Part 498: The Financing of Scottish Rite Theaters, 1905
In yesterday’s post, I talked about the financial incentive for Sovereign Grand Inspector General’s to increase the membership of 32nd degree Masons in their Orient (State); a 1905 resolution allowed them to received $2.00 per incoming 32nd degree Mason until its repeal in 1909. During that time, membership was skyrocketing. The situation was comparable to the goose that laid the golden egg. There was a belief that future dues from a continually increasing membership would support the construction and maintenance of ever-increasing Scottish Rite homes. The idea that membership would always increase was not a realistic scenario and no one anticipated any decline, stock market crash, or a world war. No one also realized that during times of plenty, many Masonic leaders would not invest the funds into the maintenance and repair of their buildings as they aged; deferred maintenance would become the norm and is now causing many insurmountable problems.
There was something else, however, that facilitated the growth of the Fraternity during this first “golden age” of Masonic construction – the financing!
While I was doing research at the University of Texas’ Harry Ransom Center during the fall of 2016, I came across an intriguing letter from the western sales representative of M. C. Lilley & Co. – Bestor G. Brown. Again, Brown was the Past Grand Master for the State of Kansas in 1903. Brown belonged to many other Masonic orders, and was known as the only “Masonic Stage Carpenter” in the country. He also was the stage director for the Scottish Rite in Wichita, Kansas. Brown moved to Kansas City in 1904 where the regional offices for M.C. Lilley were located and formed quite a financial enterprise. As I mentioned yesterday, for Scottish Rite scenery and stage machinery production, Brown – on behalf of M.C. Lilley – subcontracted all work to Sosman & Landis of Chicago. Brown’s employer, M. C. Lilley and Co. was an established business with deep pockets; they could wait a while for payment on goods. THAT is what was needed to push the Scottish Rite into outfitting their theaters, sometimes beyond their means, with state-of-the-art stage systems. Many Scottish Rite theaters rivaled any counterpart on Broadway, Chicago, or the West Coast. Everything was top of the line at the time.
In 1913, Brown was negotiating a sale of stage machinery and a used scenery collection with the Austin Scottish Rite Bodies. He used their standard financing formula, allowing the Austin Scottish Rite Bodies to purchase 64 of Guthrie’s drops for $1,650. The drops had been accepted on credit toward the purchase of a new scenery collection in Guthrie, their first scenery collection was only eleven years old. Here were the standard terms for the production of a painted scenery collection, the manufacture of props, construction of costumes, delivery of stage machinery, stage lighting and the completed installation- a third due upon installation (in cash), a third due the following year, and the final third due in two years.
This financing was standard for most Scottish Rite endeavors delivered by M.C. Lilley. I am unsure how many other scenic studios or regalia suppliers cold afford to carry the debt of Scottish Rites across the country at that time. Brown even wrote, “In fact, if we had not been able to carry the Bodies in the Southern Jurisdiction as we have, we believe that fully one half of the development of the past ten years would not have been possible.” It becomes understandable why M. C. Lilley and their subcontractors dominated the market. From 1900 to 1904 there were a total of seven Scottish Rite Theatres outfitted with scenery and stage machinery by Sosman & Landis. From 1905 to 1909, there were sixteen Scottish Rite Theatres outfitted with scenery and stage machinery by Sosman & Landis – almost double. Between 1910 and 1915, there were another eighteen Scottish Rite Theatres outfitted with scenery and stage machinery by Sosman & Landis. This was simply their share of the Masonic market and represented approximately one quarter of all incoming work.
I believe that the special financing for Scottish Rite Bodies was HUGE! It presents how Scottish Rites were able to purchase state-of-the-art scenery, props, lighting and costumes; they were buying everything on credit and only had to pay a third upon receipt of goods. To pay off the new building and theater simply meant increasing membership numbers to generate even more income. It appeared to be a win-win situation.
Was everyone on board with the construction of Scottish Rite theaters and the staging of degree work? No, for many it went against the teaching and guidance of long-time Grand Commander Pike who reigned over the Southern Jurisdiction from 1859 to 1891. Although the Supreme Council had other Grand Commanders, there was no longer a unified vision directing the Scottish Rite. There were those who understood Past Grand Commander Pike’s desire that all of the members should take their time with the degrees to fully understand the Masonic instruction. There were others who saw the massive infusion of wealth into the organization. In 1915 an argument was made for the use of staged degree work in “Transactions of the Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction” –
“The interpretation of a degree, either by picture or stage scenery or other adjuncts, and most frequently, is, allowable, because men may be taught through the eye and frequently with more ease and facility than through the ear” (page 84).
True, and the demographic had shifted over the past century to include those who were not the top intellectuals of the country. There were many farmers, ranchers, businessman, and others from the rising middle class of American Society. It was no longer a group of visionaries who supported public education, riding the crest of every social wave that washed over America.
The Fraternity had survived a period of anti-Masonic sentient during the nineteenth century. The few brilliant men who were prevalent in the order at the beginning of the 18th century were replaced with hoards of “good men” by then end of the nineteenth century. There were still brilliant intellectuals, but they no longer dominated the organization. For some, the Scottish Rite became a social organization, with the great potential for networking their business; others held onto the message and potential to better mankind. Membership growth and massive candidate classes and increased activities blurred the divide. During the early nineteenth century, the enormous infusion of cash allowed some to place the construction of massive stone monuments ahead of the Fraternity’s mission. These large buildings were perceived as the Fraternity’s crowning glory – look what we achieved! In some cases it was a competition to see who could build the biggest and best in their Orient. Sometimes it became more about the building than the everyday message that the Fraternity offered to better the world.
To be continued…
