AS REPORTED BY BROS. G.M. BARNS, ED W OSGOOD, AND W.A. PORTER, AND ADOPTED BY THE LODGE, NOV 4, A.L. 5895

 LEAVENWORTH, KS

COX PRINTING COMPANY

1919

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY.

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1952 DIRECTORY OF MASONIC BODIES MEETING IN THE MASONIC BUILDING 421-23-25 DELAWARE STREET LEAVENWORTH, KS. COX PRINTING COMPANY. LODGE A.F. & A.M. 52 PAGE OF WHO'S WHO. IN GOOD CONDITION.

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FYI

Freemasonry is a fraternal organization whose membership is held together by shared moral and metaphysical ideals and—in most of its branches—by a constitutional declaration of belief in a Supreme Being.

The fraternity uses the metaphor of operative stonemasonry, and the tools and implements of that craft, to convey its ideals.

Freemasonry is described in its ritual as: A peculiar (some say particular or beautiful) system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols, articulated in the 1991 English Emulation Ritual.

It is an esoteric society, in that certain aspects are private; Freemasons have stated that Freemasonry has, in the 21st century, become less a secret society and more of a "society with secrets." Most modern Freemasons regard the traditional concern over secrecy as a demonstration of their ability to keep a promise and a concern over the privacy of their own affairs. "Lodge meetings, like meetings of many other social and professional associations, are private occasions open only to members." The private aspects of modern Freemasonry deal with the modes of recognition amongst members and elements within the ritual.

While there have been many disclosures and exposés dating as far back as the eighteenth century, Freemasons caution that they often lack the proper context for true understanding, may be outdated for various reasons, or could be outright hoaxes on the part of the author. In reality, Freemasons are proud of their true heritage and happy to share it, offering spokesmen, briefings for the media, and providing talks to interested groups upon request.

Freemasonry has many branches and international jurisdictions. It has no single general governing body, but is governed on a geographic basis by independent, Sovereign Grand Lodges and Grand Orients, which may or may not be in a state of mutual recognition. The jurisdictions are usually defined according to a national or geographic boundary, and as such, there is no global Masonic organizational structure or authority. Moreover, many Masonic practices are determined by the custom of an individual Lodge, so any general description will not and cannot be universally true.

The supreme Masonic authority in any jurisdiction is vested in a Grand Lodge, or sometimes a Grand Orient. The geographic area or Lodges of a Grand Lodge may be sub-divided into Provinces or Districts, each governed by a Provincial, District or Metropolitan Grand Lodge. Between meetings of the Grand Lodge, its authority is administered by its Grand Officers, who are regularly appointed or elected to active or honorific ranks and Grand Offices.

The first Grand Lodge in Freemasonry, The Grand Lodge of England (GLE), was founded in 1717, when four existing London Lodges met and arranged to elect Grand Officers for a periodic joint "communication" and dinner. This rapidly expanded into a regulatory body, to which existing lodges adhered and which formed many new English Lodges. Almost all English Lodges joined one of the two competing English "Moderns" (GLE) and "Ancients" (Athol) Grand Lodges from the 1750s onwards, until they finally united in 1813 to form the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE).

The formation of GLE was soon followed by the Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland in the 1720s. Freemasonry had been exported to the British Colonies in North America by the 1730s. Both the "Ancients" and the "Moderns" Grand Lodges (as well as the Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland) chartered lodges and set up rival Provincial Grand Lodges. After the American Revolution, these lodges formed themselves into independent Grand Lodges based on state boundaries. Some thought was briefly given to organizing an over-arching "Grand Lodge of the United States", with George Washington as the first Grand Master, but the idea was short-lived. The various Grand Lodges did not wish to diminish their own authority by agreeing to such a body.

The oldest jurisdiction on the continent of Europe, the Grand Orient de France (GOdF), was founded in 1728. As will be detailed below, most English-speaking jurisdictions cut formal relations with the GOdF around 1877. The Grande Loge Nationale Française (GLNF) is currently the only French Grand Lodge that is in regular amity with the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) and its many concordant jurisdictions worldwide.

In most Latin countries, the GOdF style of European Continental Freemasonry predominates, although in most of these Latin countries there are also Grand Lodges that are in "regular amity" with the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) and the worldwide community of Grand Lodges that share "fraternal relations" with the UGLE. The rest of the world, accounting for the bulk of Freemasonry, tends to follow more closely to the UGLE style, although many minor variations exist.