Brother Henry Agard Wallace, 32°, Prophet Of Agrarianism Robert L. Uzzel, 32°, P.H.A.7041 Sorcey Road, Dallas, Texas 75249–1339Bro. Henry Agard Wallace was an outstanding Freemason whoserved as Secretary of Agriculture, Vice-President, and Secretaryof Commerce under his Masonic Brother President Franklin DelanoRoosevelt.1 Brother Henry Agard Wallace, agreat public servant to America, was born near Orient, Iowa, inAdair County, on 7 October 1888.2At the age of 16, he conducted his first experiments with seedcorn. In 1923, such experiments culminated with the productionof the first successful hybrid seed corn for commercial use. In1926, he founded the Pioneer Hi-Bred Seed Company, of which heserved as President until 1933.3In 1910, Wallace graduated from Iowa State College in Ames,with a major in agriculture. From 1910 to 1924, he served as AssociateEditor; and from the time of his father's death in 1924 to hisappointment as Secretary of Agriculture in 1933, as Senior Editorof Wallace's Farmer and Iowa Homestead, a newspaper founded byhis grandfather.4The four complementary pillars on which Wallace's agrarianphilosophy was based were economics, science, religion, and politics.5 He wrote a number of books on agricultureand politics, including, Whose Constitution?, Paths to Plenty,The American Choice, Sixty Million Jobs, The Century of the CommonMan, Corn, and The Midwestern Farmer, Corn and Corn Growing, andStatesmanship and Religion.6In 1932, Democratic Presidential nominee Franklin Delano Roosevelt,seeking to initiate contacts with important farm leaders, arrangeda meeting with Wallace and was impressed with his views on theneed for basic social and economic reforms. Editorials in Wallace'sFarmer helped put Iowa, a largely Republican state, into the Democraticcolumn.7After his election, President Roosevelt appointed Wallace asSecretary of Agriculture. Wallace immediately confronted the immenseresponsibility of implementing a program of relief for Americanfarmers. In 1938, he influenced Congress to pass the AgriculturalAdjustment Act. At the heart of this act was the idea of the "ever-normalgranary," by which surpluses were stored up in times of abundancein order to achieve stability of farm prices and to guaranteeplentiful supplies of food in times of scarcity.8His ideas on this subject have been compared to that of Josephduring his service as prime minister and chief grain merchantto Pharaoh in ancient Egypt.9In 1940, Roosevelt selected Wallace as his Vice-Presidentialrunning mate. Following Roosevelt's election to an unprecedentedthird term, Wallace played an important role in making foreignpolicy and served as chairman of the Supply Priorities and AllocationsBoard and the Board of Economic Warfare. In 1944, he receiveda major disappointment when the Democratic National Convention,due to pressure from southern conservatives and big-city politicalbosses, dropped him from the ticket and nominated Ill. Bro. HarryS. Truman for Vice-President.10 Rooseveltwas elected to a fourth and final term and gave Wallace the positionof Secretary of Commerce as a consolation price. On April 12,1945, Roosevelt died and Truman became President. In September1946, Wallace resigned his office in a dispute over policy towardthe Soviet Union.11After a brief tenure as editor of The New Republic (1946-47),Wallace announced his candidacy for President on the ProgressiveParty ticket in Chicago on 29 December 1947.12He saw the Progressives as the true heirs of the New Deal, a legacyabandoned, he thought, by Truman.13Wallace received only 1,157,326 votes compared to 24,105,182 forTruman; 21,970,065 for Republican Thomas E. Dewey, and 1,169,063for Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond.14Wallace was initiated as an Entered Apprentice on 20 September1927, passed to the Degree of Fellowcraft on 27 September 1927,and raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason on 4 October1927 in Capital Lodge No. 110 in Des Moines, Iowa.15He received the 32nd Degree in the Des Moines Scottish Rite Bodieson 23 November 1928. After moving to Washington, D.C., he affiliatedwith the District of Columbia Scottish Rite Bodies on January15, 1935.16 He continued his Masonicinvolvement throughout his years as Secretary of Agriculture,Vice-President, and Secretary of Commerce.On 7 October 1932, while still editor of Wallace's Farmer,Wallace received a letter from S. R. Linn of Story County StateBank in Roland, Iowa, inquiring as to the religious denominationand Masonic affiliations of Louis Murphy, the Democratic candidatefor U.S. Senator. In his reply, he stated that he did not havethe answer to this question and said: "My suggestion is thatin politics you forget all about Masonic and church affiliationsand concentrate on the problems of economic justice."17In 1934, while serving as Secretary of Agriculture, Wallace,for the first time, saw a picture of the reverse of the GreatSeal of the United States and took it to the President. He reported:"Roosevelt, as he looked at the colored reproduction of theSeal, was first struck with the representation of the all-seeingeye—a Masonic representation of the Great Architect of theUniverse. Next, he was impressed with the idea that the foundationfor the new order of the ages had been laid in 1776 but that itwould be completed only under the eye of the Great Architect.Roosevelt, like myself, was a 32nd Degree Mason. He suggestedthat the Seal be put on the dollar bill."18  Brother Wallace (l.) conferring with William S. Knudson, former Production Manager of Ford Motor Company, then Director General of the United States Office of Production Management, 1941–1945. Photo: Library of Congress On February 19, 1942, while serving as Vice President, he wrotea letter to Major Charles S. Coulter, Director of Welfare forthe Masonic Service Association, in which he stated: "I knowthat the Masons are motivated by the highest sense of patriotism,as they have always been from the very moment of the foundingof the Republic. I know your sole concern is that which will bestserve our beloved country. I am glad to know of the mechanismyou have for service and the spirit in which you propose to serve.The very heart of the nation is respect for the individual humansoul. The present struggle, therefore, is one which should arouseto the utmost that which is deepest and best in Masonry."19Wallace appears to have temporarily dropped out of Masonryshortly before launching his 1948 Presidential campaign. He demittedfrom the District of Columbia Scottish Rite Bodies on 2 December1947 and from Capital Lodge No. 110 on 13 January 1948.20 While serving as editor of The New Republic,he settled near South Salem, New York, at Farvue Farm, which heand his sister had purchased in 1945. After the 1948 campaign,he spent most of his time on the farm, resuming his genetic experimentswith corn, poultry, gladioli, and strawberries.21On 10 December 1955, he wrote a letter to former PresidentTruman saying: "It deeply disturbs me to refute statementsfrom time to time which indicate differences between you and me—wewho have served the same government and the same party and, fora time, in the same capacity."We have both taken the same Masonic vows. We both striveto serve the same God and at this joyous Holiday season we canboth pray that the Message of the Prince of Peace will finallycarry weight on earth even as it triumphs in Heaven."22 The subsequent article which appearedin The New York Times described Wallace and Truman as "fellowMasons."23On 11 February 1964, after 16 years with no active involvementin Masonry, Wallace affiliated with Kisco Lodge No. 708 in MountKisco, New York.24 On 29 May 1964,Wallace wrote to Lloyd K. Perry, Secretary of the Des Moines ScottishRite Bodies, stating that he had affiliated with Kisco Lodge No.708 and had decided to become an active, dues-paying member ofa New York Scottish Rite Temple.25On 1 June 1964, Perry wrote back, expressing pleasure in Wallace'splans and sadness at the news of the death of a Brother Koch,a mutual friend who had encouraged Wallace to reinstate. Perrystated: "Having known of Brother Koch's interest in you,I know that he would have been very happy to learn that you arein the process of restoring your membership."26On 10 September 1964, Wallace was elected to membership in theLong Island Scottish Rite Bodies. In his letter of acceptance,Secretary Henry R. Horne wrote: "We are very glad to haveyou with us and we hope that you will spend many pleasant yearsof association with our Valley."27Sadly, Wallace did not have "many pleasant years"left. In early 1965, he was diagnosed as having amyotrophic lateralsclerosis, the rare and fatal disease of the nervous system thathad claimed the life of New York Yankee star Lou Gehrig. Thiscondition grew progressively worse. On 18 November 1965, Wallacedied in Danbury Hospital in Danbury, Connecticut. He was 77 yearsold.28 The official autopsy gavethe cause of death in clinical terms but did not record "theundaunted courage of a man waiting patiently until released fromlife by his maker."29Wallace's funeral was held on Saturday 20 November 1965 atSaint Stephen's Episcopal Church in Ridgefield, Connecticut, acommunity across the state line not far from South Salem. Wallacehad attended Saint Stephen's for a number of years. The servicewas followed by cremation at the Mountain Grove Crematorium inBridgeport, Connecticut.30On 22 November, a memorial service was held at Saint Paul'sEpiscopal Church in Des Moines. On the following day, the cremainsof Henry Wallace were interred in the Wallace family plot at GelendaleCemetery in Des Moines.31 In January1966, Scottish Rite Masons in New York were informed of the deathof a new, yet-beloved 32° Brother: "It is with a feelingof regret that we note the passing of this distinguished Botherof our own Valley. He spent many years of his life in the serviceof his country and for humanity…. On September 10, 1964,he affiliated with the Valley of Rockville Centre. It is to beregretted that between his late affiliation with our Bodies andhis early passing from our midst so few of us had the opportunityto know better this great public servant and Mason."32When the Long Island Chapter of Rose Croix celebrated the Feastof the Paschal Lamb at the Freeport High School Auditorium inFreeport, New York on Maundy Thursday, 7 April 1966, Wallace wasamong a number of Scottish Rite Masons remembered during the "Eulogyto the Dead."33Wallace's life's priorities are best expressed by the wordsof Micah 4:3-5 (one of his favorite Scriptures):"And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strongnations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift upa sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his figtree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lordof hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one inthe name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lordour God for ever and ever."34Endnotes1 Roosevelt was a member of HollandLodge No. 8 in New York City; see William R. Denslow, 10,000Famous Freemasons (Columbia, Mo.: Missouri Lodge of Research,1961), 4:66.2 Robert L. Shadle, "Wallace,Henry Agard," in James S. Olson, ed. Historical Dictionaryof the New Deal: From Inauguration to Preparation for War(Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Press, 1985), 524. Henry Cantwell Wallace,father of Henry Agard Wallace, was a member of Pioneer Lodge No.22 in Des Moines, Iowa; see Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons,4:291.3 Shadle, "Wallace, Henry Agard,"525.4 Ibid.5 Ibid., 134.6 Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons,4:291.7 Ibid.8 Henry A. Wallace, 32nd Degree,"2. Source: Long Island Scottish Rite News (January 1966):2.9 Shadle, "Wallace, Henry A.,"526-27.10 Shadle, "Wallace, HenryAgard," 527. Truman was a member of Belton Lodge No. 450in Belton, Missouri and had served as Grand Master of Masons inMissouri from 1940 to 1941; see Allen E. Roberts, Brother Truman:The Masonic Life and Philosophy of Harry S. Truman (HighlandHills, Va.: Anchor Communications, 1985), 241.11 Shadle, "Wallace, HenryAgard," 527.12 Richard J. Walton, HenryWallace, Harry Truman, and the Cold War (New York: VikingPress, 1976), 181.13 Walton, Henry Wallace, HarryTruman, and the Cold War, 193-94.14 Walton, Henry Wallace, HarryTruman, and the Cold War, 245. Dewey was a member of KaneLodge No. 454 in New York City; see William R. Denslow, 10,000Famous Freemasons (Columbia, Mo.: Missouri Lodge of Research,1957), 1:312. Thurmond is a member of Concordia Lodge No. 50 inEdgefield, South Carolina; see Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons,4:240.15 William R. Kreuger, Librarian,Iowa Masonic Library, personal letter, 2 February 1999.16 Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons,4:291.17 S. R. Linn, personal letterto Henry A. Wallace, 6 October 1932; Henry A. Wallace, personalletter to S. R. Linn, 7 October 1932. Henry A. Wallace Papers,University of Iowa Libraries.18 M. L. Lien, "Two SidesBut Only One Die: The Great Seal of the United States," TheRetired Officer (June 1982): 33. In recent years, much hasbeen said about the Masonic origins of the Great Seal, both byMasons who desire to exaggerate the influence of their fraternityon American institutions and by anti-Masons who seek evidencefor a "world-wide Masonic conspiracy." Research indicatesthat the Masonic influences in the development of the Great Sealhave been greatly exaggerated; see S. Brent Morris, "TheEye in the Pyramid," The Short Talk Bulletin 73 (September1995): 3-8.19 Henry A. Wallace, personal letterto Charles S. Coulter, 19 February 1942. Henry A. Wallace Papers,University of Iowa Libraries.20 Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons,4:291.21 Dan Hall, "Henry WallaceDies at 77: Is Hailed as Humanitarian," Patent Trader,21 November 1965, 17.22 Henry A. Wallace, personal letterto Harry S. Truman, 29 December 1955. Henry A.Wallace Papers,University of Iowa Libraries.23 "Wallace Assails Truman'sCharge," The New York Times, 1 February 1956.24 Membership Archives, Grand LodgeF.&A.M., State of New York, personal letter, 8 April 1999.25 Henry A. Wallace, personal letterto Lloyd K. Perry, 29 May 1964. Henry A. Wallace Papers. Universityof Iowa Libraries.26 Lloyd K. Perry, personal letterto Henry A. Wallace, 1 June 1964. Henry A. Wallace Papers. Universityof Iowa Libraries.27 Henry R. Horne, personal letterto Henry A. Wallace, 11 September 1964. Henry A. Wallace Papers,University of Iowa Libraries.28 Markowitz, The Rise and Fallof the People's Century, 322-23.29 Schapsmeier and Schapsmeier,Prophet in Politics, 239.30 "New Dealers Among the300 at Simple Service for Wallace," The New York Times,21 November 1965, 87.31 "Final Tribute for Wallace,"Des Moines Register, 23 November 1965, 5.32 Henry A.Wallace, 32nd Degree,2.33 Program for Feast of the PascalLamb, Long Island Chapter of Rose Croix, Ancient and AcceptedScottish Rite, 7 April 1966.34 Part of this passage was quotedin Hall, "Henry Wallace Dies at 77," 17.  Robert L. Uzzel is a member of the Scottish Rite Research Society and the Philalethes Society. He is a member of Goodwill Lodge No. 313, P.H.A., Waxahachie, Texas, and Dale Consistory No. 31, Dallas, Texas; and Zakat Temple No. 164, Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Dallas, Texas. A Fellow and Director of Public Communication for the Phylaxis Society, he holds a Ph.D. (1995) from Baylor University in World Religions, serves as an Adjunct Instructor at Cedar Valley College, Lancaster, Texas, and Tarrant County College, Hurst, Texas, and pastors Forest Hill African Methodist Church, Fort Worth, Texas. |
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