The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

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Chapter 7 - Rituals
The next scene is the Death Scene, in which the strangers are confronted with
Neighbors either arranged in a funeral procession or forming Death Watch. One
of them representing the dead Woodman lies upon a stretcher, and the funeral
bell is slowly tolled. The Forest Patriarch who is in his ordinary office the
Banker orders the Neighbors to sing the hymn "Nearer My God, to Thee." The
Past Consul, also playing a Forest Patriarch, invites the strangers to join the
ceremony and explains to them the devotion of the Neighbors to one another: the
widow and orphans of the deceased will be cared for.
Then the lesson is over, the procession has disappeared into the ante-room,
the room is lighted, the Patriarchs remove their wigs, and the candidate is
instructed in the secret work. He receives the grip and password of a Modern
Woodman, which again corresponds to the Masonic procedure. Just as the
Masons use abbreviations and ciphers, the answer of the candidate whether he is
a Modern Woodman is given in the following cipher: $ £ ( $ [] ]
There are two signs which are only used in a meeting of the Camp, the
Woodmen's sign and the Working or Wedge sign. The first mentioned teaches
that the Neighbors should be ready at all times to strike a blow in defense of the
honor of a worthy Neighbor. The answer signifies that they are mindful of their
obligations. The Working or Wedge sign is used in addressing the Consul and
Adviser, and in voting. Corresponding to Freemasonry, the Woodmen have a
Distress sign, also called Fraternal or Warning sign, which is used to attract the
attention of a Neighbor. If a Neighbor is in distress and unable to attract attention
by using this sign, he is allowed to cry out in a loud voice "I. A. L. I. T. F." 1576 ;
it will then be the duty of a Modern Woodman to go to his relief, if he finds him
deserving.
After the title of Neighbor is conferred upon the candidate, a certificate of
insurance is issued by Modern Woodmen of America as their guarantee to
protect and shield his loved ones from possible poverty (cf. p. 39). A Mason who
is raised for example obtains a certificate which proves that he is a Master
Mason; the whole Woodmen affair instead resembles an insurance company
campaign. Of course, there are also Masonic life insurance associations,
however, this has never been part of the ritual but a voluntary and personal
decision. There are Masonic homes for widows and orphans who are cared for
by the brethren, but this goes rather under the aspect of charity than of insurance.
There are a great many good organizations which are founded upon, and
live by, a system of mutual help. There are insurance societies,
purchasing societies, legal aid societies, charity societies, all excellent
of their kind and in their place. Masonry is none of these, apes none of
these, attempts to do the work of none of these. 1577
Masonry does not contemplate that its followers lean on each other, but
expects them to stand upon their own feet. Masonry does not
1576 As an uninitiated, we would translate this at a guess with "I am lost in the forest."
1577 Claudy, A Master's Wages, p. 98.