The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-17
ANCIENT CRAFT MASONRY.
ORIGIN. SCOPE AND AMBITIONS OF
THE MOTHERHOOD.

Medieval GuiEds-oId Manuscript
,,a.oufc Marks-The Masters NAL
,.t--AchiIIes a Observation-Disclosures the
rirst Labor Organization.
1o5n T. Wheeler in Galveston News.
The Masonic order was the first labor
,o,iop Il originated in the womb of In
s,stry at period in human affairs where
Of the memory OF man runneth not to the
oorrrary. 1t reached the hight of its glory
a. Inc building of King Solomons tenn
rle. thence fourished through successive
ooe- erecting wondrous tombs for Egyp-
.,ar rnonarchs carving idols of Zeus,
,riumphal arches for the legions of Rome,
ami in the dim light of the twelfth century
We behold the creft at labor on a Gothic
cathedral.
When at last suppressed as labor or
sanitation or body Of skilled artifcers who
tojied within the secret reeesses Of a lodge
attention was turned to the preservation
of the original framework of Freemason-
nv as a moralistic fraternity. The rites and
csr,n monies of the old building societies
were cOulltlQSA ttlttt tue INV lNSliAiG dlIQ
cave birth to speculative Freemasonry
which has been summed up by recent
writer as a system of moral philosophy
teaching that Gods great temple is the
heart of man and that cup of cold water
given in charity's name is as sacred before
him of whom the Seraphim sang, ''Hosan-
ma" as we're the burnt offerings of Moses.
The ultimate end of Masonry is beauti-
fully expressed by Robert Burns, the
poughman poet of Scotland who at the
time the following prophecy was penned
was senior warden of St. James lodge
Torbolton. Scotland:
Then let us pray that come 1t may
As come ii win for a that,
That sense and worth DER a. the earth,
May bear the gree and "a that,
For a that and a that
1t is comm yet for a that
That man to man the warld Ger,
Shall brothers be for a that
The writer's attention was once called
to the following passage in the Illiad by
that eminent Masonic student, the late
Philip c. Tucker. My venerable friend con-
sdered it evidence of the great antiquity
Of q secret fraternity, the members Of
which recognized each other by peculiar
grips.
Priam, the father of Hector, who was
slain in combat with Achilles before the
walls of Troy, visits the Greek camp to
beg the body of his son that il might be
buried as became a warrior of his rank.
Achilles granted the request.
"Thus then having spoken, he grasped the
right hand of the old man at the wrist,
Lest perchance he might be alarmed"
See Iliad book "a, lines GIL and 672.
The translation as given is literal and is
from the original Greek. am indebted
for it to the kindness of Prof. John w.
Hopkins superintendent of the Galveston
public schools
I'm the mystic haze surrounding the birth
of operative Freemasonry fact and pre-
historic legend are frequently indistin-
suishable, and thus accounts for the con-
hctng theories entertained with regard
tosthis matter.
Il is considered that the origin of the
present form of Blue Lodge Freemasonry
at least as it exists in English speaking
countries, is correctly indicated in the
opening section of this article
Some assume that operative Free masonry
began its career at the building of King
Soomons temple. Others assert that the
fraternity existed previous to that occas-
ion, but admit that the temple was Ma
i sonic handiwork
The more modern authors, in conson-
ance with well known historical data,
trace the institution to the medieval guilds
4 of stone masons, whose genius is yet to
be seen in the Gothic cathedrals of Eu-
rope and who were called by the very name
Of Freemason. The supporters of this
view claim that the guilds originated from
i Older. associations of builders and archi-
tccts. These saVants traced the peculiar
Il ceremonies in vogue in the medieval Ma
sonic lodges to the pagan mysteries of an
/ cient Greece and Egypt, and in some in
i stances to northern NEUROLOGICAL sources
This theory is held in part by Thomas
Arnold, NJ. A.. of the Royal University Of
iceland, and in toto by George F. Fort,
learned archaeologist and the author Of E
scholarly treatise on the history and an
Equities of Freemasonry; the Industrious
Mackey and the collaborators of a stupen
G0us history of the order now being issucc
4 IN twenty-one volumes by the Masonic
History publishing company of Chicago.
Ii Freemasonry originated In the reigr
of polytheism, it is suggested that as the
son is not accountable for the degeneracN
Of his parents, it is to glory OF the fra
/ t,Iuity that an early epoch in their exist
enae they embraced that heavenly lgh
their ancestors may have affected TO de
spse.
Like all human institutions, Freemason
ry has been affected by the process o
civilization, by the nature of the govern
mont under which it existed, by the su
Iersttions, customs and racial PECULIAR
ties of the people who practiced 1t. Jus
as the waters of the Mississippi carry init
te Gulf the silt of their fountain sOurc
and the drift from far northern banks
SO We find Freemasonry Hnctured will
IDEAS received in the course of its mean
d0Inss. Critical examination reveals
cHriouss union of Gothic and Jewish ele
1ts-a Gothic skeleton perhaps, bu
Iha muscles moving that skeleton are Ju
o.siic. The Norsemon contribute tn
name and masters mallet; the Hebrew
The iniuatory ceremonies and the legen
81 King Solomons temple. The Egyptian
fuance is to be felt in the esteem We
h'id for the doctrines of old Euclid, tn
i so-called father of geometry.
The writer realizes the futility of al
attempt TO give a concise account of Free
onry within the columns of the News