New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-09-12
HONORARY MEMBERSHIP.
A Mr,cII-ABusED CUSTOM.

other things frequently abused. THESE are '"S'
the election OF honorary members, with ctthea's
OF membership. engrossed, framed e'c' ""
second the sending or presenting CT letters OIL
coincidence 10 widows. 10 brethren who have met
with domestic loss or af'iction
Az TO the frst II Is n very handsome thing 10 40
to elect brother to honorary membership wheh "e
really deserves this honor. Where brother Is
3 frequent regular visitor to your Iooge' assis'S
In the work. or aids your visiting committees
or has otherwise shown a partiality to your par
,cular body alone and has In any way aided ana
helped TO bring your lodge forward and upwars, OF
helped TO bring 1t into prominence before me Ma
sonic world and he II otherwise In good standihs
and OF recognized ability OF usefulness In the craft
and al! other things point favorably toward an
honorary membership, 1t is well enough 10 30 elect
him In one particular lodge. not In dozen or So
or when a brother stands out I'm bold relief by his
faithful and dsinterested services TO the craft. has
for years and years been In harness, In and out OF
season; always, at all times, shown his devotion TO
Masonry. and has through this increasing devotion
earned position and honor in the Grand Lodge. Is a
recognize: light and leader In that august body
you honor yourselves by honoring him with the
compliment: Of honorary emeritus membership.
!. Or where some honest unobrusve veteran has
served the craft we'll and faithfully though always
In the ranks or or the floor for a phenomenally
long time. please this old man with the comp-
mcnt OF honorary: 1t cannot last long. FOR he IL
the innunerab!e veterans In the mystic beyond. aud
1t IL pretx thing to do.
Blu. what has Brother A. done Ia your lodge. or
TO the craft at large, 10 deserve this recognition at
your hands? He Is very young Mason has only
been a member two years. This Is his first year IN
the East. True, he has been made d. D. by the
grace OF the Grand Master: but he may be his
brother-in-law. son-in-law or be in some way con-
nected I'm law or otherwise. with the powers that
he. Wait! Don't thrust the honorary membership
OF your lodge upon the young scion Of Grand Lodge
power and influence. Walt. Don't scken him
too early In hly Masonic career with too many
sweets In the shape Of honors thrust upon him. let
him serve few years first. and see II he holds out
see whether the fire Of his enthusiasm burns ar
brightly and as steadily in the ranks as 1t does
now. while he is In position and In favor Wait.
And Brother b., who has only visited your lodge
two or three times In his life. why elect him an
honorary member? Because he has just been
elected an Alderman, has been sent to the Legs-
lRture. or to Congress- and perhaps your master or
somebody else expects some favor his hands?
Wait! See whether Brother Il. will carry out the
principles OF order in his official station;
whether he will act upon the square in all
things: whether. row that he has been elected to a
!lg. and honorable position, greatly by the aid OF
f.s Masonic friends he will be as proud Of his
necton with the fraternity as he was before his
elevation Walt! See whether now that he has
climbed the first rungs of the ladder to fame, he
will be the same good brother he before lie
stepped upon the upward path OF distinction.
Wait!
During the feversh excitement OF the late war
this honorary membership business was greatly
orerdone In most lodges throughout the Union.
Did some general achieve ever slight a victory, IL
a Mason. several lodges wouli forthwith elect him
an honorary member Did some wealthy
tractor or suter donate large sum of money TO
charitable object Masonic or otherwise again
m nd try
make an honorary member OF him. Later on. did
some poor devil lose an arm or leg In battling for
his country. upon his return home he would be
honored In half dozen lodges with membership.
and II some sober minded brother would urge that
the occasion did not warrant this action. he would
at one be greeted with the pleasant sobriauet.
kicker" Blank Lodge did not escape the general
honorary gathered in dnx the Tefs yea hs
mat the fever lasted. but have since been pretty
The Rev. Mr.. McGregor cam. here from the
South with highly colorei ana s-nsa tonsl tale
Smons ths ;ebes ali on 2aeont ~ bs y eS a a
1nwavering devotion 10 the cause OF the Union snJ
lie came from some lodge in Cleveland Tenn. and
anne mere on mission ~ charity came mere
to gather in our shekes TO enable him to open
= sunday school among The nenight+d colorei
brethren OF the South. 70 spread the Gospel and
the hi1eous rebels who had so tormented him The
o eoa WIZ d, cur rag people just t1sn %af such thai any
fried for dinner and then sup upon hai:-Iozen
rebel babes served raw. and besides all this sym.
once accepted nero and the Rev AIr Ne
qIre9r hlled the blIi exactly He had been intro
brought to The lodge. Where he treated the the
brethren 10 recital u MS suirerinss IN the
Der. but ne had no certifcate or any dosuments
rom the mother lodge and they could not be
sumnirliy rejected. but nothing dsun,ed. The Wor-
shgtGl In d hot war speech. again pictured ,he
sdHerings or me reverend hero and begged for
nnanuous consent 10 make the dear brother an
honorary mem5fr rnis was finally done and he
They had written to Cleveland Lodge Cleveland
TENT. about him. b1t. OF course, received no reply
~ al communications We're closed but whether
the letters were retained and afterwald forward
"a tlei do mo- knoW; Anyway, about a year
Grant fs 81 qry py aa Fm taG
Ledge OF that city ard State never existed ana
b @ time ne sss an e.
de transactions, which could not De called
~"s,qaare." ard on taking him aside and sabjecting
him 10 a rigid cioss-examinat.on 1t came out
Pat ne had never belonged to the lodge he
Maine. The" wrote to the lodge there and re-
. ee!red reply that tPIs man had been ini;
for unmasonc conduct. and the last they heard Of
him was that he had been chaplain IA the Con-
Tolerate Army. blt was dr,immed on: o, the re<l-
to Washington, where he appointed to some fat
t.ia by The Administration How or by what
quietly dropped from the roll.
brother Strirger was coal dealer In Jersey city
At one time an enterprising brother OF -
lodge conceived the Idea To open Masonic mission
that H. mission OF real charity. To buy coal. wood
Hour and tatoes at the lowest whOlessl e price
nj 10 retail TO the deserving poor same rate
Thc older members % n. craft In this city Will
remember little shanty erected for this purpose At
The intersection Of the little square nj tine Five
Points. where this Masonic Mission was inaugurated
ana where II also petered out. fzzlsd. Brother
Srlnger furnished the coal to this institution and
though II was presumed that he made bat little
profit out OF the sale he dona ted the first ron OF
coal 10 the enterprise and for this noble" &? deed
II charity made honorary member The
commission merchant who furnished the potatoes
was rot Mason. and the Worshpfnl Master could
do nothing with him. hut the wood man and tho
1our were duly dragged up end ralroaded on
he long lis; OF hoHorsries At one time a brother
came on here from the West 10 star: y Masonic
mutual benefit organization. among the first ever
sttempted In this city. and for while was sue
reSaful He too was made honorary IN Blank
odge But both he and his benefit society have
long Stree been forgotten.
At ano her time they got a course Of lectures
and almost anybody who had In any way anything
to do with this made honorary member.
In vain some brethren protested and said that all