Arizona republican., 1914-05-27
THE ANTIQUITY
 0F THE SHRINE.
The Mysteries of the Order Had Their Origin in the Storied East More than Twelve Centuries Ago.

Possibly there is no one of the so- ciai 1raternlties in the world that commands so much attention or has around it in the minds of the lay
 men so much of Orientalism and
 mysticism as does the Ancient and
 Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic
 Shrine. There is general misun-
 derstanding that it is a branch of
 the Masonic Orders, and still further
 that it is a part of Masonry itself.
 This is not so. The connection with
 Masonary borne by the Shriner is that among his other qualifications he must either be a member in good standing of the Knights Templar, or else a Mason of the 32nd degree of
 the Scottish rite. Whatever are the
 other qualifications of a man it is obligatory that he be either of the two Masons mentioned above. The Shrine itself is a very ancient order. It was brought to the United States from Mecca the Holy City of the Moslem, where it was organized l2i0 year sago. In the days of its early activity under the protection of the rule of the prophets of Is- lam, the cailiffs and the caids. it grew to remarkable degree and | numbered among it's members rulers. princes, potentates, Moslem, Isrealite and Christian Rulers of Egypt were patrons of the order. the Cailiffs of Bagdad knew it's mysteries, and the Omars Of the west rested in peace beneath the exemplification of it's i principles.
 For years, however. it lay dormant 1 It remained for an American. a Ma son of high degree, to apply it to the ! .asons of the western world as a social fra ernity-a playground of Masonry-Where the faithful could rest for the nonce from the exhaust ing labor in the vineyard of the faithful. As recently as 1871 saw it's introduction into the United States, from which time it has steadily grown until now scarcely a Mason in the country contemplates the ex- alted degrees without the hope of also being a Shriner.
 The social atmosphere of the Shrine has become one of it's greatest fac 1 tors, and so fascina ting is it that the 1 live wires of the country are nearly all Shriners. The big hearted, broad V1sioned men in the Masonic fratern- l ity are nearly all members of the Mystic Shrine. It has prospered so 1 from itS introduction ip Nar, vor,- ;., 1871, when the Bone Temple of eley- en members was formed until there are now nearly 15O Temples in the country and one-fifth of all the Masons ] in the country belong also to the Shrine. The comparative numerical 1 strength of the order can possibly be better understood when it is known
 that not all Masons go higher than
 the third degree. and there are only
 222,00O Knights Templar in the Unit
 ed States.
 But to return to the story of the
 organization of the order. In 1870 | William J. Florence while on a visit
 to Cairo, through personal friends be-
 came interested in the order and was inducted into it's mysteries He saw vast possibilities in the work of the
 Shrine and obtaining a copy of the ritual brought it back to New York where he obtained the assistance of Dr. William M. Fleming and Prof.
 Albert L. Rawson the noted Arabic
 scholar. secured a perfect transla tion of it into English
 T When all this was done. a few friends gathered in the Masonic hall at IA East Thirteenth street. eleven in number, they were composed of both Knights Templar and Thirty second degree Masons of the Scottish Rite, and there Dr. Fleming con- municated the secrets and purposes of the order to them and plans were laid for Mecca Temple No 1. the mother Temple in the United States. This was completed in the same Ma sonic hall in September 1872 Thir-
 teen nobles composed the first char ter and Dr. Fleming was the first potentate. The second Temple was
 instituted at Rochester, New York.
 nearly three years later known as
 Damascus Temple. This was the be- ginning from which the great Im- Deridl council of the Shrine, recent ly in convention in Atlanta, Ga. has grown.
 ] The Shrine book recently published
 by the local Temple, has this to say I about the qualifications and beliefs
 of a Shriner:
 l The Mystic Shrine is not Ma
 sonic order, further than that in or der to be eligible to membership, the candidates must be Masons of the l highest rank. Other than this it has no connection with nor relationship l to the Masonic Order. It is essen italy a social organization, but a
 secret order, though it's mysteries are few. It is a big family-a brother hood of men who believe in the good | things in life and who are trying to
 live as they profess. It's membership
 is composed of good citizens, moral
 upright, virtuous, law abiding fathers husbands and sons, and all of them
 Masons in good standing. Their re- spect for the order is sufficient guar antee of it's honesty and right to ex- l ly attended There is always good l fellowship among it's membership. It
 promotes friendships wherever the
 emblem is seen. It believes in pleas
 ure without incompetence. hospitality
 without rudeness, jollity without 1 ooa