Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-02-22
ALEXANDR|AAFFA|RS
Session of Masonic Memorial
Association Nears Close.
TAFT'S SPEECH LAST NIGHT
President Extols Washington's Pub.
lie Service-ProgTam Today.
Deaths in City-Briefs.
Special Correspondence Of The Star.

Special Correspondence Of The Star.
ALEXANDRIA. Va. February %. 1918
With the annual election OF officers this
afternoon and a pilgrimage to Mount Yer
non. where a memorial wreath will be
placed on Washington's tomb. the third
annual meeting Of the George Washington
Masonic Memorial Association will be
brought to close. Accompanying the
delegates on the special trip will be a
large number of members of the two local
lodges Amos T. Fisher. veteran Of the
Mexican war. Lightweight years old. one
of Alexandrias Oldest citizens. will also
be a special guest
The morning session of the association
convened shortly before 10 o'clock Invo-
cation was pronounced by Rev. William j.
Morton. rector Of Christ Episcopal Church
and chaplain OF the local association.
Afterward the constitution was adopted,
following a number Of minor changes.
| Annual reports of the various officers
were then read.
The association yesterday afternoon
elected Charles H. Callahan, its secretary
and past master of Alexandria- Washing-
| ton Lodge of Masons, to life membership
| He is the first to receive this honor.
President Taft yesterday afternoon
| spent forty-f1ve minutes here as the guest
/! of the association. and make BRIEF
speech to the members on the life Of
| Washington. He shook the hands of
many Of those present before departing
Presidents Address.
President Taft's address follows:
"The more we study the history of the
| country, the deeper the impression is
made upon us of the debt that we owe
to George Washington. 1t does seem as
| if he had been indispensable in the max
ing of this country. His combination Of
qualities was such that he filled every
| requirement in the greatest emergency
| and the greatest exigency. He was not a
| great orator. a great lawyer or great
| jurist but he was a great general.
| think that some of his campaigns can be
| compared with those of any general IN
| history.
| But he was more than all of these
he was a man of such character that
when he came In contact with other men
with similar purpose they recognized
the necessity of yielding to him the
primacy and of following him. With all
| his abilities of various kinds. he had that
sincerity of purpose and that common
sense. courage and persistence In carry
| ing out his purpose that made him
leader of men wherever he was. whether
on the field of battle or at the head OF
| the constitutional convention, in founding
the greatest popular government that
ever was founded.
Then when YOU read about him, You
find that. while he was in the general de-
scription perfect man. he had certain
weaknesses that brought him pretty close
to all of us. When he saw anything that
was mean and that stirred up his indig-
nation he found methods of expression
that were not as elegant as they might
hA hptt fIANy fv16f fnA hot hn h0A rod
blood in his veins.
Washington Loyalty.
He had what we in Freemasonry
must love; he had that sense of loyalty,
to his brethren. that desire, to do justice
to every man who stood by him and
helped him, SO that no one followed him
| who could not count on his support when
ever the issue arose as to what mans
merits were and whether he should re-
ceive the reward that justice and a long
association required.
LAS YOU study him. and I like to study
him personally. his qualities ere SO great
that sometimes you feel as II he pushed
you off. as II he were cold. and you
| marble. But / like to read those stories
that indicate that he had a sense of
humor. and that he had a sense of sports
manship, too, and that he was no molly
coddle.
Now we ought to be proud. and we
have the right to be proud. that he was
our foremost American Freemason: and
this association. which proposes to make
memorial of that fact. ought to receive
from every true Mason who breathes in
the spirit of Masonry all the aid possible
to indicate in typical way how much
we respect his memory, and how proud
we are to have him as our leader In Ma
sonry, well as in history and in gov
ernmental matters"
Banquet Tonight.
Alexandria, Washington Lodge of
| Masons will hold it's annual banquet at
s o'clock tonight in the auditorium of
| the Elks' Home. Samuel w. Pitts,
worshipful master of the lodge, will act
| as POSTMASTER. Between $50 and 400
members will attend. Among them will
| be the delegates to the Memorial AS
ISOLATION. The banquet will be served
| by the ladies of Martha Washington
| Chapter, Order of Eastern Star
| handsome memorial wreath was to-
| day placed on Washingtons tomb at
Mount Vernon by the George Washing
ton Birthday Association. The members
| left this city at 1880 o'clock on the
palace car Mount Vernon. embarking at
| King and Washington streets, from the
| rooms of the chamber Of commerce.
Those in the party included E. E.
Downham. president; A. d. Brockett, w.
| w. HI. Luckett, w. HI. Sweeney, Smith
Williams. Peter Won de Westerlaken, D.
| r. Stansbury, Harry Hammond, F. j.
Paf, j. Y. williams. Thomas Chauncey