Show 0 BECOMES WORLDS I 4 RANKING MASON o < C KINGS S C5 Cap llfic S f rncU i L Mantle of Albert Pike Falls Upon Representative Richard d h sonWill Be a Veritable Monarch Will Sit in State UTAH j Upon a High Throne Canopied in Purple and Gold Ai Will Fare as Vell Financially as Though Possessed 1r of the Coveted Speakership Provided for Life With S a Luxurious Temple in Which He May In tall Himself H Him-self S and Family Costly Jewels and Decorations of I i His Picturesque Office Will Tour the Country With All Expenses Paid S I S I 1 1 Correspondence Tribune Washington D C Jan DThe hallowed hal-lowed mantle of the great Albert Pike and with it all the pomp and sanotlly of the worlds highest Masonic rank flow falls upon the shoulders of Rcpio ficnlativc James D Richardson of Tennessee Ten-nessee In other words Mr Richardson succeeds to the exalted ollioe of sovereign S ereign wand commander of the south l onulurlsdlrlion of the Ancient and Ac Lcopied Scottish lUll of Free Masonly I PKTC r I 1 1I I imporh and in iI 1 widths its skirt TO MA7CB I I rii I 3 f h08 I IO4 I t1i i 4 VA S j e 75l l 11 I and t t4p r j TRIP P r f II MilLEnd 1 es JC SC round r 131t Representative Richardson of Tennessee > Ue of tuciji This office has lust been left vacant by l arms trt the death of Thomas II Caswell of San for ii 1 Francisco Mr Richardson becomes a veritable lace aii hon ict jMUentatc within the Masonic sphere OL Ut Few foreign monarchs will be more terlal oil gorgeously enthroned more picturesquely 6 pictur-esquely surroundedmore ceremoniously i I attended than will he while formally hhcmlse tri executing the princely functions of his loldery 81 lIgh office S Inly lie succeeds to a life ppsitlon He will have at his disposal a Jlaluclal1 apT ap-T pointed dwelling In which he may house HImself and his family for the remainder iKIRfl I I remain-der of his days He falls heir to a generous gen-erous salary When he travels far and wide upon the many olllcial missions 0C goOd < m prescribed for him his expenses will be ter of tutb paid vlihout stipulation or limitation I cain lJ At the same time he will he permitted 33 I to retain his seat in Congress and to India Ip i draw the salary accruing therefrom tucks at4 Mr Richardson becomes the tanking 6 lason of the world by virtue of two I l acloJ First that the Scottish Rile r confers the highest Masonic degree t india U l the thirtythird second that IIP will nch tor o i slde over the worlds oldest or mother supreme council of that order or-der Thus he can claim Masonic superiority supe-riority over the Prince of Wales and KT President Dlutf of Mcjcico respectively iNS 1 P Ijgnind patron and grand commander of I cottlsji UHf Masons of their countries I only deep j t BliTTJUH OFF P1lA SPEAKER aprons AB sovereign grand commander Rep I JLipattern ol rsMiliUlvc RlMiurdson will draw a pattern j l < laS < Jnll salary of 3000 a year for lift 3 3J JLhls added to his Con le8Mional aalavy nst of 5000 per annum will nggregale fyr awn aprons1 tlilm the Ionie allowance proscribed ror llrJOJ1 the Soualc of the house of Rtpvesenra jtlviS Mr Richardson has asphtil to a kLvfl I the Spcakcishlp ever since he has heca llnty Clu1b fcfDemorrallc leader on the lloor of ihe j 4 House While Horving both as sovm lolgn oinmandei nnd R > resun tit live ho will bp ovon better off financial than If l I merely Speaker Vntle Sam does not 4 furnish the Sneaker of his lower legislative J r tilihlil legis-lative body a palatial dwelling as dots John Bull The Holy House of the Temple at Third und B streets northwest will beat be-at Mr Richardsons disposal whenever he may choose to occupy it It Is owned I hv the Scottish Rite Masons and is valued val-ued at S100000 Its modest exterior 1 ill bears no suggestion of the luxurious I eau appointments within It Is a threestory brick 5lli4lng with plain front and D with two bay windows ut the Hide GOOD Above the entrance are chiseled ami tlnlod with gold ten Samaritan characters charac-ters forming the Inscription Holy House of the Teinyle I Mr RlchardsonH bed fhanbcr Is 51 csh Iron I j2 capacious room cm the third floor It la yard furnished with a handsome mahogany glmamnS1 folding bed couch bureau aovcral neciI tables and chairs and a luxurious rug ciTed5 h I The manlnl la cut of while marble and er Yard the walls arc hung with valuable oil mrs ° paintings purchased by Albert Plko ine rcnCh1 A large photograph of the great Ma on L rs himself looks down upon his surcepsor I it and Piled upon the tables are numerous ut I books of rnro value The room Is l situated sit-uated at the corner of the building and is lighted by six windows Directly adjacent triC lI lit ad-jacent Is a private bath with porcelain lea ot t 1 e 1ub and tiled floor and walls Distributed In st Jed 1 Distrib-uted about tho temple are eight similar > Oa an apartments each with private bath A LI These will be at the disposal of such I 13t1e11 6 f members oC Mr Richardsons faintly OH ng he may care to house within the build Iy lde I lug Such us are vacant will be used hCS plf hy committee chairmen of the uoreme re5 1 council during mc llngs of that august body These rooms have > buen fur if nbjhetT by various States Ot the South l A P era Jurisdiction S Pal d to The onice of the now sovereign grand I f commander occupies similar space upon R up-on the second floor It contains two D I S l rnuhogany desks bookcases and all tI modern office luxuries Across tho I hail Is a small chamber upon whose I Wall is placed a triangular brass tablet Ynarkng time apartment as the hallowed place in which Gen Albert Plko Gen S J r Bachclloi and Judge P C Tucker former sovereign grand commamlcrs departed this life Upon the adjoining wall hangs within a glass frame the 1 pencil with which Gen Pike upon his I deathbed wrote the lines Shalom p > u < vthai comes with blessing to care I when deaths I fretted weary men I dreamless sleen ends all suffering and I sorrow These words as originally 1 I written by the great Mason are framed with his pencil HIS GORGEOUS THRONE The gorgeous throne upon which Mr Richardson will sit while exercising the formal functions his kingly office overlooks a errand hall known as the senate chamber of the supreme council coun-cil This hall is entered from the west by l two anterooms Above It rise a domed ceiling lined with electric burners The floor Is covered by a luxurious lux-urious red carpet The sides of the room are lined with high benches erected upon platforms and reserved for visiting Masons of the thirtythird and last degree Just beneath are I thht three desks occupied by members mem-bers of the senate of the supreme council coun-cil when that bcxlyls in session Mr Richardsons throne Is a majestic seat elevated upon a dulsr approached by ihree steps It Is sheltered by a heavy canopy of royal purple velvet and silk bordered with gold fringe and gold tassels Before it is a gold and white pedestal with triangular top holding a gavel Upon the floor of the hall and directly in front of this pedestal pedes-tal stands an altar supporting a lamp which wJ1l burn Incense while Mr Richardson sits In state Upon the right and left of the throne proper are two subthrones for the grand chancellor chancel-lor and grand minister of state jJje large throne Is nov draped In crepe In memory of the death oC Mr Caswell Upon the seat rests the sovereign grand commanders triple cross in immor telles Tn the center of the hall stands a white altai upon which thirtythird degree Masons take their solemn obligations obli-gations Three smaller thrones for the lieutenant grand commander grand prior and grand standaidbearer of the order occupy the end pf the room op posite to where Mr Richardson will he stationed Above these three sub thrones rises a choir loft extending over the width of the hall and contain I ing a large pipe organ A similar but smaller l chamber provided with tnrones is occupied by knlghto com manders of the court of honor a Scot tish rlto body Intermediate between the thirtysecond and thirtythird degrees de-grees COSTLY JEWELS OF OFFICE While sitting upon his throne Mr Richardson will wear a large triangular collar of white cloth embroidered In gold and many other colors Placing his head Ii rough the threecornered aperture of this vestment he will ar range It so that thff two upper points extend over his shoulders and the third hangs to hlo waist The lower point I will be embroidered with a small tri angle I Inclosing the number 3C and surrounded by a rayed sun Upon the I right will be embroidered the American and Scottish rite flags crasHed upon the left the eagleof the supreme council coun-cil beneath a Kadosli JcwoU Appended to the lower pointof the collar will hang the sovereign grand commanders jewel a Masonic emblem displayed upon an array of stars and a rayed sun of silver two and a half Inches In diameter covered with diamonds This decoration was made for Gen Bachel lor and descended to Judge Tucker and Mr Caswell Below It will be worn the apron of the last Masonic degree Whenever signing an otllclal communication commu-nication or document Mr Richardson will prefix the triple cross of his ofllco In red Ink to his signature commonly In black Thuj mark can be used bV l I no Mason of lower rank Mr Richardson will be the chief executive ex-ecutive and Judicial officer of his juris I diction which Includes thirty States and all of the Territories of the Union It will be his duty sp far as possible to visit Scottish Rite bodies In each of tliee States or Tei rltorles at least once S In l ivu year His expenses during these journeys will be paid for out of the treasury of his order Often he will I be alvcn Hue of the jirlvalc cars of high railroad otllcials active In Masonry 1 Mr Richardsons elevation to the highest Masonic rank Is the result of direct succession He was venerable lieutenant grand commander of the Scottish Rite prior to the death of Mr Caswell According to the unwritten rule of the order the incumbent of the second highest olllce succeeds to the first In the event of a vacancy therein The formal Qlectlon oC 1 Mr Richardson will not occur until next pptobcr although al-though lie has already actively assumed as-sumed the responsibilities of his office It Is not anticipated that Mr Richardson Rich-ardson will permanently occupy the Scottish Rite temple nfl a home or Install In-stall his tamMy thercliv Between sessions ses-sions of Cong sij when his Washington Washing-ton residence Is closed he will probably avail himself of the privileges of his official home at odd times requiring his presence there Gen Pike with his family made the temple his permanent home during the last years of his life Gen Buchellpr did likewise although ho had no family Judge Tucker I who lived in Texas occupied the building a half of each year and brought his family fam-ily with him Mr Caswell came on I from California each year 4 nd remained re-mained at the temple generally four I inonthc but was not accompanied by his family I GREAT BANQUET HALL If Mr Richardson should bring his family to the temple he would be required re-quired to take them out for their meals or have a caterer servo them In their rooms The temple contains no private diningroom although u vast banquet I hall Is provided on the basement floor This room is quite us large as the great senate chamber and will scat about three hundred guests It Is utilized only I during sessions of the supreme council Adjoining are a spacious kitchen and pantry S Tho Scottish Rite temple originally belonged to Col Reeves United States army It was bought by Gen Pike In 18S3 for the uses of the supreme council Later was added the library which contains 75000 volumes valued at SlOO 000 and which Is said to be the most extensive collection of Masonic books in the world Five years ago the supreme su-preme council purchased two houses adjoining the original temple and thereby added space for the senate chamber and a museum which In tho future will contain antiquities of all kinds besides several thousand dollars worth of relics collected by Albert Pike and now stored In boxes JOHN IflLPRBTII VATI INS JR |