LIBRARY OF CONGRESS E 184 .J5 W84 Copy 1 Judaism — Patriotism Fraternalism Compliments of SIMON WOLF April, 1922 By Transfer AUG 14 1922 FOREWORD. Among the men who have shed lustre upon the Jewish name in the United States of America none is deserving of greater recog- nition than Simon Wolf, of Washington, "the grand old man of American Jewry. ' ' For sixty years he has been a watchman on the tower of liberty. His voice has rung forth in clarion tones when- ever the civil or religious rights of Jews were in jeopardy. It is a privilege indeed to pay the meed of appreciation and admiration to so untiring a worker for the true and the good. In the opinion of many, this patriarch, so youthful in spirit, represents the finest type of the American Jew. Jew in religion and American in na- tionality he combines in rare fashion these two supreme loyalties. The three eloquent addresses published herewith stress the high aims of his fine life, namely, love for humanity, love for his coun- try and love for his religion. This is indeed a triple cord that can- not be broken. God be thanked for Simon Wolf ! May his tribe increase ! David Philipson. Cincinnati, 0., April, 1922. Judaism — Patriotism — Fraternalism Response of Hon. Simon Wolf, Chairman of the Board of Dele- gates on Civil Rights at the banquet given in Baltimore on Jannary 16, 1917, at the Convention of the Union of American Hebrew Con- gregations, to the toast "America": On a summer day in 1845, in the little town where I was born in the Rhenish Provinces, the postman brought a letter which was written in the United States by an uncle of mine, whose son is the President of Dr. Berkowitz's Temple at Philadelphia. Among other things which the letter contained, there was a picture of George Washington, and a translation of the Declaration of Inde- pendence in German. The feeling that overcame me in looking at the one, and reading the other, is as vivid and distinct today as it was then, more than seventy years ago, and day and night from that time until I had the pleasure and good fortune of accompany- ing my sainted grandparents to this country, the thought was "what a wonderful man George Washington must have been, and what a fairyland it must be, where all men are born free and equal." And thus, when on the 19th day of July, 1848, I landed in New York, an immigrant boy, I was to all intents and purposes an American, and during these seventy years, I have never de- parted from that lofty conception of duty to American citizenship that had been formed in the land of my birth. America was the inspiration and dominant thought of my whole life. To aid and contribute to the advancement and better- ment of this blessed Republic was the only solvent in the chemical process of mental, moral and physical life. The younger genera- tion who have been blessed by being born to the condition of equal- ity can never realize what it means to be restricted and restrained from enjoying the liberty that is born of equal rights. We elders are constantly thankful for having been permitted to leave a land of persecution and discrimination to mingle with our fellowmen on a basis of justice and religious freedom, and to this glorious reality and altruistic uplift, no one has contributed more in this great Re- public, than the citizen of Jewish faith, whether individually or collectively, and to emphasize this achievement, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, with all its consultant machinery, has been one of the important factors. And this brings to my recollection a memorable interview I had with the sainted Dr. Isaac M. Wise, when he recounted the history of how the Union of American Hebrew Congregations was formed. He said the first draft was "Union of Hebrew Congregations." When it was shown to him he promptly rejected it and said the word "Ameri- can" must be inserted. Thus at once, with his loyal devotion and far-sighted intelligence he stamped the seal of Jewish patriotism and American liberality on the great organization which is now holding its Convention. It is only in the United States of America, where man has the fullest opportunity to better his con- dition and to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and to aspire to the highest ranks in official life — in short, to be equal to the best and inferior to none — and do you really realize what all this means? Are we sufficiently grateful to a kind Providence and to the founders of this great Republic for all that we enjoy, and for the glorious opportunity of being in a condition to aid our struggling and suffering co-religionists in other lands, and especially in this crucial hour of the world's history? The ambition of dynasties, the competitive strife for commercial supremacy, has hurled so-called Christian nations into a struggle for life and death, and in this great cataclysm, the Jew is not only hurled as a citizen of the respective countries at war, but in- dependent thereof, he suffers all the cruelties and wrongs that have been heaped upon him in the past centuries by certain countries in Europe. Then let our aim and supreme thought be to prove still fur- ther, if such a thing is possible, our love of and for the country of which we form so prominent and important a link, a country that is destined by virtue of its mission and its wonderful achievements to be the arbiter of the world of peace, for righteousness and jus- tice. Differences in creed may bring about an estrangement for the moment, but under the benign influence that constitutes the sev- erance of church and state, this country is destined to be at all times the refuge of the oppressed, the home of the free, and the promised land of the prophets, and let the slogan of every Ameri- can citizen, irrespective of nationality or creed, ever be "Long live the Republic," and convened as we are in the City of Balti- more, we can not help but think of that memorable historical oc- casion in American history when Fort McHenry was fired on and which inspired the great song writer of that time to compose the immortal anthem, which by its influence has unified every section of our great country, and, therefore, I ask you all to join in sing- ing "The Star Spangled Banner." Speech delivered at the Temple on day of Atonement, THE ORPHANED JEW AND THE JEWISH ORPHAN By Simon Wolf. At the close of the 19th century, it is proper that we should review the past, so that we can derive instruction therefrom, and gather new hope and courage for the future. One of the wisest of Israel's sages said, "There is nothing new under the sun," and however strange this observation may sound in the light of modern inventions and discoveries, yet I should not be surprised that all these things which we now prize so highly have heretofore existed. One thing is sure, that the spirit of persecution and the animus of prejudice and fanaticism has always shown its vindictiveness, and is as dominant today in many ways, as in the darkest days of feudalism, and it requires a master mind to prevent the masses from becoming mere tools in the hands of schemers and agitators. It may interest you to know that in the early days of the present century, the conditions in France were almost identical with those of to-day with this difference, that it was then a military govern- ment dominated and controlled by the man of all time, Napoleon. The influence of the Priest had been destroyed by the revolution, and under the new empire was beginning to show its hydra-headed fanaticism. It was at this time that Napoleon wrote the following letter to his Minister, Portalis, which it is worth while to read again, to get an idea not only of the wonderful genius of Napoleon, but also to know what influences were at work then against the Jew, and when we comprehend the full import of this letter, we need not after all be very much surprised at the condition of France to-day: "It is against the divine law to prevent the Jews from work- ing on Sundays, in order to gain his bread ; the Jew has his necessities on Sunday as well as on the week days. The Gov- ernment could pass such a law only if it were to give bread to those who have none; police and Government have, there- fore, no business to interfere. 8 "Even the holy fathers prescribed rest only for the people of wealth, or those who earned enough during the week to afford spending the Sunday in idleness. Therefore, in all Christian countries the custom to work on Sundays by special permission of the bishop or priest. Why should not the Jews be allowed to do so? Is it one of the bishop's rights, who hates the Jews, or the magistrate's rights, who has no love for the Jews, to grant or withhold such a permission ? "We had better be careful before we create a condition of affairs where we would be compelled to send policemen to the Jews, who must work for their living, in order to stop their Sunday labor. "In either case the authorities would be guilty of supersti- tion, either political or religious. God has made labor a duty, as He does not permit the enjoyment of a product of the earth, unless labor had been bestowed upon it. The laws of the clergy must be divided in such that affect religion in its es- sence, and in such that are passed for the object of extending their power. "Mr. Portalis had better, therefore, be careful, because these concessions once made, the Government undertaking to interfere in matters that are outside of its sphere, it will not be long before wo will be taken back to the unfortunate period of the issue of letters patent of absolution, or the miserable epoch when the priest imagined the right to order the burning alive of the Jew, or to maltreat the citizen, who refused to at- tend mass. The power of the clergy must be confined to the sermon ; it is time that the sorely persecuted Jews were left in peace. As long as I live, however, police and dungeon shall never be resorted to in France to tyrannize the citizens of another faith. There are many of erring sheep in the Christian fold ; let the priest lead these back to the practices of religion. An attempt to curtail still more the rights of Jews, which are curtailed enough, is priestl}^ malice, and there is an end of that in France. Napoleon. Ostend, December 25, 1807." This spirit making itself manifest in France in 1807 has been gathering force in all parts of the world, save and except in the United States, until to-day, notvdthstanding all that the Jew has done on the broad lines of citizenship in the various countries of his birth and residence, he has still to fight for his home, for his life, and for his happiness. He is still, to all intents and purposes, an orphaned Jew. His parents, in the shape of recognition, pro- tection and equality, have been denied him, and he is a castaway on the highway of life, who has to struggle not only for the chance of making life possible, but for life itself. I admit much has been done in Germany, in Italy, in England, and in France up to 1894, which showed a betterment and an improvement for the condition of the Jews, and yet even this betterment had to be wrested from the hands of our enemies who never accorded it as a right or privilege, but rather as a measure of policy. I confess that even I, optimistic as I have ever been, battling as I have for more than half a century on and in behalf of the rights of all men, and especially my co-religionists, am near the brink when I observe the conditions at the close of the century from which so much had been expected, and from which we were to receive new inspiration for the battle of the future. I am well aware that this subject of Dreyfus and France has been spoken of time and again, until it is almost nauseating, and yet nothing in history is so dreadful and so full of dire import as the action of France and the military cabal. It is not the victim of their hellish hate, but it is the Jews throughout the world that are affected, for if such things are pos- sible in France where the Jews have had since Napoleon's time more or less equal standing, then what can you expect from Russia, Roumania, Austria and Germany ? However oft, it has been stated that one Jew stands for all and all stand for one, it yet remains a fact that the sufferings of one as well as the misdeeds of one re- flects upon the whole Jewish community throughout the world. And this answers the question propounded by Mark Twain in his splendid article in the September number of Harpers,* that the Jews are united, but not as he would like them to be in the spirit of threat or opposition to inaugurate a universal boycott, but rather in the spirit of right, of mercy, of justice and of humanity, whose heart goes out beating responsive to every cause, and ready to live or die in defence of those eternal principles which underlie not only every faith, but particularly that of Judaism. Twain says in the article that it is not the hatred of the Jew 's religion, but antipathy from a business standpoint, although he says as follows : *This article in Harpers is due to the correspondence between us. Twain had at one time a different opinion. I sent him a copy of my book "The American Jew as Soldier, Patriot and Citizen." He promptly replied, ad- mitting his ignorance, gratefully thanked me, and promised to make amends in Harpers, which he did do effectively. These letters are published in my book "The Presidents I Have Known." 10 "These facts are all ou the credit side of the proposition that the Jew is a good and orderly citizen. Summed up, they certify that he is quiet, peaceable, industrious, unaddicted to high crimes and brutal dispositions; that his family life is commendable; that he is not a burden upon public charities; that he is not a beggar; that in benevolence he is above the reach of competition. These are the very quintessentials of good citizenship. If you can add that he is as honest as the average of his neighbors — But I think that question is affirma- tively answered by the fact that he is a successful business man. The basis of successful business is honesty ; a business cannot thrive where the parties to it cannot trust each other. In the matter of numbers the Jew counts for little in the overwhelming population of New York; but that his honesty counts for nnich is guaranteed by the fact that the immense wholesale business of Broadway, from the Battery to Union Square, is substantially in his hands. ' ' Now if the Jew's dealings are honorable in business relations, and there is no prejudice against his religion, then what is it that has produced this agony and misery of centuries, and which is as dominant to-day as in the days of yore? While Mr. Twain speaks of the Jew's probity, of his fairness in all things, of his charitable disposition, of his philanthropic efforts, of his humanity, his hu- mane spirit, and all the other attributes for which the word Jew and Judaism stand as truthful witnesses for all the ages, he closes his remarkable and well-meant article as follows: "To CONCLUDE. — If the statistics are right, the Jews consti- tute but one per cent, of the human race. It suggests a nebu- lous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of ; but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is ex- travagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in litera- ture, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learn- ing are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvellous fight in this world, in all the ages ; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and si)lendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they 11 sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew ; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality ? ' ' And here, his closing words, ' ' What makes the Jew immortal ' ' is a text in itself. What is it? Undoubtedly the very opposite to that which he has advised. It is because the Jews have been or- phaned and scattered in every part of the habitable globe that is one of the reasons of that immortality. Second, their non-proselyt- ing spirit in permitting each faith to live and prosper without mak- ing inroads, is another element of great strength in the Jew's im- mortality. His adhesion to hygienic and sanitary laws is one of the greatest elements of his immortality. The uprightness of his domestic relations, and the greatest virtues that have adorned the Jewish home is also a very great and important factor in his im- mortality, and finally, his morality is in every essential tenable, "as the survival of the fittest" which means the highest develop- ment of mentality. Then indeed it cannot be questioned why the Jew has survived all of his persecutors, and stands to-day as he did at creation's dawn, assertive, intelligent, courageous, chari- table, philanthropic, and immortal. Why cannot our neighbors of Christian faith throw away their narrow and sectarian bias, ever remembering Shakespeare's immortal words, "Has not a Jew eyes, &c." In what way do we differ from all the essentials that you claim credit for? Do we not possess each and every one of those qualities that have adorned mankind, and that make for good citizenship, and in addition thereto have many that you have un- fortunately ignored or do not practice? If there are Jews, and I confess there are, who do not come up to the golden rule, are there not in proportion a much larger number among your own, the Christians have not a mortgage on all the rascals, and since there are, why not brand each and every one from the standpoint of man- kind, and not from the standpoint of religion or race or country. Do not forget that as Abraham Lincoln said, "For every drop of blood by the lash, there will be an equal number drawn by the sword." Thus if Christian governments and Christian churches permit the persecution of the Jew as they did the enslavement of the negro, what other condition can you expect than that 12 among a certain number of the unfortunate victims of your hate and antagonism, there will be found a lower strata of humanity. When you deaden all the moral instincts of human nature, when you deprive the brain of thought, the soul of aspiration, the heart of love, and drag him down to the level of the beast, you cannot expect anj^thing else but the tiger's spring, and it is not the tiger that should be blamed, but the cruel master. To me it has been a wonder that notwithstanding all the cruelties and barbarities prac- ticed upon the Jews, that there is yet so much of humanity, moral- ity, and true religious fervor left in their composition, and it ar- gues well for the ground work of their being, and the exceeding purity of their laws and religion. So much for the Jew at large. The Jewish orphan on this day of solemn fast and prayer claims our undivided interest and sym- pathy. In your own way you have in the past ten years contributed from time to time to the maintenance and support of Jewish or- phans in Atlanta, Georgia, Washington being a part of the district. Only those who have been favored with an inspection of the home and its happy inmates, can have a conception of what vast good has been accomplished, and how much of anti-semitism has been destroyed by the results achieved in this and kindred institutions. I therefore, feel sure that you will not take it amiss if I invoke your continued aid and assistance on these lines of humanity and philanthropy. Mark Twain has said most beautifully, but no less truthfully, that we stand at the head of humanity in the matter of charity. Let us continue to lead and show to the world that not- withstanding all the prejudice and fanaticism, we are still work- ing to the end that the rising generation may be morally, intellec- tually and physically strong, that we recognize the priceless boon of American citizenship, and thus recognizing it, our aim and ob- ject is not to become a burden upon the state, or upon the nation, but to contribute wherever we can to rescue from the purlieus and slums of the cities and towns the unfortunate orphan, and educate him to be in the highest sense, a true American citizen. Therefore, do not, if there are any such among you, shrug your shoulders with indifference, and clutch your dollars caring not what becomes of the unfortunate. You know not how the wheel of fortune may turn with you. To-day you may have plenty, to-morrow's storm may leave you penniless, and the children of your love and affection may claim the sympathy and love of others. Be cheerful givers at any 13 and all times, not only for the Jewish orphans, but for the orphans of all sects, and in this connection do not neglect to support and contribute to the United Hebrew Charities of this city, which has done such splendid and notable work. Support, aid and strengthen the hands of its noble chairman, and energetic board of officers. You cannot do work that is more deserving or that helps humanity to a greater extent, I know you gave last year, I know you gave the year before, but that is not this year, nor next. You ate your dinner yesterday, and you expect to eat it to-morrow, and the un- fortunate are exactly in the same condition. Their wants may have been supplied once, but that does not argue that they are not equally hungry to-day, and the standpoint assumed by our chari- ties is a most excellent one. It does not foster pauperism or beg- gary, on the contrary, it tries to stimulate love of and for work, and supports those who are willing to be self-sustaining. Since the Jew has been called immortal for many reasons, let us live up to this high standard not only as citizens of our common country, not only as cosmopolitans of the whole civilized earth, but also as pro- gressive, cultured, moral and courageous Jews, whose highest am- bition it is to respect themselves, and to contribute to the better- ment of mankind. 14 Address delivered in New York at the ' ' Maundy Thursday ' ' Ban- quet of the Scottish Eite, April 13, 1911 : *'ARE WE NOT ALL BRETHREN" Most Wise Master and Brethren : When on the 24th and 25th day of May, 1865, there marched up Pennsylvania Avenue to be reviewed by the President of the United States, the Grand Army of the Republic, I witnessed a pageant, unparalleled in the annals of time. They were not Chris- tians or Jews that marched in serried ranks to lay down the arms which they had so gloriously borne in bloody fields of battle. They were American citizens, who by their indomitable valor and cour- age, had shown what American institutions had produced. So, in that spirit, I am here to-night, to greet you one and all, and to extend to you that cordial hand of fellowship for which our fraternity is celebrated throughout the world. I greet you, not as Christians, not as Jews, but as brethren; brethren, who cement, unify, harmonize and reconcile all the differences incident to our nature, and thus vindicate all that is divine, all that is great and glorious, not only here on earth, but in all the longings for eternity. No pages in history are darker in their tragedy, no crimes in their rapacities, than those that have been created by differences in re- ligious belief. How much more then should we rejoice that this fraternity, one of the greatest religious organizations on the face of the earth, does not divide ; it unifies. It has not left countless millions dead on the fields of battle. It has not laid the beautiful savannahs of the South and the granaries of the North waste. No, it has beautified, it has glorified all that is best in man. Thus this great organization is Avorthy of the homage of the best of men, for no other organization, ancient or modern, pays such high and glorious tribute to the fundamental principles of the domestic vir- tues incident to our lives and womanhood, as the Masonic fraternity. In addition, it is thoroughly democratic. At no time in my career was I more impressed with this than when, as our country's representative, I was sent as Minister to Egypt. On my way, in London, I was taken to the Blue Lodge Room, where in the East sat His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, afterwards King 15 Edward the VII; and thus the emigrant Jew boy of Bavaria, the representative of this great republic, sat side by side with the Crown Prince of England, showing the democracy of our Order. Again, when I landed in Cairo, the then Rebel Chief, Arabi Pasha, welcomed me with all the honors to the East in the Blue Lodge Room, showing the universality of our Order ; and at the same time I felt rejoiced that I could be back in the land of my ancestors, not as a slave, but as a free man. It is true that the good missionaries of different Christian faiths in Egypt had feared the advent of the American citizen of Jewish faith, and that their institutions would be jeopardized. They forgot that I did not go to Egypt as a Jew, but as an American citizen, the proudest title any man can wear on this earth. I had the great satisfaction, a year after, to read a letter the good missionaries wrote to their friends at home, when in convention assembled in Philadelphia — good Presbyterians, Brother Senator Depew — who wrote "Our Consul General of Jewish faith has done more for our missions in one year, than all the Christian Consuls General in all their lives." It was very gratifying. It was no more than my Masonic duty that I performed, to be truthful, to be honorable, to be in every sense a man. Are we not taught in all the lodges, whether in the lower or in the higher degrees, that we must recognize all men as our equals, not because they are Christians or Jews, but because they are men of character, men of worth? I ask here to-night that in your admission to any of the bodies of the craft, look to the man, whether he be Jew or Christian, whether he be seilator or laborer, as long as he is a man of merit, of standing, of sobriety, and a man who vindicates in his personality all those attributes with which God has endowed us. The ancient character of our craft I saw exemplified at Heliopolis near Cairo, where the Sun Temple stood, where Herodotus and Plato were taught, and there yet stands the obelisk full of Masonic Hieroglyphics, proving to each and every one the ancient character of our great Order. The humanizing character of our Order has also been illustrated to me when in 1862 the second battle of Bull Run had been fought, and General Pope had telegraphed to Washington for aid and assistance to take care of the prisoners and wounded. In common with many other civilians, I went to the battlefield, carrying provisions, and instead of the General having prisoners, we ourselves were made prisoners, as the Confederate Army had possession of the entire field. I was brought before the General Commanding, and when 16 lie became aware through the mystic sign that I was a brother of the craft, instead of sending me to Libby Prison, I was permitted to return to Washington. Thus this great organization softens even the cruelties of war, and like the words of the Hebrew, ' ' Hear, Oh Israel, the Lord our God is one," so the hailing sign of the craft is recognized the world over and becomes a source of help and cheer. It is not the Mystic Sign and Word within the lodge room that solely counts. It is the work outside of the lodge room that tells. The upholding of all that is best in citizenship, the protection of womanhood, the integrity of character which stands sponsor for Masonry — those are things outside of the lodge room that make pro- paganda, and that appeal to the mind of the most ignorant, as well as to that of the most cultivated. Masonry, in my judgment, is not only a great religious organization teaching the morals and ethics of the Golden Rule, "Love thy neighbor as thyself"; but it is the conservator of true republican ideas, the love of freedom, the love of justice, of righteousness, and that is one of the reasons, my brethren, that the oppressors of the world are afraid of the Masonic Fraternity. In no part of the world does our great brotherhood so flourish as in this great God-given republic of ours; and as long as we are true to all the tenets of the institutions under which we are so supremely happy, so long will we be discharging our re- sponsibilities to the Masonic Order. Brethren, do not for a moment believe that the Christian alone has made this Republic. Oh no, thank God, I can say here to-night that when in 1894 I published a book entitled ' ' The American Jew as Soldier, Patriot and Citizen," I furnished from the archives of our Government the facts that there had been more Jews enlisted on the Union side, and on the Southern side, than of any other de- nomination in the United States, when you compare their number. Thus we ask no favors, I expect none. I expect, however, every Christian to be treated by every Jew with that degree of cordiality, of friendship and of fraternal good will which are the heirlooms of every human being; and I expect the same on the other hand for the Jew, for are we not all brethren ? Has not the same God created us? Endowed us with all the faculties necessary to strengthen the ties of our common bonds, and the ties of human endeavor and hu- man achievements? This is a solemn hour. While the Scottish Rite of the 18° enjoy this feast, which is celebrated to-night by the Jews throughout the 17 world, I feel perfectly at home with the unleavened bread, in the wine cup, in all that pertains to the Mystic Banquet of the Great Rite. At every Passover festival in the home of the humblest Jew, you may find the door wide open, the cup of wine standing ready for the stranger, thus establishing that cordon of hospitality which has circled the world in its magic influence and brought man closer and closer together. Unfortunate it is that this very peace, so endearing and em- blematic and sjmibolical of the freedom which the Jew transmitted from generation to generation after his Egyptian bondage, has been made a tragedy in many lands of the earth. Even when I was in Egypt, I was appealed to and had to go to the Greek Pa- triarch to prevent a riot, for it had been charged by ignorance and prejudice, which are s^^nonymous, that the Jews had killed a Chris- tian child for the blood of the Passover. Think of it, that in the name of the Prince of Peace, the offspring from the loins of the Jews, should be made the text for massacre, the text for expulsion and persecutions, as it is to-day in darkest Russia. Then I ask you, have we not a great task yet to fulfill? Have we not yet a great mission in life, for this great band, this great organization, uni- versal in all its character, who work and watch to the end that prejudice shall vanish from the earth, that Right and Truth shall illumine the darkest corners thereof, that the prisoner in his dun- geon cell, and on the icy steppes of Siberia, shall win new inspira- tion and new courage for the battles of life? To-morrow night, my friends, is the anniversary of the as- sassination of the greatest American that ever lived. He, too, was a brother. A brother in truth whom I knew well, whom I loved, and whom I honored, and who was the forerunner of all that is yet to come, a man so faithful to his trust, so modest, yet so true, vin- dicating in every act of his the teachings of the lodge room ; and let us hope and trust that future generations will be animated by that fearless courage, love of truth and right that animated him who has joined the immortals, and than whom no greater soul ever vindicated the true tenets of Masonry, Abraham Lincoln. Brethren, I thank you for this golden opportunity to be with you, especially you. Brother Wise Master, who has asked me to be here to-night. I have heard from time to time that brethren of my faith were not welcome in the Scottish Rite of the Northern Juris- diction. I am happy to say that among those names read off to- 18 night, who have joined the immortal throng, there were several of my kindred whom I loved and esteemed. I trust that your ranks will be increased by good men and true, irrespective of nationality, irrespective of faith ; and that we will all meet on common ground, on that bridge of life which spans all humanity, that knows no creed, that knows no country save that country which confers the greatest blessing upon the largest number. Yes, we have a great fraternity. We have a glorious, glorious body of men, from the earliest days of George Washington up to the present, the executives of the nation, senators and members, as we have to-night in our midst one of the most shining exemplars of civic virtue, of statesmanship and of true Masonry, and so the laborer, the employed and the employer, the men of daring and the men of genius, all come together on common ground, each trying his best to make the world purer and better, and thus prove that we are indeed a band of brethren. Americans not only in spirit, but in deed. There is no fraternity in the world like ours, for we teach equality between man, without which the world would be a barren ideality, for we can say with our brother Kobert Burns, "The rank is but the guinea's stamp, a man's a man for a' that." Senator Depew, who was one of the speakers, was enthusiastic in prais ing my speech. 19 iir