Newspapers / Masonic Journal (Greensboro, N.C.) / Sept. 30, 1875, edition 1 / Page 6
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6 THE MASONIC JOURNAL ,H-; I ili •: 1 ■ V ; A ft i'i y iMr .! .vtff?; t M MORE LIGHT.” Non-Payment of Dues. The following from the Memphis, (Tenn.) Masonic Jewel, is submitted to the Craft, and especially to Grand Lodges, for their careful consideration. That this question of non-payment of dues is a festering sore to many Lodges, is evident, and it is well to elaborately consider the best means of “curing the disease.” Let the^subject be canvassed. The following Edict will be submitted to the Grand Lodge (D. V.)at her Annual Communication next November. “ Arrears for one year s dvxs shall suh- iect o, memherr to-he stricken from the roll cfhis Lodye; and the memher shall there- vpon become non offliaiedA In view of the importance of this edict> i’ is prudent that timely notice be given (.'fit through our official organ, the Jewel, :-'or this reason, and also to secure the coiriions of experienced brethren this ar- er declared a non-affiliate, be entitled to a dimii? I answer ; He would not. By a dimit, a Lodge dismisses a member m ^ood standing, who has paid all his dues. When a brother is dropped and declared a non-affdiate, as a matter of course, he ceases to be a membes' of the Lodge. But as I said before, the brother would be en titled to a certificate And now what say my brethren to these views? I have only one earnest desire in this matter, and that is, to re move this crying evil, and }'et do no the first monument, and dedicated that as Well as the second ; he knew that the Masons, in their official and organized charter, have been present on Bunker Hill, OH every public occasion since their Grand Master died on it in^efenoe of his country, and were then present when Mr. Everett delivered his oration—but the great orator ignored them and the Order entirely. This was the spirit of anti-Masonry, as exemplified by one of the foremost men of his day. Mr. Everett was a great man, a wrong to any brother. I resfiect the j gieat oiator, a ripe schoior, an aole states- licle is now printed. The non-payment of duos' is becoming v-3.'-y' annoying to our Lodges, and some thing must be done to remedy this real evil. It is usual to suspetid the delinquent; and this susnension ceases when arrear ages are paid. This does not remove the trouble. A brother allows himself to fall into arrears, suffers temporary suspension, during which time his dues cease, and -then, at his leisure, buys himself back to his former rights in a Lodge. It is true that for the time of su.spension he is sev ered from the fraternity and has no claims ca his brethren but anon-affiliate is in near!;.' the same condition, and a non-affil- .ate can onh- become a member of a Lodge by a unanimous vote. Now if the edict .suggested above be adopted, brethren will become exceeding ;y .careful of being stricken from their ];odge roll, lest by that act, they lose their membership therein forever. It is often (he case that good brethren become de linquents from actualneccessity, but as no i-rother can be dropped from the roll ex cept after due trial and conviction, his necessuies would always be considered on such trials, and if real, would be respect ed by the Lodge. If not respected, the mother would have a proper cause for appeal to the Grand Lodge. I cannot but feel that whilst this edict would work no hardship to any brother, it would successfully break up this careless ness that so depletes the treasuries of our Lodges and demoralizes its membership. A Lovige with a long list of delinquents on its dues list, is never prosperous or harmonious. And t,he plan proposed in this edict is better calculated to prevent deiinquicy than either definite or iade- iinite suspension; because a majority vote removes definite and a two-tbirds vote removes indefinite suspension ; but if declared a non-affiliate, the delinquent can only return to his Lodge on petition iind a unanimous vote. And now the question arises, bow will this non-affiliated brother secure member ship in any other Lodge? I answer: he IS entitled to a certificate from his Lodge, under seal, staling how he became a non- affiliate. The Lodge to which he applies for membership can act as ii pleases on ih-it-oertificate. Another question ; Does the Lodge lose the amount due by the brother, when be is dropped, or can it be collected af terward ? I answer : His Lodge may determine that upon payment of arrear- . ages and a unanimous vote,'he will be restored to bis former rights and privi leges. But the Lodge could not bold the other Lodge to which he would afterward j.'.'in himself for the amount. One more question; "Would the broth- rights of each brother, as I do those of the Lodge. I would devise a plan to mai.ntain the righls of all. It may not be improper to state that the language proposed by this edict, is copied from the constitution of New York. That jurisdiction, however, goes further and says: “But no act of censure, suspension or expulsion shall be pronounced thereon, for noii-pi-yment of dues only.'" This I consider an unabridgemeot of the rights of the Lodge, and with iny present views, I could not support such a clause. Minne sota has the same language as we propose, but has not the last clause quoted from New York. Louisiana allows six months, after be ing dropped, for the brother to pay up and renew his membership, But if more than six months elap.se, he can renew his membership only by petition and a unanimous vote. South Carolina, in its standard by-laws, deprives of mem- bersbiu for twelve months dues. Mary land also dismisses from membership. The following jurisdictions decided that suspension or expulsion is not the proper punishment for non payment of dues: Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont,, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Wisconsin, Oregon, California and Mary land. The following jurisdictions approve suspension, but disapprove expulsion for non-payment of dues: Y^irginia, Iowa, Georgia, Alabama and District of Colum bia, The following States authorize suspen sion or expulsion: Tennessee, New Jer sey, Indiana and Nebraska. I have made this list of jurisdictions from the data before me. If I have fal len into any errors, I will take it as a fa vor to be corrected. man: but he drank at the foul pool of anti-Masonry, and his whole life was tinc tured with the poison. The Old Chair regrets that such a man should be influ enced by such an ism, but the trutli must be told.—Masonic Review. Prompt Attendance. No one thing should be more firmly fix ed on the mind of a master of a Lodge, than that Lodge work should begin promptly at the hour designated for it to begin. A half hour delay many times prevents Brethien from sitting through the whole work of a Lodge, wherasifthe Master had set the Gra.ft at work prompt ly all could have been finished and the Lodge closed at seasonable hours. AVe are opposed to long sessions, for if prac ticed frequently, it begets a desire among the Brethren to be away from their hearth stones at hours when their own and their families good demands that they should be at home. Let all Masters of Lodges bear it in mind that a good Ma.ster is one who promptly sets the Craft at work at the hour named, do it with dispatch—we do not mean haste—then close the Lodge in season, so that our wives, mothers and sisters can welcome us home with a smile and greeting that will rej'ay us. Do this and oui- homes will be happy, and the statement that one has been to Lodge, will not be received in disgust, or accepted as an apology foi an absence of doubtful ne cessity.—Loomis Musical and Masonic J'ournal. N. G. of a lodge to communicate the semi annual pass word to a brother of anoth er lodge, at the request of the N. G. of the lodge to which he may belong, under the seal of the lodge, applies to the N. G.’s in the same jirisdiction, and notin differ ent jniisdictions. The Masonic Tidings has been consoli dated with the Suspension Bridge Jour nal, which paper now appears with a “Masonic department” in which brothei Wilson makes his new botv, thusly : Our thanks are duo to Bro. Simons of the N. Y. Dispatch, Bro. AVheeler of the Memphis Jewel, and other of our editori al friends, for their handsome notices of our demise as a masonic journalist. It i;- not every man who has the chance to rea*i his own epitaph ; it is good for the pride of the flesh though, to mortify it in this way. Our friends will be a little aston ished, no doubt at our so soon comnin from a dead level to a living perpendicu lar but Jhen, asw’e iiave before inti- mate.l, this is the age for remarkable things. The ladings&t\\\ lives—it,s spirit is in these columns—it has only verified- the old Platonian theory of the ti'ansmi- gration of souls. Odd Fellows’ Laws.—At the late ses sion of the Oud Fellows in Indianapolis, the tollowing rules and regulations of the order were adobted.—They will be of in terest to the Odd Fellows generally : First. A member ir. good standing in Again I call upon my brethren for their | lodge is entitled to pecuniary benefits views. We have another number of the i unable to attend to his or- Jewel before the meeting of the Grand I ‘^vocatisu, although he may have Lodge, and I think a page or two could be filled with interesting opinions on this very interesting subject. G. C. C. Chatt.anooga, August 28, 1875. A Willful Omission. Edward Everett was not a Mason. On the contrary, he was uncompromising in ' 1^*6 Grand Lodge of the Halted-States ; an income sufficient for his support. Second. It is lawful for a subordinate lodge to donate its funds for any purpose within the object and scope of the order Third. The general management and conduct of degree lodges arc s'ubjeots of local legislation. I ourth. That a grand lodge of a Sl.ate must giant a.i appeal from its decision The great characteristic of Masonrv which has so much excited suspicion as to its innocence, is the impenetrable secrecy, Taciturnity is a direct proof of wisdom, and has always been regarded by intelli-,. gent men as an art of inestimable virtue. In secrecy nature performs her gi-eate.st work; and everything fashioned by the hand of the Creator comes forth silently and without noisy demonstration. The postal card factory at Springfield is now making cards of the new pattern at the rate of about six hundred thousand a day, but as theie are still 1,700,000 iu the vault, the public will not do any cor responding on the new cards until next month. The new card has a. finer surface than the old, and can be used for copying with a press. It is heavier than the old card, but is dalendereu sothroughlv that it is somewhat thinner. New Advert'sements. EUGEXE ECKEL, Druggist and Pharmacist, Greensboro, N. C. Personal attention to compounding Pre- sciiptious at all liours—‘day or nigiit, 2 2 CIIAULES I>. YATES, Bookseller & Stationer, j . ai;id dealer.in pIUSIC aiul F.-iX-G.Y ARTICLES, GiiEEKsnoBo; N. C. 2-2'i ! ■ his hostility to the Order. He was iden tified with the anti Masonic party, while the party lasted, and did all he could in opposition to Freemasonry. • The Old Chair well remembers how in dignant it felt, after listening to Mr. Ev erett’s magnificent lecture on Washington, that no noLice was taken of ^-V^ashington’s connection with Masonry. And this ef fort to totally ignore the institution -was not confined to that lecture. When the statue of Warren, erected on Bunker Hill, was dedicated, Mr, Everett delivered the oration, but took special care not to mention the fact that Warren was a Freemason. He knew that Warren was Grand Master of Masons at the time of his death ; he knew that Masons buried him ; that they gave the ground on Bunk er Hill on which the monument stands ; that the Masons laid the foundation of and that in vacation the- Grand Master cannot grant .said appeal. Fifth. That a subordinate encampment should not use its funds to procure street UMiform. ■ - ,, Sixth. That a member of a subordinate lodg« desiring to join an encampment should join the nearest encampment to. his residence in the same jurisdiction, ■' Seventh. That a brother in good stand ing cannot be kept out of his grand of subordinate lodge while the minutes of the preceding meetings, are being read; if he desires to enter and can work his way into the lodge. Eighth. That the Grand Encampment ofOjiio h-asno right to assign as a repre-.. sentalive of a district a patriarch who is not a member of an encampment in the district he is assigned to represent. Ninth. That the law authorizinii the I : .. .STEELE &-BENNY, ■ ; S'h^nufiicturers.of Doors, Blinds, Sash, Mouldings and Dealers in ALL KINDS OF LUMBER. Office S, STEELE, corner East. Market s!.. Greensjjoko, K. , 0. Terms Gash. ■. : '2,A*2 JAS. SLOAN’S SONS, GREENSBORO, N. C., general merchandise. Lime, C emeut and Plaster, Phosphate.^* and ^ Agricultural Implements a Spuci ilty.
Masonic Journal (Greensboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 30, 1875, edition 1
6
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