Issued Every Three Months By The Rig ht Worshipful Grand lodge of The Most Ancient and Honorable Fra ternity of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdiction Thereunto Belonging, through its
COMMITTEE ON MASONIC CULTURE- William E. Yeager, Past Grand Master, Chairman; William E. Montgomery, G. Edward Elwell, Jr., Frank R. leech William A, Carpenter, Charles A. Young and Ashby
B Paul.
APPROVED AND AUTHOR ZED TO BE PRINTED BY CHARLES H. NITSCH
WILLIAM A. CARPENTER, Editor
Mailing Address: The Masonic Templ e, Broad and Filbert Streets, Philadelphia 7, Po.
Vol. IV February, 1957 No. 1
Peace 'tS More Than a Word
The wo rd peace has bee n print ed billions of imes uttered in billions of prayers, s poke n of tim es over the radio and voiced thousands of time s by every member of the hum an ra ce i n all the languages of earth And s till we ha ve'' wa r s It is hi gh time to co ns id er that pea ce is more than a word. It is more than a spot of ink o n a piece of paper, or a sou nd on our lip s Peace is everyth ing that · makes life worth li ving.
Peace is God on both sides of th e table n a conference
Pea ce s goodw ill in acti on.
Peace s worl d-wide neighborl iness
Peace is co -operatio n and t eam -wor k ; it is pulling with people in s tead of pus h ing th em arou nd.
Pea ce is san it y and com mon sense in human relations.
P eace is op en -mind ed ness. It is a willin g ness to lis ten a s well as t o talk. It is looking a t both s ides of a s i tuation obj ectivel y
Peace is pa ti ence. I t mea.ns. heping tempe rs, r is in g abo ve petty Irntat wn, takmg the l ong-l ook. It mean s keepmg .our on and giving time a cha n ce o work It s magic.
Peace is h av in g the courage and humilit y to admit mis tak es a nd take the bl ame when we are wrong.
P eace s international co urtesy It is good spor tsmans hip in world a ffairs
Peace is ta ct , and tact has been defined the abi li ty to pull th e stinger of a be e without getting s tun g Peace s vision. It is bein g big eno ugh to g1ve up s mall individual advantages for the unive rs al advan t age of a warless world.
Peace is using th e Golden Rule as a me as urin g stick in so ving world problems.
Pea ce s th e open hand instead of the clenched fist. It is t olerance and u nders tandin g toward men of everv clas s, creed and color
Pea ce is m ig ht y fa ith. It s a radiant beli ef in the potential goodness an d greatness of men. It is a d y nami c co nfiden ce tha t wa r can be aholi shed forever.
P eace is a t h ing of the heart as well as th e head. It is wa r mth, a ma gnet is m, that re aches out and draws people to geth e r in a co mm on pu r pose.
P eace is top-lev el thin kin g, feeling, actin g It is r isin g above tank s, planes and a tom bombs as a way of settl i ng d is put es Peace is a way of li ving. -W.A.C.
Are Gudder Men Then Odhers?
(Conlinuedfrom page 2)
"S o1ne 1naconnes a re not so virt rtou s as so me odher 1nenne; but yn the 1noste parte , thay be more gude then thay woulde be :>1 tha y u ;ar not 1naco 1U1.es."
In o ther words, while he wou ld no t claim that Masons are be tter men than others, and admitted that so me Mas o n s a r e not so v irtu ous as some other m e n, of one fact he could be, indeed was s ure : that in the m ost part Masons ar e be tter men than they would be if they were not Masons.
In this truth we find much of th e glory of Mas o nry. Its influence through the ce nturies has been such that in the mo st part, th ose who have follow ed its t eachings have b ecome better m e n than they o th erwis e would have been. If thi s were all that could be s aid in its favor surely this, and thi s alone, would be a suffic ie nt exc u se for it s b eing.
Errata et Addenda
B y WILLI AM E. MONTGOMERY
An amateu r hi s torian such as the present wTiter is dep en dent to a considerab le degre e upon friends and ass ociates in hi s effo rt to th e fa cts s trai g ht and up -to-date. In connectwn with several articles appearing in " The Pennsylvan ia Freemason," it th eref ore seems appropriate to expre ss appreciation to: (1) Brother Arthur L. Miller of Pittsburgh who calle d attention to a n e rror in the ar ti cle on Cap i tular M aso nr y i n P e nnsyl vania , in wh ich it wa s asse rt ed th at the Ro yal Arch d eg r ee wa s fi rs t conferred in thi s co un try in Phila d elphia in 1 758 The s ta te m e nt was correct wh en appli ed to P e nns ylvania but covered t oo much te rrit ory in referring to the entire coun tr y At the Communica ti on of the Grand of P e nnsyl va nia in D ecembeT, 1953, th e Grand High Pries of Virgin ia in his remarks called attention to th e fact that th e first documentary evidence of th e conferr ing of the R oya l Arch d eg ree is in the possession of Freder ic ks burg Lodge, No .4, of Virgin ia and bears th e date o f D ecem ber 22, 1753, at w hi c h time an d place thr ee brethren were " r aised to th e Degr ee of Ro yal A r ch M ason " (2) Broth e r Edward Barth of Philadelphia who was kind enough to s end a photogra ph of a bronze plaque w hi ch was erecte d just a bout a year ago near Benjam in Fra nklin 's g r ave in Christ Church burial g r o und at 5t h a nd Arch Stree t s in Phila delphi a Th e plaque conta ins th e uniqu e and w itty ep i taph whi c h Franklin w r ote as a young man an d whi ch was q uo t ed in the Au g ust 1956 issu e of thi s publica ti on. Bro th er Barth cite s the fact that the s tone markin g the graves of Benjamin a nd Fr ank in is in acco rd ance with th e p r ov1s10n s of Franklin 's will " a ma r b le stone, 6 ft. l ong, 4 ft. wide, plain; with only a small molding a r o und the upper e d ge ."
(3) Br o th e r W illi am J. Paters on, Grand L o d ge's e ffici e nt Li b r arian a nd Curator, wh.o forwarded a clipping from The Phdade phm Inquirer o f October 24, 1956, in whi ch ref-
e rence was made to Th e Free Quakers Meeting
H o use (where Grand Lodge held its sessions from 1790 to 1799) descr ibed in the Novembe r iss ue of thi s quarte rl y publi ca tion. The clipping states th at the Free Quakers were a group of Friends who d efied the prin c iples of the sect and ook up arm s in th e Revolutionar y War. It also conveyed the interes ting and welcome n ews that, because the str ucture is a fine r ep rese ntation of Colonia l arc hitecture and has hi stori c al s ignifican ce, it will be preserved when the Ma ll is completed northward from Indepe nde nce Hall.
Report of Extension Fund Committee
(Continued from page 5)
as the Treas urer but in the many , many other ser vices which he cheerfully and will ing ly rendered including the mon thl y statis ti cs as to th e progress of the various Lodges, wh ich he made up and furnished to the m e mbers of the Committee. He was al so mo s t liberal wi th hi s time efforts and money, and s till is continuing with his fine work.
Brother Ri chard A Kern Past Right Wors hipful Grand Mas t er has been a tower of str ength and h e lp to the Comm ittee, not only wit h the work h e per formed in his own Lodge but with hi s co unsel and advice to th e Committee in genera l.
B r oth er Charles H. Nitsch, the Present Right Wors hipful G ran d M as t er, from the very beg inning, w hen h e s u cceeded Broth er Ed ward F. Rob e rts a s an Offi ce r of the Grand Lodge, wa s ex tremely fr ee w i th his time and effort for the benefit of the fund and , in a la rge m eas ure the s u ccess of the fu nd is du e t o hi s in e res t.
Ever y Grand Mas te r , begin ning with Brother Geo r ge H. Deike, William E. Yeager, Albert T. E y er and Ralph M. Lehr, a ss is ted the Committee in every manne r poss ible t o perform its job.
In ad dition to th e work of r a is i ng th e necessary fun ds, the work of th e Commit tee has brought t ogether m any M aso n s of th e City of Philade phia who h ave becom e fa s t friends because of working ogethe r and b eca use of th e ir r es p ect and admiration for one anoth er.
This by -pr od u c , a s it we r e, mu s t be co nsi dered ju s t as important t o th e welfare of th e Freemas ons of Philad el phia in particular, and the Fratern ty in ge n era , a s the rais in g of SS00,000 o r more.
Poss ibly at s ome f uture tim e, someone with the n ecessa r y literary a bilit y a nd th e inquisitive na ture required, will resea r c h th e wor k of the Comm ittee a nd p roperl y evalua te the serv ices of a ll o f those w h o meri t c ommenda ti on, including officers and membe rs of indi vidual Lodges
Footnol e by t.lr e R. JTI Grand Ma st cr: Hrot.lr c r Jl'lorris Ru b e r g, Pa st Ma s cr of odge No. 9 1 rvho wrote h e abot;c artr c lc .S too urod est t o credit hirnsc lf wi th tire of work Ir e lw s don e iu u ss s t.ing n ru siug lu s J.und. / Is S ecretory oft ltc 1-lo spi al E:'Ctensiott Ir e /Jn s wrii.Lett hu urlrer1s of c ers 1net. wtl.h tn._any grou.ps fro n t. vurio u.s J... o
FREEMASON
A Message from Our Grand Master
COMMITTEE ON LANDMARKS
I ha ve fr eque ntly been as ked "What is the Committee on Land marks?"
ARTICLE 13, SECTION NINE of the Ahiman Rezon reads, "T he Committee on Landmarks s hall co n s is of all the Past Grand Mas ters, w h o in conjunction wi th th e Grand Ma s ter.and the D eputy Grand Master , s hall be a Standing. Committee,. to whic h s hall be referred all questions tou c hmg the Ancient Usage s, Customs, and Landmarks of the and the Constitutio n of the Grand Lodge of P e nnsyl vama.
ARTICLE 12, SECTION ONE of the Ahiman R ezon reads: " The Pa s Grand Maste r s s hall b e r egarde d as th e con se r vat o rs of the Ancient U s ages, Customs and Landmarks of Freemaso nry , b y reaso n o f th e ir expe ri e n ce "
ARTI CLE 12, SECTION TWO of the Ahiman R ez on reads in part " H e (The Grand Master) is supreme in all m a tters concerning the Fraternity "
ARTICLE 12 SECTION THREE of the Ahiman R ezon read s: "To him (The Grand Mas te r ) be longs the gene ral su pervis ion and government of the F ra ernity For these purposes h e i s empowered:
"To a ppoint Di stri ct De pu t y Grand Mas ters, the Subordinate Offi c ers of the Grand Lo d ge Tru s tees, Stan d i ng Commi tte e s a nd Special Commit ees whose app o intment is n ot oth e r wi se provi de d for; a nd a ll emplo yees who m ay be ne ce ssar y in the co ndu c t of the b u s iness of hi s of-fice To iss ue edicts (Edict s of the Grand Maste r h ave th e a uth o rit y of Mason ic Law) regardin g the action o f L odges , o r for the governmen t of the s ame the ir offi cer s and membe r s To cause Masons t o be made in hi s presence at any tim e and any p ace, a Lodge be in g opened b y him for tha t purpose, T o grant, and a uthori z.e t o he g ranted , Dis pensa tions for making M aso n s, for consti t uting L odges, f or pass ing t o the Cha i r , fo r ay ing Corne r s ton es, fo r forming Ma s on ic process ions , an d for the burial of unaffilia ted Ma s t er Masons "
ARTI CLE 12
SECTION FO UR reads: " He sha ll be ex-officio, chairman of Committee, whose sess ion s he m ay th ink prope r to attend "
Thus from th e above, the Grand M as ter is ves ted wi th tremendous authori t y
The Grand Ma s ter is cha r aed to keep, s upport, mainta in an d a bid e by all of the An c ient U s ages, Cus toms and Landm a rk s o f the Fraternit y How d oes o ne define Ancient Usages, Customs and Lan dmar ks?
Much ha s been writ te n on the s ubjec t. Grea t Ma so n ic schol ars h ave d e lved deepl y into this s u bjec t. So m e Grand Lodges have e num e ra te d
the Landmarks for their Juris di c tions. In th ese tabula tions they vary from as few as three to as many as fi fty -fo ur
The preva iling idea of the Ancient Landmarks is that are th ose time honored a nd universal customs of Freemasonry w h rch ha ve been the fundamental laws of the Fraternity from a period s o remote that the ir origin cannot be traced, and so ess ential that they canno t. be modifie d or amended without changing the character of the Fratermt y The philoso phical theor y can b e applied to s ome fundamental t ene t or princ i p le and we ca n c te as a n example , Joseph Fort Newton's s tatem e nt that the Landma rks are "The Fatherhood of God , the Brotherho o d of Man , the Golden Rule and the hope of a life everlasting."
I r epea t The Ahiman R ezon s tates that " The Past Grand Mas ters s hall be r ega r ded as the conservators of the and Lan dm a r ks of Freema so nry , b y reason of the rr expenence
All our P as t Grand Mas te r s a re dedicate d Ma son s. The combi n ed exper ience of these Brethre n mu s t be use d to the fullest extent b y the Grand M as ter pre sentl y holding office
It i s m y des ire that mee tin gs of the Committee on La ndmarks be held a t r egula r interval s a nd there s hould be included in the se meetings, th e Sen ior Gra nd Warden, J un io r Grand Wa r den, Grand Trea s urer and G rand Secr eta r y It is m y desi r e that the Committee on Landmarks be consu lted on m a tte r s beyond the "An cient U sages, Customs and Landmarks of the F raterni t y ." The Commi ttee s ho uld be con s ulted .on all matters of poli cy th a t would affect the we l fare of the Fraterm t y I do .w 1s h to impl y that yo ur present Grand Maste r is r e l uc tant t o m a ke decJ s tons I is a m a ter of comm o n s en se t o combi n e t he opi nion s o f tho se Brethren who been Grand Mas ters wi th the op in ions o f thos e w h o will be Grand Mas te rs in th e fut ure. Surely the Gra nd L odge will profi by s uch di sc uss ions It is poss ible tha a Grand Ma s t er in hi s e n t husias m , rna! not a l wa ys u s e hi s power wisel y . L e t m e quote. from an add r ess d ehvere d b y the la te Senator Re e d of Mi ssouri w h o m an address m th e Senate said " He is a foo l, he is every kin d of a fool tha ha s ever cursed the eart h or c ursed him sel f w h o thinks tha t an y powe r will always be u sed w se ly o r justl y " T o make a begi nning of what I hop e wi ll res ult in reg ula r s tated mee tin gs of the Comm ittee on Landmarks, the Pas Gran? Maste r s the Grand Office r s w ill s hortly be inv i ted t o attend a sess wn so me trme duriTJ g the mon th of March at which time m atte rs of great importanc e will be broug ht up for di sc uss io n.
Right Worshipful Grand Master
CHARLES H. NITSCH , Grand Master
Royal Arch Masonry
By FRANK R. LEECH
M. E. Grand Trea su rer
Royal Arch Masonry, as a se parate and independent organization is of comparati ve ly modern date. The R oya Arch is founded upon and is but a part of the Mas ter' s Degree, as the Mark is but an appendage of the Fellow Craft.
The sepa ration grew out of, a nd was one of the result s of the s chism in England, which occurred in th e forepart of the 18th cent ur y. This schism was not comple ely harmonized there until 1813. The remembrance of it is embedded in the phras eology of our ritual, in th e t erm "Ancient York Mason . "
The earliest mention of he Ro ya l Ar ch as a separate degree , is in 1740. It is noti ced as one of the results of the schis m in England , and a s a difference between the work of the two opposing bodies Th e s eceder s from the Grand Lodge of England called themselves "ANCIENTS," and s tigmatized the Grand Lodge and its adherents as "M OD ERNS." The y organized as " The Grand Lodge of ALL England," and cut off the R oyal Arch fr o m th e Master's Degree
The first Ro yal Arch Chapter ever opened in America , of which any account has been published , is that of No. 3, in Phil adel phia meeting under the Lodge Warrant, about the y ea r 17 58. Th e Grand Ch a pter of Virg inia record s the fir s do c um e ntar y ev iden ce of the conferrin g of the Ro yal Arch Degree t o be found in the world as b e ing in possess ion of Fred er ick sburg Lodge, No . 4, a t Frederick s · burg, Virginia, and bears th e dat e of D ecember 22, 1753.
The Grand Chapter of P ennsyl van ia i s the oldes t on this conti n ent, havin g b een formed by our Grand Lodg e on November 23, 1795 wi th William Ball , th e n Grand Master, as Grand Hi gh Priest. A communi ca ti on was imm ediately addre ssed to th e Grand Lodge o f ALL England and a r epl y from th at body was r eceive d and read in our Grand Lodge Ma y 30, 1796 The Grand Chapter continu ed under the juris di ction of th e Grand Lodge until182 4, when the Grand Ch apter was made an in. depend ent body, elect ing its own officers as at pres ent.
At the el ection in Grand Chapter , held D ecember 6 1956, the fo ll owi n g Gra nd Offi. cers were el ec ted:
M. E. Gran d H ig h Priest
WALTER D. FERREE
M. E. Grand King
J oHN R. AsHER
M. E Grand Scribe
MAURI CE T. WHITE
M. E. Gra nd Treasurer
FRA NK R. LEECH
M. E. Grand Secre a ry
J oHN C. F. K ITSELMAN
Comp anion KITSELMAN appointed Com. panion J ED WARDS SMITH, J R. a s A ssistant Gran d Secretary a nd the appointment was confirmed by Grand Chapter.
Is Our Face Red?
It is wis e ly sa id that "error is the f orce that we lds men to ge ther; truth is co mmuni cated to men on ly by deeds of truth. " After three yea r s of publis hing, we have experienced some rather unfortunate errors in our efforts to do justice to the many phas es o f se rvi ce performed in o ur Jurisdiction.
A mo s t r ecent e rror in the column s of " The Penn sylva nia Freemason" was, of a ll things , an omiss ion of a name in the li s tin g of The Philadelphia Freemaso n s' Me morial Hos pital Medical Staff And of all the names, it was Dr. E. J. Ste in 's, of Lancaste r , that was omit t ed.
Dr. Stein is a Me mbe r of Hug uenot Lodge, No 377 of Kutzt o wn, Pa. , and ju s t r ece ntl y r eceived his Fift y Year Mas oni c Serv ice Emblem in that Lodge. Dr. Ste in is the Dean of the members of the Cons ulting Staff of The Philadelphia Freemason s' Memorial H ospi tal , ha ving se rv e d continuo us l y eve n p r ior to the erec ti on of the pres ent hos pital bui din gs He has p erformed practicall y ever y tons illotomy at The Homes and Th e Th oma s Ranken Patton Ma so nic In s titution fo r Bo ys s ince 1921, a nd is s till at it.
They say "To err is human. " But what can be s aid of s u ch bad error s and big error s ex cept to offer our s incerest apo logies to Dr. Paul R. Evans, Res id ent Medical Direc tor at The H om es, an d through him to Dr. E. J. S t ein , a pro minent me mber of hi s s taff. And a t th e sa me time we ll make a m e mo to ha ve a sessi on wi th our pr in te r a nd pr oofr ea de r.
Lowther Manor Lodge, No. 781
Recently Constituted
Fiftee n s tates, the Ca nal Zon e a nd 97 Lodges in P ennsylva nia are r epre sented in th e me mbe r s hi p of Low th er Ma n o r Lodg e , No. 781 w hich was co n s tituted on Februar y 9, 1957, in Ze mbo Mosqu e, Harri sbu rg, wi th 203 Warrant Members West S hore Lodge, No. 681, of Ca mp Hill whi ch was con s tituted in 1915 with twe nt ytwo m e mber s quickly gre w in memb er s hip in f or t y-two years t o 800 a nd i ts o ffi cer s and memb ers wer e in a gr ee me nt that thi s r apidl y grow in g area could well s upp or t a s econd L odg e While this idea had been given cons iderati on f or s ome ti me, it was n ot until la s t Ma y tha t th e pro jec t was given th e final impetu s th at resulted in the f ormation of the n ew Lodge. Brother Har r y L P arson , then Wor shipful Master o f West S h ore Lodge an d the Committee appoin t ed b y him , appr oached the man y Ma son s liv ing in this section who se home Lodge was at leas t fift y mil es away, and th e re spo ns e was so enthus ias ti c that by ea rl y las t Fall fift y of th ese Masons, man y of th em fr om other sta es, h a d agreed to p etition Grand Lodge f or a Warra nt. With the p e tition formally approved la s Decemb er the lis t of Warran t Members gr ew s o rapidl y th at by February 9 , th e date of the co n stitution the nu mbe r h ad reach ed 20 7,
only ten of whom had been members of West Shore Lodge. Only fo ur were abs ent when Broth er George A Avery, R. W. Grand Secretary, call ed the roll that afternoon West Shore Lodge, No. 681 , not only spons ored the ne w Lodge, but also offered the use of its Masonic Temple to the new group. A large number of Mas ons attended the ceremonie s, co nd ucted by the R. W. Grand Master , Br othe r Charles H. N it sch a nd the Grand Lodge Officers, marking the consec rati o n and con s titution of t he n e w L odge . A banquet atte nd ed by over 500 was held immediatel y following th e ceremo ni es.
"Lowther Manor " was the nam e give n this area about 1 750 by the P enn fami ly The Warrant Officers of the Lodge, which will m eet on the Seco nd Tu esda y, are: W orshipful Master, MAURI CE W. HYKES, Senio r Ward en, RAYMON D A. MYERS , J unio r W a rden, JA CK B. K NORR , Treasurer, JoH N L. W IT MER and Secretary, NEWTON C. LAN DIS. -A.B.P
Are Maconnes Gudder Men Then Odhers?
By GEORGE A. AvERY
Right Worshipful Grand Secreta ry
This th ought -provo king ques tion is found in an old Eng lis h manus cript which cla ims to h ave been wri t en by the hand o f Kin g Henry VI , and see ms to be a tran script of a n oral exam ina tion ta ken by a member o f the Bro therho od of Mas ons, p oss ib ly in th e presence of th e Kin g
To what exten t Henr y was influen ce d by thi s exam i nation we shall n e ver kn ow. However in 1 450 h e was initi a t ed int o the m ys teries o f Masonry , a nd immediatel y put a s top to the persecutio n o f the Craft, w ho se assemblies had bee n prohibit ed b y Parliament s ince 1425
Th e qu es ti o n we ha ve quoted a s our headl in e is the eleventh of a series of t welve whi ch t o uch on th e ori gin and nature of Ma s onry, and on the character o f i ts members. Are gudder 1nen then odhers?
Th ere can be no de nial o f the fact that at fir s t th o ug ht th e q u es ti on s eems to be a fa ir one, especiall y i f a s ked , whether fi ve hundr ed yea r s ago or in o ur own day, b y o ne who is trying to m a ke an h ones t apprai sal of th e Craft.
Ar e Mas ons b e tter men than o thers?
U po n m ore ma ture de liberat ion it beco mes patent that it is a ques tion which no th ou ghtf ul Mason wo uld dare to answer by a m ere " Yes," or "No." The r e have alwa ys b een, a nd, no doubt will always be ma n y goo d men, and, alas, some evi l men, both in and out of the Frate rnity Our un known Brother , who s t ood b efo r e t he Kin g an d an s were d the qu es tions put to him , was we ll aware of thi s fac t. He dared not say th at Masons are better men than others What, th en, was his r e ply ?
(Contin u ed on page 6)
Report of Philadelphia Freemasons' Memorial Hospital Extension Fund Committee
By MoRRIS RuBERG, Secretary of the Committee
January 3, 195 7 wa s a red-letter day for the members o f our Fraternity, affil iated with the ninet y-s ix Lodges l oca t ed in th e City of Phil adelp hi a, because on that date th e Phil adelphi a Freemaso n s' Ho s pital Fund Committee paid ove r to the Grand Secretar y a check in the s um of $15 ,000, thereb y bringing the total of m onie s paid over to the Grand Se cretar y, out of co ntributions and other funds recei ved b y the Committee up o that date, to a grand sum of $500, 000.
The a c tual amount of contributi o ns rece ived from he various Lodge s aggregated a t ota l of approximately $483 ,000, and from Special Gifts an additional sum of approximately $26,500 was re ceived. Included in th e S peci a l Gifts was th e s um of $ 16,300 from Benjamin Frankli n Cons is tor y (Vall ey of Phil adelph ia), $ 1,050 from Ma r y Commandery No 36, Kni ghts T emplar, $528. 46 from Scott S Leib y, 33 Clas s 1953 Scottish Rite , $5,000 f rom Lodge No 9, s pe cificall y fo r the Dis pe n sa r y, and various amounts fro m $15 .00 up t o $300.00 were contributed by a h ost of Square Clubs and indiv idu als.
Th e Committee is not sa tis fied to res t at this poirit b ut will co ntinu e in its e lforts As o f December 31, 1956, 57 of the 96 Lodges rea ched the s ugges t ed quota or a n excess of th a t quot a, 39 Lodges ha ve not ye t re ached th eir quo ta but out of th ese 39 Lodges 15 L odges n eed a mounts of $ 1,000 or le ss in order that th eir r es p ec t ive quota s may be reach ed.
Th e Lodges in Di s tri ct " A," with Brothe r J ohn K. Yo un g as Di s tri c t Dep ut y h ave the outs tanding di stin c ti on of e ve r y Lodge in the Di stri c t h aving contri b ut ed at le as t the s ugges ted quota . Several Lodges have per forme d remarkabl y, as, for examp le, Phi lad e lphia Lodge No. 72 with a quot a o f $2,640.00 ha s contribu ted $5 ,4 50 .20, an d William B. Hac kenburg Lodge No 70 3 with a quota of $ 6,890 h as contributed S18 625 No d o ub t Broth er William R. Moone y is r espo n s ib le for th e p erforman ce of Lodge No 72 and Brother E. Mar x Sc h we rin is r es p on s ib le for the outs tanding co ntribution to the Fund by Lodge 703 It is hoped tha t at s ome future time a study will be m ade of the work of the Committee i n ord e r that all persons w h o merit commen datio n will r ece ive prop er r ecog nition of th e ir efforts.
It sh ould be remembered tha t th e Committee bega n its work in earnes t with the Organization Mee tin g, h eld in Corinthi a n Ha ll on the fir s t day of April , 1949, after t wo in a uspiciou s starts. The two inaus pi c ious s t arts were brought a bou t b y th e fa ct th at Broth er Alb ert Thatcher Hanb y, R W. J. W., died on Jul y 13, 1947 and Broth er R ay mond M. Remi ck, R . W. S. G. W., died on Oc tob er 12 , 1948.
Though these s tarts did n o t bring any re a r esu lts, a great deal of the ground work and presentation of the need f or an enl a rge ment of the fa ciliti es of th e Philad elphia Freema sons Memorial Ho s pital at Elizabethtown was put in print a nd a vote of thanks was extended to AI Paul Lefton for the creation of the brochure under date of Marc h 3 1, 1949, and the s tatist ical information under date of October 29 , 1948, and the pleuge form s probably prepared by Horace N. Barba and H. W. Schweizer, and the printing was done under the s upervisio n of George Town se nd , connected with Dunlap & Compan y Imm ed ia tel y f ollo wing the Organization Me e ting, the fund mo ved its offi ce and its activities to the Ma son ic Temple and engaged th e s er vices of a part time clerk.
Numerou s m eetings were h e ld b y th e Committe e , for the purpos e of putting into e ffect the va rious plan s and ideas that were promulgated. Reports were made t o the General Meetings on s everal occas ions
The Meeting wh ic h was held on the fir s t da y of April , 1949, whic h can be r eferred to as the Organization Mee tin g, elected the following Offi cers: Brother Edward F. R oberts, R. W. D.G.M ., Chairma n, H or ace M. Barba, Executive Chairman William H. Be t z, Tr easurer Morri s Rub er g, Secre tary, and Willi am R. Moone y, J ames W. Al exander, James L. Faw ley , George C. Flannigan, Jr. , and Morri s Sch einfeld, Tru s tee s. These Truste es, t ogether with the th en Dis tri c t Deputies, the Officer s elec ed , wi th Ri ch ard A. Kern , Past R .W.G.M., and He nr y S Borneman, Pas t D.D.G.M. , compri se d th e committ ee.
Th e Dis trict Deputies for Di s tri cts " A " to " J " inclusi ve were as follows : George A. Aver y, John H. D oh ert y, Frank R Leech , W LeR oy McKinle y, Lo ui s Bach a rach, W arn er H. Hes ton , Philip 0. Widing, Ra lph W. Wel s h , Roy G. Wol ff and John H H. Morr ow
During t h e period of th e activities, the fo ll owing B re thren ha ve passed to the " Great Be yond " : Br other Edward Fos ter Roberts , Au gus t 3 1, 1951, Brother J acob K. Mill er, June 7, 195 1, Bro th er He nr y S. Born eman , Ja nuary 12, 1955, Br o th er H orace M. Barba , Jan uary 15, 1956 , a nd Brother Morris Sche infe ld, March 27, 1956.
Certain changes likewi se ha ve oc curred , a s follows : Louis Bac ha rach is now Gr a n d T re asurer, Geo rg e A. Aver y is n ow Gra nd Secreta r y, Charle s H. Nitsch is now Ri g ht Wo rs hipful Gra nd Maste r , and Frank R. Lee ch , Ralph W. Wels h , Phi lip 0. Widing, R oy G. Wolff and J ohn H. H. Morrow a r e no w P as t Di s t r ict Deputies . Likewi se, in the interim, E. Paul Kit chen a nd Ja me s W. Fr ey serve d as Di stri c t Depu ties for a s h or t time Out of th e ori ginal
lis t of Dis trict Deputies only Warner R. Hes ton remain s as District Deputy of District "F" a nd th e other Dis trict Deputies are as follow s : J ohn K. Young, " A; " Roch ester B. Woodall , " B ;" W illiam Gauer, "C;" Albert A. Baner, " D ;"Herbert S. Mullen, "E;" George C. Flanni gan, Jr. , " G; " William G. Thomas, "H;" William H. Van Voorh ees, "F;" and John Harper " J. " Brothe r John H. D ohert y has served as Chairman of the Committee wi th c red it and di st in ct ion since th e d ea th of Bro ther Roberts. During the period when George H. Deike was the Ri ght Wors hipful Grand Master, it became evide nt that the H os pital a t El izab e thtown would have to be enl a rged a nd inasmuch as th e o riginal buildings for this purpose were named the Philadelphia Freemas ons' Memorial H ospital, it was felt that the Mas ons of the City of Phil adel phia shoul d a ss ume the res ponsibility of raising at leas t a part of the funds requir ed Th e figur es at that time were estimated as follow s : For H os pital add itions a tota l of $1 500,000, cove rin g the costs of the actual building additi ons including alterations and eq uipment in the old buildings a nd SS00,00 0 fo r th e N urses' Home. Grand L odge, after allocating ce rtain fund s from gifts and legacie s, determined that there was s till a bal ance needed of $500 ,000. At that time there were approximatel y 50,000 Mas ons in the City of Philadelphia and , ther e fore , it was d e erm ined that if an average of $ 10.00 was contributed by each Maso n in the City o f Ph ilad el phia the $500 000 would be raised. The matter was presented to a meeting of r ep re se n ta tive s of the va riou s Lodges and th e campa ign was l a un ch ed f or th e rai s ing of th e fund s, with th e res ult as alread y s ta ted.
Th e major expen s es of th e Committee covered the cos t of pr in tin g, pos tage, stationery, auditing sig n m a inten a n ce and clerk hir e For th e g rea t er p o rtion of th e time, the Committee was ser ved by t wo ve r y capab le clerks, one by the name of J. R obert Patterson , who se r ved until h e en t ered th e Se r vice, a nd the o the r is Gerald F. W ilson, S r ., w h o is s till se r ving th e Comm ittee faith fully and well down to the present time.
During the p eriod of the f und collections, a nd up until th e tim e the Gra nd Secre tary fo und it n ecessa r y to ma ke a call for f unds t o pay th e contractors , the mone y was on d epo s it with the Be n e fi cial Saving Fund S ociety , i n a S pecial Ac count which br o ught so m e in co me i nto th e fund. It s hould be remem be r ed that t he m o n etar y conditi o n durin g 19 49, 1950, 19 5 1 and 1952 wa s mu ch d i ffe r e nt from that of the prese nt time The ba nk s the n we re payi n g very l ittl e or no inte r es t on sa ving deposi t s I t is, therefo r e, du e to the exce llent judgment, infl ue n ce and man age me nt o f Brother William R. Mo oney tha t the arra nge me nt with the Beneficial Sa vin g Fund So c ie ty was made p oss ibl e and a he a rt y vo t e of than ks is due Br o th er Mo on ey Br ot h e r W illia m H. Betz has perfo rmed ou ts tanding services for th e Commi ttee, n o t only (Continu ed on pag e 6)
From Our Grand Secretary's Office
OUR DECEMBER COMMUNICATIONS
The December Qu a rt erl y Communication of Grand Lodge was held in Town H all on W ednes da y, December 5, 1956, and the Annual Grand Communication in the Ma son ic Temple, Philadelp h a, on Thurs da y, December 27, 1956.
Annual E l ection and Installation
At the Quart erly Communicat ion the following Brethren were elec t ed to serve Gra nd Lodge for th e Masonic year b eginn ing December 27 1956.
Brother CHARLES H. NITSCH, R. W. Gra nd Master
Brother SANFORD M. CH ILCOTE, R W. Deputy Grand Master
Brother MAX F. BALCOM,
R. W. Senior Grand Ward en
Br other W LER oY McKINLEY ,
R. W. Junior Grand Warden
Br oth er L oUIS BACHARACH,
R. W. Grand Treasurer
Br other GEORGE A. AvERY, R. W. Grand Secretary
Conunittee on lHa so nic Hornes
Broth e r S c oTT C RE A
Broth er R oBE RT E. WOODSID E J R.
Bro ther ScoTTS. LEIB Y, R.W.P. G.M.
Brother C H owA RD WITMER
Brother W ILLI AM E. YEAGER , R .W.P .G.M.
Brother FR ANCIS H. MILLS
Broth er ELLIS E. STERN
The Grand Ma s ter, Dep ut y Gra nd Ma ster , Sen ior and Junior Gra nd Wardens, Gra nd Treasurer and Grand Secretary were dul y in s talled at the Annual Grand Communication on December 27.
Gifts and Bequests
At the December Quarterly Communication the Ri ght Wors hipful Grand Ma s ter announ ced that du r ing th e fiscal year ending November 15, 1956, Grand Lodge received gifts and bequ es t s in the am o unt of 8466 ,010.70. It is of interest to note that the small est bequest am ounted to $2 68, and the largest, 876,487.07.
Gift of George H. Deike
At the Annual Grand Communi cation the R. W Grand Ma s t er, Brother Charles H. Nitsch , informed Gra nd Lodge that Bro th er George H. De ike, R. W Past Grand Mas ter , for the s eventh consecu ti ve yea r had pre se nt ed a gift of 85,000.00 to Grand Lodge, to be app lied to the cos t of the ere c ti on of the Re cre ation a l Bu il ding at the Mas onic Hom es at Elizabethtown.
Committee on Finance
The Committee on Finance repor t ed that it had, with th e a ss is t a n ce of Main and Company,
Certified Public Accountants, examined the accounts and r ecords of the Grand Lodge, its Committees, Tru s t s, Beque sts, Funds , etc., the accounts and vouchers of the Grand Tr easurer and the Grand Secretary, and f ound the same to be correct.
Receipts during 19 56, available for the m a intenance of the Maso nic Hom es and for the operation of Gra nd Lo dge, were $1,905 ,292.04, the expenditures $ 1,789,806.3 4, l eaving a balance o f $ 115 ,485. 70 a s of November 15, 1956.
The budget for the fis cal yea r ending November 15, 19 57 included es timated receipts of $2,353,9 85 70 , and es timated expendi tures of $2,214,13 1.38, l eav ing a reserve of $ 139,854 .3 2 for contingencies. Mainten a n ce of the Mas onic H o mes was set at $1,273,440.00.
Pennsylvania Freemason
The Committ ee on Ma s onic Culture in its Annual R epo rt , ca lled attention t o the gr owth of the circ ulati on of the P e nnsylvania Freema so n, which h as r eached 95 000 or about three eighths of our entire m ember ship ; and al so, t o the increased us e of the circulating lib rary. During 1956 t wice as man y books were borrowed as were reques t ed in 1954.
Grand Master Honored by the Grand Lodge of Saskatchewan
A commun ication was read fro m Broth e r Rob ert A. T a t e, Grand Sec r etar y, s tating that the Grand Lodge of Sa s katch ewan Canada, at its Fiftie th Annual Communi cati on , had co nferred Honorary Members h ip on Brothe r Charles H. Ni sch , Ri ght Worshipful Grand Master , wi th th e r ank of Mo s t Worshipful P as Grand Ma s ter. A Certificate of Honorary Mem ber s hip, which accom pani ed the letter, was then presented to Brother Ni tsch b y Brother Avery, Ri ght Wor shipful Grand S ecr e tary, act ing on be half of Brothe r T a t e Pennsylvania Mason Juvenile Court Institute
Th e Committee on Children' s Service reported t hat a t the conclus ion of th e fourth sess ion o f the P enn syl va nia Ma so n Ju venil e Cour In s ti t ute t o be held in Pitt sbu rgh fr om Sunday, De cember 9 19 56 to Friday, December 14 , 1956 , 92 jud ges, repres ent in g 40 differe nt states and 24 of the 59 judi cial di s tricts in Penn syl va ni a, will ha v e become Fellows of the In s titute
Fo ll owing th e r eadi ng of th e r eport by the Chairman of th e Committee, Br other William E . Yeage r , Brother Gu s tav L. Sc hramm , Direct or of the In s titute , a nd Cha irman of th e Salva tion Arm y -Ju ve nile Court Children' s Fund , pre s ented "o n beh a l f of troubled childr en , a certi fi cate of apprecia ti on" to Br other George H. Deike, Pas t Grand Mas ter, to Broth er Wi llia m E. Yeage r , P as t Grand
Master, and to Brother George A. Avery, Grand Secretary, a ll three of whom had been previou sly elected to Honorary Membership in the National Juvenile Court Foundation.
Corner Stone
Th e Ri ght Worshipful Grand Master, Br other Cha rles H. Ni sch , reported that on Saturday, September 22, 1956, with the assistance of th e Officers of Grand Lodge, he had laid the cornerstone of the addition t o the Colestock High Schoo in Titusville, Pennsylvania.
GEORGE A. A VERY, Grand Secreta ry
Brownstone Lodge, No. 666
Dedicates New Temple
Th e new Brownstone Masonic Temple, home of Brow ns tone Lodge, No 666 was dedi cated on Januar y 26 1957 , b y the R. W. Grand Mast er, Broth er Cha rl es H. Ni t sch, and th e other Grand Lodge Officers in impress iv e ceremonies. Brownstone Lodge wh ich was constituted in 1910 had bee n meeting in cramp ed rented qua rt ers in Hummel s town. The Lodge Room on th e third floor was e ntirely too s ma ll for th e membership of over 500, while t he Bank which owned th e building des ired the Lodge space for its own n ee ds. Thi s prompted Br oth e r Donald J. Diffenba ugh while Wors hipful Mas ter in 1954 to r evive the Bui lding Committee The Br own s tone Maso nic Temple Association was then charte r ed and the beautiful Ma s onic T emple in H ers h ey is th e res ult of that activity
The n ew T empl e, locat ed on a spacious pl ot for ample parking a t the in tersection of Governor's Road and Hoc kersv ille Road on the south ern outsk irts of H ershey , is 52 feet wide and 120 feet long with a proj ecting • entrance lobb y 20 feet by 35 feet.
The building, which was d es igned by Brother Claude R. Greiner, a well known R egistered Architect an d a Pa s t Maste r of Brown s ton e Lodge, is arranged with the Lodge R oom and ass ociated rooms on the second floor and th e Social o r Ba nquet Hall on the ground floo r The T emp le was erected by Brother Martin L. Haldeman, also a member o f Brown s t one Lodge.
The ded ica tion c eremonie s, a t tend ed b y over 300, were h eld in the new Lodge R oom , wh ile the banque t fo ll owing the dedication was a lso held in the Temple.
Brother Willi a m H. Earnes t, Warrant Maste r of Brow n s t one Lod ge, attended th e cer emonies, while Bro th e r R obert M. Miller, P. M., w h o h a d be e n Pr esid e nt of the Temple Association until h e became se rious l y ill was als o able to a t te nd.
Th e T empl e with its furni s hings co s t approxima tel y $ 125,000. - A.B.P.
Brother George Washington in Pennsylvania
By WILLIAM E. MoNTGOMERY
Although c itizens of all States should honor George Was hington, it is particularly appropriate for Penn sylvanians t o pay tribute t o his memor y, for though a native of Virginia, yet during the major port ion of his public career, he was bound clos ely and inse parably to th e Ke ys tone State, t o an ex tent even grea t er in many ways than t o the Old Dominion in which he was born and reared. He had scarc ely rea ched his majo rit y in 1753, when he was sent by G ove rnor Dinwiddie to Western Penn sy lvania to warn the French to cease building forts and t o vacate the territory wh ich they were obvious ly endeavoring to annex. Upon his return with th e report that the French were dete rmin ed to continue their encroachment on so il claimed by the English, a military expedition was formed to preve nt them from pu tting their designs into effect. Washington declined the lead ersh ip of th is force , but accepted a commi ss on as Li eutenan t Colonel as second in command. The senior officer, Colonel Fry, was later incapacitated and ne ver got be yond Wills Creek, now Cumberland, Mar yland. And so it was that in 1754 Washing t on came again to P enns yl van ia in an offic a l capacity.
In the course of about two month s his little army of a bout four hundred me n r each ed the s o-call ed Grea t Mea dows, a comparatively clear area in the wi ldern ess, l ocated about nin e miles southeast of what is now th e ci t y of Un ion town. Th e re Washingt on con s tructed so me entre nchments, the beg inning of Fort Necessity. His first actual contact with the en emy in thi s expedi ti on o cc urred about four mile s n orth of the Great Meadows, where Washington with a detachment of Virginians a ccompa nied by some Indi a n allies m e t an d d efea ted a group of French under the command of Ens ign Jumonv ille. At one time th ere was con sid era ble dis pute among local hi s t orian s whe ther this s hould b e d esignated as Washington's fir s t battle. Afte r a bit of controver sy the conclu s ion was r eached that s ince les s than one hun dr ed men were in vol ved a nd the action on ly lasted about fifteen minute s, it co uld hardl y be called a battle, but merely a s kirmish Although it was at thi s place that Washing t on was firs t unde r fire, it seems to be agreed that hi s fir s t real b attle was at Fort Necess ity several days later , on t h e 3 rd and 4th of Jul y, 1754. Des e rt ed b y hi s I ndian allies , outnumbered three -to-one , with no hope of ex pected reinforcements arriving in time, Washing ton conse nted t o the terms offe r ed by the French tha t both s ides l eave the batt lefield with a ll the honors of wa r. H owever, W as hing ton was b y no mea n s throu gh fi ghtin g in P ennsyl va nia. In the following year, 1755, he was with Bradd ock a t t he defeat a nd d ea th of that brave but o bs tinate Englis hman. Th r ee yea r s late r , Was hing ton aga in came to P enn syl va nia in milita ry s er vice,
this time as the aide to General Fo rbes, when the Eng lish forces captured Fort Duque s ne and renamed it Fort Pitt. Althoug h interesting himself to some extent in local affa i rs, Washington's next s ervice on the national sce n e was in 1770 when he journeyed to Fort Pitt and thence for a dis tance down the Ohio in conn ection with th e land boun ties whi ch had be en promised to the soldiers but which h ad never been deeded to them. Irt referring to thi s land, it s hould be mention ed that abo ut the sa me time, Wash ington purchased the land upon which Fort Necessi t y was located and continued as a Penns ylvan ia land-owner until hi s d eath. The tract is mentioned in the se ttling of his es t a t e as comprising 234 acres at an estimated valuation of $6 .00 per acre.
Again coming to P ennsylva nia in nationwide ser vice, Washington wa s a delegate to the Firs t Contin ental Cong ress meeting in Philadelphia in Carpe nters Hall in 1774. Th en in the following year whi le a member o f the Second Congress, he was elected as Commander-inChief of th e Continen tal Army If his militar y career during th e n ext eight years is carefully s tudied , it will be noted that (with th e exception of the siege of Bos ton and the ba ttles of Long I s land and Yorktown) almo s t all of the principal fi e ld engagements, in which Was hin gt on himself was perso n all y in command, we re fou ght prima ril y for the purpose of obtaining or reta ining possess ion of the city of Phil adelphia , although admitted y not all we r e on Penns ylva nia s oil. And what p a triotic ci ti zen is like ly t o forget th e s tori es of tho se darkes t da ys of the R evo lution during the terrible winter s pent upon the h a ll owed gro und of Valley Forge ! Those ind eed, in th e words of Th omas Paine, were the days "tha t tried m en 's s ouls ;" and it i s doubtf ul whether the s oldiers of th is or an y other lan d ever met the ch allenge m ore heroicall y The fate of Ame r ica was han gin g in th e balance depending upon the co urage, the fortitud e, th e lo yalt y o f a f ew thou sand ragged, poorly -armed underfed Collltine ntal s w ho looked with con fid en ce and devotion to the ir grea t commander. By th e force of his character, by hi s unconquerab le will , b y the stre n g th of his courageou s so ul the s park of liberty was kept alive W h e n th e wri er goes t o Va lley Forge, he in variabl y pauses a t the National Arch to r ead the reon th e s ubl ime pass age com pris ing th e end o f the oration o f H enry Arm itt Brown at the Ce ntennia l Celebration of 1878 : " And here in th is place o f sacrifice in this va le of humilia tion , in thi s valley of the s hadow of t h a t d eath , out of whi ch the Lif e of America arose, rege n erate and fr ee, let u s b elieve with an abiding faith th a t to th ose w h o are to follow Un ion will seem as dea r, Libert y as s weet a nd Pr ogress a s glo rious a s they were to our fa th ers and are to you and m e, and tha t th e ins ti t uti on s w hi ch
have made us happy, preserved by the v irtue of our ch ildren, s hall bless the remotest genera tions of the time to come. "
After vic to r y had been attained, it soon became evident that a more stable and effective form of government was absolu tely ne cessary, if the nation was to survive. In answer to thi s ca ll , Washington cam e again to Pennsyl vania in Ma y 1787 as one of Virginia 's Deputies to the Constitutional Convention , over which he presid ed until the Constitut ion of the Un ited S tates was finally approved by the Convent ion on September 15. New York City was des igna ted as the capital of the new-born nation and Washington was inaug urated there as the first Pres iden t. H owever, the sea t of govern m e nt was so on trans ferred to Philad elphia and thu s the grea ter portion of Was hington's two terms was s pent in Pennsylvania. From the fore go ing re c ital of even ts, it would app ear certain that a lth ough Was hington was a loyal son o f Virgini a, ye P ennsylvan ia seems e ntitled to adopt the major p or tion of hi s public caree r. Althou gh the purpose of thi s article is to empha s ize George Was hing ton 's activ iti es within the boundaries of the Ke ys tone State , it does not seem amiss to mention that, even fr om a Mas onic s tandpoint, Pennsylvania h as a claim to Brother Wa s hington by reason of hi s members hip in a Pennsylvania Lodge over a period of severa l years. He was ma de a Mason in the Lodge a t Fred ericksbu rg, Virgini a on Nove mbe r 4 , 1752 severa l month s pri or to hi s r each ing the age of twen t y-one , and continu ed as a membe r of t hat Lodge. However, after his return to Virginia following the te rmin at ion of the Re volution a dinner was held in his h onor by Al exandria Lodge No 39 (working under a wa rran t fr om the Grand Lodge of P e nnsylva nia) on St. John the Bapti s 's Day, June 24, 1784, at which time Wa s hington accepted m embe rs hip in that Lodg e S everal yea r s l ater, thi s Lodge s urrendered its Penn sylvania warrant and receive d a n ew on e fr om the Grand Lodge of Virginia as Al exandria Lodge No. 22. On thi s warrant Washin gt on is d es ignated as the Wors hipful Mas t er a nd ser ve d as s uch. There is s ome confu s ion wi th regard to th e dates pertaining to this change of all egian ce, and the beli ef has been exp r essed th a t Washington was actually installed while the Lodge was s till working under it s P ennsylva nia waJTant. T h e writer, ho weve r , ha s b een ab le to find no indi s putable ev idence of thi s It is correct, h owever , that Brother Washing ton was se r ving as Wo r s hipful Mas ter when he became Pr esident of the Un ited States in April 1789. Al th ough about o n e -h al f of the Pres idents ha ve been members of the Maso nic fra te rnit y, Washington is the onl y one who has bee n Mas ter of a Lodge durin g any pa rt of hi s term as Preside nt.
B ei ng p ersuaded that a ju st application of the prin ciples on w hi ch the Ma so nic Fraternity is founded, mu st be promotive of pri vate v irtue a nd publi c pro speri ty, I sh all be happ,Y to adva nce the interest of th e Society, a nd t o be considered by them as a d ese rumg Brother. GEORGE WA S HI NGTON
