The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1905-05-10
The Lexington Dispatch.
Wednesday, May 10. 1905.
Hirh Officials as %asons.

A Washington special to the New
York Evening Post says: Both Mr..
Roosevelt and Mr.. Fairbanks went
into Masonry after they had been
chosen for the cfice of vice president.
Mr.. Roosevelt was popularity elected
in November, 1900, and before the
winter was over he bad become a
member OF the Matincock lodge, at
Oyster Bay. He has been elected to
receive the degrees in the Royal
Arch chapters but has never taken
them, because of the pressure OF
public business. He might, OF
course, take these degrees during the
summer vacation at Oyster Bay, but
this would now attract 90 much at
tention as to embarrass him and the
chapter at that place, and 90 he has
decided to wait until be is once more
q private citizen.
MIR. Fairbanks took the symbolic
blue lodge degrees at 1ndisnapolie'
under dispensation from the great
master of Indiana, during the recent
holiday recess, the three degrees be-
ing conferred in one day. He has
since, Immediately following the ad-
iournment Of The special session
of the senate, taken the chapter
degrees, also under dispensatioD,
and in one day. 1t iseaid to be
his purpose during the present
year to take the remaining de-
grees of the New York rite, endiog
with that of Knight Templar, and
then to take the Scottish Rite de-
grees up to and including the thirty
second degree. He will thus be
shown all the mysteries of the order
far ahead of the man whose place in
the White House he hopes to fill
after 1908.
It is rather noteworthy fact that
the greet majority Of Presidents of
the United States from Washington
to Roosevelt have been members of
the Masonic fraternity. In the later
years the best known of these are
Garfield, Harrison and Mckinley.
Garfield was q Knight Templar and
held his embership in all the York
rite bodies in this city. He was
charter member of Washington
blue lodge and remained on it's rules
until his death. Mckinley was also
a Knight Templar, but his member
ship was in Ohio.
John Quincy Adams, who came
into the Presidency during the days
of the anti-Mason excitement, talked
and wrote against the order with
considerable vigor. Andrew Jackson
at one time was grand mastesof the
grand lodge of Tennessee.
An informal poll was made of the
two houses of congress fe= years
ago by Washington Mason. and it
was discovered that more than 81
per cent Of the members of the
House were in the order, and more
than so per cent of the members of
the Senate.
The city of Washington is perhaps
the strongest Masonic city of the
world. OF its population of 27s,000,
after deducting $4,000 negroes, 1885,
00O people remain from "nom 20
draw for Masonic purposes. The
register OF the grand lodge of this
city shows that there are upwards Of
5000 affiliated Masons here, belong
ing to twenty.seven blue lodges.
There are fourteen Royal Arch chap
ters and Eve Communicates OF
Knights Templar. Washington is
also the headquarters of the Scottish
Rite of the southern Jurisdiction, and
on that account the Scottish Rite
bodies here are especially strong.
Several earnest efforts have been
made by local lodges to bave Presi.
dent Roosevelt visit them, but thus