The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-08-25

hltthu d5 TIC revival tUOh pidCc- Ills
was a 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 Desaguliers. a
Frenchman. who was rector Of Christ
Church. Oxford. were directed TO compile
the history and traditions OF the order
They changed the theory Of the institu-
ton to admit all creeds and n9tbnalities.
and their regulations are use / in Free
masonry to-day.
Masonry entered Ireland IN the early
part OF the eighteenth century, and the
only woman who ever belonged to the
order was & daughter Of the Emerald
Isle. She was the Hon. Mrs. Richard
Aldworth- Elizabeth St Leger who hid
in a clock 10 Overhear the proceedings
OF q meeting, and was made a member
as the only means Of preserving the Sc
crets she had learned. Scotland has
the oldest lodge now In existence. 1t
is Mother BilwInning Lodge In which
there are minutes showing meet
ings in 1853. The highest Scotch aristO-
Gratis were connected with masonry as
far back as records go. The first Amer
lean lodge was established IN Boston IN
1872. The first two grandmasters were
Daniel Coke. Of Burlington. n J.. ap-
pointed by the Duke Of Norfolk as pro-
vincial grandmaster OF New York. New
Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and Henry
Price, of Boston, appointed provincial
graudmaster Of New England. and do
minions thereto belonging" In his day
Benjamin Franklin was a grandmaster
and visited the Grand Lodge in England
AS in the past royalty and nobility are
connected with masonry to-day King
Edward. OF England, is past grandmas-
ter and his brother the Duke Of Con
naught is now a grandmother. In the
lodge room. king and commoner are Of
equal rank II their degrees are the same.
President Diaz. Of Mexico and Presi-
dent Roosevelt are masons, but Presl-
dent Roosevelt has taken only three de-
grees. The late President Mckinley was
a Templar
The grand lodges Of America are in
fun utilization with those OF England.
Ireland. Scotland. Peru. Cuba. South
Australia. New South Wales. and Ger
many In Spain. Italy, and other Cath
Ole countries the order Is under the ban
Of the church and consequently the men,
bershlp 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 DR.. J. c. Buck, Of Cincinnati. and
Frederick Weber. OF Washington, Sec
Ietary General of the Scottish Rite Ma
sons Of the Southern jurisdiction. Hur
Lal is a Parsee.
II general terms the Masonic Order OF
to-day is a benevolent fraternal Organi-
zatioR. Its chief features are charitable,
social and religious. II 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 fea-
ture OF the order, and their drills at
trienniaI encampments are immensely
popular as spectacles The Ancient Order
OF Mobiles Of the Mystic SHRINE is not a
regular Masonic body, but only thirty
second degree Masons are eligible to
The Order OF The Eastern
Star is an auxiliary body composed of
wives. daughters. sisters. and widows Of
While the chief regular chart
ties are extended to widows and orphans
of Masons, response is always made to
requests for funds for the distressed out
side of the order Its recent cOntribu-
ton TO the San Francisco relief fund was
S35, 000 Unlike most fraternal orders the
Masons have no insurance feature.
One Of the most notable Masons of
America is Capt. Thomas Shelby Todd. of
SheIbyville. Ky. who Is the Oldest Past
Grand Master now living. Capt. Todd
is a son of the late Charles S. Todd,
Minister to Russia. and a grandson OF
Isaac Shelby. first governor of Kentucky.
He was one of ffty-two captains sent
to the front by Kentucky during the Mex
lean war. and he and one other are
the only survivors. As a veteran Of that
war he was recently pensioned by Con-
gress. He never misses a meeting Of hts
grand lodge at Louisville, although he
is in the eighties. The only statue ever
erected 70 a Mason because of his prom
inence in the order is that reared in honor
Of Albert Pike. in Washington. He was
Grand Commander OF the Southern dsvi-
sion Of Scottish Rites Masons for more
than fifty years, and was prominent IS
a lawyer.
It is frequently stated that no Mason
was ever hanged, and that members Of
the order always fare well in courts Of
aw. The idea is wholly erroneous. Few
Masons are tried in criminal courts, be-
cause few Of them are criminals. but IL
should be remembered that George III
himself a Mason. declined to pardon