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Correspondence.
Correspondence .
THE MASONIC PRESS .
To the Editor of the" MASONIC MAGAZINE . " A letter by " A Veteran " appeared in the " Freemason , " September 9 th inst , under the above heading , in which the writer gave his reasons why the Masonic press is not sufficiently encouraged by the
Graft . He attributed the apathy to Masonic literature first , to personalities indulged in by contributors , shooting " barbed arrows " at others for little or no fault , and , second , to the incompetency of editors of Masonic magazines . Whether these were the
reasons why English and Scotch Masonic magazines gave up their ghosts I must leave others to judge . All I have to say is that these cannot be the reasons why some American magazines have become defunct , for I know of magazines whose
editors and contributors were par excellence , each sporting a long string of hi gh titles , and all had reputations of being great scholars . Yet their publications were short-lived . For instance , here is the " American Quarterly Review , " edited b
y A . G . Mackey , M . D ., assisted by twentytwo contributors , viz ., Dr . Oliver , Albert Pike , and other very high dignitaries . It began in 1857 , and it died in 1859 . Dr . Mackey ' s second effort lived three years . The subscribers to the late C . W . Mnore ' s
magazine , during bis last years , dwindled down to about five hundred . His successor , Grand Master Nickerson ' s magazine died at the end of two years . I mi ght name others , but these will suffice . The
abovenamed editors enjoyed reputations for great ability , their contributors invariabl y conformed to the highest standard of literary gentility and Masonic orthodoxy , hut nevertheless their magazines died less regretted than others that were conducted h y less pretentious editors and assisted b y less
polished contributors . I mean contributors who did not adhere to the Masonic literary fashion of " you tickle me , and I tickle you . " That incapacity of editors and vnlgarity of contributors could not be the cause of the apathy of the Craft to Masonic literature may be further proved by the htek of interest manifested towards the
works of our modern historians . Bro . Findel ' s history undoubtedly overtops , as it were , all previous Masonic histories ; and , strange to say , that while the proportion of German to English speaking Masons is probably not more than , one to
forty , or maybe fifty , yet three German editions of that work are already sold and the author is almost ready with a fourth , while half of the second English edition may yet be seen on the shelves of Bro . Kenning , in Little Britain .
Somehow-, ever , will say that English and American Masons are prejudiced against German radicalism and what not , and therefore they keep shy of Findel ' s work . This excuse cannot be made on the part of Bro . Lyon ' s "History of Freemasonry in
Scotlaud . " Every one who had read it pronounced it a noble production ; and yet , out of twelve hundred copies printed in 1873 , seven hundred are yet on the author ' s hands . It is evident , therefore , that "A Veteran " did not give the right
reasons for this apathy to Masonic literature . The truth is , the masses of English and American people care very little for historic reading , or reading of any kind
that requires mental application . And this apathy to Masonic information or research prevails even among the dignitaries of your Grand Lodge . For instance , a party of Churchmen had the courage to move for an appropriation by the Grand Lodge of two thousand pounds for repairing
churches , under the plea that the architects of the said churches were Grand Masters . Now , in the first place , the said architects were not Grand Masters , thus proving that the distinguished advocate of that measure had never read Findeland
, does not trouble your " Freemason , " or " Masonic Magazine . " And , second , while the said Churchmen manifested courage and zeal in behalf of the Church , our literary brethren in the Grand Lodge manifested neither zeal nor courage to
move for an appropriation for the purpose of purchasing any of the rare books that were sold two years ago by Bro . Spencer . Again , her Majesty now and then pensions needy scholars from her own private pursewith from one to three hundred
, pounds per annum , and confers the honour of knighthood on others , showing that Her Majesty appreciates literary labourers . Y
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
Correspondence .
THE MASONIC PRESS .
To the Editor of the" MASONIC MAGAZINE . " A letter by " A Veteran " appeared in the " Freemason , " September 9 th inst , under the above heading , in which the writer gave his reasons why the Masonic press is not sufficiently encouraged by the
Graft . He attributed the apathy to Masonic literature first , to personalities indulged in by contributors , shooting " barbed arrows " at others for little or no fault , and , second , to the incompetency of editors of Masonic magazines . Whether these were the
reasons why English and Scotch Masonic magazines gave up their ghosts I must leave others to judge . All I have to say is that these cannot be the reasons why some American magazines have become defunct , for I know of magazines whose
editors and contributors were par excellence , each sporting a long string of hi gh titles , and all had reputations of being great scholars . Yet their publications were short-lived . For instance , here is the " American Quarterly Review , " edited b
y A . G . Mackey , M . D ., assisted by twentytwo contributors , viz ., Dr . Oliver , Albert Pike , and other very high dignitaries . It began in 1857 , and it died in 1859 . Dr . Mackey ' s second effort lived three years . The subscribers to the late C . W . Mnore ' s
magazine , during bis last years , dwindled down to about five hundred . His successor , Grand Master Nickerson ' s magazine died at the end of two years . I mi ght name others , but these will suffice . The
abovenamed editors enjoyed reputations for great ability , their contributors invariabl y conformed to the highest standard of literary gentility and Masonic orthodoxy , hut nevertheless their magazines died less regretted than others that were conducted h y less pretentious editors and assisted b y less
polished contributors . I mean contributors who did not adhere to the Masonic literary fashion of " you tickle me , and I tickle you . " That incapacity of editors and vnlgarity of contributors could not be the cause of the apathy of the Craft to Masonic literature may be further proved by the htek of interest manifested towards the
works of our modern historians . Bro . Findel ' s history undoubtedly overtops , as it were , all previous Masonic histories ; and , strange to say , that while the proportion of German to English speaking Masons is probably not more than , one to
forty , or maybe fifty , yet three German editions of that work are already sold and the author is almost ready with a fourth , while half of the second English edition may yet be seen on the shelves of Bro . Kenning , in Little Britain .
Somehow-, ever , will say that English and American Masons are prejudiced against German radicalism and what not , and therefore they keep shy of Findel ' s work . This excuse cannot be made on the part of Bro . Lyon ' s "History of Freemasonry in
Scotlaud . " Every one who had read it pronounced it a noble production ; and yet , out of twelve hundred copies printed in 1873 , seven hundred are yet on the author ' s hands . It is evident , therefore , that "A Veteran " did not give the right
reasons for this apathy to Masonic literature . The truth is , the masses of English and American people care very little for historic reading , or reading of any kind
that requires mental application . And this apathy to Masonic information or research prevails even among the dignitaries of your Grand Lodge . For instance , a party of Churchmen had the courage to move for an appropriation by the Grand Lodge of two thousand pounds for repairing
churches , under the plea that the architects of the said churches were Grand Masters . Now , in the first place , the said architects were not Grand Masters , thus proving that the distinguished advocate of that measure had never read Findeland
, does not trouble your " Freemason , " or " Masonic Magazine . " And , second , while the said Churchmen manifested courage and zeal in behalf of the Church , our literary brethren in the Grand Lodge manifested neither zeal nor courage to
move for an appropriation for the purpose of purchasing any of the rare books that were sold two years ago by Bro . Spencer . Again , her Majesty now and then pensions needy scholars from her own private pursewith from one to three hundred
, pounds per annum , and confers the honour of knighthood on others , showing that Her Majesty appreciates literary labourers . Y