DIFFERENT KINDS OF MASONS
Old Tyler
Talks by Carl Claudy
"I'm almost through!" The New Brother displayed a sheaf of cards to
the Old Tiler. "Soon I will have joined them all and become every
kind of Mason there is."
"What
do you know about the kinds of Masons there are?" asked the Old
Tiler, interested. "You have not been a Master Mason long enough to
gain all that knowledge!"
"That's not hard to gain with all the brethren poking petitions at
you.
There are Scottish Rite Masons
and York Rite Masons and Templar
Masons and Chapter Masons and Council Masons, and."
"Oh!" The Old Tiler said, "I didn't understand. I thought you
couldn't have learned yet."
"Learned what? Are there some more kinds of Masons?"
"Indeed, yes! Answered the Old Tiler. "A great many kinds. But, seven
you haven't mentioned stand out more prominently than others."
"Do tell me! I thought I had joined most of them..."
"You don't join these. You become one, or are made one, or grow into
one of them. For instance, there is the "King Solomon Mason." He
thinks that everything that Solomon did as a Mason is right and
everything he didn't do is wrong. To him, Masonry was conceived, born
and grew up in the shadow of King
Solomon and every word of the
legend is literally true, much like the man who refuses to believe
the earth is round, because a verse in the Bible refers to the 'four
corners of the earth!' The King Solomon Mason lives his Masonry
according to his light; perhaps it's not his fault it is so dim.
"To the "Ritual Mason," the importance of Masonry is the form of its
words.
A good Mason in his belief is one who can repeat a lecture from end
to end without a slip. A man may do battle, murder, or cause sudden
death, commit arson or run away with a neighbor's wife; but if he
knows his ritual letter perfect, it 'was all a mistake!' The man who
doesn't know his ritual letter perfect is not, in this man's eyes, a
good Mason; not though he give to charity with both hands and carry
love for his fellowman in both head and heart.
"The "Practical Mason" looks at life from a utilitarian standpoint. He
prefers electricity to candles for the Lesser Lights because they are
simpler and prefers candles to electricity because they are cheaper.
He thinks a choir is impractical because it produces nothing
permanent and would rather spend the money for printed matter or a
new carpet. He is at his best when raising money for a new temple and
at his worst when asked to express himself upon the spirit of
Masonry. His hand is in his pocket for charity, but never for
entertainment. He is usually on the finance committee and recommends
a budget in which rent and heat and light are bigger than relief.
"The "Heart Mason" is the opposite. He is full of impractical
schemes. He wants to start a new temple which will never be built. He
talks much of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, but
is absent when the hat is passed and the committee on funds needs a
few workers to go out and gather in. The heart Mason is the lodge sob-
sister; he usually seconds any motion to spend any amount of money
for flowers or to send a brother away for his health and always makes
a little tear-filled speech about the fatherless loved ones, even if
the dear departed died a bachelor.
The "Business Mason" belongs because he thinks it helps his job. He
usually sits next to the solid business man in lodge and likes to
tell people what he does. If he is a Past Master, he never comes to
lodge on time, so that he can get a special welcome at the Altar. His
favorite speech is about the man who tried to advertise his business
in lodge and how evil this was; in the speech he always mentions his
own business. He wears an extra large sized pin and prints squares
and compasses on his letterheads.
"We dominate another kind by the expressive term of "Belly Mason." He
is most faithful in attendance at lodges where there may be a feed.
He will cheerfully spend twenty cents car fare and a long evening to
get a fifteen cent sandwich. If there is to be a sit-down meal he
will sit up all night to be on time. If the affair is in another
lodge and needs tickets, he will take time off from his job to hunt a
brother who has a ticket and doesn't want it. He usually manages to
cross the lodge room while the cigars are passed so he can dig into
the box twice. If the crowd is small, he is the last man to get a
smoke, so he can take all that are left. If the crowd is large, he is
among the first, to make sure he doesn't get left.
"And then there is the "Regular Mason," the fellow who does his best
with the time and brains he has. He is the great bulk of the
fraternity. He pays the dues and fills the chairs and does the work.
He is seldom a fine ritualist, but he is usually an earnest one. He
is not very practical and would spend more than we have if it wasn't
that he is too sentimental to permit the charity fund to be robbed.
He passes the sandwiches and coffee, and if there is any left, he
gets his; but he doesn't care so long as the evening is a success. He
isn't a student, but something in the heart of Masonry has reached
deep into his heart, and so he comes to lodge and does his best. He
is not learned, but he is not stupid. He is not hidebound and yet he
is conservative. He loves his lodge, but not so much he cannot see
her faults. He is most of us."
"And what class of Mason am I?" asked the New Brother, uneasily
looking at his sheaf of cards.
"You have cards enough to be considered a Mason for almost any
reason," answered the Old Tiler. "But I'll take your word for it.
What kind of Mason are you?"
"I don't know for sure, but I know what kind I am never going to be!"
answered the new Brother, putting his many cards away.
