OCR Text |
Show Claimed Masonic. Rites From Grand Council of Scotland Declares Price of Thomson Veteran Postal Inspector Is Witness in Trial of Case Against Alleged Spurious Secret Body Promoters in Federal Court By Vincent J. Keating Matthew McBaln Thomson asserted that ha had received hla patent from tho Grand Council of Rltea of Scotland Scot-land to confer degrees upon any worthy Mason. Such waa tha testimony, today of M. O. Price of St. Louis, for thirty years a poatal Inspector, In tha trial of Thomson. Thomsa Perrot Dominic Hera-era and Robert Jamleaon, promoters pro-moters of the American Maaonlo federation, fed-eration, charged with eoneplraey to violate aectlon tie of the penal code of tha I'nlted Btatea through artifice to defraud bv uae 1he United Btatea malls. In tha federal court. Judge Martin el. Wads of tha southern district dis-trict of Iowa presiding. Price's testimony was given In answer toa queatlon bv M. R. Wilson of Halt Lake, one of the defense attorney's, at-torney's, upon cross examination In regard to a converaatlon held with Thomson In the course of hla Investigation In-vestigation of tho matter. Price further aald that ho had asked Thomson If that wero tho reason he had obtained tho Indorsement of Joeeph N. Cherle. grand commander of tho council of Louisiana, and tha authority to confer tho flrat three degrees, since reception of tha third degree conatltulea a worthy Mason. Thomaon aald that this waa tho reason. rea-son. Price testified. GAVE ASSISTANCE. , Price ssld that ho waa flrat aaalgned to Investigate tha activities of tho American Maaonlo federation In Isle, but that his Investigation waa not atarted until August, ltls. when he visited Thomson snd Perrot. The witness aaaerted that he had Informed In-formed Thomaon and Perrot that ho had been Inatructed to Investigate charges that the American Masonic federation waa a anurloua organisation organisa-tion and waa using tho malls to defraud. Neither Thomaon nor Perrot ahowed any reluctance In ahowlng him the megaslnes, willingly furnishing him with all tha Information desired and acted toward him In a friendly manner. man-ner. Price said on cross examination. Price withstood a grilling cross examination ex-amination by tho defense counsel and waa unahaken In hla etatementa. Ha admitted that he was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, with the thirty-second degree In the' Scottish Rita and ths Twelfth degree in the York rite, and had become a member of the Masonic fraternity shortly after reaching his majority. Upon being asked If he had received any compensation for his Investigation, Price said that- he had received only his salary from the government, and had neither received nor expected to receive any compensation or encouragement encour-agement from any Masonic lodges. The Investigation, he aald. was aaalgned him by W. U Reed, poatofflce Inspector Inspect-or In charge of the Bt. Loula district. "Did you bring It to ths attention of Mr. Heed or did he call your attention to It?" counsel for the defense ssked. "Mr. Reed brought It to my attention atten-tion and assigned ma to the case,'' ths witness aald. TOLD Or MEMBERSHIP. Price aald also that he had told Thnmnna and Perrot that he waa a member of the Free and Accepted Masons Ma-sons when he Introduced himself to them at the time he met them In Bait lake at the beginning of the Investigation. Investi-gation. Price Identified a number of bound volumes of the Universal Free Maaon, the monthly magaslnea, puhtlehed by the American Maaonlc Federation, which were Introduced In evidence aa government exhibits by stipulation of attorneya. it waa brought out that Thomson and Perrot were editors of the mogaslne Perrot alnce ll. Excerpts from these magaslnea were read to the jury by John Jenaen, apodal apo-dal prosecutor for the government. Theee excerpte In effect traced the lineage to the Mother Kilwinning lodge of Scotland, the oldest lodge In the world, coming through France to lAUlslana. Authority for the founding of the Orand lodge Intermontana waa given by Joseph N. Cherle, grand commander, com-mander, council of Louisiana, to Thomaon Thom-aon and It was on this authority that the American Maaonlo Federation waa founded. It was said. Kxcerpta from the magaslnea to the effect that masonry throughout the world Is united In one family with the aole exception of the adherenta of the i atate grand lodges In the United Htatea of America, and that the tenets of the American Maaonlo Federation are ac- cepted by more than $.000,000 Free Ma- Continued on page 8 ) I CLAIMED MASONIC RITES (Continued from page 1.) sons In th world, were read 10 the Jury. The mairaxin articles rad stated that the organisation .axchana-sd rvp 1 resentatlves with and Is rerognlsed by Ruropean and South American lodges and the "brethren are received and recognised rec-ognised in the countries they are traveling. trav-eling. Ko much for our universality." Jerome Brodrrtck, clerical worker In tha office of the poet office Inspector In charge of the New York office. Identified Iden-tified a photfstalle reproduction of the patent said to have been given Thomson Thom-son by the Grand Council pf Kites of (Scotland, bearing- on Its back the indorsation in-dorsation of Cherle. The original of the patent was offered of-fered by the defense vcounsel. Following the selection of the Jury yesterday afternoon. Special Prosecutor Prose-cutor John Jensen, tracing the history of the American Masonic federation, asserted that the defendants claimed direct lineage for power to confer craft degrees and the higher degrees from the Mother Kilwinning lodge, No. 9, of Scotland. Authority for the blue lodge decrees Is alleged to have been obtained from the suprame council of Louisiana a Masonic body now composed of negro membership which In turn derived Its charter from Mother Lodge of St John of Scotland, founded at Marseilles Mar-seilles In 1743, which In turn had been organised under dispensation from Mother Kilwinning lodge. No. 0. the prosecutor pointed out The defendsnts, Jensen explained, maintain that the right to confer the higher degreea Is through a direct grant to Thompson from the grand council rites In Scotland, which grant was In turn transferred by Thompson to the American Masonic federation. This grand council of rites, Mr. Jensen Jen-sen said. Is a spurious organisation, and not, aa defendants have claimed, "the mother of many, the offspring of none." and the fountalnhead of Scottish Rite Masonry. Mr, Jensen charged that the defendants de-fendants sold Masonic degrees of all sorts to tens of thousands of persons throughout the United States, charging charg-ing around $50 for the craft degrees when they could get It and about 1160 for all degrees from the first to the thirty-third where possible. He fore the presentation of evidence began, Judge Wade counseled the Jurors as to their duties. I "This is a most complicated case. he said. "I want 'to be sure that you sre on the right track In this matter. The Issues do not Involve the rights I of anyone to their own beliefs. I J believe that will be conceded by both ! sides. It Is not a dispute between any two Masonic bodies or alleged Masonic bodies. It Is a question of an alleged violation of a law passed by congress which makes It a crime to fraudulently ue the mails. The) claim Is made that the fraud consisted In misrepresentation of the standing and character of the organisations fostered by the defendants." |