The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-22
NEGRO MASONIC BODY HASASSETS
 SHOWING $4SQ,346
Grand Lodge To Meet
 Next Year In Tuscaloosa

ports, the accounts being certified by William H. Carter, who is now treas urer of Tuskegee institute and auditor of the grand lodge.
 The financial statement is said to b, the largest ever shown by a negro or Ranization in Alabama The summar, for the year showed the following re ceipts:
 { J. O. Diffay, grand treas
 uTer ...........9 } lS,l34Ut R. B. Hudson, grand endow-
 ment treasurer ....... 413, ,512.0( A. A. Peters, endowment sec
 retary, received at Bir-
 mingham meeting ....... 5,44O.OC Eastern Star ............. 42,200O( Total from all sources. .$4S0, ,3460C
 The next meeting of the grand lodge will be held in Tuscaloosa in 1925.
 At o'clock Thursday morning the auditorium and galleries were filled with delegates to finish the work of the annual meeting. Grand Master Woods called the meeting to order, and devo' tional exercises were conducted by the grand chaplin, G. w. Mitchell.
 Telegrams of congratulation were read
  1 Shepherd of Chicago, H., and Dr. w. F Clarke, Opelika, Ala. Dr. L. l.. Bur, l we'll, Selma, state grand medical direc tor, made his annual report, showing among other things, that 4,S72 members were registered during the year; that the health of the members is better that the death rate is decreasing, and urged upon physicians to be careful and conscientious in the examination of ! applicants for membership.
 Greetings from the grand chapter Eastern Star, Royal Grand Matron Jamie NJ. Balasco in charge, were brought to the grand lodge by dele. | gation of 12 representatives. The greet 1 ings were extended by 0. l.. Proctor, who stated that the 800 local chapters | represented a membership of 1882 the increase for the year being 1000 and that the grand chapter had $43,- 631.30 on hand.
 Detailed reports of the grand chapter read at the present session of that order showed receipts for the endow- ment department were $35,O87.3O, in- cluding $17,272.01 brought over from the previous year.
 The treasurer of the grand chapter received $7,112.S5, with a balance of | $2,577.45 on hand. Response was made 1 by Dr. W. H. Nixon, deputy grand master, in which he eloquently re- viewed the history of the grand lodge and it's relation to the grand chapter.
 Report on Grand Master Woods ad- dress, read by H. D. Davidson of Cen treville, commended his administration and indorsed the recommendations of the grand master.
 Reports were made by Grand Lectur- CTS Humphrey, Garrett and Baker, showing that the grand lodge is in good condition.
 Dr. W. J. Turner, chairman on for eign correspondence, showed in his re- port that P jurisdictions extended fra ternal greetings to the grand lodge of Alabama and sent congratulations to the grand lodge on the compile tion of the $60O,OO0 temple.
 The day was spent principally in hearing reports by the officers who handle the funds of the order.
 J. O. Diffay, grand treasurer, re- ported receipts for the year amounting to $19,194.09; disbursed, $15,672.O2; i; ' balance on hand, $3,522,07.
 
 received from all sources, $413, SPAS i; cash balance in banks of Selma and Girard, $24,936.01.
 Report Of Temple Commission
 The report of the Temple commission Tead by P. D. Davis, secretary, showed among other things, that the present ste of the temple, corner Fourth avenue and Seventeenth street, measuring 1OOx15O feet cost $60,000; that the present value of the three lots is $125,- 900. The total cost of site and temple was $657, ,704.95.
 The report was approved by the Grand Lodge. Incidentally the report brought out a statement made recently by a real estate dealer that in few months the temple property will be worth one million dollars.
 A note to the grand lodge from Law yer W. T. White who was present at the dedication of the temple Tuesday night congratulated the grand lodge and it's Grand Master on the near compile tion of the magnificent temple and praised the fine addresses on that oc- casion made by Oscar W. Adams, edi- tor of the Birmingham Reporter.
 Dr. J. A. Bray stated in a note worthy address that the negro Masons of Alabama have the finest and most expensive building of any other negro organization in the world.
 The accountant, William H. Carter, certified to the report of the Endow- nlent Secretary A. 4. Peters and the Endowment Treasurer R. B. Hudson and he further stated that the Grand Lodge has a net asset of four hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
 He made comparison for the past five years of income and expenditures which showed as follows:
 Income ................... SS56992 Operating Expenses ....... 36.4S7 Death Claims S............ 367, 1S9 Surplus Accumulated ....... 454,715
 The endowment office, he said, has been operated at a cost of four and one quarter per cent which is exceptionally low. The $454,, ,715 surplus was used in the erection of the temple. William Fl. Carter has been recently appointed treasurer of Tuskegee insti- ute, a position held many years by Warren Logan, now retired.
 Dr. B. T. Belshaw of Mobile, report ing. for the committee on resolutions Recommended donations to Dr. W. H. Nixon whose health is very much i'm paired; and Grand Lecturer Garrett who has been sick more than year. Grand Chaplain c. W. Mitchell report ing for the committee on obituary, paid a touching tribute to the lives and serv- fees of the late c. N. McDaniels and James Peterson. A large collection was raised from individual members of the lodge for the poor and dependent members of local lodges.