m 11mm m: nlpy€¦ · (e't ract from t h e reco rds.) in grand lodg e june 4 th, 1 9 02. 73 1410...
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(E'T RACT FROM T H E RECORDS . )
IN G RAND LODGEJune 4 th , 1 9 02 .
73 1410 11 §>prrial (flnm m ifin fiHrZKinlpg m em orial.
Broth e r M orco m be Cha i rman of the Com
m it tee . presente d th e report , wh i c h
'pon mot i on of B rothe r Wi lk i nson was
adopted by a r i s i ng vote .
Brothe r H ugg ( 1 8 ) mov ed that a copy of the
memor ia l , as read , be appropr i a te ly pr i nted and sent
to M rs . Mc K inley , wh i ch mot i on
Carr i e d .
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(grant: ungr nf ulna,Ant ipnt , Efirpp , anh At t em pt'm ag m a .
N G RAND LODGE , F i fty - n i n t h Grand Annua l
Commun i cat i on , he ld a t Dubu'ue , I owa ,
June 3 d to 5 t h , A . D . 1 902 , A . L . 5 902 ,t he fo l l owi ng Proceed i ngs we re had , and
are h ere ext rac te d from the records .
The M ost Worsh ipfu l Grand Maste r , LEW IS
JACK SON BAK ER , i n h i s Annual Address , re fe rred to
th e death of B rothe r and Pres i de nt MCK INLE' i n the
fo l low i ng language
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(19m m art grrh iiir'
m ihpni.
N Saturday morn i ng , t he 1 4 th day of
last Septembe r , Brothe r W ILLIAM
MCK INLE', t h e Pres i dent of these
'n i te d States , d i ed from th e effec ts
of a bu l l e t wound rece ived abou t e i gh t
days befo re from a man mank i nd ,
I beg your pardon— an enemy of government , ofc iv i l i zat i on , of progress , a dasta rd ly , l awless be i ng , an
anarch is t , who wi th a revo lve r concealed i n h i s r i gh t
hand , wh i ch had been bandaged so as to convey the
impress i on that i t had been i nj u re d , extended h is l e ft
to be gree te d by our Pres i d en t , whom he then shot
tw i ce . Shot ou r Pres i de nt , d i d I say ? No , my
bre th ren , i t was our count ry h e t r i e d to assass i nate
and destroy—your home , my home . Eve ry M asonand eve ry t rue Amer i can , yea , human i ty throughout
the c iv i l i z e d wor l d , was appa l le d at the cr ime and
bowed i n gr i e f and sorrow H e was a man of the
people and for the peop le . A devote d love r of h ome ,
state , count ry , and human i ty , i n defense of wh i ch h e
offe re d h i s l i fe upon the f i e l d of batt l e . H e d ied as
he l i ve d— t rue to human i ty and h is God . Liste n toh i s dy i ng words , Good bye i t i s God
’
s way : H is w i l l
be done .
Masonry has an abso lu te abho rrence fo r a l l people
who by d i sda i nfu l word or act e ndeavo r to weaken the
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pr i de i n or love of country . Masonry stands fo r
h ome , fo r country , for God , and for human i ty .
I wou ld recommend that a comm i tte e be appo i nte d
to prepare a prope r memor i a l to be presente d to M rs .
M cK inley by th e Grand Lodge , and furthe r . t hat a
su i tab ly i nsc r i be d memor ia l table t be p laced i n our
annua l Proceed i ngs .
H e fell at the post of duty .And the na tion ’s hear t is wrung ;
No death ofgreater beautyBy poet ha th been sung,
In s ilence deep he shares the s leepTha t falls on o ld and y oung.
Out of the crime and madness ,Out of the gloom and pa in ,
Out of the shame and sadness ,The purp ose of God is plain
That the nation rise through sacrifice ,Ana
’ turn its loss to gain .
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In th e repor t of the Grand Secre tary we f i nd t h i s
a l lusion to th e
Afinafisinafi m t nf Tfirnthrr flariKiulpg .
I NGE our last mee t i ng th e b lack shadow of
gr i e f has fa l le n across our land . The
hand of a coward has str i cken down the
Pres i den t of these 'n i ted States i n t he
pe r i od of h i s r i pes t usefu l ness , and when
h i s w isdom and expe r i ence seemed most
necessary to the we l l - be i ng of the nat i on . There
fo l l owe d a br i ef t ime of wor ld - wi de anx i e ty and earnest
praye r— and th en the end . The nat i on cease d i tslabors
,that i t m igh t knee l reve rent ly bes i de the b i e r of
i ts dead ru le r , se rvant , and fr i end , wh i le the who le wor l d
for a space forgot i ts b i cke r i ngs to j o i n i n sympathy
and mourn i ng .
To the M ason i c frate rn i ty th i s death brough t added
gr i e f . As c i t i z ens , we fe l t t h e loss as keen ly as d i d
our fe l lows , wh i le we also mourned the brothe r
s tr i cken down i n the performance of h i s du ty , a
martyr to h i s f i de l i ty At th i s commun i cat i on of the
Grand Lodge . t h e f i rs t s i nce h i s death , i t i s mee t and
f i t t i ng that some act i on be taken wh i ch sha l l stand on
record foreve r as an express i on of gr i ef for our em i nent
brothe r , l oya l ty to the land we love , and de testat i on of
the hor r i d c r ime , and the h e l l i sh doct r i nes wh i ch made
i t poss i b le .
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The Comm i ttee on the Grand Maste r 's Address
subse'uen t ly presente d the fo l l ow ing
We m ost heart i ly end orse that part o f the G ran d M aster'
s
address w here in he recommen ds the appo in tmen t of a comm it tee to draft a su i tab le memo r ia l in h on o r of our marty red'res iden t . Bro therW i ll iam M c K in ley . We recommend tha tthe com mit tee be appo in ted an d repo rt a t the presen t sess i on .We a lso re commen d tha t a tab let be in serted in th is y ea r
’
s
'roceed in gs in con fo rmity w i th his recommen da t i on .
Whereupon the Grand Maste r announced as a
Spec i a l Comm i t tee on the Mc K inley Memor i a l
B rothe rs M orcom be (25 ) and Coburn to repor t
at presen t sess i on .
Dur i ng the afte rnoon of the sess i on of the second
day , Brothe r M orcom be , from the Spec i a l Comm i t tee ,
presented and read the fo l lowi ng t r i bute to the memory
of our late Broth e r , Pres i dent M c K inley ; wh i ch , on
mot i on of B rothe r Wi lk i nson was adopted by a
r i s i ng vote .
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' ways i ncomprehens i b le , th e purposes
of God are wrough t i n the affa i rs of
men and the dest i n i es of nat i ons . Eve r
and aga i n the re i s demanded from thei nd iv i dua l o r th e peop le a supreme sacri f i ce , t hat on
the pa i nfu l pa th of sorrow men may r i se to h i ghe r
th i ngs . In th e hour of nat i onal pr i de death c la ims th e
man l i est and k i ngl i est , that th e lesson of hum i l i ty may
be learned and fa i t h be not forgotten .
Thr i ce w i th i n th e l i fe of a gene rat i on has th i s
nat i o n ben t i n gr i e f at t he b i e r of i ts nob les t and best .
death - str i cken by murderous hand ; thrice , with bowed
head , has i t share d i n the b lack sacrament of gr i ef ,
hop i ng aga i nst hope th rough dark days of suspense
and long n i gh ts of agony ; th r i ce has a who le peop le
paced w i th s l ow and solemn t read i n fune ra l march ;
and th r i ce wi th revere nt hands have the names of ou r
martyrs been i nsc r i bed on Fame’
s e ntab lature and
Sorrow ’s symbo ls give n p lace to the bronze - l e t te re d
record of eve r last i ng remembrance .
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and , l e t me add , i n Amer i can M asonry . Whateve r
th e duty presented , humb le o r h i gh , i t becomes to such
sou ls the i mpe rat ive , God - given work of th e present .
To the future i s le ft i ts own labors and i ts own
respons i b i l i t i es . Reward may we l l be t ruste d to the
j ust i ce of men , th e approval of consc i e nce , and th e
approbat i on of the Al l—Wise .
The l i fe of Wi l l i am M c K in ley teaches us that
opportun i t i es are made by human effo r t and ene rgy ;
that h i gh p lace and honor comes to h i m who dese rves
we l l of h i s fe l lows , wi th ou t the advent i t i ous a i ds of
wea l th and b i rth . We fol low th i s expand i ng and eve r
r i s i ng caree r w i th i n te rest and w i th prof i t i n th e
contemplat i on . We fi nd h i m eve r bea r i ng fu l l sha re
of c i t i zen duty i n c iv i c l i fe , answe r i ng to th e ca l l when
men were sore ly needed to test war ’s ste rn arb i t rament ,
and afte r bat t le tak i ng up aga i n th e home ly round of
to i l .
So from po i n t to po i nt we t race h i s path unt i l th e
suffrages of the nat i on had p laced h i m as the pee r of
earth’
s greatest . We see h im wi th head bare d and
bowed implor i ng God ’s gu i dance as he takes up h i s
m igh ty task . H e hears th e cry of a suffe r i ng race i n
the i s lands of th e sea . When protest was wi thout ava i l
and t ime had r ipened to the purpose , h e launched
aga i nst anc i en t wrong the young st rength of Amer i can
manh ood , and made a free peop le of those who had
st ruggle d i neffectua l ly i n the i r bondage . I n the f i e ry
1 0
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heat of po l i t i ca l b i t te rness he prese rve d h i s sou l i n
ca lm , and che r i she d wi th j ea lous care th e honor of
h i s peop le .
Then the M aste r saw , pe rchance , what ou r bl i nded
eyes m igh t not beho l d— that th i s l i fe had reached i tshe i gh t of earth ly greatness , and that as remembered
example and i ncent i ve i t m igh t g ive more and be
more to the nat ion and the wor l d than i f i t wrough t
l onge r i n th e ways of morta l i ty
In o l den s to ry the re i s to l d of one , who sat at
Arth ur ’s tab le , type and patte rn of a l l t rue manhood
and perfec t kn igh th ood wh i l e the wor l d may last ,
whose st rength was as the stre ngth of te n , because
h i s hear t was pure . ' I n to h i s t ranced and s i n less s i gh t
th e re swept a v is i on of the H o ly Gra i l , unseen by
grosse r eyes . So to th e sou l of th i s our brothe r we
be l i eve the re was vouchsafed , or e re he passed , a v i s i on
of th i ngs unu tte rabl e i n mor ta l speech ; t hat h i s c lean
sp i r i t l ooke d beyond the m ists of t ime i nto the spaces
of e te rna l sun l i gh t . And thus see i ng the glo ry , as S i r
Galahad behe l d the ho ly vesse l swi ngi ng down paths of
heaven ly sp le ndor th rough the n i gh t , our brothe r gave
to the tearfu l watche rs h i s last'
m essage , that i t m igh t
forever re i nfo rce the fa i th of a l l m en I t i s God’
s
way ; H is w i l l be done .
N eed we he re recount h i s pr ivate v i rtues , or te l l you
ye t aga i n of that manhood st rong and true and tender ,
whose st rength found noblest , most ch iva l r i c use i n
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l ov i ng guard i ansh ip Of h ome whose tende rness neve r
fa i le d for those he loved . The f i e rce and p i t i less l i gh t
wh i ch beats on th ose i n h igh p laces found no f law or
blem i sh of wh i ch even j ealous calumny m igh t wh ispe r
to h i s det r i ment o r shame .
H is love was a l i fe—l ong i dyl l ; no dream of a
summer day , to pass when f lowe rs had faded . There
was no ca l l so imperat ive , no duty so engross i ng , no
p leasure so a l lu r i ng bu t th at h i s th ough ts were tu rned
by n igh t o r day to the w i fe who so sore ly ne eded h i s
constant suppor t .
And when at last t he b lack - wi nged ange l touched
h i s l i ps to muteness , s til l he tu rned fast - fa i l i ng eyes to
that pa l l i d face bes i de h i s bed , that h e m igh t repeat
yet aga i n i n sou l language a message of l ove and
comfort t o the fra i l but c he r i sh e d flowe r of h i s l i fe .
God be t hanked , i n an age of i n d i ffe rence , when
men boast of a l l th e t i es of h ome re laxed and broken ,
and st ray h i th e r and th i th e r i n d i sregard of vows and
duty , t ha t one t rue sou l , stand i ng fu l l h i gh to catch
at te nt i on and enfo rce respec t , has se t examp le of
man ly v i r tue and domest i c h onor . To such as th i s
the re comes anew the prom ise u tte red f i rs t on the
M ount of Beat i tudes : Bl essed are the pu re i n heart ,
for they shal l see God .
'ou can reca l l the sudden shock w i th wh i ch the
nat i on h eard th e news of murde rous assau l t . 'ou
remembe r the short pe r i od of praye r , of anx i e ty , and
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reprobat i on of th e cr i me and th e dogma of b i tte rness
wh i ch prompted i t . Devote d to God , to l oya l ty , and
to our fe l l ow - men , we wish to th us p lace ourse lves on
record . But'
for th e bro th e r passed , fa i t h takes up fo r
us a j ub i lant s tra i n , and we be l i eve tha t
When
H is life burst its worn manacle of clayAnd wore God ’s splendor ’ round it l ike a raiment ,Throbbing with glory like a midnight s tar ,A ll H eaven was hushed to hear the Lord ’s Well doneThen shining hosts and 'uir ing orbs sang WelcomeAnd angels crown ’d him in the ir cap ital .For in his hear t he kept God 's image br ight .Love was his life- blood . Thro ' the long work—dayThe dark and terr ible night - time ay e , to deathH e nursed his love ; and God H imself is love .
To the suffe r i ng sou ls God give th comfort , to th ose
who mourn t i me br i ngs re l i e f , and when such nat i ona l
be reavements , seem ingly w i th ou t purpose , prompt
despa i r
Take hear t ' Tho ’ sown in tears and blood ,No seed , that
’
s 'uick with love, ha th perished ,Tho
’
dropped in barren by ' way s GodSome glorious flower of life ha th cher ished .
JOSE'H E . M ORCOM BE ,
G . F . COB'RN ,Comm ittee .
1 4
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AT T EST
A true from the records .
Witness our hands and th e seal
of the M s . W . . Grand Lodge of
I owa , at Cedar Rap i ds , th i s f i rs t
day of August , A . D . 1 902 .
Grand M aster
Grand Secretary .
1 5
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m ag m a: Eernrh of William illilrlk'
inlm .
ILLIAM MCK I N LE'’
S entrance i nto the
O rde r was an i nc i dent of the war be tween
the S tates . I n Wincheste r the re was a
regu lar Lodge of Masons , off i ce re d by
Confede rate so l d i e rs , or c i t i zens on paro le .
The des i re of young M c K in ley was made known to
the off i ce rs of H i ram Lodge , No . 2 1 , of Wi ncheste r .
h i s pe t i t i on was presente d , and he was e lecte d . On
th e n i gh t of M ay l s t , 1 865 , at o’
c lock , he presented
h imse lf for i n i t i at i on . J. B . T . Reed , a Confe de rate
chap la i n , was M aste r of the Lodge , and confe rre d t he
Degree of Ente red Apprent i ce upon the cand i date . -On
th e fo l l owi ng morn i ng he was i nst ructe d i n the work ,
and on th e even i ng of the same day the Degree of
Fe l low Craft was g ive n . The re was more i nstruc t i on
on the day fo l l ow i ng , and on th e afte rnoon of May 3 d ,
at th ree o ’c lock , h e rece ive d the M aste r M ason Degree .
But th ree M asons are now l iv i ng who wi tnesse d the
i n i t i at i on .
Re tu rn i ng from the war , Maj o r M c K in ley dem i t te d
from th e Wi ncheste r Lodge , and f i rs t aff i l i ated w i th
Canton Lodge , N o . 60 , of Canton , Oh i o . When Eagle
Lodge , No . 4 3 1 a lso of Canton , was organ i zed , Brothe r
McK inley became one of i ts c har te r membe rs , and
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