Masonry has made phenomenal gains, since the closing of the war. The membership has increased by leaps and bounds, and the waiting lists of candidates are larger than ever before. This phenomenal showing is not confined to any particular section of the United States, nor to this country alone; practically every Grand Lodge reports an extraordinary number of accessions. Our Fraternity prohibits its members from soliciting men to join. This law is strictly enforced everywhere. Uninstructed enthusiasts may violate it occasionally, but their unlawful proceedings is invariably checked when this becomes known. As a matter of fact, there appears to be little cause for discipline in this respect. The number of men seeking admission from their own free will and accord is so great that many Lodges find themselves unable to keep up with it under existing restrictions of work. The only reasonable explanation of the phenomenon appears to be that men knock at our portals because they have formed a favorable opinion of the Fraternity and desire to be affiliated with it. The Lodges have been, on the whole, careful in their selection of candidates to admit only self-supporting men of approved moral reputation and unquestioned loyalty to the flag of our country. The number of rejections has been larger, in many jurisdictions, than that of acceptances in former years. Many Grand Masters sound a note of warning that the strictest vigilance must be enjoined upon committees on investigation to keep out undesirable material. While this warning is always timely, and cannot be repeated too often, it appears to have been observed generally with more than a fair degree of sincerity. Improper solicitation and careless acceptance of candidates, therefore, can be justly eliminated as factors. We do not desire to explain, if we could, the real reasons for the growth of the Fraternity, since the close of the war. The important fact to be kept in mind is that the new Brethren are with us now. Are they of us? That is the question to be faced squarely. Resolving it into a more practical proposition: What is being done to help them become true and faithful brothers among us? Fortunately, the Fraternity has awakened to the need of instruction, apart from the ritual, in the history, philosophy, and practical operation of Freemasonry. Everywhere evidences are seen that Grand Lodges are endeavoring to drive home the rcognition of this need by the Lodges. A careful reading of the report of the Committee on Foreign Correspondence will reveal how wide-spread the movement has become. The need is urgent. Experience shows that the newly made Brethren are generally more eager in their attendance at Lodge meetings than older members. The instinct of self-protection warns us that, unless the education of the new-comers is attended to with care, the Lodges may be run by a majority insufficiently instructed in the Landmarks and customs of the craft. Furthermore, the enthusiasm of the neophites is too precious an asset to be permitted to cool off into indifference or disappointment. Their interest must be kept alive by setting them to work in the quarries of Masonic lore, meeting their craving for fellowship by suitable social features, giving them a clear understanding of the constitution and activities of the Grand Lodge, and enlisting them in the service of the craft for the good of the craft, the good of mankind and their own greater usefulness and happiness. We know of no better way for arousing an intelligent interest among the members of our Lodges than a careful reading and discussion of the volume of Proceedings. "To be read in all the Lodges" should be more than a symbolic suggestion; it ought to be insisted upon as a practical direction. There are, no doubt, many portions which are mere matters of record, and may be omitted. The vital matters, however, are deserving of careful consideration, and time should be found for their discussion in the Lodges. A knowledge of what our own Grand Lodge is doing, its record of achievement for the year, the progress of the various undertakings, and the plans for the future, would seem to be the best start for an intelligent comprehension of Freemasonry. Discussion will clarify that knowledge. Collateral reading and talks by competent craftsmen will open avenues to study and research covering all that may be desired. Particular attention is invited to the Report on Foreign Correspondence, because here are recorded significant achievements, plans, thoughts and doings noted in the Proceedings of Grand Lodges which stand in fraternal relations with our own Grand Lodge. The reader is given an opportunity to watch the course of the Masonic stream, to note the rocks and sandy shoals of danger, to gather courage from the splendid leadership of the men at the helm on the stately vessels sailing side by side, to become inspired with new visions of the purposes to be achieved, and to feel that he is part of a noble brotherhood of Godfearing, right-minded men seeking to be of service to their fellows and keeping their eyes steadfastly fixed upon the lodestar which points the way to the harbor of the city where love and peace reign forever. We commend to the Lodges a thoughtful study of the book of Proceedings of this Grand Lodge. It may well be made the text-book for the instruction of all the members of the craft. The many new Brethren will be given thereby the best sort of start in their Masonic education. We shall be building up a fraternity which knows itself, and is able to realize its objects in a true Masonic spirit. If the Report on Foreign Correspondence helps to broaden the view and reinforce essentials, inspiring the reader to greater love of his Maker, to more steadfast loyalty to his country, and to a more sympathetic appreciation of the Masonic spirit at work in the Grand Lodges of the British Empire and other countries as well as in the United States, it will have served its purpose. All of which is respectfully submitted to your fraternal consideration. The Committee have adhered to their established practice to refrain from censure of the actions of other Grand Lodges. Decisions, rules and resolutions have been found in a few of the reviewed Proceedings with which we cannot agree. As it is not the province of the committee to sit in judgment on the acts of sister jurisdictions, no comment has been made except in one instance, where invasion of the jurisdiction of a legitimate Grand Lodge by a foreign body is treated as a matter of mere local concern. The Grand Master of Italy made request for permission to charter a Lodge within the State of New York. The request was emphatically denied by our Grand Master. Regarding the requests for recognition and exchange of mutual representatives by the Grand Lodge of the United States of Venezuela in Caracas, and the Symbolic Grand Lodge in the United States of Venezuela in the City of Bolivar, as well as a similar demand from the Grand Lodge of Colombia in Barranquilla, we beg to submit that the further consideration thereof be postponed, and no action taken until further data have been obtained, demonstrating that their standards, constitution and by-laws comply with our requirements. A similar course is suggested in reference to the application of the newly formed Grand Lodge of Vienna, until formal peace has been established between the Austrian and our own government. An examination of its constitution, as submitted, and the fact that it received its charter from the former Grand Orient of Hungary, with which we have been in friendly communication for many years, appear to establish its regularity beyond doubt. GRAND LODGE OF HAITI In April, 1920, a request for recognition and exchange of representatives was received from the newly formed Grand Lodge of Haiti, W. I. Those who presented the request were thereupon required to submit proof that the Grand Lodge was duly formed and lawfully organized, and that the ritual required a belief in a Supreme Being and a display of the Great Light of Masonry on the altar of each Lodge. The proof was presented, but too late for action, at the session of the Grand Lodge of New York in May, 1920. As the applicants have complied with our requirements, the Committee offer the following resolution, and recommend its adoption : RESOLVED, That the request of the Grand Lodge of Haiti, W. I.. for recognition by the Grand Lodge of New York and exchange of repsentatives be, and the same is, hereby granted. Fraternally submitted, WILLIAM SHERER, S. NELSON SAWYER, Committee. |