The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-08-24

Are You a Mason?
Christopher Dieh Says Thomson is Faker and Then Some

On Aug. Is there appeared in The Her
aid dispatch from Helper, the burden
of which was that Mathew Mob. Thorn
son conferred a large number OF degrees
OF the Masonic order in that place the
previous MINT. and that there was grav,
question as to the authority of Mr.. Thorn
son 10 confer any degrees in Masonry al
all, the prevailing belief being that he
or to do the things which he did do
Yesterday there came to The Herald of
flee letter from Mr.. Thomson who lives
at Montpelier. Ida. This letter reads:
Editor st Lake Herald:
Dear Sir-In The Herald of the l2tl
there was a special under the caption
Fake Masonic Rites in Utah" AS it was
entirely false and reflected severely or
my character. will you kindly, in the
interest of fair play all round, put the
enclosed letter in The Herald at an early
date? Respectfully.
NJ. Mob. THOMSON.
The letter is written upon stationery
with this heading: Liberty Equality.
Fraternity. Universal Freemasonry.
II. I. G. o. T. G. A. o. 7. u. Masonic
Federation.
incorporated under the laws of the
state of Idaho)
Board of managers-President gen.
eral. Mathew Mob. Thomson, thirty ,
third degree, Montpelier, Ida; treas
urer general. Herbert p. jefferson.
NJ. D., thirty-third degree, Boston,
Mass: secretary general. Robert B.
Spence, thirty-third degree, Evanston,
Wyo.
The letter head further contained the
symbol of a sword crossed with boob
labeled Constitution"
What the Letter Said.
Mr. Thomson's enclosure is given in
full and without alteration. 1t reads:
FAKE MASONIC RITES IN UTAH"
Editor salt Lake Herald: Dear Sir
| am certain that / am doing you no more
than justice in believing that you in
serted the Paragraph with the above
heading in your issue of the 18th believing
that the statements contained therei:
Were true, and that you were thereby eX-
posing fraud. other papers with like
good motives have published similar par
aSraphS, all equally false and misleading
In the interest of justice and fair play
therefore,, l hope you will find room foi
this reply
The paragraph in question contains but
one true statement. and that is that
am a Scotsman, / am also an American
citizen and am proud of both, 1t is alb.
solutely false however that | gave Dia-
mondville Wyo as the seat of my Grand
Lodge.
1t is absolutely false that l ever have
been exposed in Massachusetts, Idaho OF
elsewhere for violation of any law of my
Rite. on the contrary l am and ever have
been in good standing therein.
IL is absolutely false that | have MOI
full and ample authority for what 1 dc
masonically. In fact the writer OF Tho
paragraph is either woefully ignorant. ol
willfully malicious, in Charity / prefer
to believe the former to be the case.
The facts are these; While masonry Is
essentially the same everywhere in cere-
mony and government 1t is divided int
Rites of those the principal are the
Scottish and York Rites. the frs
which is also the one most widely prac
ticed is also styled Universal the lat
ter is local or sectional and is confined
mostly TO the United States. each Rite i
independent of the other as much so foi
example as the Primitive is from the
Episcopal Methodist church:
The Rite TO which the lodge in Helper
belongs is the Universal Scottish Rite, the
government is vested in the American Ma
sonic Federation which derives Its ma
sonic authority by Charter through the
oldest legitimate supreme council ~
America. having continuous records IRON
1913, and its civil authority by Incorpora-
ton under the Laws of the State OF Ida
10, the Grand Secretary is r. 5. Spence
Attorney, Evanston Wyo. its Grano
Treasurer is DR., II. P: jefferson NJ ID. "a
Lodges and Grand Lodges are spread
from the Atlantic TO the Pacific. its of
fetal organ 1.-The Universal Free-mason'
is published monthly. So much In win
dicatiOn of myself, but what of those
who are so ready to assail others Of
whom they seemingly know so little?
The so-caiied Grand Lodge of Utah o.
which James II. Brown is Grand Master
and Christopher Diehl is Grand Secretary
is self constituted and can show no char
ter. Warrant or other Authority for Ii:
existance, and several Grand Lodges re
fuse to recognise il as masonic body
Every statement ] have herein made
stand prepared to prove, or bear the con
sequences. Can the anonymous whter 81
the paragraph in question do as much
Thanking you in Anticipation respect
fully NJ Mob. Thomson Montpelier Idaho
Not Worthy of Notice.
Christopher Diehl, secretary of the grand
lodge of Utah, the oldest grand lodge sec
rotary in the world, a thirty-third degree
Mason and Mason who has probably ia
ken every degree that Is taxable.