The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 4, 1904, Page 7

% HIE following historical l ceour o early Tem- pen of | Frank | t ;= grand pe nd Com- — i via, Tepre A) M 2\ } master of i - *5/ ¢ Ten and itones Christi Temp and in after years thes sbreviated gr r were lar. nd master was Hugo de his petition ghts be per- tary and religious I s the Second ap- t ical council, theh in S which enterta d t directed St. Bernard t ry rules for the p: w order. is still in existence, cligious exercises, fas and prayer. The daily life and e thought of the Knight is pres d. The order increased rapg bers and influence, many of ers coming from the noblest rope. Kings and nobles their al and granted liberal oney, goods and land, so that neration their preceptories we established within Christian country. At first the organ on of the order was very Eir but in less than a century num- bers and ‘wealth caused the manner of government to become more compli- cated and a gradual change in the or- ganization of the order created classes of membership, which were known as the mem every knights, chaplains and serving breth- ren Tho desired admission as s were obliged to prove that sprang from a knightly family, ere born in lawful wedlock, e who th that th er order of knighthood and were free from prev obligations, unmarried, and d sound and healthy constitu- tions. n the Templar army were often bodies of men enlisted for a campaign term of service, and in such Knights acted as officers or In granted D. 1162 Pope Alexander III the Tempiars permission to re- ceive into their houses spiritual per- sons, the “chaplains,” wbho were not bound by any previous obligations. Their vows on their reception were somewhat similar to those of the Knights, and they performed all reli- gious offices and officiated as priests at the ceremonies of the order. The serving brethren were sup- posed to be free born, and at times in- cluded men of wealth and high posi- tion. They were divided into brethren- at-arms and handicraft brethren. The former composed the bulk of the Tem- plar army, and were often promoted to the honors ef knighthood. The latter class remained in the preceptories and farriers and armorers. These three classes constituted the recognized order of the Temple. There was,. however, a class known as the filiati” or Affiliated. ‘These were sons of both sexes who had an in- in the order apd were; en- to- its protection. . There was another class called the “Do- nates” or “Donats,” composed - of young men destined for service in the order, or influential citizens who had contributed to the Templar treasury. pe terest titled exercised their various trades, such as | By Right Eminent 8i 4 Frank William Sumner were not connected With any e OUTLINE OF FREE MASONRY IN CALIFORNIA “Traylor, A Photo by Bushnell. and if he re- — el plied. that he still The supreme power of th® order was Jesired to be re- | vested in a grand n celved; he wa$ life, and whose au guestionedl (i nigh absolute. His residence was at T 28 10 M t at Jerusalem, and afterward at Dhou @nd cons city or place where the headquar- S aonCe ers of the order were located. ¢ o 'hw"‘“f"‘:: The next officer in rank to the 158 tHCh eAted grand master was the seneschal, who ’ . 4 4 ter, who deliv- exercised authority in case of the dis- ered to him a ability of the master. THe marshal, : discourse on his rd in rank, was the military of- oo obligations to the or general of the order. = The ¢’ SMONS BNl having duties as implied by o\ re - ‘ B st soihios Sy oydib el LR A T The draper performed those pover 1o asseult h in present dav are OVCF SO SCUEE ent upon the commissary gen- S s tarcopolier was the com- po0 “¥ f the cavalry. order grew in strength ided into province: d these territorinl districts were governed by grand preceptors or grand priors st executive body of order was composed of the cers of the order as grahd preceptors of fovinces and a certain num- it men- tione, of distinguished Sir Knights. These formed -the Chapter eral of the er, and in this body all s and regulatio made 2 the grand ected. The au- were en lands of the divided up provinces, rom we: Pales- rn and irope, fr to Ger- w ng an em- ¥ and hav- and pol- rec t intc of a order ptior the eremo- nial and v but en sent members :d to be The full de- Is of the ceremonies initiation not in the j nt a portion of esoteric work has been lost. We know, how- ever, the general detail of the rite of reception of candidate for the candidatc for the honors of the order in those days, and a sketch of such reception is given. On the day of the re- ception- the master and are known as Knights wese sent te warn the candidate of the dangers and hard- ships which ke would be obliged to encoun- if he hecame a cf- the order. replies were sat- tory the commit- tee returncd to the chapter - room and made z report, which, on being received, ard there * being no objec- tion, the committee re- turned and gave the candidate the nec- essary instructions as to the manner in | RIGHT EMINENT SIR FRANK WILLIAM SUMNER. + The CHIVALRIC ORIGIN OF TEM sent of the mas- ter or preceptor. Two plain meals and sometimes three were allowed each day, but the fare was at times coarse; wine was served, .but strict silence enjofned that all might listen to the words from Holy Writ, which were read by a-chaplain or 7/ one of the Knights. / Complete obedience § to the master and ab- solute devotion to the order were ever enjoin- ed. It was a wonderful brotherhood and flourished accord- ing to the necessi- ties of the ag., 3 which he should act, and then led him *— to the door of the chapter-room. any attention from a woman without On cntering, he cast himself on his ‘the consent of his superiors: not to kiss knecs before the master, and said: ; woman; not to abuse any one and to “Sir, I am come before God, before You ,pe ever courteous to all; to attend and the brethren, and pray and be- gjvine service; to begin and end his ¢eech you, for God and our dear Lady's meals with prayer; to be submissive sake, to admit me inte your fellowship and obedient to the grand master and and the good deeds of the order, as one aj| those in authority; to cross the who will for all his life be the servant geas; to go to battle, and never turn and slave of the order.”” The master his back on three foes, and, if alone, then addressed the.candidate and ex- to fight them if they were infidels. plained to him what he must renounce, The life of the soldier was part sol- what he must undergo, and what he dier and part monk. Daily religious must expect if he was to become a services were required and none could member of this order of knighthood; absent themselves without the con- passing away when its work was ac- complished. The peculiar dress of the order was a long white tunic, with a red passion cross on the front and back. Over this was worn the white Templar cloak or mantle, displaying a red Templar cross over the left breast; and the head was covered with a cap or hood attached to the mantle. The white garments were worn only by the Knights who had been bound to the order for a fixed period or for life. The chaplains clothed themselves in dark robes suit- able to their profession, but ornament- " tries of Europe. PLA Past Grand Commander Grand of California charges Commandery ed with the cross of the order. The brethren-at-arms, the serving brethren and others connected with the order were bidden to wear dark or dusky brown garments, but no bright or parti-colored clothing was allowed to be worn on any occasion. The armor was that of the age, either plate or chain, the latter coming into favor with the Knights after their experience in battles with the Sara- cens. Over the mail was worn the mantle and cross of the order, but no further distinguishing mark or insig- nia was allowed. The arms were the sword, lance, mace and shield, and afterward, from knowledge gained in Palestine, the bow and arrow were at times used. As the Knights were a mounted force the fighting was done on horseback. There is a legend that during the earlier years of the order, because of poverty, two Knights were mounted on one horse, but such tradition is doubt- ful. Wealth came to the urganization from the first, and all duly created Knights were provided with two and sometimes three horses. The banners of the order were two. half The beauseant, the uppgr which was black and the | white, was sometimes knc vexilium belli, or battle fla banner of the order and w all conflicts. At times the Kr ried the beauseant in the fc small pennant at the end of their lances The red cross banner was a white flag on which was displayed the broad red passion cross, and this standard might be called the headquarters ilag of the organ- ization as it was always placed in front of the grand master’s station. The order as a military institu- tien existed two centuries i chroniclers have furnished poets and historians’ t which of or will ‘never be ' history of Palestine duri twelfth and thirteenth turfes is virtually a s the Knights Templ the Knights Hospitaler and a record of their strug, against the Saracens for dominion in the nd “The =z Knights was questioned were the first to ad- vance and the last to retreat, for in acc ance with the rules ¢ their order they turned their backs upon an infidel During the latter years of the order power and pros- perity sapped the warlike &pirit of the Templars, and although wealth and au- thority had tained, such tion had 1 ob- tained by loss of piety and virtue. There was a growing senti- ment against the order, for the Templars seemed to have forgotten their vows to Dprotect the holy sepulcher, and after the disastrous defeat in Acre in 1201, had, ex- cepting a short stay in Cyprus, hur- ried to the various manors which were held by the order in the different coun- These priories or pre- ceptories have been estimated to have numbered 9000, and the divisions of the orders yielded the revenue of kings. The Knights Hospitaler, on the other hand, after evacuating Palestine, re- mained at Cyprus and Rhodes, creat- ing a naval force and engaging in suc- cessful maritime warfare against the Turks and Saracens throughout the Mediterranean. The different lines of policy pursued by the two orders created a distrust of the Templars and therefore the people been acqui b Samuel C. Denson, Wiley J. Tinnin, Edmund C. Atkinson, Hiram N. Ruck- er, William Johnston, Henry Sayre Orme, James B. Stevens, William T. Lucas, Thomas Flint Jr., Frank M. Angellotti, Charles L. Patton, James A. Foshay, William 8. Wells, Orrin S. Henderson and Charles W. Nutting. Since the organization of the Grand Lodge but eight brethren have occu- pied the position of grand treasurer— Levi Stowell, one year; T. A. Thomas, one year; Addison Martin, nine years; James Laidley, sixteen years; Moses Heller, eight years; N. W. Spaulding, eight years; Edward Coleman, the incumbent, eleven years. But four different persons have oc- cupied the position of grand secretary —-John H. Gihon, one yeary Levi Stow- ell, five years; Alexander G. Abell, thirty-five years; George Johnson, the present efficient officer, fourteen years. Among other prominent officers may be named Henry Hare Hartley, Theo- dore G. Cockrill, Charles L. Wiggin, John Quincy Adams, Sasher Woods, John R. McConnell, Richard F. Knott, Samuel A. Merritt, Alvinza Hayward, Jacob Hart Neff, Henry Hay Knapp, Marcus D. Boruck, George W. Hunter, Motley H. Flint, Edward Henry Hart. Continued From Page 6. Lodge its destinies and “the interests of Masonry in the State have been presided over by thirty-seven different grand masters. As the character of the institution is greatly measured by the ability and character of these grand masters, it may not beout of place to name them; they are as fol- lows: Colonel Jonathan D. Stevenson, 1850; John A. Tutt, 1851: Benjamin D. Hyman, 1852; Charles M. Radcliff, 1558; William H: Howard, .1854-5-6; N. Greene Curtls, 1857-8-9-60; James L. English, - 1861; ° Willlam Caldwell Belcher, 1862-3-4; Gilbert Claiborne, 1865-6; William A. Davies, 1887; Charles Marsh, 1868; Leonidas (E. Pratt, 1869-70-1-2; Isaac 8. Titus, 1568; George C. Perkins, 1864; John ‘Mills Brown, 1865-6-7-8; Willlam 'W. 1879; Samuel C. Denson, 1880; Clay Webster Taylor, 1881-2; Jonathan D. Hines, 1883-4; ‘Wiley J. Tinnin, 1885; Edmund Clement Atkin- son, 1886; Hiram N. Rucker, 1887; Morris M. Estee, 1888-9; Alvah Rus- sell Conklin, 1890; William Johnston, 1891; Charles Roy Gritman, 1892; Henry Sayre Orme, 1893; James Baunty Stevens, 1894; Edward Myers .. This brief sketch of the history of Preston, 1895; William Thomas Lucas, Masonry in California would be incom- 1896; Thomas Flint Jr., 1897; Frdnk .plete without reference to two of its Marion Angellotti, 189 Charles L. ‘'most important benefactions. It is a Patton, 1899; James A. Foshay, 1900; cardinal teaching of the Institution of ‘William Sewall Wells, 1901; Orrin 8.+ Masonry that every lodge is under obli- Henderson, 1902; Charles .W. Nutting, gation to minister to the relief of its the incumbent, 1903. The Angetl own membership, and also the relief of Death has called for ‘all " of of the distressed or destitute of any these, except Gilbert B. Claiborne,’ other lodge wherever located, while so- William A. Davies, George C. Perkins, journing in its jurisdiction. In cities having more than one lodge, each of the lodges is under the same obligation. 1In order properly to distribute the bur- dens imposed upon the lodges in San Francisco, and to enable them to dis- pense more equitably their charities, as well as to guard against imposition on the part of improper applicants, the masters of five of the seven lodges lo- cated in San Francisco, in 1855 formed a compact and organized a Masonic Board of Relief. This board has regularly held its meet- ine every Saturday evening from its incepticn to the present time. It is not in the power of pen to depict its bene- faction in administéring relief, burying the dead and comforting and caring for the widows and orphans c¢Z “Masons. The expenditures of the board have yearly increased, until in 193 they had reached the munificent sum of $13,- 987 16. The total expenditures of the board during the fifty years of its ex- istence for charity has amcunted to $389,046 07, while its incidental ex- penses have only amounted to $42,- 283 58, or less than an average of $850 per annum. This ‘is the monetary record; the record of its other chari- ties cannot he estimated. Since the formation of the San Fran- cisco boards, similar bodies have been established in Los Angeles, Oakland, Stockton, San Diego, Sacramento and San Jose. All the boards, in addition %0 moneys contributed by the assenting lodges, are liberally assisted bv the Grand Lodge. It will afford some idea of the work done by these boards to state that in 1903 the entire sum ex- pended by all amaunted. to $24,391 33. To this sum is to be added the several amounts expended in relief by the sev-- eral lodges of the State outside of those composing the boards of relief, Ma- sons and the widows and orphans of Masons belonging to other jurisdictions, .and also the sum expended by the 291 lcdges of the State for the relief of their own members. It is needless to say that Masonry in California is doing a great work. In 1890 the Grand Lodge adopted a series of resolutions looking to the founding of a Masonic Home for the nurture and the Intellectual, moral and physical -culture of the children of de- ceased Master Masons of the State, and as a temporary asylum for poor and distressed Masons and the widows of | deceased Masons. In 1891 the Grand Lodge adopted a resolution providing for the appointment of a board of trus- tees whose duty it should be to organ- ize such home. This board organized in 1892 and at once began the arduous undertaking. Suffice it to say that in due time the home was established, a palatial structure was erected at De- coto, in Alameda County, and Califor- nia now has a Masonic Widows' and Orphans’ Home, well equipped, and serving a most beneficient purpose. The Masons of the State have great pride in the home and seem disposed, with one accord, to ~ive te it the support which it requires. Already some of the noble-hearted brethren have made lib- eral donations; the ladies of the State contribute liberally; through the liber- ality of particular brethren additional structures have .been erected, and it now ranks among the best of this class of charitable institutions in the land. Masonry in California, with equal .%sel, purse and foot, advances with every other interest of the State. RISM = were willing to listen to any against the Order of the Temp! a generation or more there strange stories about ‘th rumors affecting their orthod the loyalty of the order, and t! rites and black art practiced secret meetings. Credence wa to the charges that the neophy upon the crucifix, disovowed his be in Christ, and worshiped Templar's pride, arrogance and lux soon rendered him an object of d to those who were willing or p the power to accomplish members of the order being sc in their various preceptories and being able to read aright the signs of the times were in a condition to be- come an easy prey to an avaric and unscrupulous pri . Such was Philip the Fair of France, who planned to add to his treasury t immense wealth of the precepto which were located within hi dom. . To his wishes Pope Cl gave ready con , and in Jun att the grand 1 the Pope, at t to meet h rtance to ifmp: and 2 f .treasur hasten excuse and capital for on October ery- Templar in F nd thrust into p Cruelty, injustice and es of the Inquisition marked - ceedings of the examina The charges which were preferred could ven in that age, be subst. ted but the judgment had been the trial, and during the cen years the Templars > driven from their homes ed for life or burned at the stake. Ti Pone, who +had received the h and vows of these valiant K ated the orders of his master of ¥ aw with fe: trembling an order which w d which existed for the glory of his church disappear in the smoke which e from the funeral pyre ranisk noisome d on wh y were lo With the destruction of t France other nations m: the order, confiscating imprisoning or driving av d virtually blotting nce of the order. The Knigh ing, from their priories, sought r wherever a friendly. harbor could found. Quite a namber made t way to Scotland, in that la Templars had suffered no pers and while there joined or u the Order of St. John of Je upon which the confiscated lands of the Templars had been besto d. Sor followed the fortunes and placed elves under the protection of ( Edward the Pretender, who becam T was styled, grand master, and to this circumstance some of the degrees in the Scottish Rite probably owe their existence. Some members of the order took refuge in religious houses and on la others retired to private life, but in all cases the Templars retained the old religious training, with cohtinued fidelity to the principles of the order, and won esteem and good will in what- ever station they were placed. It has been suggested that no direct authority or title can be traced from the old order to the present one, which is so potential in the United States, but there seems to be authentic evi- dence that the exXistence of the order never disappeared. So great and so powerful an organization as Templar- ism could never have died without leaving its traces and its influence on the existing conditions of society at that time and in the subsequent ages. The Knights of the Temple became affiliated with the Knights of St. John, and, without doubt, members of these orders at times received the degrees of Freemasthry. In such cases they proved valuable members and at all times aided the cause with their coun- sword. Part of the present authority for the existence of the order comes from the English priories in Bristol, Bath, York, Salis- bury and London. The persecution of the Templars in England was never severe, although these priories, except the two first named, were broken up and their members dispersed. The Encampment of Baldwyn at Bristol continued its organization, ac- cepted the doctrines of the established church, and from time to time created Knights of the Temple and of St. John. The claims of this encampment appear to be well founded, and its continua- tion from the time when the property of the order was sequestered to the present day can hardly be questioned. Without doubt the English and Ameri- can Templars can trace their authority and origin to the Daldwyn Encamp- ment and to the independent action of the Knights of the Temple and of St. John while in Scotland. The knightly life was a religious life and true knighthood was never known until the church and the faith of Christ were established upon the earth. The term of probation of the knight was emblematical of the life of the Re- deemer, triumphing over the faults of sinful nature and finding new strength for faith, purity and devotion. Half soldier and half monk was his characteristic, and the fulfiliment of every Christian duty and the practice of Christian virtue was the rule and motive of his actions. Life was con- secrated by prayer and sacrifice, and death was ever welcome for the cause of Christ. “Non nobis, Domine; non nobis! sed nomine tuo da Gloriam!