The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-08-26
DEN0UNCESLIQU0R
 AS MONSTER EVIL IF NEGRO PEOPLE
MaSons Must Deny AffiIia- tionS With DrunkardS,
 Leader Tells Delegates

Declaring that intemperance is the monster evil of the race which negro Masons must fight, that thousands resort to "bootleggers" since the saloon has been abolished, that af- filiation of Masons with drunkar-s must be denied, that Birmingham is the logical place for the new temple, because it affords ample Inducements for large investments, Walter Thomas Woods of Birmingham, grand mas ter of the State Grand Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, colored, delivered his annual address to dele gates representing 24,000 members of the order in the state at the opening Thursday of the firty sixth annua! iession just closed. He said in part:
 Tt affords me great pleasure to welcome you to our new, magnificent Temple in the forty-siXth annual communication of our order. The past year has been attended with many mine disasters. l always think 9f our brethern who work in the mines and pray for them. They are
 In more danger than many others. Among them are many men beling- Ing to our craft. And, too, added to the mine disasters are sickness, diseases and the failure of crops.
 But the, year has not been all gloom. There have been many bright days. Our people in our glorious southland continue to climb upward. They are sending their children to school, purchasing homes, building better homes and buying farms. Whenever man becomes the owner of 8 home he realizes that he must be a law abiding citizen, that the law must protect his life and property or else he should go where he can get protection.
 Intemperance Worries.
 The thing that worries me most Is intemperance among our people. 1t seems that since the saloons have been closed thousands of our people resort to "bootlegg I want to say to you there Is no hope for drunk ards in this life or in the life to come. We must eliminate this element from our order. The code of Masonry says this element must be denied affilia- tion in our craft. We must see to 1t that this law be enforced. We must stop the whisky habit among our members. It is your Christian duty to fight this curse, this monster, at every turn of the road. There has been no change in the principles of Masonry from the days of King Solomon to the present time.
 At the last Grand Lodge I recom- m ended the erection of a temple for our order, because 1 thought it was the best way to invest our money. l am delighted with the selection of this location by our temple commis- sion, because Birmingham is the only progressive city in Alabama where every facility could be afforded to make the investment of half million dollars profitable. Birming- ham is the ideal place for any busi- ness enterprise It is needless for x1, t1 i, 70 ( FI,fe stately structure. It speaks for it. self. There is nothing like it any where else in the world for negro Mascne
 "Masons do not commit crimes. do not mean mere members of the lodge. The lodge, like the church, sem etlmes gets members into the fra ternity who are not oS the right kind The devil slipped into the Garden of Eden, but he did not cease to be the devil. So a bad man may slip into the lodge and commit crimes, not be- cause he is a Mason, but because he is a bad man and therefore not a Mason.
 Character To Be Emphasized.
 We must place more emphisis on character. That word is fast com ing to describe a man of moral ex- cellence. It means the moral rising to the supremacy Of the lnteilectual and spiritual endowment of the soul. It is the result of powers wrought by the cooperating energy of man and his Creator.
 I've are usually too hasty in judg- ment. We should form the habit of waiting till facts are known. The average man acts upon impulse. We we should wait to hear both sides in a case our judgment would be diff ferent from conclusions founded upon impulse.
 AS negro Masons we are fast learning the beauty and necessity of liberty restrained by law. We are fast learning how to respect, abide by and honor legal enactments, Masonry teaches us these things.
 'We are delighted to welcome to our fraternity 4,500 new members during the year. This is shown in the report of our Grand State Medical Director, Dr. l.. L. Burwell. His re- port shows an increase in member shin nf 2272 over last year."