The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1907-09-05

appointed provincial grand master of
New England land dcmiuions there
To belonging" In his day, Benja-
min franklin was grand msster and
visited the grand lodge In England.
AS In the past, royalty and nobility
are connected with Masonry today.
King Edward, OF England, Is past
grand master, and his brother. the
Duke OF Connaught, is now grand
master. In the lodeeroom, King and
commoner are Of equal rank IL their
degrees are the same President
Diax, CT Mexico and President Roose-
welt are Masons, but President Roose-
yeit has taken only three degrees.
The late President Mckinley was
Templar.
The grand lodges OF America are IN
full afiiiiation with those OF England,
Ireland, Scotland, Peru, Cuba, South
Australia, New South Wales and Ger.
many. In Spain, Italy and other
Catholic countries the order is under
The ban OF the church and conse-
quently the membership is small.
There are many Freemasons In In.
dia. Hur l.al, prominent banker
OF Allahabad, is u personal friend OF
.number OF American Masons,
among them DIR, j. c. Buck, of Gu.
cinnaui and Frederick Webber, of
Washington, secretary general OF the
Scottish::Rite Masons of the Southern
Jurisdiction. Hur Lai is parsee.
In general terms the Masonic order
of today is benevolent fraternal or
eanization. Its chief features are
charitable, social and religious. 1t
propagates no creed save of faith In
God and good. works. Masons may
be Jews, Moslems or Christians.
The order teaches merely the larger
doctrines Of all religions, such as
truth, morality, and right living.
The Knights Templar are the display
features OF the order, aud their drills
at triennial encampments are i'm
mensely popular spectaeles. The An
cient Order OF Mobiles of the Mystic
Shrine is not regular Masonic body,
but only thirty second degree Masons
are eligible 10 membership. The Or
der of the Eastern Star is an auixli-
airy body composed of wives. daugh-
ters, sisters and widows OF Masons.
While the chief reuglar charities are
extended to widows and orphans OF
Masons, response is always made TO
requests for funds for the distressed
outside OF the order. Its recent con-
tribution to the San Francisco relief
fund was $4,000. Unlike most fra
ternal orders tho Masons have no In
surance feature.
One OF the most notable Masons OF
America is Captain Thomas Shelby
Todd, Of Shelbyville, Ken, who is
the oldest past grand master now liv.
ing. Captain Todd Is son OF the
late Charles S. Todd, Minister to
Russia, and grandson of Isaac Shelby,
first Governor OF Kentucky. He was
one OF fitfy-two captains sent 20 the
front by Kentucky during the Mexi-
can war, and he and one other are
the only survivors. AS veteran Of
that war he was recently pensioned
by congress. He never misses a
meeting of his grand lodge at Louis.
vile, although he Is In the eighties.
The only statue ever erected 10 a
Mason because OF his prominence In
the order is that reared In honor of
Albert Pike In Washington. He was
grand commander OF the Southern
division of. Scottish Rite Masons for
more than fifty years, and was prom
inent as a lawyer.
The greatest opposition ever met
with by the Freemasons was in the
United States nearly a century ago,
when william Morgan was an impoy.
erished Virginian, who removed TO
New York, settled at Batavia, and
began the writing of book in which
he proposed to ''expose" Freemas-
onry. He said that he had been a
Freemason for thirty years and his
announcement attracted no little at
tentiop, but as he had little standing
it was generally supposed that he
had merely thought out scheme by
which to make money. He was the
defendant In number OF suits filed
by creditors and had once been ar
rested for theft. lie was seized one
night and never heard OF again. The
incident naturally caused intense ex-
element and high feeling against
tue Masons, who were believed by
many to have Deen responsible for
bis disappearance. Nigilants traced
the man, 10 charge OF captors TO Fort
Niagara, near the mouth OF Niagara
river. and there all searcbers found
themselves at loss. Whether he
was killed and the body sunk IN Lake
4 Dnta rim WAS never known