THE POWERS OF THE WORSHIPFUL MASTER
The incumbent of the Oriental Chair has powers peculiar to his station;
powers far greater than those of the President of a society or the Chairman of a
meeting of any kind. President and Chairman are elected by the body over which
they preside, and may be removed by that body. A Master is elected by his lodge,
but he cannot be removed by it; only by the grand Master or Grand Lodge. The
presiding officer is bound by rules of order adopted by the body and by its
by-laws. A lodge cannot pass by-laws to alter, amend or curtail the powers of a
Master. Its by-laws are subject to approval by the proper Grand Lodge Committee
or by the Grand Master; seldom are any approved which infringe upon his ancient
prerogatives and powers; in those few instances in which improper by-laws have
been approved, subsequent rulings have often declared the Master right in
disregarding them.
Grand Lodges differ in their interpretation of some of the "ancient usages
and customs" of the Fraternity; what applies in one Jurisdiction does not
necessarily apply in another. But certain powers of a Master are so well
recognized that they may be considered universal. The occasional exceptions, if
any, but prove the rule. The Master may congregate his lodge when he pleases,
and for what purpose he wishes, "provided" it does not interfere with the laws
of the Grand Lodge. For instance, he may assemble his lodge as a Special
Communication to confer degrees, at his pleasure; but he must not, in so doing,
contravene that requirement of the grand Lodge which calls for proper notice to
the brethren, nor may a Master confer a degree in less than the statutory time
following a preceding degree without a dispensation from the Grand Master.
The Master has the right of presiding over and controlling his lodge, and
only the Grand Master, or his Deputy, may suspend him. He may put any brother in
the East to preside or to confer a degree; he may then resume the gavel at his
pleasure - even in the middle of a sentence if he wants to! But even when he has
delegated authority temporarily, the Master is not relieved from responsibility
for what occurs in his lodge.
It is the Master's right to control lodge business and work. It is in a very
real sense "his" lodge. He decides all points of order and no appeal from his
decision may be taken to the lodge. He can initiate and terminate debate at his
pleasure, he can second any motion, propose any motion, vote twice in the case
of a tie (not universal), open and close at his pleasure, with the usual
exception that he may not open a Special Communication at an hour earlier than
that given in the notice, or a Stated Communication earlier than the hour stated
in the by-laws, without dispensation from the Grand Master. He is responsible
only to the Grand Master and the Grand Lodge, the obligations he assumed when he
was installed, his conscience and his God.
The Master has the undoubted right to say who shall enter, and who must leave
the lodge room. He may deny any visitor entrance; indeed, he may deny a member
the right to enter his own lodge, but he must have a good and sufficient reason
therefore, otherwise his Grand Lodge will unquestionably rule such a drastic
step arbitrary and punish accordingly. "Per contra," if he permits entry of a
visitor to whom some member has objected, he may also subject himself to Grand
Lodge discipline. In other words, his "power" to admit or exclude is absolute;
his "right" to admit or exclude is hedged about by pledges he takes at his
installation and the rules of the Grand Lodge.
A very important power of the Master is that of appointing committees. No
lodge may appoint a committee. The lodge may pass a resolution that a committee
be appointed, but the selection of that committee is an inherent right of the
Master. He is, "ex officio," a member of all committees he appoints. The reason
is obvious; he is responsible for the conduct of his lodge to the Grand Master
and the Grand Lodge. If the lodge could appoint committees and act upon their
recommendations, the Master would be in the anomalous position of having great
responsibilities, and no power to carry out their performance.
The Master, and only the Master, may order a committee to examine a visiting
brother. It is his responsibility to see that no cowan or eavesdropper comes
within the tiled door. Therefore, it is for him to pick a committee in which he
has confidence. So, also, with the committees which report upon petitioners. He
is responsible for the accuracy, fair-mindedness, the speed and intelligence of
such investigations. It is, therefore, for him to say to whom shall be delegated
this necessary and important duty.
It is generally, not exclusively, held that only the Master can issue a
summons. The dispute, where it exists, is over the right of members present at a
Stated Communication to summons the whole membership.
It may now be interesting to look for a moment at some matters in which the
Worshipful Master is not supreme, and catalog a few things he may "not" do.
The Master, and only the Master appoints the appointive officers in his
lodge. In most Jurisdictions he may remove such appointed officers at his
pleasure. But, he cannot suspend, or deprive of his station or place, any
officer elected by the lodge. The Grand Master or his Deputy, may do this; the
Worshipful Master may not.
A Master may not spend lodge money without the consent of the lodge. As a
matter of convenience, a Master frequently does pay out money in sudden
emergencies, looking to the lodge for reimbursement. But he cannot spend any
lodge funds without the permission of the lodge. Some Jurisdictions do allow the
lodge by-laws to permit the Master to spend emergency funds up to a specified
amount without prior consent of the lodge.
A Master cannot accept a petition, or confer a degree without the consent of
the lodge. It is for the lodge, not the Master, to say from what men it will
receive an application, or a petition; and upon what candidates degrees shall be
conferred. The Master has the same power to "reject" through the "black cube" as
any member has, but no power whatever to "accept" any candidate against the will
of the lodge.
The lodge, not the Master, must approve or disapprove the minutes of the
preceding meeting. The Master cannot approve them; had he that power he might,
with the connivance of the secretary, "run wild" in his lodge, and still his
minutes would show no trace of his improper conduct. But the Master may refuse
to put a motion to confirm or approve minutes which he believes to be inaccurate
or incomplete; in this way he can prevent a careless, headstrong Secretary from
doing what he wants with his minutes! Should a Master refuse to permit minutes
to be confirmed, the matter would naturally be brought before the Grand Lodge or
the Grand Master for settlement.
A Master cannot suspend the by-laws. He must not permit the lodge to suspend
the by-laws. If the lodge wishes to change them, the means are available, not in
suspension; but, in amendment. An odd exception may be noted, which has occurred
in at least one Grand Jurisdiction, and doubtless may occur in others. A very
old lodge adopted by-laws shortly after it was constituted, which by-laws were
approved by a young Grand Lodge before that body had, apparently, devoted much
attention to these important rules.
For many years this lodge carried in its by-laws and "order of business"
which specified, among other things, that following the reading of the minutes,
the next business was balloting. As the time of meeting of this lodge was early
(seven o'clock) this by-law worked a hardship for years, compelling brethren who
wished to vote to hurry to lodge, often at great inconvenience.
At last a Master was elected who saw that the by-law interfered with his
right to conduct the business of the lodge as he thought proper. He balloted at
what he thought was the proper time, the last order of business, not the first.
An indignant committee of Past Masters, who preferred the old order, applied to
the Grand Master for relief. The Grand Master promptly ruled that "order of
business" in the by-laws could be no more than suggestive, not mandatory; and
that the Worshipful Master had the power to order a ballot on a petition at the
hour which seemed to him wise, provided - and this was stressed - that he ruled
wisely, and did not postpone a ballot until after a degree, or until so late in
the evening that brethren wishing to vote upon it had left the lodge room.
A Worshipful Master has no more right to invade the privacy which shrouds the
use of the "Black Cube" (or Ball), or which conceals the reason for an objection
to an elected candidate receiving the degrees, than the humblest member of the
lodge. He cannot demand disclosure of action or motive from any brother, and
should he do so, he would be subject to the severest discipline from the Grand
Lodge.
Grand Lodges usually argue that a dereliction of duty by a brother who
possesses the ability and character to attain the East, is worse than that of
some less informed brother. The Worshipful Master receives great honor, has
great privileges, enjoys great prerogatives and powers. Therefore, he must
measure up to great responsibilities. A Worshipful Master cannot resign.
Vacancies occur in the East through death, suspension by a Grand Master,
expulsion from the Fraternity. No power can make a Master attend to his duties
if he desires to neglect them. If he will not, or does not attend to them, the
Senior Warden presides. He is, however, still Senior Warden; he does not become
Master until elected and installed.
In broad outline, these are the important and principal powers and
responsibilities of a Worshipful Master, considered entirely from the standpoint
of the "ancient usages and customs of the Craft." Nothing is said here of the
moral and spiritual duties which devolve upon a Master.
Volumes might be and some have been written upon how a Worshipful Master
should preside, in what ways he can "give the brethren good and wholesome
instruction," and upon his undoubted moral responsibility to do his best to
leave his lodge better than he found it. Here we are concerned only with the
legal aspect of his powers and duties.
Briefly then, if he keeps within the laws, resolutions and edicts of his
Grand Lodge on the one hand, and the Landmarks, Old Charges, Constitutions and
"ancient usages and customs" on the other, the power of the Worshipful Master is
that of an absolute monarch. His responsibilities and his duties are those of an
apostle of Light!
He is a gifted brother who can fully measure up to the use of his power and
the power of his leadership.
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