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

Chapter 8 - Categorization of Rituals 665
that the profane world, noticing the things going on, connect Masonry with
capitalism: "Masonry's enthusiasm for business and its efforts to create a
business sector is part of the black middle class's general optimism about 'black
capitalism." 1636
Masonry also deals with building or buying Masonic temples, sometimes in
conjunction with nearby lodges in order to buy a district temple. Sometimes,
Masonic lodges buy buildings in which they also house commercial or rental
property in order to be better able to pay for the building: "The necessity of
choosing and renting to tenants, and supervising their operation provides other
jobs and experience for entrepreneurially-oriented Masons. 1637 Another
important point is the stock market. As Muraskin states with regard to the estate
business, "[t]he preferred form for such ventures is a public corporation with
ownership of the stock in the hands of individual members and the lodges as
units. The whole process provides countless opportunities for acquiring business
acumen." 1638 Talking about stocks, for those interested in seeing a genuine
Masonic share below is illustrated a security the author of this dissertation has
bought at an online auction. It is a promissory note of the Tonopah Masonic
Corporation from the mining sector and stems from the year 1914.
1636 Ibid, p. 146.
1637 Ibid, p. 130.
1638 Ibid, p. 130.
promissory note of Tonopah Masonic Corporation, 1914