Why Lodges Are Dormant.

intended for no other purpose than that of making it appear that the Officers are deeply solicitous for the Lodge ' s welfare . It is more than anything else the cause of poor attendance ,

unaffiliationi and general stagnation . And yet singularly enough , the active workers fail to see it and attribute the moribund condition of their Lodge to a thousand and one other things .

Lodge members who have to be urged to pay their dues are but a small fraction of the- membership , as every Secretary knows . Most of them are careless and forgetful and will cheerfully settle if reminded often enough . They have no real intention of cheating the Lodge out of anything . Such

men should not be unaffiliated , nor should they be made the subject of unfraternal remarks . Those , however , who do not intend to pay their just dues , and very plainly say so , should be very differently dealt with . They care nothing for the

Lodge and the Order , and ought to be dropped without ceremony . In any event , keep the matter of delinquencies in the background as much as possible , referring it to a committee , if necessary . —Jubelo , in " Masonic Chronicle . "

****************** Masonry has always taught loyal and patriotic citizenship . , Like the Master , Masonry has held to the law , " Render to Caesar tihe things that are Cassar ' s . " Masonic charges abound in inspiring injunctions to be true to one ' s

country . But the Masonic Institution has done more for political development . Freedom , equality , union are the eternal principles of God that constitute the foundation of a free people . These are our great principles . Who can say that these principles living and increasing for centuries

in the hearts of Masons have not been a potent force in the political evolutions of the race . The Freemason , meeting on the level of equality with his Brother , and united to him by a fraternal uond , has been the prototype , of the free

citizen of the American republic . Masonry has done more than any other organisation in the world to overthrow unjust authority on the one hand and anarchy on 'the other . To Masonry should be credited a large share of the political progress of our race . —Walter E . Ranger , Vermont .

7 f "A' 'X 'A A 'A JV A" 'X * ¥ ? Our Institution rests upon the broad foundation of human sympathies . Its objects are through the inculcation and practice of God-given virtues to raise the fallen , cheer the faint , help the needy and lilt man back to glory and to

God . With heart to heart and hand to back , an invincible army , with the banners of peace and the weapons of innocence ,- with love as our motto and fidelity as our captain , let us charge the intrenchments of avarice , oppression and greed . Let a spirit of helpfulness and consideration , of sympathy ,

charity and benevolence , nerve our hearts and animate our impulses . Our aims are noble , our mission is grand , our hope is eternal . Let us unite and labour to advance the principles

of our glorious Institution . Let fraternity mould our action . Let us live the lives of true Maons , until Masonry and its blessed influences shall permeate every worthy home . —B . Dudley Williams , Alabama .

Permit me to state that , in my humble opinion-, the time is coming , and no man knows how soon , when the fees for the first three degrees will be made to cover not only the cost of initiating , crafting and raising , but will include enough

to pay for a life membership . Then i instead of being prohibited , life memberships will become universal ; then , by wise laws prohibiting the use of these funds during the life of the member , sufficient interest can be obtained to pay annually into the treasury more than can be collected from

dues . When that day comes we will have no non-affiliates , no Brethren suspended for non-payment of dues . Then will it be universally known that every suspended Mason has committed some crime greater than the crime of poverty . — Horace T . De Long , Colorado .

********** Men do not know , nor can they know , the good that has been done and is being accomplished by the plain , simple

lessons of our Fraternity . Not even those who have come within the mystic circle can estimate its full power as a factor in the problem of life . Withdrawing from the gaze of the world , asking nothing from its favciir , independent of its

Why Lodges Are Dormant.

power or opinion , Masonry lives a law and power unto itself , which for ages has directed and preserved it , and will continue to fulfil its mission so long as men are endowed with hopes , desires and aspirations . —Jno . L . Terrell , Texas .

AT A A VT A A A A K K If you wished your non-Masonic neighbour to entertain a good opinion of Masonry , would you point him to what Masons practice out of the Lodge , or to what they are taught within it ? If to the latter , is it not because you are

conscious that somewhere or somehow , Masonic honour has fallen down ? In order to exert a healthy influence Masons must be respected for what they are instead of what they can do by united action . The influence of numbers is the lowbred child of brute force . The influence of character is the high-born spirit of Almighty God . —Rev . John Hewitt , Ohio .

v w r u j * A A A A A AT A A A IP The grandest commentary of Masonry before the world is the model lives of those who profess it . It is what we do and how we live that speaks most loudly in favour of or against the good effects of the Institution of Freemasonry .

The centre is always the same ; the circumference may be ever widening and extending . Principles never change . The truth is always- the same . On these points there can be no controversy . What we want is growth in the knowledge and practice of the great principles , of Freemasonry , but no change . of faith . —Rev . Andrew H . Barkley , Mississippi .

********** Masonry is not only a moral but also a religious Institution , and it has contributed abundantly to the religious development of the world . Masonry recognises the dignity and high destiny of manhood . When the story of higher

civilisation shall be told , inwreathed in every part will be found the annals of Masonry ; and the essential elements in the whole will be that vital , fundamental principle . of industrial , political , social , ethical , and religious life , and that vital essence ' of Masonic life , which is Fraternity . —Walter E . Ranger , Vermont .

********** I desire to say that ever since I stood before the altar of Freemasonry in St . Thomas Lodge , No . 201 , in the town of Muirkirk , Scotland , where I was born , I have looked upon Freemasonry as the patron of morals , the friend of stern

justice , the promoter of peace and the moulder of good society . There is no land where its blue flag does not wave , no language wherein its phrases are not found , and no people that have not felt its genial influence . —George V . Schramm , Utah .

********** That a small Lodge is usually much stronger , in proportion to its membership , than a large one , may seem somewhat anomalous ; nevertheless , it is an indisputable fact to the observing and thoughtful Mason . A small Lodge is

much more easily handled by its Officers than a large one , each member being brought face to face with his duties , thereby insuring a better understanding of them , and a much more cheerful compliance with their requirements . — " Missouri Freemason . "

¦ * * * vHf-St if * Tr "X " The antiquity of Masonry forms one of its greatest claims to our veneration and respect . As we contemplate its long and honourable history , the numerous evidences of success

which have marked its course , the great leaders of men who have taken pride in their noble work for it—we may be forgiven' if there arises a feeling of pride and satisfaction that we in bur day and generation are permitted to share in the great work . —Rev . Frank Charters , Quebec .

****** #### Must we blame Masonry because some men are false to its teachings ? And must we blame the Church because there are those belonging to it who " steal the livery of the

Court of Heaven to cloak their devilish deeds" ? . Every organisation has its faithless members ; and it is no reflection on Masonry or on the Church that wicked and perjured men have sought to cloak their infamies beneath the fair robes of purity . —H . T . Smith , Toronto , Ont .

*** ** ** _ Masonry must from the very nature of things be felt and its influence and power recognised among men . For thjs