Et voila la traduction!
According to proponents of Russell’s membership in freemasonry, the Russells, father and son, would have been particularly prominent Masons, the proof being that Russell would have built up a para-Masonic organization in order to support the claimed purpose of
freemasonry: a plot to destroy Christianity.
In support of their thesis, however, these proponents cannot produce a single Masonic document proving the father and son’s Masonic membership. They take refuge behind their belief that because Masonic works are secretive, it is impossible to find anything at
all. Therefore, they use indirect “proofs”: the use of famous Masonic symbols, the fact that the first Bible Students organized public meetings in Masonic temples, etc. ...
There are numerous history books about Masonry which explain in detail the functioning of a Masonic hall, give the names of the main officers, even sometimes a list of all the members.
Allegheny County [PA], where Russell lived and organized his movement until 1909, also has its own books dealing with the local history of its Masons. If Russell had been a prominent member of this lodge, one would think that he could have left some traces in the records of the community.
The following book is about Allegheny’s Masonic Fund Society which oversaw the construction and maintenance of the city’s Masonic Temple:
“The history of the Masonic Fund Society for the county of Allegheny from the year 1847 to 1923; with biographical sketches of deceased members of the Board of Trustees ...” / by Hiram Schock, Pittsburgh, PA : 1923
You will find it on the net at this link: http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/pitttext-idx.pl?notisid=00hc0513m&type=header
Besides the construction of the various temples over the years (1911, 1845, 1889, 1914), it describes the daily managment of these temples and supplies the names of the various Masons in charge at the time.
It can be immediately stated that at no time is any member of Russell’s family mentioned in the account. If the Russells, father and son, were Masons, they were only obscure members, not prominent masons in this city. Neither of these two men were considered
worthy of being mentioned, not even a single line written about them.
So let’s consider an often raised point:
Because Russell gave speeches in Masonic Temples, it must be that he came to visit his Masonic brothers at the same time he came to deliver speeches to the public.
In fact, the history of the Allegheny Temple paints a different picture: in an effort to cover the costs of maintaining and renovating their temples, Masons rented out a room in their temple for public meetings, whether it be religious groups (YMCA, Baptist), plays or concerts.
On page 126 of the abovementioned document, for example, the author states:
“It is interesting to note the continued popularity of the Auditorium, or ‘Concert Hall’ of the Masonic Hall during that era as a gathering place for the meetings of a variety of organizations.”
On this same page, it is explained that the masons would rent the room daily to the local YMCA.
In the course of the book, other groups are shown to have used the Masonic Temple as a place of meeting:
Page 125: The Second Baptist Church rented the room for its religious meetings
Page 133: concerts and charity meetings of the ladies of Trinity Episcopal Church
Page 146: Here we learn that before the construction of the Opera house, the Masonic
Temple was the most popular cultural venue for theater performances and public
discourses.
So here is the reason why Russell gave his speeches in this kind of place: the Masons
rented their room to balance the books and pay for the overhead costs.
