The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-16


 Scene from the pretentious musica sents the spiritual and mental, joy and gladness. Oil stands for peace, a peace for which we all long, but which will not come until the Hun is beaten, he declared. The square of the F'reema- sons, he said, stands for correctness, truth.
 He told of standing, as grand marshal of the grand lodge of Alabama, by the side of Jefferson Davis as he laid his hands on the monument erected on the state capitol grounds at Montgomery to the Confederate dead and expressed his grief over the loss of the souths splen- did manhood. and of the joy he felt that
 Alabama had done her share in the
 great struggle. He recalled being in California a few years ago and of the pride he felt in telling the people of that state that Alabama had furnished mor1 men inaproportion to her population for the Spanish-American war than any other state, and when we come to lay a marble memorial to our men who sacri- flee their lives in France that liberty may survive, it will be another proud day i for us in Alabama, for We will know thai I our boys have done their duty.
 HEFLlN lNlRODUCED Dr. J. H. Phillips, superintendent oi | the Birminghahm schools, introduced | Hon. J. Thomas Heflin, representative in l Congress from the Fifth Alabama dis l trict, who said in part:
 | Not only is the Masonic fraternity | the oldest fraternity in the world, out l it is the first organized effort to Cig- nifty labor and exalt the laboring man 1 First to knit together, in the bonds of | fraternal love, the clements of cour- age, sympathy, and friendship; first cret society to minister to the poor and needy first to worship at the l shrine of truth. and first to champion ] the cause of liberty.
 l "When princes and lords looked upon the mass of men as mere money making animals, the Masonic ear heard I and understood the saying of Jehovah I I will make man more precious than | gold and the order of Freemasonry became the torch bearer in the march | back to the mountain summit of mans proper relationship with God and man "In that day of doubt and unbe1ief I there were men of noble hearts and oi
 heroic mould. Something called tc l their better nature. Something re- minded them of their duty to their fellow man. Something suggested the good of closer relationship, the unity of purpose and higher standards oi l living, and that something was the
 spirit of the Most High. There were already in existence secret societies
 of various kinds, but they were founded upon the fallacies of heather | mythology Tn the great plan ot
 things. the time had come for the es- | tablishment of a fraternity with God
 as it's definite head, Supreme Ruler and l Architect. Then it was that Free
 masonry was christened in the Hoase
 of the Lord, in the Temple of Solo, 1 mon, al the city of Jerusalem.
 BUILDING OF TEMPLE
 "The building of this temple and thc coming of this order had been prophc-
 sled by the inspired men of the c.d l Bible. The temple eelipsed all others in magnificence and brave and true men from every country came to lea ru went away with a new vision of life and a new faith and friendship, and recognizing God as the Supreme Archi- tect of the Universe.
 | The cohesive. power of this order was
 the spirit of the. divine plan, the love ant IIoyalty of human beings made in Gods OWL image. and it had for it's purpose the lpractice of charity. the cultivation ant fostering of human virtues, It's mem, bers ministered to the poor and needy long before Christ came to teach then the significance of the saving, Inasmucf as ye did it unto one of the least ol one of these, ye did it unto me- They learned to love one another and to beai one another's burdens long before tho new dispensation came. They were, 1T fact, the Good Samaritans of the Olo World They blazed the way and pre- pared the people for the coming of Johr the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, tho
 Saviour.
 "A fraternity good enough to combat atheism and infidelity and preserve the last and only copy of the Bible in ex istence and then become the forerunnel of the Church of Christ will accomplish good as its handmaid until every knee shall bow and every tongue confess the one living and true God. The Masoni, fraternity had to encounter cruel ano bitter opposition. It has endured priva tions and hardships for the sake of prin I ciples that have come down to us through 50 centuries.
 .Freemasonry opened it's door to ricl and poor alike and men of courage anC convictions knelt at it's shrine and bor, it's standard. At times they were tra duced and slandered, but the principles
 of the order inspired them with courag and faith to defy the scaffold and thu l stake. They were as brave men as eve fought with Horatius at the bridge, o nerished with Leonidas at Thermopylae With lacerated hands and bleeding fee they continued the march of the cen l turies. Atheism and infidelity combate
 them at every step and turn, but on
 ward they went, clinging to their fait lin God and holding fast to the prin
 ciples of brotherly love.
 FRIEND OF LIBERTY
 "The order has been the friend of lib lerty, progress and advancement in ever lclirne and country. No tooth of time. n
 ...e hlrf,d1r h a nd no. dava st tinn q