Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1903-01-01
The Io,sOus Of Masonry.

shat We give the following from On
inspiring address by Grand Master y
II. Dewey ct Fort Scott;
III we were to show all the forms
and ceremonies, in all the degrees, In
oil the rites Of Masonry, all that the
eye could see would not amount to
much 10 ITSELF There would be
squares and compasses, levels and
gavels, crosses and crowns and eagles.
but what are theyP Nothing but what
they mean. Masonry means nothing
to the man, whether be be Mason
or not, who hath not the power OF
vision to perceive their meaning.
That 10 all there Is to Masonry. The
meaning and the teaching Of these
sym bols Is all we know and"all we
need to know. Stripped Of Its mean
ing the. ceremonies Of Masonry are as
ridiculous as mans habits or .
woman's loves, but not more so than
much Of the ceremony Of the church
or state.
at is a blessed privilege, In this
day and age when life 10 so swift In
Ito pursuits OF the material, the prac'
tical to preceive with the mind some
hing more than one sees with the
eye. After oil Is said and done 1t Is
that power and privilege which sus-
tains life. Masonry cultivates 1t and
therein lies much Of its strength. To
DO sure, we feed our hungry and bury
our dead, but We claim no credit for
that. We could mot do less for the
heather do 90 much. But when we
put the square and compasses on the
Holy Bible and tell q brother that the
Book Is the rule and guide Of faith;
the square to square our actions, and
the compasses to circumscribe and
keep us in due bounds toward all
mankind; when we give him lamb
skin or white leather apron. and toll
him 1t 10 an mblem Of innocence and
the badge Of q Mason, we are increas-
ing his power Of perception In . way
that ought to make his life more OF q
pleasure to himself and Of greater
benefit to the community in which
he lives. My friends, there is no
mystery about Masonry. We have
our own particular ways Of doing GER
tain things, and we do not tell our
neighbors about them any more than
do the members Of family talk Of
their domestic relations. We are a
body Of men organized for worthy
purposes. 10 organization there
ought to be great strength and power,
and there Is, under right conditions.
John Ruskin said: 1T 10 useless to
put your heads together, II you can't
put your hearts together. Shoulder
to shoulder, righthand to right hand,
among yourselves, and no wrong hand
1 a. a a =
to anybody else, and you'll win the
world yet There are today In Kan
sas $4,000 men whose hearts and
heads and hands are bound together
by the same bonds, They have as
sumed the same VOWS and been taught
the same symbols. They are the men
who are making Kansas, and Free
masonry is undertaking to make Of
them men who are tit TO make state.
| 1t Is undertaking to put their hearts
together by certain confidence which
the world can never know 1t 10 under
taking to put their hands together In
the practice OF charity and kindred
deeds Of kindness. II II Is succeed
ing In these undertakings and en-
deavors. then this community, as well
as the fraternity. is to be congratu'
lated upon having within It's bounds
an organization Of such men. Every
Mason has, or ought to have, Q poin'
Of view from which be can estimate
the value Of any act or word. II
matters Of state this 10 ell important
It is much more important that . citi
zen know what . nation ought to b
than that he knows what IT Is. Tn
, really great statesman knows both
and that is what makes him great
Who shall say that the influence 0
Masonry is not apparent In the Dec
: laration Of Independence, when al
: but two, or possibly three, Of Its sign