■5^
i 'is
by an election. Members failing
to attend meetings may be rC'
moved by the Grand Master.
The site of the Home is to be
upon a iarra of not less than
eighty acres. No contracts or ex~
penditnre of money is to be made
until at least S20,000 has been
accumulated by the Trustees.
Kentucky.—In this Grand Ju
risdiction, for a number of years,
a Masonic Widows’ and Orphans’
Home has been maintained under
the auspices of the Grand Lodge.
Since its inception, the subscrip
tions realized from Lodges and
the Ladies’ Aid Society, have
been 8148,810.64. The endow
ment fund amounts to $138,461.-
72, yielding an income of about
$10,000 a jmar. Since the doors
of the Institution have been
thrown open, one hundred and
eighty-five widows and orphans
of deceased Kentucky Masons
have found shelter there. At
present there are one hundred
and twenty-eight beneficiaries in
the Home, all that it can comfort
ably accommodate. The expen-
ses"for the year ending August
31, 1875, were $39,800.30, of
which the sum $25,884.46 is em
braced in the item “ building ex
penses,’^ making the actual cur
rent expense for the year $13,-
815.84, or about $107,84 per
capita, for each of the 128 in
mates. This is nearly 30 ots. per
day. The Home is incorporated
by the laws of Kentucky, and is
governed by fifteen Directors,
who hold their offices for three
years, and are divided into three
classes, of five each, a class being
elected in May of each year. The
officers are a President, Secretary,
Treasurer, Agent and Matron,
elected by the Board of Directors.
The membership is comprised of
life and active members, who
must be Freemasons. Active
members pay the sum of four
dollars annually, and any Mason
or body of Masons, contributing
one hundred dollars, or the mul
tiple thereof, are entitled to one
certificate of life membership for
each one hundred dollars paid by
them. Persons not Masons, may
become honorary members by
the payment of a sum not less
than fifty dollars. Active and
life members and bodies holding
life membership are entitled to
vote at all elections. An endow
ment fund is kept separate from
•the general funds, under the man
agement of three trustees, who,
subject to the instructions of the
Boat’d of Directors, make invest
ments of .this fund, the income of
which, we believe, is transferred
to the general fund. Beneficiaries
are admitted only upon the re
commendation of some body of
Masons in Kentucky. The In
stitution met with a loss of about
$70,000 in the destruction, by a
tornado, of one wing, and the
towers of the main building, about
two years ago ; and its Directors
have since that deplorable event
found themselves greatly perplex
ed to raise the funds necessary to
rebuild, and at the same time
meet the current expenses. Grand
Master Leathers, in his address to
the Grand Lodge in October last,
referring to the efforts then being
made to raise a sufficient sum
with which to rebuild the destroy
ed portion of the building, pleads
in eloquent language, as the fol
lowing extracts bear witness:
“ It is not deemed inconsistent
with the proprieties of this occa
sion to lay before you,and through
you, to every Mason in Kentucky,
the aims and hopes of our splen
did charity and its present condi
tion, with the confident belief that
none can refuse to help a cause
w'hich so eloquently appeals to
every Masonic heart, a cause
which has raised the standard of
Masoni’}' in our State ; which has
ennobled and dignified it; ivliich
has. silenced the voice of Anti-
Masonry in our midst; which has
dried the tear of the widow and
hushed the cry of the orphan, and
which has brought untold honor
and credit upon the noble Ordei
which has founded it, and under
whose loving care it shall dispense
its blessings to all who by an af
flicting Providence, may be com
pelled to seek its fostering aid.
“ Oftentimes the Home has
passed through seasons of gloom
and discouragement; often, very
often, the ardor, devotions and
energies of the brethren into
whose hands you have committed
this charity, have been taxed to
the utmost, y-et, out of all the
past difficulties the Institution has
been safely brought to this hour.
Now, however, the future is sadly
foreboding, unless the Grand
Lodge, by prompt and liberal
legislation, rescues this most cher
ished Masonic enterprise.
“ When the work of rebuilding
the Home and repairing the dam
age done by' the storm was com
menced, it was a cherished hope
of the managers that it would be
pushed forward to a speedy' com
pletion, and that the work would
not again cease until the capstone
was seated, amid the rejoicings of
the Craft at the completion of a
temple even more magnificent
than Solomon’s, and more endur
ing in its benefits, for the spiritual
temples we are roaring in that
Home, shall have an eternal ex
istence, when ■ Solomon’s Temple
shall have been forgotten, and
long after earthly gems and mon
uments and crowns are mouldered
into dust. * * * There can
bo no question, brethren, that we
have reached ’J'he ceisi.s in the
history of the Home, and a fail
ure to take proper action will not
and cannot relieve us of our re
sponsibility' in the premises. We
may as well look this matter
squarely in the face.
“The architect estimates that it
will reipi'ire about forty'-five thou
sand dollars to finish the build
ing and fit it for occupation. The
work is of too great magnitude to
attempt to carry it on further by'
the voluntary contributions of
the Craft. The Grand Lodge
must now assume the responsi
bility of providing, by legislation,
the means to complete and endow
the great work, or bear the igno
miny of its failure.
“ If Kentucky Masonry is sat
isfied with what has been done,
and can rest content to do no
more, then discharge all the work
men now engaged upon the un
finished portions of the building,
and there let it stand, its huge
proportions, unfinished and deso
late, and in sad contrast to the
finished portion of the Home,
with its one hundred and twenty-
eight happy inmates.
“ Great as is the glory reflect
ed upon the Order by what has
been done, it were far better for
Masonry in Kentucky that a
stone had never been laid than to
stop where we are. It is the great
work of the Craft, and its proud
est achievement. Completed, an
imperishable monument of Ma
sonic benevolence and charity;
unfinished a shame and renroacli
to men who had the noble and
generous impulses to devise a
scheme which their indifference
prevented them from carrying
out. Its bleak, unadorned and
tenantless walls cry out, at this
hour, for the means to make it
the habitation for those, who, by'
the decrees of Providence are
compelled to bear cheerless pov
erty and an unprotected and de
fenseless existence.
“ From every part of the Com
monwealth, almost from every'
Lodge, comes the plaint of the
helpless infant or the wail of the
broken-hearted widow, begging
for bread to feed and a home to
shelter. These cries come not
from strangers; they are from the
loved ones of our brethren who
have been called to the Grand
Lodge above, and who departed
hence strong in the faith and hope
that we who are left behind, when
they are gone, would protect and
defend their dear ones. These
children, these widows, are the
bequest to us of dead brethren,
and mercy and justice, aside from
the solemn obligations of our Or
der, call us, ay'e, demand of us,
at this hour to jrrove worthy of
the confidence of our dead, and
worthy of the sublime principles
of Masonry.”
Missouri—This Grand Lodge
once built and owned a Masonic
Orphans’ College, and fully
equipped the same, but it was
abandoned after a few y-ears’ trial,
owing to the constant demand
for large appropriations to meet
current expenses, and the fact
that it “cost about four times as
much to educate each orphan in
the school as it would to pay
their tuition in the regular acad
emies and public schools by the
Lodges themselves near their own
homes. The school was closed
and the grounds and buildings
presented to the Central Female
College, which grants free tuition
to thirty orphans if the Grand
Lodge desires it, but the Lodges
now attend to their own orphans,
being excused from paying any'
charity' fund to the Grand Lodge.”
It is to be regretted that II.'. W.'.
Bro. Gouley, the Grand Secreta
ry', to whom we are indebted for
the foregoing information, should
not have gone more into detail
and given us the benefit of his
opinion as to the cause of tlie
failure of this enterprise. AVe are
left to conjecture that misman
agement and the want of an ad
equate endowment fund were
the principal causes of its failure.
From Moor’s Masonic Magazine,
3 learn that the Grand Lodge
“ with commendable liberty, pur
chased a large property', with
suitable buildings and furnishings
for a Masonic College. The pros
pects at the beginning were en
couraging, but the final result
was a failure but why, we are
still uninformed.
cation.” The female children are
found homes in families, and the
boys go to trades on being dis
charged. An effort is being made
by' the Grand Lodge to raise an
endowment fund by' popular sub
scription, and Orphans’ Aid Socie
ties are recommended to be formed
all over the State to aid in its
accomplishment, and itis proposed
to ask the Legislature to make an
appropriation.
Nehraska—This Grrnd Lodge
is raising a fund, the inconie of
which is to be devoted to the
education of indigent children of
deceased Masons. Itis under the
management of a Board of Trus
tees, and a Standing Committee
is appointed in each Lodge to
solicit and receive funds, and
Lodges are required to hold an
annual festival, or entertainment,
for the purpose of augmenting
this fund. In addition, an annual
tax of fifty ceirts is levied upon
each member, payable as other
Lodge dues. No portion of the
fund is to be used until the sum
of $5,000 is raised.
Scotland—From 11.*. "VV.*. llro. Geo.
R Ilariiott, 32°, FroTiiicial Grand
Master, wc liave received tlie pro,spec-
tus of tlie )iroi)osed Royal iScotti.sli
Masonic lieiievoleiit Tn.stitntioii, jvliicli
coiiteiriplates two bi'aiiclie.s: 1, tor
in.aintainiiig*, clotliiiis* and educating
tlie sons and dauglitcrs of Frccina-
.soiis; and, II, the maintaining, cloth
ing and su])porting aged and decayed
Freemasons and widows of Freema
sons. The revomie to be derived from
voluntary .subscriptions and an annual
donation by the Grand Lodge. The
scheme eonteni))lates an endowment
of twelve or iitteen thousand iiouuds
to be rai.sed by subscription.
Ireland—We have received the an
nual reports of the Masonic Female
Orph.an School and Masonic Orphan
Boys’ School of Uublin, which are sup
ported by voluntary contributions of
the Fraternity throughout Ireland.
We have also received tlie tliird annu
al report of the Belfast Gliarity Fund.
These Institutions are all maintainf'.d
by voluntary subscriptions
Independent Order of Benai lierith—
We arc indebted to Bro. dos. L. Her
man for cot'ies of the annual l eports
and other useful information pertinent
to our inquiries concerning the Or
phan Asylum of this Order at Cleve
land, Ohio, and Xew Orleans.
Michigan—Although no institution
of a ])ublic character has been estab
lished in this Grand Juri.sdiction, your
Committee have been greatly favored
by R.*. W.-. Bro. Foster Fratt, late
Grand Secretary, who has given us, at
some length, many wise and valuable
North Carolina—This Grand
Lodge formerly appropriated $2,-
000 each y'ear for the support of
two Orphan Asylums, one at Ox
ford and the other at Asheville.
At its last Communication the
latter was united with the former
and the annual appropriation con
tinued. From Bro. J. H. Mills,
the Superintendent, we learn that
the two institutions have fed,
clothed and instructed 145 or
phans, taken from the most needy
in the State. A weekly paper is
printed at the Institution at Ox
ford, called The Orphans' Friend,
from a copy of which and a letter
from the Superintendent, it ap
pears the revenue, beyond the
annual appropriation by the Grand
Lodge, is derived from that fear
fully precarious source—popular
subscriptions, generally sent
through committees of Subordi
nate Lodges. This Institution is
a “ temporary school ’’-—not “ a
home ”—whore children from six
to twelve are received, to be dis
charged at fourteen. The object
is to furnish “ a fair English edu-
•suggesticuKS upon tlic subject of our
enquiry, and for wliicli wc desire to
m ake ack iiowled gem cut.
From various Sla.soiiic periodicals
and other sources, it apiiears that
many attein]its have been made to es-
tabli.sli in the various jurisdictions
throughout tlie United State.s, schools
and colleges for the education of Ma
sonic youth of both sexes. We are not
aware tliat full success has been at
tained in any instance. Large sums of
money have been exiieoded, we dare
not say wasted, because we trust tliat
some .good has resulted from them, in
the establishment and etfort to .secure
tlie succes of these enterprises. All of
them have been abandoned, at least
we cannot call to mind a single excep
tion. It is hardly to be supposed that
this general failure is solel,y attributa
ble to mismaiiagemeut, or incompe-
teiicy, upon the part of tliose entrusted
with their management. The fact is
that mere schools where pupils are
taught elementary or even higher
branches of an ordinary English edu
cation are better and more economical
ly conducted under the free school
system, w'hich prevails in all our States,
tiiaii similar enterprises can be under
denominational or fraternal patron
age.
There ought not to be, and probably
there is no necessity for a Masonic
school ill a communit,y where all con
cede that it is as much the duty of the
State to provide for the education of
its children as it is to preserve the
public iieace and promote the general
welfare of the people, and where all
classes of citizens are required to con
tribute, according to their ability, to a
common fund devoted to the educa
tion of all who choose to avail them
selves of the benefits it confers. In our
own State the public school system is
as satisfactorily conducted as the gen
eral impoverishment of the people will
permit. The system may not be as
perfect as it is to be desired and hoped
that it ivill be in time, but it is so far
effective that none who have the op
portunity of availing themselves of its
privileges need be without a fair Eng
lish, education. And as for those who
have the means and inclination to
pursue a collegiate course, the numer
ous and rapidly increasing State and
denominational colleges and univer,si-
ties furnish all the needful facilities
without the necessity of going a great
distance from home.
But, we must not lose sight of the
fact that -while the mind is being ed
ucated it is necessary to train the hands
to labor and to feed and clothe the
body. To the child, whose neci'ssities
compel it to labor for its daily bread,
no system of public education can,
save in exceiitional cases be of any
great benefit. Under the inscrutable
decrees of our Heavenly Father, there
are large numbers of childi’on who in
infancy are deprived of their natural
guardians and thrown upon the world,
objects of charity. Left to themselves
they ])erish cither from want of food
and raiment, or become moral and so
cial wrecks. The children of the iioor
greet us upon every side, confront us
at every turn; escape them we cannot,
dare not, even if wo would.
The duty of )iro\*iding for the chil
dren of our brethren -who have passe d
on before us tlirough the r eil whicli
hides from our sight eternity and the
better life, is scarcely less sacred than
that of i>rovidiug for our own offspring.
Every where around us as we look
out into the night, we can see the faces
of the dead. VVe never meet here in
Grand Lodge but we miss the presence
of some one whom we have known and
loved, some one whose wise counsels
and benevolent pui'iioses have made
our meetings joyous seasons. Our
Lodges seldom meet without an ap
peal for charity by the widow and the
orphan, and we are almost hourly re
minded that our duties to the dead
cease not with the sad ceremonies of
their int irment. To watch over and
give protection and assistance to those
whom our brethren have bequeathed
as sacred legacies to our care is not
only a duty, but a in-ivilege. If we
fail to jierform this duty, -^’e prove ou: -
selves false men and false Masons.
There are none of ns who dare to say
that the provision ive have made for
tl*ise we must leave behind us is se
cure from the danger of being lo.st. 'To
most of us death is a calamity, only
because our work is not finished. We
build and plant and adorn and beauti
fy a little spot of earth, hoiiing heri-
aftcr to sit down anil enjoy it, and wo
toil and stm.ggle through years of anx
ious care and solicitude, denying our-
seh es the luxuries and even the com
forts of life to accumulate a competen
cy, but some misadventure sweeps all
away, when it is too late for us to be
gin anew, and we go down into the
grave with a heavy burden upon our
hearts, knowing that those we lo\e
best will henceforth be dependent up
on the cold charities of the world to be
reluctantly bestowed. 'This is the ex
perience of our daily life, and there are
none of us who cannot count, by scores,
the widows and orphans of our breth
ren, whose oidy legacy is the precious
memory of the loVed and lost. The
Kentucky Asylum gives food and shel
ter and protection to the widow and
children of a former Governor of that
liroud State, and that, too, without
any fault of his or theirs. Who of us
can say that our children may not bo
the first to knock for admission at the
doors of the Home—dare we indulge
the hope — which your forethought
shall build ?
It needs no argument to convince
any Mason, who is not dead to all his
obligations, that Masonry has some
higher and nobler mission than the
mere conferring of degrees; that the
work of the Lodge room has a greater
scope than the repetition of ceremo
nies, bo they ever so venerable with
age or beautiful in sentiment; that the
records of a Lodge w’hich do not tell
us of some good deeds performed, some
acts of charity, done for charity’s sake,
are bat the mementos of wasted hours,
of vain pretensions, of solemn promi
ses broken, of duties neglected.
We know of no nobler channel in
which for a great and powerful Order,
like ours, to disiday its usefulness and
to illustrate its teachings, than in pro
tecting, sheltering and fitting for an
honorable station in this life and hap
piness in the life to come, the helpless
orjihans of our brethren.
(COX'J'IxXt'ED NEXT tVEEK.)
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