payment of dues. For some years past this item has been one of the most annoying in our recapitulations, and while there is yet room for improvement the result of last year's work causes one to be more hopeful of the future. In 1895, with a total membership of twenty-six thousand eight hundred and eleven, there were seven hundred and, thirty-five suspensions, while in 1899, with a total membership of twenty-nine thousand three hundred and twenty-eight, the suspensions were reduced to five hundred and twenty-eight

-an increase of two thousand five hundred and seventeen in membership and a decrease of one hundred and ninety-seven in suspensions. It is also pleasing to note a substantial increase in the number of reinstatements, showing that those brethren who had, through carelessness or otherwise, allowed their names to be stricken from the rolls. of Masonry, are "repenting of their folly," and reuniting with their first love. I am still of the opinion that the number of suspensions for non-payment of dues is a matter that rests largely with the Masters of the various lodges. In years of experience in checking over lodge returns, I have found that the largest per cent of suspensions has invariably been in the lodges that were most negligent in collecting their dues. Under our law subordinate lodge dues become due and payable, semi-annually, on the first days of January and July of each year, and it is made the imperative duty of the Master to see that they are paid in accordance therewith. The strict enforcement of this law will, in my opinion, make the list of suspensions much shorter and show a corresponding increase in the lodge treasury. It is invariably easier to collect a small amount than a large one, and an accumulation of delinquent dues has driven many a good, though unquestionably careless, Mason from our ranks. Where the dues of a brother have been allowed to accumulate for three, five, or even more years, as has been the case in a number of instances called to my attention, it occurs to me that the Master or Masters of the lodges during such time are at least par

ticeps criminis. He or they have violated as stringent a provision of the law as the delinquent brother, and just why one should be severely punished and denied all of the "rights and privileges of Masonry," while the other continues to enjoy the highest honor that can be conferred by his lodge, is a proposition that it will be difficult to reconcile with justice.

NEWLY CHARTERED LODGES.

At the last session of this Grand Lodge you ordered charters issued to four new lodges, and I now report that Special Deputies were appointed and said lodges instituted as fol

lows:

Harbor Lodge, No. 556, located at Lost Nation, Clinton county, June 22d, 1899, by Brother J. H. Keech (435).

Granite Lodge, No. 557, located at Thornton, Cerro Gordo county, June 20th, 1899, by Brother W. E. Randall, Junior Grand Warden (145).

Fern Lodge, No. 558, located at Lorimer, Union county, June 20th, 1899, by Brother G. W. Patterson (483).

Morro Lodge, No. 559, located at Walnut, Pottawattamie county, June 6th, 1899, by Brother G. A. Spaulding (297). Full and complete reports of the work have been made to the Grand Secretary in each case, and the same are now on file in his office.

DISPENSATIONS ISSUED.

No duty that devolves upon the Grand Master requires more careful consideration or thorough investigation than that of granting dispensations for the establishment of new lodges. It is one of those important matters that cannot be regulated by law-nor can any fixed rule be laid down as a basis upon which to operate, yet the final decision in the premises means much to both the craft in general and the lodge concerned in particular. Neither the size of the town. in which it is proposed to locate the new lodge, its proximity to adjacent lodges, or the thrift of the surrounding country

can be accepted as a guarantee of the success or failure of the new lodge. Many small towns have live, prosperous lodges, while in other places of twice or three times the population, the lodges are a failure. I have always believed that the success of any lodge, either new or old, depended more upon the character, energy, and ability of the individual brothers than upon anything else, and in the granting of dispensations I have been governed largely thereby.

During the year I have issued eight dispensations, the largest number that has been issued for some years past, and at this writing have six applications on file, which were received too late for investigation or action, and a number of additional blanks have been sent out since the above were received.

The first dispensation in the following list was continued from last year, and the remainder were issued by me:

February 7th, 1899, Columbian Lodge, Everly, Clay county. S. S. Striker, Worshipful Master; J. L. Dwinell, Senior Warden; Thomas Corns, Junior Warden, and twelve others. Recommended by Welcome Lodge, No. 536.

August 7th, 1899, Full Moon Lodge, Melbourne, Marshall county. W. B. Nason, Worshipful Master; William Aves, Senior Warden; J. S. Boyle, Junior Warden, and fourteen others. Recommended by Eden Lodge, No. 466.

September 4th, 1899, Weston Lodge, Whiting, Mononal county. A. M. Bowen, Worshipful Master; W. H. Bradford, Senior Warden; E. H. Wilkins, Junior Warden, and thirteen others. Recommended by Attica Lodge, No. 502.

November 23d, 1899, Meteor Lodge, Yale, Guthrie county. J. E. Francis, Worshipful Master; James Park, Senior Warden; J. R. Chaloupka, Junior Warden, and twelve others. Recommended by Panora Lodge, No. 121.

January 22d, 1900, Roman Lodge, Conrad, Grundy county. Damon Marsh; Worshipful Master; Frank Stewart, Senior Warden; E. G. Crouch, Junior Warden, and fourteen others. Recommended by Olivet Lodge, No. 436.

January 27th, 1900, Mishna Lodge, Pocahontas, Pocahontas county. A. L. Schultz, Worshipful Master; William Hayzlett, Senior Warden; Joseph Simpson, Junior Warden, and fourteen others. Recommended by Pilot Lodge, No. 467.

January 27th, 1900, Maple Lodge, Jolley, Calhoun county. J. F. Rutledge, Worshipful Master; W. N. Steele, Senior Warden; W. J. Johnson, Junior Warden, and thirteen others. Recommended by Solar Lodge, No. 475.

March 15th, 1900, Cement Lodge, Burr Oak, Winneshiek county. Luther Reed, Worshipful Master; R. Reid, Senior Warden; W. H. Emmons, Junior Warden, and fourteen others. Recommended by Great Lights Lodge, No. 181.

March 15th, 1900, Madison Lodge, Earlham, Madison county. J. R. Thomson, Worshipful Master; N. A. Packard, Senior Warden; C. A. Hodson, Junior Warden, and twenty others. Recommended by Mt. Tabor Lodge, No. 293.

A detailed report of their work and present condition will be made by the proper committee at this session, and you will be called upon to decide as to whether they shall be granted charters upon the showing made.

CHARTERS SURRENDERED.

Four lodges have surrendered their charters during the year, as follows:

August 16th, 1899, Venus Lodge, No. 403, located at Macksburg, Madison county-seventeen members.

September 19th, 1899, St. Albans Lodge, No. 363, located at Earlham, Madison county-thirty-four members.

January 9th, 1900, Globe Lodge, No. 310, located at Union, Hardin county-eighteen members.

May 1st, 1900, Mountain Shade Lodge, No. 279, located at Volga City, Clayton county-nine members.

It will be noticed that, with the single exception of St. Albans Lodge, the lodges named were very weak, and the records show that they have done no work of any consequence

for the past four or five years, some of them having dropped back gradually each year during that time. Certificates were issued to brothers in good standing by the Grand Secretary, as soon as the charters were received at his office, and a majority of them at once affiliated with other lodges.

With St. Albans Lodge, however, a different condition prevailed. It appears to have been one of those cases of discord and strife that occasionally arises in a lodge and effectually prevents its growth for a number of years, or wrecks it entirely. I made every possible effort by correspondence to bring about peace and harmony, and finally had the lodge summoned for consultation, and our Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master, Brother F. W. Craig, appeared for me at the meeting. From the From the very full report Brother Craig made of the proceedings, and a similar report made by the Master of the lodge, I was thoroughly convinced that it was impossible to create harmony among the brethren, and a surrender of the charter was the best solution of the difficulty. Twenty-three of the brothers immediately petitioned for a dispensation, which I issued in due time, as appears elsewhere in this address.

LODGE HALLS BURNED.

Four lodges lost their halls by fire during the year, and in three instances everything belonging to the lodge was consumed. The lodges that have sustained the loss were:

Faithful Lodge, No. 448, located at Runnels; burned September 2d, 1899.

Altar Lodge, No. 362, located at Urbana; burned in November, 1899.

Toleration Lodge, No. 236, located at Fremont; burned November 27th, 1899.

Jordan Lodge, No. 258, located at Moingona; burned March 3d, 1900.

So far as is shown by the records in the Grand Secretary's office, but one of the lodges carried insurance, and it was my unpleasant duty to withold my permission for a circular ask