The Masonic Press.

THE MASONIC PRESS .

We have read with considerable interest the two articles which have appeared in the September and current numbers respectively of the Voice of Masonry , and in which a certain Bro . GEORGE VV . WARVELLE , who is described as the President

of the Acacia Club , Chicago , is taken very severely to task for certain criticisms he is alleged to have uttered with regard to the Masonic Press . The earlier of the two articles includes ( i ) a letter addressed by Bro . J VV . BROWN , Editor of the Voice , to Bro . WARVELLE , in which he asks the latter a series of

questions respecting Ins statement , as reported in the Masonic column of the Chicago Times , that he ( Bro . WARVELLE ) did "not know of a single Masonic paper in this country that deserves the support of intelligent Masons . What is worth reading is usually pilfered , and the rest is trash ; " and ( 2 ) a long reply from Bro .

WARVELLE in which he emphatically denies that he uttered the language imputed to him . The second article contains an equally long exposition of his views on the American Masonic Press , which Bro . WARVELLE forwarded to the American Tyler in reply to a somewhat similar inquiry from that journal . But

though we have read and re-read both articles , and more especially the explanatory letters they contain from Bro . WARVELLE with , as we have said , considerable interest and the utmost care , we fail to say that this self-appointed censor in any way deserves the warm rebukes which the Voice of Masonry

has seen fit to administer to him for his temerit y in speaking unfavourably of a portion of the Masonic periodical literature of the day . In his reply to Bro . BROWN , of the Voice , he writes : " I have no hesitation in saying that , in my opinion , there have been many publications which have masqueraded

under the title ' Masonic' which were wholly undeserving of the patronage of the Craft as exponents of Masonic li ght and literature ; and I am strongly of the opinion that the non-success which has attended so many ventures in this class of journalism has been due to the inherent weakness of the publication

rather than the apathy of the Craft . I believe , also , that the multiplication of so many nondescript and short-lived journals has had a marked effect in decreasing the interest that should be felt in meritorious and well-conducted publications . " After stating that there are two classes of Masonic journals in the

United States , one partaking of the character of a newspaper , and the other of that of a magazine , Bro . WARVELLE goes on to say : " Both exist in a good and bad degree , while between the two there is an undefinable class that partakes of the nature of both the other classes , the secular press , and the advertising

handbill . " In his reply to the American Tyler he is more explicit . He states that in the conversation , which the reporter of the Chicago Times appears to have so greatl y misrepresented , " the merits of different publications were discussed " in a friendly manner ; " what was good was commended , what seemed bad was condemned . " Further on he

remarks " I am free to admit that I have seen many Masonic publications , so-called , that possessed no merit to my mind , and I say now , as I have always maintained , that the publication of these hebdomadal sheets under titles Masonic was of direct and lasting injury to the meritorious papers published in the

interests of the Craft . " In another paragraph of the same letter Bro . WARVELLE gives his ideal of a Masonic Press in the following words : " I desire to see a strong , vigorous , and influential Masonic Press in this country , and to this end I ever stand ready to assist in every possible way that lies in my power . I believe

it should be the educational agent of the Craft , not only for the dissemination of news , but for the diffusion of knowledge ; an exponent of the history , philosophy , and symbolism of Masonry , and a necessary adjunct to the meagre lectures of the ritual .

Ihis is the field , and the only field , for the Masonic journal , and when the intelligent Mason takes up a paper professing to dispense Masonic light and finds it largely composed of receipts for removing sunburn , or the best method for preparing potatoes tor the table , an advertisement for a regalia house , and a few '

The Masonic Press.

clippings from some other paper on subjects pertaining to Masonry , it is . not to be wondered at that his appetite for that class of literature disappears and his zeal for the cause abates . Let us have fewer Masonic journals and better , and with the elevation of the standard will come a better appreciation and a more liberal patronage from the Craft . "

In our opinion there is nothing in these remarks of Bro . WARVELLE to which any serious exception can be taken . We may or we may not accept all his ideas , but it must be admitted that they are fairly expressed and as far removed as can be from anything in the nature of

captious criticism . His remarks amount to this , that if the American Masonic press is taken as a whole , it will be found that some journals and magazines are good , some indifferent , and some bad . Some are worth reading for the news they disseminate and the original articles they publish ,

and some for the news and articles they borrow from other papers , while others are not worth the paper they are printed on in respect of either the original news and articles they publish or the news and articles they obtain from their contemporaries . The same might be justly said of almost every class

of periodical literature , whether published in the United States or in other countries . But our worthy contemporary , the Voice of Masonry , is by no means satisfied , and in its anger at finding Masonic literature thus freely—though , in our opinion , quite fairly—criticised , it allows itself to become at times illogical .

Thus , in its September article it states that Bro . WARVELLE S method of collecting Masonic newspapers and magazines is " not to pay for any Masonic production that it is possible to get as a donation . " The Voice does not condescend

to explain what the question whether a man buys or does not buy the papers he criticises has to do with the character of their contents , or why a man who has his papers given to him should be less impartial and less worthy of respect as a critic than he who pays for them . For ourselves , we are inclined to think , on

the principle that it is not usual " to look a gift horse in the mouth , " that he who receives his papers without payment is likely to be more tender in his remarks about their demerits than he who obtains them only by payment . As regards the other remarks of our contemporary , there is force in

many of them , as there is force in much of the explanation afforded by Bro . WARVELLE . VVe know , too , from experience , how difficult it is to please the different tastes of different members of the Masonic body . But Bro . WARVELLE , if our memory serves us , is not the first critic of Masonic

newspapers and magazines who has discovered , and he certainly will not be the last to discover , that some are more meritorious than others , while some possess no merit at all , or so small a modicum as to be inappreciable . The main object which Masonic

journals—like all other , class journals—must ever keep in view is to please its constituents , and those which most nearly succeed in- accomplishing this are those which receive the largest amount of encouragement and support from the Craft .

Provincial Grand Lodge Of Warwickshire.

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF WARWICKSHIRE .

The annual meeting' of the above Provincial Grand Lodge was held at thc Abbey Lodge , No . 432 , Nuneaton , on Wednesday , th .:: 30 I . I 1 nit ., when there were present —• Bros . J . T . Collins , D . P . G . M ., acting as Prov . G . M . ; A . E . Fridlander , P . P . G . W ., acting as D . P . G . M ; W . F . Wyley , P . S . G . W . ; C . J . Blaker , P . J . G . W . ; the Rev . W . H . Holland Richards , P . G . Chap . ; C . F . Vachell ,

P . G . Reg . ; George Beech , P . G . StJ . Br ., P . G . Sec ; J . 1 . Barrett , P . G . D . ; C . H . Beck , P . G . D . ; W . W . Curtis , P . G . S . of W . ; Major Ash , P . G . D . of C . ; W . Tidmarsh , P . D . G . D . of C . ; J . C . Price , P . J . S . B . ; C . J . Collins , P . G . Std . Br . ; W . Waters , P . G . Org . ; G . A . Thomason , P . A . G . Sec . ; E . P . Cole , P . G . Purst . ; W . Troman , P . A . G . Purst . ; and upwards of 200 past ollieers and other brethren of the province .

The P . G . SECRETARY read thc circular convening" thc meeting-, and explained the absence of the P . G . M ., Bro . thc Rig ht Hon . Lord Leigh , and also read apologies Cor absence from brethren who were unable to attend tlie meeting .