The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-07-30
FREED1AsoNARY IN
 AMERICA CELEBRATES
 1sOTH BIRTHDAY TO-DAY

American Freemasonry. with it's more than million and half of members in the United States and Canada, will celebrate its 1s0th birth day today.
 On July 30. 1733, a provincial grand lodge, called St. Johns, and also pri- vate lodge, were established in Boston by Henry Price, who, in 17S4, was con stituted grand master over all North America In 1884 Benjamin Franklin, who is supposed to have been initiated In England, published the Masonic con- stftution The fraternity soon spread to other colonies and to Canada. and numbered many distinguished men as members George Washington became a master Mason in 1753. The first Ma sonic hall in America was built in Philadelphia in 1753.
 The early lodges derived their au- th0rity from the grand lodges of Eng land and Scotland, but after the Rev o1utton independent grand lodges were organized in the various States. Each State and Province of Canada now has a grand lodge, that of New York hay ing the largest membership, 175,00o, with nIIno6sf second. the total for the United States and British America be- ling 7,522s 47s.
 These lodges are in full affiliation with the English grand lodge, which, with the Duke of Connaught as Grand
 Master, has made tremendous pros gress in recent years. American Freemasons maintain fraterna1 rela- tons with the lodges of all countries, except the Grand Orient of France, which is a free-thinking and anti clerical organization.
 Of the various divisions of F'reema- sorry, the American Supreme Coun- ell of Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Masons was organized in New York in the year of 1907; the General Grand T7z. 4 ID ton in 1797, and the Sovereign Sanc- tuary of Ancient and Primitive Tree masonry in, 1856. Negro Masons have. grand lodges in several States and one Tn Canada. all the outgrowth of African Lodge, No. 459, which was chartered in 1784 by the Grand Mas ter of England.
 Almost from the first Freemasonry Go1rished in America as in no other part of the world, and in the early part of the last century was su ubjected to a severe but ineffectuaI Opposition. In the United States this attempt to- supprEsH the frateTndty resulted in 1929 in the formation ofs the Ant Masonic party, a political organiza- ton and three years later a, national convention was held in Philadelphia and William Wirt was nominated for the Presidency. For several decades a violent anti- Masonic warfare was waged throughout the United States and Canada, and entered into all the religious, social and political relations. Exeemasonry also became powerful in Mexico at this period. zfts
 Freemasonry had it's origin in the religious mysteries of the andEent world. and it's modern deveIoDment in England, Scotland and Germany. The original free masons'' were so called because they ranged from one nation to another as they found churches and cathedrals to be built. Distin- guished churchmen and othe- ''learn- ed and enlightened mem became members of the society, and in the seventeenth century a regulation was adopted which provided that +the privileges of masonry should no Ioag- CT be restricted to operative nasons. but extend to men of various profess s1ons. provided they were regular approved and initiated into the order The grand lodge of England was founded in 1717. and included all of the many lodges then in existence