The Universal League of Freemasons ( ULF )
The review did not appear until 1931 , when it was published in several languages and was called La Heroldo ( The Herald ). It therefore took almost five years to create it , reflecting difficulties in organization . Setting up an office in Vienna was not the least among them , since the headquarters of the League had resided with the president until then . With this office , the League guaranteed a permanent headquarters capable of providing documentation to members and national groups throughout the world , responding to inquiries , preparing congresses , and maintaining the archives and history of the organization . It also made it easier to receive visits from brothers from different countries , give indications on masonic literature to researchers , assist in the creation of libraries in lodges , and organize conferences . The president retained significant powers .
A look through the league ’ s statutes helps us to understand its functioning . They indicate that there existed an executive committee elected for five years by the general assembly . It consisted of five members with executive powers : a president , a vice-president , a secretary-treasurer , and two members .
This council was supported by the manager of the central office . For organizational reasons , the five members of the executive committee had to live in the same region , in principle . 4
There also existed an administrative committee ( or council ) composed of the executive committee , presidents of the national groups , honorary members , and delegates 5 chosen by the executive committee through cooptation .
The executive committee , the general secretary , the presidents of the different groups , the honorary members , and the executive members coopted by the committee formed the executive council , which was a third structure with relatively ill-defined powers .
As is proper , a general assembly met each year during the congress .
In 1927 , in Basel , the first congress of the “ new ” League was organized in the presence of brothers from fifteen countries in Europe and overseas . 6 The decisions made in 1926 were confirmed and others were taken . For example :
It was decided to publish a series of monographs on Masonries in different countries , to write a
4 This last point may be surprising for an association claiming to be universal . There is little doubt that the members believed it was the best solution for managing the structure at a time when travel was long and costly . It also reflected the reality of the League , which was more European than global in its daily life , at least for the most part ...
5 These delegates named by cooptation by the executive committee were brothers “ capable of rendering exceptional service to the organization of international masonic relations ” ( Article 12 of the statutes ).
6 This notion of “ overseas ” ( outre-mer ) does not correspond to the contemporary French meaning of “ outre-mer ,” as in French overseas territories . In the minds of the Leaguers , it applies to non-European countries , as understood in the passage of a book by Théo Marti ( Des hérésies maçonniques à l ’ histoire de la LUF ( Brussels : Lielens Editeur , 1978 )), when he discusses the participation of American or Egyptian brothers in meetings of the ULF as representing “ overseas countries ” ( pays d ’ outremer ).
47