USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > The history of the Masonic fund society for the county of Allegheny from the year 1847 to 1923; with biographical sketches of deceased members of the Board of trustees By Hiram Schock. > Part 16
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It was in this year, 1893, that the first, and as yet, the only change in the charter of the Masonic Fund Society was made. For some years there had been insistent criti- cism over the provision in Art. V of the charter which pro- vided that "each member shall be entitled to one vote, and no vote by proxy shall be received." Being so very general in its wording and making no designation or direction as to just what members or officers of a lodge or other body should vote, as the representative of that body at stock- holders' meetings, there had developed much looseness in the practice of voting at these meetings, which it was thought necessary to correct. As a result a strong demand had arisen for a modification of the charter so as to do away with this defect. Accordingly, at a meeting of the Trus- tees held February 7, 1893, the following action was taken:
On motion of Bro. Brown, duly seconded, the President was au- thorized to call a special meeting of the stockholders of the Masonic Fund Society, for the purpose of considering the propriety of having the Charter of our Society amended.
In pursuance of that action, a special meeting of the stockholders was called for March 22. But the date was subsequently changed to April 11, 1893. As the change that was brought about in the charter is of historical value and interest, below is given the complete minutes of that stockholders meeting, April 11, at which Brother William B. Lupton was chairman and Brother James E. Stevenson secretary.
A special meeting of the members (stockholders) of the Masonic Fund Society for Allegheny County was held April 11th, 1893, at 7 o'clock, P. M., in pursuance of the call issued by the Trustees, notice of the meeting and the purpose thereof having been mailed to each member.
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On motion, duly seconded, W. B. Lupton was elected chairman and James E. Stevenson secretary.
The call for the meeting was read, as follows:
"That a special meeting of the members of said Society should be called for the 22nd day of March, '93 at 7 P. M., at the regular place of meeting, to act upon a proposition to amend the Charter thereof, by striking out the following words, to-wit:
'Each member shall be entitled to one vote, and no vote by proxy shall be received;' and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 'Each member shall be entitled to one vote for each share of stock held by him, as shown by the books of the Society; but no share transferred within ten days of the election shall entitle the holder thereof at such meeting, to a vote or votes; nor shall any vote by proxy be received. Shares of stock held by a lodge shall be voted by a Trustee elected for that purpose, at the last preceding annual election thereof, or in case of failure to elect such trus- tee, by the master.'
The meeting called for Mch. 22, '93 was postponed until Apl. 11, '93.
W. G. McCandless, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, offered the following amendment to the Charter:
Resolved, that Article V of the Charter of the Masonic Fund So- ciety for the County of Allegheny, be amended by striking out the following words, to-wit: 'Each member shall be entitled to one vote, and no vote by proxy shall be received,' and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 'Each member shall be entitled to one vote for each share of stock held by him, as shown by the books of the Society, but no share transferred within ten (10) days of the election, shall entitle the holder thereof to vote at such meeting, nor shall any vote by proxy be received. Shares of stock held by a lodge shall be voted by a Trustee, elected for that purpose at the last preceding annual election thereof, or in case of failure to elect such Trustee, by the master.'
George W. Guthrie offered an amendment to the amendment, to strike out the following words, to-wit: "Shares of stock held by a lodge shall be voted by a Trustee elected for that purpose at the last preceding annual election thereof, or in case of failure to elect such Trustee, by the master," and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "Shares of stock held by a lodge, or other body, shall be voted by a Trustee elected for that purpose, or in case of failure to elect such trustee, by the presiding officer thereof."
After a lengthy discussion, a vote was taken on the amendment as amended by Brother Guthrie, and it was carried.
On motion duly seconded, the Resolution as amended was passed, and reads as follows:
ARTICLE V.
"The election of Trustees shall be by ballot and shall be held in
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a suitable place in the city of Pittsburgh on the 27th day of Decem- ber in each and every year, unless the same shall fall upon the Sab- bath, in which case, it shall be on the 28th. Each member shall be entitled to one vote for each share of stock held by him, as shown by the books of the Society; but no share transferred within ten (10) days of the election shall entitle the holder to vote at such meeting, nor shall any vote by proxy be received. Shares of stock held by a lodge, or other Body, shall be voted by a Trustee elected for that purpose, or in case of failure to elect such Trustee, by the presiding officer thereof. The Judges of said election shall be chosen by a majority of the members that may be present at said election. None but Masons shall be entitled to vote. The Trustees shall continue in office one year and until others are chosen and organized; and in case of death, resignation or refusal to act, of any Trustee, the members may elect others to supply such vacancies, in such manner as is prescribed in this Article."
It was moved by Bro. Steel that the amended Resolution be print- ed and sent to every member. The motion was adopted. On motion, adjourned.
Then at a meeting of the Board of Trustees held April 18, it was unanimously resolved that "an application be made to the Court of Common Pleas to amend the Charter in the manner approved at the meeting of stockholders held April 11, 1893." A printed notice with the proposed amend- ment, dated June 26, 1893, and signed by Secretary A. W. Pollock, was sent to the stockholders of the Masonic Fund Society, with the following directions at the bottom of the sheet :
Lodge and other Bodies holding stock are requested to take notice of the provisions made for voting such stock, and to act in accordance with it. In order to avoid confusion, bodies appointing Trustees to vote the stock should cause a certificate of the appointment to be issued, and notify the Secretary of the Society in advance of any meeting.
Following the direction of the Board at their meeting of April 13, the application for the amendment was present- ed by Attorney George W. Guthrie to the Common Pleas Court of Allegheny County, and on June 5 following this decree was handed down by the Court:
And now, to-wit: this 5th day of June, A. D. 1893, the within amendments, alterations & improvements having been presented to this Court, and it appearing to the Court that due notice has been given according to law, and that no objection has been made or cause shown to the contrary, it is, on motion of George W. Guthrie, Esq., Attorney for petitioners, ordered & decreed that upon recording of
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the same, the said amendments, alterations and improvements shall be deemed and taken to be part of the Charter of the said Corpor- ation.
This has been the only change made in the Charter of the Masonic Fund Society since it was first granted by the Courts of Allegheny County seventy-three years ago.
Aside from this business of charter changing, there is nothing in the records of the meetings of the trustees dur- ing 1893 of special moment, except the purchase and can- cellation of $2,000 worth of outstanding bonds and the declaration of a four per cent. dividend. When the stock- holders got together in December they elected all the Trus- tees, with the exception of Brother George T. Oliver, who was not a candidate. His place was taken by Brother Arthur B. Wigley, who was at that time the Pittsburgh manager of R. G. Dun & Company, and had been made a Mason in Louisville, Ky., where he had formerly resided. In Pitts- burgh he affiliated with St. John's Lodge, No. 219, and was ending his third term as worshipful master of that lodge when elected a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ma- sonic Fund Society for the year 1894. During this year im- portant and expensive alterations and improvements were made in the new Hall, one of these being the "painting and decorating the stairway hall from the first floor to the top, and also the rooms on the fourth floor," at a cost of $2,550. At a meeting held April 3 a motion was adopted that "we grant the Grand Commandery of Pennsylvania the use of the fourth and fifth floors during their annual Conclave in May next." This Conclave proved to be one of the most notable ever held by the Knights Templar of the Keystone state, and extended through two days, May 22 and 23, 1894. One of the resolutions adopted was the following:
"Resolved, That the thanks of this Grand Commandery are due and are hereby extended to the Sir Knights of the several Com- manderies of Pittsburgh and Allegheny for their many courtesies, and for their kindness in furnishing quarters in Freemasons' Hall for the use of this Grand Commandery.
One event however had thrown a pall of solemnity over the procedings of the Conclave. This was the death of Sir Knight Charles C. Baer, Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery of Pennsylvania, which had occurred at his
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home in Pittsburgh on March 28, 1894. Brother Baer had been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Masonic Fund Society for nearly sixteen years, having served from January, 1876, to the end of the year 1892, when ill health compelled him to refuse reelection. Another event of in- terest in the year 1894 was a gathering in Freemasons' Hall in September of veterans of the Civil war, as is noted in the minutes of a meeting of the Trustees held June 5, to the effect that "the request of Thomas J. Hudson asking the privilege of using the banquet hall for their Grand Army meeting in Sept. next, was granted." It is announced by the minutes of a meeting of the Board in July of that year that a committee of the masters of various lodges had requested that "they be allowed to hold one extra meeting in each month without expense to the lodges." The request was granted by the Trustees, and they closed their work for the year by declaring another four per cent. dividend.
But the year did not end without the Board of Trus- tees suffering another great loss by the hand of death. On October 31, 1894, Brother James Herdman died at his resi- dence, No. 30 Arch street, in the then separate city of Alle- gheny, now a part of Pittsburgh. For forty years he had been continuously a member of the Board of Trustees, he and Brother Pollock having been elected in the same year, 1854. In July, 1855, he was chosen treasurer of the Ma- sonic Fund Society, and with the exception of but one year had continued in that office until the day of his death. He was one of the leading citizens of Pittsburgh and at the time of his death was President of the Dollar Savings Bank of that city. As a Mason he stood very high in the esti- mation of the Fraternity, and for twenty-six consecutive years he had served with signal ability and influence as a member of the Committee on Finance of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. He was a tower of strength in the Ma- sonic Fund Society and by his counsel and material aid had been largely instrumental in carrying it through some threatening financial crises. This fact is gratefully referred to in the memorial resolutions adopted by the Board of Trustees, in which they pay this tribute:
He turned over to the different Masonic Bodies meeting in the
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Hall all stock purchased by him, at cost, and to his faithfulness and foresight is due the fact that out of 6,186 shares, 5,067 are now owned by them. For this alone the Fraternity owes to him a debt of deepest gratitude, and should forever cherish his memory.
The stockholders when they convened in December to elect trustees for the year 1895 retained the six survivors, and Brother Herdman's place was filled by the selection of Brother Americus V. Holmes, 33º. He was a member of Milnor Lodge, No. 287, but withdrew from that Body and became a charter member of Dallas Lodge, No. 508, which was constituted June 5, 1872, and later became W. M. of that Body. At the time of his election to the Board of Trustees he was Treasurer of the Scottish Rite Bodies in the Valley of Pittsburgh, and in the year 1892 was made a Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the Thirty-third and last Degree. Brother Holmes, whose useful activity in Ma- sonic matters still continues, is the son of that very popular and greatly esteemed Mason of earlier days, Brother Dr. Shepley R. Holmes, who was made a Free Mason in the old Ohio Lodge, No. 113, in the year 1815, and was appointed D. D. Grand Master in 1831 and served for three years.
The Board organized for the year 1895 by electing Bro- ther McCandless president; Lupton, treasurer, and Pollock, secretary. Matters principally of routine interest are found on the minutes of the Board for this year, but we get a glimpse of the financial status of the Society by the follow- ing record of a meeting held March 5:
The treasurer reported: Cash in the Iron City National Bank, $1,917.80; cash on hand, $35.00; and also that the am't of interest on bonds due April 1st next was $2,920.00, and March & September installments of city taxes due this month.
At a meeting on April 2, 1895, a fuller financial report was made:
The Treasurer, Bro. Lupton, reported: Cash in Iron City Nat'l Bank, $527.21; cash on hand, $34.00 and also that the rents due (by tenants to the Society) on April 1st amounted to $7,300. That he had had the Society's note discounted, amounting to $6,300.00, which would be due on April 28th, and that he had paid to the Fidelity Title & Trust Co., $2,920.00, the amount of interest due on bonds April 1st, 1895; and $4,392.38 for the March and September installments of city taxes for 1895.
At a meeting on May 7 permission was granted, on mo-
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tion of Brother A. V. Holmes, to the Library Committee, to remove pictures hanging in the library to the Reception room, "in order to make room for an additional book case in the library." In November the four per cent. dividend was announced, and in December all the trustees were reelected but one, Brother McCandless being succeeded by Brother Alfred S. Bishop, a well known insurance broker, and a member and past master of Franklin Lodge, No. 221. The Board organized for the year 1896 by electing Brother Wig- ley president, Lupton treasurer, and Pollock secretary. The minutes of this year are also barren of matters of general importance. The four per cent. dividend was announced and the Board was reelected for 1897, with the exception of Bro- ther A. W. Pollock, who was not a candidate for reelection and whose place was filled by Brother Edward S. Wright, then warden of the Western Penitentiary, and a member of Lodge 45. The minutes of this year show that many im- provements and alterations were made in the Masonic build- ing. The dividend of four per cent. was declared, and some bonds were bought in and cancelled. The Board was chosen again for the year 1898. This was another quiet twelve months period. The usual dividend came, and in December all the Trustees were retained, except Brother Wigley, who was succeeded by Brother John D. Craig, a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 219, and at that time Treasurer of the Riter-Conley Co., of Pittsburgh. The Board organized for the twelve months of 1899 by electing for President James W. Brown; for Treasurer, William B. Lupton and for Secretary John D. Craig. The reports of routine business, with the announcement of a four per cent. dividend, make up the minutes for this year, and for the year 1900 all the trustees were retained except Brother George Heaps, whose place on the Board was taken by Brother Harry W. Dunlap, 33º, a member of St. John's Lodge, a popular and forceful worker in the Masonic Bodies. The whole number of shares voted at this election, for trus- tees for 1900, was 4,595. For that year the officers of the Board were President, Lupton ; treasurer, Bishop and secre- tary, Craig.
In the minutes of this year, 1900, we find references
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to the discussions among the brethren which were to finally culminate in the erection of the great Temple that is now the home of the Masonic Bodies in Pittsburgh. It is an interesting and convincing evidence of the magnificent growth of the Order to find that already in 1900 there was need for a larger building. Early in that year the Board of Trustees had named a special committee to inquire into the question of the erection of another structure, and we find this matter referred to in the minutes of a meeting of the Trustees held June 5 of 1900:
E. S. Wright made a report from the Special Committee on New Hall, when on motion, said committee were requested to procure Geo. W. Guthrie's opinion, after presenting the information they had ob- tained.
During the period between the opening of Freemasons Hall in 1889 and the year 1900 the Order had increased re- markably in numbers and in prosperity. Their Fifth ave- nue Hall was found to be inadequate, both as to space and equipment, to meet the necessities of the Bodies meeting therein. The question of a selection of a new location upon which to build was also involved in the proposition for the erection of a new Masonic structure, and that would of course bring into consideration the sale of the holdings on Fifth avenue. In the minutes of a meeting held Juy 10, 1900, is the following:
The President announced that the meeting was called for the pur- pose of receiving the report of the committee appointed to procure Mr. Geo. W. Guthrie's opinion as to the powers of the Society in re- lation to the sale of the present Freemasons Hall, and the purchase of a new site, and the erection of a new building.
It will be seen from the foregoing that the Trustees of the Masonic Fund Society were from the start of this latest movement for a new Masonic edifice responsive to the pro- gressive impulses of the brethren, and the request for a legal opinion from Brother Guthrie was expressive of the purpose of the trustees to always act, with due regard to proper procedure, for the advancement of the interests of the fraternity. The question submitted to Brother Guthrie was practically the same that had been placed before him prior to the construction of Freemasons Hall in 1889. Were the trustees compelled, or not, by the terms of the Charter
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of the Masonic Fund Society to build on the Fifth avenue site, or could they legally sell it, acquire a property at another location and erect thereon a Masonic edifice? As will be seen further on, the conclusions of the opinion of 1889 were not adhered to in this latest document from the hands of the attorneys of the Board of Trustees. They an- nounced that there was in the charter nothing to prevent the sale of the Fifth avenue lot, the purchase of another site and the construction of a Masonic building thereon.
Late in the year 1900 Brother John D. Craig, who was at that time secretary of the Board, resigned as a Trustee, and Brother James I. Buchanan, 33°, of St. John's Lodge, No. 219, was elected to take his place, and Brother Alfred S. Bishop was chosen secretary, the Board for the year 1901 being then as follows: William B. Lupton, A. V. Holmes, James W. Brown, Alfred S. Bishop, Edward J. Wright, James I. Buchanan and Stephen C. McCandless, of Milnor Lodge No. 287, who was chosen to replace Brother Harry W. Dunlap, who had declined to be a candidate for reelection. The Board organized by electing Brother Bishop to fill the offices of both secretary and treasurer, and Brother Lupton was made president. Brother James I. Buchanan finding that his business engagements did not allow him sufficient time to devote to the work of the Board of Trustees, resigned at a meeting February 1, 1901, and May 7 Brother Stephen C. McCandless sent in his resignation as a trustee. To fill the vacancies caused by these retirements, the stockholders at their annual meeting December, 1901, filled the places of the retiring brethren by choosing Brothers Harry M. Landis, of St. John's Lodge, No. 219, and John W. Taylor, of Stuck- rath Lodge, No. 430. The minutes of the minutes during 1902 are wholly of a routine character. In December the only change made in the Board for the year 1903 was the election of Brother Andrew D. Armstrong, of Milnor Lodge, No. 287, to succeed Brother William B. Lupton. The Board organized by electing Brother Alfred S. Bishop President, Holmes treasurer and Armstrong secretary. At the Janu- ary 6 meeting a dividend of four per cent. was declared for the year 1903. During this year the Trustees went along with the usual, but important, work of keeping the Hall in
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good repair and providing all possible conveniences for the Bodies using it. But a record of a meeting held December 1, of that year, slides off the routine tracks to make the agreeable announcement that "a motion was made by Bro. A. V. Holmes, and seconded by Bro. H. W. Landis, that the trustees purchase a Turkey for each of the employees for Christmas." As the motion was unanimously carried it may be safely surmised that there were especially hilarious fes- tivities in certain Pittsburg homes when the Christmas din- ner of 1903 was set forth in all its glory. And that pleasant custom has been many times followed since. At the Decem- ber 14 meeting a resolution was adopted to "retire $4,000 of the Society's bonds."
For the year 1904 all the trustees were retained, as they were for the year 1905, the only item of general in- terest for that period being the purchase and cancellation in 1904 of the Society's outstanding bonds to the amount of $4,000.
We are now arrive in this year 1905 to the record of the Masonic Fund Society which marks the first practical and decisive steps taken to dispose by sale of the property on Fifth avenue, with a view to the purchase of a larger piece of ground and the erection thereon of a great Masonic edifice, such as should meet the requirements of the local Craft. For four years past various new locations had been suggested, and the sentiment in favor of a new site and a larger structure had by the year 1905 become general and insistent. Gourgas Lodge of Perfection, particularly, had for some time past been urging the construction of a new edifice on another site. Persistent but ineffectual efforts had been made as far back as 1894 by that Body to arouse the interest of the symbolic lodges and other Masonic Bodies, but concerted action could not then be obtained, and so further efforts were abandoned until late in 1906. In the meantime, the Trustees of the Masonic Fund Society, ever mindful of the needs and eager to promote the welfare of the Fraternity, took up the matter in real earnest in 1905. There was as yet, however, no settled preference for any particular location other than the old one on Fifth avenue. But there was one consideration which had weight among
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the Pittsburgh brethren generally. This consideration had to do with the enhanced value of the Masonic property on Fifth avenue. Real estate on that thoroughfare had increas- ed amazingly in price since 1889, when Freemasons Hall was dedicated, and it was felt that this property could now be sold at a most profitable figure. It would therefore be a matter of good business enterprise to dispose of it and buy ground and build elsewhere, if once a fairly unanimous sentiment would be expressed in favor of some new locality. To be in position to name a proper selling price, the Board of Trustees took into consideration the various offers which were then being made by would-be purchasers of the Ma- sonic holdings, as is shown by the following entry in the minutes of a meeting held January 3, 1905:
Inquiry having been made by several parties as to the value of the property owned by the Society, and it being the opinion of a majority of the stockholders that the property should be sold, pro- vided a fair price were offered for it, the Trustees, after considerable discussion, arriving at their decision by comparison with prices re- cently obtained for 5th avenue property, fixed a value of $1,500,000 on the property.
With the increase of land values at that time came also a corresponding increase in the way of rentals, as is shown by the fact that whereas in the year 1888 the trustees had made a lease for the store room in the Fifth avenue Hall and the basement beneath for the sum of $12,000, in the year 1905 the rent, as stipulated in the lease was $30,000 a year. Of course, in the meantime, there had been many and expensive improvements made in and about the building. Finally at a special meeting held June 1, 1905, the trustees took under advisement a specific offer made for the pur- chase of the property. This session was held, as the minutes set forth, "for the purpose of considering an offer for the Society's property made by R. P. Nevin, Jr." The Board, however, was going into this matter with deliber- ation and care as we may notice from this transcript from the minutes of that meeting:
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