Supreme Chapter of Delta Sigma Delta Fraternity
Ritual
Opening Exercises
1899
Supreme Grand Master, *: Brethren, we are about to open a
regularly convened session of the Supreme Chapter of Delta Sigma Delta. Brother
Tyler, you will assume your duties. Brother Senior Page, you will see that all
other officers are at their respective stations, and properly clothed.
Supreme Grand Master: Brother Senior Page, you will advance in due
form and satisfy me that you are in possession of the pass. Done.
The pass is correctly reported, you will now proceed to collect the same from
all present and report to me.
Supreme Senior Page: Supreme Grand Master, your order has been
obeyed. I find all present qualified to remain.
Supreme Grand Master, * *: Brother Worthy Master, where is your
station, and what are your duties in this chapter?
Supreme Worthy Master: My station is opposite to and facing the
Supreme Grand Master. My duties are to assist the Supreme Grand Master and
preside in his absence.
Supreme Grand Master: Brother Scribe, where is your station and
what are your duties in this chapter?
Supreme Scribe: My station is at the right of the Supreme Grand
Master My duties are to keep a record of the doings of the chapter, attend to
all correspondence, keep a register of the membership, collect all dues and pay
same to Supreme Treasurer, notify brethren of meetings, draw and sign orders for
all proper demands upon the Supreme Treasurer, and make a written report to the
annual meeting of the Supreme Chapter.
Supreme Grand Master: Brother Treasurer, what are your duties in
this chapter?
Supreme Treasurer: My duties are to faithfully keep in a public
depository, approved by the Supreme Council, all funds of this chapter, and pay
the same out only on vouchers properly indorsed by the Supreme Grand Master and
Supreme Scribe, and to make a written report of all transactions at the annual
meeting.
Supreme Grand Master: Brother Tyler, what are your duties in this
chapter?
Supreme Tyler: My duties are to have charge of the door, announce
arrivals, guard against intruders, and admit no one except by order of the
Supreme Grand Master or Supreme Worthy Master.
Supreme Grand Master: Brother Senior Page, where is your station
and what are your duties in this chapter?
Supreme Senior Page: My station is in front and at the left of the
Supreme Grand Master. My duties are to prepare and escort candidates, carry
messages, and perform such other duties as the Supreme Grand Master may order.
Supreme Grand Master: Brother Junior Page, where is your station
and what are your duties in this chapter?
Supreme Junior Page: My station is in front and at the left of the
Supreme Grand Master. My duties are to receive and introduce visiting brethren,
assist the Supreme Senior Page in preparing and escorting candidates, carry
messages. and perform other duties as ordered by the Supreme Grand Master or
Supreme Worthy Master.
Supreme Grand Master: And my duty as Supreme Grand Master of the
chapter is to preside at all regular and called meetings. To see that all orders
of the chapters are executed; sign all vouchers drawn upon its treasury; refer
to the Supreme Council all matters regular and accidental which require its
sanctions; appoint regular and special committees, and nominate such officers as
are thus provided for by the constitution or by-laws; and last but not least, to
have a general oversight of such matters as concern the Fraternity, its chapters
or individual members, using all available resources for the preservation of
harmony, and strengthening of its bonds; and so secure a power which shall be
helpful in elevating us as individuals to that ideal position to which our noble
and beloved profession calls us.
* * *. Brethren in …, give the sign of knowledge, …. By virtue
of the power vested in me as its Supreme Grand Master, I now declare this the
Supreme Chapter of Delta Sigma Delta regularly opened and ready for the
transaction of such business as may properly come before it.
Initiatory Exercises
Supreme Grand Master: Brother Senior Page, you will retire and see
if there are any candidates in waiting.
Senior Page salutes and retires, upon his return he presents the candidate’s
name (in full) in writing, with a complete record of degrees or other titles he
possesses, together with the names of Medical or Dental societies to which he
belongs, and any other information obtainable to make a complete record. Such
record is to be placed in a record book for such purposes.
Supreme Senior Page: Supreme Grand Master, I here present the name
of a candidate I find in waiting.
The Supreme Scribe reads the records.
Supreme Grand Master: Brethren, we have in waiting to be
initiated, Doctor ….
If there are no objections, we will proceed to confer the degree.
Brother Scribe, you will take with you the Pages, retire, collect the usual
fee, and administer the preliminary oath.
The chapter will be at ease until the sound of the gavel
The Scribe and Pages retire to prepare the candidate for admission.
Supreme Scribe to candidate in ante-room: Doctor, this you know is
a secret Fraternity. It is composed exclusively of members of the dental
profession and those preparing to enter it. Its aim is to admit none but men of
honor and integrity who shall be an honor to the profession and to the
Fraternity. Secrecy, in any Fraternity of this kind, is necessary to establish
intimate bonds of friendly relationship and confidence, and to secure to the
worthy, fraternal benefits. We do not solicit membership. Someone friendly to
you and convinced of your worthiness has advocated your admission to our
Fraternity. Before you are affiliated you will be required to undergo a mental,
moral and physical ordeal, which shall determine your capabilities as a brother
in this Fraternity. Should you justify our confidence by successfully fulfilling
the requirements, and receive our final approval, you will then be more able to
appreciate the benefits of our Fraternity. It is but just to tell you that some
candidates fail utterly and are forever debarred from membership, while others
have been denied full recognition until satisfactory preparation has been made.
I can assure you that you will be dealt with in all fairness and justice,
tempered with a friendly desire to receive you as a brother of this honorable
Fraternity. "What man has done, man can do." Let this encourage you,
and remember, you are in the hands of your friends. If you do not succeed, the
fault will be your own. Let Knowledge, Strength, and Justice, be your beacon
lights. . . . Before we proceed in this initiation, it will be necessary for you
to take upon yourself an oath or obligation that, whether or not you pass the
ordeal successfully, you will never divulge any of the secrets with which you
are now, or may become at any future time, acquainted. Consider well what has
been said to you and if you desire to withdraw, you now have the opportunity.
If it is your desire to proceed, you will raise your right hand and repeat
after me: I, (pronounce your name in full) do solemnly and sincerely swear, (or
affirm) upon my honor as a man, that to my knowledge, I have never been rejected
or expelled from any chapter of this Fraternity.
I furthermore swear (or affirm) that I will never, irregularly or otherwise,
reveal any of the secrets, secret work, signs, passwords or grips of this
Fraternity with which I may now, or at any time hereafter, become acquainted, or
of which I may in any way become cognizant, so help me God.
When the Scribe re-enters the room the chapter is called to order.
Supreme Scribe: Supreme Grand Master, your order has been obeyed
and the candidate stands fully pledged, awaiting your -further orders.
Supreme Grand Master: It is well, you will instruct the Senior
Page to present the candidate.
Senior Page, with candidate properly clothed in white gown, and hoodwinked,
approaches the door and gives signal.
Supreme Tyler: Supreme Grand Master, there is an alarm at the
door.
Supreme Grand Master: You will attend the alarm.
Supreme Tyler: Who comes here?
Supreme Senior Page: The Senior Page of this chapter with Doctor
…, an honorable gentleman and practitioner, who desires to share the knowledge
and strength of this Fraternity.
Supreme Tyler: What qualifications can he present for our
consideration?
Supreme Senior Page: He is a man of good character, earnest and
sincere in his endeavors to gain knowledge and advancement in his chosen
profession. He promises faithfully to stand by and uphold the principles of
Delta Sigma Delta, and strive ever to be a worthy member.
Supreme Tyler: Has he been advised of the nature of the ordeal he
is required to undergo?
Supreme Senior Page: He has.
Supreme Tyler: Has he promised secrecy whether or not he passes
the ordeal?
Supreme Senior Page: He has promised under oath.
Supreme Tyler: Does he know what Delta Sigma Delta signifies?
Supreme Senior Page: He believes this to be an honorable
Fraternity organized for laudable purposes.
Supreme Tyler: Yes, my brother, and to be worthy of membership in
this Fraternity, you must also have Knowledge, and you must have Strength, both
moral and physical, to enable you to do justice to yourself and to those who may
place confidence in you. To candidate: Are
you in accord with that sentiment Doctor …?
Candidate answers.
Supreme Tyler: Brother Senior Page, you may pass with the
candidate.
Senior Page and Junior Page with candidate pass the various stations, return
to the Supreme Worthy Master and salute.
Supreme Worthy Master: Brother Senior Page, why do you approach my
altar?
Supreme Senior Page: Brother Worthy Master, I have the pleasure of
presenting Doctor …, who has been examined and permitted by the Supreme Tyler
to pass into your province. He seeks further enlightenment. He is in search of
Knowledge, and desires to be fortified by Strength, and believes himself imbued
with a sense of Justice that will enable him to worthily maintain membership in
the Supreme Chapter of Delta Sigma Delta.
Supreme Worthy Master: Doctor …, the Supreme Chapter of Delta
Sigma Delta is a very select and exclusive body, which raises and upholds a high
standard of manliness and professional conduct, to which all candidates for
membership must qualify and subscribe. I will report to the Supreme Grand Master
and will inform you as to his answer. Brother Senior Page, you may conduct the
candidate from the room.
Candidate is then conducted into a side room and the door left open.
Supreme Worthy Master: Supreme Grand Master, there is without Dr.
…, who has passed two provinces of our chapter and now desires to enter, that
he may satisfy us of his worthiness to become a member of ….
Supreme Grand Master: Brothers, you have heard the announcement of
our Supreme Worthy Master. Doctor … comes to us well recommended and has been
favorably reported upon by our Board of Censors. I know of no objection to his
admission. Brother Worthy Master, you may admit the candidate who is searching
for Knowledge, Strength and Justice.
If possible introduce music.
March the candidate in directions to form a …, then around the hall, then
form a …, and afterwards a …, stopping in front of the Worthy Master.
The Supreme Worthy Master leaves his station and approaches the candidate.
Supreme Worthy Master: Doctor …, among the things that came
early to your knowledge was the direction of the rising sun. To the best of your
ability now, please face the east. Doctor, you have lost the points of your
Compass, which of course, is not strange under the circumstances. The lesson it
teaches is this—that trifling things may render us, in a measure, helpless,
and some times entirely so. It is also significant that at times we find
ourselves in need of the kindly offices of a guiding and helping hand. In Delta
Sigma Delta we pledge ourselves to each other to be as watchful of a brother’s
interests as of our own, and to stand by each other in the time of need. As you
are at present unable to proceed alone we will endeavor to lead you in the right
direction.
Brother Senior Page, conduct the candidate to the station of the Supreme
Grand Master.
The Supreme Page raises the hood-wink.
Supreme Grand Master: Dr. …, will you please examine this
substance before you and tell me what it is?
Candidate answers.
Supreme Grand Master: In your daily use of this substance, did you
ever stop to consider its wonderful qualities, which make it stand first among
the metals of the world ? This precious metal, with which we are so closely
allied in our work, is a fit emblem of the noble character that each member of
our Fraternity should strive to maintain, and so deserve to have it said of him—"That
man is as pure as gold." Such high honor is not, however, obtained without
trial and discipline. Gold is refined by fire and must remain in the crucible
until all the dross and baser metals, which have been incorporated with it, are
driven out. Pure gold has nothing to fear from the fire. In like manner a man
with a noble nature withstands the fire of affliction, adversity, or even of
misrepresentation and calumny, and will be able to thwart his adversaries by the
purity of his character. He will endure the pressure of continuous labor and the
hammering and beating of vexatious cares and petty annoyances without breaking
with impatience or passion. Gold, then, with its myriads of rare qualities, its
purity, its usefulness, its strength, its ductility, its beauty, its luster, its
fineness and its precious worth, goes to symbolize a noble character, such as we
all should sincerely endeavor to emulate.
Pledged to each other as brothers, as we are in this Fraternity, the best
that is in us should govern our demeanor towards each other and make us true
both in spirit and in deed. Believing that, united we are strong. What strength
to influence for good, can there not be in a brotherhood whose standard of
character and worth is so elevated, and whose members may always be associated,
by the community at large, with honor and integrity, with worthy deeds and clean
purposes? My brother, does this sentiment coincide with your belief and purpose
in life ?
Candidate answers.
Brother Senior Page, you will conduct the candidate to the altar for the
obligation.
If the Past Supreme Grand Master is present the Worthy Master gives the
obligation.
Past Supreme Grand Master: Brother this Supreme Chapter of …
aims to have a membership composed of the very best and noblest men in the
profession. Intelligence, skill, and a superior order of professional
attainments generally, ate qualifications we seek; but a man with the highest
attainments in erudition and manipulative shill, and without honor, integrity
and honest purposes, is not desired. Such an one would not be congenial to our
members nor we to him. Therefore, a clean record and honest purposes are among
the most important qualifications we demand. If a man is an honor to himself we
feel that he will be an honor to our Fraternity. Honor is one of the most
important qualifications of our Fraternity. It is not, with us, an empty phrase,
but an active sentiment, and constitutes the strength of our organization. It is
not confined alone to our associations with each other, but it reaches out
beyond the bounds of brotherhood, past the pale of party, farther even than the
fraternal feeling. It is expected to influence you in all your future
relationship with Delta Sigma Delta, with the world at large, and above
everything else it must be your guide in your associations with the patrons who
confide themselves to your care. It is unnecessary for me to indicate to you the
nature of your bearing towards your brothers in the Fraternity. Your conception
of good-fellowship will teach you that I need not dwell upon your relations with
society at large—the instincts of a gentleman will govern you here—but in
your professional relationships, I wish to impress upon you the necessity of
honor at all times and under all circumstances. Remember that you are brought in
close contact with all sorts and conditions of the human race. Let your demeanor
toward each of them be dignified and honorable, impressing all of them as an
individual worthy of their confidence and respect. Wear the mantle of your
manhood always about you.
Doctor …, you, no doubt, gave this matter of affiliation with our
Fraternity some thought, before you came to us. And you doubtless believe that
our purposes are worthy of your confidence and support.
We believe that no secret order is conducive to good, unless the principles
upon which it is founded are good, and Truth is its guiding star.
Knowledge is, perforce, the groundwork of any professional calling and
certainly must be the foundation of dentistry. In Delta Sigma Delta, we require
something more than the ordinary standard. No candidate should be accepted here
without proper credentials in that respect. We desire to have our insignia
indicate that the owner of such a badge is worthy of public confidence. In
selecting you, (for no one is allowed to enter the Fraternity by application)
for membership, we had confidence in your honor and power for the uplifting of
our honored profession. The shades of our distinguished predecessors, who have
labored with their lives, have left to us a noble heritage as a grand incentive
to further knowledge in our profession.
Coming so well recommended, we believe you will verify the good opinion .of
your sponsors. You were told that this Supreme Chapter of Delta Sigma Delta was
a select and exclusive body, and such we aim to be, placing our standard higher
and higher as we are able to climb to greater heights. Can we depend upon you to
assist us in the furtherance of such an object?
Candidate answers.
Then it becomes necessary for you to take upon yourself a binding,
obligation, not to reveal any of the secrets of this Fraternity with which you
now are, or may hereafter, become acquainted.
I can assure you upon the honor of a man and a brother of this Fraternity,
that there is nothing in this obligation which will conflict in any way with
your moral duty, or your political or religious liberty. If you are ready to
receive the obligation you will please kneel at the altar.
You will place your left hand over your heart Repeat after me: "I,
(pronounce your name in full), do solemnly swear before Almighty God, in the
presence of this assembled brotherhood as witnesses, that I will be faithful in
all things as a brother in Delta Sigma Delta that I will perform all duties
assigned to me, carefully and thoroughly; that I will, under all circumstances,
uphold the honor and good name .of our Fraternity, and abide by all of its laws.
I do furthermore swear, that I will never reveal any of the secrets of this
Fraternity; that I will endeavor to promote its power for good, and the
well-being of all of its members, by actions, words and deeds, whenever so
ordered, or whenever opportunity be afforded; that I will bear in mind the
golden precept, "Do unto others as you would wish them to do unto
you," so working for its success, that I will sink all petty feelings of
discontent, and in all things strive for Knowledge, Strength and Justice.
I furthermore swear, that should I find a brother in distress, I will lend a
helping hand to relieve and warn him of threatening dangers. I will caution and
advise him against, errors or any wrong doing to which he may have yielded, and
with brotherly interest I will endeavor to guide him into the paths of
rectitude.
I promise not to present the names of unworthy persons for membership, and
swear to protect the Fraternity from anyone whom I know to be unqualified for
membership. I further pledge that I will not reveal to anyone outside of the
Fraternity, or to the candidate himself, that he was rejected by the fraternity
ballot.
I furthermore swear, that my personal conduct in every walk in life, as well
as in my professional calling, shall be such as to uphold the honor and good
name of Delta Sigma Delta; that I will labor for its advancement, and faithfully
&p.. hold its standards.
As a further assurance of my sincerity and good faith, I ask all of the
brothers present to bear witness, and if any who have gone to-that unknown world
are hovering near in spirit, I also call upon them to witness my affiliation.
Hand is placed upon the skull.
With my hand upon this silent temple, once the abode of knowledge—I
solemnly swear to keep, inviolate, this, my obligation,—so help me God."
Supreme Grand Master to the chapter: Brethren, in charging this
newly made brother to fulfill the precepts of our Fraternity, I ask you to
pledge yourselves anew in his presence, to maintain the honor and, integrity
which Delta Sigma Delta imposes upon its members. Do you so promise?
Brethren in chorus: We do.
Supreme Grand Master: Before you, brother, is food for serious
thought. This silent temple was once the abode of Knowledge. It housed the
myriad impulses which go to make or mar a human life. It held the happiness of
childhood, the hope of youth, the stern reality of middle life and mayhap the
honor or regret of old age. It was inhabited by dreams of ambition, it swelled
with the pride of success or shrank with the humiliation of defeat. All there is
of love and hate and hope and fear and joy and grief, has trembled within the
walls of this frail tenement, and now, alas, it stands before us, shorn of its
temporal comeliness, an odd, ungainly, tenantless structure, giving no
indication of the thoughts and emotions that once battled for supremacy within
its confines. Brother, our legacy to the world must be more substantial than
this, if we wish to claim its remembrance, something more than that which is
purely material. We must leave the record of noble words and deeds of charity,
good will and loving kindness. We must assist the helpless, cheer the faint, and
succor our needy fellow man In short, we may say to you, and to each individual
member of the Fraternity, in the beautiful words of our beloved Bryant:
"So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan, which moves
To that mysterious realm, where each shalt take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go nor, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and ties down to pleasant dreams."
My brother, you are, no doubt, impressed to some extent, with the effort this
Fraternity is making to do some good in the profession of which we are all
members; but I desire to impress you with the fact that this effort is not
exhausted in the forms of this initiatory work, but continues through our every
day lives, and sits fulfillment will henceforth be expected of you as a member
of this body. We are a secret society largely, that we may be select and
exclusive in our membership, and associate with us only such persons as we
believe .will truly affiliate with us and co-operate with our endeavor to uplift
and uphold the very highest professional standards.
We realize that the highest standards cannot be reached at a bound, but we
expect by carefulness and thoughtfulness to make the most of the situations as
we find them, thus making the gradual advancement that ultimately leads to
perfection. This is in part the function of this Fraternity.
My brother, you now know the principles of Delta Sigma Delta, and so long as
you adhere to them and walk uprightly, you may be sure of our fraternal support.
If, on the contrary, your conduct is such as to cast reproach upon yourself as a
man and a dentist, and upon us as a Fraternity, you may be assured that you will
be summarily dealt with. By following these precepts, you will ever prove
yourself a worthy member of this honorable Fraternity, whose motto, ‘‘Knowledge,
Strength and Justice", is translated from the three Greek words the initial
letters of which are D S D. The sign of this Fraternity is
"Knowledge," and is given thus —. This you will give upon entering
or retiring from the chapter while in session. When you enter, you are to
advance to the center of the room by lines drawn at right angles to each other,
give this sign to the Supreme Grand Master and await his return of the same, at
which signal you may be seated.
The grip of this Fraternity is given thus: ….
You will now advance to the desk of the Scribe, sign the constitution, and
return to me for further instructions. Done.
As a token of friendship and brotherly love, I now have the pleasure of
presenting to you
this pin, a monogram of the three Greek letters D S D, representing, as I
have previously
explained to you, Knowledge, Strength, Justice. The crown is the emblem of
the Supreme
Chapter. This you are privileged to wear at any and at all times so long as
you remain in good standing with the Fraternity, but which, according to an
article in the constitution you have just signed, can never be the property of
anyone, but must belong to the Fraternity.
Let these emblems of our brotherhood worn by its members be known as badges
of honor worthily worn. Our colors are light blue and garnet, as represented by
the colors of the jewels in this pin.
There remains but one more right for you to receive, and that is the annual
password. The password for this year is …, and should be used only as
necessity inquires. You will now be conducted to the center of the room where
you will give the sign of Knowledge, together with the chapter, which last act
will constitute you a brother, in full fellowship.
* * *.
All together, brothers. All give
the sign.
Brothers in Delta Sigma Delta, I now take pleasure in introducing to you our
newly made brother, …. The chapter will be at ease until called to order by
the Supreme Grand Master.
Closing Ceremonies
Supreme Grand Master, *: If there is no further business to be
transacted at this session of the Supreme Chapter of Delta Sigma Delta, we shall
proceed to close Brother Worthy Master, have you any other business to present
at this session?
Supreme Worthy Master: I have none, Supreme Grand Master.
Supreme Grand Master: Brother Scribe, have you any further
business on your desk to present?
Supreme Scribe: There is nothing, Supreme Grand Master.
Supreme Grand Master: If there is nothing in the hands of the
brethren we are prepared to close. * * *. We
are now about to separate until our next regular meeting at the call of the
Supreme Council. May our conduct be such as shall command the respect of the
profession, and the continued confidence and united support of all brothers in
Delta Sigma Delta.
By virtue of the authority vested in me as the Supreme Grand Master of this
Fraternity, I herewith declare this session of the Supreme Chapter of Delta
Sigma Delta regularly and duly closed. The Tyler will take charge of the
property.