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

AN ADDRESS
Delivered by Hon. A. C., MeiIette MT the
Laying Of the Corner Stone of the Sioux
Falls Masonic Temple. SEF
The following is synopsis of the ad.
dress delivered at Sioux Falls, Wednes.
day, by Hon. A. @. Mellette, of Water
town, on the occasion of the laying of
the corner stone Of the Masonic temple:
Ladies and Gentlemen-On behalf Of
the Masonic fraternity of this grand jur-
isdlction permit me to welcome and
thank you for the honor of your attend
anee upon the ceremonies of the day.
Brothers, according to time-honored
usage, we meet to lay the first stone of
the corner OF buil2ing, sacred to the
ceremonies aud tenets of Masonry.
1t has been aptly said that he does not
live in vain who builds house. The
mere fact then of the purpose to build q
house is sufficient apology fer the-exist.
ance Of the lodge under whose auspices
we meet, and of every lodge here repre-.
sented.
Architecture is the child Of ciyiliza.
tion. The degree OF its advancement is
a reliable criterion Of the progress at.
tained in the growth OF the development
1t enshrines. AS operative Masons, or
builders, instituted our revered order. it
ls specially appropriate to commemorate
its origin by the erection of Masonic
homes apace with the advanced arch1-
lecture Of the age. It is most appro.
pirate alse for Minnehaha lodge of Sioux
Falls to take the initiative in this direc-
ton on behalf of Dakota.
Your city occupies the position of the
Keystone in the frontal piece of the dla.
dem of Dakota villages, and rare vieor
intelligence, enterprise and social graces
has right we'll sustained the position of
honor accorded by nature. The fact
that the unbullde temple is to be e1ec-
ted by Minnehaha lodge is certain eyi.
dence that it will not disgrace this beau
tiful city, and the fact that it is to be
builded in Sioux Falls is positive guar.
antee that it will be worthy of Dakota.
Then firm be your temple as the eter.
nal granite on which it rests and which
is to rise into its stately walls, and nav
Minnehaha lodge and the orders builded
thereon be firm as their temple. Nav
the outward beauty and symmetry Of
your magnificent building be ever a
reflex of that peace and harmony pre-
vailing within among brethren dwell
ing together in unity. May the cease
less roar of the resistless rapids of your
mighty river and the countless indus
tries it supports be emblematic of the
tlreless industry Of the craft within, at
labor upon the grander temple of sym
bollsm-whosef efoundation-stone is peace,
whose pillars are friendship, whose
cement is brotherly love, and its entabla.
ture wreath of hope, twined by faith,
for admission to that lodge supreme
where the eternal God presides in the
east, and where shall be celebrated the
completion Of the temple not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens,
Your hearts must indeed swell with
emotions of thankfulness as your minds
revert from to-day to your humble ori.
gin, which seems as but yesterday, when
as pioneers of the fraternity you buiIded
your lodge, about which worthy
companions now stand guard while
Knights Templar, with drawn steel, are
proud to do you honor. And well you
may be proud-proud of your achieve.
ments, and proud of the achievements OF
Masonary throughout the world.
The speaker then stated that millions
of good and true men were members OF
Masonic lodges throughout the world,
and poured out millions of money yearly
for the benefit Of suffering humanity
and then e1horted his hearers, if they
found in Masonry false teachings, or any.
thing with tendency to make them.
selves less than they should be as hus.
band, father, brother of citizen, to teal
from the institution its mask and expose
to the world the gigantic fraud. But il
the order is the patron of innocence
whose emblem is the lambskin of its
teachings, he warned his brethren to
belle not its profession, but wear the
emblem in all humility and continue to
erect to it more and grander temples.
Masons are taught in their lodges, sub.
mission to law, obedience to those in
authority. good morals, and everything
that has tendency to make the world
better. Masonry teaches, too, the I'M
mortality Of the soul, from tho time the
candidate crosses its threshold until his
dust is committed back to dust amid the
falling sprigs of evergreen to the mourn
full requiem which never ceases to thrill
the heart of Mason. That there are
bad men among the fraternity is no more
evidence that Masonry is bad, than the
presence of corrupt men in churches
prove the christian religion to be corrupt
in both places the failure is due entire
~ to the inherent badness of the mate
rial-if the log is rotten the finished
plank will also be.
While Masonry could never discharge
the functions of the state, nor its doc.
trines rise to the sublimity of the teach.
ings of Christ, still both church and
state will find in this institution pro.
tector and ally. Peace, law and order
the strength OF all government in church
and state, are the very Shibboleth of Ma.
sonry.
But why not publish the ritual? Sim
ply because the committing Of it to mem.
ory makes the standing Of the Mason.
Remove the obligation of secrecy, print
the volumes of unwlitten Masonry in
books and you at once destroy the test
of Masonic knowledge and the necessity
for its study. If Masonry should start q
Sunday school, 1t would 60 back to the
old style of committing verses to mem.
ory, and it would not allow teachers a
book to prompt from. Is not the tendency
of the age to rely on books? Does it not
tend to weaken and enervate the mem.
ory? Do We not try to teach ourselves
that superb edition of the bible, ele.
gantly printed, bound and illustrated
may be locked in golden clasps and laid
on the table to remain unopened, and
thus take the place and answer the pur.
pose Of the old, we'll thumbed volume
which our grandparents thought il
profitable to read and study? Yea
and the more We sin the more bibles, and
the finer, We buy-and the higher on the
shelf We place them. Now. II Masonry
were conducting q church, such un,
studied books wsald give no standing