Past Masters are said by Mackey to possess the right to
preside over their Lodges, in the absence of the
Master, and on the invitation of the Senior Warden, or,
in his absence, the Junior Warden.
According to the ancient laws of Masonry, any Master
Mason may be called to the Chair by a Master. Here the
question is as to who may be called to the Chair by a
Warden, who has congregated the Lodge in the absence of
the Master. The great Masonic jurist gives unqualified
endorsement to the idea that under such circumstances
only a Warden, or a Past Master with the consent of the
presiding Warden, can preside over a Lodge, and counts
this as among the rights of a Past Master. However true
this may be in this specific case, the practice and the
law in many Jurisdictions give to the Master the right
to put any brother in the Chair for the time being,
remaining, of course, responsible for the acts of his
temporary appointee, and for the acts of his Lodge
during such incumbency.
RIGHT TO INSTALL
The right to install his successor is inherent in the
office of Master; the privilege of delegating that duty
to another is within his power. He should not delegate
the installing power to any brother who has not himself
been installed, in order that the succession of the
Oriental Chair be unbroken, from regularly installed
Master to Master elect, regularly to be installed.
Therefore, in most Jurisdictions, the installation
power, which is a right of the Master, may be
considered also a privilege of Past Masters.
RIGHT TO ELECTION
A very important right of all Past Masters is that of
being elected to the office of Master, without again
serving as Warden. Perhaps no regulation is more
jealously guarded by Grand Lodges than this, which
dates in print from 1723 (Old Charges), that no Mason
may be elected or installed a Master who has not been
regularly elected, installed and served as a Warden.
There are exceptions; when a new Lodge is constituted,
a brother who has not been elected and installed as
Warden may be elected and installed as Master.
JEWEL
Only a Past Master has the right to wear a Past
Master's jewel, or a Past Master 's apron. He may
possess neither, but he has the right to wear both, and
these rights cannot be taken away from him except by
Grand Lodge or as part of an act depriving him of other
rights, as when he may be suspended, expelled, excluded
from the Lodge, or dropped N.P.D. The giving of a Past
Master's jewel by the Lodge is a beautiful custom, a
recognition of devoted service, but it is not mandatory
on a Lodge to present such a jewel if it does not
desire to do so. No Lodge, however, would take from a
Past Master the right to wear such a jewel if, for
instance, he bought it for himself! But a Grand Lodge
may rule against either or both.
"THE SPIRIT GIVETH LIFE"
So much for law and custom. Far beyond these go the
spiritual rights and privileges of the Past Master,
great or small as the man is small or great. These are
valued by the brethren as the Past Master values them;
and he must value them by a plumb line, like that which
the Lord set "in the midst of my people Israel,"
erected within himself.
If he has been a hard-working, able, conscientious
Master, sincerely desirous of the welfare of his Lodge
and its brethren, thinking only of their good, of his
opportunities for service, of the humility with which
he should assume the East and the dignity and wisdom
with which he should preside, the honorable station of
Past Master will be honored by its possessor, honored
by those who know that he has earned it.
If he has been but a "title hunter," a Master who has
"gotten by" with the least effort, his work poor, his
presence in the East a brake upon the Lodge, he can
hardly look with real pleasure upon his Past Master 's
jewel nor can his brethren give him much honor in his
station.
One of the unwritten usages of the Fraternity, it is
well known to all the Craft that the honors of Masonry
are in the wearer, rather than in the conferring. The
Past Master who has earned his title by loyal, faithful
service will be honored for it all his life, though he
wear no apron or jewel to show his rank. He who has
failed to earn it may wear the largest and most
expensive of jewels, the most be-decorated of Past
Master's aprons, and receive from his brethren no
recognition beyond that of formality.
FLEAS
There are--whisper it!--Past Masters who come to Lodge
only to sit like buzzards, looking for what they may
devour, ready to pounce on any act of the present
administration, critical and fault finding. David
Harum's famous saying "A certain number of fleas is
good for a dog; keeps him from broodin' on being a
dog," may be applicable; perhaps one or two such Past
Masters are good for any Lodge. As a general rule,
however, brethren who have served long years in the
chairs, presided in the East and stepped forward to
join the ranks of Past Masters, have a broad tolerance,
a humility, an understanding to add to their
experience, which makes them very present helps in
times of trouble.
The Master who makes it his first business to pay due
honor to his predecessors, who consults with them, uses
them, puts them on committees, works them, is
reasonably certain of success.
A PAST MASTER SPEAKS
We are a jealous lot, we Past Masters! But our jealousy
is not of the Master but for the Lodge we have loved
and served. We want to see her succeed, go forward,
grow bigger, better, finer, more useful to our
brethren. Most of us count no personal sacrifice
comparable to the good of the Lodge; most of us will go
to great lengths to serve again in any capacity, if by
so doing we can help the old lodge another mile forward
on what we hope will be always an honorable path to
glory.
Therefore, Worshipful Sir, use us, we who have had our
little hour in the East. We have experience--make it
count for you. We have learned to work--make us work
for you. We have understanding of Lodge and membership
problems--make it yours. Give us a job to do, a
committee membership, a minor appointment; aye, give us
the hard and unwanted jobs, and most of us will jump at
the chance. And if you are reasonably gentle about it,
and treat us with even a modicum of fraternal courtesy-
-such as the young should always offer the old !--some
day we will welcome you as Immediate Past Master and
make you one of the charmed circle without which no
lodge can function at its best !
Chapter 9
LODGE FINANCES
If all Lodges had charity funds; if all Lodges put all
fees for the degrees in special funds, and had dues
sufficient to run the Lodges without recourse to fees;
if all Lodges had budgets and lived within them; if all
Lodges had members, all of whom paid their dues in
advance, Masters would have little need to consider
finances. Needless to say, all Lodges do not have such
utopian arrangements!
A few Lodges are so well provided with high dues and
large fees that they do not have to worry about money.
The majority of Lodges, like other organizations, must
plan expenditures to be within income.
A Master can do much in these matters; even with a wise
and experienced Treasurer, a capable Board of Trustees,
a hard-headed Finance Committee, a Lodge may spend more
than it should if the Master does not keep his hand on
the tiller which guides the ship between the Scylla of
parsimony and the Charybdis of extravagance.
BUDGET
Consider the advisability of a Lodge budget. The Master
who goes into office knowing what the Lodge faces in
fixed expenditures--Grand Lodge dues, rent, heat,
light, taxes, salaries, average charity appropriations,
average entertainment appropriations, and so on--can
calculate just where he must cut corners, if any. It is
some trouble to make a Lodge budget--but a Master gets
accustomed to trouble. Most Masters have either a
Finance Committee, or a Board of Trustees, or both;
usually these are wise old Past Masters, who will like
nothing better than to help prepare a budget! The wise
Master, of course, will see to it that the budget is
advisory, not mandatory, since sudden calls may come to
any Lodge.
Particularly is this true of the charity and relief
calls. An average of what has been spent in relief for
the last ten years as the sum budgeted for charity may
be upset past all righting with one unusual case.
Freemasonry is not a mutual benefit society, insurance
organization, institution for relief of the indigent.
In no words of the ritual, in no law nor edict, is a
promise given or implied that the Lodge give relief to
the needy. Charity is an individual matter.
Not as a right to be demanded, but as a free gift
gladly offered, does a Lodge disburse its funds in
helping members in need. As this is one of the real
privileges of Freemasonry, no budget should be so
iron-clad that it cannot be changed when the need
arises.
CHARITY FUNDS
Methods of handling charity are as different as the
some sixteen thousand Lodges in the nation. In the
main, however, Lodges may be divided into those which
handle relief from the general fund, and those which
keep a special fund for the purpose.
It is not here presumed to advise which is better,
since circumstances alter cases. But it may be noted
that Lodges occasionally have to resist a well-meant
raid on the treasury of charity funds.
Some brethren like to spend first and think from whence
will come the money afterward. The Master can rule such
motions out of order, or he can use a little device
familiar to most presiding officers. John Smith gets
the brilliant idea that because the Lodge will be
twenty-five years old next month, it should take five
hundred dollars from the charity fund and stage a big
"home coming night" for all members. If the Master
refuses to entertain this motion, he may probably will-
-offend John Smith and his friends.
Instead, try this: "I am in sympathy with my brother's
idea of a celebration. I think, however, we should have
advice from wise financial heads on such an important
matter. I refer this motion to a special committee on
celebration, which I will appoint later in the
evening."
The Master appoints three brethren in whom the Lodge
has confidence, and whom he knows will report adversely
on the idea of throwing charity money away on a "big
feed." When that committee reports at the next meeting,
the Master has support for his contention that
conservatism is more important than filled stomachs. As
he appoints all committees he will entertain no motion
that the proposal to spend be referred to a committee
composed of Brothers Jones, Smith and Brown.
GRAND LODGE
The importance of payments of dues and assessments to
Grand Lodge can hardly be over-emphasized. In some
Jurisdictions the Lodge pays dues or assessments to
Grand Lodge; in others, the financial responsibility is
direct from brother to Grand Lodge, the Lodge acting
only as a collection agency. In either case, out of
what Grand Lodge receives, that body finances the Grand
Charity of the Jurisdiction--Home, School, Orphanage,
Hospital, Foundation, what have you-- pays its salaries
to its employees, prints it Proceedings, pays all
expenses of the upkeep of Freemasonry in the
Jurisdiction.
Lodges occasionally get in arrears in Grand Lodge
payments, sometimes through misfortune, sometimes
through mismanagement. The Master who inherits such a
condition may not be popular, but he will be brotherly,
if he bends every effort to get his Lodge out of debt
to Grand Lodge. The Master who comes to the East of a
Lodge which does not owe Grand Lodge, and leaves her in
any less comfortable position, must have a real reason
or a troubled conscience.
TEMPLES
Lodges which have Temples to pay for have problems all
their own. Like Grand Lodge dues, this should come
first in Lodge finances. The credit of Masonry before
the public is of greater importance than entertainment,
aye, even than most charity and relief disbursements. A
Lodge which defaults on its interest on real estate
notes to the bank is no breeder of community respect. A
Lodge which pays its obligations on the nail, no matter
how it hurts, is doing a real Masonic service in the
interests of Freemasonry. He is a good Master who puts
his shoulder to this wheel, even if it makes his
muscles sore!
DUES
Most Masters are plagued by the dues question;
collection, on the one hand, remission on the other,
often trouble sleep. A few Lodges have such by-laws as
make both problems easier, but it is a Master's part to
take the by-laws as he finds them, not remake them to
his heart's desire.
There are just two classes of brethren as regards dues;
those who can, and those who cannot, pay. Those who
won't pay until compulsion is exerted are still members
of the "can" class.
The Master who continually emphasizes to his Lodge that
Masonry is a privilege, that Lodge membership is a
valuable property which members have bought and which
is well worth preserving, will have less "won'ts" among
his "cans."
No Lodge wants to drop brethren for N.P.D. Most Lodges
make strenuous efforts to make this unpleasant duty
unnecessary. At times Lodges lean too far backward for
the good of the brother being "carried." A brother
suspended for one or two years N.P.D. does not face an
insurmountable obstacle when he wants to return; he who
has been "carried" for longer periods owes so much that
it is often impossible for him to ask for
reinstatement.
The Master who goes over his delinquent list with a
fine tooth comb and the help of all his Past Masters
can usually determine which brethren, because they are
really unable to pay, deserve to have dues paid by the
Lodge, and those who could pay but are just careless,
indifferent, or need drastic treatment.
COLLECTION
Collection of dues is too often left entirely to the
Secretary; that official usually does his best and his
best is often very good indeed. But with a large Lodge
and farflung membership, the Secretary can do little
personally. The Master, through a committee, can do
much. One Master appointed his Senior Warden as
Chairman of Dues, Suspensions and Remissions, gave him
twenty assistants and had the smallest number dropped
N.P.D. and the smallest number of remissions of any
year in the history of the Lodge, and this in the
middle of the depression.
A personal contact will work wonders with the man who
has not paid his dues but who really can pay. Of
course, it all depends on the kind of contact. This
Senior Warden Chairman's idea is set forth for what it
may be worth. To his committee members he said:
"We are not to go to brethren in the attitude of bill
collectors. We are not to demand, coerce, threaten,
turn up our noses! We are going to those who owe dues
as one brother to another, for help in our mutual
problem. Tell him of some of our charity cases (no
names, even if you know them). Tell him of some of our
members who are much worse off than he, whom we are
helping. Ask him to help us by paying his dues
promptly--if he can't pay them all, let us get what we
can now and the rest later. Let's remember we are all
brethren, and talk as if we were...."
And it worked!
Whatever his method, dues collection is of real
importance, and he is living up to his obligations in
the East who takes his share of this often hard and
disagreeable labor.
RAISING DUES
Occasionally comes the problem of raising dues.
Conditions change; what was enough in the past is no
longer sufficient; Grand Lodge has raised the per
capita; charity demands have become too heavy for Lodge
income; fees have fallen off with a dearth of
candidates. Whatever the rationale of the practice, it
is a melancholy truth that many Lodges do depend partly
on fees for current expenses!
Raising dues is always a hard job.
But it can be done.
The easiest, least painful way is that of education.
Ascertain what brethren, influential preferred, Past
Masters doubly preferred, are in favor of the raise.
Appoint them all on a committee. Meet. Describe the
problem. See that all understand that unless the dues
are raised from six to eight, or sixteen to eighteen
dollars, or whatever the sum may be, the Lodge will
suffer, charity will suffer, brethren will suffer. Then
divide the roster of the Lodge among the committee
members, giving to each the names of brethren he knows
best.
If the committee honestly works, calling on, calling
up, writing to, the names on their lists, they will
persuade enough to come to the meeting at which the new
by-law will be passed or the old one retained, at least
to make a good showing.
Faced with this problem, one Master had the raise in
dues by-law introduced three times in his year. It
requires two-thirds majority in that Lodge to change
the by-laws. Forty percent voted for the change the
first time, fifty-two percent the second and seventy
percent the third, showing that education and
pertinacity will win.
HINTS
Sometimes when a permanent raise cannot be passed, a
five-year plan can; that is, the by-law is made to read
that the dues shall be raised from the present to the
increased amount for the succeeding five years, the
increase to be applied to some particular purpose;
retirement of a note, payment of back taxes, whatever
the need may be.
In one Lodge in which this was done, near the end of
the five years a far-sighted Master appointed a
committee to revise the bylaws. The committee brought
in revised by-laws with the dues stated as those then
being paid. Accustomed after five years to the larger
sum, no one questioned the old bylaw or asked to have
the amount reduced.
A man owed a bill of seven dollars which the store to
which it was due could not collect. A bright collection
man sent him a bill for seventeen dollars. A wrathy
customer appeared at the store to complain, protest,
declaim! He owed no such sum. He owed only seven
dollars. That was what he owed and that was all he was
going to pay.
The collection man apologized: " Very sorry, mistakes
will happen!" He mollified the debtor. The debtor then
paid what he owed--human nature.
In a certain Lodge it was necessary to raise dues from
seven to nine dollars. The Master persuaded the
proposer to make it ten dollars. In the midst of the
hot discussion in which most brethren were against the
drastic change, a planted brother amended the proposed
by-law from ten to nine dollars. The Lodge of course
passed the amendment; with this as a background, and
feeling it had won a victory, it then passed the raise.
Human nature.
PLANS
"There ought to be a law" is a national belief. In
Lodge it often expresses itself in a new idea, plan,
scheme which its proponents think financially
desirable.
It is not the province of these pages to discuss the
pros and cons of life membership, sustaining
memberships, perpetual rolls, remission of dues to all
who have been in good standing for twenty-five or any
number of years. Ideas which are good for Lodge A will
fail in Lodge B. But it is the province of any Master
who faces a sudden proposal to do something different
and drastic with Lodge funds, or who is opposed to some
life membership or remission idea, to know how to meet
it.
First, let him postpone action until "further light"
can be had. Second, let him write to his Grand
Secretary to learn what, if anything, Grand Lodge has
said on the subject, and what other Lodges in the
Jurisdiction have tried this or a similar plan. Third,
let him learn the nation's experience; recourse to his
Grand Lodge Library is indicated, or correspondence
with those who will know. The Fraternal Correspondent
of Grand Lodge will doubtless be able to put any
inquiring Master immediately in touch with information
regarding any one of dozens of financial schemes which
have been tried in various Grand Jurisdictions.
"DON'T!"
As a general rule, Punch's advice to those about to
marry applies to any proposal which has, as even a
remote possibility, the reduction of the income of a
Lodge. A new Lodge, just chartered, in the enthusiasm
and ignorance of youth, proposed a by-law that, when it
was twenty-five years old, all who were charter members
should become exempt from the payment of dues. It
appeared very easy to what was then "today" to remit
the dues of loyal brethren twenty-five years in the
future. It was supposed that some would have died, some
dimitted, some be dropped, and that only a few of the
original eighty one charter members would be eligible
for this reward for fidelity.
Saner counsels and good advice prevailed and the Lodge
did not adopt this by-law. The Secretary was among the
charter members who survived, and at the end of twenty
five years made a calculation. Of the original
eighty-one members, forty-three were living. The Lodge
had grown but slowly, and its total membership on its
twenty-fifth birthday was one hundred and thirty-seven.
Had the original proposal gone through, more than
thirty-one percent of the members would have gone on
the free list, reducing the Lodge income by much more
than one third, since the Grand Lodge dues would still
have to be paid.
BRAKE!
Let the Master faced by any revolutionary or startling
financial proposal put it off, refer it to a committee,
say he does not wish consider it at the time--then let
him get competent and factful advice; then, and only
then, should he let it come before the Lodge. Sentiment
should never interfere with properly safeguarding Lodge
funds. The same audits, bonding, double signatures,
familiar to good business, are also indicated as wise
protections for Lodge funds.
One of the important items in a Master's list of duties
is to act as a brake upon the runaway enthusiasms of
the well-intentioned !
Chapter 10
THE IDEAL
An ideal is the perfection towards which we stretch
eager hands--but never grasp.
The ideal Master has never presided in any East, for
the ideal Master would be perfect and perfection is not
given to human beings.
But the clearer and more attractive is the ideal before
us, the more strenuously we may strive towards it, and
the nearer we may approach it.
The ideal Master knows his Masonry. He has spent many
years with many books. To him the romance, the history,
the high lights of adventure, the great men who are
Masons, the great Masons who have led the Craft are
familiar. In spirit he has stood beside the king's
Master Mason at the construction of one of the great
cathedrals of Europe. He has supped with Ashmole and
breakfasted with Sir Christopher Wren. He has sat in
Lodge with Preston, Desaugliers, Hutchinson, Jeremy
Cross, a thousand others. He has assisted at the
initiation, passing and raising of Washington, and
knelt with him at Valley Forge. He has learned Masonic
Wisdom at Ben Franklin's feet. He has traveled westward
with Freemasonry, from its first beginnings in
Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, to the Pacific coast.
Through Revolution, War of 1812, the Mexican campaigns,
the Civil War, the Spanish War, the World War, he has
seen Masonry work her gentle miracles.
He knows something of Masonic literature, what books to
recommend to his brethren, where to find the answer to
the questions which will be asked him; the ideal Master
has had a Masonic book in his pocket or at his bedside
for years before he attained the East.
The ideal Master looks at his Lodge and sees it wholly
harmonious. No rifts or schisms develop under him;
peace and harmony prevail. He soothes the unhappy and
brings together the parted friends. He; caters to the
cranky and makes them content; he avoids all
jealousies. He is friends with every Past Master, every
officer, every brother.
The ideal Master leaves his Lodge better off
financially than he found it; he spends less than the
income and for what he spends the Lodge receives full
value.
The ideal Master pays great attention to the duties
which are his in Grand Lodge; he faithfully attends,
intelligently takes part in the deliberations, votes
with the interests of his Jurisdiction at heart, is a
constructive force in the governing body of
Freemasonry.
The ideal Master has interesting meetings. He is
willing to work, and work hard, arranging programs,
planning events which will not only interest but
instruct the brethren. They are better Masons and
therefore better men because of the hours they spend
within the tiled doors of the Lodge over which he
presides.
To the Craft the ideal Master gives "good and wholesome
instruction. " No brother goes from one of his meetings
without something done or said which leaves a higher
thought of Masonry in his heart. His degrees are
dignified, well put on. His candidates have not only
ritualistic instruction, but are told something of
"what it is all about" that they, too, may "become good
and faithful brethren among us." His officers are given
a mark at which to shoot when the slow wheel of time
turns them, too, into the Oriental chair.
The ideal Master considers the ill and the sorrowing as
his personal care, as well as that of the Lodge. No
brother takes to his bed or calls the doctor but the
Master sees him to bring what cheer he may. No widow or
fatherless child grieves for one gone to the Great
White Lodge but has the comfort of a word, a tear, from
the leader of his brethren. As much as a man may do, he
does for those bound to him and to his Lodge by the
Mystic Tie.
No brother or family of a brother in want but is
helped, so far as the Lodge may help. It may be that
the only help is suggestion, advice, counsel--but it is
a friendly touch in the hour of need. If it is food,
clothing, medicine for those too poor to buy for
themselves, the ideal Master makes it his business to
know the facts and to bring a sympathetic report to his
Lodge.
The ideal Master has no trouble preserving the dignity
of his office, because brethren respect Masters who
respect the East. He hands on the gavel of authority
unsullied by defiance to the brother who succeeds him
in the East.
The ideal Master counts not his personal pleasure, his
social engagements, his hours of rest, recreation, aye,
even his sleep, when his Lodge calls. He puts his Lodge
and its needs before anything and everything in his
life for this year, save only his family and his God.
He is Master of the Lodge, but, in a very real sense,
is servant of his brethren, and takes pleasure in his
service, knowing it to be honorable before all men.
The ideal Master carries a watch and uses it. If fifty
brethren wait ten minutes past the hour for a late
Master, he wastes more than eight hours of fraternal
time--which he has no more right to do than to waste
Lodge money. His degrees start at a reasonable hour
that they may be conducted unhurriedly, and he requires
promptness of his officers as he himself is prompt.
The traditions of his Lodge and of the fraternity are
hallowed in his mind and practice. The Ancient
landmarks are preserved, the laws, resolutions and
edicts of Grand Lodge lived up to, the by-laws
meticulously observed. The records of his lodge are
kept so as to draw commendation from authority.
The ideal Master is guide, philosopher and friend to
many brethren for many troubles; brethren turn to a
Master, at times, when they will go to no one else. He
is, perhaps, mediator in a domestic trouble, he
counsels with a father over a wayward boy, he helps a
widow invest her money wisely, he obtains employment
for those without work; he does almost everything for
every one, aye, even to washing a child's face and
painting a porch, one Master's contribution to the
household of a sick brother!
The ideal Master keeps constantly before him the need
for seeing his problems through a tolerant smile of
understanding. If he ever had a temper, he lost it for
the year before he entered the East. He has constantly
before him the thought that many men have many minds,
and that two brethren of directly opposite views may
both be honest and sincere. He does not take sides but
is a balance wheel; he rules firmly and justly, but the
firmness is tempered with kindness and the justice with
mercy.
The ideal Master is enthusiastic about his work, and
prayerfully conscious of his own limitations; hence he
is quick to seek counsel and advice, and as slow to
take it until he has thought it through.
The ideal Master is eager for suggestions --but he does
not follow those which seem to him unwise, no matter
how important the brother who makes them. His is the
responsibility, therefore his must the decision be, but
he knows that two heads are usually better than one,
and welcomes counsel when it is offered, seeks it when
it is shy.
The ideal Master is primarily concerned with policies
rather than details, and delegates the latter to
carefully chosen committees. But he keeps ever before
him his responsibilities, and knows what is going on.
Too many Masters have become bogged in details, and
thus lost the path to success. The ideal Master does
not lose his way!
The ideal Master is an ideal Mason; Masonry is a part
of him, as he is a part of Masonry. With all his heart
and soul and strength he strives to live the Masonic
life that all brethren may see that here is no mere
figurehead, but a vital force.
Finally, the ideal Master is humble minded. Not for him
the arrogant pride of place and power, though he has
both power and place. Not for him the big stick, though
it is his to wield, but the silken string which leads
where ropes may not haul. The ideal Master keeps ever
before him the knowledge that although elevated to the
most honorable position within the gift of his Lodge,
he can really fill the Oriental Chair only if he thinks
first, last and all the time of the Lodge and brethren,
never of self.
High? Of course it is high ! All real ideals are too
high to reach until we can reach out and touch the
stars. But we can make the effort to reach....
Uneasy the Past Master's head which lies on a sleepless
pillow, thinking sad thoughts of opportunities missed,
of duties undone, of work which now can never be his to
do. Happy the Master who lays down his gavel at the end
of his year knowing he has done all that in him lies;
mortal man may do no more. He it is who may stand in
the East œor the last time, just before he installs his
successor, wearing a sprig of rosemary in his lapel.
"Rosemary--that's for remembrance."
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