A "Canadian Peace Festival" was held at Niagara Falls, Canada, on July 15, 16, 1914. Past Grand Master William B. Melish was there to represent the Grand Lodge of Ohio. About twelve other American Grand Lodges were represented, along with the Grand Masters of the several
Canadian Provinces. It was a celebration "of the 100th year of the continuance of peace between the United States and Great Britain, and was a very happy and enjoyable occasion." Melish said over 3,000 Masons were present, along with hundreds of ladies.

While that "enjoyable occasion was going on, events in Europe were at work that would be far from enjoyable. On June 28, 1914, Austria's Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated. A month later Austria Hurgary declared war on Serbia. World War I had begun. And on August 1, Germany declared war on Russia; on the second it declared war on France; on the 4th Great Britain (After Germany had invaded neutral Belgium) declared war on Germany.

When the Grand Lodge met on October 21, 1914, Grand Master Charles J. Pretzman, a member of Columbus Lodge No. 30 had Grand Secretary J. H. Bromwell read a letter recently received from the Grand Lodge of New York:

To the Masters, Wardens, and Brethren of the Lodge F. & A. M. in the State of New York.

The appalling conflict abroad stirs our hearts to their depths in sympathy and condolence with all those who suffer loss, distress, and misery because of it.

Human control seems futile. Our reliance is on the Great Architect of the Universe alone for deliverance from the continuance of the slaughter and sacrifice.

Among the warriors are many thousand Brethren of our Fraternity. Great measures for their physical relief are being and will continue to be undertaken. Meanwhile let us implore Him who rules the destinies of men and nations that peace may soon be restored over all the earth.

Wherefore, as Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York, I do hereby request that we supplicate for peace the Father of all in all our Lodges at the first Communication after the receipt hereof at the opening of the Lodge by the Master or Chaplain thereof.

Grand Master Pretzman wasn't prophetic when he added: "As we meet here today, aged men and women, helpless mothers and their little children are by thousands refugees from their homes, thrust into strange countries, where they are dependent upon the charity of the people among whom they are thrown. All of this our country is spared. Nor are we likely to be drawn into this war. There should be no set of circumstances by which we can be dragged into this conflict.

"We should therefore be grateful for the privilege of living in peace, grateful that our cities and homes are not destroyed by shells and the march of armies, grateful that in our dealings with weak nations we have developed and displayed a national conscience, grateful that we can use
our navy in relieving the distressed instead of adding to the sum of human misery, and grateful that we can cultivate in tranquility those virtues which alone can make war impossible."

A later prophecy was to come true, however: "It will undoubtedly become our duty, when this war is closed, or perhaps at some opportune time before then, to organize and extend relief to the Masons of Europe and their widows and orphans who are victims of this frightful war." He asked that the depleted relief fund be increased to at least $5,000 so his successor would be able to help the families of distressed Masons in Europe, "when in his judgement it is practicable to do so." The Grand Lodge agreed.

Pretzman closed his address by stating:

Who can estimate what part Masonry has had in the moral development of our Commonwealth? Its influence is exerted in the silence of the human heart and the human soul, and although not seen or uttered, its persuasion and force move on like a resistless tide. In every community of our State (for Masonry was established only a few years after Ohio was settled) this influence has this been at work, making men better citizen, better husbands, better fathers. Though the influence has been silent, it has been none the less powerful. To the church we have been an auxiliary; to the State in peace and war we have been a column of strength; of every great moral movement we have been staunch supporters. This, my Brothers, is our contribution to religion, morality, and good government.

The Masonic History Committee proudly reported volumes two and three of the Grand Lodge history had now joined volume one. The history of the Grand Lodge of Ohio had been covered through 1912 - the last written until this present one.

During the Annual Communication of 1914 the Grand Lodge adopted the ritual of the Past Master Degree as written by Grand Secretary Bromwell. And Past Grand Master Nelson Williams reported as the Foreign Correspondent he was "greatly pleased at the effort now being
put forth by the Grand Lodge of Iowa, or by a research committee of that Grand Lodge, to establish a national research society. This, we believe, will supply a long-felt want, and receive the hearty commendation and support of all who are interested in the study side of Freemasonry."

The Society was formed and for several years it published one of the best Masonic magazines to ever exist – The Builder. As with everything of its nature, it met with mixed emotions. It had its staunch supporters and violent critics.

Grand Master George L. Marshall, of St. John's Lodge No. 13, told the delegates on October 20, 1915:

For more than a year we have viewed with increasing concern and sorrow the ravage of the greatest war know to history. Neither voice nor pen can describe the suffering and misery endured by our fellow creatures in unhappy Europe. At present the passions of a barbarous
age seem to incite civilized men, and to make powerless the force of religion and education. Yet the customs of the Dark Ages cannot prevail; reason will be restored to the warring nations, and, in the work of rehabilitation and conciliation, Freemasonry will be found as of old – a potent and impartial agent."

The Grand Lodge adopted a recommendation which stated: "We recommend that this Grand Lodge enter into any plan looking to organized Masonic relief and that the Grand Master shall appoint a Committee of not less than three members of this Grand Lodge to represent The Grand Lodge of Ohio in any Masonic Relief Organization that may be formed for this purpose, and that he shall draw upon the Emergency Fund of the Grand Lodge for such amount as he may think necessary in order that this Grand Lodge may give an active and hearty cooperation in the work of relief to war sufferers in Europe."

The report of the War Relief Committee was too typical of too many committee reports: "Your committee appointed by the Grand Master of Ohio in connection with relief to distressed Masons in Europe, report that they have from time to time met, considered, and discussed the distress occasioned by the European war and the opportunity and duty of our Fraternity to engage in relief, and without entire unanimity among the members of the Committee on different plans suggested, we nevertheless unite in the recommendation that the whole subject be referred to the incoming Grand Master to make such donations for that purpose as, in his judgment, may seem wise.

We recommend that our Committee be discharged."

Something was happening, though, in Freemasonry's efforts to assist the war effort, past master Nelson Williams, throughout his Foreign Correspondence report refers to "the Masonic War Relief Association" founded at Cincinnati. He goes into no detail about what happened at Cincinnati.

In his review of the Grand Lodge of England, Williams reported:

The Quarterly Communication held on June 2 was anything but a love-feast, if we correctly read the Record, and we are inclined to believe that our English Brethren allowed their passions and prejudices to cause them to stray further away from the fundamental principles and the true spirit of Freemasonry than has any other Masonic Grand Lodge ever done.

The question seems to have been before Grand Lodge on a recommendation of the Board of General Purposes, the effect of which would be to bar from the Lodges under 'the English Constitution all Brethren of German, Austrian, Hungarian, or Turkish birth during the continuance of the war. The discussion waxed warm and Brethren evidently lost their heads, at least their Masonic heads. One good Brother went so far as to say that he would rather forfeit every Masonic privilege he had ever gained, or was likely to gain, than to sit in a Lodge with a Mason of German birth.

Notwithstanding that the argument was strongly presented to Grand Lodge, by some brilliant talkers, that the resolution was unconstitutional, illogical, and a grave infringement of the rights of private Lodges, the resolution was adopted.

Williams observed that Freemasonry was prospering throughout the United States, as it always does during periods of war. "The increase in membership in many of the Grand Jurisdictions is so large as to raise a suspicion that the proper care may not be taken to see that only the worthy are permitted to enter," he wrote. "If only the good and pure and true are admitted, and the present rate of increase continues, no man can measure the amount of good that may be accomplished and the amount of influence that may be exerted by the great Masonic army of the future."

Grand Secretary Bromwell reported the membership in Ohio had exceeded 100,000. He was disturbed about another matter:

I have been very much disappointed at the almost total lack of interest displayed by our members in procuring and reading the Grand Lodge History, consisting of three volumes, which were completed and issued nearly a year ago. These books are of great merit, not only for general reading, but even more so for purposes of reference, and should be in the hands of every intelligent and reading Mason. The price is small, $4 for the set, postage prepaid, and we have on hand nearly 800 copies of the first volume and nearly 700 of each of the second and third volumes. The first volume was prepared by our distinguished M. W. Bro. Wm. M. Cunningham, one of the best known Masonic scholars, and the other two volumes by John G. Reeves, equally well known as a student. The books should be in every library of Masonic works. I hope that you will call the attention of your Brethren to this publication, and that they will place their orders with the Grand Secretary for a full set.

Grand Master Marshall was concerned because circular letters soliciting funds for the McKinley Memorial were still being issued. He sent all of the Lodges a copy of the resolution adopted in 1913 stating: "Resolved, That the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Ohio does not now approved, and has never approved, of the chain-letter scheme of raising funds for the erection of the McKinley Memorial, or for any other purpose, and that all soliciting of funds for said Memorial since the year 1904 has been without the authority or sanction of this Grand Lodge."

World events didn't detract from the delegates interest in the Masonic Home. A chartered train conveyed them and their ladies to Springfield during the afternoon recess of Grand Lodge. They witnessed the dedication of the dormitories for the boys and girls.

In responding to the welcoming addresses to Columbus on October 18, 1916, Past Grand Master Nelson Williams became somewhat poetic:

The Lodges represented in its organization were composed the truest Specimens of Nature's noblemen. They had been driven together by a common danger, and drawn together by a common sympathy. They carried the Rituals of Freemasonry in their heads, its spirit in their
hearts, and their lives were living epistles attesting the excellence of the virtues she enjoins.

Time, the great leveler of all things, has laid his magic hand upon the wilderness and it has disappeared. A great State has grown in its place. The sound of more than half a thousand Masonic gavels greets us from her valleys and her hilltops, and one hundred and seven
thousands polished living stones adorn our Mystic Temple as it rises in its grand and beautiful proportions.

This organization, which was then only as an unobserved streamlet rippling through an unbroken forest, has been a great river of light, bearing upon its bosom the hopes and aspirations of this great army of good mem and true, and carrying blessings and smiles to all who drink from its swelling tide.

It has borne upon its own rolls the names of many eminent men, distinguished for their courage and patriotism, for their loyalty to their country and their country's flag, as well as for their excellence of character; and upon the rolls of its Subordinates have appeared the names of men at whose feet the world paid homage, and at whose death the nations wept.

In his address, the Grand Master Frank H. Marquis, of Mansfield Lodge No.35, stated: "I had hoped a year ago that I could say today that the world again dwells in peace, that the swords had indeed been beaten into plow shares and the spears into pruning hooks, but the sanguinary struggle continues with ever- increasing force and violence, and no man knoweth the end thereof."

Among the Foreign Correspondents, the war being fought in Europe was the main topic of discussion. Almost without exception, they were appalled at the action of The Grand Lodge of England in barring Masons of German ancestry from English Lodges. Nelson Williams considered it "so antagonistic to the idea of real Masonic Brotherhood, that it shocks us as we contemplate it."

Every Lodge in Ohio was affected in some manner by the war raging in Europe. Camp Sherman was established in Chillicothe in 1917. This brought a flood of candidates to Scioto Lodge No.6. The Lodge set up special provisions for entertaining the servicemen at the camp. During a four-year period, Scioto conferred about 1,200 degrees, most of these as a courtesy for other Lodges throughout the country.

Samuel Leroy Hodges died aboard an Italian ship while en route to France in 1917. The Italian Masonic officers knew he was a member of Buckeye Lodge No. 150. They requested that his body not be buried at sea, but that it be returned to Ohio. All of the Masons aboard the ship
signed a memorial and sent it to his family. The family presented it to the Lodge. A Memorial Service was conducted by the Lodge on November 15, 1918.

On October 17, 1917, Grand Master Joel C. Clore, of Lafayette Lodge No.81, said: "We have been brought face to face with the most cruel conflict the world has ever known. It was the prayer of our Grand Master last year that war-ridden Europe might, ere another year should be numbered in the past, seek and reach a peaceful solution of her troubles. The prayer was in vain, the hope has been drawn into the maelstrom, and practically the whole world is engaged in a death struggle between Democracy and Autocracy."

America had entered the conflict on April 6, 1917, when Congress declared war on Germany. A war which had appeared remote had been brought to the doorsteps of thousands of American homes.

Grand Master Clore noted that in spite of the war, "This has been a memorable year in the history of Freemasonry." The Gand Lodge of England celebrated its 200th Anniversary on "St John the Baptist's Day, 1917." Similar celebrations were held in Ohio, "and participated in by
thousands of our members." In Boston, in September, the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction "commemorated fifty years of harmony and unparalleled prosperity." This was a celebration of "the union in 1867." It was presided over "by our own Bro. Barton Smith, a Past Grand Master.

Much of the Annual Communication of 1917 was concerned with World War I. It was noted that "The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania has relaxed its rule since the beginning of the war, and will now confer degrees by courtesy for the Loge of other Grand Jurisdictions upon men who are stationed in the State of Pennsylvania engaged in the military service of the United States."

Clore said he had authorized "patriotic demonstrations and flag-raisings without any special Dispensation from The Grand Master." He was pleased with the response. He had also authorized the purchase of $15,000 in Liberty Bonds.

He said, "I have received some informal requests for the establishment in the State of Ohio of a military Lodge, sometimes called traveling or army lodges. I have answered these requests by stating that it would not be conducive to the best interest of Freemasonry, in my opinion, to
authorize such Lodges." He did say, however, that because thousands of Masons are stationed at Camp Sherman, near Chillicothe, the Grand Lodge should make some provision for their comfort and general welfare.

The Grand Lodge agreed with the Grand Master on his second point. It established "The Emergency War Fund of the Grand Lodges and individuals were invited to contribute to this fund. It would be used immediately to assist the soldiers stationed at Camp Sherman.

On the Grand Master's refusal to grant the request for the formation of Military Lodges, the Grand Lodge disagreed. It authorized a Dispensation for a Lodge attached to the Ohio Division of the United States Army. It was named "Ohio Military Lodge U. D." It was made clear that
all Military Lodges would have to follow the same rules as those adopted during the Civil War.

The largest increase in membership for any one year since the Grand Lodge was formed in 1808 was recorded, and Grand Secretary Bromwell said he had issued over 100,000 diplomas during the year. Almost all of them went to soldiers.

Grand Master Clore felt employment could be a present and future problem, so he called this to the attention of the delegates: "About 22 years ago, a Masonic Employment Bureau was organized in Cincinnati. Since then similar bureaus have been organized in Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo, all founded upon the plan of the first bureau in Cincinnati. These bureaus have been accomplishing a wonderful work. Their motto is, 'Help a Brother to help himself.' I wish to take this occasion to encourage the members of the Masonic Fraternity generally throughout the State of Ohio to patronize these bureaus both when wanting employment for themselves and when seeking the services of others."

Nelson Williams submitted a 196 page report on Foreign Correspondence. In his conclusion he noted:

It is quite evident to us that there is an unusual amount of hysteria prevailing in many of the Grand Jurisdictions because of the war, and we fear that it will not result in good to the Fraternity. Landmarks, usages, rules, and regulations of our Ancient Craft are being set aside and ignored with a freedom and recklessness that is astonishing, to say the least. Many seem to feel that if a man wearing a uniform of a soldier should knock at our doors he should be admitted without question. Indeed, in some instances the doors have been opened and invitations extended to the boys in khaki, and we are not quite sure but that some of the Lodges have gone so far as to endeavor to drive them in. We believe this is all dead wrong. We have as much respect, love, and esteem for the American soldier as any person on earth, and recognize and appreciate the patriotism exhibited by him when he casts his life and fortune upon his country's alter and goes forth to battle in her behalf. But, we do not believe that a soldier's uniform makes a gentleman out of any man who was not such before he donned it, and we believe the same degree of care should be exercised, and that Masonic Rules and Regulations should be followed as closely
in the case of soldiers as others. We believe their petitions should not be received in Military Lodges, or in Lodges located at or near military camps, but that the petition of every applicant should be presented to and be acted upon by the Lodge of his residence, and then, if he is
elected, his Lodge may request any Lodge most convenientto him to confer the degrees.

The Grand Lodge was scheduled to meet in Columbus on October 18, 1918, but influenza was running rampant, The Commissioner of Health prohibited the congregating of any large group in any one place. Consequently, it was November 26 before the Annual Communication could be
held. "The Great War" had been over for 15 days.

This was reflected in the tone of the welcoming addresses and in Past Grand Master Allen Andrews' response:

Now on this occasion we meet not so much to cast up accounts and to reckon up the past, but to look our duty squarely in the face in the presence of the new future. I say "new future," because America, and probably the world, will never be again as it has been in the past. Our people responded to the greatest appeal that has ever been made to the martial prowess of any nation,
and responded with an alacrity, effectiveness, and spirit never surpassed.

Mankind has just passed through the greatest tragedy, emerging from the greatest shadow, in all the history of the human race, and stands now peering into a beclouded and possibly perilous future. We are come today to look to new conditions and to see what we can do for the betterment of the things that lie before us.

America has won for herself, I will not say military supremacy, but something far better - moral supremacy throughout the world. (Applause.) In the great battle of Autocracy against Democracy, tyranny against freedom, savagery against civilization, barbarism against Christianity, the brutehood of the jungle against the manhood of mankind, it was the might of America that made victory instead of defeat possible. (Applause.)

But, we have no occasion to boast, and I trust no disposition to do so, for our loss and our sacrifice, great as they may be to us, have been indeed small in comparison with the loss, the sacrifice, the sorrow, the suffering of the allied nations.

He closed with a poem, but did not name its author:

When the armies of earth are disbanded
And their trappings are coated with dust,
And the musket forever is silent,
And the cannon is cankered with rust,
And the sword and the helmet lie tarnished
Mid the rubbish of pomp and display,
Then shall we wake to the glorious dawning
Of the promised fraternal day.
And that day will bring joy to the nations,
for the glow of its generous light
Will invade the dungeon of darkness
And Scatter the blackness of night.
The Empire of Truth shall be founded
And the sway of its scepter increased,
Until all mankind stand shoulder to shoulder
In the ranks, not of war, but of peace.
And the spirit of truth shall breathe o'er us
And Humanity's banner float free,
Till fraternity's message is wafted
To the uttermost isles of the sea.
(Applause.)

"Glorious Victory has come to the Allied Armies." said Grand Master Henry M. Hagelbarger, of Adoniran Lodge No.517, in his annual address. "May we all give our sincere thanks to God for the victory!" He said over 15,000 Ohio Masons had helped contribute to the victory.

On March 30, 1918, the Grand Master had sent a letter to every Lodge. He had urged them to form a "Military Committee" to look after the needs of the Families of their soldiers. He also pleaded with each Lodge to purchase Thrift Stamps and Liberty Bonds, as well as contribute
to war welfare work. All Lodges were asked to display a service flag and keep a permanent record of their soldier members.

"On December 6, 1917, a dreadful calamity occurred at Halifax, Nova Scotia." said Hagelbarger. "The French munition ship Moni Blanc collided with the Belgian relief ship Imo." More than 1,500 people were killed; over thirty million dollars worth of property was destroyed. He ordered a contribution sent to Nova Scotia.

The Secretary of War issued an order on October 31, 1917, permitting fraternal organizations to erect community houses at military camps in the United States. The Grand Master, along with others, immediately visited Camp Sherman near Chillicothe. He found about 40,000 soldiers in training, but no accommodations for their families. He determined to do something about it. His appeal to the Lodges in Ohio brought in $27,000 quickly. So quickly, in fact, "the first nail was driven by your Grand master to commence the building" on November 10.

Assisted by Scioto Lodge, "and with several hundred Brethren in military uniform," he dedicated "the Masonic House at Camp Sherman." It was the first one "in the group of Community Buildings to be finished and completely furnished, the whole expense being borne by the Masons of Ohio."

The Grand Master described the building: "This Masonic House contains thirty-six sleeping rooms with fireplaces, and is largely patronized by the relatives and friends of our soldier Brethren at Camp Sherman. While it bears the Masonic emblem and the name "Masonic House," it is not confined to relatives of Masons, as we dedicate our buildings to universal benevolence."

Scioto Lodge No. 6 was highly praised for the work it had done for the war effort throughout the years. It had conferred over 600 degrees on soldier candidates as a courtesy for other Lodges within and without the state.

Grand Master Hagelbarger visited Camp Sheridan at Montgomery, Alabama, on December 31, 1917. He found 24,000 Ohio soldiers there, "of whom the Grand Master of Alabama stated 8,000 were Masons." Hagelbarger praised the work of the Lodges in Montgomery and said Ohio owes them a debt of gratitude. "Our dear boys went down there from the North as strangers, were received as Brothers, and treated as princes."

The Grand Master said he had met on December 9, 1917, in Washington, D.C., with about 25 other Grand Masters. They had discussed general plans for united effort on the part of Grand Lodges in welfare work for the soldiers at home and abroad. Nothing definite was decided
upon, but a suggestion was made to build a large Masonic club house near Paris, France.

He attended another Conference of Grand Masters in New York City on May 10, 1918. It was agreed "for Masonic service overseas to minister to Masons with the colors in the forces of the United States." For varying reasons, mainly, because of interference from the federal government, nothing could be done. It did bring about a meeting of representatives of 22 Grand Lodges in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on November 26, 1918, the same day the Grand Lodge of Ohio was meeting in Columbus. Out of the meeting in Iowa came The Masonic Service Association. Many of those present were determined to have Freemasonry take its rightful place in helping the people of the Armed Forces should there be another war. It would take another war before The Grand Lodge of Ohio would consider joining the Association.

Concordia Lodge No. 345 in Cleveland and Hanselmann Lodge No. 288 in Cincinnati had been working in the German language. They voluntarily started using the English ritual.

Grand Master Hagelbarger concluded his long address:

The Feeling has grown up in my heart that the war has increased the attachment of men for Masonry, that they have been willing to live more for others and less for themselves, that men have been thinking more about the essentials of life than at other times, that they have found a real joy in performing a real service for someone who had a real need, that this helpful service has open up avenues of friendships never before dreamed of. To the Mason thus engaged even in the midst of the hardships of war, this period has been the greatest time in his life.

Masonry is founded upon eternal principles that answer every demand made in either times of peace of times of war, and while we remember the Landmarks of Masonry, we shall not forget the Landmark of Liberty.

When a victorious and permanent peace shall finally crown the hard-fought battles of our soldiers, and the day of readjustment shall come to our Nation, as Masons we must fully realize that that day now so eagerly looked forward to is fraught with even mightier problems for the citizens than the days of war, and that loyalty to every high and Masonic principle is required of us that America shall not fail in her hour of supreme testing, and that ofttimes it requires as much self-sacrifice to really and rightly live for one's country as to die for one's country.

It was proposed that the per capita tax be increased to $1.25 with $1.00 going to the Ohio Masonic Home. To this an amendment was submitted. A lengthy debate followed. The per capita was finally increased by a better than two thirds majority. The Masonic Home would get the $1.00, but not for the Endowment Fund; it was to be used for building and maintenance.

Past Grand Master Nelson Williams submitted his eighth report as Foreign Correspondent. He closed with the words "THE END." He had conclude his labor in this field of Masonry. His successor would hold the job for only a year.

Grand Master Isaac Kinsey, of Barton Smith Lodge No.613, on October 15, 1919, asked his members to "guard well the doors of our Lodges; let him who seeks admission prove his worthiness. The unworthy must not enter, and the unclean must be exterminated from our ranks. That man who accepts Masonry as a commodity to be purchased on the open market with no individual responsibility at tending is, to my mind, wholly unworthy and Masonically unclean."

He told the delegates to "cherish and keep ever green the memory of our departed, and serve manfully and willingly for those who have been left dependent and helpless."

Kinsey called attention to an "underground war" then being fought, and one that would go on as long as Freemasonry exists:

The great World War has been fought to a successful conclusion, and our gallant boys who went to the fighting fields have most of them returned to us, but what of those who sleep the eternal sleep over there? What of those who gave them to serve for you and me? Our duty is defined. Let us cherish and keep ever green the memory of our departed, and serve manfully and willingly for those who have been left dependent and helpless.

I would call your attention to the great un-fought battle which at this moment is raging on full force at our ver doors. The propagandist is constantly working in the dark, endeavoring to poison the minds of men against their very best friends. The would have men strike down the vary props which support them. They are filling the minds of men with hatred and envy for everything that smacks of good, they would tear down and destroy the flag of our country.

This battle is not to be fought with bullets of poisonous gasses. It must be met on every hand with kindness, with fairness, and with generous consideration of our fellow-man. We must truly walk on the level with our Brethren, meetings out to them all that in fairness is their just due. We must live lives which would be worthy of emulation, lives of fairness and equality. I would urge every Mason under jurisdiction of our Grand Lodge from this moment to become a warrior in the cause of justice, loyalty to his country, and kindness and fairness to his Brother.

The Masonic house at Camp Sherman had been closed on December 27,1981. The grand Master presented the furnishings to Scioto Lodge No. 6. He considered this only "a slight token of appreciation for the many very valuable services rendered Masonry during the war."

The Grand Lodge of Ohio refused to recognize as legitimate Masons who received their degrees in Sea and Field Lodges warranted by The Grand Lodge of New York. It claimed New York illegally invaded the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of France. The Grand Lodge of Ohio wanted it made clear, however, "nothing we have said in this report applies to masons made in a regular Army of Navy Lodge created and operated according to Masonic law."

The Grand Lodge was saddened by the death of Grand Treasurer Ralph Reamer Rickly, who had passed away on January 16, 1919, at Columbus. During his lifetime. He had given over $40,000 to the Ohio Masonic Home. In his will, he left over a half million dollars.

Grand Secretary Bromwell noted in his 31st report the membership had increased to 132,053 members. Before the Annual Communication closed, his salary was raised from $2,500 to $3,600.

The Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Correspondence reviewed the work done by many Grand Lodges, American and foreign, during the war. He concluded that Freemasonry was "100% patriotic."

As it had always been, Freemasonry throughout the United States would continue to be patriotic. It would continue to work for its fellow-man in peace as in war.

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