The Van Buren press., 1873-07-01
MASONIC CELEBRATION
Anniversary of St. John the Baptist
Dad Fellows Knights of Pythias and
Masons Out in Full Force

pu>tt OF OIu' ItiioNN' hhlS'AaoIl l lhits "H'
the Free Mi~ons.
The Mason, met at thcir Hall at the head o
Main street at O'Clock the Odd-FelloSs al
their Hall. Mt the same hour; the Knights OF
Pythias, mounted, assembled Oh Water street
At the appointed hour, the Knights moved
M MaI1 street to the 0dd-Felows' Hall
where they met the brethren Of that Fratern-
ity and then moved up Main ct. to st. Joseph
street. where the Masonic Fraternity Joined
the procession. then counter marching the
procession preceded by the Van Buren, Cor.
net Band. moved down Main to Water street
and counter marching again, the procession
came up Main to the Court House. In front
of the Court House the procession halted and
reversing older the Masous entered the Court
House first taking position on the right Of the
! stand The Odd d-Fcllows followed, taking po-
stion on the left followed by the knights
who occupied the centre.
The general public then crowded in, filling
the Court House to oyerilowng,
The stand was occupied by W. r MERRILL
y. e of Fellows, GKANvuLE WILCOX
W. NJ Of Masons, and the Orator OF the occa
sion. Bro W 7 BOILING.
ALTO O'Clock. the ga,cl sounded and the ex-
crclscs were opened by prayer by Bro. ). s
| KY.
! Bro. W 4. Boiling was then introduced by
W NJ, g. Wilcox, and for twenty or twenty
five minutes held the audience spell bound
by one Of the mppiest aud best Masonic
speeches it has ever been our pleasure to lis
ten to.
The following /, the address:
/ LApns. GENTIEMES AND BRETHREN or OUR
! MY,Il, ORDER;
Notwithstanding the fact, that have been
! chuscn by my Brethren of the Crait to lead in
thc l.aDuI- of the Day, yet feeling my ina
/ bilit, 10 pcriorm the duty dcyolving upon
me, / woHid refrain from attempting to ad-
dre,, Sou upon this occasion. were it not that
/ | feel persuaded that the cause of Free Mason
/ rs. is the cause of all mankind.
/ 10 proclaim and encourage Virtue IS truly
/ laudabie, and | feel assured that every at
! tempt To do SO, will receive the appreciation
ofthe COOL of this and every other commun-
! ity To uphold Virtue ha, been the endeav-
or Of Masonry from the earliest period OF its
/ history to the present, IN the dark ages Of
/ primevu histOry--wheu mad ambition over
the rights of life, property and freedom of
conscicnre--it wa, then that the Order of Ma
/ soury was brought TO ameliOrate the condi-
/ tion of man, From that remote period. the
clouds OF darkness began to disappear, and
! for succeeding centuries the great princip pies
Of our Order hayc Travelled westward with the
| star Ofemprc, and lit to-day cnthroned ih
| imperial greatness in the Grand and Subor-
dnHtc Lodges of the United States
/ lis not my purpose, to-day, to ask you to
| 90 with me over the historic pages of the past
/ SO far as they relate to our Order; will not
ask you to stand under the Pyramids, and
/ while they bathe their lofty brows in the
| storm-eloud's bosom, standing as silent wit
nesses of the Labor of the Craft in these dim
ages. We will consider only Masonry as it is
to-day. We Will not call mp the years that
have gone out on silent wing, and now lay
slumOering upon the bosom Of Eternity. Let
/ them .unIber on un,il the trump Of God shall
awake them We have long considered it
public misfortune that the purity Of the prin-
ciples of an Order which equals II 1t does not
exceed, all others shonld DC SO little known
among men. We fear that the world has too
! long looked upon us as an organization hold
| ing in Its keeping profound mysteries, and
and the only obligations resting upon its
membership, that these should never be re-
yealed.
IL my friends, such is your idea, allow me
to this day, urdeceiye you. True, we have
our secret work, but this Is but n portion OF
! the means We use to accomplish a noble end
Our secrets are only secrets the better to en-
able It's To perform the duties deyolying upon
us: TO wipe the tear from the eye of the dis
tressed, To protect the weak, relieve the suf-
'cring, To educate the orphan, bury the dead
and prevent by anticipation the woes incident
to the troubled pathway Of human life. With
US. then. far above our secrets. are the duties
we owe to our God, our families and our fell
low men. 1t is therefore our desire that our
principle be made known to all men.
The great work Of our Ancient Order is seen
IN our motto; Faith, Hope and Charity :"
| However dark the night of lnhdclity, the
beautiful lights of Faith hang out alsng the
battlemcntS OF Masonic principles, to guide
the weary wanderer to the knowledge Of the
existence of his God. Without an ucknow-
ledgment this grand truth no man can Join
our mystic circle. And il there is one to- day
In our ranks who rejects this truth. then his
unbelief is evidence of his blacklist perjury
| Masonry points man TO the beautiful worlds
which CLEAN above us, like brilliant Jewels in
| the coronet OF night, and bids her members
view them As the dim scintllations OF the di-
vine glory of the Grand Architect of uni
ycrsal being. When man asAs from whence
comes the-e things Inspiration answers,
In the beginning God created the heN ms
and the earth, and from the long ranks OF
our Order comes the 80 mote it be, F"
Masonry assumes that we are walking nn-
der the all-,e.ng eye of God, ana only when
man Is gisht selore Him; can he nope to find
the last. Not only does our Order 20 thus
far, but with faith in the immortality OF the
| soul, she leaves the sorrow wales OF earthly
gloom and leads man to the Temple of the
Lord, built upon Mount Zion" and bids
him see In this type Of the Eternal Temple
which God is silently building. No saw, no
hammer, no malct is heard and II Is only
when the Rough Ashlcrs OF human nature
are heautifed and polished 10y the hand of the
great Grand Master, that thef can hope to be-
come living stones in that Spiritual Temple.
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens"
Thus she speaks TO man aud bids him in his
rbughness to rest In Hope IN thu h tnds of the
great Builder OF eternal things.
While thus in Faith and Hope we acknew-
ledge our duties to our God Masonry does
not forget that no man liveth unto himself
and no man dieth unto HIMSELF but acknow.
ledgiAg the truth that men are but links in
the chain of human lite, aud each dependent
upon the other, we are formed into brother
hood. Seeing that mans inhumanity to
man cause countless thousands to mourn"
she throws before all men the principle OF
Charity. Not that charity whicA enables
man 10 give n little Of his abundance, which
often springs from impure motives, but that
charity which was born in Heaven, was sent
on earth on missions OF mercy. throwing its
| light OF Joy mid the shadows Of human sor-
row, while the truant shades of sadness fled
| before the gathering splendors OF the orb Of
Love That charity which, when | am gone
and shall have left the secret work OF our Or.
der with my Brethren, will go with me and
hold me In spiritual orbit revolving around