The Grand Lodges of Virginia and West Virginia were congratulated "on the final settlement of their controversy, and the recognition by Virginia of the Grand Lodge of West Virginia and the establishment of Fraternal relations Years later, Harry Leroy Haywood, an outstanding Masonic historian, would write: "the older Grand Lodge welcomed its younger sister with a gesture, the full meaning and beauty of which can be understood by veteran Masons only." As of December 16, 1868, when Virginia recognized the new Grand Lodge, the constituting of the new Grand Lodge by Past Grand Master William B. Thrall of Ohio was vindicated.

During the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge held in Cleveland on October 18, 1869, a resolution adopted in 1847 was rescinded. It had been resolved in 1847 that "it would be inexpedient and tend to ruin the present harmony of the fraternity to admit any person of color." This was brought about because of a petition of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, headed by William T. Boyd. The petition asked the Grand Lodge of Ohio "the reason, if any, why the right of visit is not general among Masons regardless of color." A special committee was appointed to report back the following year.

This caused Grand Master Alexander H. Newcomb of Toledo Lodge No.144 to issue a letter addressed to all the Lodges stating: "The repeal at the last session of the Grand Lodge of Ohio of the resolution passed by the Grand Lodge in 1847 . . . does not admit of colored Masons visiting our Lodges, nor does it give permission to members belonging to our jurisdiction to visit colored Lodges in this state, as they are not recognized by the Grand Lodge of Ohio."

The special committee reported in 1870 the Grand Lodge had made it possible for any Lodge to admit men of color. "The Grand Lodge has left its subordinates at perfect liberty to confer the degrees of Masonry on any man, and to admit to membership any lawful brother who has the necessary Masonic qualifications. There is no rule whereby the person who compose the Grand Lodge of Ohio and its jurisdictions, if 'worthy and well qualified,' are excluded from our Fraternity, if they seek admission through duly organized Lodges." The report was adopted and the committee discharged.

Charles H. Wesley, in his The History of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, concerning that report: "Grand Master Boyd declared in 1871, that this action was right and proper, but said he, 'our petition did not pray for the right of profanes, but for the rights of brother Masons.' We are Masons Masons whom Brother Sparrow (Thomas Sparrow, Grand Master in 1863) and a plenty of other white Masons have sat with in Lodge."

The question would be brought up again in two years and again in 1875.

Bellefontaine Lodge No. 209 was asked to lay the cornerstone of a court house on September 9, 1870. It accepted the invitation. It secured a band and an orator. A metal box to contain the usual items for the cornerstone was obtained. The Bellefontaine Press, Bellefontaine Republican, and the Logan County Gazette gave the forthcoming event much publicity. Then, to the surprise of the Commissioners and the Lodge, a group of citizens banded together to protest the proposed laying of the cornerstone by the Masons. A resolution was adopted by these citizens and published in the Bellefontaine Republican on the day of the ceremonies:

Whereas, we believe that Free Masonry is unwarranted by the Word of God, is inconsistent with the principles of the Christian religion, is dangerous in its tendency and calculated to uproot republicanism and suppress the liberties of both church and State, therefore; Be it Resolved, That we the citizens of said (Logan) county do remonstrate and solemnly protest against any organization, sect, order or fraternity depositing in any cornerstone or in any other part of said building a "hermetically call sealed box" containing any secret document or any otherthing unknown, or refused to be made known, to any or every tax-payer in the county, and we further most solemnly protest against the inscribing upon any cornerstone . . . . any emblems representing any organization, sect, order or fraternity, and especially Free Masons. . . .

The Lodge historian goes on to record:

The protest was delivered to the commissioners, who received it and placed it in the corner-stone box along with other documents. Bellefontaine Lodge No. 209 contributed to the box a copy of the Holy Bible, - not a very secret or mysterious document. The laying of the corner-stone was carried out on the day appointed with dignity and reverence. . . . So far as can be learned, nothing further was heard from the protest, nor was this the last of corner-stone ceremonies.

The site for the Grand Lodge Communication of October 18, 1870, was Black's Music Hall in Springfield. Grand Master Newcomb called upon the delegates to take note of the need for "a home for the widows and orphans of deceased Brothers." This brought into being a "Board of
Trustees." It was authorized to solicit donations and take the necessary steps to establish a home. During the following year donations of $10,000 in cash were received. Donations of land were also offered, provided the home would be located at Mechanicsburg or Worthington.

The Grand Master was alarmed by the number of Lodges that had suffered from fires over the years. He strongly recommended they protect their property with proper insurance. He was also concerned with the amount of intemperance and profanity" being used. He issued a letter asking the Worshipful Masters to use their "moral persuasion and brotherly kindness to arrest the evil." If this didn't work, they were to "cut off the persistently of fending members as cancerous excrescences on the body of Masonry.

Grand Master Newcomb called a Special Communication the Grand Lodge at Columbus on August 10, 1871. Past Grand Master Thomas Sparrow had requested a Masonic funeral before his death on the 8th. Citizens and Masons from all parts of the state paid their last tribute of respect.

The Grand Master had accepted an invitation to meet with the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia on April 10, 1871. This was occasioned by the visit of "the Right Honorable the Earl deGrey and the Marquis of Rippon, the M. W. Grand Master of England." Representatives from Canada and many of the states were present. He said it was "the first time in the history of Masonry that the representatives of our Fraternity have met together under so favorable auspices."

Three years later the London Times of England was to report: "Lord Rippon says that he finds himself unable any longer to discharge the duties of Grand Master, and that he is consequently compelled to resign." The report said the Marquis of Rippon "has become a Roman Catholic!
It is notorious that the Freemasons are under the especial ban of the Church of Rome. That Church tolerates no secret society, except that of the Jesuits."

There were many victims of fires in Chicago, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Grand Lodge, in 1871, appropriated $2,000 to be divided by the Grand Master "on full investigation" as he "may deem proper." The Lodges were asked to make such further donations as they could afford.

The Grand Secretary's salary was increased to $1,000; the Grand Master was reimbursed $50 for his expenses in attending the Communication in the District of Columbia. The Committee on Foreign Correspondence reported there were 42 Grand Lodges, 7,600 Lodges, and 498,655 Masons in the United States.

Economics always played an important role in the activities of the Lodges. This became even more important in the post-war years. Urania Lodge No. 311 reported the following expenditures: First lodge jewels, $35; 47 yards of carpet, $43.25; wallpaper and shades, $12.72; Candles, coal and sundries, $8.65; coal oil, 50~; candles, $ 2.20; for making aprons and a stepladder, $3.25; 5 cans of oysters for installation of officers, $4.25; spittoons, candles and oil, $6.25; paid for keeping horses and installing officers, $1.50; fire insurance for five years, $8.35.

Spittoons were a necessity in every Lodge. As soon as Fort Black Lodge No.413 (and most of the other) began operating, someone was ordered to purchase enough spittoons to make certain the floor was kept clean. This Lodge paid "a son of Brother C. Thomas $.50 to clean spittoons,
and Brother Thomas was to see it was done in good order."

The historian of Cedar Lodge No.430 record a tragedy that struck Orrville and the Lodge on October 11, 1872. "A group of hoodlums ran afoul of the law and for spite set the town on fire." Much of the town was burned to the ground, including the building where the Lodge met. "Orrville was not as yet equipped to fight such a big fire." This didn't help the Lodge, or the town, when the nation wide recession of 1873 struck.

Newcomb reported in 1872 he had "deposed the Worshipful Master of Rubicon Lodge No. 237, for disseminating the ritual contrary to the rules of the Grand Lodge adopted in 1865." The Grand Lodge "expelled from its membership a representative for intoxication during the session
of the Grand Lodge."

After the Trustees of "the Widows' and Orphans' Home" reported, the Grand Lodge determined "that it does not deem it advisable to take further action in the premises." The original resolution was rescinded. The money collected was ordered returned to the donors. The Proceedings are silent about why this action was "advisable." But, the Trustees were thanked and it was ordered "that all legitimate expenses of the said Trustees be adjusted by the Grand Treasurer, and paid out of the funds of the Grand Lodge."

The Grand Lodge met in Columbus on November 21, 1873, with Asa H. Battin of Steubenville Lodge No. 45 presiding as Grand Master. He reported he, the Senior Grand Warden and the Grand Secretary had by invitation visited The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on October 26, They attended the ceremonies of the dedication of "the magnificent new Masonic Temple."

It was noted that "on the fifteenth of October, 1872, was organized at Columbus an association of Masonic veterans of Ohio." Its object was "the perpetuation of Masonic friendship, cultivation of the social virtues, the collection of facts relating to Masonic history and biography, the preservation of the good old usages of the Craft, and the exertion of influence to improve Masonry in every good work and word."

Its first President was William B. Thrall, who was to die eight months later, on June 7, 1873. Originally the organization was restricted to those who had been Masons for 25 years and changed later to 20 years.

When the Grand Lodge met on October 20, 1874, Grand Master Battin called attention to "a great celebration of the Fraternity at Wellsville, Columbiana County, which has not been excelled by anything in eastern Ohio":

For some months previous the anti-Masons in that vicinity had held high carnival and freely boasted that the Order in the village should be crushed out. Professed minsters of the Gospel had declaimed against it from the pulpit; lectures had been delivered by itinerant humbugs, in which its enormities had been laid bare, and a feeling of bitterness against the Fraternity had been engendered and encouraged, which it was hoped by our enemies would result in the downfall of Wellsville Lodge. But in the hour of the apparent triumph of the enemies in that vicinity, the Brothers of Wellsville were equal to the emergency. They quietly arranged for a Grand Display on that occasion; and when the memorable day arrived, their success exceeded their most sanguine expectations. Lodges present were New Lisbon, East Liver pool, Hammondsville, Salineville, Hanover, Minerva, Waynesburg, Alliance, Steubenville, Bridgeport and Martin's Ferry in Ohio; Beaver, Smith's Ferry, Allegheny, Pittsburgh, Rochester, and New Brighton, in Pennsylvania; New Cumberland, Wellsburg, and Wheeling in West Virginia; together with a number of Commanderies in full uniform from the states named. The procession was one of the finest I have ever seen, and the town was to small to hold the people. Over 8,000 people gathered around the speaker's stand, and listened to an eloquent and able address by our worthy Bro. Rev. W. B. Watkins, of Pittsburgh; and since that day not the sound of an anti-Mason has been heard in Wellsville, or the region round about.

The Grand Master noted that in May, 1874, he had received from the Grand Master and Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana a letter reporting a large number of Masons in that state were destitute and needed immediate assistance. Unusual floods had caused the prob lem. He immediately sent $300. Then he sent a circular to all the Lodges requesting donations. A sum of over $1700 was received and sent to Louisiana.

The Grand Lodge ruled the Worshipful Master of the Lodge is accountable only to the Grand Lodge or Grand Master for his Masonic conduct. He can neither be tried or punished by the Lodge for any Masonic offense committed by him during his term of office. He must be tried by the Grand Master or Grand Lodge. It also ruled a ballot would have to be taken for each degree. A Brother who was suspended by his Lodge for the "habitual sale of intoxicating liquors in violation of the law" was upheld by the Grand Lodge.

At least one Lodge was interested in having its members learn more about Freemasonry than the ritual. As early as 1874, Milford Lodge No. 54 placed a question box in the Lodge. The members were encouraged to drop their, questions in it, and at each meeting it was opened. Each was answered, or researched and the answer presented at the following meeting. "The minutes show that many in formative sessions were held to the enlightenment of all."

An officer of "the National Monument Society" addressed the Grand Lodge on October 19, 1875. He said more money was needed to complete the monument to Washington in the District of Columbia. The Grand Lodge voted to appropriate $1,000 for this purpose. The Lodges were requested to contribute as liberally as possible.

The Grand Lodge agreed to hold a Special Communication in Marietta on June 26, 1876, to "unite with American Union Lodge No. 1" in celebrating the Centennial of the Lodge, and the Nation.

Grand Master Asa Battin made an appeal for the recognition on "general principles" of the colored Grand Lodge now located in Ohio. Within his plea he stated "At present in our country we cannot recognize Masons receiving light in Colored Lodges. We are presented in our own State with the anomaly of two Grand Lodges, each with a number of Subordinate Lodges, . . . and yet the one is not permitted to recognize the other, and all intercourse between the two
prohibited. In this great Centennial year, whilst liberty and equality are shed abroad through our great nation, is it not right and proper that we, as Masons, shall at least attempt to bring about, by proper means and in a legal manner, a union of these two Grand Lodges in one State? If there is any illegality in the organization of either (?), let it be healed.

The Committee to which this was referred submitted a resolution which said if the colored Grand Lodge would change its name to "the African Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Ohio" this Grand Body will recognize it as a legitimate and independent Grand Lodge. The resolution was deferred until the next Annual Communication.

In the meantime the action of the Grand Lodge was to be sent to all of the Grand Lodges. The pamphlet sent contained the address of the Grand Master and the report of the Committee on Foreign Correspondence.

The discussion throughout Ohio and the Masonic world was bitter. It was even more so from Massachusetts and England.

Into the fray came some of the greatest names in American Freemasonry of the day. Josiah H. Drummond of Maine, recognized as one of the most qualified authorities on Masonic Jurisprudence and history, stated: "We cannot see therefore, that the Masons of the day can do anything of the character proposed by the Grand Lodge of Ohio, or that they are called upon to recognize, or that they can recognize, without a violation of the Landmarks of Masonry, the organizations to which the resolution of that Grand Lodge relate."

Cornelius Moore, Editor of the Masonic Review; Albert C. Mackey; Sereno D. Nickerson, Editor of the New England Free Mason; and dozens of others agreed with Drummond.

Wesley noted in his history that William H. Parham wrote: "In objecting to the title 'African,' we did so because our lodges are not made up of Africans. I cannot now recall to mind one brother in all these lodges of whom it can, with certainty, be said, 'He is an African.'"

The question of "Colored Masonry" turned the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge on October 17, 1876, into an unusual session. Deputy Grand Master William M. Cunningham submitted a point of order in writing:

Any regulation affecting in any manner the status of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, its absolute individuality, or its superiority within its own jurisdiction, must be construed as an amendment of Article XV of the Constitution, and must be treated in the same manner as any other amendment thereto.

He then quoted Article XV of the Constitution of the of Ohio:

The Grand Lodge has original and exclusive jurisdiction cover all subjects of Masonic legislation and appellate jurisdiction from the decisions of the subordinate lodges; and its enactments and decisions upon all questions shall be the supreme Masonic Law of the State. It shall prescribe such rules and regulations for the government of the Subordinate Lodges as will, in its arbitrament, conduce to the welfare, prosperity, and happiness of the craft; and may require of these such dues and fees as will at all times discharge the engagements of the Grand Lodge.

Grand Master Charles A. Woodward, a member of Cleveland City Lodge No. 15, ruled the point of prder out of order. The Deputy Grand Master "appealed from the decision of the M. W. Grand Master." The question: "Shall the decision of the Grand Master be sustained as the opinion of the Grand Lodge?" was called. The roll of the Lodges was called. The Grand Master lost by a vote of 329 for to 389 against. Woodward announced the decision and his defeat.

The following day a resolution was submitted to amend Section XV by adding: "Provided that the words ‘Exclusive jurisdiction over all the subjects of Masonic legislation shall not be construed to prohibit this Grand Lodge from having the power to recognize or delegate any authority to Lodges, or other Masonic Powers, as in its wisdom it may deem expedient.' " This wasn't seconded by the required majority, and it ended the discussion of Colored Masonry in the Grand Lodge for years.

The recession may be considered responsible for the loss of a motion made in New Harmony Lodge No. 435 on February 5, 1876. A hoodwink wouldn't be purchased. However, a motion to buy 20 spittoons was amended to read "24" and passed. These spittoons were to bb "neat boxes of good style and to be painted brindle color."

The Worshipful Master of Smithfield Lodge No. 182 appointed a committee to confer with a lawyer "and ascertain if the individual members are responsible for the debts of this Lodge, and if so, to proceed at once to collect the same." The committee reported the members were responsible. The Lodge property was sold to the highest bidder, and each member was notified of his pro-rata share in the balance of the Lodge indebtedness. Fortunately one of the members bought the building and leased it to the Lodge for its meetings. The debts weren't paid by the members, so in 1880 the Grand Master was requested to personally visit the Lodge. He was urged to come up with a plan to pay off the debts. It appears this was accomplished in 1882.

The balance in the treasury of Fostoria Lodge No. 288 was reported at $1.26 at the end of 1875. Spending; $35 for a coffin and funeral expenses earlier in the year had helped the Lodge reach this low ebb. But finances became a little better and in 1882 the old chandeliers were sold to the
Catholic Church. New ones were installed in the Lodge building for $1.40 each. At the same time it was noted that a brother "was charged with being in a 'House of Ill Fame' and he was reprimanded. It didn't say whether he was reprimanded for being there or being caught."

The Special Communication of the Grand Lodge at Marietta on June 24, 1876, was a tremendous success. An overflow crowd witnessed the ceremonies as it joined with American Union Lodge No. 1. The history of the Lodge was reviewed by Cornelius Moore. The orator was Richard Vaux, a Past Grand Master of Masons in Pennsylvania. Grand Secretary J. D. Caldwell presented early records of the Lodge, Grand Master Cunningham, of Newark Lodge No. 97, delivered an able address, and the ceremonies were closed with remarks from Worshipful Master George T. Hovey. The crowd then witnessed a repeat of the march through the streets of the city and college grounds.

The Governor of Ohio, Thomas L. Young, a member of Excelsior Lodge No.369 of Cincinnati, was present when the Grand Lodge convened on October 16, 1877, in Columbus. According to the Grand Secretary, Young "declared he would rather be Grand Master of The Grand Lodge of Ohio than Governor of the State."

Grand Master William M. Cunningham, in his address to the Grand Lodge in 1878, let it be known he wasn't happy with the way the Proceedings had been handled:

Complaint has been made by Brethren in different parts of the State concerning the compilation of the printed proceedings of this Grand Body for 1877.

As upon examination, it will be found that the so-called proceedings of this Grand Lodge for the year mentioned, contain so much matter therein entire foreign to the frequently expressed views of this Grand Body, that the title 'Proceedings of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Ohio' is an evident misnomer. In this connection also, the injection of the personal opinions in the 'head lines of the daily transactions of this Grand Body whilst it was in session, as on pages 38 and 39, the insertions of individual opinions of the compiler in vindication of his personal views upon questions that heretofore were settled by this Grand Lodge, and the compilation of matter contrary to its previously expressed views concerning bodies of which this Grand Lodge is not in communication, is a breach of Masonic etiquette that should not be permitted to pass unnoticed at my hand.

The long and faithful service, however, of the Grand officer entrusted by you with the duties of compilation, warrants me in believing that it is only necessary to call his attention thereto, in this official manner, to prevent its repetition in the future.

Yellow fever was raging in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The Grand Master appointed a committee to raise and disperse funds to help them. Over $6,000 was received and sent to those three jurisdictions. They thanked the Craft in Ohio heartily. This special committee " stated: May He who rules in this universe bless both the donors and recipients of this most magnificent charity."

A vacant chair was placed in the East when the Grand Lodge met for its Annual Communication on October 21, 1879. It was draped in mourning with a monogram of flowers spelling R-E-X. Rex was buried with Masonic rite by the Grand Lodge on March 29, 1879, in Wooster. The words of praise included: "In Masonic Jurisprudence he was an arbiter. . . In the State he had been a Senator, and was an able and useful Judge of the Supreme Court. . . . As a citizen and neighbor he was dearly beloved. . . . The law had in him an able representative and Masonry cherishes the example of his upright and useful life, and points to it with becoming pride."

The per capita was raised from 25¢ to 35¢. A resolution was adopted requiring a dimit to be issued to any Master Mason requesting one, provided he was in good standing in his Lodge and there were no charges pending against him.

Grand Master Reuben C. Lemmon, of Toledo Lodge No. 144, sadly announced the deaths of two great Masonic during the Communication of October 18, 1881. Albert G. Mackey, an eminent Masonic historian, had died on June 20, 1881. The other was Ohio's James A. Garfield, the twentieth President of the United States, He had been shot by an assassin on June 22, 1881. He died on September 19.

Garfield was made an Entered Apprentice and Fellow Craft in Magnolia Lodge No. 20 of Columbus. Three years later, on November 22, 1864, he was made a Master Mason in Columbus Lodge No. 30, at the request of Magnolia Lodge. A year later, he affiliated with Garrettsville Lodge No. 246, near his home and work at Hiram College. He became a Charter Member of Pentalpha Lodge No. 23, Washington, D.C., on May 4, 1869.

Garfield's widow gave his home, Lawnfield, and his extensive library to the Western Reserve Historical Society. Behind the home is a reproduction of the log cabin in which he was born on November 19, 1831.

Masonic funerals in the period of 1880 were elaborate affairs. Frequently Lodges purchased the coffin, hired the hearse, paid livery and stable charges, sent flowers, had the grave dug, advertised in the newspapers, provided pall bearers, and many times bands and singers. Rising Sun Lodge No. 22, for instance, "hired singers to assist at the funeral of a faithful brother" on January 3, 1882. A short time later another coffin was purchased for $35.50. For 29 days, brethren of the Lodge had sat with this Brother before he died. Some received $1.25 a day for this service.

During the Annual Communication of 1882, Grand Master Charles C. Kiefer, a member of Harmony Lodge No. 8, accepted an invitation to conduct a memorial service at the tomb of Garfield in Lake View Cemetery. The delegates were transported by railroad cars to the cemetery. There an appropriate address was delivered by the Grand Chaplain, the Reverend Lafayette Van Cleve. The Grand Lodge then appropriated $500 toward the erection of a
monument in Garfield's memory.

A little bragging was done during the 1883 Annual Communication. Prince Hill Lodge No. 524 of Cincinnati had acquired a Lodge room in the Elevator Building, 470 feet above the Ohio River, and overlooking the city. The members of the Lodge believed they should rightly bb called "high Masons!"

Springfield had been visited by Grand Master Kiefer on May 4. He dedicated, he believed, "the finest Lodge room in this Grand Jurisdiction, and the Brethren of the city may be pardoned for claiming to be in possession of the Cathedral of Ancient Craft Masonry in Ohio."

Kiefer had visited Sacramento and San Francisco during the year. He reported he was "fraternally received as the Grand Master of Ohio." In Sacramento, he had visited the grave of Isaac Davis "who was a member of this Grand Body many years ago." Davis was so well
thought of by "the Craft of the Golden State" his portrait "graces the walls of the Masonic Temples in Sacramento and San Francisco."

The delegates were saddened by the death of Cornelius Moore who had edited the Masonic Review of Cincinnati for 30 years. He had passed away on June 3, 1883. Permission for the Order of the Eastern Star to use Masonic Temples was refused.

Grand Master Joseph M. Goodspeed, of Paramuthia Lodge No. 25, praised the response to his appeal for the victims of the floods that had spread over the Ohio Valley in March, 1884. He had used the press and other means to reach the Masons in Ohio. Their response was "prompt and liberal." He was also grateful for the assistance received from every Grand Lodge in the United States.

A "cordial and Fraternal invitation" to the hospitalities of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana "during the World's Exposition" was read. The Exposition was to be held in New Orleans beginning on December 3, 1884, and ending six months later. The Masons of Ohio were also invited to attend the Annual Communication of that Grand Lodge from February 9-13, 1885. They were assured a "hearty welcome, cordial reception and treatment."

A resolution was adopted stating: "It is the opinion of the Grand Lodge of Ohio that the traffic in intoxicating liquors to be drank where sold is a Masonic offense, and shall qualify the offender for initiation or affiliation in any Masonic Lodge."

The Committee on Foreign Correspondence concluded its report on a pessimistic note: "We have labored diligently for weeks in its preparation; . . . and yet the percentage of the membership in Ohio who will gather treasures from its garnered stores, we fear, will be exceedingly light. This ought not to be so, Masons should be well informed. The Foreign Correspondence reports of a Grand Lodge are valuable adjuncts to its usefulness, because the few, the students, who do read them are the teachers and leadersin Masonry. They shape the entire policy, and destiny as well, of the Masonic institution."

"A terrible hurricane swept over the town of Washington (Court House) and vicinity," reported Grand Master Godspeed. On September 8, 1885, "the lodge room of Fayette Lodge No. 107, and the homes of many of its members were destroyed." A contribution was sent from the Grand Lodge, and the Lodge was permitted to request assistance from other Lodges.

An appeal was received by Grand Master S. Stacker Williams, of Center Star Lodge No. 11, on November 27, 1885. A "disastrous fire" had swept through Galveston, Texas. The Grand Lodge of Texas asked for assistance. Williams readily sent a draft from Ohio, and asked the Lodges to help. He reported "the donations from Ohio exceeded those of any other Grand jurisdiction."

A grateful letter was received from Texas: "I am not unmindful of the fact that about 1874 the Masons of Ohio responded nobly for the appeal for help from the flooded districts in Louisiana, and present evidence of sympathy for the distant Brethren makes us feel that the Brethren of Ohio have been 'made Masons in their hearts.'"

During the 1886 Annual Communication, the Grand Lodge requested "the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Ohio and the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Ohio, to adopt rules and regulations requiring members of those bodies or their subordinates to be and remain in good standing in a Lodge of Master Masons."

The Grand Commandery of Knights Templar took note of the resolution. It reported to the Grand Lodge that it could not comply with it. It was in conflict with the Code of the Grand Encampment of the United States. However, it would attempt to keep its members in good standing in their Lodges.

The Committee on Foreign Correspondence noted the Washington Monument had been dedicated on February 21, 1885, by the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia. In it rested the block of Ohio marble for all time standing in all peoples to see.

In his oration, the Grand Master of the District of Columbia said:

This gavel, prepared for the express purpose, was presented to Washington and used by him as President of the United States, and also as Grand Master protem in laying the cornerstone of the Capitol of the Nation on the eighteenth day of September, 1793. Immediately thereafter he presented it to Potomac Lodge No. 9, in whose possession it has ever since remained. It was used
in laying the cornerstone of this obelisk on July 4, 1848, Also the cornerstone of the equestrian statue of Washington at the Circle, and at its dedication February 20, 1860. It was likewise used in laying the cornerstone of the extension of the capitol, July 4, 1851; also by the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yorktown Monument, on
October 18, 1881, and at many other public building, in various states.

Grand Master Williams made a decision that would have far-reaching effects during the years ahead. He ruled the "Cerneau Bodies" could not have the "use or occupancy of the Lodge rooms" of the Lodges "in this Grand jurisdiction holding allegiance to this Grand Lodge."

The Committee on Masonic Jurisprudence concurred in his decision: "After careful examination of the subject, your committee recommend that the same be, and is hereby, approved." The Grand Lodge agreed, but not before a dissenting resolution was defeated. This defeated resolution gave an indication of what was to come: "This Grand Lodge, being composed of Ancient Masters only, is unwilling and does therefore decline to decide disputed questions of jurisdiction between bodies other than those which are of Rite of the York Rite of Masonry."

The "battle lines" were drawn. Good Masons would be found on both sides. The words spoken and action taken would be often bitter.

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