The "tops" in meetings was the one on May 28th when the Lodge had the rare pleasure of hearing an inspiring address by County Judge George L. Cooke, a speaker of great ability as well as an outstanding example of a self-made man; Judge Cooke well-liked and respected (even the evil-doers whom he is called upon to judge admit he is fair and square) presented a well-constructed and eloquent address as was expected by his friends. The principal and pertinent parts of his remarks follow:
"Our cradle of Liberty in this country," he declared, "was rocked by many of your distinguished members, by Washington, Franklin, Hancock, Warren and many others. We know that your obligations and your ritual inspire men to higher, better and nobler lives and that you devote much effort to works of sympathy and of charity."
"Tonight," he asserted, "while we are grateful for our wonderful and illustrious past in this country and to the men and women who contributed to its creation and to the development and continuation of these great privileges, we are very much concerned as to what may happen in the future both in war and in peace. History tells us that other nations as strong and powerful in their time as ours is now, have fallen and are now nothing but a record of the past. Some fell from enemies from without, some gave way to corruption, indifference and lethargy from within."
In appraising the duties of citizens of this great republic he said it is a truism "That the whole is greater than any of its parts." Today wherever the heel of tyranny, oppression and persecution brings suffering, misery and death to a helpless people this should not only excite, our sympathy, but should cause us to give our aid and our assistance commensurate with our ability so to do."
He recalled a visit to Jefferson's Monticello in Charlottesville, Va., and said "it is fitting and appropriate to recall some of the great works and deeds as we are meeting tonight in a village named for this place.
"Jefferson, 'The Sage of Monticello'" he said, "you know perfected that great document, the Declaration of Independence which was, with the exception of a few words, entirely his work. It was Jefferson," he said, "who declared, 'At times the Federal Government must show its teeth.' His last words were, 'This is the fourth day of July.'
"When the outlook of this country was very uncertain and when men risked their all that we and those who have gone before us and who now lie sleeping in our sacred soil might enjoy the blessings of the greatest government which has ever existed, Jefferson declared, 'We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.' We cannot do less now," said Judge Cooke. "Our boys from this county and from every county are daily leaving their homes, some of them never to return. This fact alone must be enough to awaken within us, those of us who remain home, an unquenchable desire that we shall help in every way possible within our power.
"What a wave of satisfaction and consolation must have swept over this great land when it was announced that we over-subscribed the bond sale of thirteen billion dollars by over five billion. Our great resources must be drained to the last penny, if necessary. What is money in comparison to life? Resources properly utilized have won other wars. We must give everything we have for our fighting men. We must pledge to them our sacred honor and must under no circumstances lay down on the production line. We cannot let them down.
"Let everyone be his own judge," he said. "Are we paying more for certain food products than we should pay because we are not keeping that pledge of sacred honor with each other? Does the 'Black Market' give us cause for reflection, meditation and determination? "
"It is necessary that we deal honorably with each other. How can we hope to succeed as a nation if there be any appreciable number among uŁ who use this great crisis as a means to enrich themselves?
"Our sacred honor or our lack of it goes with us each day into each act we do and into each thought we think. We call our family doctor when someone is sick because we rely upon his sacred honor. This is true with our lawyer, our dentist or whomever we employ in a professional capacity. It applies to our merchants, our artisans, to each and every one of us. Where would our homes be without the tie of sacred honor? What is to become of the nation if we do not embrace this noble virtue and toward each other extend its benefits?
"Where was sacred honor when one strong and powerful nation in Europe caused its army to march into the capital of a small and inoffensive nation and seized it and its people and their property and confiscated their all to its own uses and purposes?
"Where was sacred honor when a nation had its representatives in Washington pretending to work out some plan of peace and at the strike with death upon our unsuspecting men a at Harbor? "We were fooled and fully deceived. These and many other facts" must convince us that there are those who pretend to be bound by the rules of sacred honor who are not and who use their pretensions simply to deceive and to take advantage of us.
"Eternal vigilance," he said, "is the price of liberty."
"It is fine to be kind and good, merciful and generous, but there are those who do not respond to such treatment and who, use our goodness to cause our defeat.
"Enough has occurred for us to draw the deduction that sacred honor means nothing to some rulers and to their immediate advisers. So much for this principle among the rulers abroad.
"We must maintain sacred honor among ourselves here at home in war and in peace if we are to continue as a great nation.
"Here, within these walls which have so often resounded to the noble sentiments of mankind, to charity, justice and brotherly love, is a good place for us to meditate seriously upon our solemn duties now and upon those in the near future.
"An honest man's the noblest work of God. He must not only be honest, but he must fight for the honest way of life in his community and in his country in times of peace as well as in times of war.
"There are such men and women in our country. If they were united in one organization, it seems to me, it would be most helpful."
[LODGE HISTORY]
