Apparently several Brothers have thought that I wrote “When is a Man a Mason.” I did not, but I have surely worn out a few hundred copies that I have carried with me, or given away. Here is the background on the poem.

The article “WHEN IS A MAN A MASON” was taken from the April 1924 issue of “The Master Mason.”

Joseph Fort Newton was the Editor of “The Master Mason.

Dear Editor - It occurred to me that you might like to see a letter which the Boston Masonic Club received from one of its members while at Jackson, Michigan, which was published in a recent issue of the “Club Bulletin.” It shows how the last paragraph of your book, The Builders, does its work in unexpected places. The letter and its enclosure are as follows:

When I was in Detroit yesterday a Mr. Tracy, an Irish gentleman not of the Masonic persuasion, was stopping at the hotel where I was and in conversation with him, be noticed my Shrine pin and remarked that he observed that I was a member of the Masonic Fraternity. When I assured him that I was, he took a large envelope from his pocket and handed me the enclosure, headed, “When Is a Man a Mason?” He informed me that in his travels he picked this up on the train, that he read it over and re-read it and kept on reading it. It appealed to him as the finest sentiment that had ever come to his notice and that he had a large number of copies printed and always carried them with him to give away.

The poem followed.