Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-08-18

lut Oc4ptO III ~44OuOous Ou OnC bduAo
of the Thames, was a wonder of archi-
t%ectural beauty. and was the head
quarters for England. Here they
left a monument, enduring to our own
times. in the shape of the Temple
church, in which some of their tombs
may yet be seen. Their wealth and
power at last became the cause of
their downfall. The church had
long regarded them with a greedy eye.
and, in 1872, Edward Ii. Of England
received a bull from Pope Clement V.
for their suppression. From 1907,
when Grand Master Jacques de Molai
was arrested in Paris, until 1913,
when he persisted at the stake outside
the walls of that city, the order in
France passed through a terrible or
deal, and, with the smoke from the
grand masters funeral pyre, the ac-
tual medieval Templarism closed for
ever.
Coeval with the institution of mill
tary knighthood was that OF Free Ma
sonry. 1t was an age of religious fra
ternities. Men banded together for
mutual protection against the aggres-
~siveness of the feudal lords or the
rapacity Of the princes of the church.
Necessary as they we're to the nobility,
the Masons being trained and skilled
in architecture, they soon felt their
power and Importance, and to maintain
its effected organizations as a secret
fraternity having three degrees. Into
this brotherhood we're admitted only
those who had devoted themselves to
the science Of architecture, more espe-
cially church building. The three
degrees of entered apprentice, .
fellow craft" and master mason
were not attained without due and
fitting preparation. Each step was
proven, and in days when diplomas
were almost unknown, when few could
read, and fewer still could write, the
catechism of Masonry, the password
and signs Of recognition, we're abso-
lutely necessary to distinguish the free
and accepted Masons from the slave
or hireling laborer. Near each cathe-
dral in course of erection the brethren
erected for themselves a home, where
they lodged, where they met after the
labors of the day, and which
was the origin of the lodge of
the speculative Free Masonry ofmod-
ern times. As the Masons increased
in numbers and influence they cut
themselves loose from the leading
strings Of the church, though they
still we're loyal, and from that time
the bishops and abbots of central Eu-
rope, as well as the petty German
princes, looked with disfavor ION the
brethren" and prosecuted them. The
blessed" reformation was not much
of a blessing to them, as church
building ceased, and mems minds be-
came imbued with the iconoelastic
spirit which promptedthe to destroy
rather than to build. Still the Ma
sons preserved their organization, and
in April, A. D. 1859, held their first
conclave at Ratisbon, at which the
architect Of the magnificent cathedral
Of Strasburg was made grand master,
and his lodge the grand lodge of the
world. From the continent Masonic
ism was taken to England and Scot
land, where finding congenial soil, it
grew and hourished for one hundred
years, when it ceased to be practical,
by the admission of persons not prac.
tical builders, and thus became the
speculative Free Masonry Of to-day.
Of its rapid rise and development
in the United States little need be
said here. 1t has grown up with the
country, receiving a severe setback
in 1882, indeed, in the Morgan anti
Masonic war, but speedily recuper-
ated, and now numbers its member
ship by thousands.
Knights Templary originated with
the Masons of the Scottish rite.
In the language of an eminent
writer, lit was introduced into the
Masonic body after the establishment
Of the present symbolic system, the
object beipg to complete and cement
the moral code of Free Masonry with
the pure teachings of Christianity, ex-
emplifed by the doctrines Of the
early knightly fraternity of the Tenn
plars." The first conclave was held
in New York City in 1916. DeWit
Clinton was elected grand master, and
there were eight bodies or encamp-
mentS represented, with a member
ship Ofabout 200 Sir Knights. From
1919 to 1929 there were four conclaves
held in New York, at which Grand
Master Clinton was reelected, as also
at the fifth, which was held in Balti-
more in 1882. From 1885 to 1853, in
elusive, seven cOnclaves were held.
The thirteenth conclave was held at
Hartford, Conn, September 8, 1856,
at which n~inety-fve communicates
were reported, and where the present
constitution was adopted. The four
teenth conclave was opened at Chi
cago, September -, 1859, when the
number Of Communicates was reported
at l37, with a membership Of 5,743.
In the interval of twenty-one years
the order has increased tenfold, there
being at the present time nearly So
600 active members in the United
States. 1t is a remarkable fact, in
these days Of materialism and inf6el.
ity, that an order which claims to
have for n Of its principal objects
the support Of the Christian religion
should nave become the most power
full secret society in the world.
1t is rumored that the marriage OF
Secretary Schurz and Miss Irish, a
clerk in the interior department will