Is is Expected That I only Do Business With a Mason ?
ne problem which confronts a newly made mason is his supposed obligation to give his business to fellow Masons rather than the profane. Masonry is most emphatically not a back scratching organization, a Board of Trade, a Chamber of Commerce or a mutual admiration society. There is no obligation, actual or implied, which demands that, because you have become a Mason, you must forsake all those with whom you have been doing business who are not, and give your orders to brethren who may or may not, be equally satisfactory as tradesmen. Other things being equal, it is brotherly to give your business where it will help a fellow Mason. But other things must BE equal. If the twin born with you sold poor shoes at fancy prices, while your neighbor’s son sold good shoes at reasonable prices, you would not buy of your own blood brother. To do so would be to injure yourself and your family, since you would be wasting your money. Exactly the same idea applies to your fraternal brother. The man who
