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Correspondence from Charles Stansfeld Jones to Gerald Yorke
22 June 1948
Dear Yorke,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law!
Many thanks for your notes of 13/6/48 and letter of 17/6/48. Am anxious, as you know, to get outstanding items cleared up as soon as possible. In regard to my own special records, of which you have been so kind as to become custodian, will you please keep these together, in order, to represent the period from just before the Vernal Equinox up to Summer Solstice of this year. Put them in a file, and let them go at that for the present. Thanks a lot for all you have done.
When you get through with use of that series of letters from A∴A∴—1913 on—please return them. This also applies to other items, such as photographs, etc. from files here.
I note your remarks about Swinburne Clymer (he must be quite old by now?) which seem to indicate that you intend to include in the "book" some of the newspaper reports of the American period. You also mention "the history of the O.T.O."—whatever that may mean from your point of view and the actual data in your possession. The following "proverb" happened to come through on the radio this morning: "Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts". This seemed to me significant. I have given you my best advice regarding this "book" project. You, indirectly, suggested that I should mind my own business. What may further be published about the O.T.O. in this country or in the U.S.A. is my business, and I shall make it such should further false reports be published on the strength of newspaper articles of the past, best—so far as possible—forgotten rather than revived. Not having the slightest idea what has been written or is about to be written on this aspect of the Life, I can only say that if you care to send me the details before publication I will check so far as possible the proofs with the facts as known to me. Those facts, however, are really very simple, and it seems only fair to make sure you have them—after which I think you will have practically nothing to write about in that connection, so far as the United States period is concerned.
The facts are these: In 1918 in New York, one man [C. F. Russell] was semi-officially initiated to III° O.T.O. by A.C., my wife [Rubina Stansfeld Jones] and self, in Crowley's studio. The rituals were used. It was not known either to my wife, self or the candidate that A.C. had no right to work degrees in U.S.A. under his Charter from O.H.O. [Outer Head of the Order].
(2) It still not being known to me that A.C. had no such rights for U.S.A., in 1919 nine prominent freemasons of my acquaintance, who had paid A.C.'s fare from New York to Detroit for the purpose of discussion of O.T.O. and Masonic matters, met together with A.C. and myself in a business office and were by virtue of their Masonic standing affiliated to various degrees of O.T.O. (from III to VII) for the sole purpose of being in a position to examine a set of rituals from Minerval to III which A.C. had written as a possible means of healing the disagreement between certain masonic rites. No ceremonies of any kind took place. The rituals were examined and turned down by the Masons in a quite friendly but firm manner. Their temporary affiliation was annulled. Their names never appeared in any scandal.
(3) One man [Albert W. Ryerson], who was excluded from the above meeting and a few other discussion at Detroit Athletic Club, was given (without ceremony) the Minerval Degree, by being allowed to sign that obligation. This one man's wild pipe-dreams about the O.T.O. (together with his knowledge of A.C.'s messing about with his "woman"), plus what was actually printed in the Blue Equinox [Equinox Vol. III, No. 1], produced, and was the only basis of, the vast newspaper scandal—the WHOLE OF WHICH WAS ONE MASS OF LIES.
(4) When Parzival received his Charter for U.S.A. and realized that A.C. had never had any right there of any sort in connection with O.T.O, he officially annulled as spurious any vestige of proceedings, such as the "report" of the one meeting of Masons contained in the official Minute book. He then conferred (not by initiation) the first three degrees on one man (Max Schneider) by allowing him to take the obligations, so as to have one person with whom to discuss certain matters which came up at that time.
(5) At one point while the newspapers were cashing-in by continual reports of an Order which, because it did not exist in the U.S.A., could not be "found", the full truth was voluntarily given to the representative of United News Service, as a "scoop". (He was a friend and a decent fellow). After it was written up by him, and the Detroit papers had promised to accept and print it, it was wired to Detroit by him. Instead of printing it, the dirty swine only published a new series of lies and utterly rejected the truth supplied by their representative. At which he was so upset that he would have resigned his job had it not been for the need of regular money.
Therefore, the fact is, that the O.T.O. NEVER REALLY EXISTED IN U.S.A., and, insofar as it might have appeared to exist in virtue of those temporary nine affiliations, certainly never did so in the sense of having put on (other than in N.Y. as mentioned) a SINGLE CEREMONY OF DEGREE WORK OR ANY SEMBLANCE OF GNOSTIC MASS whatever, and this remained true until such period, whenever it was, that Smith [Wilfred Talbot Smith] clandestinely started some kind of degree work in Los Angeles. Of what went on there I have no record, and if there were any scandals, I have nothing to do with them—except seriously to object to such further besmirchment of an Order for which Parzival (and never A.C.) holds the Official Charter—now useless on account of the lies and suchlike due to A.C.'s indiscretions in Detroit.
Your in Unity and Love,
Jones.
Please note: The O.T.O. Degrees 0—III, of which, from what you told me in a previous letter, you appear to have copies, are not those accepted and used by Cowie [George MacNie Cowie] in London, Windram [James Windram] in Africa, Bennett [Frank Bennett] in Sydney or J.[ones] in British Columbia, nor by Smith in Los Angeles. So far as I know, what you have are those prepared for "Detroit" which were never accepted by anyone nor have ever been used in any O.T.O. Lodge. If, therefore, these contain any statement such as "There is No God but Man", please do not assume that any of the above responsible persons promulgated in Lodge any such doctrine.
I should be grateful for any news of Smith. I dropped him a line and letter returned by Post Office. I inquired to Germer [Karl Germer] and he did not reply. Is S.[mith] still alive?
Jones.
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