CHAPTER XXIII
Conclusion
For more than two centuries, organized Freemasonry has existed in what is now the State of Maine, the last one hundred and fifty years being under the jurisdiction of our own Grand Lodge. In its century and a half of service as an independent and sovereign Masonic power, the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Maine has won for itself an honored place among the regular Grand Lodges of the world, becoming known alike for its steadfast adherence to the Ancient Landmarks, usages and customs of the Craft and for the truly great Masonic leaders and scholars whom it has produced.
In its long history, Maine Freemasonry has witnessed profound political, economic and social changes, but has itself remained unchanged. In the eighteenth century, it successfully survived the disruptive effects of that civil war which ended British rule over the American Colonies and which resulted in the establishment of a new Nation. In the early nineteenth century, it successfully withstood and triumphed over the malicious attack launched against it by unscrupulous political demagogues, emerging from that terrible time of testing with renewed strength and vigor. In the same century, it successfully adjusted to the great changes wrought by the industrial revolution. It has known the vicissitudes of fortune. It has survived alike periods of abnormal and prolonged depression and periods of abnormal and extravagant prosperity. It has kept its faith in periods of adversity and it has kept its head in periods of popularity and success. It has become one of the best known and most respected institutions in our State. For many years, Maine has enjoyed the distinction of having a larger number of Freemasons in proportion to its total population than any other State.
Today, as we celebrate the sesqui-centennial of our Grand Lodge, we find ourselves again passing through a period of membership losses, occasioned by external conditions fully described at the beginning of Chapter XX. At a time like this, it behooves us to remember the sage advice of Maine's greatest Mason, M. W. Josiah H. Drummond, who said:
"We fear nothing from without. All our danger is from within. Masonry has stood the test of ages and the waves of persecution which have beat against her have only established her on a surer foundation. Her strength and support depend on the character of those who seek admission among us. Our strength depends not on the quantity but the quality of our members. One unworthy member casts a blot on the whole Fraternity."
So long as Maine Masonry follows this advice, so long as it remains true to the fundamental principles of our Order, so long as it successfully resists all attempts to relax its traditional moral standards, so long as it steadfastly rejects all innovations suggested under the guise of "modernization" or "improvement", and so long as it exercises due care in the selection and training of its candidates, so long can it face the future without fear and with confidence in the success of its continuing mission to mankind.
At the present moment, you and I are temporary custodians of Freemasonry in the State of Maine. It is a priceless heritage which we have received from the great Masonic leaders of the past—such Craftsmen as William King and Simon Greenleaf, Robert P. Dunlap and Abner B. Thompson, Josiah H. Drummond and Albro E. Chase, Frank E. Sleeper and Thomas H. Bodge, Ashley A. Smith and David L. Wilson, David E. Moulton and Edward W. Wheeler. It is our duty to preserve it unchanged, and to pass it on, pure and unimpaired, to those who shall come after us, with no Landmark cast down and no jewel tarnished.
The following words were spoken by M. W. Josiah H. Drummond at the seventy-fifth anniversary of our Grand Lodge in 1895. They were quoted by M. W. Albro E. Chase at our centennial celebration in 1920. They were quoted by me in 1945 and again in 1962. In conclusion, I quote them once more, as my final words in this history:
"Some of us have clasped hands in this Grand Lodge for almost a generation; this the second anniversary in which we have participated; when the next shall come, we shall be but memories; you will have taken our places and another generation will fill yours; may you be able to say to them then, as we say to you now, 'As you love Masonry, whatever betides, come prosperity or come adversity, adhere with unflinching tenacity to the ancient usages of the Craft.' " So mote it be.
The End