VOL. Ill
OXFORD, N. C., WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1877.
NO. 44.
Ma)iy wise and good men object to
tlie in’cseiit plan of su]»portiug tlie Or-
pban Asylum, and tliink a better can
be devised. Tlie jUasons of 3Ijs.sissi]i-
pi are now stnilviiig tlie same difiienlt
jiroblein in their own jurisdiction. An
intelligent eomniitteo lias gathered
facts and statistics and embodied them
in a very elaborate report. We pur
pose to discuss some of the topics
mentioned in this report, and to dis
sent from the conclusions wliich our
illustrious brethren have reached. This
discussion will have direct reference to
our own Orphan Work. Let our own
people (whether Masons or not) con
sider carefullji what course is wisest
and best, and let us work harmonious
ly on any plan that may accomplish
the .end proposed. We imblish the
entire reiiort that it maj' be deliber
ately pondered, and that we may all
study thoroughly the lessons which it
teaches:
(continued.)
It is entirely practicable for us
to provide for the education,
maintaiiiance and training for
some useful station in life, every
Masonic orphan, and, at the same
time, to give shelter and an hon
orable support to every brother’s
widow in this jurisdiction, and we
say this in the face of the fact that
the result of our investigations, if
we except the Institutions in Eng-
laiig, Ireland and Kentucky^ have
not been of a character to afford
encouragement. From England
and Ii’eland we have not been
able to elicit the details, but we
know that tliey have permanent
endowment funds, and this lot con
sider the secret of their success.
While there seems to be a cloud
at present resting upon tlie Ken
tucky Home, we feel sure that
witii the progress already made,
the noble-hearted Masons of glo
rious old Kentucky will not per
mit this great work of their hands
to cease until tlie cap-stone shall
he raised and the Home secured
from any contingency which may
arise, by the completion of tlie
endowment fund. It has already
repaid all the labor and expendi
ture bestowed upon it, in tlie sat
isfaction each genuine Mason in
that State must feel as he gathers
his little ones about him, and
knows that theyb at least, are sure
of aid, succor and support when
Ills own strong arm shall be with
drawn Irom them.
Note.—Since the foregoing was
submitted, in Grand Lodge, it is
announced that the Lodges, by a
large majority, have voted to tax
every affiliated Mason in Ken
tucky one dollar, for two years,
for the purpose of completing the
Home.
In this enquiry there are two
questions which naturally arise ;
the first relates to the cliaraeter
and purpose of the Institution
which it is proposed to establish,
or, in the language of the resolu
tion, “ the plan.” The second
relates to the means of support.
To the first enquiry we reply that
it is not a mere elemosynary in
stitution wliioh we need or want,
where women and children are to
be kept in idleness for a time and
then turned loose on the world to
live as objects of charity and
without the resources of making
a living. It is not only present
good, but future beneficial results,
which we must seek to attain in
this practical utilitarian age.
While we are providing for the
tender years of infancy and dur
ing the time when the mind is
forming, wo must so direct the
education and training of our
beneficiaries that when they leave
our guardianship, they will be
fitted to go fortli and fight the
great battle ot life—strong men
and women, .and not as helpless
objects of charity. It would be
mistaken kindness to gather up a
few scores of children and to feed,
clothe and educate them for a
tew }’ears if wo were to turn them
loose—say at fifteen—-without the
means of earning a livelihood.
We propose to establish an Insti
tution wliich shall be as homelike
in all its appointments as it is
possible to be an}^ where outside
of the home circle—wliere cliil-
dren shall be instructed in some
useful trade or occupation, as well!
as given an ordinary English ed
ucation. It is not necessary that
we should elaborate this “plan;”
the details -will best be left to
those who shall be confided with
its management; and we, there
fore, proceed to the second, but
at this time most important branch
of our enquiry, the means of sup
port.
In our judgment, the first step
to be taken is to raise an endow
ment fund sufficiently large to
yield an annual revenue of not
less than $10,000. This -n’ould
require the sum of one hundred
and fifty thousand dollars, invest
ed at seven per cent, per annum.
A sum so large tliat it would re
quire many years of anxious care
and herculean exertions to raise,
if the Grand Lodge were to resort
to that precarious and uncertain
source, popular subscriptions, but
which may be easily mastered by
the adoption and firm adherance
to a systematic plan of regular
assessments upon our member-
shin. We estimate, that without
levying such a tax upon the
brethren, that the most impover
ished could complain, the sum of
$15,000 a year could be raised
by the adoption of tlie following
plan ; We propose first an annu
al tax of one dollar upon every
Mason in the jurisdiction ; a tax
of five dollars upon each initia
tion, and the devotion , of the
surplus funds of the Grand Lodge
to this object; this, basing tlie
estimate upon the returns of 1875,
(see statistical table to be found
on page 191 of the proceedings of
1876), would yield the sum of
$15,155, annually, as follows;
From 10,770 affiliated Master Masons, 10,770
00 iion-alHiUted, . - - (>0
“ 465 initiations, at $5 each, - 2,325
“ surplus funds (say) - - 2,000
Total, . - - - $15,155
This sum could be greatly in
creased if the tax upon non-affil
iates should equal in amount the
average annual dues of the Sub
ordinate Lodges (estimated at an
average of $5 from each member)
and by sternly enforcing our
regulations against this class of
Masonic drones. We have no
means of determining the number
of non-affiliates in the jurisdiction,
but the number cannot be less
than three thousand. If every
Lodge and every brother will
refuse to recognize these slothful
brethren as Masons, at any time,
or under any circumstances, at
least two-thirds of them will
either join a Lodge, or, in order
1 to maintain their standing in the
Order, contribute 85 a vear to tlie
Orphans’ Home fund. This wmuld
produce a sum so largo in itself,
that the creation of the endow
ment fund is not onlv possible,
but probable. If we were to re
sort to no other source of income,
810,000 may be raised from this
source alone. We are tv ell aware
that some will say tiiat tve have
no right to lay a tax upon non-
afiiliates, but it has been done for
too many years in this jurisdic
tion to now 'question its legality.
But the fact is that we do not
propose to exact this money from
non-affiliates without giving an
adequate return for it. The choice
with them even now is to con
tribute a sum equal to the ordi
nary Lodge dues, or to run the
risk of being denied Lodge and
Masonic privileges; such as fu
neral honors, the right to visit,
etc. We only propose to rigidly
enforce the rule already of long
standing, and absolutely forbid
our Lodges and membership from
recognizing any non-affiliate who
does not contribute to this fund,
or join a Lodge, as a Mason ; in
other words we propose that he
shall be regarded as a suspended
Mason, not only m name, but in
fact, so long as his status is that
of a non-affiliate, or non-contrib
uting Mason.
An annual tax of one dollar
upon each affiliated Mason
amounts to less than one-tliird of
a cent a day; is less than two
cents a week, is eight and one-
third cents a month. Surely the
Mason wlio is not willing to deny
himself to this extent in order to
establish and sustain a great char
ity such as it is now contemplated
shall be established by this Grand
Lodge, never was a Mason except
in name, and he who would re
fuse or begrudge the pittance for
which we plead, is too sordid and
selfish at heart to be affected by
any argument we are capable of
offering; having failed to learn
the alphabet of charity as taught
in the sublime instruction of St.
Paul, repeated in the second de
gree, we despair of instilling into
him a single sentiment of genuine
Masonry. To such we say, with
the poet—
“ Down to tbe dust, afid as thou rottest away,
Es'cn worms'shall perish ou thy poisonous
clay.”
If Masonry sought initiates, it
would probably be bad policy to
lay a tax upon applicants for ini
tiation. It would be better to
wait until we had them fairly in
the meshes of our net, and then
bleed them to the required extent.
But as no man was ever rightful
ly made a Mason who was solici
ted, and as nothing is more re
pugnant to the genius of the Or
der than to canvass for membeis,
we need not display any solicitude
least a tew dollars more or less,
imposed as an initiation fee,
should have the effect to drive
away a score or two of applicants.
What we want is quality, and not
quantity. The qualities requisite
for a Mason, who would be such
in the true meaning and full sig
nificance of the term, are not
found in any man who would
hesitate to lay down a contribu
tion of five dollars to so noble a
purpose as the making of a pro
vision for his own and his fellows’
children and widows in the day
of adversity. We not only do
not want initiates who are not
charitably disposed, but all such
men who have found their way
into the Order are a positive det
riment to it, and no happier rid
dance could be imagined than
their departure from our taber
nacle.
We presume that no one will
doubt the propriety of devoting
the surplus funds of tiie Grand
Lodge to this object, and need
not advance any argument in
support of this proposition.
After a sufficient endowment
fund has been accumulated, we
call safely proceed with the work
of securing a site and the erection
of buildings, but until the endow
ment has been secured beyond
peradventure, it seems to us, in
view of the fact that the failure of
many enterprises of tliis charac
ter, is attributable to undue haste
in “ setting them going ” without
first taking steps to provide the
means of keeping them in motion,
that it would be a blind refusal to
profit by the experience of others,
if we were to neglect to take this
precaution. The amount of in
come fiom the endowment fund
should be sufficient to pay cur
rent expenses. After the endow
ment is completed, it will be
necessary to continue the assess
ment until a building fund is
raised. For this purpose it is
probable that the sum of fifty
thousand dollars will be required,
but it is now quite impracticable
for us to predict what vyIII be the
necessities, or the tastes, of those
who sliall have the proud satis
faction of proceeding with this
portion of the work.
Tills brings us to a considera
tion of tlie probable annual ex
pense of conducting such an in
stitution. Of course, this item
will vary with the number of
inmates, the cost of provisions,
clothing, fuel and the materials
and machinery required in the
operations of each year, and we
can cnilv approximate. We have
seen that the cost of the Ken
tucky Home, for the year ending
August 31, 1875, was $13,815.84,
or about $107.84 for each of its
one hundred and twentj^-eiglit
inmates—being about thirty cents
a day. The cost of clothing,
feeding and all other expenses of
the Hebrew Order of the Sons of
the Covenant, at Cleveland, Ohio,
was, during the first eight j^ears
of its existence, an average, for
each year, of forty-throe cents a
day for each inmate, decreasing
annually from fifty-one cents dur
ing tlie first year to thirty-eight
cents during the eighth year, ot
an annual expenditure of $138.70
for eacli inmate. Taking the
mean between these two Asy
lums, or an annual expenditure of
$115.48 for each inmate, as the
basis of our calculations, it Avould
cost the Grand Lodge to clothe,
feed and educate one hundred
orphans each year, the sum of
$11,548.00. We omit the cost of
such machinery as our plan con
templates, because we cannot
know until the institution is in
actual operation, tlie amount re
quired, or even the trades which
it would be advisable to teach
our beneficiaries, but it is safe to
say that after the first five years,
the receipts from the sales of
manufactured articles would equal
the expenditures failing under
this head.
The last question to be consid
ered is the torm of government to
be adopted. Experience has dem
onstrated that the governing body
of a public charitable institution
should be composed of as large a
body as can conveniently be as
sembled. We suggest a board of
iiianag-ers, to be composed of the
Grand Master, Deputy Grand
Master and Grand Wardens, as
ex-officio members, but without
being eligible to office in the man
agement, and fifteen managers, to
be divided into classes of five
each, the term of office of one
class to expire each year, as a
sufficiently large body, and yet
at the same time small enougli, to
be assembled as often as may be
necessary. The managers should
be given authority to appoint
their officers, time and place of
meeting, and to adopt rules and
regulations for their govenmient.
The Grand Lodge should require
full and exact reports, and have a
general supervision of all their
proceedings.
Although Section 3, Article I,
of the Constitution, confers au
thority “ to assess such contribu
tions from Subordinate Lodges
for charitable and other pnrpose.s,
from time to time, as ” the Grand
Lodge “shall judge right and
proper for the good of Masonry,”
and would probably be conceded
to be an ample grant of authority
to warrant it in proceeding at
once to organize an OrpJians’
Home, we have, however, deemed
it advisable to submit the propo
sition to the Subordinate Lodges
in the form of an additional Ai ti
de to the Constitution, and we
therefore recommend the adoption
of the following :
Besolvcd, That the following he
adopted, for reference to the Sub
ordinate Lodges, as the Sixth
Article of the Constitution of the
Grand Lodge, and that each sec
tion thereof be voted upon sep
arately, by the Subordinate
Lodges:
AETICLE VI:
widows’ and oephans’ home and
INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.
Section 1. The Grand Lodge
shall establish and maintain a
Widows’ and Orphans’ Home and
Industrial School. Provided, how
ever, that no expenditure shall be
made for this purpose until an
endowment fund shall be raised,
the annual income of which shall
not be less than $10,000.
Sec. 2. For the purpose of en
dowing, supporting and maintain
ing a Widows’ and Orphans’
Home and Industrial School, there
shall hereafter be paid by each of
a Subordinate Lodge the sum of
$1, to be collected as other Lodge
dues are collected, on or before
the Festival of Saint John, the
Evangelist, in each year.
Sec. 3. There shall hereafter
annually be paid by each non-
affiliated Mason resident within
the jurisdiction of the Grand
Lodge, for thb support and main-
tainance of a Widows’ and Or
phans’ Homo and Industrial
School, tlie sum of $5, which sum;
may be paid to tlio Grand Secre
tary or to the Secretary of any
Subordinate Lodge, who shall
(concluded on rOUETH page)