CLANDESTINE
Every Master Mason knows that he must not visit a clandestine Lodge,
not talk Masonically with a clandestinely made Mason, but not all
Master Masons can define clandestinism.
The dictionary (Standard) gives “surreptitious, underhand” as
synonyms for the word, and while these express the Masonic meaning to
some extent, they are not wholly clarifying.
Mackey (History of Freemasonry) states:
“The (Anderson) Constitutions declare, Section 8, that where a number
of Freemasons shall take upon themselves to form a Lodge without a
Grand Master’s Warrant, the regular Lodges are not to countenance
them nor own them are fair brethren, and duly formed. In other
words, Lodge formed without a Warrant from the Grand Master (we now
say Grand Lodge) is “clandestine,” and so a “clandestine Masons” is
one made in a Lodge without a Warrant.”
Even this definition will not wholly serve; many old Lodges began and
worked for a while without a Warrant yet were never Clandestine.
“The Lodge at Fredricksburg” in which Washington was initiated, had
no Warrant or Charter until long after the First President was made a
Mason.
Haywood states of the several terms used to indicate those whom
Masons may not officially converse:
“A “cowan” is a man with unlawful Masonic knowledge; an “intruder” is
one with neither knowledge not secrets, who makes himself otherwise
obnoxious; a “clandestine” is one who has been initiated by unlawful
means, an “irregular” is one who has been initiated by a Lodge
working without authorization.”
An “irregular” Mason is sometimes, unfortunately, confused with a
“clandestine” Mason; “Unfortunately,” because some men are
“irregularly” made Masons even today - usually in all innocence.
George Washington was initiated before he was twenty one years of
age; according to modern ideas, this was an “irregular” making, but
there was never a taint of clandestinism attached to “The Lodge at
Fredricksburg.” North Dakota permits the reception of a petition of
a man under age, although he must be of age when he is initiated;
that their law differs from other laws does not make the North Dakota
minor, who receives his degrees after he is twenty-one, either
irregular or clandestine. In a Jurisdiction in which all the
membership must be notified of the degree to be conferred and upon
whom, the Worshipful Master may forget to list one candidate in his
monthly circular; if the unpublished candidate, regularly elected, is
initiated, it is an “irregular” making, and the Grand Master may well
order him “healed” by being reinitiated, but no power could make such
a Mason clandestine.
When a Lodge makes a Mason of one not “freeborn,” not of a “mature
and discrete age” one who is a bondman, in his dotage, a Mason is
made irregularly, but not clandestinely.
When the Mother Grand Lodge separated into two, in 1751, each termed
the other clandestine, and this polite name-calling continued even in
this country, between Lodges begun here under authority of the two
rival Grand Lodges in England. The following is from “Washington’s
Home and Fraternal Life” published by the United States Government:
According to the “Proceedings, Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, February
3, 1783:”
“A petition being preferred to this Grand Lodge on the 2nd of
September last, from several brethren of Alexandria, in Virginia, for
a warrant to hold a Lodge there, which was ordered to lie over to the
next communication, in consequence of Brother Adam, the proposed
Master thereof, being found to possess his knowledge of Masonry in a
clandestine manner, since which the said Brother Adam, having gone
through the several steps of Ancient Masonry in Lodge No.2, under the
Jurisdiction of this R.R. Grand Lodge, further prays that a warrant
may now be granted for the purposes mentioned in said petition.
“Ordered, That the prayer of said petition be complied with, and that
the Secretary present Brother Adam with a warrant to hold a Lodge of
Ancient Masons in Alexandria, in Virginia to be numbered 39.
“Brother Robert Adam who was then duly recommended, and presented in
form to the R.W. Grand Master in the chair, for installation as
Master of Lodge No.39, to be held in the borough of Alexandria,
Fairfax County, Virginia; and was accordingly installed as such.”
“The word ‘clandestine’ falls with unhappy significance upon modern
Masonic ears, but it did not in those days mean quite the same thing
as it does to Masons of this age, Prior to the ‘Lodge of
Reconciliation’ and the formation of the United Grand Lodge of
England in 1813, the two Grand Bodies of England, the ‘Moderns’ (who
were the older) and the ‘Antients’ (who were the younger, schismatic
body) each considered the other ‘clandestine.’ Brother Adam’s Mother
Lodge is not
known, but as he lived for a time in Annapolis, where a ‘Modern’
Lodge worked, it is probable it was here that he received the degrees
which the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (‘Antinets’) considered
‘clandestine.’ Transition of Masons from Lodges of one obedience to
those of the other was neither infrequent, so that ‘clandestine’
could not have had the connotation of irregularity and disgrace which
it has with Freemasons of today.”
Today the Masonic world is entirely agreed on what constitutes a
clandestine body, or a clandestine Mason; the one is a Lodge or Grand
Lodge unrecognized by other Grand Lodges, working without right,
authority or legitimate descent; the other is a man “made a Mason” on
such a clandestine body.
More widespread than effective, more annoying than dangerous, only
continental vigilance by Grand Lodges keeps clandestinism from
becoming a real problem to legitimate Masonry.
Clandestinism raises its ugly head periodically in many Grand
Jurisdictions, and in some States it is always more or less of a
trouble. Either now, or in the immediate past, some clandestine
Freemasonry had affected Arizona, California, Colorado, Missouri,
Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and the
District of Columbia; a list too long to minimize altogether by
saying that clandestine Masonry is too weak to do much harm
Arizona and California suffer to some extent from clandestine Mexican
bodies. Colorado and adjacent States have had with them for some
thirty years a curious organi-zation known as The American Federation
of Human Rights; with headquarters at Larkspur, Colorado; which is
the seat of “Co-Masonry,” an organization purporting to make Masons
of men and women alike. Missouri has a number of spurious Italian
alleged Masonic organizations, and the “Masonic Chauffeurs’ and
Waiters’ Club” with headquarters in Chicago.
In 1929 there was filed in the office of the Secretary of State of
New Jersey a Certificate of Incorporation of “The Grand Lodge of
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of New Jersey,” under which
certificate the incorporators claimed the right to:
“Practice and preserve Ancient Craft Masonry according to the Ancient
Charges, Constitutions and Land Marks of Free Masonry; to create,
organize and supervise subordinate Lodges of Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons, granting to them dispensations and charters,
empowering them to confer the degrees of Entered Apprentice,
Fellowcraft and Master Mason; and to do all things necessary to carry
into effect the objects and purposes of this incorporation.”
The regular Grand Lodge instituted suit in the Court of Chancery
against this spurious Grand Lodge with the result that in 1932 there
was entered a decree restraining and enjoining this “Grand Lodge of
ancient Free and accepted Masons of New Jersey,” its officers,
agents, members and employees,
1. From using the name or designation “The Grand Lodge of Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons of New Jersey.”
2. From using any name or designation containing the words “Free
and Accepted Masons,” or word “Mason,” or “Masons,” in
conjunction with either or both of the words “Free and
Accepted.”
3. From practicing, or pretending to practice Ancient Craft
Masonry, according to the ancient Charges, Constitutions and
Land Marks of Free Masonry; from creating, organizing or
supervising subordinate Lodges of Free and Accepted Masons in
the State of New Jersey, or pretending to do so; from conferring
or pretending to confer the three degrees of Free Masonry known
as Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason, or any of
them.
In New York are now, or have been recently, as many as fifteen
spurious Masonic Organizations.
North Carolina is not now troubled, but twenty years ago they won a
case in court against the Cerneau bodies.
Ohio has the “National Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Free
Masons for the United States of America,” but has been successfully
fighting it in the courts.
Pennsylvania has had troubles with spurious Ohio bodies and some of
her own, but her vigilance is such that these do not get very far in
deceiving the public. For instance, in 1927 was heard the case of
Phillips against Johnson. A portion of the opinion in that case
reads:
This was a proceeding in mandamus instituted by the realtors to
compel the Secretary of the Commonwealth to register certain emblems
and insignia, such registration having been refused by the Secretary
of the Commonwealth. The Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Most
Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of
Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdiction Thereunto Belonging and the
Pennsylvania Council of Deliberation were permitted to intervene as
defendants, no objection being raised thereto by the plaintiffs. On
the trial of the case a verdict in favor of the defendants was
returned by the Jury. The plaintiffs moved for a new trial which was
refused by the court.”
South Dakota once had an Italian spurious body, but it has disbanded.
Texas has to contend with the clandestine Mexican bodies. Utah has
had some experiences, but her most famous contribution to the history
of clandestine Masonry was the trial of the notorious McBain and
Thompson. That Masonic fraud was there exposed and the perpetrators
sent to jail. M.W. Sam H. Goodwin, Grand Secretary, writes of this:
“Grand Lodge has not entered the arena against clandestinism, but a
great battle against clandestinism was brought to a successful
conclusion in the Federal Court in Salt Lake City, and the chief
promoters of the Thompson Masonic Fraud (three in number) heard a
jury declare them guilty, on ten counts, of using the U.S. Mails to
defraud.
“Grand Lodge did not get into this, neither did any other Masonic
organization. But Masons furnished the funds which made the trial
possible. It was necessary to send investigators across the water to
look up records in France, and to interview certain important
witnesses in Scotland, and to secure their promise to come over for
the trial. Utah brethren furnished the money for this work, also for
the expenses of the three men to come and return, as the U.S. does
not pay to bring witnesses from outside the United States.
“The men engaged in this fraud were each sentenced to serve two years
in Leavenworth and to pay fines of $5,000.00 each. This destroyed
the organization - so far as I am aware, no fragment of it is left.
“The Scottish Bite Bodies published a book of some 260 pages and an
index, giving an accurate and most interesting account of Thompson’s
methods, and of the trial of that case.”
A spurious Grand Lodge of Thompson extraction was, and perhaps still
is, alive in Wyoming.
The District of Columbia has had to contend with various would-be
incorporators who desire to attach themselves to legitimate
Freemasonry, but has always been successful in heading off
clandestines who desire legal status under papers of incorporation.
In many States Prince Hall or other varieties of so-called Negro
Masonry is in existence, but this variety of clandestinism is seldom
if ever harmful to regular Masonry. As a general rule, the
legitimate Grand Lodges of the southern States do not quarrel with
the so-called Negro Lodges, although they are” clandestine. Grand
Secretary James M. Clift, of Virginia, puts the general attitude very
clearly in writing about colored Masonry in the Old Dominion. He
says:
“The Negro (Prince Hall) Grand Lodges, organized just after the war
between the States, can hardly be said to be clandestine, as it in no
way interferes with Lodges in Virginia. As a matter of fact, the
then Grand Secretary of Virginia, Dr. John Dove, aided the leading
colored members of this organization in establishing it in Virginia,
believing it would be helpful to Negro citizenship. His text book
was used as their guide for some years. No recognition could be
given them, but so far it appears that Dr. Dove’s conclusions were
correct.
Occasionally, however, clandestine Negro Masonry gets in trouble with
regular Grand Lodges. Colorado, in common with many other States,
has for years had colored “Masonic Lodges” which usually give regular
Masons no trouble. A few years ago a colored man there organized
“Masonic Lodges” and a “Grand Lodge of Masons,” which became a rival
of the old colored “Grand Lodge.” These organizations became
involved in litigation in which one sought to restrain the other from
use of a name which in essence was the same as the name of the
regular Grand Lodge. If a decision had been obtained, one of these
Negro organizations would have had the legal right to use the name of
the regular Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Colorado, and the use of the
Masonic emblems. The danger lay in the fact that if such a decision
had been rendered, some degree-monger and organization of spurious
“Masonic Lodges” might have obtained control of the successful
colored “Grand Lodge” and converted it into a clandestine Grand Lodge
for white men, and his organization would have been fortified with a
decision of the court that it was entitled to the name of “Grand
Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons” and the use of the Masonic
emblems.
The regular Grand Lodge of Colorado therefore intervened in the suit.
After trial, the District Court issued a writ of injunction,
permanently restraining and enjoining both Negro organizations and
their subordinate Lodges from using the names “Mason,” “Freemason,”
“Masonic” and “Free and Accepted” (together with various other
names), and the name “The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons of Colorado,” and the members from using,
displaying and wearing emblems and insignia of Freemasonry.
The decision would be of value to Colorado in case it should become
necessary for the Grand Lodge to enter into litigation with
clandestine Masonic organizations.
In a majority of States legislation has been passed making it an
offense against the law to use the emblems of a fraternal
organization without a right, or to adopt and use the name of a pre-
existent fraternal, charitable, benevolent, humane or other non-
profit making organization. Some of these laws are very elaborate,
others are less specific, but in States where such legislation has
been invoked by regular Masonry against usurpation by clandestine
bodies, the courts have upheld, or are now in the process of
upholding the regular and recognized Grand Lodges of the nation
against those who would profit at their expense.
Clandestine Masonry of today is wholly profit-making, begun and
carried on by individuals who have nothing but duplicity to sell to
their victims. Unfortunately, many honest men have been persuaded to
pay fees for the “degrees” of such spurious organizations, in the
innocent belief that they were becoming regular Masons. Some
pathetic cases form a part of the literature of clandestinism. The
charity of Masonry, however, is usually extended to the honest
victims of misrepresentation, and such “Masons” mat apply, and. if
they can pass the ballot in a regular Lodge, their misfortune in
innocently entering a clandestine body seldom acts as an objection to
their receiving the blessings of genuine Masonry.
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