Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1883-08-10

brains in latter day politics may buy
himself seat in the United States sen.
ate, hire for small part OF the pay he
votes to himself, mendican. dweller in
Washington garret to write speeches
which he has printed at the expense of
the government and sent to his cons.itu-
ents, who eIe astonished at The sudden
requirement by their representative Of
brains and statesmanship. Now snch a
fraud were never impossible under Ma
sonic tests.
l attach little consequence to the pop.
ular query as to the extreme antiquity
of Masonry. think that much that is
Oldest i'll the world could be easiest
spared. The Tudors trace their blue
blood back till it becomes black as the
secretion of the cuttie.fsh. Speculative
Masonry. or Masonry, as we know it now.
dates back to the beginning of the eieh.
teenth century, when st. Paul's lodge of
London conceived and adopted the idea
of speculative Masonry, which was car.
ried to France in 1925, and within the
next ten years to all the principaiities Of
Europe.
In speculative Masonry We are given
as material the human family as indi.
viduals to fashion into foundation, pil.
lars, walls. stairways, doorways, arches
and copings until human society shall
stand forth thing of beauty, harmony
and strength from turret to foundation
a delight to creation and the God
who made man after his own
image. The design of the temple en-
braces all hnmanity-the building of all
individual lives into one grand union of
llfe-as vetive offering to the great
author of life. Then work and faint not,
ye tollers; remembering ever that the
hardest task for each is the fitting of self
for his position in the building. Thus
when the sun shall have passed It's meri-
dian height and is sinkin6 to the west
and You know your rest draws near, and
when low twelve strikes for you it's
solemn knell, then shall you reap the
reward for burdens borne for others, a
helping hand outstretched to totterine
brother, a tear dropped on broken
heart, kind word spoken where kind
words were unknown, crust of bread to
the famishing, word of advice to the
orphan, a secret aims to the poor.
Such ID the end of true Mason's life,
or rather the beginning of that life Ma
sonic where the complete temple is the
universe, where our faith bearing hope
points out that archangles shall be our
brother and creations God the master,
where perfect brotherhood may adore
a common father and know the secrets
OF the inner chambers closed to mortal
ken.
1 love Masonry because tits predicated
upon the eternal brotherhood of man
and the fatherhood of God-as broad as
humanity. as deep as eternity. To pro.
mote the brotherhood of man is all there
Is OF life worth the living, aud the father.
hood OF God is all the hope there is in
dying. When all men indeed shall be
brothers and worship God as their father
the mellenium will have come on earth
and there will no longer be need of gov.
ernments, churches, lodges, chapters OF
commentaries.
l love Masonry because it brings men
together upon common level. If the
king would know it's honors, he must de.
scend to the level of the peasant. II
afixes to each man his true value &C
cording to single and invariable unit O
value. 1t thus teaches us to know our
selves as we are to see ourselves as other
see US.
1t is meet and proper that Columbia
the founding asylum for the world'e
.ASAASASs'S oAAA AoWAyy ouOAAu U0 VIC DldZ
ing sun in the Masonic constellation
And as our institutions have nourishec
Masonry, SO may 1t ever nurture them in
return, till domestic peace shall be 80 Sc
cure that the powers ofhell may not pre-
vail against it. May the apprentices
fellows and masters cement il
with love, the companion
guard it with vigilance eternal, and you
Sir Knights, train those polished swords
ever drawn in behalf Of innocence, Il
stride for your country.
Especially is it meet that the youns
and vigorous commonwealth of Dakota
the highest product of American liberty
should be the patron saints of that teach
ing masonry whose liberty Is broad a
your boundless prairies; whose truth
are precious beyond the treasures Q
your mines; whose resources are fertil
as your laughing valleys, whose wisdom
is clear as the balmy air that floats abov
you; whose mercy-tempered justice il
firm and rugged as your granite hills
whose hatred of oppression and wronI
Is fierce as your bowling billiards.