Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-07-15
MASONIC MATHIS.

The Masons of Pniladelphia have at
lsst been enabled to make good their
claim. that theirs was the mother city or
Freemasonry In America and thus set al
rest the plea Of Massachusetts, for toe
priority. The ledger book of 81 Joan :
Lodge, kept BY Benjamin Franklin, anu
giving a list of mem oers t-om June "A,
1871, TO June "a IT'S. A stiff ve.ium vol
ume, all in Franklin o~H handwriting.
Is nov IN the library of the HistoricH
Society. having been presented 10 II oy
George r. IngnaD, OF Salem, New Jer-
sew, who received it from a descendant
of David Hall. who was Fraukiln part.
ner in the printing business. 1t IS well
preserved. and bears on its face its evil
deRce as an original record. liz Is,
saws Clifford p. Mccall, Junior Grand
Warden of the Grand Lodge, who dis
cove red il, ''the oldest Masonic lodge
book by far in America" The oldest
existing lodge record book previously
known IN Peunsyivsnia,da dates back only
10 I766, and the lodge record book In
Observation-Disclosures of st. Johns Lodge,
Boston. was complied and written Ii
l75i-52, and records events only from
July 1873 when Masonry WAS established
in Massachusetts,. The discovered rec
ord antedates IL two wears. In IL are
the details of the Masonic lives of such
Masnns as William Allen, the Ch lef jus
tice of the Province: Humphrey Murray
BENJAMIN Franklin, James Hamilton,
Thomas Hopkins. father of the signer
of the Declaration of Independence:
William PIumstead, Joseph Shipper and
Philip Syn0, who were all Provincial
Grand Masters, and also the records Of
v.ry many more.
In California. as well as in nearly
every State in the Union, the colored
Masons are p separate and distinct or
oanization from those of Caucasian
origin. The Sovereign Grand Lodge of
California, which recently held its ses-
sion in Stockton, was without single
white representative. Outsiders some
times consider it rather singular that
Masonry, which processes not to regard
| the outside qualifications of men. should
be opposed to recognizing colored men
as brothers. The reason for this, how
ever, is found in the fact that the ne
grees secured their charters and ritual
from England. On this account Amer
lean lodges refuse to recognize them.
| In the South this alienation Is carried
| to the extreme. During the war a
| Southern mans house was robbed by
some Northern soldie among them
being Sergeant, an ex-slave, and as
| black as midnight. The soldiers slip
ped moose over t..e Southerner's head
| and demanded to know where he had
hidden his silver and gold. He declined
to tell. They threatened to hang him
an never TELL" he said. They threw
the rope over the limb, jerked him into
the air and tied him up to die. Unable
| to speak. he made certain Masonic
sign, and the negro Sergeant sprane
| forward and undid the rope. When the
| power of speech returned to the halt
| choked man, he looked into the face OF
ais deliverer and, still without recogniz
ing him Masonicaliy, asked with incred
| ible astonishment What in the -
did you know about that sign?" The
| ex-slave answered p" Yeu need not hold
| Masonic converse with me unless you sc
| desire, but nothing can prevent mt
from doing my duty to al Masons an
der the sum-"