Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-19
George Fleming Moore So De-
cIares in Addressing Scot
tish Rite Council.
URGES HEARTY SUPPORT
WHEN MOMENT ARRIVES
Great Men of Treemasonry Never
Among Those Advocating peace
at Any Price, Official Declares.

| ID
tance. But the great men of Free
masonry have never been among those
who belong to what is termed the
party for peace at any price.
| Thus declared Sovereign Grand Com
| mnader George Fleming Moore in his
allocution delivered this morning at
the House of the Temple, at 18th and S
| streets southwest, before the Supreme
Council of Scottish Rite Freemasonry
for the Southern Jurisdiction of the
United States.
| The session of the Supreme Council
opened at 10 o'clock. and later all Scot
tish Rite Masons were admitted to hear
the Grand Commanders allocution.
To-day, when we meet in this splen-
did temple" said the grand command
| er, ''or rather House of the Temple, we
should again render thanks that we are
permitted to meet in this capital city of
our country. in our own home and in a
time of peace.
For more than a year the greatest
war known to history has been devas-
tating the continent of Europe. and
| umberless lives have been sacrificed
in gigantic struggle, of which no one
seems to know the true cause and the
burden of responsibility for which no
nation will accept.
Great Soldiers Were Masons.
1.-The great soldiers of the world, like
our traditional founder, Frederick the
Great of Prussia, and Washington. La
fayette and Wellington. were Free
masons. 1t is a fact. however. that not
one of the kings of Europe which are
now at war belongs to our fraternity.
although the kings of Denmark and of
Sweden. both neutral countries. are
grand masters of Masons in their re-
spective Kingdoms.
The grand commander, referring to
the resolutions adopted by the Supreme
Council at its special session year
ago, which declared that the Masonic
fraternity and especially the Scottish
Rite always steadfastly stands for
peace between individuals and the ma
tions of the world" and that Free
masonry of every rite and degree has
always decried war and presented its
good offices on many occasions to as
sist in preserving peace. and which
instructed the grand commander to Of
fer his good offices to the President of
the United States. the peace commits
sion, the Carnegie Peace Foundation,
the supreme councils OF other coun-
tries and every other agency liable toj
assist in bringing peace out of the
present deplorable condition devastat-
ing the fair countries of Europe and
elsewhere" and pledging him it's ear
nest prayers and support in the en-
II have had several communications
from societies and bodies seeking the
aid of our rite in their plans for bring
ing about peace between the warning
nations in Europe, but there seemed to
be no prospect of accomplishing any
thing looking toward that most desir
able result Indeed, in a communities
ton from the Supreme Council of Swttz-
erland, such action was pronounced
not only useless but was thought to
be- actually detrimental to efforts for
peace when the proper time shall come
and when the contestants may be more
disposed to listen to overtures OF that
kind than at present.
q. s. Tries to Be Neutral.
He then quoted from his own letter
to DR.. Paul Maillefer. sovereign grand
commander of the Supreme Council of
Switzerland. a paragraph of which
reads as follows
Our country. like yours, is trying to
maintain a strict neutrality between
the warning nations. But it seems to
be a difficult task, and our President,
while doing his best to avoid disputes
and quarrels, yet finds 1T supremely i'm
portant to uphold the rights and the
dignity of our own people, in which is
also involved, as we see it, the rights
of other neutral nations.
From what you write and from the
tenor of your former printed circular
in relation to overtureS for peace your
conclusion seems to be that the present
is an inopportune time for Masons to
make any effort toward that most de-
sirable result. May l ask you to keep
me advised SO far as you may be able
to do SO. of the conditions which will
favor the efforts of Freemasonry to aid
in securing permauent peace?'
Resuming, the grand commander said
that he had had no advice, either from
= ha nf Gyyjf
from any other Masonic power, in rela-
tion to peace in Europe. and conditions
do not seem to have changed. Whenever
they do. he said. he will not be slow
to use all the power and influence pos
| sible to aid the brethren in Europe and
all other proper instrumentalities to-
ward securing peace for the world. He
urged every Scottish Rite Mason to
lend his earnest prayers and support
as far as might be in the endeavor to
make his efforts a success when the
| time shall be ripe.
| The allocution then dealt with many
| internal matters of Importance to the
| Supreme Council and the Rite which
are not of public concern.
| Advocates Public Library.
| On the subject of libraries" refer
| ence was made to the fact that the H.
| brary of the Supreme Council in this
| city was the first and for a long time
the only free public library In the Dis
| tric. of Columbia. and the grand COM
| mander recommended that the Supreme
| Council continue to make the library
| available to the public.
| 1T has grown to be one of those
things" he said, of which may be
Justly proud. and we cannot, l think,
now fix definite limits to it's usefulness
not only to the city of Washington but
to readers elsewhere. ] remember that
even in the days of Gen. Pike IL was
! freouented by scholars who had failed
to obtain the books for which they
| sought in the other libraries of the
| country"
] Reference was made to the Burns COL
LECTION Of the late w. r. Smith, super
inteudent Of the Botanic Gardens in con-
n.ction with inquiries as to what condi-
tons would govern the placing of the col
! lection in conjunction with the general
| library of the Scottish Rite. He said that
! senator Blair Lee OF a subcommittee of
| . local committee of the trustees, in a
| letter had informed him that two ques-
| ,ions raised in that connection could be
satisfactorily answered. namely: Can
| the collection be housed at the temple
and be open fully and unreservedly to the
general public, non-Masons well as
Masons? Can the collection be kept to-
| gether as a whole under the care Of the
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