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FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS.

FREEMASONRY.

Freemasonry is an institution, the origin of which is so veiled in obscurity that even its name is an enigma to philologists. It is stated that the word freemason is derived from the Norman French, Frere Macon (brother mason), but the constituent word, mason, is itself an etymological mystery of which a variety of solutions has been offered, none tracing it to its source with any degree of certainty. The institution of Freemasonry possesses no veritable history extending farther back than to the beginning of the eighteenth century, although it is easy to point out vague analogies between it and the great secret organizations having social aims which existed in antiquity. Esoteric study of it has nothing more convincing upon which to rely than tradition or legend. The ritual of the order teaches that King Solomon was the first Grand Master, and the entire symbolism of the first three degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason, which constitute the work of the lodge, clusters around the story of the building of the Temple at Jerusalem. Students of Freemasonry, pursuing their research or speculation as initiate in its mysteries, profess to have traced its origin to sources much more remote and the Rev. George Oliver, a poular and voluminous Masonic writer in the early part of the nineteenth century, set forth that Moses was a Grand Master, having Joshua as his deputy, with Aholiab and Bezaleel as Grand Wardens.

Coming down to records which can be established, it is found that on June 24, 1717, four Masonic lodges then existing in London, England, erected themselves into a Grand Lodge and elected their first Grand Master. Thereafter new lodges could be formed in England only by warrant from the Grand Lodge. The order extended into the provinces and eventually provincial Grand Masters were appointed. The Grand Lodge extended its jurisdiction beyond England, granting charters to many foreign lodges. Its supremacy was contested in the latter part of the eighteenth century, when the ancient York Lodge, with which were allied Masons who had been irregularly initiating others, claimed to be the Supreme Grand Lodge on the ground, generally regarded as fabulous, that there had been an assembly of Masons at York in the year 926, from which had descended the authority claimed. With this controversy there originated what are now recognized as the capitular degrees, or Royal Arch Masonry, the emblematical color of which is red, that of the lodges, dedicated to the Saints John, being blue, whence the derivation of the descriptive title, "blue lodge," borne by them at the present time. Royal Arch Masonry was introduced by the York Lodge, the ritual being based upon legends dealing with the second building of the Temple. It was a step toward templarism, and out of it grew the Grand Chapter of Harodim, founded in London in 1787. This was a revival in speculative form of the order of Kinghts Templar, suppressed by decree of the Council of Vienna in 1312, because of the supposed heresies it entertained. The rival grand lodges of London and York united in 1813, the body resulting from this union being known as the United Grand Lodge of England. Freemasonry was transplanted into France in 1725, into Ireland in 1723, and, during the next ten ears, into Holland, Russia, Spain. Italy. Scotland and Germany.

The first attempt to introduce Freemasonry in America was the appointment by the London Grand Lodge of a Provincial Grand Master for New Jersey in 1730, but there is no account of that official having established any lodges. A lodge was opened in Boston, Mass., in 1733, and from that time the order began to make its way in the several colonies, lodges being opened under charters issued, some by the English Grand Lodge and some by the subsequently instituted Grand Lodge of Scotland. After the successful issue of the War of the Revolution, the lodges thus established became independent of their parent Grand Lodges on the other side of the Atlantic, and established Grand Lodges of their own in their respective States. The institution has had greater prosperity in this than in any other country. There are two recognized rites in the United States, one being known as the "York Rite," and the other as the "Scottish Rite." The "blue lodge" degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason are common to both. Many members of the fraternity take all the degrees of both rites, as there is no conflict between them. Degrees of the York Rite.-In the York Rite there are ten degrees beyond those of the "blue badge," and these are worked in three different bodies, respectively, known as the Chapter (Royal Arch Masons), the Council (Royal and Select Masters), and the Commandery (Knights Templar). The capitular degrees, four in number, are those of Mark Master, Past Master, Most Excellent Master, Royal Arch Mason. Those of the Council, numbering three, consist of Royal Master, Select Master, Super Excellent Master. In passing to the higher degrees of the Commandery many Masons ignore the Council degrees, which they can do in every jurisdiction in the United States excepting that of Virginia, where only Super Excellent Masters are eligible for the chivalric degrees. These consist of Red Cross Knight. Knight Templar, Knight of Malta. Degrees of the Scottish Rite.-There are thirty degrees in the Scottish Rite, not including those of the "blue lodge," and they are conferred in four different bodies, namely the Lodge of Perfection, the Council of Princes of Jerusalem, the Chapter of Rose Croix, and the Consistory of Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret. The degrees of the Lodge of Perfection number eleven, and are as follows: Secret Master, Perfect Master, Intimate Secretary, Provost and Judge, Intendant of the Building; Elect of Nine, Elect of Fifteen. Sublime Knight Elect, Grand Master Architect. Knight of the Ninth Arch, Grand Elect. Perfect and Sublime Mason. The Council degrees, of which there are two, are Knight of the East or Sword, Prince of Jerusalem. The Rose Croix degrees also are but two, namely, Knight of the East and West, Knight of the Rose Croix de H. R. D. M. Fifteen degrees are comprised in the work of the Consistory, as follows: Grand Pontiff. Master ad Vitam, Patriarch Noachite, Prince of Libanus, Chief of the Tabernacle, Prince of the Tabernacle. Knight of the Brazen Serpent, Prince of Mercy, Commander of the Temple. Knight of the Sun, Knight of St. Andrew, Grand Elect Knight, K. H.. or Knight of the Black and White Eagle, Grand Inspector Inquisitor Commander, Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret, Sovereign Grand Inspector-General of the Thirty-third and Last Degree.

Ultra-Masonic Bodies.-There are other rites than the York and Scottish, which, however, are not recog nized by the great bodies of Masons in the United States and Great Britain. For instance, the Grand Orient of France is unrecognized because of the fact that it does not demand that postulants for the degrees shall believe in a Supreme Being. The Grand Orient of Spain is also unrecognized. There is a numerous body of colored Free Masons in the United States which traces its origin back to a lodge duly chartered by the English Grand Lodge, but colored Masons are regarded as irregular by all the regular Masonic bodies in this country. Such organizations as the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and the Sheikhs of the Kaaba are not strictly Masonic, although membership in them is limited to Masons who have received certain specified degrees in either the York or the Scottish Rite.

GRAND LODGES IN THE UNITED STATES AND BRITISH AMERICA.

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GRAND LODGES IN THE UNITED STATES AND BRITISH AMERICA.-Continued.
Grand Lodges.

Grand Secretaries.
Newton R. Parvin.

Henry B. Grant.
Richard Lambert.
Stephen Berry..
James A. Ovas.
Jacob H. Medairy.
Sereno D. Nickerson.
Jefferson S. Conover.
Thomas Montgomery.
Frederick Speed.
John D. Vincil..
Cornelius Hedges.
Francis E. White.
Chauncey N. Noteware.
J Twining Hartt...
Frank D. Woodbury.
Thomas H. R. Redway.
Alpheus A. Keen.
Edward M. L. Ehlers.
John C. Drewry.

Membership!

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Albert K. Wilson.

Kentucky.

Louisiana.

Maine..

Manitoba.

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Maryland.

Massachusetts.

Michigan..

Minnesota.
Mississippi.
Missouri.
Mentana.

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Nebraska.

12,767

Nevada.

885

New Brunswick.

1,894

New Hampshire.

9,387

New Jersey.

19,150

New Mexico.

1,079

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Residence.
Cedar Rapids.
Topeka.
Louisville.
New Orleans.
Portland.
Winnipeg.
Baltimore.
Boston.
Coldwater.
St. Paul.
Vicksburg.
St. Louis.
Helena.
Plattsmouth.
Carson City.
St. John,
Concord.
Trenton.
Albuquerque.
New York,
Raleigh.
Fargo.
Halifax.
Cincinnati.
Stillwater.
Eugene.
Philadelphia.
Summerside.
Montreal.
Providence.
Charleston.

Flandreau.
Nashville.
Houston.

Salt Lake City.
Burlington.
Richmond.

Olympia.
Charleston.
Milwaukee.
Cheyenne.

OTHER GRAND LODGES.

The following is a list of Grand Lodges comprising all with which the Grand Lodges of the United States and British America maintain fraternal relations:

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While the spirit of Freemasonry is that of fraternal obligation among the members of the order, the beneficiary features which are embodied in the general character of other secret orders are not included in its policy. The benefits derived from membership are such as come from recognition of a true Mason by the craft in all parts of the world, and from that aid and assistance, which is the due of "a worthy and distressed brother" wherever he may find himself. Some lodges have beneficiary or charitable funds, but each lodge regulates its own work in connection therewith. As a rule the charities of the lodges are determined by circumstances. They are not confined to members of the particular lodge, but are extended very frequently, when the case is found to be a worthy one, to the sojourning Mason who, through illness or uninvited misfortune, is thrown helpless upon a community wherein the Masonic spirit exists. Such benefits as these, however, and of those which are to be derived in business affairs from connection with the order are not surposed to be included in the aims of those who seek the light of Freemasonry, the theory of the order being that the candidate for the degrees becomes such uninfluenced by the solicitation of friends or by any sordid consideration, but purely as a seeker after that higher knowledge which comes to a man through the mysteries of the lodge room. He becomes a Master Mason, as he avers, in order that he may travel, work and receive a master workman's wages, the better to support himself and family and to assist a worthy brother in distress. There are many very wealthy lodges in various parts of the country, and in some of them liberal appropriations are often made for charitable purposes, but usually in view of some special occasion.

ROYAL ARCH MASONS.

Royal Arch Masonry, embracing the four degrees of Mark Master, Past Master. Most Excellent Master and Royal Arch Mason, is under the supervision of a General Grand Chapter, subordinate to which are 44 grand chapters, each representing a State or Territory, except that Pennsylvania and Virginia are united. There are nearly 2,500 subordinate or local chapters, including about 25 in the Sandwich Islands, Chili and the Chinese Empire, these last being under the immediate jurisdiction of the General Grand Chapter. The total membership is upward of 200,000. The General Grand Chapter meets tri-ennially, and the next convocation will be held in 1903. Following are the officers of this supreme body:

General grand high priest, James W. Taylor, Luthersville, Ga.; deputy general grand high priest, Arthur G. Pollard, Lowell, Mass.: general grand king, Joseph E. Dyas, Paris, Ill.; general grand scribe, William C. Swain, Milwaukee, Wis.; general grand treasurer, John M. Carter. Baltimore, Md.: general grand secretary, Christopher G. Fox, Buffalo, N. Y.; general grand captain of the host, Nathan Kingsley, Austin, Minn.; general grand principal sojourner, Bernard G. Witt, Henderson, Ky.; general grand royal arch captain, George E. Corson, Washington, D. C.; general grand master of the third vail, Frederick W. Craig. Des Moines, Ia.; general grand master of the second vail, William F. Kuhn, Kansas City, Mo.; general grand master of the first vail, Bestor G. Brown, Topeka, Kas.

KNIGHTS TEMPLAR.

The order of Knights Templar is a revival. in connection with Freemasonry, of some of the chivalric orders of the middle ages. Its ritual is pervaded by the same religious spirit which marks the earlier degrees of Freemasonry, and is such that only a believer in the Christian faith can conscientiously accept its degrees. These consist of Red Cross, Knight Templar and Knight of Malta. To be eligible to knighthood the postulant must be a Royal Arch Mason, and a member in good standing of a "blue lodge" and a Chapter. In Virginia it is required that he shall also have taken the Council degrees. The supreme body of the order in this country is the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States of America. There are forty-four Grand Commanderies, each representing individual States and Territories excepting one known as the Grand Commandery of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The subordinate commanderies number 1,051, and the total membership is 128,073. The next conclave of the Grand Encampment will be held at San Francisco, Cal., September 6, 1904. The present officers are as follows: M. E. Grand Master, Henry Bates Stoddard, Bryan, Texas; R. E. Deputy Grand Master, George M. Moulton, Chicago, Ill.; V. E. Grand Generalissimo, Henry W. Rugg, Providence, R. I.; V. E. Grand Captain-General, William B. Melish, Cincinnati, Ohio; V. E. Grand Senior Warden, Joseph A. Locke, Portland, Me.; V. E. Grand Junior Warden, Frank H. Thomas, Washington, D. C.; V. E. Grand Prelate, Daniel Crane Roberts, D. D., Concord, N. H.; V. E. Grand Treasurer, H. Wales Lines, Meriden, Conn.; V. E. Grand Recorder, John A. Gerow, Detroit, Mich.; V. E. Grand Standard Bearer, Arthur McArthur, Troy, N. Y.; V. E. Grand Sword Bearer, Charles C. Vogt, Louisville, Ky.; V. E. Grand Warden, Robert Strong, New Orleans, La.; V. E. Grand Captain of the Guard, Charles E. Rosenbaum, Little Rock, Ark.

ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE OF FREEMASONRY.

Scottish Rite Masonry, which comprises twenty-nine degrees, from the fourth degree to the thirty-third degree, inclusive, is under two jurisdictions in the United States, known respectively as the Northern and the Southern Masonic Jurisdiction. For each there is a "Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors-General of the Thirty-third and Last Degree." The two bodies are in amity with each other and also with the Supreme Councils for France, England, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, Brazil, the Argentine Republic, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Colombia, Chili, Central America, Greece, Canada, Cuba, Switzerland, Egypt, Tunis and Spain.

Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.-In this jurisdiction there are 239 subordinate bodies, with a total membership of 34,035. The officers of the Supreme Council are as follows: M. P. Sovereign Grand Commander, Henry L. Palmer, Wisconsin; P. Grand Lieutenant-Commander, Samuel Crocker Lawrence, Massachusetts; Grand Minister of State, John C. Smith, Illinois; Deputy for New York State, William Homan (there are also Deputies for each of thirteen other States included in the jurisdiction); Grand Treasurer-General, Newton Darling Arnold, Rhode Island; Grand Secretary-General, James H. Codding, No. 133 Stewart Building, New York City.

Southern Masonic Jurisdiction. The number of subordinate bodies in this jurisdiction is 267, divided as follows: Lodges of Perfection, 102; Chapters of Rose Croix, 65; Councils of Kadosh, 52; Particular Consistorics, 45; Grand Consistories, 3. The total membership is 14,867. The officers of the Supreme Council, who are elected for life, are as follows: M. P. Sovereign Grand Commander, James D. Richardson, Tennessee; P. Grand Lieutenant-Commander, Samuel E. Adams; Grand Minister of State, Rufus E. Fleming; Grand Treasurer-General, W. Frank Pierce; Grand Secretary-General, Frederick Webber, Washington, D. Č.

NOBLES OF THE MYSTIC SHRINE.

The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine is a body which admits to membership none but Free Masons, this fact leading to an erroneous impression among outsiders that it is a Masonic institution. Those eligible are Masons of the thirty-second degree, A. A. S. Rite (eighteen degrees in England), or Knights Templar in good standing. The order is said to have been originally instituted in the year of the Hegira 25, the year 656 of the Christian era, its founder being the Mohammedan Kalif Alee, cousin german and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed. It was established at Mekkah, in Arabia as an organization designed to dispense justice, including the execution of merited punishment, in the case of criminals escaping their just deserts through tardiness of the courts. Another of its aims was to promote religious toleration among cultured men of all nations. The modern order is of recent origin, and has had a rapid growth. The governing body in America is the Imperial Council, and there are eighty-five subordinate bodies, designated Temples. The total membership is 67,354. The next meeting of the Imperial Council will be held at Saratoga, N. Y., July 8 and 9, 1903. The present officers of the Imperial Council are as follows: Imperial Potentate, Henry C. Aikin, Omaha, Neb.: Imperial Deputy Potentate. George H. Green, Dallas, Texas; Imperial Chief Rabban, George L. Brown, Buffalo, N. Y.; Imperial Assistant Rabban, Henry A. Collins, Toronto, Canada; Imperial High Priest and Prophet, Alvah P. Clayton, St. Joseph, Mo.; Imperial Oriental Guide. Frank C. Roundy, Chicago, Ill.; Imperial Treasurer, William S. Brown, No. 520 Wood street. Pittsburg, Pa.; Imperial Recorder, Benjamin W. Rowell, No. 206 Masonic Temple, Boston, Mass.; Imperial First Ceremonial Master. Edwin I. Alderman, Marion, Iowa; Imperial Second Ceremonial Master, George L. Street, Richmond, Va.; Imperial Marshal. Frederick A. Hines, Los Angeles, Cal.; Imperial Captain of Guards, Charles A. Tonsor, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Imperial Outer Guard, J. Frank Treat, Fargo, N. D.

SOVEREIGN COLLEGE OF ALLIED MASONIC AND CHRISTIAN DEGREES OF AMERICA. This body of Masons confers academic as well as ritualistic degrees, the former being given for honorable cause, and including that of "Doctor of Universal Masonry." Those upon whom this degree, the highest in the gift of the college, has been conferred are Prince Demetrius Rhodocanakis of Greece, the Earl of Euston and William James Hughan, of England; D. Murray Lyon, of Scotland, and Josiah H. Drummond, of Maine. The rites governed by the college comprise the degrees of Ark Mariner. Secret Monitor, Tylers of Solomon, St. Lawrence the Martyr, Knight of Constantinople, Holy and Blessed Order of Wisdom and Trinitarian Knight of St. John of Patmos. This body is in communion with the Grand Council of Allied Masonic Degrees of England and with the Grand Ark Mariners' Council of England. The officers are elected triennially, with the exception of the Sovereign Grand Master, who holds "ad vitam," and the Deputy Grand Master, who also holds for life, with right of succession to the higher office. The following are the principal officers: Sovereign Grand Master, Alfred S. Kimball; Deputy Grand Master, Charles A. Nesbitt; Grand Abbot, Right Rev. A. M. Randolph: Grand Senior Warden, Frederick Webber; Grand Junior Warden, Alfred R. Courtney; Grand Almoner, Josiah H. Drummond; Grand Recorder-General, Howard D. Smith, Norway, Me.; Grand Bursar, Frank N. Barker.

ROYAL ORDER OF SCOTLAND.

A provincial grand lodge of the Royal Order of Scotland was instituted in 1878, with the late Albert Pike as Provincial Grand Master. Its charter was issued by the Grand Lodge of the order at Edinburgh, Scotland. There are no subordinate lodges. The total membership is 271. W. Oscar Roome, Washington, D. C., is secretary.

THE CERNEAU RITE,

A body of Free Masons, holding under the Grand Orient of France, but unrecognized by the general body of Masons in this country, is located in New York City, having two consistories and a "Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors-General of the Thirty-third and Last Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, as organized by Joseph Cerneau, Thirty-third Degree, in the Year 1807." Judah Moses is Grand Secretary-General.

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ANCIENT AND PRIMITIVE RITE OF MEMPHIS, IN AND FOR THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Masonry, Disciples of Memphis, was founded as a Grand Lodge at Montauban, France, in the year 1814, by the Illustrious Brothers Jacques Etienne Marconis, Samuel Honis of Cairo, Baron Dumas, Hypolite Labrunie, Marquis de Laroque, J. Pettit and others. Jacques Etienne Marconis, in person, established the first organization of the Ancient and Primitive Rite in New York City November 9, 1856, under the name and title of "A Supreme Council, Sublime Masters of the Great Work, Ninetieth Degree. On March 1, 1857, Illustrious and Eminent Brother Marconis organized a "Sovereign Grand Council General, Ninety-fourth Degree, with Illustrious Brother David McLellan, Ninety-fifth Degree, Sovereign Grand Master," granting also a charter which gave full authority for the administration and government of the order. April 27, 1861, the then Sovereign Grand Master resigned and appointed his successor in office, who on June 21, 1862, acting in conjunction with the Illustrious Grand Master Marconis, the Marshall Magnan and the Grand Master of the Grand Orient of France, constituted a Sovereign Sanctuary, ninety-fifth degree, in and for the Continent of America.

Officers of the Sovereign Sanctuary, Ninety-fifth Degree, of Ancient and Primitive Freemasonry, according to the Rite of Memphis, in and for the Continent of America, elected, appointed and installed July 3, 1901, for three years: H. G. Goodale, 96., M. Ill. Sov. Grand Master-General; William F. Ford, 95., Grand Administrator General; J. S. Phillips, 95., Grand Chancellor General; L. K. Goldsmith, 95., Grand Expert General; E. T. Stewart, 95., Grand Secretary General; R. H. Fargue, 95., Grand Treasurer General.

Grand Hierophant, Supreme Sovereign Grand Master and Honorary Grand Patron, Professor F. F. degli Oddi, Ninety-seventh Degree.

The Sovereign Sanctuary for Egypt, Illustrious Brother Professor degli Oddi, 97., Grand Master General; Illustrious Brother Joseph Sakakini, 96., Grand Secretary General, Alexandria, Egypt.

The Sovereign Sanctuary of Great Britain and Ireland, Illustrious Brother Jo Yarker, 96., Sovereign Grand Master General, Manchester, England.

The Sovereign Sanctuary of Roumania, Illustrious Brother, Captain O. Moroiu, 96., Sovereign Grand Master General. The Sovereign Sanctuary of Naples, Illustrious Brother Gianbatti Pasini, 96., Sovereign Grand Master General. The Sovereign Sanctuary of Palermo, Illustrious Brother Professor Salvatore Satille, 96., Sovereign Grand Master General.

The Sovereign Sanctuary of India, Illustrious Brother P. C. Dutt, 96., Sovereign Grand Master General. The Mystic Temple, Grand Council General, Ninety-fourth Degree, in and for the State of New York, held its biennial assembly for the election of officers for the ensuing two years on the 5th of June, 1901, and the following officers were elected: William F. Ford, 95., V. III. Grand Master of Light; William H. Small, 95., Grand Orator; G. W. Winterburn, 94., Grand Examiner, E. J. Powers, 94., Grand Keeper of the Rite; E. T. Stewart, 95., Grand Annalist; H. G. Goodale, 96., Grand Treasurer.

Grand Defenders of the Rite, Ninety-first Degree.-John S. Phillips, 95., Grand Judge of the Statutes; G. W. Winterburn, 94., Grand Defender; R. H. Fargue, 95., Grand Arbitrator; H. A. N. Peterson, 95., Grand Orator; E. T. Stewart, 95., Grand Register; H. G. Goodale, 96.. Grand Censor.

Alpha Sublime Council, No. 1, Ninetieth Degree, Valley of New York.-Officers for 1902-3: Ill. Bro. William H. Jutsam, Sublime Dai; Ill. Bro. Edward J. Powers, First Mystagogue; Ill. Bro. Paqsuale Pepe, Second Mystagogue; Ill. Bro. George W. Winterburn, Orator; Ill. Bro. Charles W. Mussotter, Grand Expert; Ill. Bro. William F. Ford, Secretary; Ill. Bro. Harvey G. Goodale, Treasurer; Il. Bo. William J. Thompson, Archivist.

Samothrace Senate No. 1, Forty-second Degree.-Officers for 1902-3: Ill. Kt. Joseph Russell, Sublime Grand Commander; Il. Kt. A. C. Henderson, M. L. Senior Kt. Interpreter; Il. Kt. J. C. Wilkie, M. L. Junior Kt. Interpreter; Il. Kt. C. W. Mussotter, Knight Orator; I. Kt. William F. Ford, Knight Recorder; Il. Kt. H. G. Goodale, Knight of Finance; Ill. Kt. W. J. Thompsin, Knight Archivist.

Gramercy Rose Croix Chapter, No. 1, Eighteenth Degree.-Officers for 1902-3: Sir Kt. George W. Winterburn, Most Wise; Sir Kt. H. A. N. Peterson, Senior Knight Warden; Sir Kt. William Langschultz, Junior Knight Warden; Sir Kt. C. W. Mussotter, Knight Orator; Sir. Kt. W. F. Ford, Knight Archivist; Sir Kt. H. G. Goodale, Knight Treasurer.

ORDER OF THE EASTERN STAR.

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The Order of the Eastern Star is the only body of a Masonic character which admits women members. It is not itself Masonic except in the restriction which it places upon candidates for admission. Masons in good and regular standing are eligible for membership, and their eligibility extends to their wives, mothers, sisters and daughters. Widows of Masons also are eligible, and the list is confined to these several classes of persons. The order originated in New York City in 1868, and has extended through the country with the result that there are now twenty-four grand lodges in as many States. The objects of the order are to extend to the female members of the families of Masons such social advantages of the ancient fraternity as may be shared with them, and to place them under the protecting care of the older order. New York State has the largest grand chapter and there are a number of subordinate chapters in New York City, the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn having about thirty chapters, while there are about eighty in the State, all told. The officers of the New York Grand Chapter are as follows: M. W. Grand Matron, Mrs. Annie Vass, Brooklyn; M. W. Grand Patron, John P. Frolich; R. W. Grand Treasurer, Mrs. Lucie A. Buddington, No. 72 East One Hundred and Twenty-fifth street, Manhattan; R. W. Grand Secretary, Mrs. Rebecca Miner, No. 338 West Fifty-first street, Manhattan.

COLORED FREE MASONS.

Freemasonry has existed among the colored people of the United States during the entire period of the nation's history. While the colored Masons are denied recognition by the white members of the order, and by their lodges, grand and subordinate, the regularity of their organization and work is recognized by some of the foreign Grand Lodges. The parent lodge was known as African Lodge, and was opened in Boston, Mass., on March 6, 1775, when fifteen colored men were initiated as charter members. Prince Hall, whose name headed the list, was the first Worshipful Master. African Lodge received a warrant from the Grand Lodge of England in 1784, and upon this fact all the lodges of colored Masons base their claim to regularity. The archives of the order in Massachusetts contain evidence Indicating that Prince Hall regarded African Lodge as a Provincial Grand Lodge, and himself as the Provincial Grand Master. The African Grand Lodge of Boston was organized as such in 1808. It is now known as the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, so named in honor of the man who, in that and other States is regarded as the father of Freemasonry among colored men. There are at the present time twenty-eight Grand Lodges in the United States, and one in Ontario. Those in the United States are in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania (organized in 1815), Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.

SONS OF JONADAB.

The order of the Sons of Jonadab is a total abstinence organization, instituted in 1867. Its purpose is to inspire men who have become victims of intemperance with a desire to become and continue to be sober men, by the use of moral and physical forces. Persons becoming members of the organization must subscribe to a life pledge to abstain from the use, manufacture and sale of all intoxicating liquors.

The offices of the national order are at Washington, D. C., and the Sovereign Secretary is William H. Young. No. 1324 Ninth street, N. W.. Washington, D. C.

The officers of the Sovereign Council are: Sovereign Chief, J. E. Hibbs; Vice-Sovereign Chief, Joseph R. Murphy; Sovereign Secretary, William H. Young; Sovereign Treasurer, F. J. McQuade; Sovereign Patriarch, Charles Rossiter; Sovereign Guide, Charles A. Cabo; Sovereign Watchman, H. W. Marshall, Past Sovereign Chief, Edward Mullin.

INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS.

Odd Fellowship originated in the eighteenth century, and flourished in Great Britain especially, where a number of lodges early in the following century, about the year 1813, consolidated into the Manchester Unity, which is now the principal body representing the Order in that country. There is no affiliation between it and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which represents Odd Fellowship in the United States, the Dominion of Canada, Australasia, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The first permanent lodge was instituted in the United States in 1819. and the objects of the order in this country are "to visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead, and educate the orphan, to improve and elevate the character of man.' In the lodge proper the degree work is based upon the legends of the patriarchal period in Hebrew history. The order has been marked by a series of evolutions, out of which have grown the Encampment branch, the Chevaliers of the Patriarchs Militant and the Rebekah lodges, the latter being made up of both sexes. According to the report of the Grand Secretary of the Sovereign Grand Lodge for the year ended December 31, 1901, the condition of the order on that date is represented by the statistics which follow: Besides the Sovereign Grand Lodge there were 6 quasiindependent grand lodges in foreign countries, 66 grand lodges in the United States and Canada, 55 grand encampments, 12,792 subordinate lodges, 2.780 subordinate encampments, 1,002,272 lodge members, 145,138 encampment members, 40 Rebekah assemblies, the grand bodies of this branch of the order; 5,756 Rebekah lodges and 373,653 Rebekah lodge members. Of the Rebekah lodge members 139,827 were brothers and 233,826 were sisters. The total amount expended by the various bodies during the year was $3.939,785, out of a total revenue of $10,782,562 The total expenses, not including payments on the relief account, were $4,815,508. Funds invested by subordinate lodges, encampments and Rebekah lodges aggregate $29,952,769. Statistics covering the period from 1830 until the close of the year 1901, and including those of the six quasi-independent grand lodges show that there have been 2,544,120 initiations in subordinate lodges; 2,565,905 members relieved; 256,606 widowed families relieved, and a loss of 252,354 members through death. The total revenue for the period was $240,430,422.21; and the total expenditure for relief, $92,665,214.47.

The officers of the Sovereign Grand Lodge are as follows: Grand Sire, John B. Goodwin, Atlanta, Ga.; Deputy Grand Sire, Robert E. Wright, Allentown, Pa.; Grand Secretary, J. Frank Grant, Baltimore, Md.; Grand Treasurer, M. Richards Muckle, Philadelphia, Pa.; Assistant Grand Treasurer, Elvin J. Curry, Baltimore, Md.; Grand Chaplain, J. W. Venable, Hopkinsville, Ky.; Grand Marshal, John B. Cockrum, Indianapolis, Ind.; Grand Guardian, Edwin L. Pilsbury, Boston, Mass.; Grand Messenger, Louis F. Hart. Tacoma, Wash. GRAND LODGES AND SECRETARIES.

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P. O. Address.
Halifax, N., S.
Baltimore.
Boston.
Lansing.
St. Paul.
Winona.
St. Louis.
Butte.
Fremont.
Amsterdam.
Virginia City.
Manchester.
Trenton.
Gallup.
New York City.
Raleigh.

Grand Forks.
Columbus.

Guthrie.

Toronto.

Portland.

Philadelphia.
Montreal.
Providence.
Columbia.
Huron.
Stockholm.
Basel.
Nashville.
Dallas.

Salt Lake City.
Bradford.
Richmond.
Tacoma.

Ellis A. Billingslea Fairmont.
Richard Hoe...... Milwaukee.
Louis Miller.......Laramie.

[blocks in formation]
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