About Our Wages...

[Torence]

Any of us who have experienced the three principle degrees in Masonry can identify the wages of a Fellow Craft. However, since time immemorial, the demand has gone out for the privilege to travel in foreign countries, work and receive Master’s wages. What exactly are Master’s wages?

Fraternally,
Torence Evans Ake
Secretary - Auburn Park Lodge No. 789 - Crete, Illinois
PM - Arcadia Lodge no. 1138 - Lansing, Illinois
HM - Triluminar Lodge No. 767

[Doug Freyburger]

... the privilege to travel in foreign countries

In the US jurisdictions I know that now equals visiting other lodges.
EAs and FCs here need to go with an MM to attend any lodge other than
their own. The MM is vouched for. He then vouches for his guests.

work

Participate in tiled events. Especially but not exclusively degree
work. I like attending Table Lodge because at them there is a chance
to do extemporaneous talks on the meaning of something in the degree
work. While in the US each jurisdiction has standardized the ritual of
its degrees, there are parts of the Table Lodge ritual that are not
standardized.

and receive Master's wages. What exactly are Master's wages?

The fellowship while attending tiled lodge events. This can be as
simple as a hand shake by the Junior Deacon at the inner door. To me it
suggests that the Senior Warden is supposed to vouch for visiting
brethren. On occasions when a visitor appears without a vouched for
companion I don't recall having the SW specificially included in the
committee.

I've heard one really good discription - At the Shrine Hospitals it is
the volunteer Usher unit that receives the highest amount of Master
Mason wages. They are there when the kids walk for the first time. One
of the Shiner mottos goes like "No man stands taller than when he stoops
to pick up a sick child".

[ptk1071]

Post by Doug Freyburger

... the privilege to travel in foreign countries

In the US jurisdictions I know that now equals visiting other lodges.
EAs and FCs here need to go with an MM to attend any lodge other than
their own.  The MM is vouched for.  He then vouches for his guests.

work

Participate in tiled events.  Especially but not exclusively degree
work.  I like attending Table Lodge because at them there is a chance
to do extemporaneous talks on the meaning of something in the degree
work.  While in the US each jurisdiction has standardized the ritual of
its degrees, there are parts of the Table Lodge ritual that are not
standardized.

and receive Master's wages. What exactly are Master's wages?

The fellowship while attending tiled lodge events.  This can be as
simple as a hand shake by the Junior Deacon at the inner door.  To me it
suggests that the Senior Warden is supposed to vouch for visiting
brethren.  On occasions when a visitor appears without a vouched for
companion I don't recall having the SW specificially included in the
committee.
I've heard one really good discription - At the Shrine Hospitals it is
the volunteer Usher unit that receives the highest amount of Master
Mason wages.  They are there when the kids walk for the first time.  One
of the Shiner mottos goes like "No man stands taller than when he stoops
to pick up a sick child".

Good answer!

[davyjones]

Dear Torence,
Re: Visiors
Seems to me that it should be noted that any lodge has every
right to refuse entry to anyone they so chose to without explanation.
Usually but not necessarily such a refusal is associated with improper
credentials.

Re: Wages
Species is clearly the ancient wage.
For further wages the ritual of the 3rd degree and TVOTSL are
quite helpful.

Sincerely,
Wor. Bro. David Oltmann

  Any of us who have experienced the three principle degrees in Masonry can identify the wages of a Fellow Craft. However, since time immemorial, the demand has gone out for the privilege to travel in foreign countries, work and receive Master s wages. What exactly are Master s wages?
Fraternally,
Torence Evans Ake
Secretary - Auburn Park Lodge No. 789 - Crete, Illinois
PM - Arcadia Lodge no. 1138 - Lansing, Illinois
HM - Triluminar Lodge No. 767

[Doug Freyburger]

Post by davyjones
Re: Visiors
Seems to me that it should be noted that any lodge has every
right to refuse entry to anyone they so chose to without explanation.
Usually but not necessarily such a refusal is associated with improper
credentials.

Visitation is a privilege. Objecting to a visitor is a right. It's
very sad if it ever happens that a member objects and the Master has to
go out to tell a visitor that he can't enter.

I once tried to visit a lodge that I believed to have mutual recognition
with my jurisdiction but that I was not positive did. They took quite
some time before the Master came out and apologized that I could not
enter. I was a California Mason trying to visit a Prince Hall lodge in
North Carolina. By California rules our recognizing the Prince Hall GL
in California came with recognition of PHA in other states. It turns
out recognition going in the other direction hadn't completed yet. No
big deal. Technicalities happen.

[David Cooke]

I think that a Master mason's wages depend on what time period you are
talking about.
At the building of Roselyn Chapel in Scotland in the 1600's, the lord
recorded the wages paid to the workmen. The Master masons were paid 40
pounds per year and the others were paid 10 pounds per year. In today's
wages this comes out to 50,000 pounds or $100,000 for a fellowcraft or
apprentice and 200,000 pounds or $400,000 per year.

fraternally,
David Cooke
PM-Harmony Lodge No.131, Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada
PM-Glenbow Lodge No. 184 Calgary, Alberta

"Torence" wrote in message news:a00f9735-c4a1-4459-bd55-***@glegroupsg2000goo.googlegroups.com...

Any of us who have experienced the three principle degrees in Masonry can
identify the wages of a Fellow Craft. However, since time immemorial, the
demand has gone out for the privilege to travel in foreign countries, work
and receive Master’s wages. What exactly are Master’s wages?

Fraternally,
Torence Evans Ake
Secretary - Auburn Park Lodge No. 789 - Crete, Illinois
PM - Arcadia Lodge no. 1138 - Lansing, Illinois
HM - Triluminar Lodge No. 767

[davyjones]

Dear David,
Needless to say that is rather mind boggling inflation but true as
emigrants from Scotland to elsewhere are known to have received about
5 pounds which covered their entire expenses it seems. And this as
late as the early 1800s. The Crafstmen of course had to justly earn
their wages though in those days.
Can't imagine what a noble's salary might have been back then but
it seems from some reasearches that the average craftsman lived in a
small cottage while the nobility maintained all those immense houses
and castles. And this seems to have been entirely from taxation. But
then many of the nobility were descendants of returning (from the
crusades) Knights Templar whom were well known to be a particularly
violent lot.
Seems that freemasonry has a rather huge problem with rationalizing
some of the past it is attempting to preserve inviolate.

Sincerely,
Wor.
Bro. David Oltmann PM

Sussex #5 Brockville Canada

Post by David Cooke
I think that a Master mason's wages depend on what time period you are
talking about.
At the building of Roselyn Chapel in Scotland in the 1600's, the lord
recorded the wages paid to the workmen. The Master masons were paid 40
pounds per year and the others were paid 10 pounds per year. In today's
wages this comes out to 50,000 pounds or $100,000 for a fellowcraft or
apprentice and 200,000 pounds or $400,000 per year.
fraternally,
David Cooke
PM-Harmony Lodge No.131, Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada
PM-Glenbow Lodge No. 184  Calgary, Alberta

[Richard]

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Cooke" <***@shaw.ca>
Newsgroups: soc.org.freemasonry
Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 3:50 PM
Subject: Re: About Our Wages...

Post by David Cooke
I think that a Master mason's wages depend on what time period you are
talking about.

Of course ... there were no "Master Masons" in the pre Grand Lodge operative
era. The 3rd degree is a post-1717 invention.

Post by David Cooke
At the building of Roselyn Chapel in Scotland in the 1600's, the lord
recorded the wages paid to the workmen. The Master masons were paid 40
pounds per year and the others were paid 10 pounds per year.

The "Masters" was a loose term - they were actually Fellows of the Craft or
Craftsmen. Those who took on apprentices or managed building projects may
well have been termed 'Master', but there was no such masonic degree back
then - and indeed no Master of a Lodge (worshipful or otherwise).

Post by David Cooke
In today's wages this comes out to 50,000 pounds or $100,000 for a
fellowcraft or apprentice and 200,000 pounds or $400,000 per year.

You must remember that a Scottish Pound was worth only 1/8th of an English
Pound, falling in value 10 only 1/12th of an English pound by 1621.
Economic and monetary union (now where have we hear that before) did not
come until the 18th century.

So the chances are that the actual wages were nowhere near a present day
£50K :-)

[Torence]

Of course us Secretaries receive no wages but then again neither can we be fired ...slaves have to be sold.


Fraternally,
Torence Evans Ake
Secretary- Auburn Park No. 789 - Crete, Illinois
HM - Triluminar Lodge No. 767 - Lansing, Illinois
PM - Arcadia No. 1138 - Lansing, Illinois

[Mudge]

Post by Torence
Of course us Secretaries receive no wages but then again neither can we
be fired ...slaves have to be sold.

Butbutbut - we get all the "Soul Candy" we can endure !!!!

That's enough, innit ??

[Torence]

Soul Candy? I think she dances at the club down the street from the lodge.

Fraternally,
Torence Evans Ake
Secretary-Auburn Park No. 789 - Crete, Illinois
HM - Triluminar Lodge No. 767 - Lansing, Illinois
PM - Arcadia Lodge No. 1138 - Lansing Illinois

[cemab4y]

  Any of us who have experienced the three principle degrees in Masonry can identify the wages of a Fellow Craft. However, since time immemorial, the demand has gone out for the privilege to travel in foreign countries, work and receive Master s wages. What exactly are Master s wages?
Fraternally,
Torence Evans Ake
Secretary - Auburn Park Lodge No. 789 - Crete, Illinois
PM - Arcadia Lodge no. 1138 - Lansing, Illinois
HM - Triluminar Lodge No. 767

The wages of a Master Mason are symbolic. Friendship, brotherly love,
relief, truth. come to mind.

[Mudge]

Post by cemab4y

  Any of us who have experienced the three principle degrees in Masonry
can identify the wages of a Fellow Craft. However, since time
immemorial, the demand has gone out for the privilege to travel in
foreign countries, work and receive Master s wages. What exactly are
Master s wages?
The wages of a Master Mason are symbolic. Friendship, brotherly love,

relief, truth. come to mind.

How about the most important - association and social intercourse !!!!

[Torence]

How about advancement within the Craft perhaps even to Grand Mastership? I think it interesting that during candidate development, even in modern candidate education programs, at least here in Illinois, the quest for position in our political branch is never offered up as a possibility for their choice.
Similarly, in officer education programs, the prospect of forming additional lodges is never suggested. To me it seems that a select few from among us have managed to acquire for themselves a privilege to decide such matters.
We fail these days to invite candidates for Masonry to take lodge office. Most newly raised Masons have a chair assigned to them once they are raised. We administer lodge office the same way that we administer the oaths and obligations.
Is it peculiar for me to want options to be defined and a clear choice to be made by the novitiate? Or should we continue in our modus operendi as we always have done before?

Fraternally,
Torence Evans Ake
Secretary - Auburn Park Lodge No. 789 - Crete, Illinois
HM - Triluminar Lodge No. 767 - Lansing, Illinois
PM - Arcadia Lodge No. 1138 - Lansing, Illinois

[Doug Freyburger]

Post by Torence
How about advancement within the Craft perhaps even to Grand
Mastership?

While a candidate, advancement is through the degrees. While a Master
Mason, advancement is through the line, through concordant bodies,
through service, through fellowship, through charity.

Post by Torence
I think it interesting that during candidate development, even in
modern candidate education programs, at least here in Illinois, the
quest for position in our political branch is never offered up as a
possibility for their choice.

Go through line and once you're a Past Master there's a high chance
you'll be asked if you're interested in various types of service at
the Grand Lodge levels. In Illinois it appears that the DDGM corps is
charged with finding their own replacement among the PMs of their
district.

Post by Torence
Similarly, in officer education programs, the prospect of forming
additional lodges is never suggested. To me it seems that a select few
from among us have managed to acquire for themselves a privilege to
decide such matters.

And yet when is the last time a lodge dispensation or lodge charter was
denied by a Grand Lodge? In the two jurisdictions I'm a member of that
has not happened in living memory.

Your point about not mentioning is valid. How much of that is because
our population was declining for so long? After the previous peak it
became more important to preserve the existance of lodges than to
charter new ones. During the previous peak the style was large lodges
not small ones.

Post by Torence
We fail these days to invite candidates for Masonry to take lodge
office. Most newly raised Masons have a chair assigned to them once
they are raised. We administer lodge office the same way that we
administer the oaths and obligations.

I don't understand this comment. There are still plenty of lodges where
new candidates have to go through the chairs or the lodge fails to fill
its line. This is true for fewer and fewer lodges each year in the new
trend of popularity.

Post by Torence
Is it peculiar for me to want options to be defined and a clear choice
to be made by the novitiate? Or should we continue in our modus
operendi as we always have done before?

To me it's about context of progress. Getting a candidate through his
degrees. Presenting options once he's a Master Mason one of which is
the line. Presenting options once he's a Past Master one of which is
serving in a Grand Lodge office of some sort.