The Universal League of Freemasons ( ULF )
has lasted too long : It must now cease .
The congress of Paris is organized under this idea . Let us demonstrate in favor of the idea of union , and study the means and ways that will allow us to achieve this goal .
Reconcile ... and therefore overcome misunderstanding and enmity ? This was the goal , but were they overcome ? Two reports were presented at the congress on these questions . Reading the account in La Chaîne d ’ Union , the two reports were mostly favorable to Anglo-Saxon Masonry , something that could only bolster its stance and therefore keep it from making any gesture towards the “ liberal ” Masonry it rejected .
In this general context , the situation of the ULF slowly deteriorated . Already diminished by the disappearance of obediences in various European countries , it seemed to close in on itself and on a few national groups about which we have no information .
Except in Switzerland and especially in the Netherlands , the League no longer seemed to have national contacts , and the existence of the groups relied mainly on a few dedicated brothers . The situation in Belgium hardly seemed better ! On June 11 , 1937 , Maurice Cock , editor of La Revue maçonnique , published in Belgium , wrote to Henri La Fontaine :
I have little hope of being able to rouse our ULF group and bringing some members to Paris . The
61 appeals I have made in La Revue maçonnique have led nowhere , no more than my appeals in the lodge . We must face the facts : No one is interested . It is utterly deplorable .
We should note that the apathy of our brothers is complete in every domain . Moreover , we must recognize that outside the sentiment of universality that we hold dear ( but that is unfortunately not shared enough ), the ULF offers little to its members , and in fact nothing at all . If we could rebuild a Belgian core , I believe that we would first have to attempt a complete reworking of the international organization . In fact , only two groups remain : The one in Switzerland ( albeit markedly diminished ) and the one in Holland , which has its own national activity . The other groups are more or less phantoms , like ours .
What was left at that time ? The international structures of the League , and therefore the congresses , but in a more restrictive climate their power was very limited and those who listened to the ULF or who wanted a reconciliation of Masonries were rare .
We return to Henri La Fontaine . This aging pacifist never intended to give up the fight , even though he sometimes had his doubts : He was not as concerned with reconciling masons . Only the struggle to prevent war motivated him at eighty-four years of age ,