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Bring
the Line Up to the Standard
Whither
Are We Traveling?
Dwight L. Smith
Question 9: Hasn’t the so-called Century of the Common
Man contributed to making our Fraternity a little too common?
An old legend which comes to us from the Napoleonic Wars tells of a youth,
too young to fight, who was permitted to carry the regimental banner. During one
bitter engagement his unit was advancing on the enemy under heavy fire. In his
youthful zeal the boy went so far ahead of the regiment that he was almost out
of contact. The commanding officer send a runner bearing the message, “Bring
the standard back to the line.”
With heroic recklessness the lad sent back the ringing reply, “Bring the
line up to the standard.”
In the United States today, politicians like to refer to the present age as
the “Century of the Common Man.” Even though no man considers himself common
and every man desires mightily that his sons be uncommon men, it does make a
good vote-catching phrase.
Trouble is, in our solicitous concern for the Common Man, we overlook an
important principle of applied psychology. Too much emphasis on common men and
common things can serve to make common that which should be uncommon. There is
in evidence today what might be called for lack of a better term a Masonic
Gresham’s Law. Under its operations we are not thrilled with the sight of the
line being brought up to the standard; instead, we witness the sad spectacle of
the standard being dragged back to the line.
Whether we like it or not, let’s face it. The trend is in the direction of
altering the pattern to fit the cloth. It has left its mark on every Lodge in
Indiana, large and small.
In bringing the subject out into the open, I am not merely unburdening myself
of a personal irritation – I am only putting into print what has been
whispered in my ear on countless occasions these last 15 years.
When we cease to set a lofty mark and expect our Brethren to measure up to
it, when we permit a downward adjustment to conform to practices and manners
that are casual and lax and crude, we are dealing our beloved Fraternity a
double blow:
First, a blow from without. Certainly we must not expect to retain the
prestige the Craft has enjoyed in the past if we can lift our sights no higher
than the bowling lanes, the drive-in hamburger stand, the picnic grounds.
Second, a blow from within. Will not men respect and venerate
Freemasonry more if they know there are certain rules of gentility – of
behavior, of dress, of speech and decorum – which they are expected to
observe?
What am I talking about? All right, then, let’s spell it out:
1. The appearance and actions of Master Masons in
public ceremonies. Not always do they create a favorable impression. Only on
rare occasions may Freemasons perform their ritualistic work outside the Lodge
hall, usually a funeral or the laying of a cornerstone. It requires no great
degree of imagination to see what damage can be done the entire Fraternity when
men do not possess that priceless gift known as “a sense of the fitness of
things.”
One time I attended the funeral rites for a beloved Brother. At the
conclusion of the church service the Brethren filed down the center aisle in
view of all in attendance to take their places in the escort. The bearer of the
Three Great Lights did not know what to do with his head gear. So, down the
aisle went the procession with a faded straw hat on top of the Holy Bible,
Square and Compass.
What am I talking about? Aprons that are crumpled and soiled. Whether worn
without the Lodge room or within, the apron itself is disgraced when it is
anything less than spotless, and the Fraternity is cheapened, to say nothing of
the psychological effect upon the wearer himself.
Yes, and I am talking about the ridiculous spectacle of the Master Mason who
appears anywhere with long apron strings dangling from the rear, all too
suggestive of the limp tail of an old white cow I used to know. Must we go out
of our way to make ourselves a laughing stock?
2. Then there are the coarse and boorish
performances by self-appointed comedians, and by the Glue Factory Craft Club, in
conferring the Master Mason degree. I have seen the Sublime Degree lose all
its sublimity in a matter of seconds when immature men forfeited their
opportunity to convey a never-to-be-forgotten lesson and chose instead to show
off like little boys. On my private black list are the names of Lodge in which I
simply not be present when the Master Mason degree is conferred. Some of them, I
am sorry to say, are in Indiana. Twenty-four years ago Carl H. Claudy was saying
the same thing in a Short Talk Bulletin which the Master of every Lodge would do
well to obtain and read again and again.
3. Finally, let’s lay it on the line. I am talking
about the lack of respect shown by the Masons for their Lodge as reflected in
the attire they wear to its meetings. It was Past Master’s Night. An
invited guest, I sat on the sidelines to witness the always pleasant conferring
of the Sublime Degree by those veterans who had borne the heat and burden of the
day.
At first all went well. The ritual that only Past Masters know was executed
as only Past Masters can. Then King Solomon approached the East. The man who
represented that wise and noble ruler wore a slouch felt hat a half-size to
large that caused his ears to droop forward. Coatless, his loud pattered sport
shirt was buttoned at the throat without benefit of a necktie. Taking his place
in the oriental chair, he laid the heel of a yellow right shoe on his left knee,
and began chewing his gum thoughtfully.
“Even Solomon in all his glory,” I mused to myself, “was not arrayed
like one of these.”
Yes, I know the subject of a man’s personal appearance is a touchy one.
Nevertheless, I stoutly maintain that appropriate dress for Masons while
attending meetings of their Lodge simply is not a debatable issue. A Lodge hall
is dedicated in the name of Jehovah. It is set apart as a place in which the
Great Architect of the Universe is an object of our reverence. Why, then, should
there be any question about proper and respectful attire in the Lodge room any
more than the Church?
Recently a distinguished officer of the Grand Lodge of California prepared a
most effective pamphlet under the title, If Freemasonry Is Good, Let Us Talk
About It. This one paragraph deserves frequent repetition: “The Mason who
creates a bad impression, in whatever field of activity, can bring discredit to
the Craft. I am in the women’s clothing business, and in our business we are
concerned about what our female employees wear ‘off the job’as well as on.
Our salesgirls make an impression at all times – and we want it to be a good
impression.”
Let us not cloud the issue with pious mouthings about how Masonry regards no
man for his worldly wealth and honors; that it is the internal and not the
external qualifications of a man that render him worthy to be a Mason. The
question is not one of honors – it is of respect for the dignity of our
ancient Craft. Mark it down: If the internal qualifications are there some of
those qualifications will show through on the outer side. A Mason need not
wear a Hart, Schaffner & Marx suit to show proper respect for his Lodge, but
certainly there should be a high point below which even laziness and negligence
will not permit him to descend.
Sometimes I wonder what a serious minded young Mason must think when he looks
about the Lodge room and sees his Brethren attired as they would for an outdoor
steak fry. Does his mind go back to the time when he received his preliminary
instructions prior to initiation as an Entered Apprentice? Perhaps he recalls
two significant sentences: “Put on your freshest and most immaculate
garments,” he was told, “that their spotless cleanliness may be symbolic of
the faultless purity of your intentions. With your body clean and your garments
spotless you are more suitably prepared to receive that spotless and faultless
philosophy which Masonry will offer you.”
Yes, perhaps the young Mason does remember those sentences. He may be
one of the sizable army of newly raised Brethren that drift away from their
Lodges never to return!
All these practices and many more serve to cheapen Freemasonry in the eyes of
the public and in the eyes of the Brethren themselves.
Much more could and should be said. For example, my criticism has been
confined to the Symbolic Lodge. But the Symbolic Lodge does not stand alone in
the cheapening process, by any means. Organizations which restrict their
membership to Masons and which profit by their relationship to the Craft are
doing their part rather well in dragging the standard back to the line.
Now let there be no defensive bleating that the Grand Secretary has gone over
to the silk stocking crowd and is promoting tea parties. The choice is not
bowling league attire versus white tie and tails. I only insist that Masons, of
all persons, should have that fine “sense of the fitness of things;” a
wholesome respect for the Lodge and the place it should occupy in the lives of
men; the same kind of respect a man should show his church when he goes to
worship, or the family of a friend when he attends a wedding, or his host when
he is invited to Thanksgiving dinner. Just plain good taste, that’s all.
Will the Brethren complain if Lodges insist on dignity, decorum, respect?
Will interest lag, attendance fall, membership decline?
Well, take a look at interest and attendance and membership now.
When good men are summoned to the highest and best within them, they usually
respond with the highest and best. We might be pleasantly surprised at the
reaction of our Brethren if challenged to bring the line up to the standard
where it belongs!
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