THE BUILDER, NOVEMBER 1926

Facts for Fable About Frederick the Great

By BRO. CYRUS FIELD WILLARD, California

(Concluded from October)

LANTOINE, whose arguments we have been considering, also tries to
throw discredit on Dalcho as well as on Albert Pike. Frederick
Dalcho was a doctor born in England who afterwards became an
Episcopalian minister and was regarded in Charleston as a man of
honesty and of very high standing. He was Lieutenant Grand
Commander and on a committee which drew up the circular letter
which our Supreme Council sent to all the Masonic bodies of the
world. It made the official assertion in 1802, only sixteen years
after the Constitutions of 1786 had been signed and ratified, that
they were the Supreme Council for America under these
Constitutions, and that they had been drawn up under the authority
of and signed and ratified by Frederick II, King of Prussia.

This was an official document issued by our Supreme Council. It is
worthy of credence as such. Lantoine calls it "the discourses of
Dalcho," but this is a false statement of the facts. Only sixteen
years after the adoption of the Constitutions, they knew the facts
better than Lantoine at this late day, who slavishly follows the
old falsehoods which Pike branded as such.

Albert Pike said after reviewing all the circumstances that he was
convinced that Frederick was the head of the Rite, and I must say
that in approaching the subject determined to be as fair as
possible, yet in the main prejudiced against the idea, I have been
obliged, by the evidence taken from official records in America, to
accept the fact that Frederick was the head of the Rite we now call
Scottish from 1762 to the time of his death.

THE SCOTTISH RITE IN AMERICA

At a celebration on Sept. 20, 1785, the members of the Philadelphia
Lodge of Perfection walked in procession to their new lodge room in
Black Horse alley, which then was dedicated, followed by speeches
and a banquet. It is this ceremony to which Col. Solomon Bush
refers to in his famous letter to Frederick, King of Prussia. An
elaborate account of this ceremony is given in the Pennsylvania
Journal of Sept. 24, 1785 [as given in Sachse's Ancient Scottish
Rite Documents] wherein the several toasts are given, the first
being to "The Sublime Lodge of Perfection this day consecrated,"
while the second is to "Our Illustrious Brother the King of
Prussia," and the third is to "Our Beloved Brother George
Washington, the Intended Grand Master of America." This shows there
was a reason for Frederick being put second instead of Washington,
immediately after the toast of the Lodge of Perfection, he being
considered the head of the Order to which the lodge belonged. It is
to be noted that it was then a matter known to the newspapers, that
Frederick the Great was the head of the Rite, as shown in the
printing of the toast immediately after that of the Lodge of
Perfection and before that to George Washington, that is, the one
to "Our Illustrious Brother the King of Prussia."

What is the reason that the Scottish Rite persisted in America and
was carried back to France and the rest of Europe from which
Stephen (not Etienne) Morin brought it in 1761 ? The excesses of
the French Revolution, the frenzy of fear that possessed the
aristocracy and propertied classes from the publication of Thomas
Paine's "Rights of Man" in answer to Burke's denunciation of that
revolution, the fulminations of the Jesuits, the Abbe Barruel and
Prof. John Robison, against the Illuminati and Freemasonry which
caused the passage of the "Secret Societies' Act" in England and
Scotland from which Freemasonry was barely exempted, the revulsion
of feeling in Germany and elsewhere on the Continent against the
Illuminati, the Gold Rosicrucians, the Rite of Strict Observance,
the Clerks of Lax Observance and the multitude of other Masonic
degrees and systems, swept away, to a great extent, all but the
three degrees. It was in America alone that the Scottish Rite was
preserved through all these troublous times to be later
re-introduced into France and elsewhere in the world.

We have three authentic official sources of information, at least,
to show that the headquarter of the Rite was at Berlin. They
constitute documentary evidence that cannot be controverted nor
denied.

THE BUILDER for June, 1920, page 160, printed a facsimile of the
Charter of the "Ineffable Lodge of Perfection," instituted at
Albany, N. Y., on Dec. 20, 1767, by Henry Andrew Francken, who was
deputized by Stephen Morin. Copies of the minutes of this lodge
were printed in William Homan's "History of the Scottish Rite,"
which says that Dr. Stringer, who was later the Deputy Grand
Inspector General for that district, gave notice that the founder
(Francken, then at Kingston, Jamaica) had written him to instruct
the lodge to send to Berlin a list of their members "with their
qualities." The secretary evidently knew the address of the person
in Berlin to whom this list was to be sent, for it was not given.
In Pike's "Historical Inquiry," p. 129, it says:

In the old minute-book of the Grand Lodge of Perfection at Albany,
N. Y., the lodge is required, under date of Sept. 3, 1770 to
prepare reports, etc., for transmission to Berlin.

This is exhibit number one, and is from the official records of a
Lodge of Perfection and shows that Berlin was the headquarters to
which its reports, list of members, etc., had to be sent.

In the facsimile of the Charter of the Chapter of Prince Masons
(P.R.S.) at Kingston, Jamaica, which is, or was, in the Enoch T.
Carson collection, and which Chapter was organized by Stephen Morin
on April 30, 1770, and of which Henry A. Francken is given as the
first member and which is signed by Morin, it is expressly stated
in the Charter itself that it is issued in conformity with the
Regulations adopted by the Nine Commissioners at Berlin, Prussia.
This is official document number two.

THE LETTER OF SOLOMON BUSH

The third is taken from the records of the Sublime Lodge of
Perfection at Philadelphia, as given in Sachse's "Ancient Scottish
Rite Documents," and which records are still in the possession of
the Scottish Rite bodies of that city. This is the famous letter of
Col. Solomon Bush, Thrice Puissant Grand Master of the Sublime
Lodge of Perfection, who writes an official letter for the lodge in
1785 to Frederick, King of Prussia, as the head of the Order to
which the Philadelphia Lodge of Perfection belonged. [Sachse, Anc.
S. R. Documents, page 80.]

In this letter to Frederick, as head of the Order to which the
lodge of which he was Master appertained, he, as Master, said that
he was enclosing with this letter, "Agreeable to the rules of the
Grand Councils, a list of the members of our lodge in the
prescribed form." These words "in the prescribed form" are the
strongest possible evidence not only that Col. Bush knew what the
form was, that was prescribed by the Supreme Council of which
Frederick, King of Prussia, was the head, but also that the
Philadelphia Lodge of Perfection knew that it was connected with an
Order whose headquarters were in Berlin. It is identical in its
purport with that given by Francken to the Albany Lodge of
Perfection to send a list of its members also to Berlin.

Then again Col. Bush, the Revolutionary hero, well known in
Philadelphia, where he had been captured by the British, was a
Deputy Grand Inspector General of the Order for Pennsylvania, as is
stated in his recital of his standing in that letter, and known by
reputation to Frederick as one of his leading officials in America
working under him, and he necessarily would know who was the head
of the Order, of which he was one of the leading officials in
America. At this very time, Baron von Steuben was in Philadelphia
(much of the time trying to get Congress to settle his accounts)
and he, as a military man, would know his comrade in arms with the
romantic history, and as Frederick's former Adjutant General and
likewise a Mason, would have quickly undeceived Col. Bush if
Frederick had not been the head of the Rite to which the
Philadelphia Lodge of Perfection belonged. It is incredible to
believe that a lodge could exist and not know where its main
headquarters were and who was the head of the Order to which it
belonged. On Nov. 2, 1785, the records of the lodge, as given by
Sachse [A.S.R. Documents], read as follows:

On Motion that a Committee be appointed to write to the Grand
Council at Berlin and Paris, informing them of the establishment of
this Sublime Lodge and of the names of the several Members who
compose the same and their several degrees. It was ordered that the
following be a Committee for that purpose, viz.: Charles Young,
John Vannost, P. Lebarbier Duplissis and the Thrice Puissant, and
such Committee were earnestly requested to have such letter
prepared against the next meeting that the same may be signed by
the Thrice Puissant & transmitted as soon as possible.

On Nov. 5, 1785, there was the following entry:

The Thrice Puisst., as one of the Committee appointed at our last
meeting to write to the Grand Council at Berlin and Paris, informed
the lodge that the said Committee had gone upon the business but
were not fully ready but would make report the next meeting.

On Nov. 8, 1785, there is the following in the minutes:

The Committee appointed to write to the Grand Council at Berlin and
Paris reported a draft of a letter to the Grand Council to Berlin,
which being read the same was approved and the Secretary was
desired to make out a fair copy of the same to be transmitted to
the Grand Council at Berlin.

This minute alone is proof positive that the headquarters for the
Lodges of Perfection were at Berlin and that they were subordinate
to the Grand Council at that city. On Dec. 7, 1785, there was the
following minute:

At a Sublime Lodge of Perfection held at Black Horse Alley; fair
copy of the letter to the Grand Council of Berlin was then offered
by the Secretary agreeable to the order of the last Meeting. Which
being read the same was ordered to be entered upon the Minutes and
is as follows: [Here follows the letter on the Minutes.]

Here are four different entries, on different meeting nights and
more than a month apart, in which it is four times asserted that
the letter is to be sent to the Grand Council of Berlin. Why should
any one doubt that this lodge knew the body to which it owed
allegiance ?

Any unprejudiced person who has read the peculiar phraseology of
the Scottish Rite documents, certificates, diplomas, patents, such
as those to Morin, Francken, Hays and Forst, and will carefully
read the above letter, cannot help but admit that Col. Bush knew
that Frederick was the head of the Order of which he was the Deputy
Grand Inspector General for Pennsylvania.

The phrases, "Illustrious Chief of the Grand Council of Masons,"
"In what manner shall I express myself to the glorious and renowned
Frederick," "Your generous Presidency over the Two Hemispheres at
the Great East of Berlin," "Our Great Thrice Puissant and Grand
Commander," "Beloved Brethren in Council convened at the Great East
in Berlin," "remote as we are from the Great East of Berlin,"
"Great Light of Berlin," "Most Respectable Sovereign," repeat over
and over that there was a Grand Council at Berlin to which the
Lodge of Perfection at Philadelphia was subordinate, and the letter
names Frederick as its head.

THE VALUE OF THE EVIDENCE

It is affirmative official documentary evidence whose effect cannot
be destroyed. It would require positive documentary evidence to the
contrary, of equal force, to discredit the official statements of
these three different bodies of the Rite at Albany, Kingston,
Jamaica and Philadelphia, who were subordinates of this great
secret organization of which Frederick was the recognized head.
Edgar Alien Poe in his "Murders in the Rue Morgue" goes into the
almost overwhelming percentage or degree of probability when three
persons testify to a fact. Here are three official and documentary
statements, besides a world of tradition and hearsay evidence, that
the head of the Rite was in Prussia, and in one case Frederick,
King of Prussia, is officially saluted and distinctly addressed as
such in an official communication from a subordinate Lodge of
Perfection. There is no documentary evidence that he was not.

It makes no difference whether there ever was a reply to this
letter. The fact exists it was written to Frederick as the head of
the Order to which they belonged and was entered in full on the
minutes of a Lodge of Perfection, which minutes are now in
existence and in the possession of the Scottish Rite bodies of
Philadelphia. Pike in his Historical Inquiry, page 170, says, in
regard to the Constitutions of 1786, something which may be again
quoted as to these minutes:

In law, documents of great age, found in the possession of those
interested under them, to whom they rightfully belong and with whom
they might naturally be expected to be found, are admitted in
evidence without proof, to establish title or facts. They prove
themselves, and to be avoided must be disproved by evidence. There
is no evidence against the genuineness of these Grand
Constitutions.

In the same manner, there is no evidence that Frederick was not the
head of the Rite of Perfection, changed into the Scottish Rite by
the Constitutions of 1786, and there is written documentary
evidence that he was the head. In the June issue of THE BUILDER,
page 161, it is said in Lantoine's article, "Certain discords which
unexpectedly arose in Germany in 1782 inspired him with fear lest
Masonry become the prey of anarchy." This is a condensation of a
statement in the Constitutions of 1786 itself. Pike, in his
Historical Inquiry, page 158, quotes the preface to the
Constitutions at some length, from which we may only take the
following as from that document:

"Recent and urgent representations which of late have reached us
from every quarter, have satisfied us of the urgent necessity of
erecting a strong barrier against that spirit of intolerance,
sectarianism, schism and anarchy, which late innovators are busily
laboring to introduce among the brethren--which by changing the
nature of the true art of Freemasonry, necessarily tend to lead it
astray and thus may bring the Order into general contempt and lead
to its extinction. And we, advised of WHAT IS NOW PASSING IN THE
NEIGHBORING KINGDOMS, cannot but admit the existence of this urgent
and pressing necessity." Certainly these passages faithfully
describe the condition of things existing in Freemasonry in Germany
in 1786, the perversion of its forms and ceremonies to the purposes
of the Illuminati and the disturbances and troubles called by the
latter Order in Bavaria and elsewhere; as well as the supposed and
firmly believed, possession of the Rite of Strict Observance by the
Jesuits. A forger after the French Revolution would never have
thought of assigning these particular reasons.

The tremendous mystification and alleged swindling which took place
in Germany, in addition to the suppression of these orders in
Bavaria, and all the disturbances which Pikes relates in detail,
thoroughly disgusted the Germans, and the French Revolution and
Napoleon completed the work. They now look with shame on the higher
degrees, as reminders of their former disgrace, and wish to deny
that there was ever anything else in Germany but the three degrees.
It is folly to stick one's head in the sand, ostrichlike, and deny
historical facts. Gould had the assistance of good German scholars,
and he says the "Premier Chapter of Clermont" was organized in
Berlin, in 1758, and exists there to this day, as an adjunct "To
the Three Globes" Grand Lodge. Perhaps Lantoine can explain this,
as the Grand Orient attempted to explain the origin of the
Nuremberg alleged Masonic Federation "To the Rising Sun," which was
organized, with its approval. as a Grand Lodge in recent years by
men who were not only not representing constituent lodges but some
of whom were not even Masons.

In THE BUILDER for May, 1920, page 120, there is a quotation from
Albert G. Mackey concerning the Royal and Select Masters Degrees in
which he said:

The degrees belong of right to the Supreme Council of the 33rd
Degree, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and the claim to them
has never been abandoned by that body. At the establishment of the
Grand Council of Princes of Jerusalem in Charleston, S. C., on the
20th February, 1788, by Joseph M. Myers, Barend M. Spitzer and A.
Forst, Deputy Inspectors General of Frederick II of Prussia. Myers
deposited in the archives of the Council certified copies of the
said degrees from Berlin in Prussia. Copies of these degrees are
still retained in the archives of the Supreme Council.

As Mackey was the Secretary of this Supreme Council, he should
know. His honesty has never been questioned, so far as I know.

Rev. John Dove was an honored Protestant minister in Richmond who
was for years Secretary of the Grand Lodge and of the Royal Arch
Chapter. In the book, Jews and Masonry before 1810, by S.Oppenheim,
page 50, it is stated that he was one of those who received the
higher degrees from Joseph M. Myers. Dove says in his History of
the Grand Lodge of Virginia:

"It was fortunate for Masonry that both Da Costa and Myers who had
been appointed through Frederick the Second on the mission of
Masonic propagandism in America, 'were Israelites and well-educated
men'."

There is no need for further quotation. Books could be written with
the hearsay evidence and tradition that Frederick II, King of
Prussia, was the head of the Rite which became the Scottish Rite on
May 1, 1786. We have given written documentary evidence that cannot
be denied.

It seems to the writer that we will have to form in America our own
school of research, unbiased by the prejudices and theories that
sway the French, German and English writers. It is hard to
understand those Masonic writers who only accept what they want to
believe and try to belittle and get around official documents to
the contrary. Our motto should be, "Follow the Truth," no matter
where it leads. If we find, from the official records, that
Frederick II was the head of the Rite, that is now the Scottish
Rite, to which the bodies belonged, what of it? Why try to explain
it; away? What is the motive?

We are slowly obtaining more information on all Masonic subjects,
and much more is due to come out in the next few years if we
approach these subjects in a spirit of impartiality, only seeking
to know the facts and without desiring to bolster up some
preconceived theories or prejudices. Above all, let us not denounce
those facts as "Fables" which we do not want to believe or that are
against us.
