Making Masons at Sight

In the 196-year history of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, only 16 men have become Masons at Sight. The minute size of this special group generates a number of questions. For example: How do Masons at Sight differ from other Masons in the jurisdiction? Who are the Masons that comprise this group? Was their unique entrance essential? Why? These questions underscore the necessity for understanding the process of making a Mason at Sight. It is one by which certain men, who do not personally seek entrance to the

• ADMIRAL WINFIELD SCOTT SCHLEY

Craft, are invited to enter Masonry by a Grand Master, who in the absence of written authority, uses his “inherent powers” to solicit and make Masons, relying on other than constitutionally prescribed methods.

In the process of making a Mason at Sight the Grand Master may use his “inherent” powers to modify the conferral of the degrees to suit situations at hand. On occasion the candidate may be treated exactly like any normal candidate for the degrees. At other times, however, the Grand Master may deem it expedient to condense, and in certain instances, to eliminate parts of the prescribed work. In consequence of his receiving the degrees by the volition of the Grand Master and not by the will of a lodge, the Mason at Sight is set apart from other Masons. When the ceremony is concluded he is, without question, a Mason in every sense of the word. But in contrast to those who take the degrees in the customary manner, he is unaffiliated and to become a lodge member he must, if that be his desire, apply to some lodge for membership. For most of the 19 th century sentiment in opposition to making Masons at Sight prevailed in many of the Grand Lodges of the United States, a sentiment that was well expressed in 1891 by the Chairman of the

Stewart Miner , PGM, Grand Historian

Foreign Correspondence Committee in the Grand Lodge of D.C., Grand Secretary William R. Singleton. In his report to the Grand Lodge in that year he remarked that:

Very much has been written upon the subject of “Making Masons at Sight” in the United States, and a large number of distinguished writers, Grand Masters and chairmen of Committees on Correspondence, yet contend that Grand Masters have the prerogative (inherent) to make Masons at sight. We have always denied that there never was such an inherent right. The only right must be from the constitutional provision by each Grand Lodge allowing the Grand Master this privilege.

Nevertheless, the winds of change were in the air and on October 21 st , 1899, Grand Master John H. Small made Admiral Winfield Scott Schley the first Mason at Sight in the Grand Lodge of D.C. Small said he did so because he understood that the Admiral was under orders to proceed to sea and take command of the South Atlantic Squadron. The membership records of the Grand Lodge suggest that the Admiral did not seek membership in

• HONORABLE JESSE H. JONES

the lodge that conferred the degrees on him (Benjamin B. French No. 15) or in any other lodge in the jurisdiction. Forty-two years were to elapse before the next conferral of the degrees at sight were to be conferred by Grand Master Ara Daniels, on December 16, 1941, in the auditorium of the Scottish Rite Temple at 2800

16 th

Street, N.W. The honorees, on this occasion, were the Honorable Jesse H. Jones, Secretary of Commerce and Federal Loan Agency Administrator, and General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. The former was raised by Past

Grand Master Charles E. Baldwin and the latter by Sight” manner, he was, in fact, a petitioner of Warren Grand Master Daniels. Carl Claudy, Executive SecreG. Harding Lodge No. 39, in which Lodge he tary of the Masonic Service Association, afterwards became a member. At the conclusion of the cerewrote of this event as follows: mony, Admiral Burke remarked “Perhaps never before has so “Freemasonry cuts across all that his experience of this day unique a ceremony been conmade him appreciate that ducted; the Chief of Staff of the Army and a most important strata of life, regardless of Masonry was attractive because of its procedures, its government official being both made Masons at Sight in the wealth or social standing, history, the things that it teaches, the things that its Capital City of a nation engaged in war.” to give everyone a chance adherents believe, and the things that Masons stand for.

Present on this occasion, in addition to the officers and to excel and to reach his He concluded his remarks by thanking the Grand Master “for members of all the D.C. letting me join so many of my Masonic bodies, Grand and own level of achievement.” old friends.” Subordinate, were the Grand Six years later Grand Master Masters or representatives of – Walter Joseph Stewart William E. Eccleston decided to 17 other Grand Lodges, in town make Admiral John S. for the Grand Lodge session to be convened the McCain , former Chief of Naval Operations in the next day; the Sovereign Grand Commanders of both South Pacific, a Mason at Sight. Admiral McCain, the Northern and Southern Jurisdictions of the Scotincidentally, was the father of the now U.S. Senator tish Rite; the Grand Master of the Grand for Arizona, John McCain. Grand Master Eccleston Encampment of Knights Templar; a Justice of the followed the patterns set Supreme Court, an Ambassador, and a number of by Grand Masters Congressmen and Senators. The ceremony was Daniels and Korman in indeed a great tribute to Masonry at a time when the that he convened an nation was preoccupied with war. occasional communicaThe next Grand Master to use his authority to make a Mason at Sight was Grand Master Milton D. Korman, who like Grand Master Daniels, elected to do so on December 16, 1969, on the day preceding the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge. At that time he made Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN, a Mason at Sight in the presence of a host of Grand Masters in town for the Grand Lodge session on the next day; the Sovereign Grand commander of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite; the Executive Secretary of the Masonic

• GENERAL GEORGE C. MARSHALL

Service Association; and a host of high ranking officers of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Coast Guard. This ceremony was unique in that while the degrees had been conferred on Admiral Burke in the “at tion just prior to the convening of the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge. This tim

• ADMIRAL ARLEIGH A. BURKE

ing again proved rewarding for the ceremony was witnessed by a number of Grand Masters of other Grand Lodges, here for the Grand Lodge Communication, and by an impressive group of starlevel officers of the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Like Admiral Burke, who was present on this occasion, Admiral McCain had previously petitioned a lodge for the degrees. On being brought to light he was thus automatically a member of St. John’s Lodge No. 11, in which he had deposited his petition. Admiral McCain proved to be an active member, and for the rest of his life he made himself available for such services as he could render, primarily by speaking for the Craft and of his belief in

the virtues therein taught. Fifteen years later, on June 9, 1990, Grand Master Charles S. Iversen made Stephen Joel Trachtenberg , President of George Washington University, and Robert S. Carter, a public relations executive, Masons at Sight in the Scottish Rite Temple at 2800 16 th Street, N.W. Both had previous petitioned Benjamin B. French Lodge No. 15 for the degrees, and both became members of that lodge upon the conclusion of the ceremony. Brother Iversen reported that during the ceremonies for Brothers Trachtenberg and Carter, “the allegorical story portrayed in the second section of the Third Degree was narrated by me; and all lectures, excepting the ‘G’ lecture, and all charges were omitted.” It is interesting to note that both Trachtenberg and Carter received, at the

• ADMIRAL JOHN S. MCCAIN

hands of the Sovereign Grand Commander, the Scottish Rite degrees through the 32º in an at-sight ceremony later in the year. The following year, on March 2, 1991, Grand Master Darwin Brock made a handicapped patient resident in the nursing home of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Washington, D.C. a Mason at Sight. The honoree, Nathan Golden , when he was a young man, had petitioned for the degrees, but before his application could be processed, he had suffered an amputation of a leg in Walter Reed Military Hospital. The rules prevailing at

• WALTER JOSEPH STEWART

that time precluded consideration of his petition. Learning that Masonry had modified its stance on the so-called “perfect man” rule, Golden asked, at age 95, if it would be possible for him to now become a Mason. In response, Grand Master Brock conferred the degrees at sight on him in Osiris-Pentalpha Lodge, where he thereafter placed his membership. Brother Golden was a lawyer, and at the time of his retirement from government, he was the Director Scientific, Photographic, and Business Equipment Division of the Business and Defense Services Administration.

The next year Grand Master Jerold J. Samet convened the Grand Lodge in the Caucus Room of the Cannon Office Building at the U.S. Capitol to make George W. White , the Architect of the Capitol, a Mason at Sight. On this auspicious occasion the candidate

• STEPHEN JOEL TRACHTENBERG

was conducted by Donnald Anderson, Clerk of the House of Representatives, and he was obligated in the Master Mason Degree by George R. Adams, then Deputy Grand Master. This conferral was unusual not only in terms of its setting, but also in that an Occasional Lodge of the Grand Lodge and a Special communication of Federal Lodge No. 1, where Brother White placed his membership, were opened and closed concurrently by the Grand Master.

Grand Master George R. Adams, in turn, on September 8, began a Mason-at-Sight cere

• GEORGE W. WHITE

mony that was not to be concluded until September 18 th . Further, the ceremony was begun in the lodge room at Naval Lodge Hall and concluded in Caucus Room SR-325 of the Russell Senate Office Building with the raising of the honoree, Walter Joseph Stewart , Secretary of the U.S. Senate. That event took place in the morning, at 9:00 a.m., prior to the bicentennial commemoration of the laying of the cornerstone of the Capitol later in the day. At the conclusion of the conferral of the Master Mason Degree Brother Stewart, who became a member of Naval Lodge No. 1, thanked the Grand Master, the assembled throng of visiting Grand Masters present, and his many Congressional colleagues present to witness this great moment in his life. At that time he briefed the assemblage on the evolution of the Capitol and concluded his remarks with these words: I have traveled to almost every country in the world

over the past ten years on official and unofficial business. You hear a lot of people complain about America but no one wants to leave it and everyone wants to come here. Why? Because this is a place that everybody can approach as an immigrant, from any station in life, and have the opportunity to advance. This is not unlike this organization, Freemasonry, which cuts across all strata of life, regardless of wealth or social standing, to give everyone a chance to excel and to reach his own level of achievement. I thank you again for coming here to take part in the ceremonies of this day.

The following year, on May 26, 1984, the presiding Grand Master, William T. Jenkins, used his prerogatives to make a Mason at Sight under still different circumstances. The honoree was a soldier, Mark A. Kosanko , who was passing through Washington on a change of assignment. It seems that the Grand Lodge had been unable to arrange for the conferral of the Master Mason Degree on Brother Kosanko during his now concluded tour of duty in the Philippines. Believing that the conferral had been delayed long enough, Grand Master made Brother Kosanko a Mason at Sight and sent him on his way to his new station in Germany as a member of La FayetteDupont Lodge No. 19. The last instance of making Masons at Sight in this Grand Lodge occurred on October 28, 2001, under the authority of Grand Master Grant R. Berning. At that time he made five Masons at Sight in the same communication. Those so honored were Alan M. Hantman , Architect of the U.S. Capitol; Dr. J.P. London , Chairman of the Board and CEO of CACI International Incorporated; John W. Springer, Jr., Managing Partner, Capital Asset Management Group; the Honorable Ronald D. Schiff, Associate Justice, 7 th Circuit in Maryland; and Tony Russo, President and CEO of InPhonic Incorporated.

• MASON AT SIGHT CEREMONY IN 2001

A special feature of this conferral was the summarization of the lessons of the degrees by the recitation of the catechisms for the first and second degrees by Brother Kurt Shlagel of Anacostia Lodge No. 21, who was questioned by Past Grand Master Robert F. Drechsler. In lieu of the lecture normally given in the Master Mason Degree, Brother Sheldon I. Rappeport, Deputy Grand Lecturer, explained in his own words the structure and philosophy of that degree. Brother Hantman became a member of Federal Lodge No. 1; Brothers London and Springer of Benjamin B. French Lodge No. 15; and Brother Russo of Hiram Takoma Lodge No. 10. Thus far Brother Schiff remains unassociated with a lodge in the District of Columbia.

In sum it is clear that when viewed from the standpoint of the totality of the history of this Grand Lodge, the use of the Mason at Sight ceremony has been limited. It was not employed until 1899, and from 1899 until 1989, it was used on only five occasions. From 1990 until 2001, it was used on six occasions to bring 11 distinguished men into the light of Masonry in ceremonies which were adapted to place and hour as necessary. On review it seems clear that in almost every instance the ceremony, as it evolved, has proven to be a unique application of the “inherent power” of reigning Grand Masters. ■