The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-25
MASONS OLDEST OF ALL SECRET ORDERS Origin is Lost in the MiStS of
 Antiquity ONE WOMAN WAS MASON Episode of William Morgan Nearly a Century Ago Had a Marked Ef-
 feet on the Politics of
 the Time.
ONE WOMAN WAS MASON
BY FREDERIC J. HAsKIN.

BY FREDERIC J. HASklN.
 Probably the most ancient of the great 1 fraternitles is the Masonic order. It's his tory 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 held that it was cradled in Egypt in for gotten ages, and still others say that the l chivalric order the Knights Templars, 1 fought in the Crusades and carried Ma sorry forward from that time. By some 1t h maintained that the Roman artifcers and builders created 1t, 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, organ ized in 117 The membership of the Ma sons has always included members of the aristocraoies of blood and brains, and kings have been proud to be its officers. l Today there are more than 1000 900 Freo- masons in the United States. They are representative Americans and their order Is useful factor to society.
 
 compass square and level, and ye plum line" was made in 151s. at which time the order was used to preserve building ms monopoly. About that time the Cow ans" fought the Masons and finally broke their power. Here speculative Masonry. as 1t is known today, began The order secured government influence, and be- came free of guilds and laws that gov erned friendly societies" in Great Brit ain. The word free was introduced b l dlfferentlate between artisans and "ac- 1 eepted" Masons who were not operatives, and the term "Freemason" was evolved. 1 It is believed that the Master Masons planned and constructed the cathedrals and other religious edif1ces of the middle ages in England, but in importance as 1 guild they lost ground and in TIT what is known as the revival took place. This was a turning point In the career of the l order. The Rev. James Anderson of Ed l inburgh, a minister in charge of a Scot 1 tish Presbyterian church in London, and 1 John Theophilus Desaguilers, a French 1 man, who was rector of Christ church, l Oxford, were directed to compile the his l tory and traditions of the order They l changed the theory of the institution to l admit all creeds and nationalties, and 1 their regulations are used in Breemasonry l 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 1 Isle. She was the Hon. Mrs Richard Ald- worth-Elizabeth St. Loger, who hid in d clock to oVerhear the proceedings of meeting, and was made a member as the l A.. i had learned Scotland has the oldest l lodge now in existence. It is Mother Kil- | winning Lodge No. O., in which there are minutes showing meetings in 1859 The l'highest Scotch aristoerats were connecr- l ed with Masonry as far back as records go The first American lodge was esta5 1 Iished in Boston in 1792 The first two l grand masters were Daniel CoXe of Bur | lington, N. J., appointed by the Duke of | Norfolk as provincial grand master of l New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. | and Henry Price of Boston, appointed | provincial grand master of New England "and dominions thereto belonging In his | day Benjamin Franklin was a grand mas ter and visited the grand lodge in Eng land. As in the past, royalty and mo- blity are connected with Masonry to- day King Edward of England is past grand master, and his brother, the Duke of Connaught, is now q grand master. In | the lodge room, klnS anu cOlllllOutT dlt of equal rank if their degrees are the same President Diaz of Mexico and President Roosevelt are Masons, but
 President Roosevelt has taken only three degrees. The late President Mckinley was a Templar.
 The grand lodges of America are in full utilization with those of England, Ireland Scotland Peru Cuba, South Australia, New South Wales and Ger many. In Spain, Italy and other Cath | ollc countries the order is under the ban of the church and consequently the mem bership Is small. There are many Free masons in India Hur Lal, a prominent banker of Allahabad. is a personal friend of a number of American Masons among them pr. J. C. Buck of Cincin- natl and Frederick Webber of Washing
 ton. secretary general of the Scottish
 Rite Masons of the southern Jurisdiction Ilur Lal is a Parsee
 In general terms the Masonic order
 of today is a benevolent fraternal or
 ganization. It's chief features are char tables social and religious. It 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 Templars are the display feature of the order, and their drills at tri- ennial encampments are immensely pop ular as spectacles. The Ancient Arabic | Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine is l not a regular Masonic body, but only thirty-second degree Masons and Knights Templars are eligible to membership. { The Order of the Eastern Star Is an auxiliary body, composed of | wives. daughters, sisters and widows of Masons. While the chief regular char ites are extended to widows and or phans of Masons, response is always made to requests for funds for the dis u lessed outside of the order Its recent contribution to the San Francisco relief fund was 5000. Unlike most fraternal orders the Masons have no insurance | feature.
 One of the most notable Masons of | America is Capt. Thomas Shelby Todd | of Shelbyville. Ky, who is the oldest | Past Grand Master now living. Captain l Todd is a son of the late Charles S. | Todd mister to Russia, and a grandson l of Isaac Shelby, first governor of Ken | lucky. He was one of the fifty-two cap | tains sent to the front by Kentucky dur l ing the Mexican war. and he and one other are the only survivors. As vet l eran of that war he was recently pen | stoned hN Congress- He never misses a