THE BUILDER MAGAZINE
April 1919
volume 5 - number 4
REPORT OF THE MASONIC
OVERSEAS MISSION
BY Bro. TOWNSEND SCUDDER. P.G.M.. NEW YORK
PART II
STATE DEPARTMENT'S REFUSAL TO ISSUE PASSPORTS
BROTHER Knight and the Chairman of your Mission have
received from the State Department no notification of any action whatever on
their applications for passports.
Brothers Prime, Thorne, and Treder, on the contrary,
received the following:
"Department of State,
Washington,
"July 2, 1918.
"Mr. William C. Prime,
"63 Hawthorne Avenue,
Yonkers, New York.
"Sir:
"Referring to your
recent application for a passport to enable you to go to France, England, Italy,
and Switzerland on a 'Mission to Freemasons in the United States Forces
Overseas,' you are informed that the Department, in accordance with an agreement
with the War Department, does not grant passports enabling persons to go to
France for work among the American troops unless such persons are going thither
under the auspices of a recognized relief or hospital organization doing work in
that country. For this reason, the Department must decline to grant you a
passport.
"Returning the fee of
one dollar which accompanied your application, I am, Sir,
"Your obedient servant,
"For the Secretary of State:
"Alvey A. Adee,
"Second Assistant Secretary."
Brother Prime replied as follows:
"July 12, 1918.
"Hon. Alvey A. Adee,
"Second Assistant
Secretary of State,
"Washington, D. C.
"Dear Sir:
"I duly received your
letter of the 2nd instant, which has followed me to Massachusetts and back.
"May I venture to call
your attention to the fact that the Mission, in connection with the journey of
which to France application for a passport was for me made, was appointed by the
Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York, whose original letter
appointing Hon. Townsend Scudder, Erastus C. Knight, Oscar F. R. Treder, Rougier
Thorne, and William C. Prime and requesting passports in their behalf was lodged
by Judge Scudder with the State Department on May 19, 1918, and attached to his
application for passport. When I applied for a passport at the New York Bureau,
a memorandum was furnished the clerk in charge, referring to those papers
attached to Judge Scudder's application.
"I understand that the
determination upon the applications of all five for passports has been held in
abeyance by both the State and War Departments until Mr. Fosdick's return and if
there is any oversight in my case, suggest and request that it be considered in
connection with the others in due course on Mr. Fosdick's return to Washington.
"Mr. McBride and Mr.
Keppel, I think, are fully familiar with this situation.
"Respectfully,
"William C. Prime."
"Department of State, Washington,
"July 2, 1918.
"Mr. Rougier Thorne,
"Glen Cove,
"Nassau County, New York.
"Sir:
"Referring to your
recent application for a passport to enable you to go to France, England, Italy
and Switzerland on a 'Mission to Freemasons in the United States Forces
Overseas,' you are informed that the Department, in accordance with an agreement
with the War Department, does not grant passports enabling persons to go to
France for work among the American troops unless such persons are going thither
under the auspices of a recognized relief or hospital organization doing work in
that country. For this reason, the Department must decline to grant you a
passport.
"Returning the fee of
one dollar which accompanied your application, I am, Sir,
"Your obedient servant,
"For the Secretary of State:
"Alvey A. Adee,
"Second Assistant Secretary."
Brother Thorne wrote to me enclosing the foregoing letter,
as follows:
"Glen Cove, L.I., N.Y.
"July 8, 1918.
"Dear Judge:
"I enclose a letter,
dated July 2nd, signed by Alvey A. Adee, Second Assistant Secretary of State,
which advises me that the Department must decline to grant me a passport as a
member of the Mission to Free Masons in the United States forces overseas.
"Fraternally,
"Hon. Townsend
Scudder,
Rougier Thorne.
"Glen Head, L. I."
I replied to Brother Thorne as follows:
"July 9, 1918.
"Rougier Thorne, Esq.,
"Glen Cove, L. I.
"My dear Brother
Thorne:
"I have your favor of
July the 8th with enclosure. I believe a mistake has been made. I am now in
negotiations with the War Department and State Department.
"I have a letter dated
July the 2nd from the acting chairman of the Commission on Training Camp
Activities which clearly indicates to my mind that this matter is not closed,
but is still open. I also have a letter from Mr. F. P. Keppel, Third Assistant
Secretary of War, in which he tells me that Mr. Baker, the Secretary of War,
feels with regard to our matter that as Mr. Fosdick is now in France, it would
be better for us to await his return before a definite decision is made; and in
another letter Mr. Keppel tells me that Mr. Fosdick has cabled recommending that
the matter of our visit be held up pending his return, and still another letter
in answer to one of mine suggesting that I have an opportunity of meeting Mr.
Fosdick upon his return to discuss the Masonic War Relief work overseas with
him, Mr. Keppel and Mr. McBride, in which he tells me that the date of Mr.
Fosdick's return is uncertain, and this is followed by a letter from Mr.
McBride, dated July the 2nd, in which he suggests deferring our meeting until
Mr. Fosdick's return which he says will probably be in the course of a week or
ten days.
"In light of these
facts I deem it wise to say nothing of the receipt of your letter from Mr. Adee
and of its contents lest the situation be complicated through what I am
convinced is a mistake, due to lack of co-ordination between the Departments in
Washington.
"It was distinctly
agreed that the applications for passports of the members of the Masonic Mission
were to be put to one side, and acted upon altogether, when the difficulty which
has now so unexpectedly arisen, should have been overcome, as, of course, it
must and will be.
"I have not received a
notice similar to the one which you sent me and this confirms me in my belief
that a mistake has been made.
"Sincerelv. Townsend Scudder."
"Department of State, Washington,
"July 2, 1918.
"Mr. Oscar F. R. Treder,
"Garden City, Nassau
Co., New York.
"Sir:
"Referring to your
recent application for a passport to enable you to go to France, England, Italy
and Switzerland on a 'Mission to Freemasons in the United States Forces
Overseas,' you are informed that the Department, in accordance with an agreement
with the War Department, does not grant passports enabling persons to go to
France for work among the American troops unless such persons are going thither
under the auspices of a recognized relief or hospital organization doing work in
that country. For this reason, the Department must decline to grant you a
passport.
"Returning the fee of
one dollar which accompanied your application, I am, Sir,
"Your obedient servant,
"For the Secretary of State:
"Alvey A. Adee,
"Second Assistant Secretary."
"CATHEDRAL OF THE INCARNATION
"Diocese of Long Island
"Garden City, N. Y.
"July 8, 1918. "Dear Judge Scudder:
"I enclose a copy of a
letter received by me on Saturday morning. I tried to reach you by telephone to
apprise you of the fact as soon as possible but was unable to do so.
"I presume, however,
that you received a similar letter.
"I await further
developments with great interest. With kind regards, and thanking you for your
good letter anent my appointment as Grand Chaplain,
"Yours very sincerely,
"Oscar F. R. Treder.
"The Honorable Townsend Scudder,
"112 Willow Street,
Brooklyn, New York."
"Rev. Oscar F. R. Treder,
July 15, 1918.
"Garden City, L. I.
"Dear Rrather Trellor
"Let me thank you for
yours of July the 8th. The notice which you received was, in my judgment, not
final but due to a mistake and, of course, we are not discussing the matter as
yet. Sincerely,
"Glen Head, L. I.
Townsend Scudder."
The receipt of these
letters of the State Department to Brothers Prime, Thorne, and Treder came as a
distinct shock to us, partly because I had received no similar notification of
rejection of my application, but more because I had been led to believe, as the
correspondence hereinbefore set forth shows, that the matter would be held in
abeyance until the return of Mr. Fosdick.
Either there was bad
faith on the part of some one in government employ with whom we had had
dealings, or a woeful lack of co-ordination between Departments.
When I had my
interview in Washington with Mr Welch of the passport bureau, I left with him my
own and Brother Knight's applications with the credentials of the entire Mission
attached thereto; this was done by direction of Mr. Welch, who said that when
the applications of the three other members of the Mission reached his bureau
from the New York office, where they had been filed, they would be attached to
the two others and all five acted upon as a unit.
I was unwilling to
accept this action of the State Department as final, and wrote to Mr. McBride a
letter of inquiry about Mr. Fosdick's return as follows:
"July 19, 1918.
"M. L. McBride, Esq.,
"War Department, Commission on Training Camp "Activities,
"Washington, D. C.
"My dear Mr. McBride:
"If I have not already
written to you to that effect, may I request you to advise me, address Glen
Head, Long Island, N. Y., as soon as Mr. Fosdick has returned as I am anxious to
see him and go over the Masonic situation with a view to a conclusive decision
at the earliest date possible.
“Thanking you for your courtesy in the matter, I am,
"Sincerely yours,
"Townsend Scudder.
"Glen Head, L. I., N. Y."
To this I received the
following reply, dated July 22, 1918, and the next day, July 23rd, I was at Mr.
Fosdick's office in Washington:
"WAR DEPARTMENT
"Commission on Training Camp Activities
"Washington
"July 22, 1918.
"Honorable Townsend Scudder,
"Glen Head, Long
Island.
"My dear Judge
Scudder:
"In answer to your
letter of the 19th, Mr. Fosdick landed in New York yesterday, and will be in
Washington late today, so that you can arrange to see him by appointment any
time now. I am sure he will be happy to confer with you relative to your
interest in matters overseas.
"With kind regards, cordially yours,
"Malcolm L. McBride,
Acting Chairman."
"McB :RB
SURPRISING INTERVIEWS WITH MR. FOSDICK
I went to Washington,
remained there for four days, and had several interviews with Mr. Fosdick. I
shall not attempt to separate these several conversations, but treat them as a
unit, except that the last interview at this time was on the train between
Washington and New York.
After a short
preliminary conversation, I asked him what the difficulty was which seemed to
stand in the Masonic Mission's way. He replied that since his advent in France,
his viewpoint had changed, and that he had grave doubts now whether the
fraternity could carry out its project of independent service abroad. He then
went on to state his reasons.
One was that the
furnishing of transportation facilities was a source of embarrassment to the
military authorities, particularly in the crowded areas near the front; another,
that it was unwise, from the military standpoint, that there should be any more
civilians in these areas because of the danger of military secrets leaking out;
still another, that there existed jealousies and rivalries among the various
civilian organizations abroad, and that to add to the number of non-military
bodies would simply increase the general confusion. He also pointed out that the
question of the transportation of our equipment and supplies would be very
difficult, if not impossible, of independent arrangement, having perhaps
forgotten his previous statement to me that, as far as our literature was
concerned, it could doubtless be forwarded to us in Europe by the Librarian of
Congress, and my previous statement that we would not engage in canteen work.
As to his first
objection, that of transportation to, and in, the crowded areas behind the
front, I pointed out that the government having excluded us from the camps, the
cantonments, and the fronts, all our negotiations had been based upon our
proposal to confine our activities to the so-called leaveareas, and therefore
this question of transportation, as put forward by him, did not seem pertinent.
Furthermore, in view of our contemplating sending not over fifty (50) men
abroad, it could hardly be urged that this small number could strain
transportation facilities anywhere.
The reasons I had in
mind the number of fifty men as a maximum, which I gave to him, were that fifty
would enable every Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States to have one of its
members engaged in this work. I told him, however, that I really believed that
about twenty-five would more likely be the number because many of the
jurisdictions would join in being represented by the same man. If this number of
fifty seemed to him too great, I would willingly stipulate that the maximum
should be twenty-five. "Would the contemplated fifty," I asked, "be the final
straw to break the camel's back?"
As to the betrayal of
military secrets, I said that it was inconceivable that the great Masonic
maternity could not furnish fifty men whose loyalty and discretion would be
above suspicion. These men would be volunteers, carefully selected, whose whole
record would be subjected to the closest scrutiny, and if the government had an
objection to any of them, others would be substituted. The Y.M.C.A. and Knights
of Columbus were advertising in the newspapers for paid secretaries. If the
government could accept, as it did, men so secured, how much more could it
safely accept, from our fraternity, picked men, volunteers, whose sole desire
and ambition it was, temporarily giving up their own important affairs, to
render service for service's sake. Mr. Fosdick responded by saying that the
French government held General Pershing responsible for all civilians entering
France from the United States and that the General objected to the entry of more
because of lack of proper means for their investigation by him. Mr. Fosdick
further asked how, if our number were limited to twenty-five, we could expect to
render effective service. I responded that I thought General Pershing's
objection to the necessity for his investigation of civilians was well founded,
and that civilians should be, and could far better be, investigated before
leaving American shores. Furthermore, as to the possible limitation of our
Masonic personnel to twenty-five, I explained that our Masonic secretaries,
being all executive men, would be the directing heads, each in a separate
leavearea, the number of which, as I understood from Mr. Fosdick, and as I told
him I did, would be about fifteen, leaving the so-called menial work to be
performed by hired help, of which, we were informed, we could secure all we
would need from among partially disabled French soldiers and aged men and women
still capable of some service. This, in itself, would be a benefit to the French
and to us. I further explained that such was the nature of our institution that
the social and entertainment features of our activities would largely be in the
hands of Masons on leave from the army and navy, acting as quasi hosts to any
man in uniform seeking our hospitality.
As explained to us in
letters from Masons serving overseas urging the establishment by us of
recreation centers, there was a constant stream of men on leave coming to, and
returning from, the leaveareas, thus furnishing always an ample number of
volunteer hosts due to the large number of Masons serving with the colors.
Regarding jealousies
and rivalries between nonmilitary organizations serving abroad, I told him that
the Masonic fraternity had a quarrel with nobody, and that the character of the
men we would send abroad would be such that they would invite no controversies.
Our sole ambition was to do our duty, to serve efficiently, and quarrels would
be incompatible therewith.
"How about the feud
between you and the Knights of Columbus ?" asked Mr. Fosdick.
I told him that it
took two to make a quarrel and that we had none with them. As an evidence of
their feeling toward us in this war work, I showed him the following letters:
"Thomas J. Evers,
Chairman Edward B. Goate, Director
"KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
"Coney Island Week
Committee
"Aug. 26 to Aug. 31st
inclusive
"For War Camp Activities Fund
"Long Island Chapter
"Headquarters, 381 Fulton St., Room 3
"Telephone, Main 6061
"Brooklyn, N. Y., June
26, 1918.
"Mr. Geo. W. Menke,
"231 Albany Ave.,
"Brooklyn, N. Y.
"My dear George:
"The affairs of the
Knights of Columbus have so shaped themselves that I am now in a position to
make arrangements with the Masonic Order for their participation. We desire to
have the participation of your Order in the first day of the weekly doings,
which we have called 'Fraternity Day,' the feature of which will be a parade in
which all of the Fraternal Societies on Long Island will take part. Many of the
societies have volunteered representation, and we feel that the project would
not be a complete success unless we had a representation from your Body.
"The most influential
men of the City, State and Country are to be our guests, as you will see from
the fact that the guest of honor for the following nights are to be as follows:
Tuesday, Mayor Hylan
as the guest of honor.
Wednesday, Gov.
Whitman as the guest of honor.
Thursday, Secretary
Daniels as the guest of honor.
Friday, Secretary
Baker as the guest of honor.
"Will you be kind
enough to take this up with the proper officials of your order, and advise me
just what steps it will be necessary for me to take in order for me to have the
presence of our Masonic brothers assured on this occasion.
"Very sincerely yours,
"Thos. J. Evers, Chairman."
"BEDFORD LODGE, NO. 574, F. & A. M.
"Aurora Grata Cathedral
"Bedford Avenue and Madison Street
"Brooklyn, July 3, 1918.
"William S. Farmer, Esq.
"Grand Master of
Masons in the State of New York,
"Greetings:
"The enclosed letter
is in a measure self-explanatory. In brief. Mr. Evers is a personal friend of
mine of many years standing, in whom I repose the utmost confidence, which is
reciprocated, and accounts for his communicating with me regarding the
participation of the Masonic Fraternity in the Knights of Columbus Coney Island
War Drive.
"Action has been
withheld by me until his return from Washington, where he secured the assurances
of the Secretary of the War and Navy Depts. of their presence on the days
stated, or if not possible, then through a representative of the highest ranking
Army and Navy officer, or by an Assistant Secretary of the respective
Departments on the nights in question.
"Monday night, Aug.
26th, is, as stated by Mr. Evers, to be known as Fraternity night, and
invitations are to be extended to various Fraternities to participate in a
parade.
"The purpose of the
drive is to raise One Million Dollars on Long Island for the continuance of
their War Camp activities, and the arrangements which have been made provides a
One Dollar admission to all the leading attractions, 50 per cent. of which is to
be retained by the Amusement proprietors, and the balance to their Fund - the
smaller amusement places and business men are to donate a certain percentage of
their gross receipts - this arrangement to continue from Aug. 26th to 31st, both
nights inclusive.
"The participation of
the Masonic fraternity in this parade is earnestly desired by the K. of C. War
Camp Committee, not only to assist in their purpose, but for the object lesson
it may teach to the people as a whole, and should it be possible to do so as a
fraternity, I am assured our institution will receive the recognition due its
high and exalted station.
"Personally, I do not
know whether we, as Masons, could enter into this proposal; but as the
communication from Mr. Evers is in his official capacity as chairman, I
therefore submit it to you for such action as you deem proper; but if a way can
be found to do so, I earnestly recommend that the proposal receive favorable
consideration, and everything done by us to assure a satisfactory
representation. I am convinced that such action must have a wonderful effect on
our less enlightened brethren, - if it takes an institution as big and great as
ours to do real good and promote true friendship and brotherly love, I am sure
Freemasonry will not be found wanting.
"Should you desire me
to personally call upon you or some one designated by you I will gladly answer
such summons at any time and at any place, either accompanied by Mr. Evers or
alone.
"Thanking you in
advance for the serious consideration I know this will receive, I remain,
"Fraternally,
"G. W. Menke. Jr. Warden."
I also called his
attention to the fact that when the Catholic Orphanage at Utica, New York, had
been destroyed by fire, the Masonic fraternity organized an entertainment by the
children of our Masonic Home in that city, the proceeds of which were devoted to
the reconstruction of the orphanage, and that our fraternity had received
grateful acknowledgment therefor.
Mr. Fosdick appearing
somewhat skeptical on the point of our relations, I offered to ask the heads of
the Knights of Columbus to call upon him, when, I felt, they would urge the
issuance to us of the desired passports.
Regarding his
objection that the transportation of our equipment and supplies would be very
difficult, if not impossible, I pointed out that we did not purpose Groins into
the canteen business, and that our main supplies would be the principal
periodicals and newspapers from the United States which, he had previously said,
could doubtless be sent to us by the Librarian of the Congressional Library.
Furthermore, I told
him that, because of negotiations had with the Y.M.C.A., we had reason to
believe that satisfactory arrangements could be made with them whereby there
would be available to us their means of entertainment, like movies, and supplies
such as tobacco, chocolate, etc.
Asked by Mr. Fosdick
why we did not go over under the auspices of the Y.M.C.A., I replied that very
naturally we preferred to go over independently, and that the call by our fellow
Masons with the colors was for independent service, and because, having received
the government's approval of such independent service, all our arrangements had
been made accordingly.
Thereupon, Mr. Fosdick
voiced objections from a new angle. The conversation which ensued, while not
given ipsissimis verbis, was practically as follows:
Fosdick: "Do you know
that the French government has constituted General Pershing as sort of czar as
far as anything American in France is concerned, and those whom he doesn't want
there must leave? There is no appeal from General Pershing's decisions. Except
with his consent you could do nothing when you reached there. You couldn't rent
a store or building, or open a hut for your purpose, because before a French
property owner could rent his premises, the French authorities would refer it to
General Pershing and his consent would have to be had."
Scudder: "If such are
the rules, we Masons would comply with them. If the other organizations working
in France can be effective under them, we can too."
Fosdick: "General
Pershing is opposed to the introduction of any new agencies. He has enough to do
in dealing with the ones he has there now. Pershing said he favored all war
relief work being in the hands of the military or under one single civilian
organization. My own experience on the other side confirms me in the wisdom of
this plan."
Scudder: "Why don't
you place it all under the military, then?"
Fosdick: "Perhaps we
will, although it may be the thing has gone too far for that now."
Scudder: "But if you
don't put it under one control, why discriminate against the Masons?"
Fosdick: "I do not
discriminate against the Masons. My grandfather was one and I have a great
regard for them. But I put it up to Pershing and he said, 'Keep them away from
here.' "
Scudder: "Did you
explain to General Pershing that the Masonic activities were to be confined to
the leaveareas and that our war service in no respect would be identified with
our usual activities as a secret society?"
Fosdick: "I covered
the ground fully with General Pershing. He said it was very uncomfortable for
him to have American citizens, for whom he was held responsible by the French
government, enter France as secretaries of relief organizations, and then
arrested by the French authorities and shot as German spies, as has happened."
Scudder: "Even so, it
would hardly apply to us for this reason. No one enters the Masonic fraternity
without investigation of his character and previous history. The men we would
send over would be men of long membership, whose record is known, on whom we
could implicitly rely, and for whom we would unhesitatingly vouch. In addition,
we would offer you every facility for yourself investigating them. Surely, if
you can take the large number of men as secretaries of the Y.M.C.A. and K. of
C., applying for positions as such in answer to advertisements, you could with
safety accept our men, few in number, and well recommended."
Fosdick: "Does the
Masonic fraternity persist in its overseas ambitions in the face of the
expressed opposition of General Pershing?"
Scudder: "If it has
come to that, or will come to that, the Masonic fraternity will do nothing to
add to General Pershing's burdens and responsibilities. The fraternity has but
one desire, to serve helpfully, and its ambition in this regard would not be
satisfied if its efforts made heavier the burdens of General Pershing, but, as
yet, nothing has been said which makes this the issue. To me it is patent that
General Pershing should be relieved of the burden of passing upon the loyalty,
trustworthiness, and discretion of secretaries sent overseas to conduct war
relief work, and he should not be held responsible for them, though his
authority over them, of course, should stand. The government should investigate
the candidates for secretaries abroad here where it can be more deliberately
done and where the evidence is at hand. Of course, isolated disloyal secretaries
may slip through and these will, in any event, have to be dealt with on the
other side, but I fail to see what difference it makes whether the secretaries
are working under the Y.M.C.A., the Knights of Columbus, or the Masonic
fraternity, provided they are the right sort of men."
Fosdick: "But bringing
in the Masons creates another agency and the practical difficulty in your way
can not be disregarded. It is not only a question of General Pershing, but it is
also a question of the French government. Before you can accomplish anything
your credentials will have to be passed upon by the French government, and all
your movements will be retarded while your men and credentials are under the
investigation of the French government. In my mind there are grave doubts
whether the French government will want you."
Scudder: "The
invitations that we have received from Masons in France lead us to believe that
there will be no question of our welcome over there. Give us the chance to get
in touch with the French authorities and we have reason to believe that they
will not object to us and our work. If they do, we shall have a good explanation
of our failure to serve independently overseas."
Fosdick: "But there is
the opposition of General Pershing, and as far as we are concerned he should be
controlling."
Scudder: "Do you think
that General Pershing thoroughly understood the limited sphere of Masonic
activities in Europe, that our work was to be confined to the leaveareas, and
that our personnel would be limited to fifty?"
Fosdick: "I explained
the matter fully to him."
Scudder: "We have
received another version of General Pershing's position with reference to our
fraternity. As it came to us, you are reported as having asked General Pershing
whether the Masons should be permitted to engage in war relief work in France,
and General Pershing is reported to have replied, in effect, that all this
service ought to be under the military or a single civilian head, but that,
because there were already several civilian agencies now engaged in the work,
the question of whether the Masons should be allowed to come in also was a
political question which Washington should settle and not he."
Fosdick: "My version
of the conversation with General Pershing is correct."
Scudder: "The Masons
have at least a hundred thousand of their members with the colors, and the
nearly two million active Masons in the United States will hardly accept as good
reasons for their exclusion from war relief work those which have been given,
except your statement of the opposition of General Pershing to which we would be
forced to bow, although not accepting it as well founded. I fail to see how that
can be used.
"How can the
department permit to go out to the large number of Masons serving abroad the
word that the opposition to the fraternity's overseas service came from the
Commanding General?
"How, too, about such
action impairing confidence in the Commanding General on the part of the Masons
at home who have so loyally supported the government, despite our disappointment
over being debarred from relief work, and contributed so liberally to overseas
work by other organizations?
"To make public the
nature of this opposition as the justification for Masonic exclusion will
dishearten and disturb a very considerable body of our citizens here, as well as
Masons in the ranks. I do not see how it can be made public now."
Fosdick: "But General
Pershing's attitude is not personal to the Masons, it is to all like
organizations. He objects to any new agencies and would have the whole relief
work under the military authorities, and I may recommend this myself to the
Secretary of War, or I may urge that all this work be put under one civilian
head who will be directly responsible to General Pershing."
Scudder: "I am here
representing about two million loyal American citizens who are eager to serve
Their country. I must make my report to them and I want it to be satisfying. I
do not want it to be one which will chill them or breed dissatisfaction. This is
not a time when there should be differences between our people, and unnecessary
issues which disturb peace of mind and defeat perfect unity and co-operation
must be avoided. What reasons will the War Department give me in writing, so
that I may present them to the fraternity to satisfy it that its case has been
duly considered and acted upon in an unbiased way? The reasons must appeal to
the common sense of our people and be acceptable as good because they are
valid."
Fosdick: "I am going
to take the whole matter up with the Secretary of War very shortly, perhaps this
very evening, and I will arrange for a meeting between you and him if you feel
that that will help the situation. I recognize that it is embarrassing."
Scudder: "I will
gladly meet Secretary Baker and will hold myself in readiness here in Washington
until I hear from you as to time and place of meeting him.'
Fosdick: "I will make
the appointment and communicate with you at your hotel. Have you considered
taking this matter up with the President?"
Scudder: "That thought
has gone through my mind, but I have been somewhat embarrassed over the question
of procedure. On one hand, it is difficult to put on paper in a condensed form
that will fully cover the situation, the history of the Masonic fraternity's
efforts to serve overseas and the reasons for its desire to do so; on the other,
I would dislike to have to give my version of a conversation with the President,
particularly if he were to take the same position which you are taking. Even if
I explained the President's position as accurately as I could, a controversy
might be precipitated, and the accuracy of my version of the conversation with
the President challenged. I served in congress years ago in the days of the
Ananias Club I have no desire to have it revived."
Fosdick: "I am hoping
we can reach the satisfactory solution which we are both seeking. I am trying to
do my duty in the premises, and appreciate the difficulties and embarrassments
which are confronting you. I will talk it all over with the Secretary of War,
and will arrange for this interview between you and him as well. Perhaps a way
can be found to meet the situation."
Scudder: "Is there any
objection to the personnel of our mission as now constituted? If so, we can
substitute other men."
Fosdick: "There is not
the slightest objection to the personnel. The opposition is to the introduction
of a new agency."
Scudder: "We have
proposed to the Y.M.C.A. that we might join them and do our work under their
auspices as a branch of their activities."
Fosdick: "That would
solve the whole question. Why do you not do it?"
Scudder: "Up to the
present time we have not been able to reach a working agreement. The Y.M.C.A.
are employing a great number of Free Masons as secretaries and gladly receive
our financial support, but they have not as yet seen their way clear to accord
us sufficient independence to meet the longings of our own people to have the
Masonic fraternity in name as well
as in fact identified with war
relief work. Our boys with the colors crave the opportunity of being hosts under
their own roof and reciprocating the courtesies they are receiving from the
Y.M.C.A., the Knights of Columbus, and others."
Fosdick: "Reach a
working agreement with the Y.M.C.A. and the difficulty will be solved. Our
opposition is to the introduction of a new agency independently."
Scudder: "But it ought
not be overlooked that the Masons are not a new agency. We are not seeking a new
permit to engage in war relief work. We are not in the same class with the
organizations whose petitions to engage in such work, you tell me, have recently
been received by the War Department. Our petition was filed with you months ago.
It was favorably acted upon by you; your consent was given to us to engage in
this work. On the strength of that consent we called together the Grand Masters
of Masons in the United States and had the enterprise endorsed. We appointed our
committee to represent the fraternity. We have started and have already raised,
exclusively from our own members, large sums of money to carry on our work, and
the fact that we were in this work with the government's consent was given to
the public press, all on the strength of the government's action, and in the
light of all these circumstances we should not now be classed with agencies who
are only now seeking to enter this field."
Fosdick: "I appreciate
the embarrassment of it all and can assure you it will be given our best
thought. I hope you will decide to go to the President, but in any event I will
arrange a meeting with Secretary Baker and advise you."
Here we parted.
During my stay in
Washington I had several conversations with Mr. Fosdick over the telephone. I
was called up by him, and I also called up his office. He told me that he and
Secretary Baker were considering the matter but had not yet reached the point
where they could submit a concrete proposition to me for discussion. I was
finally asked whether I could not return to Washington the following week, that
Mr. Baker had to leave, and that there was no prospect of reaching a conclusion
before his departure. I accordingly agreed to hold myself in readiness to return
to Washington the moment summoned. In the meantime, however, I had decided to
confer with Mr. Joseph P. Tumulty, the Secretary to the President. I did not
advise Mr. Fosdick of this fact, and my interview with Mr. Tumulty is given
under a separate head.
It chanced, however,
that I met Mr. Fosdick on the train which I took to return to New York and we
had occasion again to discuss our matter. This discussion will be reported under
a separate head because it raised a new issue involving our Scottish Rite
brethren.
THE SCOTTISH RITE BROUGHT IN
As already stated, Mr.
Fosdick and I met by chance on the train from Washington to New York. He told me
that since he had last spoken to me over the 'phone he had received a call from
some gentlemen representing the Scottish Rite and that their spokesman, Judge
George Fleming Moore, had expressed to him the desire of the Scottish Rite
Masonry to engage in war relief work in France. Mr. Fosdick told me that the
outline of the work that Judge Moore had presented showed his purpose to be
similar to what we New York men had in mind. The following conversation ensued,
the substance of which I give:
Fosdick: "I told Judge
Moore that the work which he projected was similar to that which was projected
by the New York Masons, that the government had under advisement the application
of the New York Masons to engage in this, and that it would be necessary for
Judge Moore to work in harmony with the New York men because the government
could deal with but one head should it be decided to allow the Masons to enter
the overseas field."
Scudder: "Did you tell
Judge Moore that the overseas work as planned by the Masonic Mission was of such
a nature that all Masonic bodies could join in it, the only effect of so doing
being that the more money contributed, the greater would be the extent of the
work ?"
Fosdick: "Yes, I
covered the ground with him, but you do not seem to be in accord. Judge Moore
told me that if but one permit for overseas work was to be granted to the
Masonic fraternity, it should be granted to him and his committee and not to the
New York committee; that he, Judge Moore, represented the aristocracy of the
Masonic fraternity, the head of it; and that it was not consistent that the tail
should wag the dog."
Scudder: "I think
Judge Moore will not repeat that statement in our presence. He must know of what
happened in New York at the conference of Grand Masters held there in May. I
think it highly desirable that when the meeting is arranged between yourself,
Secretary Baker, and me, Judge Moore be also invited, for I am quite persuaded
that you will find him in perfect accord with us and anxious to work with us."
Fosdick: "Does Judge
Moore represent a higher authority in the Masonic fraternity than you do?"
Scudder: "He does not.
It is all a case of wheels within wheels. Judge Moore is the head of the
Scottish Rite of the Southern Jurisdiction, the membership of which is perhaps a
hundred thousand. I am representing the forty-nine Grand Masonic Jurisdictions
of the United States and its membership is not far from two million. I am also
myself a Scottish Rite Mason, but my membership in the Scottish Rite and all my
honors therein would fall if I lost my membership in my lodge. The lodge is the
beginning and end of Masonry. True, we have subdivided into many parts. The
subdivisions are purely social. Membership in each one of them is dependent upon
membership in a lodge, and each one of these subdivisions has its own officers
known by special titles, but these subdivisions do not shape the course of the
Masonic fraternity, nor do they control it, nor are they superior to it. The
organized charities of the Masonic fraternity are directed more particularly
through the medium of Masonic lodges."
Fosdick: "This is all
very interesting, but you and Judge Moore seem to have a different conception of
the relative importance of the bodies which you represent. He says that his body
is the head of Masonry and you say that yours is. It is your lack of
co-ordination as a fraternity which has hampered the government in its effort to
deal with you."
Scudder: "Fix the time
for the meeting with the Secretary of War, invite Judge Moore, I will be there
too, and you will find that there is no lack of co-ordination."
Fosdick: "I will let
you know when and where the meeting will be held."
Here we parted.
More or less disturbed
by this injection of the Scottish Rite into our difficulties, I felt it wise
immediately to get into touch with Judge Moore and acquaint him with the danger
of the situation and how destructive it would be of our ambitions to serve
overseas if the impression made by his interview with Mr. Fosdick was not
corrected. Accordingly I wrote to Judge Moore a letter, a copy of which follows,
and to make sure that he knew of the authority under which we were acting and
the magnitude of the movement, I also sent him a copy of the minutes of the
meeting of Grand Masters of Masons held in New York on May the 9th, marking
therein those passages which more particularly dealt with our overseas
enterprise.
"July 27th, 1918.
"To the Honorable George Fleming Moore,
"Grand Commander,
"Scottish Rite Temple, 16th & S St., N. W.,
"Washington, D. C.
"My dear Judge Moore:
"l have just learned
that the Scottish Rite of the Southern Jurisdiction are ambitious to render
Masonic service overseas to the men with the colors. Doubtless, you know that
New York is committed to a plan to render similar service if the opportunity can
be found.
"I am fearful that
without co-ordination neither of us will realize our heart's desire in this
respect. It may be a case of united we stand, divided we fall. Certainly there
is work enough for all, cheering and comforting our boys. I am informed that a
conference, perhaps, will be called for next week to discuss the service
overseas you and we have proposed. As soon as I learn the date I will hasten to
Washington in the hope of seeing you before we meet at that conference, to
obtain the benefit of your advice. I am sending to you under separate cover the
minutes of the Conference of Grand Masters held in New York in May of this year
and take the liberty of marking certain pages which present New York's
viewpoint, more or less accurately. The volume does not contain the
correspondence since the conference was held inviting us to proceed and giving
assurance of co-operation and support. We feel there is now behind the movement
a force which assures success.
"I greatly regret I
missed you this week. Looking forward to meeting you in the near future and with
fraternal regards, I am,
"Fraternally yours,
"Townsend Scudder.
"P. S. I can be
reached by wire Glen Head, New York."
Acknowledgment was
received from Judge Moore as follows:
"WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM
"July 30, 1918.
"Your special delivery letter received. Will write.
"George F. Moore."
Judge Moore failed to
write as he stated in his telegram he would do, and during the interim between
the receipt of his telegram on July 30th and our next communication from him on
August 26th, correspondence had passed between Mr. Fosdick and me not relating
to the Scottish Rite and will be set forth later herein. This correspondence is
taken out of its proper chronological order in the interest of a more
consecutive narrative. We therefore continue with Judge Moore.
On August 26th I
received the following telegram:
"WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM
"1918 Aug 26 P.M. 1.05
“Dioow 28
"PN WASHINGTON DC 1255 P 26
"Judge Townsend Scudder,
"Masonic Hall, 23rd
St. and 6th Ave., New York City.
"Sovereign Grand
Commander Moore has commissioned me to visit you in New York to discuss Masonic
work abroad, please wire me when and
where I can meet you tomorrow.
"Hugh T. Stevenson."
A reply to this was
immediately sent, and Mr. Stevenson met M. W. Robert Judson Kenworthy, the Grand
Secretary of New York, and me at the Grand Secretary's office on the evening of
August 27th. After the usual introductions he informed us that he had read on
his way up from Washington every word of the proceedings of the Grand Masters'
meeting held in New York in May, and had therefrom learned for the first time
that we actually had the written consent of the government to engage in war
relief work; that Judge Moore and he contended that they had been promised for
the Scottish Rite a like permit, but as a matter of fact that they did not have
it except by word of mouth, and that both Secretary Baker and Mr. Fosdick
disputed having made them any promise. He inquired whether we had faith in Mr.
Fosdick or whether we believed he was trying to double-cross us. Upon being told
that we took Mr. Fosdick at his word and were relying upon the written consent
from him to engage in overseas work, he said that he entertained grave doubts
whether the Scottish Rite would be able to get an independent consent for their
enterprise, and inquired whether Judge Moore could not join ours. We explained
to Brother Stevenson that we felt that the only way for any of us to carry out
the wishes of the fraternity would be by working together, that our plan of
action, as he had learned from his perusal of the Grand Masters' proceedings,
was broad enough to take in any one who wished to join, and that we would be
very glad to welcome all who cared to come in.
We further told him of
the projected meeting between ourselves, Secretary Baker, and Mr. Fosdick, and
renewed the invitation to Judge Moore to join us in that conference and by our
conduct convince the Secretary of War and Mr. Fosdick that there was no division
in the fraternity. Mr. Stevenson concurred in the wisdom of this course, and
said that he would return to Washington that same evening, see Judge Moore, and
wire us Judge Moore's decision upon the question whether he would work with us
or independently.
On August 28th Brother
Stevenson duly telegraphed as follows:
"WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM
"1918 Aug 28 P.M. 1.23
"F 79 W 10
"Mc Washington DC 12.05 P 28
"Hon. Townsend Scudder,
"Masonic Hall, 6th Ave and 23rd St., New York, N. Y.
"Report satisfactory to Grand Commander will work unitedly.
Letter follows.
"Hugh T. Stevenson."
Brother Stevenson, at
his interview with us in New York, told us that Judge Moore and he had a friend
in Washington who could bring our matter to a head quickly, and that if Judge
Moore would agree to participate in our Masonic Mission, he, Stevenson, would
avail himself of the services of this friend, and keep us posted.
On August 29th we
received from Brother Stevenson the following telegram:
"WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM
"32 NY AG 50
"MS New York N. Y., 1229P Aug. 29, 1918
"Hon. Townsend Scudder,
"Glen Head, N. Y.
"Friend promises quick action will seek tomorrow morning
for an early conference between Fosdick, Jamison, Moore, you and myself for some
evening soon, possibly Friday. If satisfactory to all as soon as I learn of
Fosdick's open dates will notify you.
"Expect all to go except those within draft age.
"Hugh T. Stevenson.
"150 P 29th"
The foregoing telegram
of August 29th was followed by another:
"WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM
"55 NY AG21 Rush IX
"MS New York, N. Y., Aug. 29, 455P
"Hon. Townsend Scudder,
"Glen Head, N. Y.
"Can you come here for conference tomorrow dinner with
Moore and myself at five meet others at seven thirty answer.
Hugh T. Stevenson.
"552P"
To this last telegram
I replied that I would go to Washington to keep the engagement he proposed. This
I did. This telegram was crossed by a letter I had sent to Brother Stevenson on
August 28th.
He had urged upon
Brother Kenworthy and me to utilize his presence in Washington to further our
negotiations with the government, intimating that, while his relations with
Secretary Baker were very cordial, he could not with certainty say the same with
reference to Mr. Fosdick, because he had noticed that Mr. Fosdick was frequently
"out" or "engaged" when he called at his office.
To assist Brother
Stevenson to obtain an interview with Mr. Fosdick for the particular purpose of
hastening the conference between Fosdick, Secretary Baker, Moore, and me, I
wrote, in a long letter to Mr. Fosdick, a Paragraph as follows:
"There is on the ground in Washington a gentleman in whom
we place confidence and with whom we feel you can talk this matter over to
advantage. My reference is to the Rev. Hugh T. Stevenson, 157 U St., N.W."
I sent a copy of this letter to Mr. Fosdick enclosed in a
letter to Brother Stevenson, as follows:
"August 28, 1918.
"Rev. Hugh T. Stevenson,
"157 U. Street, N. W.,
"Washington, D. C.
"Dear Mr. Stevenson:
"I am enclosing a copy
of my letter to Mr. Fosdick. I hope it will meet your approval and pave the way
to a conference between you and him which will open the door a little wider. I
am indeed happy that we have gotten together and am hopeful of splendid results.
"Looking forward to
seeing you in the near future, believe me
"Sincerely,
"Glen Head, L. I.,N.Y.
Townsend Scudder.
"Your telegram
received. Am glad indeed the situation is
so promising."
On the same day, August 28th, Brother Stevenson wrote to me
the following:
"The
"SUPREME COUNCIL
"of the
"Thirty-third Degree
"A. and A. Scottish Rite
"Southern Jurisdiction
"of U. S. A.
George F. Moore,
Sovereign Grand Commander
"Washington City, August 28, 1918.
"Judge Townsend Scudder,
"Masonic Hall, New
York City.
"Dear Sir and Brother:
"Immediately upon my
return this morning from our conference last evening I made my report to the
Sovereign Grand Commander. He approves everything that I agreed with you about
and there will be absolutely united action between us and yourself. I will see
my friend this afternoon and commence to do what I promised in reference to
pushing matters. It is possible but not probable that events may shape
themselves so that Judge Moore and I may be in New York Friday or Saturday,
although I am very apt to think that due to the congestion of travel on account
of Labor Day and my own work, it will not be possible for me to be there before
next Tuesday.
"I shall prepare a
memorandum that will reach Secretary Baker within the next few days but before
sending that memorandum to him a copy will be sent to you for any suggestions
you may desire to make. '
"In closing, permit me
to say that I appreciate the courtesy and fraternal spirit exhibited both by
yourself and Brother Kenworthy to me last evening and I will ask you both to
look over an official report that I must make for the records of the Sovereign
Grand Commander when I again see you.
"Hoping that by our
joint action things will now move with rapidity and we can not only 'go over'
but 'put it over,' I remain,
"Fraternally yours,
"Hugh T. Stevenson."
Upon my arrival in Washington I was met by Brother
Stevenson, who first drove me to the House of the Temple, where I met Judge
Moore. Thereafter we three took dinner together, and went very fully over the
situation as we understood it and the course which we
should pursue when we entered into
conversations with Mr. Fosdick and such other representatives of the government
as might be with him.
We anticipated that we
were to see Secretary Baker, but we afterward learned that he was leaving
Washington that very evening.
Judge Moore told me
that he had as yet obtained no written consent from the government to engage in
war relief work overseas as the representative of the Scottish Rite of the
Southern Jurisdiction; that the amount of money at his command for this purpose
was very small, only twenty thousand dollars, which, he recognized, would not go
very far; that he had been approached by the Odd Fellows, who were anxious to
serve overseas, and felt that his position with the government would be
strengthened by his representing this society as well as the Southern
Jurisdiction. He said that if the War Department sought to distinguish between
the Scottish Rite and the Masonic Grand Jurisdictions, and if it would not grant
to the Scottish Rite an independent permit to engage in war work, he would make
application to his own Grand Lodge, Alabama, and secure an appointment by its
Grand Master as the representative of Alabama on the Masonic Mission planned by
New York and endorsed by the Grand Masters' meeting in New York.
Judge Moore added that
he was getting to be an old man, that his own work would have to be entirely
executive, and that, to enable him to accomplish what he had to do, it would be
necessary for him to take with him brethren whom he had selected as his aides. I
told him that there would be no objection to that; that under our arrangement
with the War Department the personnel of our Mission could be enlarged so that
each state would have a representative if this was desired, and that, as the men
whom he named hailed from different states and were prominent, I saw no reason
why they should not all join, provided, of course, they were satisfactory to the
government and to their respective Masonic jurisdictions.
I took this
opportunity to tell Judge Moore what Mr. Fosdick had told me about Judge Moore's
remark that if there was to be only one permit to the Masonic fraternity, it
should be issued to the Scottish Rite, as represented by Judge Moore, and not to
the Grand Lodges' Mission, that it was not appropriate that the tail should wag
the dog, and that the Scottish Rite represented the aristocracy and brains of
the Masonic fraternity.
All these statements
attributed to him Judge Moore categorically denied, and, in turn, told me that
Mr. Fosdick had said that I, Scudder, had spoken most disparagingly of the
Scottish Rite. Needless to say, this was untrue.
Mr. Fosdick joined us
about this time. He was accompanied by the chairman of the Democratic
Congressional Committee, as I understood it, and we forthwith entered into the
discussion of the matter which had brought us together.
Judge Moore told Mr.
Fosdick that he understood the Secretary of War had given him (Judge Moore)
permission to go overseas to survey the field and undertake such war relief work
for the Masonic fraternity as he might find there was to do after his survey.
Mr. Fosdick replied
that Judge Moore was mistaken; that no such permit had been given, and that the
only permit given by the government to the Masonic fraternity to engage in
overseas war relief work was the permit held by the New York Mission, adding
that the government would recognize but one head of any one organization. Mr.
Fosdick then expressed his doubt whether it would be wise for the Masons to
engage independently in the work they contemplated, and gave as the reasons for
this conclusion many of the reasons which he had previously urged upon me in my
conversations with him in the latter part of July. The merits of these reasons
were quite fully discussed, but the question of Masonic disunity was not again
brought up by Mr. Fosdick. The trend of our conversation established clearly
that the fraternity stood as a unit, and that if it was permitted to send its
representatives overseas to engage in war relief work, all would go under the
auspices of the several Grand Lodges, under the permit of April 23, 1918, signed
by Mr. Fosdick as chairman of the Committee on Training Camp Activities of the
War Department, and in harmony with the plan adopted at the New York Grand
Masters' Conference.
Although Masonic unity
had been made clear, Mr. Fosdick's opposition to the Masonic fraternity engaging
in war relief work overseas became nevertheless very marked. He mentioned a
certain document which he had prepared which, according to him, fully explained
and, in his opinion, justified the. refusal of the government to let the Masonic
Mission sail. He asked Judge Moore whether he would give his endorsement to it,
mentioning that he had already sent it to Judge Moore for consideration. This
document I had never seen, and its contents I do not know, but Judge Moore then
and there said that he could not approve it or sanction its going out with his
endorsement, either expressed or implied, as it did not meet the situation. Mr.
Fosdick then said that he would have the document signed by the Secretary of War
even without Judge Moore's approval and close the incident. From this position
we were unable to move him. He had not said in so many words that our permit was
revoked, but we all understood that it would be revoked when the Secretary of
War signed the document to which Mr. Fosdick had referred.
Judge Moore then said
to Mr. Fosdick, "I am anxious to visit certain Masonic bodies of Europe. As
Sovereign Grand Commander I have business relationship with them, there are
pending between us important matters which must be settled. Some of these bodies
have conferred honors upon me and have been waiting a long time to present me
with my honorary membership and otherwise entertain me. I am getting to be an
old man and am very anxious to close up the open matters with these European
Masonic bodies and also to accept the honors they have conferred and not keep
them waiting for me any longer. Is there objection to my obtaining passports for
this purpose?" Mr. Fosdick replied that to this there was no objection; that we
could all go on such Masonic business as this, because it would be recognized by
the government as legitimate business between the representatives of the Masonic
fraternity in America and the representatives of the fraternity on the other
side, and that the issuing of passports for the purpose of transacting it would
be within the rules and that the passports for this purpose would be given.
Turning to me, Mr. Fosdick asked whether I also would not go to Europe on the
same business and whether my thus going would not relieve the situation. Judge
Moore also extended a similar invitation and expressed the pleasure it would
give him if we could travel together. I told Mr. Fosdick that I appreciated
Judge Moore's desires to go for the purposes which he had mentioned, but that
personally I had no such business on the other side; that I would go to carry
out the will of the Masonic fraternity to serve our men with the colors, or I
would not go at all. Shortly after this Mr. Fosdick withdrew, to keep an
appointment with the Secretary of War, as he told us.
We separated with the
understanding that Judge Moore, accompanied by Brother Samuel P. Cochran of
Texas, and Brother Hugh T. Stevenson, would sail for Europe as soon as they
could get their passports, but that the Masonic Mission would continue its
efforts on this side to obtain the passports to which it considered its Mission
was entitled under the government's consent of April 23d, and failing in this,
to connect with Y.M.C.A. if that was possible, and under its auspices perform
the work and discharge the duties for which the Mission had been created.
WHY WAS A RULING OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT MADE RETROACTIVE ?
On Saturday, August
31, i918, the day following the conference between Judge Moore, Mr. Fosdick,
Brother Stevenson, Brother Jamieson, and me (Brother Jamieson, I understood, had
been invited to take part in this conference either by Judge Moore or Mr.
Fosdick), accompanied by Brother Stevenson, I called at the office of the
Democratic Committee and met Brother Jamieson, where we compared our impressions
of the previous night's meeting. Brother Jamieson said that he had had another
conference with Mr. Fosdick that morning and was convinced that Mr. Fosdick was
hostile and would not recede from the position which he had taken in opposition
to the departure of the Masonic Mission.
Brother Stevenson
suggested that strong political pressure higher up might be of some avail, and I
reminded those present what was known to Judge Moore, that a letter had been
written to the President, a copy of which had been read to them. It was
therefore decided that we should await the President's reply, the opinion having
been expressed by Judge Moore that the letter to the President covered the
ground, and presented the case clearly, so that if there was any disposition to
treat the matter on its merits the case had been fully stated.
I told the brethren
that I seemed to make more headway with Mr. Fosdick when I saw him alone than
when I met him in the company of others, and that I intended to seek another
interview with him in the hope of convincing him that his attitude now was
inconsistent with what had gone before and was bound to | 
