Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-03-20
MASONIC SCANDAL GROWING.
Draper Not the Only Notorious Man
 Admitted to the Fraternity.


 Astounding revelations that have followed the discovery that "Shang" Draper, the gambler and former friend and associate of many of the most des- perate bank burglars and other crim- inals in the United States, has been Mason, have filled Grand Master Crandall and his associates i'll the Grand lodge with dismay and indigna- tion. So high does the feeling run be- cause of the discovery that Draper Is not the only notorious person who has gained admittance to lodges in Man. haitian and Brooklyn that a general house-cleaning is expected. It would not be astonishing if the charters of several lodges should be suspended be- fore the end of the week and many ex- pulsions from the fraternity follow.
 "Shang" Draper, it has been ascer- tained, is not only Master Mason, but also a Royal Arch Mason. As early as last November he was taken into Mount Zion chapter, still representing himself to be respectable broker. He went in with the first class that took the degrees that month.
 Draper was proposed in the chapter by past master of Doric lodge and also by man who formerly had held the highest office in Mount Zion chap ter. It is expected Grand Master Gran dall and his associated in Royal Arch Masonry will take immediate steps to suspend the charter of the chapter and expel Draper and those who were re- sponsible for making him a member. One of the men who stood sponsor for Drapers standing in the community is a merchant on the west side, and proceedings already are under way against him.
 The unmasking of "Shang" Draper and the explosion of the bomb that has startled Free Masons from one end of the jurisdiction to the other, came through the fact that his son George recently was proposed for membership. The committee appointed by Doric lodge to investigate the younger man discovered who his father was and re- ported the fact at once. to the con- sternation of every man who heard the report.
 It also became known yesterday that "Shang" Draper's brother, William, who is said to have been an estimable man, occupied for years high station in Nassau c-apter. No oo6, Royal Arch Masons, in Brooklyn. Mir Draper died eight years ago. He had been asked many times by "Shang" Draper to per init him to. become a Mason, but al- ways had declined to permit him to make application.
 It developed yesterday that "Shang" Draper had won over some Masons to stand by him in his efforts to break into Masonry by his assertion that the only reason he wanted to become a Mason was that his brother William on his deathbed had asked him to join the fraternity so that he might become a better man.
 But the scandal does not end with Doric lodge and Mount Zion chapter An examination of the membership rolls of other lodges and chapters has disclosed to the grand master that other men almost as low in the social scale as "Shang Draper have succeed ed in working their way into Masonry. and the investigation now under way promises to be the biggest sensation the craft has experienced since the tima, of Morgan.
 The showing made by the investiga- tion as it progressed yesterday. shamed and grieved Grand Master Crandall and his assoclates. The inquiry dis closed that in the face of repeated and earnest warnings lodges have been lax in their investigation of the antece- dents of applicants for admission, and that there must be q general purging of the rolls to restore the craft to what should be it's normal condition. They have decided that drastic steps must 1 be taken at once to restore Masonry to l it's high position in this, the biggest l jurisdiction in the United States, if not 1 in the world. It has been discovered that one of the members of Pioneer lodge Is not only the keeper of a dance house, but that his place was so notorious that he lost his license under Tammany Hall. This lodge is now under investi- gation. It also was ascertained yester- day that a man intimately connected with one of the most notorious concert halls in this city is a member of Mum lodge, and immediate action is to be taken in his case.
 To members high in Masonry infor- nation also came yesterday that two gamblers, both known on every race track, are now on the proposition list of one of the oldest and most famous 1 lodges in Brooklyn. Indeed, the information that cropped out in various quarters in the fraterni- 1 ty yesterday filed the grand master and others with the fear that the very fabric of the craft had been rent al l most by the laxity of the blue lodges and chapters and their Investigating committees in failing to scrutinize with l I,a tn af fe