Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1907-09-01
EREEMAS0NRY


great fraternities is the Masonic order.
It's history is traced back through the
centuries until its origin is lost In the
mists of antiquity. There are writers
who contend that 1t was born in the
orient. Others hold that 1t was Graded
in Egypt in forgotten ages, and still
others say that the chivalric order, the
Knights Templar, fought in the CRU
sades and carried Masonry forward
from that time, says the Salt Lake Trt-
bune. BY some it is maintained that
the Roman artificers and builders
created it, and again we hear that 1T
was evolved from the civil strife in
Great Britain in the fifteenth century.
The mother of all the Masonic lodges of
the three craft degrees was the Premier
Grand Lodge of England. organized in
1717. The mebersSip of the Masons has
ALWAYS included members of the aristoc-
| racies of blood and brains, and kings
| have been proud to be its Officers.
Today there are more than million
Freemaso ns in the United States. They
| are representative Americans and their
order is useful factor to society.
The first reference to I'VE privilege
| of we compass, square and level. and
| we plum line" was made in 1913. at
which time the order was used to pre-
serve building as a monopoly. About
|
Masons and finally broke their order.
Here speculative Masonry, as it is
known today, began. The order Sc
cured government influence. and be-
came free of guilds and of laws that
governed friendly societies" In Great
Britain. The word free" Masons was
introduced to dtfferentiate between
| ARTISANS and accepted Masons, who
were not operatives, and the term
"Freemason" was evolved 1t is be-
lieved that the Master Masons planned
and constructed the cathedrals and
other religious edifices of the middle
ages in England, but In Importance as
guild they lost ground, and in l7lf
what is known as the revival took
place, This was turning point in the
career of the order The Rev. James
| Anderson of Edinburgh, a minister in
| charge of a Scottish Presbyterian
church in London. and John Theophilus
IDesaguliers, Frenchman, who was
rector of Christ church, oxford, We're
directed to compile the history and
| traditions of the order. They changed
the theory of the institution to admit
all creeds and nationalities, and their
regulations are used in Freemanosry
today.
| Masonry entered Ireland in the early
part of the eighteenth century, and the
only woman who ever belonged to the
order was a daughter of the Emerald
Isle. She was the Honorable Mrs.
Richard ACCOMPLISHMENTS st. Leger,
who hid in cloak to overhear the pro-
ceedings of a meeting, and was made
a member as the only means of pre-
serving the secrets she had learned
Scotland has the oldest lodge now In
existence. 1t Is Mother Kilwinning
lodge No 0, in which there are min
,ites showing meetings in 1863. The
highest Scotch aristocrats were con-
nected with Masonry as far back as
records go. The first grand masters
were Daniel Coke of Burlington, N. j.,
appointed by the duke of Norfolk as
provincial grand master of New YORK.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and
Henry Price of Boston. appointed pro-
yincial grand master of New England
land dominions thereto belonging" In
his day BENJAMIN Franklin was q |
grand master and visited the grand
lodge in England. AS in the past, roy
atty and nobility are connected with
Masonry today. King Edward of Eng
land is past grand master, and his
brother. the duke of Connaught, Is now
n grand master In the lodge room,
king and commoner are OF equal rank
If their degrees are the same. Presi-
dent Diaz of Mexico and President
Roosevelt are Masons nut President
Roosevelt mas taken only Three uSSieSS.
The late President Mckinley was a
Templar.
The grand lodges of America are in
full affiliation with those of England.
ireland Scotland, Peru. Cuba, South
Australia New South Wales and Ger
many. In Spain. italy and other Cath
Ollie countries the order is under the |
ban of the church and consequently the
membership is small There are many
Freemasons in India. Hur LaL a
prominent banker of Allahabad, is a
personal friend of number of Amer
lean Mas ons. among them Dr. ]. G, Buck
of Cincinnati and Frederick Weber of
washington, secretary general of the
Scottish Rite Masons of the southern
Jurisdiction. Hur Lal is Parsee.
In general terms the Masonic order
of today is a benevolent fraternal or
ganization. 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 or