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Article EMERITUS MEMBERSHIP. ← Page 2 of 2 Article EMERITUS MEMBERSHIP. Page 2 of 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Emeritus Membership.
for a period of ten years . The per centage is nofc large compared with the whole number who have passed through the Lodge during that period , but the work they have done has been stamped indelibly upon the history of that
Lodge ; it is what they have made it , good , bad or indifferent , with the probabilities greatly in their favour that they are ' entitled to claim all of the first-named quality which the Lodge possesses . Now ifc is because of this last and best class of Masons that it becomes so difficult to
justly frame our financial regulations . To the Craffc at large it is a matter of indifference , so that it does nofc shock its own sense of justice in the matter , what regulations are established or how rigorously
they are made to apply to members who do not esteem their Masonic obligations , for such men are going out by the usual route , which may be denominated tho non-payment-of-dnos line , with all reasonable
despatch , regardless of any rule which may be put in force . The only thing to be considered is the mode of the operation . And this brings us to a consideration of the
real problem of the dues question . How can we make a law which will facilitate the departure of an undesirable class , and which will not thrust out a meritorious one , for tho same offence—that is , failure to pay dues ?
There will be none found to deny thafc it is a sound principle of Masonic equity that the Craftaman who has wrought his task in the quarry is entitled to his reward ,
and there ought to be as little doubt thafc the drones in our hive should be as promptly and effectually stung out . In practice we reward each alike if they are so unfortunate as to be poor and proud . The effect of enforced contributions to the support of the Lodge i . s to place upon tho shoulders of the old aud infirm a weight equal to thafc which the young and vigorous sustain . The Craftsman
who has wrought his full task gains no easement from
toil , hut mnst go on with a never ceasing round of labour , instead of receiving the reward due to a well-spent life in this as well as the Celestial Lodge . Our practices do not equal , we fear , our professions . In making our laws we ought to seek to accomplish two
radically opposite effects : 1 . Those who cannot pay should
be gotten rid of by the shortest aud most effective methods , and , 2 . We should exempt from the burden of Lodge taxation those who by reason of the impair , ments of age or other causes find the grasshopper
( dues ) a burden too grievous for them to bear . In advocating this we are met by a class of Masons who are always shouting , as if they believed it a very Shibboleth , " Ye shall have but one manner of law ; ye
shall not lean to the side of the poor , nor honour the person of the great , but shall impartially jrdge your neighbour , " and who prate about privileged classes in Masonry , arguing that if I pay my dues every other
member should pay his . It is not right he should enjoy all the benefits I do and not pay the same as I do . This is good society law , and where a system of mutual benefits exists it is strict equity , but it is not Masonry , for there is
a command which runs through the entire woof and warp of Masonry : " If thy brother be waxen poor and fallen into decay with thee , then thou shalt relievo him , though he be * a stranger and transient person , thafc he may live with thee . "
unpaid on the day of election , he shall nofc have the right to vote or hold office . The Secretary shall notify such delinquent to appear afc a regular meeting , within ninety days after such notification , to show cause why his dues
In the consideration of the matter of Lodge support there seems too frequently to be overlooked fche vast difference between ability to contribute and the neglect to do so , and willingness to contribute and inability to do
so . " One manner of law " does not apply to both cases , for they are radically different . Tho first is a cause for discipline , while the latter is a misfortune to excite our sympathy .
In Mississippi the laws of the Grand Lodge and Chapter
are substantially as follows : Every member pays an annual contribution of such amount as may from time to time be determined by a resolution to that effect , but when once fixed the amount of such contribution shall not be altered
to take effect during the current Masonic year . The annual contribution of members shall be paid at the stated meeting at which the Officers are elected and prior to the election .
The Secretary on or before the day of election mnst notify every member of the amount of his dues , and request payment ; and shonld any member allow his dues to remain
Emeritus Membership.
have not been paid , and if he still refuses or neglects to pay , ho may be suspended . Such suspension is absolute , and while ifc continues all the Masonic rights and privileges of the member are abrogated , and no dues are
charged against him . A member so suspended shall bo e-instated upon payment of dues which had accrued afc the time of his suspension . Any non-affiliated Mason who neglects or refuses to contribute annually an amount equal
to the ordinary dues , is not entitled to , nor permitted to receive tho rights , benefits and privileges of Masonry , that is to say : The right to visit and associate with the members ; the right to ask and demand relief and pecuniary aid
for himself or his family ; the right to move or join in Masonic processions , and in the Lodge to Masonic burial . Any Mason unable to contribute may bo released from so doing , and while bodies are strictly enjoined to exact payment from all whose circumstances do not excuse them
from this duty , they aro to remember that . "If thy brother be waxen poor and fallen into decay with thee , then thou shalt relieve him though he be a stranger and a transient person , that he may live with thee . "
These regulations have been found in practice to work exceedingly well , with a single broad exception , and it is just upon this point that all like regulations fail . They require the brother delinquent to appear and " show
cause . From this there is no exception , for there is " one manner of law " for all . It ii true , if the brother ia unable to contribute , ho may be excused , and indeed it is
the duty of the body to excuse him , still he must humble himself by appearing and showing " causa" why fch ' i should be done . The writer does nofc wish to be
understood fchafc in Mississippi this appearance is generally exacted in person , for on the contrary he believes this feature of the law is more honoured in the breach than in the observance , still it is the cold , unrelenting steel of the
law which can be made to cut into fche quick . For the hardened sinner who will not pay , it is capital punishment , and it is capital fun to the live members to carry it into execution , but in the case of thoso brethren " who have waxen old and are poor " Masonry wants a better law .
The question of life membership , while strenuously adovcated by some , seems to have some strong objectors to it , and moreover meets only the case of the well-to-do brethren who can at one time pay in the one hundred or
more dollars fee , and it is an aristocratic arrangement which does not harmonize entirely with the fraternal idea which places all Masons upon an equality in the Lodge . At any rate it does not meet with general favour and is not likely to become prevalent , and in some jurisdictions is forbidden .
There would seem to be no real objection to the adoption of Emeritus membership , by our Lodges and other bodies , which would exempt the brethren entitled thereto from the payment of further
contributions , for surely there , as well as elsewhere , those who bave served out their time as active workers ought to receive the honourable recognition to whieh ther services entitle them . In the army and naval
service of all countries honorary retirement is recognized by law , ancl churches aud colleges thus reward th s ; who havo passed beyond the period of hard work . Insteaa | of humiliating venerable brethren by compelling them to ask
from year to year a remission of dues , as is now almost universally done , it would place them in the attitude of receiving wages for labour already performed , and
doubtless many a brother who has fallen into decay would claim a place in the Lodgo as a reward of merit , to which his rank as one of the Emeriti would entitle him , who now suffers his name to be stricken from the roll
rather than present himself as a suppliant for clemency . Is there a valid objection to the establishment of an Emeriti in every Lodge , to whom we can proudly turn and say , these are the men who laid tbe foundations upon
which this Lodge stands , firmly and surely planted by them upon the rock of Masonic truth . They are its fathers , and as such wo venerate and honour them . Better so , even at the loss of a few dollar ? , than that we should
call the blush of shame to our faces as we behold a veneble man carried to his grave unwept , unhononred and unsung Masonically , because forsooth he had not the few paltry dollars wifch which to purchase a Masouic burial .
Brethren , there are still somo things practised by Masons which are nofc Masonry , ancl the suspension for tlie nonpayment of dues of indigent ; brethren , in their old age , is one of them . Voice of Masonry .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Emeritus Membership.
for a period of ten years . The per centage is nofc large compared with the whole number who have passed through the Lodge during that period , but the work they have done has been stamped indelibly upon the history of that
Lodge ; it is what they have made it , good , bad or indifferent , with the probabilities greatly in their favour that they are ' entitled to claim all of the first-named quality which the Lodge possesses . Now ifc is because of this last and best class of Masons that it becomes so difficult to
justly frame our financial regulations . To the Craffc at large it is a matter of indifference , so that it does nofc shock its own sense of justice in the matter , what regulations are established or how rigorously
they are made to apply to members who do not esteem their Masonic obligations , for such men are going out by the usual route , which may be denominated tho non-payment-of-dnos line , with all reasonable
despatch , regardless of any rule which may be put in force . The only thing to be considered is the mode of the operation . And this brings us to a consideration of the
real problem of the dues question . How can we make a law which will facilitate the departure of an undesirable class , and which will not thrust out a meritorious one , for tho same offence—that is , failure to pay dues ?
There will be none found to deny thafc it is a sound principle of Masonic equity that the Craftaman who has wrought his task in the quarry is entitled to his reward ,
and there ought to be as little doubt thafc the drones in our hive should be as promptly and effectually stung out . In practice we reward each alike if they are so unfortunate as to be poor and proud . The effect of enforced contributions to the support of the Lodge i . s to place upon tho shoulders of the old aud infirm a weight equal to thafc which the young and vigorous sustain . The Craftsman
who has wrought his full task gains no easement from
toil , hut mnst go on with a never ceasing round of labour , instead of receiving the reward due to a well-spent life in this as well as the Celestial Lodge . Our practices do not equal , we fear , our professions . In making our laws we ought to seek to accomplish two
radically opposite effects : 1 . Those who cannot pay should
be gotten rid of by the shortest aud most effective methods , and , 2 . We should exempt from the burden of Lodge taxation those who by reason of the impair , ments of age or other causes find the grasshopper
( dues ) a burden too grievous for them to bear . In advocating this we are met by a class of Masons who are always shouting , as if they believed it a very Shibboleth , " Ye shall have but one manner of law ; ye
shall not lean to the side of the poor , nor honour the person of the great , but shall impartially jrdge your neighbour , " and who prate about privileged classes in Masonry , arguing that if I pay my dues every other
member should pay his . It is not right he should enjoy all the benefits I do and not pay the same as I do . This is good society law , and where a system of mutual benefits exists it is strict equity , but it is not Masonry , for there is
a command which runs through the entire woof and warp of Masonry : " If thy brother be waxen poor and fallen into decay with thee , then thou shalt relievo him , though he be * a stranger and transient person , thafc he may live with thee . "
unpaid on the day of election , he shall nofc have the right to vote or hold office . The Secretary shall notify such delinquent to appear afc a regular meeting , within ninety days after such notification , to show cause why his dues
In the consideration of the matter of Lodge support there seems too frequently to be overlooked fche vast difference between ability to contribute and the neglect to do so , and willingness to contribute and inability to do
so . " One manner of law " does not apply to both cases , for they are radically different . Tho first is a cause for discipline , while the latter is a misfortune to excite our sympathy .
In Mississippi the laws of the Grand Lodge and Chapter
are substantially as follows : Every member pays an annual contribution of such amount as may from time to time be determined by a resolution to that effect , but when once fixed the amount of such contribution shall not be altered
to take effect during the current Masonic year . The annual contribution of members shall be paid at the stated meeting at which the Officers are elected and prior to the election .
The Secretary on or before the day of election mnst notify every member of the amount of his dues , and request payment ; and shonld any member allow his dues to remain
Emeritus Membership.
have not been paid , and if he still refuses or neglects to pay , ho may be suspended . Such suspension is absolute , and while ifc continues all the Masonic rights and privileges of the member are abrogated , and no dues are
charged against him . A member so suspended shall bo e-instated upon payment of dues which had accrued afc the time of his suspension . Any non-affiliated Mason who neglects or refuses to contribute annually an amount equal
to the ordinary dues , is not entitled to , nor permitted to receive tho rights , benefits and privileges of Masonry , that is to say : The right to visit and associate with the members ; the right to ask and demand relief and pecuniary aid
for himself or his family ; the right to move or join in Masonic processions , and in the Lodge to Masonic burial . Any Mason unable to contribute may bo released from so doing , and while bodies are strictly enjoined to exact payment from all whose circumstances do not excuse them
from this duty , they aro to remember that . "If thy brother be waxen poor and fallen into decay with thee , then thou shalt relieve him though he be a stranger and a transient person , that he may live with thee . "
These regulations have been found in practice to work exceedingly well , with a single broad exception , and it is just upon this point that all like regulations fail . They require the brother delinquent to appear and " show
cause . From this there is no exception , for there is " one manner of law " for all . It ii true , if the brother ia unable to contribute , ho may be excused , and indeed it is
the duty of the body to excuse him , still he must humble himself by appearing and showing " causa" why fch ' i should be done . The writer does nofc wish to be
understood fchafc in Mississippi this appearance is generally exacted in person , for on the contrary he believes this feature of the law is more honoured in the breach than in the observance , still it is the cold , unrelenting steel of the
law which can be made to cut into fche quick . For the hardened sinner who will not pay , it is capital punishment , and it is capital fun to the live members to carry it into execution , but in the case of thoso brethren " who have waxen old and are poor " Masonry wants a better law .
The question of life membership , while strenuously adovcated by some , seems to have some strong objectors to it , and moreover meets only the case of the well-to-do brethren who can at one time pay in the one hundred or
more dollars fee , and it is an aristocratic arrangement which does not harmonize entirely with the fraternal idea which places all Masons upon an equality in the Lodge . At any rate it does not meet with general favour and is not likely to become prevalent , and in some jurisdictions is forbidden .
There would seem to be no real objection to the adoption of Emeritus membership , by our Lodges and other bodies , which would exempt the brethren entitled thereto from the payment of further
contributions , for surely there , as well as elsewhere , those who bave served out their time as active workers ought to receive the honourable recognition to whieh ther services entitle them . In the army and naval
service of all countries honorary retirement is recognized by law , ancl churches aud colleges thus reward th s ; who havo passed beyond the period of hard work . Insteaa | of humiliating venerable brethren by compelling them to ask
from year to year a remission of dues , as is now almost universally done , it would place them in the attitude of receiving wages for labour already performed , and
doubtless many a brother who has fallen into decay would claim a place in the Lodgo as a reward of merit , to which his rank as one of the Emeriti would entitle him , who now suffers his name to be stricken from the roll
rather than present himself as a suppliant for clemency . Is there a valid objection to the establishment of an Emeriti in every Lodge , to whom we can proudly turn and say , these are the men who laid tbe foundations upon
which this Lodge stands , firmly and surely planted by them upon the rock of Masonic truth . They are its fathers , and as such wo venerate and honour them . Better so , even at the loss of a few dollar ? , than that we should
call the blush of shame to our faces as we behold a veneble man carried to his grave unwept , unhononred and unsung Masonically , because forsooth he had not the few paltry dollars wifch which to purchase a Masouic burial .
Brethren , there are still somo things practised by Masons which are nofc Masonry , ancl the suspension for tlie nonpayment of dues of indigent ; brethren , in their old age , is one of them . Voice of Masonry .