Page 322 - Cornelius Hedges Story

309 The Cornelius Hedges Story

with each. Great diversities were discovered and corrected, and the
work has continued nearly uniform ever since.
One singular occurrence during the year is worthy of mention.
Among the members of the youngest lodge, Ruby, No. 36, there
was a falling out, and the Worshipful Master took possession of the
funds, records, and so stopped all work. The Grand Master being
out of the jurisdiction at the time, the charges were filed with the
Deputy Grand Master. But the recalcitrant Master would yield to
no authority till the Grand Master paid him a personal visit. He was
not only suspended from office, but when the Grand Lodge reached
the case he was indefinitely suspended from all Masonic rights. A
resolution was adopted doing away with the necessity of giving the
Past Master’s degree as part of the installation ceremony. Another
reduced the minimum fee for the degrees to $50. The effort to change
the law so that one ballot should elect to all the degrees was again
defeated, though it seemed to be gaining strength. Livingston was
selected as the next place of meeting.
Brother John Anderson of Missoula was elected Grand Master. This
brother had been Worshipful Master of three different lodges in
the jurisdiction and was every inch a Mason, of modest demeanor,
but true as steel to every Masonic trust and duty. Brother Charles
Gould as Grand Orator pronounced an eloquent and charming
oration on “Mystery.” If the dimensions of our mileage and per
diem allowance had been a subject of comment the previous year,
there was greater reason for it this year, when it amounted
to $1,916.15, almost two-thirds of our total receipts for dues. And
as if the treasury balance could not be made to disappear fast
enough, a motion was made and carried that a jewel be presented
to each of our Past Grand Masters who had not received any.
The Twenty-sixth Annual Communication was held at Livingston,
in Park County, on the Northern Pacific Railroad, September 24-5,
1890. The Grand Master, Brother Anderson, was sick and unable
to be present, so that it fell to the Deputy Grand Master, Brother
W. T. Boardman, to preside. Grand Master Anderson before being
taken sick had begun, but not completed, his address and the
portion published was only secured after the close of the Grand
Lodge. The chartered lodges at this Communication numbered
thirty-three, and the membership had increased to 1,833, showing
a gain of 163, and the revenue from dues showed an increase of
$402, but the treasury balance had subsided to $1,103.25.