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Show 154 its usefulness. 153 l‘rejudice is the mother of ignorance, and ignor- ance has never contributed anything to the progress of mankind. l'raternal orders are doing their part in breaking down these great barj'jcfg to the progress of the human race. l'ractically no jealousy exists between the men in one order and the men in another order. orders. (thentinies one man belongs to several different li'rejudice against men or organizations of men must not be exhibited in the lodge room. ()utside criticism of the fraternal orders must remain unanswered in the lodge room. lodge men have long since learned that their danger does not lie without the lodge, but that their real da tttmw llm'ttm mum cr lies within the lodge. If the lodge permits the personality of its membership to deteriorate, then its membership disintegrates. Men engaged in occupations which tolerate lawlessness are now excluded from all but one of the fraternal orders in the United States. There is an unwritten law in many lodges that a member shall not solicit the member« ship of any man. The application of a new member should mean that the applicant has not only preached, but that he desires to practice the principles of fraternity. Some. not all. members of peace agencies are ready to con- demn other peace agencies without knowing the real facts concerning the condemned agencies; such condemnation is unjust and unfraternal. lonest criticism, on the other hand, is not condemnation: every man and every agency of men need criticism. Strong men and strong :gencies of men encourage criticism and thereby gain much of their strength. Men and agencies of tnen who are afraid of criticism will cover up the truth, and the truth about ourselves is the only thing which will make us free from the ravages of war 7 The twentieth century method of promoting peace is for men who have differences to sit down and reason with each other and not to try to reform each other. Reasoning together will educate the persons concerned and will make the one-half of the world know and understand the other half better. "Wars in many instances are caused by the one-half of the world not knowingT and understanding the other half. Our Civil \Var had been carried on for about three years before our people really understood that the purpose of that war was to abolish human slavery in the United States. The question of slavery could have been settled without any loss of life if the leaders on both sides of the controversy had reasoned with each other in a fraternal spirit with an honest endeavor to find out the truth. Jealousy, prejudice and ignorance played their part in that controversy, and war was the result. Today we are paying a part of the great loss of that war in pensions, and many homes are sad because of broken health or death which was caused by cruel war. Had the question of slavery been settled in a fraternal way some of the money our government is now paying for pensions would have been paid then to slaveholders for their property. the security of which the Constitution then guaranteed to them. The million men who then fell on our battle fields and died from disease in war camps would have been saved to develop our rich and growing country. Men in fraternal orders rejoice in the fact that arbitration is now taking the place of war. Decisions of arbitrators may not always be just, but wars never settle the justice of a cause. \Vars merely settle the question as to which is the stronger party in the controversy. Fraternal men can best advance the peace move- ment of the world by educating themselves to promote peace and to condemn lawlessness and war. If we cease to b‘ a lawless people we will cease to be a warlike people. lf we cease. to be a warlike people at home, then we will cease to be a warlike people abroad in our business and other relations with foreign nations. Other nations will treat us as we treat other nations; if we treat them unjustly, they will treat us unjustly. 11' we treat them in a warlike manner, they will treat us in a warlike manner. If we try to bluff and btilltloze other nations by trying to build the largest navy in the world, then other nations will try to bluff and bulldoze us by trying to build navies larger than ours. Fraternal men should discourage the building of larger Dreadnoughts. Dreadnoughts and large armies do not stand for fraternityl The best advertisement a man or a fraternal order can have is a reputation for truth and justice. The greatest detriment to a man or to a fraternal order is a reputation for bluff and bluster. In the long rtin, the bluff of every man and of every nation will be "called," and the man or nation thus exposed will receive the condemnation of all right-thinking people. Such men and such |
