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      The Waller Masonic Lodge
      #808 AF & AM   E-Newsletter

             September 2007


Lead Stories

The pictures of the Past Worshipful Masters being hung on the wall was started in 1959.

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Why is it hard for so many historians to believe that Freemasonry was not a descendant of the Knights Templar?

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Have you bought a new computer or maybe your company is replacing theirs?

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How many times have you heard someone ask a question and as an answer, you hear, “Is the pope a Catholic?” for an indisputable yes?

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Departments

The Secretary's Corner

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Hapenings At Waller Lodge

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Members Celebrations

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This Months Humor

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This Months Funnies

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The Famous Masons Series

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The "Old Tiler Talks" Series

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Making Good Men Better

This is a great motto, if used properly, but lodges can quickly lose the meaning and spirit of this fine reminder if it is not monitored constantly by all brethren. There are many lodges where the brethren use these words, but don’t always make an attempt to live them.

To make good men better, it takes "better men" to be role models for them " to see and learn from. We must remember, since December young men 18, 19 and 20 year old can become Masons in Texas.

We are all part of this imperfect lodge, which prevents us from always being the model we should be all the time, but our charge is to learn to be as perfect as possible. How can we accomplish this if we do not make any attempt to "mind our manners" when in the lodge, or fraternizing with other masons?

Should you meet a mason for the first time on the street you would not address him with distaste, nor would you choose to tell him racist jokes or negative things about your lodge. Of course you wouldn't, because you are proud of your lodge! If you do any of these things in your lodge, are you not defacing the very thing you have sworn to uphold?

For those who have yet to mature into the world, here is the Masonic warning: This is not high school, college, or a "frat". It is not a place where you "let your hair down", or tell lewd jokes at the expense of another to make yourself feel more important.

It is a place where masons "meet to work"; a place meant to be a haven clear of all negatives toward each other, a place to model who can best work and agree.



A man was telling his neighbor, "I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art. It's perfect.."

"Really," answered the neighbor, "What kind is it?"

The man looked at his watch and said “Twelve thirty."



Some Early Worshipful Masters
Starting A New Series On Waller Lodge History

PAST MASTERS

The pictures of the Past Worshipful Masters being hung on the wall was started in 1959 when a committee consisting of Brothers Wayne Schultz, Bill Green and A.J. Glasco was formed for that purpose.

DR. T.J. AHRENDALE

Dr. Ahrendale and his brother owned a drug store on Main St. near Key St.. It was rebuilt after it was destroyed by the hurricane of 1900

JOHN C. JENKINS

John C. Jenkins was elected as the Constable in 1890 at the age of 20 and served many years in law enforcement. In 1920 he bought the Charlie Umland Hardware Store

In 1925 Waller Precinct and Past Master J.C. Jenkins arrested two young boys who were burglarizing the Umland’s Hardware Store in Waller. They were already wanted for a burglarizing a store on Washington Avenue in Houston. One of the boys who was thought to be 15 years old at the time (he was really 16 ) was Clyde Barrow who afterward, along with Bonnie Parker, went on a 9 year crime spree during which, he had killed 9 people. The crime spree ended when they were killed in an ambush where law officers had set up a trap in Louisiana..

CARL PALM

Carl owned a grocery store in Waller that was destroyed by the hurricane of 1900. He later bought a store building that is believed to have been the old original Sledge General Store It is believed to be the building owned by J.H. Reinhardt that was on FM 362 near Waller Street.

A. W. UMLAND

Brother A.W. Umland, or Uncle Albert as he was known by the Brothers, was one of the mainstays of the early Waller Lodge. He was elected Worshipful Master nine different times. One example of Brother Umland's dedication to Masonry came about because he was the only one in the area who knew all of the work and could put on all of the degrees.

He rode his horse over to Brookshire to help the Bookshire Lodge put on some degrees. He was the Worshipful Master for an E.A. degree and gave the lecture and charge. Then he did a Fellowcraft degree and gave the lecture and charge. When it was finished he did a Master Mason degree and gave the lecture and charge for it.

When midnight came, by Grand Lodge law they had to close the Lodge. So Brother Umland had to close the Lodge with the degrees unfinished. After midnight he opened a Master Masons Lodge and when they finally finished the degrees it was nearly daylight. He got on his horse after daylight and started riding toward Waller. He arrived in Waller that morning just in time to open the bank for business and start his day's work.

Another story about “Uncle Albert” was his dedication to honesty in the bank. If the accounts were out of balance from the day before, Albert would not open the bank for business until the error was found and corrected.

GEORGE P. ZEISS

In 1897, Brother Zeiss founded the first bank in Waller, the German American Bank on Main Street where Bob’s Barber Shop and the parking lot next door is currently located. Brother A.W. Umland was the cashier. The bank failed in 1914 and Brother Zeiss died shortly afterward.

WORSHIPFUL MASTERS WHO SERVED MULTIPLE TERMS

To explain why Waller and many other Lodges had Worshipful Masters who had been elected multiple times, it was usually before, during and after wars when many of the young men were in the armed services. During those times it was often difficult to even get enough men together to be able to open a Master Mason Lodge, let alone fill the chairs.

Brother A.W. Umland was elected Worshipful Master nine different times

Brother J.C. Jenkins was elected Worshipful Master eight different times.

Brother A.W. Lay was elected Worshipful Master four different times.

Brothers R.L Burton, J.A. McWilliams and W.E Ellis were elected Worshipful Master three different times.

Brothers H.C. Cater and R. Benayd were both elected Worshipful Master two different times.



Happenings At Waller Lodge
by John "Corky" Daut P.M.

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At the August stated meeting, the Awards Committee recommended Mr. Will Day of Day’s Tire and Auto shop in Waller to receive the Community Builder Award for 2007. The motion was approved. He and his shop are definitely an asset to the Waller Community.

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Senior Warden Bob Podvin spoke on the importance of all who can joining in at the study nights. We have a Fellowcraft degree coming soon and will be receiving the D.D.G.M. in September.

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After a continued discussion on the Liendo fundraiser, a motion was made, seconded and passed to work with the Hempstead Lodge again for the 2007. It was also agreed that the committees need to reduce part of the menu items this year to reduce the amount of work, simplify orders and totaling bills.

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In answer to a letter from the W.M.&.S.A. a $100 donation was approved to help defray expenses for the “Blue Jeans and Boots Banquet” for the Grand Master to be held at Katy VFW hall on Feb. 8, 2008.

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The Secretary read a report, that there hadn’t been a dues increase in 16 years and now over half of the Lodge’s income has to come from fundraisers. He suggested that we have a discussion about raising the annual dues and maybe the cost of Endowed Memberships. Of course the idea met with very strong resistance.

When you think about it, it seems strange that Brothers, who without a second thought, gave $20 to keep from having to work in a bar-b-que chicken fund raiser last summer, wouldn’t consider paying $20 a year more in annual dues to help reduce the need for fund raisers.

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There was a brief discussion about having an annual “Fish Fry” similar to the very successful one Brookshire Lodge has had every year for the past 20 years to raise money for their Annual Scholarship fund. This year they cleared over $7,000. Someone said, ”We couldn’t do that good. They’ve been doing it for 20 years.” Of course, we couldn’t do that well at first. At the same time, we never will if we don’t start doing it. And, to make it work like it has for Brookshire Lodge, all of us would have to work at it like the Brothers at Brookshire Lodge do.

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Almost everyone who has sat in it, knows the Masters chair is the hottest spot in the Lodge room. Most Past Masters thought it was the just nerves or pressure, but an air condition repair man explained it. The warm air return is near the floor, in the wall behind the Senior Wardens station and the cold air ducts blow out from the same wall near the ceiling. Therefore the cold air is being sucked back down to the return vent before it can get far enough into the room to cool the east end. Brother Wes volunteered to run a new cold air duct to the east end of the Lodge room if the Lodge pay, for the material. Since S.W. Podvin who will be in the hot seat next year, said he would even pay for the material if he had to, to get it.

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The Waller Chapter of the Eastern Star is planning to have a big Dinner Theater Show on Saturday, October 20th.. Dinner will be at 5:00 PM with the show to follow.

Brother Herman Flanagan should have some flyers and tickets for sale at our September 11 (and I am sure at the October Meeting) meeting night. The price will be $8.00 person.

Mrs. Diane Flanagan, the Worthy Matron, says she spoke to the show coordinator and it sounds like the show will be an excellent comedy.

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And, don't forget, that the Eastern Star has volunteered to furnish the meal for the September meeting and from little things I hear, you do not want to miss that one. Yum yum.

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SICKNESS AND DISTRESS
Please say a prayer for,

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Brother Jimmy Hooper got a report from the doctor that the old cancer has returned.

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Anna Mathis (Aliska Rape’s mother) should have had her surgery by now.

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Corky finally got his new choppers and found that getting used to them can be very distressful.

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Becky Brown (the W.M.'s wife) should have a new son by the time someone opens the stated meeting Tuesday night.




NONE YET, BUT STILL LOOKING!!!

Have you bought a new computer or plan to or maybe the company where you work is replacing one?

The Lodge office computer was a good one in 2000, but old, when it was donated about 5 years ago. It has a tiny hard drive, is painfully slow, uses the Windows 98 operating system that only uses older version programs.

Those older programs do not recognize the files we get from the Grand Lodge, and from my home computer, that were created by newer programs like Word 2000, Excel 2000, Quick Books and Lodge Info.

If you or your company has an unused, more modern computer, please consider donating it to the Lodge. All of your information will be erased.

Contact Corky at pineilse@swbell.net or by phone.



Don’t forget, for the September meeting we will have District Deputy Grand Master Robert “Big” Bird as a guest, well actually it will an official visit. Tell the ladies that his wife who loves to play “chicken foot” hopes to be there also.



Celebrations For August

Masonic Anniversaries
BrotherYears
James B. Riley51
Maurice Tucker48
Herman S. Flannagan32
Kenneth L. Cones 9
Happy Birthday To
BrotherAge
James B. Haney75
Robert J. Blackman65
J. Fred Loofs60
Louis Schiel 52
Michael Risley50
Michell R. Bosarge35



The Secretary's Corner
By Corky

GOOD NEWS

During the August stated meeting there was a spirited discussion about the need to have an annual dues increase, after 16 years of price increases, since the last dues increase in 1991.

Most suggestions seem to have been about having better or more fundraisers to ease the problem that our dues and endowment income only covers about 50 percent of our needs. Then Brother Mike Risley stood up and suggested we should just cut back on our electricity usage. But, kicking the V.F.W. and O.E.S. out of the building or having meetings without air condition or heat or didn’t seem practical. But, he was on the right track. Reducing the electric bill was a good idea.

In fact, I had already taken a step to lower our electric bills, but that night I still didn’t have enough figures together to realize how successful that step had been.

In April, we received a letter from Reliant, our electrical provider. They were offering a new 24 month contract with reduced rates for qualifying commercial customers . A straight 15 cents per Kw. hour and no demand charges. With an OK from the Worshipful Master, I signed up for the new plan. The results so far are really dramatic as is shown by a comparison of the last 3 bills with last year’s,

June 2006 $158.46 -June 2007 $112.42
July 2006 $288.74 -July 2007 $180.90
Aug. 2006 $257.64 -Aug. 2007 $90.00

The amount of savings was almost unbelievable, but based on those 3 months it could be the equivalent of raising the annual dues from $20 to $40 dollars a year.



This Month's Humor

If you switch to the on-line version of the Waller Masonic Lodge newsletter. You’ll see comics like this one and on-line subscription is free. Just e-mail Corky at pineilse@swbell.net to switch

(This was an advertisement in the humor section of
the print version of the September newsletter.)




Why Not, The Knights Templar?

By John "Corky" Daut

Since no historian, Masonic or non-Mason, knows the true beginnings of Freemasonry, why is it hard for so many historians to believe that Freemasonry was not a descendant of the Knights Templar? Second, why do Masons need someone else to tell them instead of thinking for themselves.

The following are some of the pieces of evidence that all Masons should consider.

On Friday the thirteenth of October 1307, Jaques de Molay Grand Master of the Templars, and sixty of his senior knights were arrested in Paris: simultaneously many thousands of other Templars were arrested throughout the realm of France. A few escaped arrest and once the word got out the remainder simply fled.

Immediately after the first arrests the King's agents visited the Templar treasury. The great treasure (which was the objective of outlawing and arresting the Templars) had vanished without trace, as had almost the entire Templar fleet French Masonic ritual indicates that Scotland was designated as the place of refuge or safe keeping for the Templar treasures.

In 1312, after the Council of Vienne, and under extreme pressure from King Philip IV, Pope Clement V issued an edict officially dissolving and outlawing the Knights Templar Order. Under threat of excommunication, it ordered every country's ruler to seize Templar property for the Catholic Church and execute the Templars.

Most kings and nobles who had been supporting the Knights up until that time, finally gave up and dissolved the orders. Most, however, they were not so brutal as the French. In England many Knights were arrested and tried, but not found guilty. Templars did find a relative safe haven in Scotland, since Robert the Bruce, the King of Scots, had already been excommunicated for other reasons, and was therefore not disposed to pay heed to Papal commands.

The layout of Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh Scotland, which was started in 1440, is an exact replica of the ground plan of the Third Temple, built in Jerusalem by Herod and destroyed in the First Century by the Romans. A statue in the Rosslyn Chapel that was carved at the time the Chapel was being built shows a man kneeling between two pillars. He is blindfolded and has a running noose about his neck. His feet are in a strange and unnatural posture and in his left hand he holds a bible. The end of the rope about his neck is held by another man who is wearing the mantle of a Knight Templar. This was two hundred and seventy years before the claimed founding of the Craft in England.

Rosslyn Chapel was built by Sir William St Clair Last St Clair Earl of Orkney. He was a direct descent of William de St Clair, the Last Templar Grand Master of Scotland to house artifacts brought by the Knights Templar to Scotland in 1126. Between 1118 and 1128 the Templars excavated the ruins of Herod's Temple in Jerusalem. This was proven in 1860 when the British Army Engineers mounted an expedition to Jerusalem. They excavated beneath Temple Mount and found many deep tunnels in which they also found and recorded Templar artifacts.

Degrees in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite such as the Knight of Saint Andrew, the Knight of Rose-Croix, and the 32nd Degree in Consistory make reference to a "Masonic Knights Templar" connection.

A few more thoughts;

Why did the Templars completely disappear during the 1100's when they were in no danger in Scotland?

Why did Masonic Lodges develop in Scotland and England and spread to the aristocracy in Europe. There were many times more Cathedrals being built in France, Spain, Portugal, and Germany and many times more stone masons in Europe?

You can understand how the Knights Templar may have required blood oaths from all members to prevent revealing any information about the order, since they were outlawed throughout the world by the Catholic Church, except in Scotland. But, why would stone masons need them to protect the secrets of building a church?

Why is the Masonic youth organization for young men, the Order of DeMolay, be named after the last Grand Master of the Templar order, Templar Jacques de Molay who was executed?

Why is the Masonic Knights Templar, one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the United States, and the largest Templar order in the world? The Order's efforts include the "Knights Templar Eye Foundation", and the "Knights Templar Holy Land Pilgrimage".

Why is the Knights Templar the final order joined in the York Rite Masons. (Unlike other Masonic bodies which only require a belief in a Supreme Being regardless of religion, membership in Knights Templar is open only to Master Masons who promise to defend the Christian faith, as did the original Knights Templar founded in the 12th Century .)

Actually, some historians have make the connection between the Knights Templar and Masonry, such as John Robinson in Born in Blood and Dr. Robert Lomas in The Origins of Freemasonry




The Famous Masons Series  


P.G. Wodehouse

[wodehouse]

October 15, 1881 - February 14, 1975

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was born in Guildford in 1881 and educated at Dulwich College. After working for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank for two years, he left to earn his living as a journalist and storywriter, writing almost 100 books of light fiction. He was created a Knight of the British Empire in the New Years Honours List in 1975.

Acclaimed as the greatest comic writer of the twentieth century for, among other things, his creation of Bertie Wooster and his manservant, Jeeves, Wodehouse makes several references to Freemasonry in his writings.

His radio broadcasts of five talks describing his experiences as British Civilian Prisoner No. 796 during World War II were mistaken as pro-German and led to unfounded—and later discredited—accusations that he had collaborated with the Nazis

Phelps tells us that Wodehouse's "embarrassment at inadvertantly slandering [Roland] Pertwee triggered his resignation from their mutual Masonic Lodge and from the Masons."

Initiated : March 22, 1929
Passed : April 26, 1929
Raised : November 22, 1929
Demitted : November 10, 1934
Jerusalem Lodge No. 197, London




Christopher Wren

October 20, 1632 - February, 25, 1723

Gifted mathematician, scientist and architect Sir Christopher Wren was born in East Knoyle, Wiltshire. A founding member of the Royal Society, his many accomplishments included the designs for St. Paul's Cathedral. He personally oversaw the work from 1675 to completion in 1710.

Records in the Royal Society archives state Bro. Wren was adopted into the Fraternity of Accepted Masons on May 18, 1691. "Records of the Lodge Original, No. 1, now the Lodge of Antiquity No. 2" mention him as being Master of the lodge.

In all he left 50 churches, and many buildings at Oxford and Cambridge to remind us of his legacy.

Master: Lodge of Antiquity No. 2





Ed Wynn

November 9, 1886 - June 19, 1966

Born Isaiah Edwin Leopold, Ed was billed in vaudeville and the Ziegfeld Follies as "the Perfect Fool." More a clown, than a comedian in style, he later developed as a character actor.

Host of a variety series, "The Ed Wynn Show" (1949), and later star of a situation comedy show, "The Ed Wynn Show" (1958-1959), Wynn is perhaps best remembered for his role as Uncle Albert in "Mary Poppins" (1964) as well as the likeness and voice of the Mad Hatter in Walt Disney's animated "Alice in Wonderland" (1951). He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role as Mr. Albert Dussell in "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1959).

The epitaph on his niche at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California reads: "Dear God, Thank You."

Member: Philadelphia Lodge No. 9, Pennsylvania





Is (Our Brother) The Pope A Catholic?

By John "Corky" Daut

How many times have you heard someone ask a question like, “Is George Bush from Texas?” and, as an answer, you hear, “Is the pope a Catholic?” for an indisputable yes? I know I've used it myself to emphasize a yes as an answer to a question.

Well sir, it looks like I'll have to start using, “Does a bear poop in the woods?”. The other day, I stumbled upon the assertion that one of the popes was not legally a pope, not even legally a Catholic, and worse yet, it was because he was a Freemason. A little bit of research on the internet quickly brought out the accusations that there was more then one pope who was a Freemason.

I had never given much thought to the fact that two of the Lodge Brothers in this area are practicing Catholics or even the fact that one is also a member of the Knights Of Columbus. Everyone is entitled to his own beliefs, but having a pope as a Lodge Brother is a little different.

Pope” John XXIII

Strong information that “Pope” John XXIII was a practicing Freemason surfaced a few years ago. Other allegations surface that he was also closely associated with Communists and illegally usurped the papacy from the lawfully elected and true Pontiff, Pope Gregory XVII.

The Portugal Daily News

(November 11, 2002)

Fatima International (FI), an historic review organization with offices in Australia , USA, Paraguay and Portugal, has issued a further press release claiming that Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, who was elected as Pope John XXlll in 1958, was a Freemason. In 1994 the Portuguese newspapers "O Dia" and "Correio de Domingo" published a summary of FI's investigations into the case, which stated that Pope John XXlll [Roncalli] had been initiated into a secret society, the Order of Rosicrucians, whilst serving as the Vatican's Charge d'Affairs in Paris during 1935.

The implications of FI's disclosures are of tremendous importance to Catholics worldwide. Under Canon Law any Catholic who becomes a Mason is ipso facto excommunicated from the Church. This means that Roncalli, would have been excommunicated and could not have been elected as a pope. FI also points out that any decrees issued by Roncalli under the mantle of the Papacy would therefore be null and void, including the convoking of the Second Vatican Council in 1962.

  Then long-standing suspicions regarding John XXIII's links to Masonry were further aroused Then in 1977, after his death John XXIII, links to Masonry were further aroused when an advertisement published in the USA, Boston Pilot Magazine, offered for sale replicas of John XXIII's pectoral cross. The cross was decorated with several Masonic symbols and had been authorized for sale by Archbishop Capovilla of Loreto, Italy , with the backing of the Vatican.

Robert Bergin an Australian and a founder member of FI who spent the last years of his life trying to persuade the Vatican to investigate Roncalli' s Masonic connections was unsuccessful. This was of little surprise, because the Vatican also failed to respond to the an Italian journal that published a list of over one hundred bishops and cardinals that it declared were Freemasons.

Pope John Paul II

On January 1, 2004 Pope John Paul II called for a "new world order... based on the goals of the United Nations." Some believe that when a world leader uses this terminology, it can only mean one thing. He is a part of the Luciferian conspiracy to create a totalitarian world government.

Piers Compton, a former Catholic priest, claims the Papacy was actually subverted by the Illuminati in 1958 when John XXIII became Pope. This was the culmination of their centuries old movement to infiltrate and destroy the Catholic Church.

Pope Paul VI

“Cardinal Giovanni Montini, who succeeded John XXIII as Pope Paul VI in 1963, was also a Freemason and socialist. (In 1944 Pope Pius XII had dismissed him as Vatican Secretary of State for conducting secret negotiations with the Communists. 53)

Paul VI revealed his true colors in a speech to the United Nations in 1965: "It is your task here to proclaim the basic rights and duties of Man. You are the interpreters of all that is permanent in human wisdom; we could almost say of its sacred character."

In 1976, a list of 125 top clerics who were Freemasons in contravention of Church law was printed including the heads of Vatican radio and press, Catholic education as well as numerous high officials, Cardinals and Archbishops. It was claimed that because Paul VI was Pope (and a Freemason), nothing came of it. He was quoted in 1969, saying, "We are about to witness a greater freedom in the life of the Church...fewer obligations and fewer inward prohibitions. Formal disciplines will be reduced...every form of intolerance will be abolished." [Freemason thoughts?]

This repudiation of the church's spiritual authority was symbolized by giving the Papal Ring and his Pectoral Cross to Secretary General U Thant who sold them at an auction.”

I would hope that it could be true, because if it is, it could be the first phase in ending centuries of the condemnation of Freemasonry by the Catholic Church and we can exist as allies in trying, each in our own separate, but non-conflicting ways to make mankind better.

SOURCES
Save The Males at; http://www.savethemales.ca/000338.html
Arctic Beacon at; http://www.arcticbeacon.com/19-Sept-2006.html
Answers.com - Pope John XXIII at; http://www.answers.com/topic/pope-john-xxiii
Answers.com - Criticism of Pope John II at; http://www.answers.com/topic/pope-john-ii





Here are some of the "funnies" our grandparents enjoyed.




The Old Tiler Talks

To Wait How Long
By Carl Claudy

From the Old Tiler's Talk - by Carl H. Claudy, The Temple Publishers

"Old Tiler," began the New Brother, "do you think I ought to be a Chapter Mason and a Commandery Mason and a Scottish Rite Mason right away?"

"That's a rather large question," objected the Old Tiler. "Why do you ask?"

"I am constantly asked to join these bodies," answered the New Brother. "It seems to me I ought to wait until I know more about Masonry before I go farther."

"I agree with you," answered the Old Tiler, heartily.

"You just said it was too large a question to answer right off," cried the New Brother.

"That was before you told me how you felt," countered the Old Tiler. "No man should go farther in Masonry as long as he feels he should wait. But if you had said that your interest was flagging, and that you wanted to go ahead and explore, to refind the thrill of the third degree, I would probably have told you I agreed with you heartily."

"Seems to me," answered the New Brother,

"that the Grand Lodge might profitably make a rule that no Master Mason could apply for the degrees in any other Masonic body until they have been Master Masons for six months or a year.

"You are not the only, or the first Mason, to think that," answered the Old Tiler. "But that is a very large question indeed, and much can be said on both sides."

"Won't you tell me both sides?" asked the New Brother.

"I'll try," answered the Old Tiler. "The Grand Lodge side of it is simple enough; it is obvious that if there were only the three degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry a man could not divide his attention, his money, and his time with them and any other Masonic bodies. But we have Capitular degrees and Commandery degrees and Cryptic degrees; and Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite degrees, and the Shrine; while the Shrine is not a Masonic body, yet it is a goal for many Masons, so it enters into the problem. Those who propose that Grand Lodge forbid newly made Master Masons applying for the degrees in Chapter or Rite until after a lapse of a year, have in mind that if a man has only his lodge to go to, he will learn some Masonry, get the habit, and so, when he does take the other degrees, he will not forget his Alma Mater."

"Those who think the Grand Lodge should not make such a regulation, often believe that it should be made by the other bodies. Such Masons think that Capitular Masonry and Scottish Rite Masonry would be stronger and better if they refused any candidates who had not at least a year's experience in the Symbolic lodge. A college demands certain scholastic standards of its freshmen. Many demand a high school diploma, or its equivalent. A college has a right to say on what terms it will accept students. But the high school never says 'you mustn't apply to the college without a high school diploma.' The high school doesn't attempt to tell the college what it must or must not do, or who it can and cannot have as freshmen. It but prepares those willing to study to enter to the college. It is the college which won't take the unprepared."

"Many Masons will feel that the so-called 'higher' degrees are a sort of college course to Masonry, and that the bodies which confer those degrees should demand at least a year's experience in Blue Lodge Masonry, but can see no reason why the Grand Lodge should keep their doors for them."

"No well-informed Mason sees the lodge as a primary school and the other Rites as colleges. No well-informed Mason but regards Ancient Craft Masonry as the source of all Masonry, to be honored above all others. A real comparison perhaps could be made with a country and citizenship. Citizenship in this nation is a very high estate. Yet some citizens know more statecraft than others and become leaders in the legislature, the cabinet, the law, the diplomatic service. They could do none of these things without being citizens. The United States demands a certain period - I think it is five years - which a 'candidate' for citizenship must wait, before he receives his 'third degree,' his final papers. Until he gets them, he cannot be a citizen or enjoy the rights of citizenship, or go higher in the State, or be an officer. That is like the lodge demand of a month between degrees, and a proficiency in the work before the next degree is conferred."

"The United States doesn't say to a newly-made citizen 'now that you are a citizen, you must wait a year or two before you exercise your citizenship.' Our Grand Lodge does not say to a Blue Lodge Mason 'you must wait a year before you try to be an officer or before you apply for any other degrees.' Yet there are those who would have Grand Lodge do just that."

"There are two sides, my brother. Personally, I would think that a period of waiting would be an excellent thing. I would like to see the Grand Chapters and the Supreme Council decide that a Master Mason must be such for six months or a year before he could apply, just as they now demand six months' or a years' residence in a place before they will admit jurisdiction. But I think a Grand Lodge is less than wise if it attempts to regulate the so-called 'high bodies' in their standards."

"I thought Grand Lodge could do anything," put in the New Brother.

"So it can, very nearly," smiled the Old Tiler. "I did not say I thought a Grand Lodge would be going beyond its rights in making such a regulation. I said I thought it would be unwise. The Grand Lodge has complete control of a man's Masonry and his Masonic conduct. Its right to regulate is undoubted; its wisdom in doing so may be open to discussion."

"Well, I'm going to wait a while; but not a year," responded the New Brother.

"Which will be just right, for you," smiled the Old Tiler.

It's funny how these stories (lessons) that taught our Masonic grandfathers, are just as significant today as they were 80 years ago. The book with with 70 of the "Old Tiler Talks" stories and 2 other Carl Claudy Masonic books may still be purchased from Temple Books




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