Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1889-09-17
RENEWED ACTIVITY.
In Ohio Courts over the Cerneau scottish
Rife


In Ohio Courts over the Cerneau scottish
Rite.
Members Of the MF-onic Order in this
city were greatly interested, yesterday,
over the publication in the Pittsburg Dis.
patch, of long telegram from New York,
announcing renewed activity, at Colum-
bus, in the mAtter of the Masonic litigation
growing out Of the application for an in
junction, made in the Court OF Common
Pleas, Of Franklin county, by tbirty.six
memb. "a OF GoOdale Lodge, OF Columbus,
who, having embraced Cerneanism, claim
they are suffering ill-treatment at the
hands of other members Of the Lodge.
Wheeling and West Virginia Masons, like
those of most other S:ates, are taking no
part Of this legal controversy, simply look.
ing On as interested spectators. There are
q good many Cerneau members il this
city, most Of them standing very high in
Masonic circles, while their opponents are
equally numerous and influential. AZ a
consequence, there is a deep interest in the
proceedings at Columbus, which have been
dTsgging along for more than twenty
years.
The substance Of tho complaint in the
action at Columbus is that cJmplainants
have been deprived Of certain rights as
members Of Goodale Lodge, and are threat
ened with the depriyal Of other rights for
the TeaeOa tha. they have become mem
bers Of body known as the Ancient aad
Accepted Scottish Rite, which was organ
lied in Ohio under the authority of the
Supreme Council of the Ancient and Ac
cepted Scottish Rite foT the use Of Ameri-
ca, is territories and dependencies.
The cOmpainants aliege that they are
members in good standing OF Gcodale
Lodge; that they have a considerable pc
cuniary interest in said lodge, which owns
property TO the value Of s., 00O that the
defendant, as Grand Master OF the Grand
Lodge, assumes, and exercises the right to
assume control Of Gcodale Lodge, TO the
exclusion Of the principal officer OF GOodale
Lodge; that at a certai1 meeting Of the
lodge defendant Kinsman presented charges
against the complainant Hershiser and
others, charging them with uumasonic con-
duct for the reason that they had become
members OF the Scottish Rite body. The
quarrel, therefore, is between certain Ma
sOns who rec0gniza the Ancient a1d Ac
cspted Scottish organization as the genuine
Scottish Rite authority, as against other
Masons who recognize the other Orglniza-
tions or bodies or what Is known es the
Northern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite. The
complainants cay that Judge German s
body, the Ancient and Accepted Scottish,
is a representative body controlled by ma
iorities and electiug its Cficers annually.
The other Scottish Rite body in Ohio IL,
complainants say, despOtio in form and
known as the Northern Jurisdiction, and
presided over by one Henry L. Palmer, OF
Wisconsin. The complainants say that
the defendants have exercised undue au-
ihOTiiy and persecution and unlawful con
troll for the purpose OF making members O.
the Scottish Rite body presided over b.
Henry L. Palmer, and have thus oppressed
and injured, aud seek further to oppres
and ipjure the c)mplsinsnts, who prefer 4
belong TO the Scottish Rite body owe
which Judge German presides.
Complainants emphstically declare tina
there is nothing In the constitution auC
by laws Of Goodale Lodge TO prohibit then
from belonging TO the Judge G0rmaI
Scottish Rite body. They urge the cour
TO grant an Injunction restraining the de
fendants from carrying ont TIE aonapirael
to expel the complainants ilom GOodal
Lodge. The court considered their cas-
in showing that q temporary Injunction
was granted by the court and served Of
GOOdale Lodge March II, 1SSS, restraining
them from expelling the complainants.
Much Of the testimony in New Yoll
City in the past two weeks has been upOI
the historical point whether the sa-calle,
consolidation OF the various Masonic
bodies in 1867 was really an authorized
consolidation Of these bodies. Although
the men who went to Boston twenty year'
sgo 10 attend the meeting were not very
young, there are yet some Of them alive
There are others who were then entitled tC
represent some of the Masonic bodies
claimed to have been then represented
who did not 20.
On the part of the defendants or those
who claim that there was a lawful consoli'
dation Of these Masonic bodies in 1867,
Mr.. J. T. Safer who represented the de-
PENDANTS in the inquiries produced
Clinton F. Paige, Of BinghamptOn, and
Charles G. McClenachem, OF New York
City, and Others, who swore that the con-
solidation was all right; that they consid-
arad than,selvea Iavyfullv ahsOlyed from
their oaths Of allegiance 10 the bodies TO
which they formerly belonged, and that
the Northern Jurisdiction Council is all
right and regular.
Judge German, on the other hand, pro-
duced Robert B. Folger, Hopkins Thomp-
son and others, and cited good deal Of
Masonic law and proceeded to show that the
pretended consolidation Of Masonic bodies
in 1867 was without authority that IT
was by no means the mammoth proceeding
that il was claimed to be; that some who
consented did SC under misapprehension,
and that several withdrew their consent
and denounced the consolidation as un-
lawful, and have since joined the body Of
which Judge German is the head, reviyng
and continuing the old Hays council.
By stipulation the evidence taken
in the HeTshiser case is also TO be used IN
a similar case pending in the same court,
wherein the plaintiff is Perley B. Davis,
minister Of the gospel who is member Of
Madison Lodge No. 21l, who was threat.
ened with expulsion because he belonged
to a Cerneau Scottish Rite body.