The 269th STATED MEETING of Far East Lodge No. 1, F. & A. M. was held at the Masonic Temple, No. 3 Bluff, Yamate-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Japan on the 5 day of December 1979.
A Lodge of MMs was opened in due and ancient form at 19:45 hours with WB Jack C. Barrs, WM in the East, WB Saburo Katagiri, (acting) SW in the West, and Bro. Tadashi Ohashi, (acting ) JW in the South.
The WM recognized the distinguished Brethren and first time visitors as listed in the Tiler's register of this date. He then announced that the usual order of business would be suspended and modified somewhat on the occasion of our annual elections this evening. He then read the appropriate sections of our By-laws and the Constitution pertaining to the election of officers. He also read Article 151 of the Constitution for the benefit of the Brethren. The next order of business was the reading of the minutes of our last Stated Meeting and all subsequent Special Meetings.
The Secretary read the minutes and they were approved as corrected.
There was no Treasurer's report due to the death of our Treasurer and the fact that our records had not been recovered.
The WM then read the bills for the month and WB Hodges moved and Most WB Yamada seconded that we pay our bills. MOTION CARRIED.
Next was the report of the several committees.
SICK AND VISITATION: The WM reported that WB Williams, our Secretary, was very ill and probably would be going into the hospital soon. He said that he would try to keep the Brethren informed of WB Bob's condition. He also stated that Bro. Clark had recently taken the flu or something similar to it and requested that the Brethren contact Bro. Clark and wish him well.
HOUSE COMMITTEE: The WM reported that a suit to vacate these premises had had been entered against him (presumably as representative of Far East No. 1) and Bro. Lloyd Fox (presumably as representative of O.E.S. Chapter No. 2 ) by Gustav R. Swanson, a member of Lodge Star in The East No. 640 (Scottish Constitution) as a representative of a Masonic Corp. in Hong Kong. He stated that he must appear in court in Yokohama on December 18, 1979 to defend himself and the interests of our Lodge or that we must prepare to vacate the Temple. He stated that he had preliminarily retained a lawyer for the purpose and that if the Brethren chose to defend themselves that the lawyer's fee would be ¥3,000,000 as a retainer to defend us and another ¥3,000,000 if we are successful. Bro. Judy moved and Bro. Delpino seconded that we commit the necessary funds to defend our rights as stated above. MOTION CARRIED.
BALLOTING: The Committee of Investigation having returned a favorable report, balloting was held on the petition of Mr. Robert Earl DODD which was read at our last Stated Meeting. Mr. DODD was elected to receive the Degrees of Masonry in this Lodge.
PETITIONS: Petitions for the following were read:
The Lodge was called free from restraint at 2100 hrs. and called on again at 2158 hrs.
NEW BUSINESS: The WM read a list of members who would be suspended as of Dec. 31 this year if their dues are not paid. The list is attached to the minutes of this meeting.
ELECTION: The annual election of officers was held as required by the Constitution with the following named Brethren being elected as indicated:
| Master | WB Saburo Katagiri |
| Senior Warden | MWB Shigeru Nishiyama |
| Junior Warden | Tadashi Ohashi |
| Treasurer | MWB Yoshio Yamada |
| Secretary | WB Jack C. Barrs |
The appointed officers were appointed by the Master-elect as follows:
| Chaplain | David G. Delpino |
| Marshal | Edward M. Reyna |
| SD | Thomas H. Hodges |
| JD | Raymond E. Jewell |
| SS | Harry W. Clark |
| JS | Lonn A. Judy |
| TI | Robert L Williams |
OTHER BUSINESS:
MWB Yamada suggested a time schedule for the installation which he felt would be better for those who would have to travel some distance. The WM thanked him for his suggestion and stated that the hours would be as he had suggested and as they had been in the past.
WB Fogle, WM of Yokosuka No. 20 made remarks on the work of Far East No. 1 during 1979 and about the fellowship and brotherhood he had seen displayed through the year and in particular on the occasion tonight. The WM thanked him for his kind remarks and his support during the year.
There being no further business to come before this Lodge of Master Masons, the WM announced that we would proceed to close.
The Lodge was closed in due and ancient form at 2356 hrs. with WB Jack C. Barrs, WM in the East, WB Saburo Katagiri (acting) SW in the West, and Bro. Tadashi Ohashi, (acting) JW in the South.
(There were 13 Brethren present.)
CORRECTION: These minutes are corrected to show that Demits were requested and granted for the following named Brethren:
Bro. AOKI's dues were also remitted due to the fact that he was in arrears, for 1978 and 1979 but only because the DEMIT he had requested was not issued because of a misunderstanding.
These Demits are issued to avoid penalty to the Brethren or the Lodge because they were properly requested and were not read and granted either because of misunderstanding or administrative error.