USA > Iowa > Annals of the Grand Lodge of Iowa > Part 15
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37
Number of active District Lecturers 1,033
Number of Masonic Instructors. 194
Total 1,227
Lodges having Instructors. 345 Lodges not having Instructors 200
On the Honor List of counties having an Instructor in every lodge we have gained Clinton County and we have lost Chickasaw County, leaving the count at 18.
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We also tender our thanks to the Masters, officers, and committees of the local lodges who made such careful preparation for the Grand Lodge School and gave us perfect co-operation. Especially we thank Brother Ed Sparling, Chairman of the local committee on the school, for his constant and efficient help.
Fraternally submitted,
CHARLES C. CLARK T. W. WELLINGTON JOHN T. AMES
Board of Custodians.
REPORT ON MASONIC JURISPRUDENCE Changes to the Constitution
The following proposed amendments to the Constitution were presented for final action, having already been ap- proved at the Grand Lodge Communication in 1948. By vote of the Grand Lodge, they were-
ADOPTED.
To the Grand Lodge of Iowa:
a. Omit the words "Section 1" which precede the Preamble.
See P. 89
b. Change the words "Section 2" of Article I to read "Sec- tion 1."
c. Add a new Section 2 to read as follows:
"Section 2. The Grand Lodge shall have an official seal which shall consist of two concentric circles; between the outer and inner circles are the words 'Seal of the Grand Lodge of Iowa-1844'; within the inner circle are the square and com- pass circumscribing the sun, whose beams emanating there- from entirely surround the former in the shape of pointed rays."
d. Rewrite Section 18b (2) of Chapter V as follows:
" (3) In case of the Grand Master's death, resignation, or inability to act, the duties of his office shall devolve successively on the Warden whose office is not vacant, and for that purpose the rank of such Warden shall be in the following order: Senior Grand Warden, Junior Grand Warden."
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e. Rewrite Section 22 of Chapter VI as follows:
"Section 22. PLACE OF MEETING. The Grand Lodge shall at each Annual Communication choose, by vote of lodges repre- sented, the place for holding its next regular communication; provided, however, that the Grand Master, for cause which may seem to him sufficient, may change the place of meeting."
Amendments to the Code
All proposed amendments were presented for final ac- tion, and of these the following were on motion-
- ADOPTED.
To the Grand Lodge of Iowa:
Resolved, that the following paragraph be added to Section 90:
Sec. 90. EXPENSES OF GRAND OFFICERS AND PAST GRAND MASTERS.
See Pp. 54, 58,89
a. Expenses of Grand Officers at Emergent Communications. Each officer of the Grand Lodge in attendance, at the request of the Grand Master, at an Emergent Communication shall receive his actual and necessary expenses.
Resolved, that Section 154c of the Code be and the same is hereby repealed and the following enacted in lieu thereof:
Sec. 154. THE SECRETARY.
c. File Documents. To label and file for preservation all petitions and documents of every character on the business of the lodge and keep the same in some safe and secure place and only deliver them by order of the lodge, according to the evident intention of these laws. However, the lodge may order the Sec- retary to have all such petitions and documents reduced by the use of microfilm or some similar process. When such petitions and documents have been so reduced and the reductions properly stored, the originals thereof shall be destroyed, by burning, under the personal supervision and in the presence of the Worshipful Master and the Secretary.
Resolved, that Section 327a (3) of the Code be and the same is hereby repealed and the following enacted in lieu thereof:
Sec. 327. SERVICE OF NOTICE.
a. How Made. Service of the notice shall be:
(3) By Letter. By mailing a written notice, on a form procured from the office of the Grand Secretary, in a sealed
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envelope with sufficient postage thereon, to the brother at his last known address, by United States mail.
Resolved; that Section 346 of the Code be and the same is hereby repealed and the following enacted in lieu thereof:
Sec. 346. OTHER FUNDS. Each lodge, chartered or under dispensation, shall also pay to the Grand Secretary eleven dollars ($11.00) for each petitioner initiated, $10.00 of which shall go to the Grand Lodge Building Fund and $1.00 to the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association, one half of the latter to go to the Building Fund and the other half to the Endowment Fund of that Association.
Resolved, that Section 4051/2 of the Code be and the same is hereby enacted :
Sec. 4051/2. READ AND RECORDED AT STATED COM- MUNICATION. Whenever an information is filed as by law provided, it shall be read and a record thereof, including a copy, must be entered in the minutes of the meeting if received at a stated communication, or, if received by the Secretary be- tween regular communications, must be entered as above pro- vided at the next regular communication.
Rejected
The following proposed amendments were on motion- REJECTED.
Sec. 90. EXPENSES OF GRAND OFFICERS AND PAST GRAND MASTERS.
b. Grand Master's Expense to Washington, D. C. The actual and necessary expenses of the Grand Master to the Annual Con- ference of Grand Masters in Washington, D. C., shall be paid upon receipt of the proper voucher in the office of the Grand Secretary.
Your committee believes this is a matter that should be taken care of by the Committee on Finance and the Grand Lodge Trustees. We therefore do not approve this amendment, but frankly say that the idea has merit and urge the Committee on Finance and the Trustees to make proper appropriation for taking care of the ex- penses of the Grand Master incurred in attendance at the Annual Conference of Grand Masters at Washington, D. C.
Section 101. DEFINITIONS.
c. Lodge of Research. A Lodge of Research shall not have the power or authority to receive petitions for or confer the
See Pp. 54, 58,89
See Pp. 55, 58,89
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degrees. Its representatives shall not have a vote in Grand Lodge nor be entitled to receive mileage or per diem, as such: nor shall such lodge be liable for or required to pay per capita tax or assessments to the Grand Lodge; and in lieu of Annual Returns it shall make an annual report to the Grand Lodge. By-laws and regulations for operation shall be approved by the Committee on Masonic Jurisprudence.
Section 105. LODGES UNDER DISPENSATION.
See Pp. 55, 58,89
d. Twenty or more Master Masons, members of any Iowa lodge in good standing, may petition the Grand Master for a Dispensation to form a Lodge of Research, for the purpose of promoting Masonic research and study and the spreading of Masonic knowledge; and a Charter may be issued to such a lodge without compliance with the usual requirements prescribed for forming a regular lodge, upon approval of the Grand Lodge at an annual communication ..
Active membership in such lodge shall not continue unless regular membership in good standing is maintained by such mem- ber in a subordinate lodge of this jurisdiction.
Your committee has studied the amendments submitted by the Grand Master with the intent of permitting the formation of Lodges of Research in this Grand Jurisdiction by the usual method of obtaining a Dispensation and, later, a Charter. Also, the remarks which the Grand Master made in his report to the Craft at the opening of the Grand Lodge have received the attention of the committee. Without any question this is a very worthwhile project, and there certainly should be room in Iowa Masonry for Lodges of Research. As a committee we are concerned with the technical aspects of such a creation and operation. The Grand Master has presented two proposed amendments to Chapter XVI of the Code. The first one adds a full subsection "c" to Section 101 in an effort to define a Lodge of Research.
This is very definitely restricting the power of such a lodge in connection with the rights and responsibilities definitely listed by the Grand Master in this proposed amendment. We feel, however, that it is our duty to call to your attention that once such a lodge has been chartered it will automatically receive all rights and priv- ileges accorded to any chartered lodge and be subject to the duties and obligations of a chartered lodge except where, by definite state- ment, amendments to the law prohibit them. Such a lodge would have to be staffed with the number of officers prescribed in the Code, hold regular elections and installations, follow the regular procedure for vacancies in office, create the standing committees required by the law, keep all books and records required by the law,
.
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hold its stated communications regularly, according to the provisions of the Code, and carry out all its voting procedure in conformity with the Code where applicable.
Your committee is also interested in such questions as these:
How will such a lodge add to its membership?
What is its territorial jurisdiction?
What is its provision for financing through dues?
Must it open and close its meetings on the Third Degree?
What is its right to discipline its membership? (Bear in mind the fact that every member would also have to be a member in good standing of another Iowa chartered lodge.)
Would its Past Masters be entitled to the honors of a Past Master?
There are other questions that will have to be considered also.
The Grand Master evidently gave some thought to these problems and seeks to provide for their solution by the last sentence of his proposed amendment; namely, "By-laws and regulations for opera- tion shall be approved by the Committee on Masonic Jurisprudence." It is the opinion of your committee that, while the development of Lodges of Research will certainly be in conformity with the spirit of Iowa Masonry, yet Dispensations and Charters should not be granted without thought concerning how the operation of such lodges is to be fitted into our Iowa Masonry. This will require careful and detailed study. There is not time for such a study during the sessions of the Grand Lodge. We therefore recommend the rejection of the proposed amendments by this session of the Grand Lodge, and that the Grand Lodge authorize the incoming Grand Master to appoint a special committee to make a careful study of this pro- posal and submit a recommendation to the Grand Lodge at its next session, giving in detail the necessary corrections of the law to carry out this project.
In the meantime your committee feels that there is nothing within the law that prevents any group of Master Masons in this Grand Jurisdiction from organizing themselves into a research group in another branch of Iowa Masonry, namely, the preservation and promulgation of the Ritual.
Sec. 228. EACH LODGE.
b. That no lodge shall have jurisdiction in any other city or incorporated town in which a lodge is then located, except as provided in subsection (h) hereof.
Sec. 228. EACH LODGE.
h. When two or more lodges are located in any county con- taining a city having a population of over 100,000 according
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to the last Federal Census, such lodges shall have concurrent jurisdiction over the entire county.
Sec. 238. SISTER JURISDICTION DUTIES. In any city or incorporated town having more than one lodge, and in cases where more than one lodge has concurrent jurisdiction over an entire county, it shall be the duty of each of such lodges to report to each of the other lodges in such city, town, or county, as the case may be, the names and occupations of all applicants for the degrees within forty-eight hours after such petitions are received. In case of a rejection, such facts shall also be reported within the same time thereafter.
The basic principles which Iowa Masonry has always used in connection with the territorial jurisdiction of a lodge are a complete disregard of county lines, and the establishment of territorial jur- isdiction of each lodge by limiting it to territory within the state nearer to such lodge than to another lodge. At the same time the concurrent jurisdiction of lodges within incorporated cities or towns has been permitted and encouraged. This proposed amendment will set up the county as a basis, an entirely new theory and one which may lead to danger in the future. It is true that at the present time Polk County is the only county in the State of Iowa, which according to the last Federal Census, has a city with a population of over 100,000, but there are counties like Woodbury and others that before very long may have cities exceeding that figure which will also bring them within the compass of this proposed amendment.
Some very fine reasoning has been presented to your com- mittee in a letter over the signature of the President and Secretary of the Masters and Wardens Council of Des Moines. Some of it can be challenged. Your committee is of the opinion that the question of residence is important in connection with the work of an investi- gating committee since no man can be better judged as to moral character and behavior than in his own community. As it stands today the right to petition for membership in some lodge is carefully preserved to every eligible Mason of Polk County and this, after all, should be the prime concern of the Grand Lodge. As to whether the adoption of this proposed amendment would or would not in- crease attendance at lodge meetings, or solicitation, or the financing. or business, or social acquaintance would always be a matter of dispute and also there is no way of knowing whether the adoption of this amendment will increase the likelihood of good material pe- titioning for admission into the Fraternity.
Your committee is concerned with the attitude of the six lodges in Polk County which are not within the metropolitan area of the City of Des Moines since it feels that the Grand Lodge should take
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full recognition of the effect which the adoption of the amendment might have upon those lodges. We are able to report to you that Logic Lodge No. 636 of Ankeny, Crystal Lodge No. 313 of Mitchell- ville, and South Gate Lodge No. 657 of Fort Des Moines have filed letters with your Committee on Masonic Jurisprudence going on record as being opposed to the amendments proposed and now under discussion-thus we know that three of the six lodges are not in favor of concurrent jurisdiction of lodges in Polk County.
Your committee has a sincere desire to take no action that might be considered as unfavorable to the welfare of the great number of small lodges which go to make up the membership of the Grand Lodge of Iowa. They are doing a splendid piece of work in spreading the tenets of our Order. We therefore recommend the rejection of the proposed amendments.
Sec. 326. NON-PAYMENT OF DUES. When a member shall fail to pay his dues on or before the first day of September in any year, it shall be the duty of the Secretary to notify him within ten days, in writing, of his delinquency, and if the member shall fail to pay his dues on or before the stated communication in November of that year he shall, without action by the lodge, be automatically dropped from the roll as of that date and such action shall be recorded in the minutes of that meeting.
Notification as above shall be by mailing a written notice to said member at his last known address by United States mail in a sealed envelope with sufficient postage thereon, on a form procured from the office of the Grand Secretary.
This is a complete change of policy. At present the law is drawn to protect the individual Master Mason, and great care is used to see that he is given every opportunity to pay and that he does not lose his membership through his own carelessness. The burden of notices is placed upon the lodge. The new policy would put the burden upon the Master Mason to see that his dues are paid on time, and he would receive only the first notice provided in Section 320, presumably in January, that the dues are now due, and the final notice provided for in the revised Section 326. Then, at the stated communication in November he can be dropped from the roll, and there is no requirement that he be so notified.
Your committee feels that this is too drastic and does not approve the change but recommends that the proposed amendment be rejected.
Fraternally submitted, HARRY A. PALMER J. V. GRAY H. L. SEARLE
Committee.
See Pp. 55, 58,89
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PLACE OF MEETING
Charles C. Clark, P.G.M., extended a hearty invitation for the Grand Lodge of Iowa, A. F. & A. M., to hold its 106th Annual Communication in Burlington, and on motion the invitation was accepted.
REPORT ON GRAND LODGE LIBRARY
Ivan M. Maxson (495), presented the report of the Com- mittee on Grand Lodge Library, and on his motion it was- ADOPTED.
To the Grand Lodge of Iowa:
For the third time in the last decade it is the privilege of this brother to bring you the report on the Grand Lodge Library. He is an educator, and a good library is an essential part of every good school. Consequently, the stately institution we proudly call "The Masonic Library" holds unusual interest for him.
In his report as Grand Librarian, Brother Delzell proudly marks the past year as one of especial significance, for it has been dedicated to planned promotion of the legitimate uses of the contents of our structure. The fact that the number of book borrowers has doubled and the users of the Clipping Bureau has tripled is reason enough for his feeling that the year just closed had an individuality all its own.
A few years ago the President of St. John's University discarded the traditional method of securing a degree by accumulating a certain number of hours of credit in certain designated courses. He felt that there were a certain number of great truths which were all contained in books. He designated one hundred volumes on each of which a seminar was to be held, following which an examination was to be taken. On the completion of the hundred, the student was to receive his degree.
It is with a definite feeling of satisfaction that we observe the preparation of reading courses for the Craft, particularly "The Gen- eral List" of 48 titles. Here is an opportunity for any brother to obtain a "Bachelor's Degree" in Freemasonry.
A school teacher was possessed with a burning desire to see the great national parks of our Rocky Mountain area. For long months she systematically saved and finally arrived at the time when she purchased her ticket and started on her vacation. Day after day she conserved her small store of money by eating soups, sand- wiches, crackers, and cheese. At last she came to a day when she
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felt she must have a square meal. She entered the dining room, ate her repast, and approached the cashier for her check. She was in- formed that all her meals went with her ticket! Brethren, all your food goes with your initiation fee and annual dues. Read the report of your Grand Librarian; select from its ample menu what you want: symbolism, history, tradition, religion, current affairs, Masonic music or plays; enjoy Masonry to the fullest extent. Not only will you be bringing yourself a blessing, but also your lodge will profit from an informed, scholarly member.
Wendell Phillips carried on a great crusade against Negro slavery which made him very unpopular. As he left for each speaking en- gagement, his invalid wife invariably said, "Now, Wendell, don't you shilly-shally." It is the desire of this committee that he will not shilly-shally in the part of the report which is to follow.
The average life of a school building, courthouse, or library is over fifty years. Our library building is now sixty-five years of age and eligible to be pensioned. There are many reasons for this, any one of which seems adequate for the move.
Our library was started in 1845 with an appropriation of $5.00, a definite financial sacrifice for the budding Grand Lodge. With this fund Brother Theodore Parvin bought four volumes. Today the present building, built in 1884 and the addition made in 1913, are overflowing and the large residence to the west has both floors jammed with shelved and boxed books. The four volumes have grown to well over forty thousand. The original purpose of the library as stated in the resolution of 1845 "so that in time we may have a collection of Masonic information" has also undergone a re- markable transformation. This includes the beautiful Grant Wood . symbolic mural, the Proceedings of the 49 Sister Grand Jurisdictions, the Robert Burns alcove, the Granger collection of 700 volumes of poetry, a collection of books on church history, and the museum, containing relics of pioneer Iowa, regalia, aprons, porcelain Masonic commemorative pieces, gavels, the original altar of Des Moines Lodge No. 1, medals, badges, autograph letters, Knight Templar swords, etc.
A former committee has estimated that the intrinsic worth of the library is $1,000,000. The peculiar feature of this is that it covers collectors' items whose value only serves to increase with the passage of time. Either because of scarcity or antiquity, insurance is no pro- tection, for if destroyed replacement is impossible. All of the cur- rent reading books and much of the Clipping Bureau file might be available from the publishers, but there are untold hundreds of things which we have received as gifts or bequests so rare as to be valued at from $50 to $15,000. There are single cases of books or museum pieces which would easily buy "a hundred and sixty acres in the valley." To mention just a few : a set of dishes 200 years old; a
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letter written in 1704 by Jonathan Belcher, the first man to be made a Mason on American soil; one of the originals of Anderson's "Constitutions" printed by Brother Benjamin Franklin; the largest collection of monitors, Proceedings, and original Constitutions in existence; one of the first Masonic magazines known, printed in Dublin in 1792; an original document in Latin, dated 1470, twenty- two years before Columbus discovered this land.
Brethren, we are face to face with two disturbing facts: our present building is too small, and, because of the unusual nature of the contents, a serious fire hazard.
All of the books stored on the two floors of the residence are out of circulation. A year ago, Brother H. L. Haywood selected 700 par- ticularly rare and valuable documents and put them in the vault. He stopped at this number only because of room, not because there were not other hundreds deserving the same protection. The cabinets on the balcony devoted to our 49 Sister Grand Jurisdictions have only inches of shelf space remaining. In many cases we have the only complete set of Proceedings, even the home library lacking some titles. In the case of England, we have two and one-half sets and the Grand Lodge of England has none. The display cases in the museum are jammed to double their normal capacity. New receipts of gifts from friends of the library must be sorted slowly, or left in cartons because of lack of shelf room. Hundreds of books are double shelved, which means that they are not easily accessible to prospective users. We are assisting the proposed Lodge of Research at Iowa City; neigh- boring lodges are invited to hold programs in the building; school students, particularly from Coe College, are making increas- ingly more frequent visits, and extensive reading room facilities should be available.
If the Masons of Iowa are to receive rare books, pamphlets, magazines, paintings, letters, Masonic regalia, historical matter, etc., as good stewards, we must provide a place for display that is free from the everyday hazard of fire. From its very nature a library must be full of paper of one form or another. Normally this enters the building through the basement. A fire which might break out momentarily would find our massive wooden stairways and beauti- fully hand-carved wooden book cabinets fine food for a good blaze. No lodge representative would like to face his morning paper with the headline "Holocaust in Masonic Library."
It is not the purpose of this committee to do more than call at- tention to facts. Previous committees have commented on the dan- ger from fire and the need for more room, but have not been too specific. This committee asks you to consider these listed needs:
1. A completely fireproof and heatproof room to house every treasure which we possess from the past.
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2. A completely fireproof section with ample cases for proper display of our museum pieces.
3. Sufficient room so that shelving is available for every book which we want to keep.
4. Available space to immediately shelve our collection of religious works and room for its expansion.
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