LIBRARY W-'' ■Mi^iy^i^ H. ^^jM^. v.«. .i^J •*>?r/^-" i§. ^^ ■ ii(^«: ',!}••' t -■■ i»^-i^5»3„i »^J5:;. .'i£^\^jf^ MS' 0^913^ CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THIS BOOK IS ONE OF A COLLECTION MADE BY BENNO LOEWY 1854-1919 AND BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY ■■ "^"" "'1 •3L]| soya ayoiAvs] Aq psjnjDD^nuDw aaaNiaiaiHdwvd iNnOWVHAVS) The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030372688 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON CORRESPONDENCE To the Grand Commandery of Knights Templars and the Appendant- Orders of Massachusetts and Rhode Island: I have the honor of submitting my second report, covering the Jurisdictions as recorded below: Alabama 1909 Arizona 1908 Arkansas 1909 California 1908 Canada 1908 Connecticut 1909 District of Columbia 1909 England and Wales 1908 Florida 1909 Georgia 1909 Illinois 1908 Indiana 1909 Iowa 1909 Kansas 1909 Kentucky 1909 Louisiana 1909 New Mexico 1908 Maryland 1908 Michigian 1909 Minnesota 1909 Mississippi 1909 Missouri 1909 Montana 1908 Nebraska 1909 New Hampshire 1908 New Jersey. 1909 New York 1908,1909 North Carolina 1909 North Dakota 1909 Ohio 1908 Oklahoma 1909 Oregon 1908 Pennsylvania 1909 South Carohna. 1907, 1908 South Dakota 1908 Tennessee 1909 Texas 1909 Vermont 1909 Virginia 1908 Washington 1909 West Virginia 1909 Wisconsin 1908 Wyoming 1909 /i, r^i f/^ 2 GBAND COMMANDBRY OF MASS. AND E. I. Colorado, Idaho, Indian Territory, and Maine missing, not having been received at time of going to press. Alabama, 1909 The Forty-ninth Annual Conclave was opened in the Asylum of Andalusia Commandery, in the city of Andalusia, on Wednes- day, the 12th day of May, 1909, all the Grand Officers being present with the exception of the Grand Captain of the Guard and Grand Senior Warden. There were also present twenty Past Grand Commanders, the Representatives of twenty-six constituent Commanderies, and the Representatives of sixteen sister Grand Jurisdictions, but among those named we fail to find the Representative of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Grand Commander's Address was an able and concise transcript of the affairs of his office during the year. He made no Decisions during the year, which speaks well for that Grand Jurisdiction. He had several requests to ballot on petitions at special Conclaves, and, inrepl)' to same, he stated, - that the Grand Commander had no authority or power to grant a Dispensation for any purpose except such as shall be re- quested of him by a resolution offered and carried by a majority of the members present in open Commandery; neither can he grant a Dispensation to ballot on petitions out of time, except those that have been received at a regular stated Conclave, and such petitions must be balloted on at a stated Conclave, or a special Conclave called for. that purpose, of which due notice must be sent to all. It is therefore not in the power of the Grand Commander to grant Dispensation to either receive or ballot upon petitions at a special Conclave except as set out above. The writer has often before expressed his opinion that this kind of procedure is not for the best interests of the Com- mandery, as in his opinion the Order should not be made subservient to the whim or convenience of the petitioner, but rather that all petitions should take the usual course, conform- ing strictly to the law laid down regarding tbe same. The Grand Commander also recommended that Commanderies hold two regular Conclaves each month instead of one, saying that it would add much to the interest taken in the work by the EEPOET ON COREESPONDENCE 3 members and prove very beneficial. He also recommends that all Commanderies that have not done so should make a contract for all uniforms required by their members, and where it is advisable the cost of the uniform should be added to the fee to be paid at the time of presenting petitions, all of which your Correspondent heartily agrees with, as, in his opinion, no Com- panion should be Knighted except where he is in possession of the required uniform called for by the regulations of the Juris- diction in which he resides. The Knightly dead of his own and sister Grand Jurisdictions are duly recorded. From the Report of the Grand Recorder we find the present membership is 1,085, a gain for the year of 62. From the Inspector General's Report of the Jurisdiction we excerpt the following: "I am very pleased to report a marked improvement in . conditions of affairs in every Commandery throughout the State, that it was my pleasure to visit, either in person or proxy. There is more interest being taken, better attendance and appearance in uniforms and equipment. I feel this is due to the action of the Grand Commandery along progressive lines, at its last Annual Conclave. I believe the adoption of the Alabama Regulation Uniform and Tactics will continue to work wonders." The Report on Correspondence, which occupies 105 pages of the Proceedings, is from the pen of Em. .Sir John H. Phillips, in which he reviews forty-four of the sister Grand Jurisdic- tions, including Canada, England and Wales, and contains much that is very interesting. Massachusetts and Rhode Island is courteously reviewed and your Correspondent is kindly remembered, for which please accept our grateful acknowledgments. Sir Charles R. Patterson, R. .E.'. Grand Commander. Sir George A. Beauchamp, E. '.Grand Recorder. Sir John H. Phillips, Committee on Correspondence. The Fiftieth Annual Conclave will be held in the city of Anniston, Wednesday, May 11, 1910. 4 grand commandery of mass. and r. i. Arizona, 1908 The Sixteenth Annual Conclave was held in the cit}' of Prescott, on the 18th day of November, 1908, all the Grand Officers being present with the exception of the Grand Captain of the Guard, Grand Standard Bearer and Grand Sword Bearer. The constitutional number being reported present, Grand Commandery was opened in ample form. The Grand Commander's Address follows the Report of the Committee on Credentials, and is a painstaking and compre- hensive document. We excerpt from its conclusion: "In severing my official position, I bespeak for my successor the same uniform courtesy you have shown me. You will know that 'Truth is mighty and it will prevail.' You will forever keep up the warfare against the enemies of helpless widows, defenceless orphans, and the Christian religion, and ' Far up yon steps of light On toward the sun! Climb the fierce path of Truth, All shall be won; Yea, though thy heart of care Faint on that fiery stair!'" From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the present membership is 389, a gain for the year of 18. From the Grand Treasurer's Report we find balance of cash on hand of $1,928.69. The Report on Correspondence is from the pen of R.'.E.'.Sir N. A. Morford, who reviews the Proceedings of thirty-nine Grand Jurisdictions. Massachusetts and Rhode Island is given three pages of the Report. Commenting upon the Report of the Committee on Jurisprudence relative to the proposition to permit Commanderies to turn out in uniform in Boston, to celebrate with the public "Old Home Week," which the Com- mittee declined to approve, Frater Morford says: "'Custom of this Grand Jurisdiction' and 'precedent estab- lished many years ago by this Grand Commandery ' be hanged ! Isn't it general law and has it not been general law for genera- REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 5 tions, established by the Grand Encampment? That Com- mittee might at feast allow their minds to travel outside their great Jurisdiction if they never get out bodily, and Ayake up to the fact that there is a narrow ledge of country just outside of Massachusetts and Rhode Island that has had some influence on our laws through loyalty to Masonic dignity and Masonic principles ! The ' custom ' and ' precedent ' of their Jurisdiction has nothing to do with the case, so far as the determination of its legitimacy goes." Referring to the Report of the Committee on Jurisprudence regarding Dispensations to attend divine service, we excerpt the following, quoting from our report: "The Statutes of Grand Encampment do not require Dis- pensation for such purpose, but this Grand Commandery desires to be informed when its constituents intend to appear in public." On which he comments as follows: "That makes us feel better. We have been pained and annoyed at the apparent want of a very common knowledge of our statutes among our Massachusetts and Rhode Island Fraters, and for some time have been wondering what it all meant." R. .E.'.Sir Albert D. Barnhart, Grand Commander. E.'.Sir George J. Roskruge, Grand Recorder. R.'. E.'.Sir N. A. Morford, Committee on Correspondence. The next Annual Conclave to be held in the city of Tucson, Wednesday, February 9, 1910. Arkansas, 1909 The Thirty-seventh Annual Conclave, held in the Asylum of Bethany Commandery, No. 16, in the city of Bentonville, May 18, 1909, all the Grand Officers being present with the exception of the Senior Grand Warden. There were also present five Past Grand Commanders, one Past Deputy Grand Commander, 6 GRAND COMMANDBRY OF MASS. AND R. I. the Representatives in person or by proxy of the eighteen Commanderies in the Jurisdiction and seventeen Representa- tives of sister Grand Jurisdictions, among whom we find our own well beloved Representative, Charles E. Rosenbaum. Grand Commandery being duly opened an Address of Welcome was delivered by Rev. Sir. '.Knight R. E. L. Bearden, expressing the pleasure felt by the members of his Commandery at the presence of the Grand Commandery and 'visiting Sir Knights, and tendering the hospitalities and welcome of the Sir Knights and citizens of Bentonville. The Grand Repre- sentatives present were then dulj' assembled and welcomed by the R.".E.'. Grand Commander. R. .E.'. Grand Commander Goss then delivered his Address, which is a faithful report of his stewardship during the year, and in which he pays fitting tribute to the departed Fraters of his own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. Among other things, he says, that no question requiring a decision as to Templar law had been referred to him during the year, which shows a splendid condition of affairs in that Jurisdiction. Petition for a new Commandery, to be located at Van Buren, was received and referred to the Committee on Charters and Dispensations, and action on the same was postponed for one year. From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the member- ship is 1,031, a net gain for the year of 28. The Grand Treasurer reported balance on hand of $3,438.49. The Committee on Grievances and Appeals report that nothing had been brought before them for consideration. An appropriation of $1,000.00, was made for aid of the Masonic Orphans' Home, same to be used for the furnishing of the same. The Report on Correspondence is by E.".Sir Fay Hempstead, Grand Recorder. It opens with a Proemial. Frater Hemp- stead ably reviews forty-nine Grand Jurisdictions, commencing with Alabama and continuing alphabetically. Massachusetts and Rhode Island receives due notice, four pages being devoted to the same. He notes the Address of Grand Commander Litchfield as evidence of a most active administration. Kindly REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 7 remembrance is made of ourselves as Grand Recorder, in which he says that our report is uncommonly full and specific, with statistical tables which indicate a thoroughness and pains- taking care, and he also has our thanks for his kind words regarding our Report on Correspondence. Sir Thomas H. Jackson, R/.E.-.Grand Commander. Sir Fay Hempstead, E.'. Grand Recorder and Correspondent. Next Annual Conclave to be held in the city of Texarkana, the third Tuesday in May, 1910. California, 1908 The Fiftieth Annual Conclave, held in the city of San Fran- cisco, April 2.3, 1908. The volume opens with a Bather portrait of R. .E. '.Grand Commander William D. Stephens, and the volume, like all others issued by this Grand Jurisdiction, is a credit to the Grand Recorder, and to the printer. Immediately after calling the roll and the Report of the Committee on Credentials, Grand Commandery was opened in due form for the transaction of business. The first business was the reception of V. .E.'.Sir W. Frank Pierce, Grand Captain General of the Grand Encampment of the United States, who was conducted to the East by an escort of the Past Grand Commanders present, where he was greeted by the R.'.E.'. Grand Commander and received with the honors due his rank and station. The late Deputy Grand Commander, Hudson B. Gillis, was kindly remembered in an eloquent address by the Grand Captain General, who placed a handsome wreath upon the station lately occupied by him. Knightly greetings were extended to the South Carolina Praters, wishing them unbounded prosperity to their Grand Jurisdiction, with peace and happiness to the Sir Knights personally. The Grand Commander's Address follows and is character- istic of our personal friend Charles L. Field. He calls atten- tion to the missing from their ranks, — V.'. E.'.Sir Hudson B. 5 GRAND COMMANDEKY OF MASS. AND R. I. Gillis, Deputy Grand Commander; E.'.Sir Elias Delevan Gard- ner, Grand Standard Bearer, and R.'. E.'.Sir "William M. Rundell, Past Grand Commander, saying: "While we deplore the departure of these truly beloved Fraters to that unknown land to which our fathers have gone before us, we are still deeply grateful, and offer our sincere prayer of thanks to 'Our Father in Heaven,' that we are per- mitted to remain and finish our work on earth. These deceased Sir Knights were men of many virtues, enjoying the confidence, respect and love of their families and neighbors, which is the highest tribute that can be paid to departed humanity. "They will be greatly missed in this Grand Body, and we trust they may fill important positions in that Celestial Grand Body, presided over by our Heavenly Grand Commander. "May their memory be ever kept green." The Address of R.'.E.'. Grand Commander Field shows evidence of his activity during the past year, and his zeal for the prosperity of Grand Commandery, and we excerpt from his conclusion: "And now, Sir Knights, having given you the details of my stewardship during my incumbency as Grand Commander, I return to you the emblem of authority with which you invested me one year ago, and sincerely trust my earnest labor in your vineyard has produced results that merit your approbation and redound to the benefit of our beloved Order. "Before doing so, however, let me not make an innovation on ah established custom of years' standing, by neglecting to recognize and appreciate the valuable services of our worthy and efficient Grand Recorder, and his able assistant. They have been of incalculable value to me, and my recognition and appreciation of them is devoid of flattery, being prompted by the spirit of justice to those faithful officers, as well as honest, sincere and deserving thanks from me. May they long live to continue their faithful services to this Grand Body. "After thanking you. Sir Knights, for the honor you have ■conferred in placing me in this responsible position, let us now proceed with the deliberations for which we have been called together." The Grand Recorder presented his Annual Report, which ■occupied five pages, from which we find that the full number REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 9 of Knights Templar, January 31, 1908, was 6,065, a gain for the year of 272. The Grand Treasurer's Report shows a balance on hand of cash from last statement, $51,650.40 and receipts of $11,408.44, with a balance on hand of $48,224.98. That the affairs of this Grand Jurisdiction are in excellent condition is exhibited by the Report of the Committee on Grievances, who report that no business had appeared to either interest or entertain that Committee. Dispensations were asked for new Commanderies by resi- dents at Benicia and Santa Cruz. The Committee on Jurisprudence approved the recommenda- tion of R.'.E.'. Grand Commander Field, that the Jurisdiction limit visitations of any Sir Knight holding a dimit to one year from the date of said dimit. In the opinion of the writer, a dimitted Sir Knight has no right to visit any Commandery except upon invitation of the E. ' .Commander, his dimit virtually cutting him off from all the rights and benefits of the Order until it is again deposited in some Commandery. The volume contains Memorial Pages to the Knightly dead of their own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. The Report on Correspondence occupies ninety-four pages, and is by Sir William A. Davies, who reviews forty-three of the Grand Jurisdictions. Massachusetts and Rhode Island is courteously reviewed, seven pages being devoted to the same. Sir William Dennison Stephens, Grand Commander. Sir William A. Davies, Grand Recorder and Correspondent. The Fifty-seventh Annual Conclave to be held in San Fran- cisco, Cal, Monday, April 22, 1909. Canada, 1908 The Twenty-fifth Annual Assembly was held in the city of Toronto on the 12th and 13th days of August, 1908, all the Grand Officers being present, and many distinguished visitors, among whom is our own beloved M.'.E.'. Grand Master, Rev. Henry W. Rugg, who was most cordially welcomed. 10 GRAND COMMANDERY OF MASS. AND R. I. In response to the welcome, he addressed Great Priory as follows : "Dear Sir Knights and Fraters all: I esteem it a great privilege to have an opportunity to be here with you at this Anniversary Session, and to look in your faces and try to let the thoughts which well up in my mind have some expression. "Not long ago we witnessed, in reference to the Old Land and the Old Flag, the sentiment expressed of 'Hearts across the Sea,' a sentiment we can respond to also on the other side of the line. But, if that sentiment found so much ex- pression, how much stronger the sentiment, 'Hearts across the Border,' across the imaginary line that separates us two peoples politically. I bring to you today, my Fraters, heart- felt greetings from every State from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Southern border to the Northern line. The Order is progressing in material strength, in moral usefulness in every part of the United States, and there was nothing calcu- lated to cement more firmly the bond of Union among men. I would hesitate to estimate the power of the influence of the 200,000 members of the Order in the United States, for their influence for good was unlimited. I voice, therefore, to 3-ou, 'Siost Eminent Sir, the distinguished members of the Order, their best wishes and my own heartfelt thoughts and desires, and wishes for the great Order in this country, that it may not only bind us closer, but that the United States and Canada may go forward in all good things, in every Christian work and influence, protecting life's best interests, and bearing ever in mind its great chivalric hymn, 'Onward, Christian Soldiers.' Love, my brethren, is superior to hatred. Sympathy and affection between brothers count for more than mere A^'orldly wealth. May we be ever workers in His name. "I thank you all for your gracious reception and for your kind words of welcome. Today, I am accompanied on my staff by a number of my Grand Officers, who ha\'e won deserved recognition from their Fraters: V.'.E.'.Sir Knight Colonel Arthur MacArthur, Grand Generalissimo of the Grand Encamp- ment; V.'.E.'.John A. Gerow, the Grand Recorder; V.'.E. Dr. F. C. Thayer, Grand Warden; and Dr. Freeman C. Hersey of Massachusetts, and I thank you also on their behalf. I am also pleased to have here Gen. John Corson Sniith of Chicago, an old veteran of the Order, and one whom I know is well known to you all." (The Grand Master on resuming his seat received long and hearty applause.) REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 11 The Supreme Grand Master then delivered his Address, which is a comprehensive, readable document, containing much of the history of the Order in Canada and its growth, stating the membership is now 4,900, six hundred and forty-three being added during the present year, which is the largest increase in any year since the Order's formation. A long list of Dispensations granted and refused is duly recorded. New Preceptories were instituted at Dawson, Yukon Territory, Leamington, Ont., and Frederickton, N.B. Also petition was received for a new Preceptory at Regina, Sakachewan. He made many visitations, both at home and abroad. He pays fitting tribute to the Knightly dead of his own Jurisdiction and makes due mention of the departed Fraters of Jurisdictions in the United States. In his conclu- tion he pays appropriate tribute to the valuable ' services of our dear Frater Will H. Whyte, the Grand Chancellor. The business of the Conclave was purely local, and is of much interest to the Fraters of that Jurisdiction. The Report on Correspondence by R. .E.'.Sir Will H. Whyte, and he devotes four pages to Massachusetts and Rhode Island, states that the Grand Commander's Address was an interest- ing one, although it refers principally to matters of local interest, and we quote from his conclusion : "There is no subject of great vital interest engrossing the Grand Bodies, and in consequence the Reviewers. In the American Grand Commanderies the numerous Dispensations to hurry through candidates are calling up frequent remark. It is claimed the adtion is contrary to the law of the Grand Encampment. Alterations in their By-Laws, Statutes and Codes have been prominent in many, and have been deferred pending the action of the next Triennial. Alterations and regulations in uniforms are still to be found in a number." " Our American Fraters are discussing the question of public display and draping the altar in the Lodge Room with their national flag. From our point of view as a Mason, we cannot for the life of us see the utility or the necessity for this innova- tion. "The altar of Masonry and its concordant Orders is a uni- versal one and should so be kept, and the covering of the altar with any national flag, no matter what nation, is not in keeping 12 GRAND COMMANDERY OF MASS. AND R. I. with its universality. We should endeavor to keep our Fra- ternity as it was handed down by the Fathers, and not be eternally trying to add or tack on every new-fangled notion." M. .E.-.Sir Knight Archibald A. Campbell, Supreme Grand blaster. M. .E.-.Sir Knight Will H. Whyte, Grand Chancellor and Correspondent. COXXECTICUT, 1909 The Eighty-second Annual Conclave was held in the city of New London, ilarch 16, 1909. The volume opens with a splendid Bather portrait of George il. Long, Grand Commander. All the Grand Officers were present, with the exception of the E.". Grand Warder, who was absent on account of illness, fifteen Past Grand Commanders, the Representatives of the constituent Commanderies, and the Representati-\'es of twentj^-seven sister Grand Jurisdictions, among whom we note R. .E.'.Sir Eli C. Birdsey, Representative of ifassachusetts and Rhode Island. Following the Report of the Committee on Credentials is the Annual Address of Grand Commander Long, which is an able document and faithfully relates the transactions of his office during the year. His Dispensations were few in number, and were all for constitutional cause. The Report of the Committee on Necrology pays fitting tribute to the departed Fraters of their own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. The Grand Treasurer reports balance on hand of $4,092.12. From the Grand Recorder's Report we find the present membership is 3,721, a net gain of 105. We also note in the Grand Recorder's Report schedule of the Rituals in the pos- session of the Jurisdiction. The inspection of Commanderies is, in this Jurisdiction, made by an officer called the Grand Inspector, who made a complete report of his work during the }'ear. and from reading the same we are led to believe he is the right man in the right place as he does not fail to admonish or praise wherever it is necessarv REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 13 and in closing his report he says that the officers of the different Commanderies have taken an interest in these inspections that has been extremely gratifying, and that results are being obtained year after year that speak well of the system and per- manency of the Department of Inspections. The Report on Correspondence is from the pen of R.'.E.'.Sir Samuel J. Bryant. This Report occupies 100 pages of the Proceedings and is a splendid review of all the Grand Jurisdic- tions, and is an evidence that he is a close scrutinizer, who never misses a point which offers any prospect of commenting with approval or disapproval of the same. ^Massachusetts and Rhode Island is courteously noticed with two pages. Sir Leon M. Woodford, Grand Commander. Sir Eli C. Birdsey, Grand Recorder. Sir Samuel J. Bryant, Correspondent. The Eighty-third Annual Conclave to be held in Waterbury, Conn., Tuesday, :\larch 15, 1910. District of Columbia, 1909 A special Conclave was held in Washington, D.C., October 2, 1908, all the Grand Officers being present, in the new Masonic Temple, 13th Street and New York Avenue, N.W. There were also present eight Past Grand Commanders, and a large attendance of the members of Grand Commandery. The Grand Commander announced that in pursuance of an invita- tion received by him from Columbia Commandery, No. 2, he had called the present Conclave for the purpose of dedicating the Asylum of the new Masonic Temple to Templar Masonry. V. .E. .Sir Harrison Dingman, Grand Captain of the Guard of the Grand Encampment, being announced as present, was received with the honors due his exalted station. The constituent Commanderies, under the auspices of Columbia Commandery, No. 2, with Mary Commandery, No. 36, of Philadelphia as the guest of Columbia Commandery, were formed at the old Masonic Temple and marched to the new Temple. On arriving at the Asylum they were separately announced and received by the Grand Commander. The 14 GRAND COMMANDERT OF MASS. AXD E. I. exercises were opened by an anthem and invocation b^- the Grand Prelate. An eloquent address was delivered by Sir Matthew Trimble, Vice-President of the Masonic Temple Association, and we excerpt the same: "Right Eminent Grand Commander and Sir Knights: ■■This Temple has already been dedicated to Masonic uses, representing the broad principles of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. It is now proposed, and eini- nently proper so to do, to dedicate this Asylum to the special specific purposes of Christian Knighthood, the magnanimous Order of Rnights Templar, whose s^^nbolic emblem is the Cross,, and 'In Hoc Signo Viiwe^s' its battle cry in its constant and persistent warfare against sin and immorality. It would be superfluous for me to even refer to the history of this great Order, because it is a part, and no mean part, of the history of the world and of its civilization and advancement. In all lands and in every age the great work of the Ivnights Templar has been acknowledged, that to its work, more than to anything else aside from the Church, is to be attributed the preservation of morality and purity of character among men. Its platform was promulgated when man first became aware that human virtue and human truth and love were its most precious posses- sions. It was confirmed and strengthened, and put into lasting form when the nations of Europe in sight of the Holy Sepulchre, beneath the walls of the city of Jerusalem, upon the desert sands of Arabia, forgetting all former strifes and differences, pledged themselves to one another in the great brotherhood of Christ.. Ages have pa.ssed away; the wars of the Crusaders have become matters of story. "We wonder today at the sufferings, the toils, the martyrdom of the men who braved all dangers, suffered and died to wrest from the infidel the tomb of the Despised Man of Xazareth, but the great work then accom- plished is bearing its fruit among us at this distant dav, and here in this capital city of a nation then 'unkno\\-n, a continent then unheard of, we have met this evening to renew the pledges made in that almost forgotten time. Men must pass away, their deeds may be forgotten, but the great principles of humanity are eternal. Through all ages, in everv clime and in every land of the civilized world, the principles represented by the Order of Knights Templar have been kept alive in spite of all the changes that time has wrought in the historv and destinv of nations. REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 15 "In behalf of the Masonic Temple Association, it gives me exceedingly great pleasure to welcome you as tenants to this beautiful monumental building, from whence will hereafter emanate the true teachings of Freemasonry in all its legitimate branches." The ceremony of dedication was then performed, and after an Address by R.'.E/.Sir Eldred G. Davis, followed by con- gratulatory remarks by V. ■'.£.■. Sir Dingman and others. Grand Commandery adjourned, after prayer by the Grand Prelate. The Forty-fourth Annual Conclave was held in Washington, May 10, 1909, all the Grand Officers being present, eight past Grand Commanders, Representatives from the constituent Commanderies and twenty-seven sister Grand Jurisdictions, among whom we note our own Representative, Arvine W. Johnston. V.'.E.'.Sir Harrison Dingman, Grand Captain of the Guard of the Grand Encampment, was welcomed with the honors appropriate to his rank and congratulated by the Grand Com- mander upon his recovery from an operation for a serious malady. Communication was read from V.'.E.'.Sir Arthur Mac Arthur, Representative of the M. .E.'. Grand Master of the Grand Encampment, expressing his regrets at being unable to attend the Conclave. The Address of E. .Sir William H. Cissel was then read, in which he paid fittip.g respect to the memory of the deceased Praters of his own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. His De- cisions were few in number, as were his Dispensations, and were all duly approved. From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the present membership is 1,725, a gain for the year of 14. The Finance Committee report a balance on hand of $1,238.64, with liabihties of $1,133.05, leaving balance on hand, after expenses had been liquidated, ,|105.59. That continued harmony and Fraternal fellowship exists throughout the Jurisdiction is evidenced by the Committee on Grievances and Appeals, who report that nothing had been submitted to them for consideration. 16 GRAND COMMANDERY OF MASS. AXD R. I. Upon retiring from office, a jewel of a Past Grand Com- mander was presented to R.-.E/.Sir William H. Cissel. The Report on Correspondence is by R. .E.-.Sir Georgt H. Corson, who reviews the proceedings of the forty-six Grand Jurisdictions, and we excerpt from his conclusion: "The 'State of the Order' in the several Grand Jurisdictions that have passed in review has been found to be excellent, almost without exception. As the Order grows in numbers its field of influence enlarges, and its opportunities for good increase and multipl}'. A wise improvement of these opportunities will spread its benign influence, and will ultimateh- result in the triumph of those sublime principles upon which the Order of the Temple is founded. "To everv v^ir Knight of the Order we sav, Peace be with vou!" Massachusetts and Rhode Island receives due consideration, our proceedings being given two pages, in which he states that our humble self has verj' successfullj^ carried out our expressed purpose of presenting a faithful re^aew of the forty-six Grand Jurisdictions, for which he has our grateful acknowledgments. The election of officers resulted in the election of: Sir "Walter H. Kolpfer, Grand Commander. Sir Arvine V. Johnston, Grand Recorder. Sir George E. Corson, Committee on Correspondence. En-glaxd and Wales, 1908 The Proceedings of Great Priory were held in Mark ilasons Hall, Friday, December 11, 1908, the Rt. Honorable the Earl of Euston, G.C.T. on the Throne, the full Une of Grand Officers and thirty-one Representatives of Preceptories, includina; a large number of visitors. The Minutes of the last meeting of Great Priory ha^in2: been published were taken as read. On motion of the Earl of Euston, seconded by Bro. Chetwode- Crawley, the Chair was taken by the Earl of Ivintore, who observed that the first business before the Conference related to a matter raised in correspondence between the Great Priories REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 17 of England and Scotland, in consequence" of a ruling which he had given as the interpretation of the Statutes of the Great Priory of Scotland, conferring certain powers on the Grand blaster, under which he was granted a Dispensation for doing that which the English Brethren complained of, and he must take upon himself the responsibility for what he had done. The aforesaid matter related to the establishment of a Priory in Sydney, New South Wales, which, being the territory of the Great Priory of England and Wales, was without the sanction of law and usage. After much debate on the matter, action was deferred until the facts could be communicated to the Great Priories of Ireland and Canada and the Grand Encamp- ment of the United States, and their views obtained. The donation of £50 for charity was voted. The Twelfth Conference of Governing Bodies was held ilay 14, 1909, and was largely attended. A Chapter of Great Priory was opened in ample form by the M.'.E.'. Pro. '.Grand blaster. The Minutes having been read of the last meeting of Great Priory they were, upon motion, confirmed. Eleven Preceptories were reported in arrears. The Committee on Foreign Relations on the Proposed Con- cordat, appointed by the Grand Encampment of the United States of America, having met in Chicago and formulated a Concordat which was submitted, the same was reported as having been examined and confirmed by the Grand blaster. The Concordat reads as follows: Grand Encampment of Knights Templar, United States of America. CONCORDAT. When those splendid Orders of Knighthood, the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem, or Knights of Malta, were known and active powers for the protection of Christianity, with fortified posts of defence on the islands of the ^Mediterranean, they were duly organized in languages, each nationality being governed by one Commander and the united organizations by one Grand Master. When in the progress of time and the changes of civilization these Bodies ceased to be of armed warriors, and taking on the forms of 18 GEAND COMMAXDEHY OF MASS. AND E. I. civil government for the advancement of morality and the protection of virtue, it was still found necessary to continue the organization in form and manner as best serves our ad- vanced civilization and national requirements. i^,Thus it matters not of what nationality or to what Christian sect our members belong, the tendency is to be draT^-u together in the one service of our Heavenly Father and in behalf of our common humanity, the better to aid in bringing into a more close and intimate friendship the numerous Bodies of our Order, now established in all parts of the ciAdlized world, and especially the English speaking countries thereof. Therefore, we the la^\-fully authorized representatives of The Great Priory of the United Religious and Military Orders of the Temple and of St. John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and ilalta, in England and Wales and the Colonies and Dependencies of the British Crown; The Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States of America; The Religious and ^lilitarj- Order of the Temple, Great Prior}' of Ireland; The Great Priory of the Religious and ililitary Order of the Temple in Scotland and Dependencies of the British Crown; and The Sovereign Great Priory of Canada, present to each other and to the Governing Bodies we represent, the following Treaty of Amity or Concordat, and earnestly recommend its approval: First : It is hereby agreed by the Governing Bodies of Knights Templar and Knights of ilalta here represented, namely: The Great Priory of the United Religious and ^Iilitary Orders of the Temple and of St. John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes, Malta, in England and "Wales, and the Colonies and Dependencies of the British Crown; The Grand Encampment of Knights Templar, United States of America; Tl:e Religious and :\Iilitary Order of the Temple, Great Prior}' of Ireland; The Great Priory of the Religious and ililitarv Order of the Temple in Scotland and Dependencies of the British Crown; and The Sovereign Great Priory of Canada. each being the Governing Body in its own country, that each of these Governing Bodies is Supreme in its own Jurisdiction- and this acknowledgment is also jointly made. ' REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 19 Second : That we deem it expedient and in the interests of the Orders in our respective Jurisdictions that such rules and regulations should be made and promulgated as may tend to draw more closely together the members of the Order in our respective countries, and promote the interchange of courtesy and hospitality. Third: That any Preceptory or Commandery working under a charter granted by any one of these Governing Bodies shall not confer the Orders recognized in that Jurisdiction for a less sum than required by the laws of such Governing Body, or upon any one not a Companion of the Holy Royal Arch in regular standing in both Lodge and Chapter. Fourth: These Governing Bodies agree mutually to support and uphold each other; and declare that any member of the United Orders who may be suspended, excluded or expelled by any one of the Governing Bodies shall not be affiliated to any Preceptory or Commandery under the jurisdiction of the others. Nor shall they in any way recognize any Body pro- fessing to be a Body of Knights Templar in any country which does not hold a Dispensation or Warrant from one or other of these Governing Bodies. Fifth: We the contracting parties mutually agree that neither will issue any Dispensation or Warrant authorizing the establishment of any Preceptory, Priory or Commandery within the jurisdiction of the other, and that all Templars shall be received according to their rank at home, on an equal footing with those among whom they shall respectively come, taking precedence according to their official rank or degrees, and among those of equal rank, according to the seniority of their Commission or Warrant. Sixth: Each of said contracting parties agrees not to recognize any other Templar organization or authority within the Jurisdiction now embraced by these contracting parties; each recognizing the absolute and exclusive control of the other over all matters pertaining to the Order within its Jurisdiction. Signed on behalf of the Great Priory of England and Wales and the Colonies and Dependencies of the British Crown. R. LovELAND LovELAND, G.Seneschal, Chairman. John Strachan, G. Chancellor. C. F. Matier, G. Vice-Chancellor. Committee. London, 30th March, 1909. 20 GRAND COMMANDERY OF MASS. AND R. I. Due notice was made and recorded with Fraternal mention of the death of M.'.E.-.Sir Reuben H. Lloyd, Past Grand Master of the Templars in the United States, the resolution reading as follows : " The Council has to record, with much regret, the death of the M.-.E.'.Hon. Reuben H. Lloyd, who was Grand Master of the Temple in the United States for the years 1898, 1899, 1901. As the Chairman of the Reception Committee, who entertained the delegates who visited the Triennial Encampment in San Francisco in 1904, he was most kind, hospitable, and most courteous, and it was with the greatest pleasure that His Eminence the Grand Master invested him with the rank and dignity of a Knight Commander. As a lawyer of exceedingly high standing, and as a Past Grand Master of the Temple, his loss will be acutely felt, not only by his fellow citizens and his Brethren of the Order, but by those English Brethren who so highly appreciated and valued his thoughtful kindness in California in 1904." £10 was voted from the Benevolent Fund for the relief of a Knight of the Hyde Preceptory. £500 was invested in India 3 per cent stock on behalf of the General Fund. Membership was reported as 3,000. The Grand Treasurer reported balance on hand of £1,429.- 10s. lid. The Chapter was then closed in ample form. The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, K.G., etc.. Grand ]\Iaster. John Strachan, Grand Chancellor. C. F. Matier, G.C.T. Grand Vice-Chancellor. Florida, 1909 The Fifteenth Annual Conclave was held in the city of Jacksonville, May 13, 1909. The constitutional number being present, the Grand Com- mandery was opened in ample form with a prayer by the Grand Prelate. V.'.E. .Sir Joseph K. Orr, Grand Junior War- REPORT ON COREESPONDENCE 21 den and Inspecting Officer of the Grand Encampment, was received between the lines and escorted to the East. All the Grand Officers were present; nine Past Grand Commanders and the Representatives of twenty-four Grand Jurisdictions, among whom we note Em. '.Sir William H. Jewel, Representa- tive of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Address of the Grand Commander is a well-written document, in which he gives a thorough account of his steward- ship during the year. Among his Dispensations was one to Oriental Commandery, to ballot on four candidates at a special meeting called for that purpose. Dispensation was refused to the same Commandery for the purpose of receiving and acting upon a petition of a candidate short of the time, and he says the request for such Dispensation not having been made at a special or regular Conclave the same was denied. He made few Decisions, which were all sustained by the Committee on Jurisprudence. The Grand Treasurer reports a balance on hand of 11,270.00. The Committee on Grievances and Appeals reports, congratu- lating Grand Commandery that brotherly love prevails through- out the Jurisdiction. From the Grand Recorder's Report we find the present membership is 1,014, a gain for the year of 111. There is no Report on Correspondence. The election of officers resulted in the election of Sir Alonzo M. Cushman, Grand Commander. Sir Wilber P. Webster, Grand Recorder. The next Annual Conclave to be held in the City of Jackson- ville, Thursday, May 12, 1910. Georgia, 1909 The Forty-eighth Annual Conclave was held in the city of Brunswick, May 12 and 13, 1909. The Preliminary Pro- ceedings opened with the gathering of the several subordinate Commanderies in front of Hotel Oglethorpe, in the city of Brunswick, under command of Sir Knight George D. Case, Grand Captain General. 22 GRAND COMMANDEKY OF MASS. AND R. I. After receiving the members of Grand Commander}' the column moved to the Court House, passing through several of the principal streets of the city. On arriving at the Court House, Addresses of Welcome were made by the Acting Mayor, and Hon. William G. Brantley, Congressman of the District. At the conclusion of the addresses, the lines were re-formed and proceeded to the Asylum of St. Elmo Commandery, where the Forty-eighth Annual Conclave was opened in regular form, all of the Grand Officers being present, and the roll-call showing that the Representatives of twenty-three subordinate Com- manderies were also present. V.-.E.-.Sir Joseph K. Orr, Grand Junior Warden of the Grand Encampment of the United States, was received and welcomed with full honors by the Commandery. The Grand Commander's Address occupies forty pages of the Proceedings, and is a concise summary of the transactions of his office during the j^ear. It contains many obituary notices, and due mention is made of the distinguished departed Fraters of other Jurisdictions. He granted many Dispensations to ballot on petitions and confer the Orders in less than statutory time, and although he reports that these Dispensations were to be acted upon at regular Conclaves, we fail to see that this mode of procedure is of any benefit to the membership of the Order, as we believe that better members are made by comply- ing with the regular mode of procedure, and that the Orders should only be conferred upon those who fully appreciate their import and are willing to wait the regular Igngth of time and abide by the laws and regulations of the Order, and that the law should not be set aside for the accommodation and con- venience of any applicant. Two new Commanderies were granted Dispensations. One to be located at Albany and the other at Covington, Ga. His visitations to subordinate Commanderies were many and give evidence of his zeal for the prosperity of the Order. In regard to the condition of the Order he says, "An analysis of the reports from the various Commanderies shows that, while in the main the Order is in prosperous condition throughout the Jurisdiction, there is probably no Commandery in the REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 23 State where they are up to the point of efficiency and excel- lence that the Order deserves." His Decisions were few and were in accordance with the Statutes of Grand Commandery. He pays a deserved compliment to Grand Recorder R.'.E.'. Sir William S. Rockwell, for his constant gracious assistance in the work of the year, and in everything that he has been called upon to perform, whether as instructor, inspecting officer or the duties of Grand Recorder. The Grand Recorder's report shows a membership of 2,304, a gain for the year of 185. The Report on Correspondence is from the pen of R.'.E. ".Sir William S. Rockwell, and contains a brief account of the transactions of the constituent Grand Commanderies. He makes kindly mention of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and among other things he says, "The Proceedings of the oldest Grand Commandery of the United States came done up in artistic fashion, and containing numerous statistical tables of much information." Alpheus B. Simmons, Grand Commander. William S. Rockwell, Grand Recorder. The Forty-ninth Annual Conclave to be held May 11, 1910, at Savannah, Ga. Illinois, 1908 The Fifty-second Annual Conclave, held in the Masonic Tem- ple, in the city of Rock Island, Tuesday and Wednesday, Octo- ber 13 and 14, 1908. The volume opens with a cut of "Old Glory" in colors, the Baimer of the Order and a half-tone portrait of R.'.E. '.Sir Smyth Crooks, Grand Commander, and like all the other Pro- ceedings of this Grand Body is a credit to the Grand Recorder and the printer. The Conclave was opened with all the Grand Officers present and the Representatives of sixty-eight Commanderies. After devotional exercises, led by the Grand Prelate, came the ap- pointments of the Standing Committees. Grand Commandery then adjourned until afternoon. 24 GRAND COIIMAXDERY OF MASS. AND H. I. The first business of the afternoon session was the Address of the R. .E.-. Grand Commander, from which we excerpt: "One vear ago, you placed in my hand this gavel, and installed me at the head of this Grand Commandery. The position of honor then conferred upon me I am about to sur- render; and in doing so, none can realize the feelings that per- vade my breast, sa^-e those who have occupied this exalted station, and whose experience was as free from perplexity as has been mine. I desire to say to the Past Grand Commanders, I would be very happy did I possess the power to express in language that which my heart feels and which my tongue now fails to utter. "I feel as if awakening from a beautiful dream, and as if some charming \Tision was passing before and away from me, painted in all of the lieautiful colors of art and nature com- bined; all just beyond my reach, and I powerless to stay its flight. I know the pleasures that have bespangled my life during the past year can ne^er return, and I also know that it is not right that they should. I have had my full share of honors, my year of official enjoyment has passed, and upon the head of my successor I gladly place the cro'mi of authority, with the same degree of confidence and sacred good "will that is revealed I3}' a mother's limitless love when she bids her beloved boy good-by. "I will not attempt to conceal from j-ou the fact that when I assumed the control of this Grand Commander}-, I did so with strong misgi-^ings as to what the outcome would be. Experi- ence in similar organizations had taught me that a successful administration meant labor, \'igilance, perseverance and other qualifications that were, perhaps, unkno\\-n to me. In looking back over the bright events, made memorable by the achieve- ments of my predecessors, I shall be truly thankful if I have erected to the memory of this now closing administration a monument that will compare favorably with the records made by those who heretofore have served you so grandlv." The address also contains much of local interest, and amono- other things we excerpt the following relative to providing uni"^ forms before receiving the Order of the Temple: "I wish it may be practicable for the Grand Commandery to adopt a By-Law, under which a candidate for the Ordera could not obtain the same in this State, without havuKr pro vided himself -nith a uniform before recei^■ing the Order "of the HEPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 25 Temple. There may be a reason why this is not yet feasible, but I strongly recommend that Subordinate Commanderies adopt such a By-Law. Several, in fact many Commanderies have done this, and they have immediately discovered the benefit. A fully equipped Commandery looks better, the Sir Knights individually look better, they feel better, and take greater interest in the Commandery work, duties and pleasures incident Uiereto, and, finally, the better class of applicants for the Orders look for admission to such a Commandery." From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the present membership, as reported June 30, 1908, was 14,512, a net gain of 847. The Grand Treasurer's Report shows a balance on hand of $22,189.76. Messages of love and sympathy were extended to V.".E.".Sir Gross, R. .E.-.Sirs Nash, Munn, Dyas, Montgomery and Smith, who were detained at home on account of ill health, and the Grand Recorder was instructed to send the messages. A 6.00 o'clock in the afternoon Grand Commandery adjourned ■ to meet again on Wednesday, October 14, at 9.00 o'clock a.m. The Second Day's Proceedings opened with devotional exer- cises, led by the Grand Prelate. Sir Knight John D. Cleveland, Grand Generalissimo, proposed the following amendment to the statutes, which was referred to the Committee on Jurisprudence: STANDARD UNIFORM. "Section 36. Knight Templar. — The following is the pre- scribed standard uniform of a Knight Templar and no Com- panion of the Illustrious Order of the Red Cross shall be eligible to receive the Order of the Temple until he has provided himself with a full uniform, such as is prescribed by this standard." The Committee on Credentials, among other things, reported the Representatives of 75 Commanderies present. The Report of the Committee on Templar Dead, by E.".Sir Knight Dicus, is a most elaborate report, and pays fitting tribute to the dead of their own and those of sister Grand Jurisdictions. 26 GRAND COMMANDERY OF MASS. AND E. 1. From the Report of the Committee on Finance we excerpt the following: "Sir Knight Gilbert W. Barnard was serving his thirty-first year as Grand Recorder of this Grand Commander}^ when his gentle spirit passed beyond the river, and his Christ-like soul into eternity. His ser^dce was ever faithful to OTir Order; his ability and fitness for the office were unsurpassed. During his official term he never requested extra compensation, even where it was justly his due. Other Masonic Bodies which he served in a similar capacity have recognized his worth, and learning of the "\-ery large expense attending his last illness, death and burial, have made generous contributions as a testi- monial to his service. Your Committee respectfully urges that a warrant for S3.50 be drawn for the benefit of his estate." The regulation jewel was presented to the retiring Grand Commander, R. .E.-.Sir Crooks, by Past Grand Master George M. iloulton, and from the words of Sir Knight Moulton we ex- cerpt the following: "Xot as a reward for yom- fidehty to your engagements, not to be considered at all as a measure of compensation, but in grateful recognition of your 'services, and as a token of affection from all the members of this Grand Commandery, I now place upon your breast the jewel which has been bestowed upon all 3'our predecessors in office upon their retirement from the office of Grand Commander." And from the response of E.'.Sir Knight Crooks we quote as follows, his remarks being received with applause from all present. "Sir Knights, it has been a labor of love on my part to trvto perform the duties of the various positions to which I have been elected, and I want to say to you that I have done the best I could at all times to promote the honor and welfare of this Grand Commandery. I will not detain you by any further remarks but I desire to thank you from the bottom of my hear? for the kindness and the courtesy you have always sho^ me durmg my year's admimstration of the affairs of thisTrand REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 27 The Report on Correspondence is by our dear and esteemed Frater, Sir John Corson Smith. It was his twentieth annual, and we quote his opening: "Like our Frater, R.'.E.-.Sir Knight James Southgate, the esteemed Correspondent of Grand Commandery, North CaroHna, we have had our afflictions and at times have been compelled to lay aside the pen, almost resolving never to take it up again. We had not reviewed more than six or eight proceedings before recognizing our inability to write, we were about to tender our resignation to Grand Commander Crooks, when friends urged us to withhold it and employ a stenographer and typewriter, which we did, and here present the fruits of our labor. " We are not satisfied with our work, and if our readers are of the same mind we can but ask that they be lenient with us, for we have done our best, and that when they know that I have ceased to write correspondence they say as would a western poet: ' Write as on the face of a plain and polished stone No worded sentiment intended to condone The errors of an eventful life, But give the name and day I rest, And underneath it say: He Did His Best: " He devotes to Massachusetts and Rhode Island four pages, in which he says that the Annual Conclave is a thorough busi- ness meeting, in which are considered the various reports and suggestions of the Grand Commander, as dispensations, de- cisions and suggestions, all of which being so justly in accord- ance with Templar law were promptly approved. Speaking of the petition of the Boston Commandery, we excerpt the fol- lowing: "It is remarkable how few of our semi-military organizations know the difference between the right of the line and the head of the column. A commander of a column or division entitled to an escort selects such company for that duty as he may desire, takes it from the column, though it be junior in rank to one or more in the line, and the command then forms by seniority of company or regiment. In this case it was Grand Commander's privilege to select the Commandery for duty as escort, but the Grand Commandery having by vote designated that Body, he acquiesced. It became the duty of the other Commanderies to ' fall into line ' by seniority. 28 GRAND COMMAXDERY OF MASS. AXD R. I. "We feel confident that our Fraters of Boston Commandery will not take this little affair to heart, particularly when we tell them that in every national parade of our Grand .\rmy boys this same question' comes up in some one or more departments, and in many, to avoid trouble, escorts for Department Com- manders are being dispensed with." The Report on Correspondence also contains a record of his visit to the Grand Priory of Canada, and is embellished with many notes and portraits of our Canadian Fraters, also a por- trait of the M. .E. -.Grand pilaster, Henry W. Rugg. The Report also contains a histor}- of Knights Templar and Knights of ilalta and is a very interesting and readable docu- ment, profusely illustrated. He also settles the controversy as to whether General Grant was a Freemason, conclusively showing that he was not. The stor}- is so interesting that we give it in full: ^YAS GENERAL GRANT A FREEMASON? This question has been so often asked me in the last twentj-- fi.ve years, and notwithstanding my answer to the same, written for and published in the Rough Ashlar, a ilasonic magazine, printed in Richmond, ^"a., some fifteen or more years ago, and reprinted in the Masonic Tidings of ililwaukee, Wis., November, 189.5, and other Masonic papers, the question is still being asked me. Desiring to give all the ^Masonic light upon questions which are familiar to me, I take this opportunity of putting the same upon permanent record in the Proceedings of the Grand Commanderv of Illinois. General John C. Smith in the Rough Ashlar. It is never pleasant to spoil a good story, but the truth sometimes compels one to do so, and when so sillj' a storv is found going the rounds of the ilasonic press as the one giVen below, it becomes the duty of one knowing the facts to make true answer to the above query: "Was General Grant a Freemason?" I need not say to the comrade who served in the Confederate or Federal Army that the story is too ridiculous from the soldier's standpoint to be believed. Neither does it seem REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 29 necessary to tell the Freemason that it is untrue, for it carries the stamp of fraud upon its face. The verdict of history is, that General Grant was somewhat of a soldier, and the writer does know that General Grant was not a Freemason. But to the story and our answer. To the Rough Ashlar we send this article, because that magazine, being published in the city of Richmond, the capital of Virginia and of the "late Confederacy," it will the more speedily reach the "Blue and the Gray," and thus correct the misstatement now so current. The story is as follows: A MASONIC WAR INCIDENT. "The following letter of Major Bryant S. Parker, an ex- -South Carolina Confederate, is printed in the Blue and Gray: "In one hard-fought battle in Virginia, in which my regiment lost heavily in killed and wounded, I was taken prisoner with a lot of others of our regiment. We were placed under guard at the rear, and all were searched. I had in my pocketbook my Masonic dimit. Next morning the guard came and told me that I was wanted at General Grant's headquarters. I thought my time to die had surely come, and that I never would see Sallie and the children any more. I was sure the general was going to have me shot. I was the only one of our boys who was wanted at headquarters, and the guard told me to move on. I soon reached the tent, and was told to go inside. I was frightened almost to death. My teeth rattled, my knees shook, and the perspiration was streaming from my face, although the day was cold. However, I entered, and the tent was closed, and I was alone with the Commander-in-Chief of the United States forces. He saw that I was so frightened I could hardly speak, and, rising from his camp-stool, he shook hands with me and asked me to be seated. He was so kind and good that I soon felt at home. After talking pleasantly for a while he asked me to what regiment I belonged and where my home was. He then asked me if I was a Mason, and I soon convinced him of that. He then went to the table and wrote my parole, and gave me some money, and told me to go home to Sallie and the children. The guard was called, and with a hearty 'good-by,' I departed from General Grant's headquarters the happiest man in the army." The truth of the statement now made comes from my own personal knowledge and my acquaintance with General Grant. In 1854 I became a citizen of Galena. I there first heard of Captain Grant through his brother, Simpson S. My acquaint- ance with the captain was made the winter of 1859-60, when 30 GRAND COMMANDERY OF MASS. AND R. I. he first came to reside in Galena. 'Si.y love and attachment for the great commander began in the dark hours of our country's historv and only ended with his death. Being a member of the Order of Odd Fellows when I settled in Galena, and attaching myself to Galena Lodge, No. 17, of which General Grant's brother, Simpson, was already a member, a friendship was there contracted with Simpson S. Grant and John C. Spare — two inseparable companions — only broken as to Simpson, by his death in 1861, but the stronger today with Brother Spare. By reason of this friendship with Simpson I soon came to know his father, Jesse R. Grant, then a resident of Covington, Ky., but interested in business with his son, Simpson, in the leather and furnishing business in Galena, to whom he made frequent ^•isits. Jesse R. Grant, the father of the General and Simpson S., was a Freemason, and as such frequently visited the Masonic Lodge in Galena, as we personally know, having sat in lodge ■with him. ^Ye also have in our possession the record book of Phoenix Lodge, U.D., 1854-5.5, in which Brother Jesse R. Grant is recorded as a ^•isitor. About the year 1857 Orville S. Grant, a younger brother of General and Simpson S., came to Galena to assist in the management of the business of his father and brother, and he afterwards became a member, by initiation, of Miners' Lodge Xo. 273, founded April 17, 1858. General, or Captain Grant, as he was then known, came to Galena in the winter of 1859, and removed his family there in the spring of 1860. The captain was not a Freemason, but he was an Odd Fellow, ha"\-ing been made a member of that Order while stationed at Sackett's Harbor, N.Y., 1S4S-49, but did not continue in membership. "Uncle Jesse," as the father of General Grant was familiarlv called in Galena, intended to retire from business at this time (I860), and have his three sons take the same, but Simpson being in ill-health, the change was deferred, and the captain for the time being was in the employ of the firm. The war opened in 1861, when Captain Grant became otherwise em- ployed, and Simpson dying in September of the same year, "Uncle Jesse's" cherished hopes were never realized. The remains of Simpson S. Grant were buried in Greenwood cemetery. Galena, by the Odd Fellows, Brother John C. Spare who is also a Freemason, officiating, and the writer assistino- From 1861 to 1865, inclusive, history informs the reader as to General Grant's employment and where he was to be found In July, 1865, the writer, who had also been absent from REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 31 home, returned from the mihtary service to Galena, and in August of the same year General Grant- was publicly received by the citizens of Galena on his return home, " by reason of the close of the war." Following this, and but a few days later. General Grant and a few friends went by steamer to Dubuque, la., where the General was warmly welcomed by the citizens. On that excursion Jesse R. Grant and the writer were of the company. During much of the time, going and returning, "Uncle Jesse" and myself were together, and the conversation was of the General and Freemasonry. It was then that the General's father told me that he would like his son to become a member of the Craft, and said: "General, I wish that you would present a petition for initiation into your Lodge to Ulysses, for I know that he would like to become a Mason." To this I said: "Uncle Jesse, I would not like to present a petition to the General, but I will get one, and you can give it to him, as he will take it more kindly from his father than he would from me." The father replied: "I don't think it would be right in me to do so, as I am his father. I would rather vou should present it, as I know that he would like to become a member of your lodge." Such, in substance, was the conversation between us on that excursion to Dubuque, la., in the autumn of 1865. This matter was the subject of conversation between the General's father, his brother Orville and myself, at subsequent times. Galena Commandery No. 40, Knights Templar, was in- stituted in 1871, with the writer as Eminent Commander, General Grant, then President of the United States, being then at home. There were many distinguished Templars present to assist in the work. Dr. N. F. Prentice, Past Grand Com- mander; Hon. H. C. Burchard, M.C.; General Smith D. Atkins; Hon. E. L. Cronkrite, mayor; Robert Little, United States collector; Captain Wihiam Young, James S. McCah, Dr. McKim, Loyal L. Munn, since Grand Secretary, ah of Freeport; Hon. John dinger, mayor of Dunleith; Hon. Samuel Cook, Homer Graves, Captain J. M. Doggett and others of Ilhnois; Horace Tuttle, Past Deputy Grand Commander, and Wihiam P. Ahen, Past Grand Master, together with others, from Iowa. The Commandery was instituted on the afternoon of September 29, 1871, and work on the Orders commenced. At 9 o'clock p.m., a recess was taken, and by appointment with the writer, President Grant received the Sir Knights, who were fully uniformed, at the house of Mr. L. S, Felt, whose guest he then was. A pleasant hour was spent in conversation with General Grant, after which the Sir Knights returned to their Asylum. 32 GRAXD COMMAXDEEY OF MASS. AND R. I. At that reception the subject of Masonry and the General's favorable opinion of it was spoken of, and it was then agreed that at the first favorable opportunity the General would sign a petition for initiation, and, if accepted, would become a member of iliner's Lodge No. 273, of which the writer was then the iMaster. During the pohtical contest for the President's re-election (1S72 and 1873). the General visited his home in Galena, and the subject was again mentioned. At this time I had a con- versation with Brother James A. Hawley. M. .AY. .Grand Master, informed him of General Grant's intention to petition my Lodge, and that for reasons not necessary to mention I would like to have the Grand Master ^-isit my lodge at such time as I should name and exercise his prerogative of "making a Mason at sight " — that is, -without his being subject to a ballot. M. .W.'. Brother Hawley said it would give him pleasure to do so. Brothers Dr. X. F. Prentice, Robert Little, Loyal L. Munn and others of Freeport; Dr. Fred W. Byers of Lena and other brethren along the line of the Illinois Central railway, having expressed a desire to be present on such an occasion, and having learned that I could have a special train at any time on a few hours' notice to run from Dixon, the home of Grand blaster Hawley to Galena, I felt fuUj^ pro\ided for the event. When the General next ^-isited his home, preparations were made, when some affair of State recalled him to Washington earlier than anticipated and there the matter dropped. My own ill-health and subsequent removal from Galena prevented my ever making any further effort to bring about the accomplishment of the most ardent wish or desire of "Uncle" Jesse R. Grant, the father of the General. General Grant lived until July 23. 1SS.5, when from the heights of Mt. ilcGregor he peacefully passed to the portals of that Great Lodge on high, where, by the Grand Architect of the Universe, our Supreme Grand Master, he was made a ]iLison " at sight." There, beside the first general of the armie-. of the United States, Brother George Washington, he now sits at the right hand of our Hea-^-enly Father in the Grand East — there where every true Freemason, whether he wore the 'blue" or the "gray," may hope to greet and recognize him when their earthly pilgrimage is ended, and they like'him, are at rest. The election of officers resulted as follows: Sir William E. Gross. R. .E.. Grand Commander. Sir Harris A. Wheeler, E.. Grand Recorder. Sir John C. Smith, Past Grand Commander, Correspondent. REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 33 The next Annual Conclave will be held in Chicago, October 26, 1909. Indiana, 1909 The Fifty-fifth Annual Conclave, held in Indianapolis, the 12th day of May, 1909, with the Grand Encampment repre- sented by V.'.E.'.Sir William B. Melish, Deputy Grand Master. All of the Grand Officers were present, with the exception of Grand Captain of the Guard; sixteen Past Grand Com- manders and the Representatives from fifty-three chartered Commanderies. The Grand Commandery being in order, V. .E.'.Sir Melish was conducted into the Asylum and received with the honor befitting his rank. V.'.E.'.Sir Melish addressed Grand Com- mandery at length, and among other things he said: " I greet you as your fellow Pilgrim Warrior, enlisted for the entire war, and congratulate you for what this Gra.nd Com- mandery stands for, for what it has accomplished in the past, and with a firm belief that still greater triumphs are to come to you in the future under the protection and guidance of the Great Commander of us all." The Grand Commander then delivered his Annual Address, which contains much of interest to that jurisdiction. Dispen- sations were granted in accordance with Templar usage; other Dispensations were refused, and relative to same he .says: "I am opposed to granting Dispensations to receive and ballot upon petitions in less than the statutory time, and I have steadfastly refused all such requests, and would not grant them on any account, unless the case appealed to me as one of actual emergency." Other Dispensations refused he deemed it unnecessary to report. His Decisions were few and were in accordance with Templar law. At the conclusion of his Address it was referred to the proper committees. 34 GRAND COMMANDEEY OP MASS. AND E. I. The Grand Treasurer's Report shows a balance on hand of §13,369.42. From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the number of chartered Commanderies is 53; membership 6,343, a gain for the year of 165. The volume further contains memorials to the departed Fra- ters of their own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. The election of ofiicers resulted in the election of Sir Luther Short, R. .E.-. Grand Commander, and Calvin W. Prather, E.'. Grand Recorder, who were installed into office by V. .E.'.Sir Wilham B. Melish, Deputy Grand :\Iaster of the Grand En- campment of the United States. Following the installation, R. .E.'.Sir Charles Day was pre- sented with the Past Grand Commander's jewel, the presenta- tion being made by E.-.Sir Alfred C. Ormond, and the speeches of presentation and R. .E.'.Sir Day's response were heartily enjo3'ed by all present. The Report on Correspondence is from the pen of E.'.Sir Joseph A. Mclvee. ilassachusetts and Rhode Island are briefly mentioned. Of the Report of the Grand Recorder he saj's. it "is in a class by itself." "It appears to be complete in every detail; the amount of statistical information given to the Order is marvelous," for all of which your humble servant is truly grateful. We excerpt from his conclusion: " One of the greatest of living writers has given to the human race a poem, fantastic, yet beautiful. That poem teaches a lesson to j'ou and to me: 'When I was a Kiag and a Mason — a Master proven and skilled — I cleared me groiind for a palace such as a King should bmld. I decreed and dug down to my levels. Presently imder the silt, I came on the wreck of a palace such as a King had built. 'There was no worth in the fashion — there was no wit in the plan Hither and thither, aimless, the rioined footings ran; Masonr\'. busts, mishandled, but careen on everi.- stone: "After me cometh a Builder. Tell him I, too, hare knovm." ' Swift to my use in my trenches, where my well planned ground-works grew I tumbled his quoins and his ashlars, and cut and reset them anew ' Limn I milled of the marbles; burned it, slacked it and spread- Taking and leaving at pleasure the gifts of the humble dead. REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 35 'Yet I despised not nor gloried; yet, as we wrenched them apart, I read in_the ragged foundations the dream of that builder's heart. As he had risen and pleaded, so did I understand The form of the dream he had followed in the face of the thing he had planned. ' When I was a King and a Mason — in the open noon of my pride. They sent me a Word from the Darkness — they whispered and put me aside. They said, "The end is forbidden." They said, "Thy use is fulfilled, And thy palace shall stand as that other's — the spoil of a King who shall build." 'I called my men from my trenches, my quarries, my wharves, and my shears. All I had wrought I abandoned to the faith of the faithless years. Only I cut on the timber, only I carved on the stone: "After me cometh u Builder. Tell him I, too, have known!"' R. ■ .E. ■ .Grand Commander, Sir Luther Short. E.'. Grand Recorder, Calvin W. Prather. E. .Sir Joseph A. McKee, Correspondent. The next Annual Conclave to be held in Masonic Temple, Indianapolis, the second Wednesday in May, 1910. Iowa, 1909 The Forty-sixth Annual Conclave was held at Templar Park, Spirit Lake, July 14, 15 and 16, 1909. The volume opens with a splendid Bather portrait of Grand Commander Charles W. Walton, and the volume, like all others that emanate from this Grand Jurisdiction, is a credit to the Grand Recorder and the printer. The First Day's session opened at 10.00 o'clock in the fore- noon, all the Grand Officers being present, the Sir Knights being led in their devotions by E.'.Sir George W. Ball, Grand Prelate. The first business was the reception of distinguished guests, among whom was V.'.E.'.Sir Jehiel W. Chamberlain, Grand Sword Bearer of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templars of the United States, who was welcomed by the Grand Com- mander. Sir Knight Chamberlain responded to the welcome of the Grand Commander in felicitous terms. Among other distinguished guests present were R. .E.'.Sir Joseph E. Dyas, Past Grand Commander of the State of Illinois, and V. .E. .Sir W. H. Xorris, Grand Standard Bearer of the Grand Encamp- 36 GRAND CO-MMAXDERY OF MASS. AND H. I. ment of the United States; R.'.E/.Sir D. W. Clements. Most Worshipful Master of the Grand Lodge of Iowa, also Companion Louis Block, ilost Excellent Grand High Priest of the Royal Arch Chapter of Iowa, each of whom responded eloquently' to the words of the Grand Commander. The next business in order was the Grand Commander's Address, which is a faithful exhibit of his stewardship during the year. Among other things he saj-s: "The beauties of Templar Park, with nature's arch above our heads and nature's green beneath our feet, beckons to us a glad welcome. This great and magnificent out-door cathe- dral, domed by the blue canopy of heaven, brings an inspira- tion that fills us with the better feelings of our nature, and lifts our minds and hearts to the Grand Architect above. Therefore, with deep and keen appreciation we should be graciously encouraged to devoutly worship our Divine Creator for the manifold blessings and comforts we are privileged to enjoy. "Rall}dng around our beauseant as we meet here today brings to our memory many happy experiences of by-gone Con- claves and the hope that these cordial relations may e\er en- large and continue steadfastly in the renewing of friendships, extending hospitality and exchanging joys and pleasures from the wee child to the gray-haired patriarch." * ^ :|: ♦ ^ ^ ^ >;= >;; "The Grand Jurisdiction of Iowa now nearing the end of her first half century, with her enrollment of six thousand members, rejoices in her country's improvement and advance- ment. The nation's "Old Glory" is honored all through the earth, and while always to be an American was a source of pride, to be one today is a thing of supreme delight, because our Union stands on equal footing with the most enlightened nations of the globe." His Report of the dead of the Jurisdiction is a fittina; tribute to the memory of those who have departed, and we excerpt from his remarks : "Before we enter upon the real work of this occasion let us pause in memory of those beloved Knights who have crossed the bar. While the line of officers and Past Grand Command- ers escaped the path of the 'Silent Reaper,' still we have been forcibly reminded that 'man is mortal and must surely die.' Our records show that the badge of mournino- has EEPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 37 appeared in thirty-nine Commanderies, who have been called upon to tearfully place in the city of graves one hundred and four of this Jurisdiction's departed Fraters. " Let us stand with bared heads while the Grand Recorder reads the register of the dead. " 'A Christian is the highest style of man.' "While we have been called upon to mourn the loss of many distinguished Sir Knights, our sister Jurisdictions have not been exempt from the visitations of the grim messenger, Death, and to whose memory a more fitting tribute will be given by the able Committee on Templar Dead. " ' Just across a narrow stream the flowers never fade and the crystal streams are always murmuring and the birds are singing. There is not a tear to dim the vision as the bound- less beauty breaks in increasing splendor on the view. There is never a cloud to mar the light that makes perpetual morn- ing, and makes every world in the eternities shine with the splendor of a gem, and amidst the grandeur, eternal and beau- tiful as the love of God, we leave our dead, just out of sight, but only across a narrow stream. In token of the beautiful life that is theirs, we will scatter flowers upon their graves and hope that upon the rising fragrance, pure as the breath of angels, our love may be lifted near enough to heaven some- how to remind the loved and lost that they are not forgotten.' " From the Report of the Grand Treasurer we find that he reported cash balance on hand in the general fund, $5,747.00. The Grand Recorder's Report occupies eight pages of the Proceedings. From the same we find that the number of Com- manderies making returns is 57, showing a total membership December 31, 1908, of 5,955, making a net increase of 165. We find that 37 Commanderies show an increase in membership, 15 show a decrease, while 5 are unchanged. Among the inter- esting items contained in his Report is the report on uncollected dues from the constituent Commanderies, who report uncol- lected dues of $4,041.74. Seven of the Commanderies report that all dues were paid. A letter of regret was read from the M.'.E.-. Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of the United States, Rev. Henry W. Rugg, D.D., and was made part of the records. Also the regrets of a score of others, who had been invited and were unable to be present. 38 GEAXD COMJIANDERY OF MASS. AND R. I. At the second day's session the Committee on Credentials reported all the Grand Officers as being present and Representa- tives of the constituent Commanderies, who were either present in person or by proxy; ten Past Grand Commanders and the Representatives of twenty-eight sister Grand Jm-isdictions, among whom we find E.'.Sir ^Y. F. Fidlar, the Grand Repre- sentative of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Committee on Templar Dead, of whom R. .E.'.Sir Cromwell Bowen was Chairman, read a beautiful tribute to the departed Fraters of their ovra and sister Grand Jurisdictions, which was unanimously adopted by rising vote, the same oc- cupying five pages of the Proceedings. The third day's proceedings opened at 10.00 o'clock, after invocation to Deity by E.'.Sir George W. Ball, Grand Prelate. The Committee on Grievances and Appeals report that "the wise administration of those intrusted with the affairs of this Jurisdiction has been such that there are no appeals, nor are there any grievances on file." It certainly shows a commend- able condition of affairs in that Jurisdiction. The fourth day's session was called to order at 10.00 o'clock, and the officers who had been previously elected were installed publicly. The Report on Correspondence is by the hand of Da\-id W. Clements and is a splendid document. [Massachusetts and Rhode Island are courteously mentioned, and among other things he sa3-s of R.'. E.'.Sir C. I. Litchfield, that he "accom- plished the rare task of making forty-one official visits to Com- manderies. Perhaps in no other way could he have better im- proved the state of the Order than by these visits, and that number in a half year was a most commendable feat." He calls our first report a good one and has our grateful acknowledg- ments for same. R.". E.'.Sir Amos X. Alberson, Grand Commander. R. .E.'.Sir Da-vid M. Bro-svnlee, Grand Recorder. R. .E.'.Sir D. W. Clements, Committee on Correspondence. The Forty-seventh Annual Conclave to be held at Templar Park, Spirit Lake, during the week commencing Julv l'> 1910. " "' report on correspondence 39 Kansas, 1909 The Fortieth Annual Conclave was held in Independence, Kan., May 11, 1909. The first business in order was the reception of R.'.E.'.Sir John C. Postlethwaite, Past Grand Commander of Kansas and personal representative of the Grand Master of the Grand Encampment, who was in waiting in the anteroom with his staff for the purpose of making an official visitation to this Grand Commandery. This distinguished Frater was duly re- ceived and accorded the courtesies due his exalted rank. The Grand Recorder then called the roll of Commanderies and announced that the constitutional number was present and Grand Commandery was opened in ample form, all the Grand Officers being present, with the exception of the Grand Prelate, Grand Standard Bearer and Grand Warder; eight Past Grand Commanders, the Representatives of fifty constituent Com- manderies and twenty-one representatives of sister Grand Jurisdictions, among whom we find E.'.Sir Edward W. Welling- ton, the representative of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Grand Commander's Address followed and was an able and coniprehensive review of the transactions of his office dur- ing the year, and from the same we excerpt the following: "The great clock in the chamber of the Omnipotent never stands still; soon it will strike the hour, and another year in the history of this Grand Commandery will begin. "The record of my administration passes into history, so I stand before you. Sir Knights, as Kipling's 'Tomlinson' stood before St. Peter, when admonished: ' "Stand up. Stand up, now Tomlinson and answer loud and high, The good ye did for the sake of man, or ever you came to die," And the naked soul of Tomlinson, grew white as a rain washed bone, "This I have read in a book" he said, "and this has been told to me ' "And this I have thought, that another man thought of a Prince in Muscovy." And Peter twirled the jangling keys in weariness and wrath, " Ye have read. Ye have heard. Ye have thought " he said, and the tale is yet to run "By the worth of the body that once ye had, give answer, what ha ye done? " ' 40 , GRAND COMMAXDEEY OF MASS. AXD K. I. "We are grateful for the uni^-ersal peace and harmony that have prevailed within our borders, also for the cordial relations with all regular Grand Jurisdictions.'' The Grand Treasurer reports balance on hand of -512,370.04, also a Triennial Fund of -SI, 465. IS. From the Grand Recorder s Report we find that the member- ship March 31, 1909, was 4,969, a net gain for the year of 246. The Report of the Committee on Necrology is an able docu- ment, and fitting tribute is paid to the departed Fraters of their own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. The Report on Correspondence is by R.'.E.'.Sir John C. Postlethwaite and occupies 100 pages of the Proceedings, it being his first report. He says that it is with great misgivings that he submits to the Templar world his fii'st Report on Corre- spondence, realizing that it is only constant application, per- sistent study and earnest research, coupled with long experience in this work, that enables one to furnish a readable report, and that he fully realizes this is e^-idenced by the verj- readable and interesting report that he has submitted. Massachusetts -and Rhode Island is courteously reviewed, in which he calls our first attempt a "creditable document," for which he has our kindest acknowledgments. The election of officers resulted as follows: Sir Marvin L. Truby, R. .E.". Grand Commander. Sir Thomas J. Anderson, E.'. Grand Recorder. Sir J. C. Postlethwaite, Chairman Committee on Corre- spondence. Next Annual- Conclave to be held at Hutchinson, May 18 1910. Kextuckt, 1909 The Sixt3'-second Annual Conclave was held in the citv of Ashland, ilay 19 and 20, 1909. The volume, like all others that emanate from this Grand Jurisdiction, is a credit to the ■Grand Recorder, A. H. Bryant. The Proceedings open with a record of the welcome and recep- tions prepared by the Praters of Ashland Commandery, con- sisting of addresses of welcome and receptions by Past E • REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 41 Commander John E. Pollock and daughter, in the Park City- Club Rooms,' also by the Mayor and Mrs. J. 0. Mathewson at their home, also reception by Montgomery Commandery, No. 5, at the residence of Past Commander Willard U. Carr. Mays- ville Commandery, No. 10, also entertained the visiting Sir Knights and ladies at the handsome residence of Sir Knight John F. Hager, and Cynthiana Commandery, No. 16, gave an old-fashioned Kentucky reception at the residence of Past Com- mander Timothy A. Field. Other Commanderies also enter- tained, all of which concluded with a reception and ball to the Grand and Constituent Commanderies by Ashland Commandery, No. 28, which occupied the time from 8.30 p.m. to "cock-crow," at Clyffeside Park. At the formal Proceedings of the first day occurred the open- ing of the Sixty-second Conclave in the Asylum of Ashland Commandery. The several Commanderies in attendance as- sembled at their respective headquarters and proceeded to the First Methodist Episcopal Church, where Sir Knight Rev. John I. Wean welcomed the Grand Commandery and visiting Fraters, and we excerpt from his Address: "jSm- Knights and Ladies: "I am asked to voice to you our welcome; impossible task! As well might I attempt to measure the chivalry of our Order; or with my single sword illustrate the meaning of a glittering arch of steel. "However, we warn you that, at this moment, the blades of our affection are pointed at your unprotected breasts. It is no vain threat; we mean to charge until we have found your hearts. "Express our welcome? Declare in ten paltry minutes what we mean to thrust upon you during your stay in our midst ? "Prodigious undertaking with human words so poor! The very bigness of our difficulty delights us. We feel like a poverty- stricken, half-starved urchin, suddenly commissioned to con- struct a railway tunnel through a gingerbread mountain. We actually begin to feel great by virtue of association with our burden. It has been our ambition that everything in connec- tion with this Conclave should be great. But if we fail in all things else, we still desire that you shall feel the delight we experience in your presence. 42 GRAND COMMANDERY OF MASS. AND R. I. " We are anxious to lay aside all conventionality, all that is artificial, and press upon you the genuineness of our welcome, in the name of our common knighthood, into the bosom of our royal family." Response to same was made by R. .E.'.Sir Knight Robert S. Moses, Grand Commander, and we excerpt from his Address : "Sir Knights, Ladies and Friends: "It is not within the bounds of my limited ability to convey to you how much we appreciate the courteous recognition and the clever introduction you have given us on this visit to Ashland Commandery. Nor can I half express to you how much we are gratified when we consider the many enjoyable features that have been arranged for our entertainment and pleasure during our stay in your attractive and hospitable city." Religious services were then held under the direction of the E.'. Grand Prelate, Sir Mason P. Brown, assisted by Sir Knight Rev. Felix K. Struve. The music incident to the service was beautifully rendered by a double quartette, and the sermon was highly appreciated and is a masterly effort. Were it not so long we should like to have quoted the whole of it. At the conclusion of the religious services an escort, under the direction of Sir Knight William Yeoman, E.-. Grand Captain General, was formed on 13th Street, where the Commanderies formed a hollow square and a review took place, which was followed by luncheon. Grand Commandery was then opened, all the Grand Officers being present. The Grand Commander then delivered his Address, which is an able document, in which he says compli- mentary things of the Grand Recorder, stating that he is well posted on official affairs, accommodating, unassuming, genial and courteous. Evidently our Prater Bryant is all right and popular in that Jurisdiction. His Dispensations to ballot on petitions in less than statutory time are numerous, no less than 16 of the Commanderies re- ceiving the same, and the number of candidates balloted upon under these Dispensations was 114. Truly, the emergency for REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 43 such wholesale proceedings must have been very great! He also declined to grant a Dispensation to ballot in less than the statutory time because the request stated that the candidates were anxious to get through the Commandery in order to join the Mystic Shrine, he saying that he did not regard the reason as commendable. As we have often before expressed our opin- ion regarding this matter, we reiterate the same, that the grant- ing of such Dispensations is entirely uncalled for and should be frowned upon. He also granted Dispensations to form new Commanderies, one to be located at London and the other at Fulton. We excerpt from his conclusion: "In closing this account of my official service, I wish to say, some of the mistakes I may have made were caused by my desire to accommodate, if possible, or comply with the wishes of the various Commanderies. While in other cases I may have been too strict, it was not me, but the requirements of our Laws and Regulations, which demand that they must be complied with. "I will now return the charge you committed to my care, trusting I have served you fairly satisfactorily, and thank you most heartilj' for the honor of having been permitted to fill this distinguished office." The Grand Treasurer reported a balance on hand of 12,999.69, besides a Permanent Fund of $4,119. 9L From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the mem- bership April 30, 1909, was 4,089, a net gain for the year of 312. The Committee on Credentials reported all the Grand Officers present, eleven Past Grand Commanders, the representatives of twenty-six of the sister Grand Jurisdictions, among whom we fail to find the Representative of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Committee on Necrology rendered an able report, giving kindly remembrance to the departed Fraters of their own and sister Grand Jurisdictions, from which we excerpt the following : " To the Grand Commandery, Knights Templar of Kentucky: "Beloved Fraters: Death is still abroad in our land, sever- ing earthly friendships and breaking loving hearts, but, thanks 44: GRAND COMMANDEBY OF MASS. AND B. I. be to God, his dreadful work is confined to this world. He is permitted to destroy the bodies of our Fraters, but he cannot touch their souls if they have rendered faithful and affectionate service to the Captain of their Salvation. For He has said, through His great Apostle Paul, 'that neither principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor death, nor any other creature, shall ever be able to separate such from the love of God in Christ Jesus. "Therefore, the visible and transient are conditioned by time, but the invisible and permanent have no such limitations. Faith in Jesus binds us to the eternal things and insures us an enduring and inexpressible bliss which cannot be expressed in human language, but sense ties us to this lower or material existence, which is full of care, pain and death. How inspiring, then, is the anticipation of the living disciples of Christ, that in the sweet by-and-by the pure friendships formed in this world shall be renewed, never more to be interrupted. This hfe should be used as a blessed opportunity for storing up pure thoughts and affections for the better time to come. "Dear Fraters, let us daily strive to fill our lives full of those masterful soul qualities which are essential to the enjoy- ment of a blissful eternity. ' The shortest life is longest, if 'tis best; 'Tis ours to labor — to God belongs the rest. Our lives are measured by the deeds we do, The thoughts we think, the objects we pursue.'" The retiring Past Grand Commander was at the conclusion of the Conclave presented with a Past Grand Commander's jewel. The Report on Correspondence is from the trenchant pen of R.-.E.-.Sir Charles R. Woodruff. The review consists of 46 .sister Grand Jurisdictions, besides Canada, England and Wales and occupies 133 pages. Massachusetts and Rhode Island is given kindly mention, which occupies four pages, and your Cor- respondent is given kindly notice. Sir Joseph Hedges Ewalt, R.-.E.-. Grand Commander. Sir Alfred H. Bryant, E. -.Grand Recorder. Sir W. W. Clarke, Correspondent. The Sixty-third Annual Conclave will be held in the city of Winchester, May 18, 1910. report on correspondence 45 Louisiana, 1909 The Forty-sixth Annual Conclave was held in the city of New Orleans, February 4, 1909, all the Grand Officers being present, twelve Past Grand Commanders, two Past Deputy Grand Commanders and two Past Grand Captains General; the Representatives of the constituent Commanderies and four- teen Representatives of sister Grand Jurisdictions, among whom we do not find the Representative of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Address of the Grand Commander occupies five pages of the Proceedings, and among other things he says that Tem- plarism in that Jurisdiction is upon a plane so high and so very satisfactory that the duties of the officers are made not only a pleasure, but so extremely light, he finds that he had but little to report. He called the attention of the Fraters present to the fact that the Grand Commandery had no Committee on Foreign Correspondence, and that the fact had been unfavorably commented upon in one or more cases. He recommended that such a Committee be created, and this recommendation was duly approved and a Committee of not more than three members was ordered to be appointed by the Grand Commander. From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the present membership, January 1, 1909, was 718, a net gain for the year of 70. The Grand Treasurer reported balance on hand of $1,573.65. No report on correspondence. Sir Joseph T. Young, R. .E. ' .Grand Commander. Sir Richard Lambert, Grand Recorder. The Forty-seventh "Annual Conclave to be held in New Orleans in February, 1910. New Mexico, 1908 The Eighth Annual Conclave was held in the city of Albu- querque on the 23d day of October, 1908, all the Grand Officers being present with the exception of the Grand Captain General. The Grand Commandery was opened in ample form, the Sir Knights being led in their devotions by the Grand Prelate. 46 GHAXD COlIiLiXDERY OF MASS. AND E. I. The first business in order was the reception of V.'.E.'.Sir W. Frank Pierce, Grand Captain General of the Grand Encamp- ment, K.T. of the United States, and Representative of the M. .E.'. Grand Master, who was introduced and received with the honors due his rank and station. Immediately following the Report of the Committee on Credentials the Grand Commander delivered his Address, and among other things he said that "the saddest part of our mis- sion is the first to have our attention," and then calls attention and pays fitting tribute to the departed Fraters of his own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. Special mention was made of the valuable assistance rendered by Grand Recorder Keene, of whom he says, "Although a very busy man in private life, he has always found time to render me assistance and in various ways has lightened my work." The Grand Treasurer reports a balance on hand of 81,946.77. The Grand Recorder's Report shows a membership of .543, a gain for the j^ear of 76. There is no Report on Correspondence. Sir Oscar L. Gregory, Grand Commander. Sir Alpheus A. Keen, Grand Recorder. The Ninth .\imual Conclave to be held in the city of Albu- querque, Friday, October 22, 1909. Maryland, 1908 The volume opens with a half-tone striking likeness of R.-.E.-.Sir Edwin G. Staley, Grand Commander. The volume itself, like all others issued by our friend John, is a credit to him and the printer's craft. An Emergency Conclave was held in Baltimore on January 20, 1908, for the purpose of devising ways and means toward infusing new life and vigor in the five Commanderies stationed in the city of Baltimore, whose apartments had been destroyed by fire on January 17. The Conclave was largely attended, and the assembly was addressed by the R.-.E.'. Grand Com- mander, who made some eloquent remarks as to ways and means for fixing up proper quarters, which resulted in the ap- REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 47 pointment of a conunittee of four Sir Knights from each of the five Commanderies to take into consideration plans for obtaining new uniforms for the purpose of the Commanderies. A Special Conclave was held in the city of Baltimore, Mon- day, April 20, 1908, for the purpose of installing officers-elect of the constituent Commanderies, and the transaction of such business as might be lawfully brought before it. The Thirty-eighth Annual Conclave was held in the city of Baltimore, November 24, 1908, all the Grand Officers being present, and the Representatives of twenty-two constituent Grand Commanderies, among whom we fail to find the Repre- sentative of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The first business after the opening was the reception of Sir Knight George W. Kendrick, Jr., Representative of M.'.E.'. Grand Master Henry W. Rugg. Sir Knight Kendrick was received by the R.'.E.". Grand Commander with the honors due his exalted rank, not only as Representative of the M.'.E.'. Grand Master, but also as Grand Representative of the Grand Commandery of Maryland near that of Pennsylvania. The first business after the calling of the roll and the Report of the Committee on Credentials was the Address of the R.'.E.'. Grand Commander, and we excerpt from this as follows: " We are now assembled in the Thirty-eighth Annual Conclave under strange conditions, and laboring under many peculiar disadvantages; brought face to face with stern realities and forcibly reminded of the uncertainty of time and fortune. "The past year has wrought many changes; the unexpected has happened; hopes have been blighted and our shattered ambitions shrouded in the gloom of sorrow and misfortune. Yet with all this we have enjoyed our full share of blessings and prosperit\', and should be profoundly grateful to the Supreme Architect of the Universe for sparing us to welcome the dawn of this new era, 'which marks the beginning of the most important epoch in the history of Templar Masonry in the Grand Jurisdiction of Maryland. "Grave responsibilities, then, rest upon our shoulders, and we should ever bear in mind that we are not here merely as Brothers, Companions and Fraters, but as business men, who, by fact of having passed through the ceremonies and endured the trials of office in our several Commanderies, are supposed 48 GHAXD COiniAXDERT OF MASS. AXD H. I. to be the better qualified to profit by the experieaces of the past, take stock of the present, and devise wa3-s and means for the future. We are not here as the Representatives of any particular Commandery or personal interest, but assembled under the direct laws of the Grand Encampment to form a community of interest, where we are one for all and all for one, and to legislate for the best good of the Order of the Temple at large, and this Grand Jurisdiction in particular." "The man who liveth unto himself may say, "Am I my brother's keeper?' which was the first question of guilt pro- poimded when the world was yoimg and the human family small. Jealousy, ignorance, prejudice and superstition were the elements that entered the mind of one brother and caused the murder of the other, and from this fountain of bitterness has flowed through all ages a continuous river of tears and blood. God created men after His ovra image to help one another, and just as each atom is of the greatest importance to the universe only so long as it is obedient to the law of gra^dtation, so is each individual absolutely dependent one upon the other, and drawTi together by the common centre of love, so that he who would perpetuate his name unto posterity must embalm it in 'acts of charity and deeds of pure beneficence."' He made many visitations during the year and from his Report of the same we excerpt the following : "The object of the Grand Commander in these visitations was first to fulfil a promise and gratify the wishes of these several Commanderies, to awaken enthusiasm outside of the Asylum, to bring about a better acquaintance, and to draw the city and county Fraters closer together in the bonds of friendship and brotherly love; to exemplify the new tactics that we have adopted, and to prove that' oflScei-s and Past Commanders could be of benefit to their Commanderies outside of the Asylum routine duty." Appreciating fully the services of Sir John H. ililler. Grand Recorder, we quote his words regarding same: "I w-ould indeed be ungrateful were I to close this report without makmg some manifestation of appreciation for the services rendered me by our E.. Grand Recorder, .^ir I^iiight Johri H Miller. He has been not only faithful and most proficient m the performance of his oflficial duties but alwavs REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 49 ready and willing to make personal sacrifice to assist me in the performance of my duties, and to advance the best interest of Templar Masonry in this Grand Jurisdiction." From our personal acquaintance with our dear Frater Miller, we know that he deserved all that could be said of him, and perhaps more. At the conclusion of the Address of the R.'.E.'. Grand Com- mander, at his invitation. Past Grand Commander Kendrick of Pennsylvania arose and delivered a most eloquent address, in which he endorsed the recommendation of the R. .E.". Grand Commander in reference to holding Annual Conclaves outside of the city of Baltimore, and proved by the percentage of statistics of the Grand Commanderies of Ohio and Pennsyl- vania that those two Jurisdictions had more Knights Templar to their number of Master Masons than any other Jurisdictions, being held in different places each year. Dispensations granted and Decisions made by the R. .E.'. Grand Commander were all in accordance with Templar law, and were duly approved. From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the total membership is 1,795, a net gain for the year of 62. The volume contains obituary notices of the deceased Fraters of their own Jurisdiction and memorial pages set apart to those of sister Grand Jurisdictions. The Report of the Committee on Correspondence is from the pen of Frater John H. Miller, and occupies 125 pages and, as usual, is full of good things and comments about the doings of sister Grand Jurisdictions. While our good Frater always carries his lance at poise and thrusts it wherever he deems it necessary to call attention to some seeming illegality, he does so without malice, and his criticisms fall without any sting to those to whom they are directed. While the writer and our good friend John may differ materially in regard to what a correspondent is to write or lay before his readers, and his views as to what would be most interesting to those who take the pains to read the correspondence, we are of the opinion that it should be a concise statement of things done, that 50 GHAXD COiTUAXDEKT OF ilASS. AXD H. I. would enhance the interest of ovir owti Jurisdiction, and that the laj-ing down of the law should be left to those who make them, stiJl we believe that many of these so-called "evasions of the law" had better be left unreported, for the reason that in a large majority of cases the Commander does not give his reason in his address for making them. Massachusetts and Ehode Island is courteously reviewed, three pages being devoted to the same. We thank our good Frater for his kind words relative to om'self and assure him that his criticisms of the Dispensations granted b}- our Grand Commander are not considered captious. Relative to his remarks on working charters, I can assure our dear Brother that he is "barking up the wrong tree," as these working charters are merely to be hung on the walls of the Asylum, and at all meetings of Commanderies in this Jm-isdiction, the original charter is present when the Conclaves are opened, and it is returned to its safe deposit ^ault or other place of security at the close of the Conclave. The election of officers resulted in the election of Sir George E. French, Grand Commander. Sir John H. ^Miller, Grand Recorder and Correspondent. The Thirty-ninth Annual Conclave will be held at the Masonic Temple, Baltimore, November 23. 1909. MicHiG-ix, 1909 A splendid volume of Proceedings, and hke all others that emanate from this Grand Jm-isdiction, is a credit to the Grand Recorder and to the printer. The Fifty-third Annual Conclave was held in the Masonic Temple in the city of Detroit. June S. 1909. Previous to the opening of Grand Commanderv, Peninsular Commandery, Xo. S, of Kalamazoo, being the' home Com- mandery of the R. .E. .Grand Commander, tendered their escort to the R.-.E. .Grand Commander and Grand Commandery from Hotel Cadillac to :\Iasonic Temple. C^Tene Preceptory Xo. 29. of Toronto, was in line as the official escort of the officers of the Grand Priory of Canada who were present REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 51 The constitutional number of members of Grand Com- mandery being present, the R. .E. •.Grand Commander, assisted by the Grand Officers and Representatives opened the Fifty- third Annual Conclave in full form, being led in their devotions by the E. .Grand Prelate, Rev. Charles A. Lippincott. The first business in order was the reception of V.'.E.'.Sir Joseph K. Orr, Grand Junior "Warden of the Grand Encamp- ment, who was received under the arch of steel and seated in the East. In a like manner M.".E.".Sir Archibald A. Campbell, Supreme Grand Master of the Sov.'. Great Priory of Canada, and staff, were received with the honor due their exalted position. The speeches of welcome and response were timely and much appreciated. Among other things Grand Master Archibald A. Campbell spoke as follows: "We wish, coming here from across the line, to thank you most heartily for your kind invitation to myself and staff and also to the subordinate Preceptories that have received your invitation, and those who have also accompanied us. It is not the first time we have acknowledged the hospitality of the Sir Knights of the State of Michigan, and we trust that this fraternal intercourse may be increased from year to year. "In the Temple today is the flag of your great country, and the flag of the land that I call my home. (Applause.) We might say we today meet under two flags. But, today. Sir Knights, we meet under one flag. (Applause.) And that is the Templar banner. It is the emblems on that Templar banner that make us more friendly as individuals and as Representatives of different countries than any other senti- ments that could be promulgated." To which the R.'.E.'. Grand Commander responded as follows: "I am sure that in acknowledgment to both the Representa- tives of our beloved Grand Encampment, and our distinguished friends and Praters from across the line, of our appreciation of their visit, I take no false step when I say that we stand today beneath those splendid banners in the East, and face them in the West, which signify 'U.S.' "Those cabahstic letters stand for many splendid meanings. In the simplest form they stand for 'us'; and to our patriotic hearts they stand for our beloved land, the ' United States of America. ' In the broadening spirit and sweep of our patriot- 52 GK.iND COMMANDERY OF MASS. AND R. I. ism, and the strong bonds of our Fraternity they stand for the 'Union Jack' and the 'Stars and Stripes.' (Applause.) '"U.S./ in another sense, stands for ' United Service' under the banner of Knights Templar in the name of the Blessed Immanuel, in behalf of all mankind. (Applause.) Wherever the English language is spoken, one or the other of these banners proudly floats, and assures Truth, Justice and Liberty to all beneath its sun-kissed. Heaven-blessed folds, and march- ing proudly together, the world around, in behalf of civilization and progressive freedom, the sun never sets on either of them." On calling the roll all the Grand Officers were found to be present, and the Representatives of the constituent Com- manderies. The Address of the Grand Commander immediately followed the opening and is an able document, conveying to the members present a faithful record of his stewardship during the year. His Decisions were made and were all made in accordance with Constitutional law. Among other interesting things we note in his address is the matter of Rituals. Some six of the Commanderies having reported lost Rituals we quote Decision No. 10 relating to same as a matter of much importance to all: "10. Question. — From one of the six Commanderies who have lost Rituals I received this inquiry: "Our Annual Meeting with election of officers falls on the second Tuesday of March, being JNIarch 9. Can we hold our election and installation on that evening with one of the Rituals missing? If j'ou can so arrange the matter, it will be very much appreciated." "Answer. — Hold the election and install the officers just the same. Send a sealed letter to each member of the Com- mandery, asking him if he has or knows anything about this Ritual, and insist upon a reply. Then write me the results. "I have written this Commandery several times since, but have no favorable reply. "I am perfectly well aware that this decision is not in ac- cordance with the standing resolution of the Grand Encamp- ment, found on page 201 of the Proceedings of 1901, which reads : '"Resolved, That it shall be and is hereby made the duty of REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 53 the installing officer in subordinate Commanderies of Knights Templar on occasion of installation of officers to see that the Constitution and Code of Statutes of the Grand Encampment, the Statutes and Regulations of their Grand Commandery, the Rituals of the Red Cross and Knights Templar, and the Ritual of the Order of Malta are actually and in fact in possession of the incoming Commander, or properly accounted for at the time and before he administers the oath of office.' "Nor is it in keeping with the spirit and intention of the entire matter of Rituals, as found on pages 86 to 90 of this same volume, wherein are found General Order No. 2 and General Order No. 3 of Grand Master Lloyd, dealing with this subject. " Unless a Ritual is ' properly accounted for ' by saying that it is lost or missing, my decision has no standing in court. I was confronted with a condition and not a theory. Six of our Commanderies, over one-eighth of the entire number, are in this unhappy predicament, each having lost a Ritual. "In my report upon Inspections and Returns I have dwelt at some length upon this fact and speak here only of the legal aspect of the case. So far as I have been able to find from the reports of the Grand Commandery since this resolution was adopted, and the General Orders above referred to were issued, it seems that no attention has been paid to them, but in this I may, of course, be very seriously in error; however, I find bj' careful inquiry that several of these Rituals have been lost for several years, and that this Grand Commandery has es- tablished the precedent of installing the newly elected officers in these Commanderies without having the Rituals all at hand or properly accounted for. " While I do not think that this is as it should be, I do not feel that it was incumbent upon me to summarily order all six of these Commanderies to defer the installation of officers until the missing Rituals were at hand. I therefore did not break but rather continued this illegal precedent of disregarding the standing resolution and duly approved orders of the Grand Encampment, and report the matter as it is with the recom- mendation that my decision be specifically disapproved and that this Grand Commandery at this time definitely determine whether it will longer continue to treat these enactments of the Grand Encampment as dead letters, or whether they will inform all the Commanderies of this Grand Jurisdiction that hereafter, without any exception, the installation of officers will be conducted in strict accordance with the requirements of the Grand Encampment as herein cited." 54 GEAND COMMANDEHT OF .MASS. AND R. I. At the close of the Grand Commander's Address, E/.Sir Rev. Charles A. Lippincott, Grand Prelate, presented to the retiring Grand Commander a loving cup, and we excerpt from his words of presentation and the response of R.'.E.'.Sir Colman: "Right Eminent Sir, the very able and exhaustive report which vou have just read reflects onl.v in part the very great labors 'in which you have been engaged during the past year, brings to the members of the Commandery, and as that work is brought very forcibly and distinctly to the minds and members of your staff, how great has been your interest, how very great vour effort, and how holy has been your devotion to the members of this Grand Commandery and its constituent Bodies, especial!}- during this last year, and not only during this last year, but during all the years in which you have been an officer of this Body — yes, during all the j^ears in which you were a member and afterwards an officer in your local Commandery at Kalamazoo. They have been so greatly impressed by your zeal for this Order that we have felt that some recognition at this time was due to you of their appre- ciation of your loyal efforts on behalf of the Order. They have come to look to you as an example of all that is knightly, of all that is courteous, of all that is pure minded and lofty in Knight Templar}'. On their part they have receii-ed at your hands constantly the utmost consideration. They have by word and by letter, during this past year, had your own heart and your life and your motive revealed to them in a beautiful way, and they admire you. Sir, because you have so excellently exemplified the principles of this Grand Order, as our Grand Commander, so as to impress us all, the Grand Commandery and its constituent Bodies which have been honored with your visits during the past year. But, Right Eminent Sir, I think I am right in saying that they appreciate not onl}' what you have done as an officer of the Grand Commandery, not only because you ha-\'e striven to perform j'our duties, but, Sir, they have come to love you as a man, to know the warm heart that beats in your bosom and to feel that whatever you are as an officer of the Grand Commandery, they shall always love you as a friend and a brother, a fellow man. ""Without further remarks it gives me great pleasure to present to you this loving cup. You will remember. Sir, that upon one great occasion in the history of our Master and his disciples the cup was passed by the blaster to his disciples, and, Sir, it was a loving cup. In that cup was not merely the REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 55 juice of the grape, but there lived a noble, great heartjof the Prince of Peace passed to those whom he called to be men and servants. Sir, in some humbler way, yet with some of the inspiration of that hour and of that love which knows no bounds, the members of your staff would pass this cup to you. Many beautiful legends have been told of the search for the Holy Grail. Out of that traditional cup it is said wine was drunk at the last supper of our Lord and his disciples, but one of those beautiful traditions, it seems to me, the one truest to the spirit of the Master, is the one told by our poet Lowell, who tells how on one of the king's horses a Sir Knight passed out on his journey looking for the Grail which had been lost, how he traveled over mountains, over deserts and through sands searching for the Holy Grail, and finally he made his way backward with his head bowed down and his spirit discouraged, not knowing where to go in trace of the precious Grail. But it appears as he drew near there appeared to him the beggar by the wayside who asked for himself a cup of cold water, and dismounting he took his traveler's cup, filled it with cold water and presented it to this poor beggar, when lo, as he lifted the cup, it glowed like a thing of life, it shone like a sapphire of the New Jerusalem, it was the Holy Grail, the traditional cup of the Holy Grail. "So, Sir, we feel that following in the footsteps of such a Knight, you too have found the Grail, and we present it to you filled with our love and admiration." (Applause.) Grand Commander Colman : "E.'.Sir Lippincott and Sir Knights of the Staff, you have me entirely at a disadvantage. This comes as an entire surprise. The emotions of my heart are so deeply stirred and are so well- nigh beyond my control that I can hardly finds words even to thank you for this most beautiful and touching tribute. The words which you have seen fit. Reverend Sir, to use are so choice and so exceedingly beautiful, and really, away down here in mine own unworthy heart, I know so well how far short I fall of meriting this tribute, that really I am astounded and well nigh confounded in endeavoring to respond. "I can assure you one and all, officers of the staff, that the sentiments of this loving cup represent the loyal support and cooperation, and the hearty fellow feeling which are most abundantly reciprocated by its unworthy recipient. I would that under the blessing of Heaven to every one of you and to every officer and Sir Knight of our noble Order throughout 56 GRAND COII.MAXDEHT OF MASS. AND E. I. the length and breadth of our noble continent, knowing no boundary line between the Dominion of King Edward the Seventh and our proud Republic, the oldest daughter of England, the I'nited States of America, I would that to every knightly heart under the swav of those who are with us here today, this tribute might be indeed to one and all the Hol.v Grail, the loving cup of our Divine Lord and blaster, over- flowing full with heavenly wine to warm the heart of immortal man, redeemed, uplifted, and made a part of the dear heart of om- Blessed Lord and Master that broke but did not cease to beat on Calvary. "Sir Knights, an additional thought is brought to my mind, wholly personal, perhaps very improper to mention, but this is the anniversary of my birth. Fiftj'-four years ago today God brought me into the world, and to think that on this fifty-fourth anniversary these most beautiful, touching tributes should be given to me, makes me still further indebted to my fellow men. ''Sir Knights, I cannot thank you enough. But while my memorj' lasts, it shall be true that nothing in the treasures of mv heart will be more dearlv cherished. And mav God bless us all." From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the member- ship April, 1909, was 7,812, a net gain for the year of 28S. The Grand Treasurer reported balance on hand of .§9,349.53. The second day's proceedings were preceded by a parade, in which thirty-three Commanderies participated. The volume contains the Report of the Special Committee on Necrology, which is an able and readable document and pays fitting tribute to the memory of the departed Praters of their own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. The retiring Past Grand Commander Colman was presented -with the regulation Past Grand Commander's jewel. Past Commander George ^\. Chandler, Past Commander Charles T. Bigelow and Past Commander Porter were absent on account of illness and were kindly remembered by a box of flowers ordered to be sent to each. The Report on Correspondence is by that distinguished Frater and able writer H. L. Anthony and occupies 128 pages of the Proceedings. It is his eleventh report, and like all others that REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 57 have been issued from his office, is an able and well written document, containing many bright sayings and suggestions, many of which we would like to quote did not space forbid, ilassachusetts and Rhode Island is given three pages, and among other things he says that Grand Commander Litchfield's Address is a business document throughout, evidencing the fact that the duties of his office had received his careful attention. He also says that Grand Recorder Rowell's report is full and complete. He also gives us credit for our first Report, saying that it is an excellent one and expressing the hope that having engaged in the work and finding it congenial we would stay by it. I can assure our dear Frater that while the work is congenial the multitude of affairs that occupy my time make it quite a task. We note his conclusion in which he says it will probably be his last, which the writer sincerely hopes will not be. That he has faithfully endeavored to keep the flag of Templary well to the forefront of the line and present a truthful transcript of the Proceedings reviewed, has been evidenced by the many able and readable reviews that he has presented in the present and past and we excerpt from his conclusion: ^ "I thoroughly believe in the beauty and necessity for ex- istence . of the great and rapidly growing Order of modern Templary, and that it is destined in the future, even more than in the past, to be a powerful factor for the uplifting and betterment of men. "I have at times differed with some of my Fraters of the 'Round Table' as to the construction of the meaning of the teachings of the Order, and have been charged with being unsound in my orthodoxy, but be that as it may, it was my honest conviction and as such must stand. " It is a matter of pardonable pride and pleasure to remember that in all the years that I have been the author of these reports I have never been unkindly criticized for any utterance I may have made, but as a rule have had my sentiments heartily en- dorsed; especially is this true of my own Grand Commandery. "As I look back over the years, I do not recall having written a line with the thought of being unkind, or with intent to wound the feelings of any one, hence I shall withdraw from the ' Corps Reportorial ' with no thought for my brethren save that of the kindest and best, and trust that I have deserved and shall be accorded the same. 58 GR.\:NrD commaxdeey of mass, and h. i. "And now, with warm wishes for the prosperity and lasting happiness of all my Fraters, and abormding affection for those I have learned to love, which will be as lasting as life, I must say- farewell. God bless }^ou, every one." Sir Howard T. Tajdor, R. .E.. Grand Commander. Sir Henry L. Anthon}", E.'. Grand Recorder. E.-.Sir George T. Campbell, Committee on Foreign Corre- spondence. The Fifty-fourth .\nnual Conclave to be held in the city of Bar City, June 7. 1910. Minnesota, 1909 The Forty-fourth Annual Conclave was held at ilinneapolis, MLon., April 2S, 1909. The volume opens -n-ith a splendid like- ness of our o^-n good friend Charles E. Ovenshire, Grand Com- mander. All the Grand Officers were present, except the Grand Prelate. Twenty-six constituent Commanderies were repre- sented, and" among the Grand Representatives present we note the name of E.'.Sir Alonzo T. Steljbins, Representative of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Grand Commander's Address is a readable document and is a faithful exhibit of his stewardship during his incumbency of the office. His Dispensations were few in number and were all issued for constitutional purposes. He pays fitting tribute to the ability and worth of the Grand Recorder, Sir Knight John Fishel, saying, "He is truly the right man in the right place, alwaj's busy, yet always anxious to serve." Among his obser- vations and experiences he says that some Fraternal organiza- tions require all members to provide themselves promptly each year with a card showing that their dues are paid before they can visit, and in most cases before they can attend the meetings of their own body, and suggests that the adoption of a card system would greatly facilitate the collection of dues and at the same time stimulate greater interest in their Commandery and a better attendance at the Conclaves, as it is easier to pay one year's dues than several, and in many cases after a member REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 59 gets in arrears he hesitates to visit or even attend a Conclave in his own Commandery, tliereby losing interest in the Order. Our own observation in other institutions compels us to heartily agree with the above suggestion. From the Report of the Grand Recorder we find that the present membership is 3,934, a gain for the year of 226. The Committee on Necrology render their Report, paying fitting tributes to the departed Fraters of their own and sister Grand Jurisdictions, and we excerpt the following from their report : GOING HOME " ' Heimgang ' ! so the German people Whisper when they hear the bell Tolling from some gray old steeple Death's familiar tale to tell; When they hear the organ dirges Swelling out from chapel dome And the singers chanting surges, 'Heimgang'! He is going home. " ' Heimgang ' ! Quaint and tender saying In the grand old German tongue, That has shaped Melanchthon's praying And the hymns that Luther sung, Blessed is our loving Maker That where'er our feet shall roam Still we journey toward God's acre — 'Heimgang'! Always going home. " ' Heimgang ' ! We are all so weary, And the willows as they wave, Softly sighing, sweetly dreary, Woo us to the tranquil grave, When the golden pitcher's broken, With its dregs and with its foam. And the tender words are spoken, 'Heimgang'! We are all going home." The Committee on Appeals and Grievances report that peace and harmony prevail throughout the Jurisdiction. The Report on Correspondence is by E.-.Sir John Fishel. Massachusetts and Rhode Island is kindly remembered, in which he says that our review is a commendable one of forty-five Grand Jurisdictions. 60 GEAXD COMMAXDERY OF MASS. AXD R. I. The election of officers resulted in the election of R. -.£.■. Sir James R. Smith, Grand Commander. E.-.Sir John Fishel, Grand Recorder and Correspondent. The Forty-fifth Annual Conclave ■will be held in St. Paul, ^Yednesday, April 27, 1910. Mississippi, 1909 The Forty-ninth .\nnual Conclave ■s^■as held in the Asylum of CjTene Commandery, city of Meridian, Tuesday, May 25, 1909. The volume opens with a Prologue and a portrait of R.'.E.'. Sir Garland D. Brown, the newly elected Grand Commander. The Grand Commandery assembled in :Masonic Temple on ilonday evening, ^lay 24, for the exemplification of the Templar Degree and that of Knight of ]\lalta by Cyrene Commandery with full regalia and special music. On Tuesday morning, ilay25, at 10.00 o'clock exercises were held and addresses of welcome and other special features took place. At 2.00 o'clock in the afternoon Grand Commandery met for business, all the Grand Officers being present, seven Past Grand Commanders and the Representatives of constituent Commanderies. Nineteen Representatives of sister Grand Jurisdictions were present, but we fail to find the name of the Representative of ■Massachusetts and Rhode Island among the number. Immediately after the Report of the Committee on Creden- tials, R.'.E.'.Sir Joseph K. Orr, Grand Junior Warden of the Grand Encampment of the United States, and Representative of the M. .E. '.Grand Master, was escorted into the Asylum by a committee of Past Grand Commanders and was received under the arch of steel and welcomed, after which he addressed Grand Commandery at some length, his remarks being gra- ciously received. R. .E.. Grand Commander then assumed command of Grand Commandery and deli-\'ered his address, in which he states that during the past year the Commanderies in the Jurisdiction have been prosperous and have done much good throughout REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 61 the State. He paid a just tribute to the deceased Fraters of sister Jurisdictions, obituary notice of the dead of their own Jurisdiction being referred to a Committee on Necrology. We note many Dispensations granted to confer the Orders at stated Conclaves, from which we infer that they were for the purpose of balloting out of statutory time, and we note in the Report of the Committee on Laws that they report that the statutes of Grand Encampment should in every case be adhered to, and from these two we judge that our surmise is a correct one. He also refused two Dispensations to confer the Orders out of time. New Commanderies were constituted. New Albany, No. 29, and Gloucester, No. 30; also petition was received for a new Commandery to be located at Canton. Balance of the address relates particularly to local affairs. From the Report of the Grand Recorder, R.-.E.'.Sir Speed, we find that the membership is 1,623, a net gain for the year of 138. The Grand Treasurer's Report shows balance of cash on hand of $3,290.47. The Correspondence Report is from the pen of R.'.E.'.Sir E. G. DeLap, and contains much of interest and many good suggestions, with many of which we are in hearty accord. Frater DeLap is an interesting writer, and while many of his knocks and whacks are aimed at whoever he may think deserves them, they are void of any intention to belittle or to sting those at whom they are aimed. He commences his report with a Prologue and it is so good that it will bear reprinting. "When a person writes a book, large or small, and gets down to 'Finis,' he naturally supposes that the job is accom- plished, and that it is in order for him to take a rest, but in this he is badly fooled, as no sooner does the printer get hold of it then he raises a hue and cry for a preface, introduction, prologue or 'foreword' and one has to go to work again! It is a big job to construct one of our 'able reports,' and when you add to that the building of a prologue, containing something of interest to the reader, it is hard. While it is true that God made the universe out of nothing, it does not follow that one of his most unworthy and weakest creatures can create a prologue out of the same material. If there was anything 62 GEAXD COMMAXDEEY OF ilASS. AND R. I. of an exciting or quarrelsome nature in the different pamphlets reviewed, the case would be different and the task an easj- one. But there is not a ripple of unpleasantness among the craft, from ilaine to the Rio Grande, or from the Lakes to the Gulf. Then again some reporters and others are of the opinion that the incumbent of this oflSce is simply a, machine, with no mind of his own, who does nothing but clip the de- liverances of others on any and all subjects, and stops right there. We have been engaged in this reporter business for about thirty years, and up to this hour have taken oui shillalah along with us, in our journey through the Proceedings, and whenever we saw a head bob up that we did not like the looks of, have given it a whack with the aforesaid shillalah; wherever we came across a decision, an act or an utterance that did not suit our ideas, we have taken Lssue with its author, and this, in our humble opinion, is -ndthin the province of a reporter, and we shall continue it while occup}'ing a seat at the ' Romid Table.' We haven't a great while longer to stay down here, our sun of life is approaching its western horizon with rapid strides, and it is our desire to continue to praise the right and condemn the wrong, as we have always tried to do in the past until the Master calls us to come up higher. ^Ye love the Orders of Knighthood, but we love the foundations on which they rest much more, and to the prosperity and growth of these two our most earnest and zealous efforts have always been directed and will continue to be. The enemies of these are our enemies, and while we are not at all sanguinary, nor fighting under the black flag, we are disposed to be very much in earnest in our warfare. " We are not at all pleased with the prominence now so apparent in the side shows, both in the Church and the Orders, when these are considered by new recruits the only things of sufficient importance to engage their attention, all of which is bad. The Shrine is a sort of benediction for a tired, discouraged man, but its place in the economy of Frater life is not at the head of the procession, but simply a sort of 'Summer Resort,' plaj'ground to the university of fraternity, so that when a novice starts at the beginning of the road with a view to stopping off at Shrineville, it is a good thing to stop him at the very tlareshhold. We said something along these lines in a former report, but it does not hurt to repeat it here and now. "This is not much of a Prologue, and there isn't much in it besides words, but it will have to do." Under Arizona, we quote the following: REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 63 "When God Almighty wraps up a parcel, its contents are clearly indicated by the color and other peculiarities of the wrapper, as in the case of the 'Naygur,' on whose behalf the redoubtable Arizonian has entered the lists. Well, well, Brother Morford, I never dispute with a man when he claims that a negro is as good as he is and shall not in this case. I am very sure that he is a heap better, so long as he keeps in the place his Maker put him and made him for, than lots and lots of whites that I have run across in my life." The above sentiment fits our case exactly. Under the head of Canada we note the following: "A Templar who is non-affiliated in the Lodge don't often deserve Masonic honors of any sort. The Blue Lodge Ritual is good enough for a king or any of his subjects." The writer has expressed his opinion before that a non- af&hated Mason or Templar, if the non-afhliation is his own voluntary act, deserves nothing of the Order. From his review of Florida we excerpt the following relative to the Order of the Crescent or Shrine: "Simply because some little, five-cent- watermelon-headed dude applies to the Commandery, is elected and the Orders of Knighthood conferred upon him and then goes off and, by some hocus pocus, is elected in the Shrine and gets drunk at the banquet, makes a large sized fool of himself, disgraces his parents and everything he is connected with, the Grand Com- mander condemns an Order, good in itself and made up over- whelmingly of Christian gentlemen. The fault is, primarily, with the Blue Lodge, secondly of the Chapter, and third and lastlv, of the Commandery, and Brother Wright ought to know it. Had he proved himself worthy in the three preceding stages he would not have fallen from grace at the Shrine banquet. The Shrine does not profess to be a reformatory, but it expects that the material furnished by the Commandery, out of which to make Shriners, is of such a nature that it is not needful to appoint guardians for them at a function such as this. Don't let such people pass your outer doors and there will be no more trouble about the Shrine's influence. Bosh! In this connection it is proper for us to remark that neither wine nor strong drink should be allowed at a Shrine 64 GRAXD COMMAXDERT OF MASS. AXD E. I. banquet or anv other banquet that has any connection, near or remote, -nlth Masonry. There are none of these adjuncts of hell allowed at the banquets of H>masa Temple, of which I have the honor to be a member, and the same rule ought to apply at everv Templar banquet. Let us clean up om- own back yards before we pitch into the Shrine for doing what Templar Bodies have done for years and j^ears. If Brother "Wright is a Shriner he ought to be careful how he saddles the sins of others on the devoted head of that sublimely funny and especially worthy Order. If he is not a Shriner, he ought to quit speaking to a question, the true inwardness of which he knows nothing about." He gives kindlj' mention of ilassachtisetts and Rhode Island, to which he devotes si;c pages, in which he saj'S our first report "is good enough for an old stager," for which your humble servant is duly grateful. He also remarks that we " did not put a tail to our kite,'' but ha^dng no apologies to make or advice to offer, we thought best to render the report for what it was worth. He excerpts largely from the Correspondence Report of our dear Frater Rugg, for 1907, and says that it digests faithfullj' and intelligently the matters of nearly the whole Templar field of literature, and he regrets very much the loss to the Order by his retirement from the field of labor and usefulness. I desire to say to my dear Frater DeLap that I heartily agree with him and trust that before many moons shall have passed Frater Rugg will again be in the harness as Correspondent for Massa- chusetts and Rhode Island. Sir Garland D. Brown. Grand Commander. R. .E.'.Sir Frederic Speed, Grand Recorder. Sir Enoch G. DeLap, Committee on Correspondence. The Fiftieth Annual Conclave vnW be held at Biloxi, in April, 1910. Missouri, 1909 The Fortj'-eighth Annual Conclave was held in the city of Carthage, Tuesday, May 25, 1909, at one o'clock in the after- noon, all the Grand Officers being present. After ascertaining that a quorum was present, the Grand REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 65 Commander presented his Annual Address, which occupies fourteen pages of the Proceedings and is a concise and faithful exhibit of the transactions of his office during the year. His Decisions were few in number and in accordance with Templar law, and he concludes his Address by saying : "I could reasonably be charged with ingratitude did I not express in some manner my appreciation of the kind and courteous service rendered on every demand by our Grand Recorder, and the wise counsel and advice which he is enabled to place at disposal when called upon. He has certainly been to me a good right hand in the discharge of my duties as your Grand Commander. " Likewise I desire to acknowledge the many kindly courtesies extended by the associate Grand Officers and the Sir Knights generally whenever necessity required the effort. "The labors of a Grand Commander are of a strenuous character, increasing year by year as the activities develop them, but they are pleasant and profitable when met liy a prompt response in a locality where they may be directed." From the Grand Treasurer's Report we find total receipts of $10,147.82; balance on hand of $7,248.94. The Report of the Grand Recorder shows a membership of 5,962, a gain for the year of 122. That the affairs of this Grand Body are in excellent condition is in evidence by the report of the Committee on Appeals and Grievances, who report that nothing had been presented to them for consideration. The Necrological Report is submitted by a committee ap- pointed for that purpose and pays fit tribute to the Knightly dead of their own and sister Jurisdictions. On petition for a new Commandery to be located at Excel- sior Springs the Committee recommend that the petition be not granted. The amendment to the Law of Grand Commandery to reduce the Grand Recorder's salary was defeated. R-.E.-.Sir Harvey was at the conclusion of the Conclave presented with the regulation jewel, provided for the outgoing Grand Commanders. 66 GRAND COililANDERY OF MASS. AXD H. I. The Report of the Committee on Correspondence is from the pen of R. .E.'.Sir Robert F. Stevenson and is his third, con- taining a re-\de\\- of all the American Jurisdictions excepting New JMexico. We excerpt from his foreword: "To be a beneficiary re^aews must be made interesting and capable of holding the reader, hence the comments, quips and criticisms of the writers become, by far, the most available portions. To ignore them is to serve bones without meat. Nature constructs, with a view to her own imiversality, and it is good to imitate her. The stories grow in accord with the nutriment purveyed, and it is almost an impossibility to hold them within a prescribed limit or from stilted style. " Endeavor has been constant to preserve an equilibrium -nith- out inertia and maintain the position to which Missouri is entitled in the galaxy." The re-^-iew is a very readable document and contains much of interest and would be enjoyed by all who take the time to read. ^Massachusetts and Rhode Island is courteously men- tioned and the volume of Proceedings called "one of the finest specimens of the printer's art and the arrangement with its compilation is not one whit behind the typographical expert in the race for merit." Kindly mention is made of yom- Correspondent, for which we return our grateful acknowledgments. Sir Arthur M. Hough, R.-.E.". Grand Commander. .Sir Robert F. Stevenson, E. ".Grand Recorder and Corre- spondent. The Forty-ninth Annual Conclave to be held in Hannibal, Mav 24 and 2.5, 1910. MoxTAXA, 19U7. 190S The volume opens with a likeness of our dear friend J. Benton Leggat, Grand Commander, 1906-07. The Twentieth Annual Conclave was opened in the city of Butte, September 16, 1907. Preliminary to the opening of the Grand Commandery, in accordance with the custom prevailing in that Jurisdiction, the officers and members attended divine REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 67 service at Mountain View Methodist Episcopal Church, Sunday, September 15, 1907. They were escorted from the head- quarters by the Sir Knights of Montana Commandery, No. 3. The sermon of the Grand Prelate was inspiring in its expression of what Templarism ought to mean to all Valiant and Mag- nanimous Soldiers of the Cross. The church was beautifully decorated with the banners and insignia of the Orders and the services were impressive and profitable. On Monday, September 16, the Grand Commandery was opened with all the Grand Officers present with the exception of the Grand Recorder and Grand Sword Bearer. Ten of the twelve Commanderies were represented by officers or proxies. Immediately following the Report of the Committee on Cre- dentials the R. .E.'. Grand Commander presented his Annual Address. From reading the same we are led to believe that the Jurisdiction is enjoying a season of prosperity and harmony. Among other things he says: "It is indeed a sad duty that falls to me, to report the death on April 29 of our beloved Grand Recorder, R. .E.'.Sir Cor- nelius Hedges. You all knew him well and words of mine could not express or extol his many virtues and noble qualities. He has been a member of this Grand Commandery since its organ- ization in 1888, and was chosen its Grand Recorder at that time; he served continuously until 1896, when he was elected Grand Commander. He was again elected Grand Recorder in 1904, which office he filled until the time of his death. "He prepared the Report on Fraternal Correspondence for the Grand Commandery from its organization, and gained a wide reputation, and a host of friends and admirers, from this source alone. I will refer your attention to the Memorial issued from this office on June 1 for his complete obituary. "I have received several letters from other Grand Juris- dictions expressing their sympathy for our great loss, and the high esteem and warm regard they held for our distinguished Frater." He also pays fitting tribute to the memory of the other de- ceased Fraters of his own Jurisdiction and a page is devoted to the departed Fraters of sister Grand Jurisdictions. He reports that no official decisions had been made during the year. His 68 GEAXD COMMANDERY OF MASS. AND H. I. Dispensations were few, among which we note several for ballot- ing upon candidates under the statutory time. He also reports having visited the twelve Commanderies in the Jurisdiction, and in summarizing the result of same we excerpt the following : " Sir Knights, in summarizing the condition of the subordinate Commanderies of this Jurisdiction, I am impressed with the importance of making these official inspections. "I also want to impress upon the Commanderies that the practice of either continuing Past Commanders in office, or depending on them to fill in, is detrimental to progres.s." The election of Grand Officers resulted as follows : Sir Alexander D. MacDonald, Grand Commander. Sir Joseph G. Hindson, Grand Recorder. Xo report of the Committee on Correspondence. The Twenty-first Annual Conclave was held in the city of Helena, Monday, September 14, 1908. Preliminary to the opening, divine services were held in St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Sunday evening, September 13, 1908. The services were conducted by the E.". Grand Prelate, Rev. Sir Frank B. Lewis, assisted by Rev. Sir Francis R. Bateman, and from Sir Bateman's sermon we excerpt the following: "There is a courtesy, a consideration for others, an orderliness and a refinement which is not surpassed outside the Church and is unknown in the great majority of religious societies through- out the land. I may be wrong, but I greatly doubt that it is on record that a Knight Templar ever spoke rudely to the presiding officer, ever disputed his ruling, or refused to obey his order. On the other hand it is no secret that manv a church meeting has been disgraced by violence in speech or action, and many a minister of religion has been insulted while in the performance of his most solemn functions. One reason is that these orders proceed ceremonially. Everything is done formally and ceremonially and everyone is so accustomed to that method of doing things that tmbounded astonishment would arise if there were any considerable departure from it." ******* ** "There are thousands upon thousands of men throughout this land who have received a culture, an orderliness and to some extent a reverence for things which nothing outside ]\Iasonic REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 69 societies can supply — nothing indeed except that true and inward illumination which comes from a deep and unaffected belief in the rpligion of the Lord Jesus Christ." Grand Commandery was duly opened on Monday, September 14, 1908, all the Grand Officers being present with the exception of the Grand Senior Warden. Eleven of the twelve Command- eries in the Jurisdiction were represented by officers or proxies. Immediately after the report of the Committee on Credentials is the Grand Commander's Address, which contains much of interest to that Jurisdiction. Dispensation was issued for a new Commandery at Glasgow under the name of Glasgow Com- mandery. One Dispensation was also issued to ballot upon petitions before the expiration of statutory time. Visitations were made to nearly all of the constituent Commanderies and he expresses his appreciation of the attentions that were liberally showered upon him as Grand Commander, saying that every- where he was most hospitably entertained and made to feel not only a welcome guest, but thoroughly at home among his Pra- ters. Charter was granted to Glasgow Commandery, No. 13, situated at Glasgow, Mont. • The salary of the Grand Recorder was fixed at $350.00. No report on Correspondence. K'.E.'.Sir Daniel McGaw, Grand Commander. E.'.Sir Cornelius Hedges, Jr., Grand Recorder. The Twenty-second Annual Conclave to be held in the city of Butte, Monday, September 13, 1909. Nebraska, 1909 The volume, like all those that have preceded it, comes to us in .its regulation form, being bound with board covers, and contains a Wilcox engraving of R'.E.-.Sir James W. Maynard, Grand Commander, and an illuminated coat-of-arms of their Grand Commandery. The Twenty-seventh Annual Conclave was opened in Masonic Temple, Omaha, on Tuesday, April 22, 1909, all the Grand Officers being present and Representatives of twenty-one of 70 GEAND COMMANDERT OF MASS. AND H. I. the t wntv-six chartered Commanderies . R. " .E. ' .Sir Jehiel W. ChamberUn, Past Grand Commander of Minnesota and Y. .E. Grand Sword Bearer of the Grand Encampment, being present, was received with the honors due his exalted station and wel- comed by the Grand Commander. ^'. .E.'.Sir Knight Cham- berlin addressed Grand Commandery, saying he did not come in an official capacity, but merely to continue the strong bond of friendship that had been formed during former visits to the Grand Commandery of Nebraska. After the appointment of special committees the Grand Com- mander delivered his address. It is purely a business paper and of much interest to the membership of that Grand Com- mandery. He granted four Dispensations to ballot without regard to time, and for doing so he says. "The above Dispensations were granted in compliance with the law of the Grand Encampment, the Grand Commander being present at regular meetings of the Commanderies and the usual fees were collected." His Dispensations were few in number and were duly ap- proved. Among his correspondence he reports letters from the M.-.E.-. Grand blaster Henry W. Rugg, who as Representa- tive of the Grand Commandery of Nebraska was requested to convey greetings to the Grand Commander of ilassachusetts and Rhode Island. He made but one decision and we excerpt that : "But one question was submitted to me involving an inter- pretation of the law; and I decided that a petitioner who had been elected to receive the Orders of Knighthood several years ago, and had moved from the Jurisdiction of the Commandery that elected him, was no longer under the Jurisdiction of the Commandery." Among his Recommendations we excerpt the following, which we heartily commend: " That the Grand Recorder be prohibited from sending copies of our Proceedings to individuals imless requests for them come from the Grand Recorders of the Grand Jurisdictions where the applicants reside or hold their membership." REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 71 He deservedly commends the Grand Recorder in the following words : "I am under the greatest obligation to that faithful and untiring worker, our Grand Recorder. His timely advice and assistance on many occasions have been invaluable to me. He is an encyclopedia on all matters pertaining to Masonry and is ready and willing to give such information when called upon. Any proper inquirer is always sure of a kind and courteous answer from him and his continuance as reviewer of other Grand Commanderies will be most creditable to this Juris- diction." From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that there are 27 Chartered Commanderies; under Dispensation, 1; that the membership February 28, 1909, was 2,357, a net gain for the year of 33. The Report of the Committee on Correspondence was sub- mitted by R.".E.".Sir Francis E. White, and as usual is full of good things and much matter for consideration. Massachusetts and Rhode Island is courteously favored with four pages, and in noting the matter in the Recommendations of our R.'.E.'. Grand Commander Litchfield relative to duplicate charters, he comments on the same as follows: "We believe that the law of the Grand Encampment requires the Charter of a Commandery to be present at each and every Conclave held, and we do not understand that it recognizes such an article as a 'working copy.' The Grand Commandery of Maine, however, permits its Commanderies to meet under what it also styles a 'working copy.'" And we wish to inform Frater White that the original charter of every Commandery in this Jurisdiction, where they hold duplicates, is always present in the Commanderies when they are opened for business. The duplicate is framed and hung on the wall. At the close of the meeting the original is taken back to its place of safe keeping. He calls our first Report on Correspondence "exceptionally good," for which he has our grateful acknowledgments, also for his extension of a hearty welcome to the Round Table. 72 GRAND COMMANDERY OF MASS. AND R. I. Election of Grand Officers resulted as follows : R-.E.-.Sir Robert jMcConnaughy, Grand Commander. R.-.E.-.Sir Francis E. White, Grand Recorder and Corre- spondent. The Twenty-eighth Annual Conclave to be held in the city of Kearney, April 7, 1910. New Hampshire, 1908 The Sixty-first Annual Conclave was held in the city of Concord, September 29, 1908. Prior to the opening of this Annual Conclave the Grand Commander announced that V.'.E.'.Sir Knight Fred C. Thayer, Grand Warden of the Grand Encampment and the official Representative of the Grand ^Master was in waiting in the anteroom, and an escort was formed consisting of all the Past Grand Commanders to conduct the distinguished visitor into the Asylum, where he was received between the lines and courteously greeted. All of the Grand Officers were present with the exception of the Grand Captain General, Grand Junior Warden, Grand Cap- tain of the Guard. Nine Past Grand Commanders were present, the Representatives of the constituent Commanderies and twenty-one Representatives of sister Grand Commanderies. Immediately after opening Grand Commandery, V. '.£.■. Sir Knight Thaj'er being called upon delivered a very interesting and scholarly address, which was intelligently listened to by the Sir Knights present. The Grand Commander's Address followed and it shows that the Jurisdiction is in good condition and that the duties of his office occupied much of his time during the year. He granted many Dispensations, most of which were in accordance with Templar law. In granting two Dispensations to ballot at .Special Conclaves he says, "In granting these last two Dispensations, I have been governed wholly by my own personal knowledge of the causes that prompted the petitions, and while I do not approve of the REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 73 practice of balloting upon petitions in less than statutory time, 1 considered these cases of sufficient importance to grant the requests." He also pays fitting tribute to the worth and ability of Grand Recorder Woodbury for his "unfailinj kindness, for the many courtesies rendered and for the prompt and satisfactory man- ner in which he discharged the duties assigned him by the Grand Commander." Certainly our dear friend Frank de- serves all that could be said of him. The Special Committee on Memorials presented fitting trib- utes to the memory of R.-.E.'.Sir Edward Richard Kent, R.-.E.-.Sir Daniel C. Roberts, E.'.Sir Charles Henry Sawyer and Sir Charles Hatch Long, which were duly received and ordered printed in the Proceedings. The Committee on Grievances and Appeals gave evidence that the Jurisdiction was in harmonious condition by reporting that nothing had been presented to them for consideration. From the Grand Recorder's Report we find the membership is 2,571, an increase for the year of 50. The sum of $800.00 was appropriated for expenses to be in- curred at the Triennial Conclave of 1910, and recommended that the R.'.E.". Grand Commander and V.'.E.'. Deputy Grand Commander be authorized to make all arrangements for the same. The retiring Grand Commander, R. .E.'.Sir William H. Thompson, was presented with the jewel of the Past Grand Commander. The Report on Correspondence is from the pen of Sir Joseph E. Robbins, and is a clear, concise and readable report. Massa- chusetts and Rhode Island is courteously reviewed, five pages being devoted to the same. We excerpt from his conclusion: "As a pilgrim of the Temple, I have traveled far with pen in hand, sitting in my chair — north, south, east, west, over land and seas, here, there, everywhere. We have stopped at forty-five stations, spending a yearjn each of thirty-eight Jurisdictions, and two years in the other seven; missing two, we are sorry to say, Montana and South Carolina. To pass through all these in a few short months means 'rapid transit.' 74 GRAXD COMMIXDERY OF MASS. AND E. I. " We have kept our e^-es vAde open, and have felt the touch of forces unseen and indescribable. We have enjoyed these days jimmensely and believe we have been enlarged in mind and enriched in spirit through the medium of these fifty-two pamphlets. With all our' pleasure in the work, we are glad to be through. " Fraters, let us all Sir luiights join hands around the world in mutual helpfulness. "The Order of the Temple has the mission of the stars that sang together in the morning of creation." Sir Charles Fitch Batchelder, Grand Commander. Sir Frank D. Woodbur}', Grand Recorder. Sir Joseph E. Robbins, Correspondent. The Sixtj'^-second .Annual Concla-\-e -nill be held in Concord, September 28, 1909. New Jersey, 1909 The Forty-ninth Annual Conclave was held in the Asj-lum of Palestine Commandery, in ^Masonic Temple, Trenton, X.J., Tuesday, the 11th day of May, 1909, the Grand Commandery being opened in due form at 10.00 o'clock in the forenoon. All the Grand Officers were present, sixteen Past Grand Com- manders and the Representatives of thirty sister Grand Com- manderies, among whom we note R.'.E.'.Sir William H. Sebring, Representatyi^e of Massachiosetts and Rhode Island. The first business in order was the Grand Commander's Ad- dress, in which he pays due respect to the departed Fraters of his own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. In speaking of the appointment of E.'.Sir John M. Wright as Grand Recorder, occasioned by the death of Y. .E. .Sir Knight Redway, he says, "In this connection, I desire in justice to him to testify to his faithfulness in office, and his energy and promptness in the per- formance of every duty. I feel that the appointment was well deserved and worthily bestowed." His Dispensations were many and were all in accordance with constitutional requirements. He made but one decision and we excerpt that: REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 75 "I have been called upon to render but one Decision on question of Templar law. A ruling was requested as to whether a black ball or a black cube, or rather which of them, should be used for the purpose of casting a negative ballot. The Statutes of the Grand Encampment nowhere mention black cubes; but Section 2, Title VII, does refer to the use of a black ball. It might be inferred from this that only a black ball could properly be used; but I am of the opinion that the use of the word in that connection has a more general meaning, and really implies the adverse ballot itself. My decision, therefore, was that either a ball or cube was permissible. I believe that the cube is preferable, as being less liable to be used uninten- tionally." This decision having been referred to the Committee on Juris- prudence, the Committee reported the following, which was adopted: " To the Grand Commandery, Knights Templar of New Jersey: "Your Committee on Jurisprudence approve of the Decision rendered by the R.'.E.TGrand Commander, to the effect that, 'For the purpose of casting a negative ballot, it is permissible to use either a black ball or black cube.' "Your Committee think that the black cube is preferable because one can depend upon the sense of touch and not of sight, and thereby make no mistake in selecting the desired ballot." Among his Recommendations we excerpt the following : "I recommend that some action be taken by this Grand Body looking to the safeguarding of the valuable records belonging to it, which are now stored on shelves of the Grand Lodge, with little or no protection against loss by fire. Such a loss, should one occur, would be little less than a calamity, as it would be next to impossible to replace the greater part of the accumulated records. I believe that sufficient space for a box could be secured in a safe deposit vault, at Httle or no additional expense above that now incurred, and suggest that the Grand Recorder be authorized to make such an arrange- ment if it is feasible." From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the present membership is 3,097, an increase for the year of 58. 76 GBAXD COMIIANDEHT OF MASS. AXD R. I. The Report on Correspondence is by E.'.Sirs Peter McGil and John J. Henrj-, and occupies 155 pages of the Proceedings. ^Massachusetts and Rhode Island is given coiu'teous mention, two pages being devoted to same, and we excerpt the follow- ing, assuring our dear Frater ^IcGill that we acknowledge the correction and will govern ourselves accordingly in future: "Grand Recorder Ro well's report was the first order of business after the Report of the Committee on Credentials. Frater Rowell is exceptionally gifted in his ability to write perfect papers of this kind. Xow, if he vdll make two correc- tions, his paper will be perfect so far as we can see it. The first inaccuracy is the date of the election of E.'.Sir John M. Wright, Xew Jersey's Grand Recorder. This officer was never elected, being appointed bj- R. .E. .Sir John B. Bertholf to fill the unexpired year of the late V. .E. .Sir Thomas H. R. Redwa.y, elected in May, 190S, and deceased August 29, 1908. The second is the present address of the Chairman of the Committee on Correspondence. It should be and has been Bound Brook, X.J., for the last two years." Frater McGill has oui- grateful thanks for his kindly mention of ourselves in his Conclusion. The election of officers resulted as follows: Sir Charles A. Mohn, R.-.E. .Grand Commander. Sir John M. Wright, E.'. Grand Recorder. E.'.Sir Peter McGill, Chairman of Committee on Foreign Correspondence. The Fiftieth Annual Conclave to be held in Trenton, Tuesday, the 10th of :\Iay, 1910. Xew York, 1908 A splendid volume and a credit to Grand Recorder Bonning- ton. The volume opens with a Bather portrait of R. .E.'.Sir Herman R. Ivretschmar, Grand Commander. The Xinety-fifth Annual Conclave, held in the citv of Xiagara Falls, September 1 and 2, 1908, all the Grand Officers being present, fourteen Past Grand Commanders and the Repre- sentatives of the constituent Commanderies. REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 77 The session was opened in prayer by Sir Knight and Rev* Warren C. Hubbard, Grand Prelate. Welcome was extended to Grand Commandery by Sir Knight Allen H. G. Hardwicke, the Acting Mayor of the city of Niagara Falls, which was responded to by the Grand Commander. A reception to the distinguished visitors followed, among whom were Sir Knight S. Nelson Sawyer, Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, also 111. ".Bro.'. William Homan, 33°, Northern Masonic Juris- diction United States, and Deputy of the Supreme Council in the State of New York. Sir Knight Arthur Mac Arthur, V. ' .E. ■ . Grand Generalissimo of the Grand Encampment, was also introduced and welcomed, as was also Sir Knight Lee S. Smith, Grand Senior Warden of the Grand Encampment of the United States. Regrets were also read from Sir Knight A. A. Campbell, Supreme Grand Master of the Sovereign Great Priory of Canada, and M.'.E.". Grand Master, Henry W. Rugg, who were unable to be present. A long list of greetings and regrets from dis- tinguished Praters who were unable to be present follows. The Grand Commander then delivered his Address, which occupies twenty-six pages of the Proceedings, and is an able and comprehensive review of his stewardship during his in- cumbency of the office. Among other things he states that he has been called upon to render but two Decisions, and that no grievances had been presented, that it had been his highest ambition and purpose to conduct the affairs of the Order with the view to elevate to a still higher place its moral, spiritual and social aspect, to establish more firmly in the mind of the community that we are in the strictest appellation of the term an organization composed of valiant and Christian men, in whom all reliance and confidence could be safely imposed. Under the head of "Officers," we consider the following worthy of consideration: "A question that arises is whether Commanders are not being created too rapidly? Would it not be more beneficial to the Order to increase the tenure of office for a term longer than one year? Would not Commanders render more efficient service by that means? 78 GRAND COMJIAXDERT OF MASS. AND H. I. "A Commander does not as a rule become familiar -n-ith the duties of his office until nearly the expiration of his term and, therefore, cannot exercise that degree of efficiency that a longer term would insure. "Of course, a proposition of this nature does not appeal to those in the line of promotion, because promotion at best is slow, and the adoption of any measure by which the tenure of office of the Commander is extended retards their advance proportionately. "But aside "from this phase of the question, let us look at the National and State ser^^ce and acquaint ourselves with the slo^\Tiess of promotion there, and it will be observed that officers hold a grade for many years before any pro- motion reaches them, but in the meantime the serAdce is l^eing benefited and the officers themselves are growing in pro- ficiency and knowledge and are gradually preparing them- selves for higher honors and greater responsibilities, so that when the advance does come thej^ are thoroughly equipped to step into the new positions and discharge the functions of their offices with aptitude and dexterity. "One great danger that should be resisted is the procure- ment by those whose eagerness to get position of high rank which they are wholly incompetent to bear. "They eagerly grasp at responsible office when they are utterly without the training necessar}' to the proper per- formance of their duties, yet lack qualifications requisite for official rank. "The aggressive man is always unpopular because he sacri- fices all else for dutj-. The negative man seeks popularity through inaction, but falls short because of his inactivity. The man who is chosen to an executive position and fails to perform fearlessly the duties with which he is charged is worse than despicable. The amiable officer is to be deplored, be- cause of his worthlessness. Disciplined inaction, and to remain in a wise and masterly inactivit}-, is sometimes the highest discharge of duty, but rank inaction through fear of displeasing or not fulfilling the requirements which duty calls for is baneful and disquieting. " We are adopting a course of enlightenment throughout the Order as a Body and of the individuals -n-ith the view to edu- cating to a more lofty interpretation of the tenets of the Ritual and to having them look upon the requirements of life in a more practical way. "Against the practices of the past we should set our faces with grim determination and embark on new methods for the ROPOET ON COEEBSPONDENCE 79 culmination of loftier ideals. We should believe in evolving from the archaic to the modern. We are in need of a strong, courageous spirit of restraint to resist restlessness and to substitute in its stead a more quieting and refining influence in all our relations." His Dispensations were many in number, which naturally follows from this great Jurisdiction, and were all granted for Constitutional cause. Under the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the mem- bership at that date was 19,122, a gain for the year of 749. The Grand Treasurer quoted a balance on hand of $26,903.55. The Report on Necrology is from the pen of Sir Knight Rev. Warren C. Hubbard, Chairman of the Committee, who elo- quently pa}'s fitting tribute to the memory of the deceased Fraters of his own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. A request for a Dispensation to establish a Commandery at Sandy Hill, N.Y., was referred to the Committee on Warrants and Dispensations. A fitting testimonal was voted for Sir Knight Herman R. Kretschmar on motion of Sir Adelbert P. Knapp, and it was "Resolved. That this Grand Commandery, in recognition of the fact that the term of office of Sir Knight Herman R. Kretschmar has come to an honorable termination, and as an evidence of sincere appreciation of the knightly and able manner in which he has fulfilled all the duties of his office, do authorize the Committee on Testimonial to prepare a suitable testimonial of our esteem and recognition of his services to the Grand Commandery, and that $250 be appropriated for the same." His associate Grand Officers further complimented him by presenting him with a handsome loving cup. The Report on Correspondence is by Sir Knight John W. Jenkins, Chairman, and occupies 167 pages, being up to his usual standard of excellence in all that emanates from this Grand Jurisdiction. Massachusetts and Rhode Island is given six pages of kindly mention. Sir Jenkins has our warmest acknowledgments for his hearty greeting and well wishes for 80 GEAXD COMMAXDERY OF MASS. AND H. I. our entrance among the "Knights of the Round Table." AVe excerpt the following from among the many good things in his conclusion, with the assurance that the same meets our hearty approval: "The sentiment against the issuance of Dispensations to ballot short of statutory time is growing, and this is really a betterment of some importance, as it argues well for the future of the Order. It v.i\\ be conceded liy all that we cannot be too careful in investigating those who petition \is for the Orders, and anything that tends to make us careless in this regard is to be deprecated. The custom that obtains in some Jurisdictions of rushing candidates from Chapter to Commandery with undue haste, tends not only to cheapen membership in the Order, but prevents that thorough and indispensable examination into the qualifications of those seeking admission in our Asylums." Sir Edwin B. Anderson, Grand Commander. Sir John H. Bonnington, Grand Recorder. Sir John W. Jenkins, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Correspondence. The Ninetj'-sixth Annual Conclave to be held in the city of Syracuse, June 15, 1909. New Yohk, 1909 The Ninety-sixth Annual Conclave, held in the City of Syracuse, June 15 and 16, 1909. The volume opens with a Bather portrait of Edwin B. Anderson, Grand Commander. Grand Commandery was called to order by the Acting Grand Captain General. The Rt.'. Em. -.Grand Commander and associate Grand Officers were announced, received and escorted to their stations. At roll- call there were found to be present all the Grand Officers excepting the Grand Captain General, who was absent on account of sickness, thirteen Past Grand Commanders, one Past Grand Treasurer and the Representatives of the con- stituent Commanderies. After prayer by the Grand Prelate, Rev. Warren C. Hubbard, proclamation was made and Grand Commandery duly opened. BEPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 81 On motion the reading of the minutes of the last Annual Con- clave was dispensed with. A welcome address was made by Sir Knight George C. Hanford, Past Commander of Central City Commandery, who extended in behalf of that Commandery a cordial welcome to the Grand Commandery and the accompanying Sir Knights, to which the Rt.". Em. '.Grand Commander responded. Ad- dresses were also made by the Hon. Alan C. Fobes, llayor of the city. Many distinguished visitors being present were received and welcomed, among whom was V.'.E.'.Sir Arthur ilacArthur, Grand Generalissimo of the Grand Encampment of the United States. Sixteen Grand Representatives of sister Grand Jurisdictions were present, among whom we fail to find the Representative for Massachusetts and Rhode Island. A long list of regrets 'of those who had been invited and were unable to attend were read and made a matter of record. After the appointment of the routine committees, the Grand Commander read his Address and we excerpt from the same: "Conditions which affected the entire country have had a radiating influence to reduce the natural percentage of new membership, and, while showing no marked increase in the same, we have clearly and safely held our own, and in all things which tend to aid our standing among those from whom additions mostly come, we can certainly claim progress in the full ratio of previous years. Yet, as there would be but scant excuse if this were not true, it may not be amiss to remember that there is quite often room for improvement and toward that end earnestly strive." An act of incorporation of the Grand Commandery was read by the Rt.'.Em.'.Grand Commander. Many Dispensations were granted, all for Constitutional purposes. From the Grand Recorder's Report we find the number of enrolled Commanderies is 68. The number of extinct Commanderies, 6. Under Dispensation, 1. Number of Commanderies making reituAis, 62. Number of working Commanderies, 62. Number present at this Conclave, 62. Present membership is 19,730, or a net gain for the year of 82 GRAND COMMANDERY OF MASS. AND E. I. 606. The largest Commandery in the State is Palestine, No. 18, in New York City, with membership of 900. The Grand Treasurer's Report shows a total of cash on hand, $37,767.19. The Report on Necrology was read by Sir Knight Rev. Warren C. Hubbard, who pays fitting tribute to the Fraternal dead of his own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. Request for Dispensation for a new Commandery, to be located at Sandy Hill, N.Y., was presented and later in the session granted. Also request for Dispensation for a Com- mandery to be located at Walton, Delaware County, N.Y., was received and referred to the Committee on Charters and Dispensations, and laid over until the next Annual Session. Resolution was adopted that the Grand Recorder and Grand Treasurer be bonded in the sum of $10,000 each, the same to be paid for by Grand Commandery. Testimonial was presented to Rt.'.Em.'.Sir Edwin B. Anderson, in recognition of his faithful services as Grand Com- mander during the year. Also a loving cup, a gift from his associate Grand OfEcers. The Report on Correspondence was presented by Rt.'.Em.". Sir John W. Jenkins, chairman, who reviews twenty-five sister Grand Jurisdictions, the Proceedings of the balance of the Grand Jurisdictions having failed to reach him. The Report is a very readable document and fully up to the standard of those previously issued. Massachusetts and Rhode Island is given four pages, and he says of Grand Com- mander Litchfield's Report that it is a faithful account of his official deeds, and is an excellent one, and his Decisions were based on sound law and judgment. He says some kind things about your Correspondent, which are gratefully appreciated. Sir Knight Edwin C. Hall, Rt.'.Em. '.Grand Commander. Sir Knight John H. Bonnington, Em.'. Grand Recorder. Sir Knight John W. Jenkins, Chairman of Committee on Correspondence. Ninety-seventh Annual Conclave will be held in the City of Buffalo, June 21, 1910. report on correspondence 83 North Carolina, 1909 The Twenty-ninth Annual Conclave was held in Winston, N.C., May 12 and 13, 1909, all the Grand Officers being present with the exception of the Grand Prelate and Grand Sentinel. Eight Past Grand Commanders were present and the Repre- sentatives of the constituent Commanderies, also twenty- three Representatives of sister Grand Jurisdictions, among whom we find Sir James K. Norfleet, Representative of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The first business after the Report of the Committee on Credentials is the Address of the Grand Commander. Refer- ring to the inspection system by the Grand Commandery of Wisconsin he quotes: "Ten years ago the Commanderies were doing the work in a more or less hit or miss manner. There was small interest and but slight effort made to improve the character of the work. Such a thing as uniformity throughout the Jurisdiction was unknown. Today there is a splendid spirit everywhere manifest, friendly rivalry exists between the Commanderies adjacently situated, and the work has attained a degree of perfection and uniformity that would have been regarded as impossible of attainment at that time. As the result of these inspections all of the Masonic Bodies have profited immensely." His Dispensations were few and were granted for Constitu- tional cause. Among the Dispensations refused we excerpt the following: "I received a request dated March 29, 1909, from Cyrene Commandery, No. 5, for a Dispensation to hold their stated Conclave on April 20, instead of April 22, the latter date being the time provided by their By-Laws for the stated Conclave, the reason being given that two Companions were desirous of obtaining the Orders in time to submit their petitions to the Shrine which met on April 22. i . , xi, n j " I replied that I knew of no possible way by which the Grand Commander could make a stated Conclave out of a special Conclave and that a Conclave held on any other date m April but the 22d would be a special Conclave. I also called atten- tion to Article 4, Section 3, of the Constitution of the Grand 84 GRAND COMMAXDEHY OF MASS. AXD R. I. Encampment which provides that petitions for the Orders can only be received and acted on at stated Conclaves, and that the Committee on Jurisprudence at the last Grand Encampment had approved Decision 12 of the Grand :\Iaster which said ' Xo one has the power to set aside the Statutes of the Grand En- campment by Dispensation."' From the Report of the Grand Treasurer we find that the receipts were 82,589.80; amount paid dm-ing the year, .sl,36.5.52, leaving a balance on hand of 81,224.28. ^ The Grand Recorder's Report shows the present membership as 1,075, a net gain for the year of 63. That the affairs of this Grand Jurisdiction are in good condi- tion is evidenced by the Report of the Committee on Grievances and Appeals, who state they are pleased to report that peace and good will throughout the Grand Jurisdiction prevail, nothing having come up claiming their attention. The Report on Correspondence is by E.'.Sir James Southgate. Massachusetts and Rhode Island is courteously mentioned, he calling the Address of Grand Commander Litchfield a well- written document. He kindly refers to our own Report, and says it is a good one, for which he has our heartfelt thanks. We excerpt the following from his conclusion: "We have made another journej' over the field of Templary, arriving in Wyoming in prett}- fair plight for an old man, lame of one foot. We note with pleasure the motto of the Order is still 'Onward, Christian Soldiers.' and the advance made all along the line is encouraging and we are looking for still greater achievement as the years go by. and we trust that hand in hand with the Chm-ch of the li\'ing God we will continue to go forward, conquering and to conquer, until the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ." R.'. E.'.Sir William Anderson, Grand Commander. E.'.Sir James C. Munds, Grand Recorder. R.'. E.'.Sir James Southgate, Committee on Correspondence. The Thirtieth Annual Conclave to be held in the city of Salisbury, commencing Wednesday evening, May 11, 1910. report on correspondence 85 North Dakota, 1909 The Twentieth Annual Conclave, held at Fargo, N.D., April 20 and 21, 1909, all the Grand Officers being present, seven Past Grand Commanders and twenty-eight Representatives of sister Grand Jurisdictions, among whom we find E.'.Sir Arthur G. Lewis, Representative for Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The first business in order was the Report of the Committee on Credentials which was followed by the reception of V.'.E.". Sir Jehiel W. Chamberlin, Grand Sword Bearer of the Grand Encampment, who was announced in waiting. An escort was formed and he was officially received with the honors due his exalted position. The Address of the Grand Commander then followed. Among other things he says that the Grand Commandery of North Dakota was formed in June, 1890, with a membership of 180 Sir Knights, and so is now entering upon the twentieth year of its ex- istence and now consists of 13 Commanderies with a membership of 1,098 Sir Knights. He states this is an encouraging record and one that will surely stimulate them to even more earnest endeavors in the years to come. He reports the constitution of Lorraine Commandery, No. 13, at Bottineau. His Dispensa- tions were few in number and were all in accordance with Con- stitutional law. The Grand Recorder's Report then followed and is an original document. We quote from the same : " To the Grand Commandery K.'.T.'. of North Dakota: " If Hannibal, in the year 216 B.C., after he had almost totally destroyed the Roman army, in that great battle on the banks of the Aufidus, had heeded the advice of Maharbal, his general, and advanced to Rome, he would have taken that city, and the history of nations, arid of this civilization, would have been dhanged. Whether for better or for worse, no one knows; but the ambitions of Hannibal, had he not failed to see this oppor- tunity, would have been consummated. Most of us are purblind and myopic, and we fail to see the opportunities which are let down like ladders by the fates of life for men to climb upward; and then we travel the level of monotony to that little hole some one has dug for us to rest in. "In this Order of ours, which is made up of the flower of 86 GEAXD COIIMAXDERT OF MASS. AXD H. I. JIasons, how many of us grasp the ladder of opportunity with a realizing grip, and climb into the really beautiful heights of all that is best and noblest in those with whom we fraternize. They are not big opportunities on which men can mount to fame or fortune, but they are opportunities which are better than fame or fortune; for these are but cold and inanimate things, and, when attained, have lost that glitter which distance falsely gave. "Too many of us are content with the surface of things, and seem not to realize that we are tramping alwaj-s in the dust of the weaknesses, and frailties, and foibles of our companions; and for some reason do not see that beyond is a height of sun- shine. All men have some phase in their character which is beyond all this dust, and if we but rise to it, we find it sw^eet and fresh as the morning air. We simply let opportunities go for getting the best out of one another, of finding the good that is in others. "I .sometimes ask myself, why are we so prone to look upon the plume, the uniform, the gilded sword, the ceremonies, and think we see the soul of Templarism? To me these are but the skeletal forms that bind and hold us in ways apart from the crowd; yet for the soul, we must enter in and find the sanctuary in which the hidden man resides, and there, in this Holy of Holies, receive the interpretation of things we have passed through, and have revealed the inner mystery for which we are banded together. Jlay we not all trj-, even if it be but for the coming j^ear, to climb out of the routine of form and ceremonj^, and mount higher to that truer and better life which lies somewhere in everj' man's being." We find l^y his Report that the total membership is now 1083. The Report also contains fitting remembrance of the Fraternal dead of his own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. The Triennial Committee made report that a contract had been signed for rooms in the Auditorium Annex in Chicago, to be occupied by the Grand Commandery during the next Trien- nial Conclave. Telegirams of sj-mpathy and condolence were forwarded to Sir Knight Harry S. Oliver, of Ivanhoe Commandery, also a fioral offering. Owing to the Grand Treasurer having died during his term of office and no successor having been appointed, no Report was at hand. REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 87 Under the head of "Episode," we note that the attendance on the Grand Conclave was the largest ever held in the State, doubtless largely due to the fact that the meeting was held at the time of year when the people are coming out of the hiber- nation of the winter. There is no Report on Correspondence. DeWitt C. Moore, R.-.E.-. Grand Commander. Frank J. Thompson, E. '.Grand Recorder. The next Annual Conclave to be held at Grand Forks, April, 1910. Ohio, 1908 The Sixty-sixth Annual Conclave, held at Cincinnati, October 13 and 14, 1908. The volume opens with a splendid portrait of R. .E.'.Sir R. R. Rickly, Grand Commander. The volume corresponds in size and appearance with that Grand Jurisdiction and con- sists of over three hundred pages filled with statistical tables, obituary notices and correspondence. All the Grand Officers were present, there being preliminary exercises consisting of an organ recital, invocation, solo, "The Knight's Quest," dedicated to R.'.E.'.Sir Knight William B. Melish, Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Encampment, and welcoming Addresses by R.\E.'.Sir Knight William B. Melish and the Mayor of Cincinnati. Response was made by the R.'.E.". Grand Commander. Many distinguished visitors were present including V.'.E.'.Sir Joseph K. Orr, Grand Junior Warden; V.'.E.'.Sir John A. Gerow, Grand Recorder, and M. . E.'.Sir Knight Warren LaRue Thomas, Past Grand Master, all members of the Grand Encampment. The Grand Commanderies of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Kentucky and Indiana were represented by Grand Officers from these bodies. Letter of regret was received from M.'. E.'.Sir Henry W. Rugg, Grand Master, and from V.'.E.'.Sir Arthur MacArthur, Grand General- issimo of the Grand Encampment. The Representatives of thirty-four sister Grand Jurisdictions were also present, among whom we find the Representative of Massachusetts and Rhode Island and our own dear friend Sir Knight Levi C. Goodale. 88 GRAND COilMANDERY OF MASS. AND K. I. The Annual Address of Grand Commander Rickly is a splen- did document, detailing as it does all the transactions of his office during the year, and we excerpt from his opening: "The splendid harmony and healthful growth of Symbolic ^Masonry during the last hundred years has also made possible the increase in Templar ilasonry during the sixty-five years of the existence of this Grand Commandery, from a few scattered Sir Knights to its present proud constituency of sixty-three flourishing subordinate Commanderies, carrying on their rolls an army of 14,000 valiant Christian soldiers in good and regular standing. " It is not for me at this time to even touch upon the influence which this vast multitude should and does exert upon the citi- zenship of our State. I must be content to give a brief review of my" official acts. This has been a year of harmonious growth and quiet prosperity, and the office of Grand Commander has approached the happy condition of a dignified sinecure." His Dispensations and Decisions were all in accordance with Templar law and were all duly approved. The report of the Inspections of Commanderies is most full and complete of any that comes under our notice, each iospecting officer reporting in detail the affairs and condition of the several Commanderies in the Jmisdiction, giving an accurate report of the condition of each Commandery. From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the member- ship July 31, 1908, is 13,896, a net gain for the year of 619. The volume contains obituaries upon the deceased Fraters of their own and sister Grand Jurisdictions, many memorial pages being devoted to the same. The report on Templar Correspondence is from the pen of R. .A. .Sir John X. Bell, and is his tenth annual. It com- prises 144 pages and shows e^idence of much research and labor. ^Massachusetts and Rhode Island is given a com-teous ^e^^ew of five pages. R.'.E.'.Sir Edmund B. King, Grand Commander. E. .Sir John N. Bell, Grand Recorder and Correspondent. Next Annual Conclave in the city of ilarion, October 13, 1909. report on correspondence 89 Oklahoma, 1909 The fourteenth Annual Conclave of Grand Commandery of Oklahoma was held in Oklahoma City the 16th day of Febru- ary, 1909, all the Grand Officers being present, and the Repre- sentatiA-es of the constituent Commanderies with the exception of Nos. 4, 8, 14, 15 and 17; twelve Past Grand Commanders and the Representatives of sixteen sister Grand Jurisdictions. Immediately following the Report of the Committee on Credentials comes the Address of the Grand Commander. The Report contains the Correspondence in full, relative to the merging of the Grand Commanderies of Oklahoma and Indian Territory. At a meeting of the Grand Commandery of Indian Territory at Purcell, Okla., M.'.E.'. Grand Master Rugg being present, after considerable discussion a vote was taken to determine whether or not the Grand Commandery would yield its Jurisdiction to the new Grand Commandery being formed and known as the Grand Commandery of the State of Oklahoma. The large minority voting for the opposition was a surprise to the Grand Commander and also M.'.E.'. Grand ^Master Rugg. The minority was sufficiently strong to lead Grand blaster Rugg to believe that some friction might be induced if the union occurred at that time, and further action in the matter was dropped for the present. His Dispensations and Decisions were few and were duly approved. That the condition of the Grand Commandery of Oklahoma is excellent is proved by the Report of the Com- mittee on Grievances and Appeals, who reported that owing to the perfect harmony prevailing throughout the Jurisdiction, no grievances were had or appeals asked for. The report of the Committee on Necrology pays fitting tribute to the honored dead of their own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. The Grand Recorder's Report shows that the membership January, 1909, was 1,009, an increase for the year of 90. The Report on Correspondence was submitted by E.'.Sir Walter C. Pierce, 89 pages being devoted to the same. Massa- chusetts and Rhode Island is courteously reviewed, three pages being devoted to same. 90 GRAND COMMANDERY OF MASS. AND R. I. Sir J. C. Fleming, Grand Commander. Sir George W. Spencer, Grand Recorder. Sir Walter C. Pierce, Correspondent. The Fifteenth Annual Conclave to be held in Oklahoma City, February 22, 1910. Oregon, 1908 The Twenty-second Annual Conclave was held at Grants Pass, September 24, 1908, and was one of the largest, most enjoyable and instructive ever held in the city. The Constitutional number of Representatives being present, the R.'.E.'. Grand Commander, Sir Frank J. Miller, assisted by the Grand Officers present, opened the Conclave in ample form, the Sir Knights being led in their devotion by the Grand Prelate E.\Sir WilUam E. Grace. Ml the Grand Officers were present. The Grand Commander's Address followed, and we excerpt from it the following: "The year just passed has been eventful and successful. We have added three new Commanderies to our number, and they are now here asking you to grant them Charters and admit them into full fellowship with us. These three new Commanderies make an increase of thirty per cent in our number during the year, there being at present ten chartered Commanderies and three working under Dispensation. At the beginning of the last Templar year we had a membership of 969. According to this year's official reports, our membership is 1,074, a net gain of 105, or an increase of a little more than ten per cent." A fitting tribute is paid to the Knightly dead of his own and sister Jmrisdictions, and in referring to the departed Sir Knights, he says: "Time knows no sleep or weariness and no chain can bind it; while the husbandman waiteth for the harvest, Death claims all seasons and time for his own. These brethren ha^-e gone over to the silent majority; gone to learn for themselves the mysteries that are beyond the veil, where we know they will be received into that Asylum presided over by the Grand Master, of whose handiwork the universe is witness and the shining REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 91 Stars examples. The earthly record of these Sh^ Knights is complete, and as faithful Christian warriors, who loved the right and despised the evil, we have full confidence to believe that they are now at rest in ' That house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.'" Petitions were received for a new Commandery to be lo- cated at Astoria to be called St. Aldemar Commandery. His Dispensations were few and in reporting the same he says, "I have refused several requests to receive and ballot on petitions at Special Conclaves," also that he is opposed to granting Dispensations to receive and ballot upon petitions in less than statutory time, except in cases of absolute necessity, and he has steadfastly refused such requests where the reasons given did not appear to be those of actual necessity. His Decisions were few and were made in accordance with Templar law. From the Grand Recorder's Report we find the membership is 1,074, a net gain for the year of 105. The Report of the Committee on Correspondence is from the pen of Sir J. M. Hodson, and occupies 99 pages of the Proceedings. Massachusetts and Rhode Island is given two pages of courteous review, and of the same he says : "Again the splendid volume from this Grand Jurisdiction enlightens our sanctum, and when we say enlightens, we under- stand the full meaning of the term, for that is just what it does. How could it be otherwise ? We esteem the Masonic fraternity high above all human organizations, and, with all the faults of its members, the fittest to survive. Of that great aggregation of intelligence and good principles the cream has naturally come to the top, and of all the Grand Commanderies, none excels this proud old combination of good sense and culture. Sometimes we have thought they bank on those points too much, but the facts are, no matter from T^hat quarter they are considered, they make good every time, and it is a pleasure to acknowl- edge it." And he records the following relative to our former Correspon- dent, M.'.E.'.Sir Henry W. Rugg: "Sir Knight Henry W. Rugg, who is now our M.'.E.-. Grand Master, is the author of 138 pages of correspondence. It is 92 GRAND COilMAXDEEY OF MASS. AND R. I. the best of his many successes, a fitting finish for a brilliant career, as we presume, knowing his election at Saratoga was sure, he desired to make his last his best. Oregon for 1906 has courteous treatment. "He comprehended precisely our thought when that little four-line stanza came flitting as it were through our mind. If his ej-e catches this Report he will find in simplest prose exactly what we think about the Templars of ilassachusetts and Rhode Island. He terms our Report 'unique,' and quotes liberally. We hope it brought a pleasant hour, as we could scarcely pre- sume to attempt to instruct. He writes his valedictory in his conclusion, though we hope when his three j-ears of 'warfare' are over that we may be favored with ' deeds of more exalted usefulness,' if that be possible." Sir Albert M. Knapp. Grand Commander. Sir James F. Robinson, Grand Recorder. Sir J. 'M. Hodson, Correspondent. The Twenty-third T^nnual Conclave to be held in the city of Baker City, the fourth Thursday in September, 1909. Pexxstlvaxia, 1909. The volume of Proceedings of this splendid Jurisdiction is prefaced with a Hkeness of R.-.E.-.Sir WilUam J. Milligan, Grand Commander. The Fiftj--sixth Annual Conclave was held in ^Masonic Temple, Philadelphia, ^lay 25 and 26, 1909. The first business was the Address by Bro. John E. Rey- burn, Mayor of the city, which was responded to by R.".E.". Sir George S. Graham, Past Grand Commander. Both the address and response are replete with words that were lis- tened to and enjoj-ed by all present. Among other things R. .E.'.Sir George S. Graham said: "There is no fraternal organization among men which stands for higher or better things than the one you have welcomed within the gates of your city. Today, as the marching hosts passed along in their splendid equipment and fine formations, and the applause of the people, flying flags and decorations greeted the marchers, we had a fitting forecast and prelude to REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 93 your more formal and stately welcome. We believe that the visit of the Templars to a community brings both pleasure and blessing." From his conclusion we excerpt as follows: "While the spirit of our Order will teach in every asylum the fraternity of man; the duty of unobtrusive charity; the defence of the innocent and the protection of the unprotected along with the maintenance of the Christain religion. To these sublime teachings and duties every man is pledged, and in defence of these every sword shall be drawn. These are the things, honored Sir, for which this body, the greatest Grand Commandery in the world, does, and shall, forever stand. To you Sir, as the honored chief executive, we return heartfelt thanks, and through you, to the citizens of this typical American city, who greeted us so cordially on the streets to- day, we would convey the wish of every one of our hearts, paraphrasing the words of David to his beloved City: "Peace be within thy boimdaries, And prosperity within thy multitude of homes." The Grand Commandery was then opened, all the Grand Officers, seventeen Past Grand Commanders, the Represent- atives of thirty-two sister Grand Jurisdictions, among whom we find M.'.E.'.Sir John S. Gobin, Representative for Massa- chusetts and Rhode Island, and Representatives of eighty constituent Commanderies present. Among the distinguished visitors were V.'.E.'.Sir Lee S. Smith, Grand Senior Warden of the Grand Encampment of the United States, and M.'.E.'. Sir John P. S. Gobin, Past Grand Master of the Grand En- campment of the United States, and many other distinguished and prominent members of the Order, all of whom were re- ceived and welcomed according to the honors due them. The Grand Commander then presented his Report, which was referred to the Committee on the Doings of Grand Offi- cers. That the affairs of this Grand Jurisdiction were in good hands is evidenced by the report which, from the read- ing of same, shows his zeal and fidelity to the cause and his devotion to the affairs of his office, which were carefully and 94 GRAND CO.MMAXDEEY OF MASS. AXD H. I. fully attended to. His decisions were all made in accordance with Constitutional law, as also were his Decisions, and none of them were for balloting upon candidates out of statutory- time. He made many visitations to the constituent bodies during the year, all of which were fully reported. The Grand Treasurer reports that the receipts were §22,138.76, the disbursements, 813,727.94, leading a balance on hand of $8,410.82. The Grand Recorder's Report occupies five pages of the Proceedings and is an able and interesting document. We find from this report the number of Commanderies in the Jurisdiction is 83. The present membership is 20,427, a gain of 876 for the year. Application for charter for a new Com- mandery to be located in the town of Butler was received and referred. Resolution was presented that the Grand Commandery of Knights Templars of Penns5'lvania, in Annual Conclave as- sembled, coiirteously request, through the M.\E. '.Grand Master, the Committee on Jurisprudence now at work on the Re\-ision of the Constitution and Code of Statutes of the Grand Encampment to recommend such a change in the Laws as will permit the withdrawal of a first petition (and without ballot) upon a favorable report of the Committee of Inquiry. The second day's Proceedings were opened with the com- munication from the M. .E. '.Grand Master relating to the death of M.-.E.'.Past Grand Master Hugh McCurdy and M.' E.'.Sir Reuben H. Lloyd. The annual election of ofiicers was held. Grand Commandery then adjourned to meet at 8.00 o'clock, for the purpose of installing the ofl&cers elected. Grand Commandery assembled at S.OO o'clock in the even- ing at the American Academy of ^Nlusic, where the newly elected officers were installed in the presence of a large number of Knights and ladies, and a most excellent program was ob- served. The Grand Commander made a splendid address, which is printed in full in the proceedings. The Report on Correspondence is from our good Frater, R.". E.'.Sir Lee S. Smith, and is of a kind that it is a pleasure to read. Massachusetts and Rhode Island is given two pages. REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 95 in which he says kind words of ourselves, for which he has our most grateful thanks. R.-.E.-.Sir Abram Hess, Grand Commander. R.-.E.-.Sir William W. Allen, Grand Recorder. R.-.E.-.Sir Lee S. Smith, Correspondent. The Fifty-seventh Annual Conclave will be held in the city of Lancaster, in May, 1910. South Carolina, 1907 and 1908 Special Session at Columbia, S.C, Tuesday, A gust 19, 1907, was held for the purpose of instituting a Commandery imder the Charter granted by Grand Encampment on March 25, 1907, R.-.E.-.Sir William B. Melish, Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of the United States, being present for that purpose. The ceremony of constitution having been performed, the Deputy Grand Master declared the Grand Commandery Knights Templars of South Carolina duly and legally constituted, after which the election and installation of the officers took place. Sir Jacob T. Barron elected Grand Commander, and Sir John M. Diven, Grand Recorder, the officers being installed by R.'.E.'.Sir William B. Melish. The Grand Commandery then adjourned to meet in the city of Charleston on the second Tuesday in February, 1908. The Second Annual Conclave was held in the city of Charles- ton, S.C, February 12, 1908, as per resolution at the Special Conclave; all the Grand Officers being present, and the Repre- sentatives of seven constituent Commanderies. Grand Commander Barron then read his Annual Address, in which he states that he is gratified to be able to report that Templary in South Carolina compares most favorably with older Jurisdictions, and the banner is already in the front rank. Harmony, Templar spirit and enthusiasm distinguish the con- stituent Commanderies and the outlook is most encouraging. The Grand Recorder's report shows a membership of 1,002, a net gain of 137. One of the pleasing incidents of the session was the presenta- tion by V.-.E.-.Sir Joseph K. Orr of a Grand Standard to the 96 GRAND COMMAXDERY OF MASS. AND R. I. Grand Commandery, the presentation speech, in the alxsence of Sir Knight Orr, being made by the Grand Commander. The Committee on Necrology made an able report,, giving due remembrance to departed Sir Knights of sister Jurisdictions. The Report on Correspondence is from Sir John M. Diven, Grand Recorder, and his work shows that the right man was selected for the place. Under JMassachusetts and Rhode Island he gives the Grand Recorder kindly mention, calling his Report most elaborate. We excerpt from his conclusion; "First, we wish to apologize for the long delay in sending the Proceedings of the Second Annual Conclave of the Grand Commandery of South Carolina, and to say that the cause was illness, not serious or acute, but days when the brain would not work, and long nights without sound sleep." Sir Jacob T. Barron, Grand Commander. Sir John M. Diven, Grand Recorder. The Third Annual Conclave to be held in the city of Colum- bia, S.C, February 10, 1909. South Dakota, 1908 The Twenty-fifth Annual Conclave was held at [Mitchell, June 12, 1908. The Proceedings contain a Bather portrait of R. .E.'.Sir George A. Pettigrew. Grand Commandery was duly opened in ]\Iasonic Hall in the city of Mitchell, on Friday, June 12, 1908, all the Grand Officers being present, every subordinate Commandery in the State being represented. The first business after the opening was the presentation of V. .E.'.Sir Jehiel W. Chamberlin, Grand Sword Bearer of the Grand Encampment and Inspector of the Seventh District, who was officially received and welcomed. The Grand Commander's Address followed, and is an able report of the transactions of his office during the year. He pays kindly tribute to the departed Sir Knights of the Juris- diction, and also gives due and kindly mention of those of sister Jurisdictions. REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 97 He reports no Decisions or Dispensations, and in conclusion he says that in leaving the position of Grand Commander — an honor greater to him than to be Mayor of his home city or the Governorship of his great State — he assures Grand Gommandery that he had appreciated the honor and gives them his assurance that his interest in the Order will not cease. In the Grand Recorder's report we find that the number of Commanderies is 16 and the membership 1,268. That the affairs of South Dakota are in good hands is evident by the report of the Committee on Jurisprudence, who found no business for consideration. Also the Committee on Griev- ances found nothing for them to do. The Report on Correspondence is from the pen of our esteemed Prater, Samuel H. Jumper, Past Grand Commander, and occupies 105 pages of the volume, it being his thirteenth Annual Report. He opens with a foreword in which he states that he treasures the compliments and kind words and gentle criticism and little whacks, knowing they come from noble, loving hearts, and they are each given in a kindly spirit. From analyzing the Report I am convinced that his foreword covers his feelings in the matter. In his review of the Proceedings of Massachusetts and Rhode Island for 1907, he quotes the remarks of M.'.E.\Sir Henry W. Rugg, Grand Master, who was present on that occasion, and sets down the Grand Re- corder as Sir Benjamin W. Powell of Boston. Kindly make it B. W. Rowell in the future, my dear Prater Jumper, and I will forgive you. In his conclusion he says he has attempted no discussion of any questions, because they have all been threshed over until there is nothing left to say about them, that he had culled from the several reports that which he thought would be pleasing, interesting and instructive to the few who read these reviews. Sir Charles W. Adams jSIitchell, Grand Commander. Sir -George A. Pettigrew, Grand Recorder. Sir Samuel H. Jumper, Committee on Correspondence. The Twenty-sixth Annual Conclave will be held in the city of Watertown, S.D., June 11, 1909. 98 grand commandery of mass. axd r. i. Tennessee, 1909 The Forty-seventh Annual Conclave was held at Nashville, May 19 and 20, 1909, all the Grand Officers being present with the exception of the R'.E.-. Grand Commander, who had de- parted this life during the year, and the Grand Generalissimo. There were also present nine Past Grand Commanders, eighteen Grand Representatives of sister Grand Jurisdictions, and the Representatives of the constituent Commanderies. The V.-.E.-. Deputy Grand Commander read a report from which we excerpt the following: "One year ago standing in your presence I congratulated you and the Order of Knights Templar in Tennessee upon the selection of a genial, kindly and much loved man, a Representa- tive of Nashville Commandery, No. 1, to be your Grand Com- mander for the ensuing year. Little did I think then that the melancholy duty would, before his term was ended, devolve upon me to announce the passing of that gallant knight, that lovable gentleman, that dear old man to his eternal reward before he had realized the proudest ambition of his Masonic life of presiding over the deliberations of this Grand Body. This vacant chair, clad in its symbol of mourning, tells j'ou the sorrowful story that John C. Kennedy, your R.'.E.'. Grand Commander, is no more. On March 17, 1909, he answered the summons of the Grand Captain of our loyal hosts and went with knightly courage and undaunted fortitude to his grave relying with implicit faith upon the unrestrained mercy of his Father in Heaven whom he had served all his life long with sincere devotion and unwavering fidelity. The very first duty falling to me as acting Grand Commander was an order proclaiming your and my loss, and which was as follows." His Address contains fitting tribute to the departed Fraters of his own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. From the Treasurer's Report we find the balance on hand. May 19, 1909, $4,881.03. The Grand Recorder's Report shows a membership of 1,396, a net gain for the year of 51. The Committee on Appeals and Grievances report that REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 99 nothing had been brought before them for their attention. This certainly shows a commendable condition of affairs in that Jurisdiction. The Grand Representatives of sister Grand Jurisdictions were received by the Acting Grand Commander, his remarks on the occasion being full of good suggestions as to making the ofEce of Grand Representative more profitable to the Order and directed each of them to at once convey to their respective Grand Jurisdictions the Knightly regards of the Grand Commandery of Tennessee. The Report of the Committee on Foreign Correspondence is from the pen of Sir Henry H. Ingersoll, who courteously reviews Massachusetts and Rhode Island, saying that the volume issued by this Jurisdiction is an elegant report of the Proceedings. From his conclusion we excerpt the following: "what is knight templary? "This Order is essentially religious — but it is not Jewish nor Parsee, Mohammedan nor Buddhistic. It is Christian and only Christian in its origin, its history, its warfare and its faith. Only Christian men — confessed Christian men — can wear its uniform or enter its fraternity. It is exclusive — a man may become a JIason first and afterwards or never a Christian. Not so of Templary — none may enter its Asylum, and share its honor and privileges, unless he have already the Christian faith. "Sinner he may be — of course he is; for 'if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.' Church member he need not be, but he must 'not be ashamed to con- fess the faith of Christ crucified and manfully to fight under his banner against sin, the world and the devil,' for such is the Christian warfare. "The Order was founded and maintained by Christian men for Christian service upon a Christian basis. Its whole life and history was in championship of Christian pilgrims and the Christian religion; and as an Order grafted upon Freemasonry, it is a Christian branch — or nothing. If modern Knight Templary be not Christian in faith, in purpose and in service then its symbols are senseless, its Ritual is ridiculous, its obligations are outlandish, and its celebration of Christmas and Easter and Ascension Days are blasphemous. 100 grand commandery of mass. and e. i. "the templar faith "The suggestion that Templary has no faith, or that a creed is rubbish, and a Templar is better off without than with it — whether made in jest or earnest — can find no welcome in a Templar's heart; for 'as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.'_ A Christendom without faith in the Christ is unthinkable; just as a Christian without a creed is inconceivable. Templars of every age have had a creed — many more than one, as symbols of their faith in Christ. By common consent the Order has accepted as its symbol the simplest form of the Christian confession, the Apostles' Creed; and wherever Tem- plars worship in this land of ours, or in other English-speaking lands, they recite in unison this common faith of Christendom: ' I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.' The first sentence declares the IMasonic faith, the last clause is the essential sjniibol of the Templar. Without that he could never prove himself. "If his confession cease at the end of the first sentence he is a Mason only, and he maybe a follower of Mohammed or Buddha. To be a Templar he must pass on to the second clause and affirm his faith in the risen Lord. Such has been the course from the beginning, and such it will be while Templary en- dures. Without that creed our Order has no raison d'etre. " If we have not this faith, once for all delivered to the saints, the Order and all its Rituals and symbols, its pomp and cere- mony are worse than worthless. It should better be dissolved and its members fall back upon the antique faith of !Melchisedek and Abraham, and the simpler Ritual and organization of craft Masonry. "commanders and correspondents " But some of the IMutuals will say — have said: Conceding all that your preachment asserts, why should a Grand Com- mander be expected to name the name of Christ in his Annual Address, or a Correspondent to repeat his credo? "To show whose servants and soldiers we are, and under whose banner we fight! "Immanuel has not yet conquered the world, nor put all his enemies under his feet. The war is not ended; the foe has not surrendered. The fight is still on, and if you will only listen you will hear the call to arms. His battle is always on, and He is ever calling to his Sir Knights to come up to help the Lord against the might}'. Stand up and be counted, as do BEPORT ON COREESPONDENCE 101 Democrats or Republicans, when the great quadrennial is being waged. Show your colors and never be ashamed of your Leader. Press on where you see his white plume in the constant war, and peal the Templar cry: 'Hurrah! Huzzah; Immanuel!' Or if heart and voice attune, then sing in loudest chorus the Templar hymn : 'Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus Going on before! Christ, our royal Master, Leads against the foe; Forward into battle See, his banners go! At the sign of triumph Satan's host doth flee; On, then, Christian soldiers. On to victory!' "Silence and indifference win no victories, and 'business reports' are no substitutes for Annual Addresses by Grand Commanders. The Commanders and leaders of our Order in Annual Conclave assembled want something else beside ' business.' They need something more than ' facts and figures ' on such occasions. They are men with souls and sentiment. They rejoice and profit in inspiration and enthusiasm. They love to listen to him who touches their hearts; and from an Annual Conclave, where some thought and attention is given to the soul, they go back to their work with high resolve and noble purpose. If you doubt it or have never experienced it, then take a day off and attend the grand parades at the Michi- gan, Minnesota, New York or Ohio Conclaves, and see the Knights all marching in solid phalanx and hear the bands all playing, 'Onward, Christian Soldiers,' and in the tearful eyes and gleaming faces of mere bystanders mark the thrill of rapturous joy which Knights Templars showing their colors and saying their creed can bring even into the hearts of the profane multitudes. "You're making a mistake. Commander and Mutual, if you think you can hide your light under a bushel and thus enlighten the world. You can't be Christian warriors and never draw a sword. You'll not be taken forChristians, if you never show the cross. You can't obey the Master and never confess his name. You can't prattle in the dialect of Freemasonry and give honor and renown to Knight Templary. "Let not the follies or nonsense of shallow-pated preachers, such as assert the verbal inspiration of the Bible, deter you 102 GRAND COMMANDERY OF MASS. AND R. I. from avowing the faith of the fathers; nor ever suppose that a Templar can give patient hearing to the presumptuous pro- fessor of science, who would, forsooth, subject to spectral analyses a widow's tear, a mother's love, a maiden's prayer, a Mason's charity or a Templar's faith! ' For when on Life we're tempest driv'n A conscience but a canker — A correspondence fix'd wi' heav'n Is sure a noble anchor!' " No bettef service to Templary can we render in these days of discontent and agitation, of Gargantuan greed and golden calf worship, of sophistical science and smart-alec skepticism, than by standing fast in the faith of the fathers, and quietly confessing Christ before men on all befitting occasions, not lingering by the ancient altars of Israel, but worshiping at the Templar shrine of our Immanuel." The election of officers resulted in the election of: Sir Lapsley G. Walker, Grand Commander. Sir John B. Garrett, Grand Recorder. Sir Henry H. Ingersoll, Correspondent. The next Annual Conclave to be held in May, 1910, the place and date to be determined by the Grand Commander. Texas, 1909 The Fifty-sixth Annual Conclave was held at El Paso, April 21 and 22, 1909, and, as usual in this Grand Jurisdiction, public ceremonies of a very interesting character preceded the open- ing of the Conclave. All the Grand Officers were present with the exception of the Grand Prelate. Six Past Grand Comman- ders were also present, and the Representatives of thirty-eight constituent Commanderies. Among the distinguished Praters present we note Sir H. B. Stoddard, Past Grand Commander of Texas, and M.'.E.'. Past Grand Master of the Grand Encamp- ment of Knights Templar of the United States, who was introduced, and received with the honors due his station. A letter of regret was read from the present M.'.E. ".Grand Master, REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 103 Henry W. Rugg, conveying his regrets at his inabihty to be present. Also a letter from V.'.E.'.Sir H. Wales Lines, Grand Treasurer of the Grand Encampment, and our good friend Frederic Speed, the Grand Recorder of Mississippi. The first business in order was the Annual Address of the Grand Commander, which is a thorough and comprehensive review of the various transactions of his office during the year, and is an exhibition of his zeal and labor for the good of the Jurisdiction. We excerpt from his conclusion: "As each day closes we are anticipating and looking forward to the next. Present and future are together with us in thought. So we naturally ask ourselves, ' What of the night ? ' In the work of the Temple, we can confidently leave the future with those now planning and those to succeed us. We know our forefathers did well and have no reason to doubt but that our successors will be equally successful. If we but do our part the record of the coming days will be as bright as that which we are making." *********** "We know that in our Commanderies, in many ways, there has been more and deeper interest than before, and the evidence, in the way of increase, will show in this future we are looking into. "It has been my good fortune to be associated with officers whose every effort was to render any and every aid possible, and I thank each one for what heias done for me." The volume contains obituary notices in full of our dear Frater Hugh McCurdy and Reuben H. Lloyd, Past Grand Masters of the Grand Encampment, and also of members of their own Jurisdiction, and half-tone portraits of these dis- tinguished Praters accompany the same. From the Report of the Grand Treasurer we find the amount now on hand, $13,474.19. The Grand Recorder's Report shows a membership January 1, 1909, of 4,635, a net gain of 275 for the year. From the Report of the Committee on Jurisprudence we excerpt the following, relative to the labors and ability of Grand Commander Kidd: 104 GRAND COMMAXDERY OF MASS. AND R. I. "The great wisdom of our beloved Grand Commander and his famiharity with Templar laws has made our present task an easy one, and he too, as stated in his report, has been for- tunate in that most of his rulings have been covered by specific statutes." The Report of the Committee on Correspondence is by R.'.E.'. Sir J. C. Kidd, who reported for the Committee. Massachusetts and Rhode Island is courteously remembered by two pages, and the review of the different Grand Jurisdictions contains much that is interesting and we wish that we could devote more time and space to this able review. We excerpt from his conclusion: "To our Fraters we send fraternal greetings, with thanks for courtesies extended in reviews written and assurances of good will to all. "The Proceedings of our various Grand Jurisdictions, almost without exception, make favorable record of the doings of the Craft. The abundant prosperity of the Craft shows 'popu- larity, ' and the general information from all parts of our country shows that it has caused new spurious Bodies to spring up, and old ones of that character to exhibit renewed life. We find them in the United States, in England, in Africa and Australia. Not only have those desiring to use the name and popularity of the Order for the purpose of 'putting mone}' in thy purse' organized Lodges, Chapters, Commanderies, Consistories, etc., but they have used the name 'Masonic' and 'Templar' at- tached to all sorts of commercial enterprises, from 'painted plates' to 'life insurance.' Several States have legislated against the use of Emblems, Names, etc. The whole condition warns the Craft to ' look well ' to the outer door. "Our Senior still enjoys health in reasonable measure and joins with us in sending good wishes to our sister Jurisdictions." The election of officers resulted in the election of Sir Harry A. Carpenter, R.'.E. '.Grand Commander. Sir John C. Kidd, E. ".Grand Recorder. Sir Robert M. Elgin, Committee on Foreign Correspondence. The Fifty-seventh Annual Conclave will be held in the city of Houston, Texas, April 13, 1910. report on correspondence 105 Vermont, 1909 The Sixty-seventh Annual Conclave was held in the city of Burlington, June 8, 1909, all the Grand Officers present, the Representatives of the constituent Commanderies and sister Grand Jurisdictions, among whom we find the Representative of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The records of the last Annual Conclave were omitted by order of the R.'.E.". Grand Commander, the same having been printed and distributed. The Address of the Grand Commander, .R.'.E. '.Sir George W. Gorham, is a faithful exhibit of his zeal and fideUty in the discharge of his many and varied official duties. He states the Grand Commandery is honored by having with them the Rep- resentative of M. .E.". Grand Master, R. .E.'.Sir Freeman C. Hersey, Inspector of the Second Templar District. Having been compelled to relinquish the duties of the office of Grand Commander from February 3 to April 27 to the Deputy Grand Commander, he pays fitting tribute to the services rendered by this v.". E.'.Sir Knight, saying that he was a true and courteous Knight, proficient in all forms of Templar work, thoroughly conversant with the Code of Statutes, discharging the duties of his office with rare ability, and he tendered his thanks for the same. He pays fitting tribute to the memory of the former Grand Recorder, Sir Warren G. Reynolds, also E.'.Sir Collins L. Piper, Past Grand Captain General, who had passed away during the year. He also records that all the Commanderies but one observed Christmas Day with im- pressive ceremonies. His Dispensations were few in number, and were all granted for Constitutional purposes. He refused to grant one petition to ballot upon a candidate out of time, saying that he is firmly of the opinion that the Grand Com- mander should never exercise his powers in matters of this kind, unless under the most extraordinary circumstances. We excerpt from his Address the following: "As true followers of Christ it is our duty to go forward and try and carry out the teachings of our divine Master, ' Whatso- ever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.' 106 GRAND COMMAXDEHY OF MASS. AND E. I. "The Order of Christian Knighthood is a strong and mighty, force on the side of truth and righteousness, and it is our duty to see to it that the high and lofty principles of our Order are carried forward to even greater fruition than in the past. "As long as our Templar Asylums are filled by worthy and high-minded men the progress and development of our Order is assured, and the quickening influence of Christian Knight- hood T^ill be felt throughout this nation." The Committee on Grievances report that nothing had been presented to them for their consideration and were pleased to report that harmony prevailed throughout the Jurisdiction. The Templar dead of their own Jurisdiction and of sister Grand Jurisdictions was passed upon by the Committee on Necrology, who rendered an able report, occupying some eight pages of the Proceedings. From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the member- ship June 1, 1909, is 2,481, making a net gain of 41 for the year. The Report on Correspondence is bj' R.'.E.'.Sir March O. Perkins, Past Grand Commander, in which he ably reviews the Proceedings of the Grand Bodies with the exception of New Mexico, and like all other matters that emanate from his hands, is an able and readable report. JMassachusetts and Rhode Island is courteously mentioned, two pages being devoted to the same, in which he says that our review "ably reflects the peace and prosperity throughout the Templar world and dis- plays Knightly covu-tesy throughout." Sir Frank D. Dewey, R.'.E.". Grand Commander. Sir Henry H. Ross, E.". Grand Recorder. Sir ^larsh 0. Perkins, Correspondent. The next Annual Conclave to be held in the city of Burling- ton, on the second Tuesday in June, 1910. Virginia, 1908 The Eighty-sixth Annual Conclave was held in the city of Richmond, October 19, 1908, all the Grand Officers being present. After the usual opening ceremony the Committee REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 107 on Credentials reported that all constituent Commanderies were represented, and that there were also present the Repre- sentatives of twenty-one sister Grand Jurisdictions, among whom we fail to find the Representative of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Address of the Grand Commander occupies twenty-three pages of the Proceedings, faithfully reviewing the transactions of his office during his incumbency. He says kind things about the Grand Recorder, James B. Blanks, stating that his knowledge of Templar law well qualifies him for the responsible position which he holds in that body, and that he has been a tower of strength to the Grand Commander during his ad- ministration. The Report of the Grand Recorder shows that the member- ship October 1, 1908, was 2,735, a gain for the year of 172. The Report of the Grand Treasurer shows balance of $1,442.18, and Triennial Fund of $1,103.31. No Report on Correspondence. Sir William C. Stephenson, R.'.E.'. Grand Commander. Sir James B. Blanks, E. ".Grand Recorder. R.'.E.'.Sir James E. Alexander, Correspondent. Washington, 1909 The Twenty-second Annual Proceedings, held at Seattle, Wash., June 14, 1909. The Grand Commandery opened in Ample and Knightly form, the Sir Knights being led in their devotions by Rev. Sir Knight E. C: McDermoth, Acting Grand Prelate. Roll-call of the Commanderies showed that all were represented. The Committee on Credentials reported that all the Grand Officers were present, nine Past Grand Com- manders, and the Representatives of the constituent Com- manderies. The first business in order was the reading at the head of the lines of the notices sent out by Grand Encampment of the deaths of M.-.E.'.Sirs Hugh McCurdy, Reuben H. Lloyd and Henry L. Palmer. This was followed by the reception of M.'.E.'.Sir Stephen 108 GRAND COMMANDERY OF MASS. AND R. I. Court, Past Preceptor of Victoria, B.C., and a member of the Great Priory of Canada, who was introduced and welcomed and conducted to a seat in the East. The Grand Commander's Address followed in which he says that throughout the Jurisdiction harmony prevails, and pros- perity is manifest by the goodly increase in membership. His Decisions were few in number and were all in accordance with Constitutional law. We note he granted Dispensations to receive and ballot on petitions at a Stated Conclave, also to ballot upon four petitions in less than statutory time. He also refused to grant a Dispensation for an application to be balloted upon out of statutory time for the purpose of qualify- ing the petitioner to join the Shrine. In his reply among other things he says: "An applicant who makes a stepping-stone of the Orders of Knighthood to achieve a certain purpose, no matter how laudable that purpose may be, subordinates the Order. The sacred character of the Orders of Knighthood, clothed as they are with the beauties of tradition, history and sentiment, must have little meaning to those who seek them onlj' as a means of securing for themselves some supposedly advanced Masonic standing." And in the above sentiment we heartily concur with R. .E.'. Sir Shaw. Having been asked the question, "^Miat is the Masonic meaning of being a believer in the Christian religion?" R.'.E.'.Sir Shaw responded as follows, and we excerpt the same: "During my incumbency I have on several occasions been asked the question as to 'what is the ilasonic meaning of being a believer in the Christian religion.' It is a question which in time past has probabfy forced itself to the minds of hundreds, when applying for the Orders of Knighthood, a question the meaning of which is too often slightingly or lightly considered and left unsatisfactorily explained. Ajad yet it is a question deeply affecting, in my judgment, the future of the Rite, and should be answered to the satisfaction of our- selves as well as a large group of the JMasonic brethren, who feel the liberal interpretation they put upon the word 'Chris- tianity' is in conflict with the requirements of Knighthood. "I should not attempt to promulgate a certain set doctrine to REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 109 be followed._ I would rather believe that to vow allegiance to and belief in the Christian religion means more than any definition of orthodoxy or heterodoxy. It is something else than an alignment on the question of Trinitarianism or Uni- tarianism. It is not an attempt to enforce any set view as to who or what Jesus of Nazareth was. It is simply a recognition that the finest ideals, the highest aspirations, the noblest altruism, have been fulfilled in him. "With the finer theological definitions of Christianity I believe Masonry cannot afford to meddle. Every man inter- prets those for himself. Templary has nothing to do with creeds or dogmas, recognizes no sects and enforces no peculiar tenets of doctrine to which its candidates must give their assent. When it asks its prospective Knights to swear alle- giance to and belief in the 'Christian religion,' it does so only in that spirit of the immortal Tennyson, who wrote: ' Our little systems have their day, They have their day and cease to be; They are but broken lights of Thee, And thou, O Lord, art more than they.' " Concluding his report he says that he has endeavored "to act and speak as far as in me lies for the best interest of Tem- plary, whether affecting this or other Jurisdictions," and we are of the opinion that he faithfully lived up to his convictions. From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the member- ship is now 1,624, a gain for the year of 192. The Report on Correspondence is by Sir Yancey C. Blalock and occupies 116 pages of the Proceedings. Massachusetts and Rhode Island is courteously mentioned, two pages and a half being devoted to the same. R.'.E.'.Sir Ira M. Swartz, Grand Commander. R. .E.'.Sir Yancey C. Blalock, Grand Recorder and Corre- spondent. The Twenty-third Annual Conclave to be held in Tacoma, Wash., June 29 and 30, 1910. West Virginia, 1909 The Thirty-fifth Annual Conclave was held in the Asylum of Calvary Commandery, No. 3, in the city of Parkersburg, Wednesday, May 19, 1909, all the Grand Officers being present, 110 GRAND COMMANDERY OF MASS. AND R. I. eleven Past Grand Commanders and the Representatives of the constituent Commanderies. Immediately after the appointment of Committees, the Grand Commander delivered his Address, which occupies seven pages, and is an able summary of the affairs of his office during the year. Dispensations were few in number, and were duly approved. He made no Decisions. The Report of the Grand Treasurer shows a balance on hand in the general fimd of $4,767.87, and a Triennial Fimd of $1,686.20, making a total of $6,454.08. From the Grand Recorder's Report we find that the member- ship at date was 2,906, a gain of 197. Following the Report of the Grand Recorder was the recep- tion of the Grand Representatives from other Grand Jurisdic- tions, twenty-eight of whom were received and cordially wel- comed, but we fail to find the Representative of ^Massachusetts and Rhode Island among the number. Past Grand Commander Willard J. Rowland, who was sick with typhoid fever, was kindly remembered by a telegram of sympathy to be sent by the Grand Recorder. The Report of the Committee on Necrology was then ren- dered, in which they recommend that the same be given suit- able place in the printed Proceedings. It contains full and kindly mention of the ^lasonic history and doings of the departed Fraters of their own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. The Report on Correspondence is from the pen of Walling W. Van Winkle, and occupies 130 pages of the Proceedings. Forty-one of the Grand Jurisdictions are reviewed, also the Grand ^Master's ad interim report to the Grand Encampment and the Grand Priory of Canada, — the Proceedings of ^Ion- tana, New Mexico, Virginia, England and Wales not having been received. ^Massachusetts and Rhode Island receives a courteous review of four pages. Grand Recorder Rowell is complimented by the remark that he has presented another of his elaborate and instructive reports accompanied by tabu- lated statistics. Commenting upon our first Report on Corre- spondence he saj's we "need not be abashed as our ability is well known, and that our Report is all that we say for it, a REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 111 plain, honest, fair and courteous review," for which he has our heartfelt thanks. We excerpt the following from his conclusion: "It is with a feeling of relief that the last milestone in our reviewing journey is reached, however much we enjoyed the trip. It is indisputable we derived pleasure meeting along the road our fellow correspondents, of longer or shorter ac- quaintance and service, and a few for the first time. We en- joyed meeting them and their company while with them. It was labor, hard labor, but we enjoyed it, buoyed with the hope that our work may impart to our fraters information of interest and value of Templar transactions in the Order everywhere." "There is much drudgery in writing these reports. If it could be removed, the work would be pleasanter. We do not, however, accept it as a task to be done in a perfunctory way, but to read carefully, cull with discrimination, and present to our readers the best there' is in the Proceedings of the Knights Templar Grand Bodies. We hope we have succeeded." R.'.E.'.Sir Wilham T. E-ittenhouse, Grand Commander. E.'.Sir Francis E. Nichols, Grand Recorder. R.'.E.'.Sir Walling W. Van Winkle, Correspondent. The Thirty-sixth Annual Conclave to be held in the city of Sistersville, the third Wednesday in May, 1910. Wisconsin, 1908 The Fiftieth Annual Conclave was convened in the Asylum of Robert Macoy Commandery, Masonic Temple, at Madison, Wis., Tuesday morning, October 13, 1908, at 10.00 o'clock, all the Grand Officers being present except the Grand Warder. . Among the pleasing events of the opening of the Conclave was the reception of M. '.E.'.Sir Henry L. Palmer, Past Grand Master of the Grand Encampment and the first Grand Com- mander of Wisconsin, and David H. Wright, the first Grand Prelate, who were received and formally welcomed. The first business was the appointment of a Committee on 112 GRAND COMMANDEKY OF MASS. AND E. I. Credentials, and then followed the Address of the Grand Commander, which is an interesting and able document. We excerpt the following: "Assembled as we are today by the grace of God, in this, our Fiftieth Annual Conclave of the Grand Commandery of Wis- consin, permit me to offer my sincere greetings and congratula- tions upon the successful fulfillment of this happy event, and I take pleasure in extending a most hearty welcome to our invited guests and to every member of this Grand Body. "We are rounding out the first cycle of the history of our existence, and I ask your indulgence while I transgress for a moment and cast a retrospective glance at our past history. "On Thursday evening, the 20th day of October, A.D. 1859, A.O. 741, by notice of the authority of the M.-.E.-.Sir Benja- min Brown French, Grand Master of Knights Templar of the United States of America, there assembled, agreeable to a call from the Eminent Commanders in the State of Wisconsin, in the Asylum of Robert Macoy Commandery, No. 3, in the city of Madison, the Representatives of three Commanderies having a total membership of only 111 Sir Knights, and proceeded to form the Grand Commandery of the State of Wisconsin. "Truly history repeats itself, and, Sir Knights, I cannot at this time permit the opportunity to pass without referring to an event which is probably unparalleled in the chronicles of Templarism in the United States. It is forty-nine years ago that these valiant Templars met in the Asylum of Robert Macoy Commandery, No. 3, ahd proceeded to organize this Grand Commandery. "Forty-nine years ago these same Templars requested Sir Henry L. Palmer to preside over the special Convention, con- sisting of the officers of the three Commanderies then in the State of Wisconsin, and Sir David H. Wright, as Prelate, led in the usual devotional exercises at the opening and closing of the Conclave. "Today, through a divine Dispensation, they are graciously permitted still to be in our midst and I take pleasure at this time to ask the two Sir Kiiights to honor the Fiftieth Conclave of this Grand Commandery and resume the stations which they occupied during the inception of this Grand Body. This organi- zation, which has prospered and thrived under their careful guidance, has become a prominent factor of the Grand En- campment of the United States, of which it has the honor to be a member. "Sir Knights, words fail me at this time. We may in the REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 113 future be enthused by the glories of a thousand sunrisings, or awed by the beauties of a thousand sunsets, yet the memories of this day should remain indelibly impressed upon your minds." The Address contains Necrological list of the honored dead of their own and. sister Grand Jurisdictions. He granted one Dispensation to ballot upon a candidate out of statutory time. In his Address is a letter from the Grand Master relative to the interpretation of the Ritual, which is given almost in full, with the exception of words and responses. In the opinion of the writer this matter should have been left out of the Proceedings, especially that part which relates to pages 76 and 98 of the Ritual. Applications were received for Dispensations for two Com- manderies, one to be located at Delavan and the other at Viroqua, Wis. In the matter of Foreign Correspondence we excerpt from his Address: "It seems to me that it is due our Foreign Correspondent to draw the attention of the Sir Knights to the beautiful lessons which may be learned by carefully studying the excerpts sub- mitted from the Proceedings and Addresses -of the Jurisdictions reviewed. "After months of perusal and preparation to submit in a con- cise form the noblest thoughts and the highest ideals of the Templars of the civilized world, it appears to me that these excerpts are worthy of more than a single perusal by our members. "While each and every Sir Knight may have the opportunity to read them, yet it is a fact that they do not, for the reason that very few are aware of the existence of such a publication as the Report on Foreign Correspondence, and if so they do not know its true contents. " I am of the firm opinion that if extracts at times were read when Commanderies were not over-burdened with work — that they would be very much enjoyed and prove profitable to the members and redound to the credit of Templarism. I would, therefore, suggest the appointment of a committee to whom the following question should be referred: 'How may the Foreign Correspondence be utilized so as best to subserve our interest?' and have them report at the next Conclave of the Grand Commandery." 114 GRAND COMMANDEET OF MASS. AND K. I. Also the following excerpt from his conclusion is worthy of note: "Sir Knights, it would be presumptuous on my part in any way to remind you of your duty. Duty is the highest obliga- tion of Masonry; it is the foundation of our faith. A Sir Knight who has passed through the various stations and presided over the destinies of a Cbmmandery knows the lesson and knows it well. Brotherly love, truth and right; the defence of the weak and those wronged by the great and powerful; swayed neither by fear nor favor, — these are our commands, the dogmas of our faith. Duty, love and kindness must be innate. The will to exercise these Christian virtues must be developed within us. "No words of mine need' spur you on. Then let us press forward to victory with faith undaunted, and ever remember the words of our deceased Frater, Eugene S. Elliott: "'To fight the fight for Right, for Truth, for God, nor yield our swords, nor la}- oui- armor down while foe remains, till victory is won and our Commander's plaudit is assured!'" From the Report of the Grand Recorder we find that the membership September 30, 1908, was 4,139, a net gain for the year of 204. The Grand Trustees report that the Fund was $7,403.16. From the Report of the Committee on Necrology we excerpt the following: " Do you think that I fear you, good man Death ? Then, Sire, you do not know. For your grim white face and your frosty breath Bring naught to me but a signal of love, My Father sent you, He dwelleth above, And I am ready to go. " The Battle is over and we have won. Perhaps you did not know That just tonight the setting sun Saw the turning of the foe. If you had come in the thick of the fray, I might not have wanted to turn away; Now I am ready to go. " Please steady me into your little boat. Your arm — yes, thank you — there, I think when we are well afloat I'll sleep, if you do not care. If I'm not awake when we reach the shore. Tell Father I stayed till the battle was o'er, And tried to do my share." REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 116 The Report of the Committee on Correspondence was sub- mitted by E.".Sir Nathan C. Griffin, and occupies 139 pages of the Proceedings, and, like all others from this Jurisdiction, is an able document. Massachusetts and Rhode Island receives courteous notice by five pages. E.'.Sir William H. Webb, Grand Commander. E.'.Sir William W. Perry, Grand Recorder. E.".Sir Nathan C. Griffin, Correspondent. The Fifty-first Annual Conclave to be held in the city of Ashland, Tuesday, October 12, 1909. Wyoming, 1909 The Twenty-second Annual Conclave, held in the city of Rawlins, April 7, 1909, all the Grand Officers being present with the exception of the Grand Junior Warden and the Grand Sword Bearer. There were present six Past Grand Com- manders, the Representatives of the constituent Commanderies and eighteen Representatives of sister Grand Jurisdictions, Massachusetts and Rhode Island not being represented. Following the Report of the Committee on Credentials the Annual Address of the Grand Commander was in order. This is a brief document, occupying two and one-half pages of the Proceedings. The Grand Treasurer's Report shows a balance on hand of $668.76. From the Report of the Grand Recorder we find the present membership is 522, a gain for the year of four. No Grievances or Appeals were reported by that Committee, which shows the harmonious condition of the Jurisdiction. The Committee on Necrology rendered their report, giving kindly mention of the departed Fraters of their own and sister Grand Jurisdictions. U^-An Amendment to the By-Laws was duly proposed and unanimously adopted, that, " Before a Companion of the Red Cross shall have conferred upon him the Orders of the Temple and Malta he shall obtain a regulation uniform, or shall deposit a sufficient sum of money with the Recorder of the Constituent Commandery to secure 116 GRAND COMMANDEEY OF MASS. AND B. I. the same, provided, however, that officers of the Regular Army and Navy and ministers of the Gospel are not subject to the above requirements." The Report on Corresponden<;e is from the pen of Sir Adrian J. Parshall, Past Grand Commander, and the same is a review of all the Proceedings of the Grand Jurisdictions excepting Arizona, New Mexico and Virginia. Frater Parshall writes a readable and interesting review, criticizing where required, and commenting whenever and wherever he sees proper to make a point. Massachusetts and Rhode Island receives due notice, in which he says that the Grand Commander of this great Jurisdiction seems to have performed his whole duty. Rela- tive to our Report he says: "It requires no little courage on the part of any Sir Knight, even with the training and experience of Brother Rowell, to take up the story where one so distinguished as our Grand Master left off." He further states he did not desire to make comparisons of the quality of the two reports as it would not be fair to do so, saying that our Grand Master had no superior as an exponent of the dignified, courteous and learned school of reviewers. He also says we need make no apologies as we had prepared a report, which, as a review, is comprehensive and complete. He says he enjoys frequent comment and expression of personal opinion to a greater extent than he finds in our initial pro- duction, but perhaps we do not, and he is just right in his statement. It is our opinion that they should be confined strictly to transcript of the transactions held by the Grand Jurisdictions which may be instructive and interesting to the Fraters of our own Jurisdiction who may read the same. The matter of personal opinion or personal ideasjelative to matters that transpire in the Grand Bodies does not in our opinion, to use a homely phrase, "cut any ice" in the matter of giving to the Fraters of our own Jurisdiction the information that a review is supposed to convey. REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE 117 Frater Parshall has my warmest fraternal thanks for his kindly remembrance. There are many things that he writes about in his review that we should like to excerpt or pass upon, but space and time forbid. Sir Jesse Converse, Grand Commander. Sir Adrian J. Parshall, Grand Recorder and Correspondent. CONCLUSION The Reports of the forty-three Grand Commanderies have passed through our hands, and if the brief gleanings we have presented from them give but one tithe of the pleasure to those to whom they are presented, which we have derived in their perusal, we shall be satisfied. From these various reports we are led to believe that peace and prosperity prevail, and almost xmiversal harmony exists in our Order throughout the entire country. Our laws are now generally understood, and we find but little in the acts of our Fraters to criticize. We find but little legislation out- side the usual routine reports and elections, and this we look upon as the best evidence of a healthy condition. These reports contain an unusual amount of pleasant reading as well as useful information, and pleasant allusions to ourself, and we beg to tender to all our warmest thanks for the same. In all of these Proceedings there are many things we would have gladly noticed, but amid all the bright sayings which we have read it is impossible to tell which is the brightest, and so, taking a saying here and there, we have endeavored in our humble way to give some idea of the bright lights among our Templar hosts. Our task is done, — and we could wish it were better done, and that this Grand Body could have been made better ac- quainted with the sayings and doings of our sister Jurisdictions. Courteously and fraternally yours. "^Vt^j^ Cornell University Library HS757.M41 A5 1909 Report on correspondence, Grand Commande 3 1924 030 372 688 olin.anx