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FREEMASONS

713

FREMONT

Free'masons are members of a secret society, the origin of which has by tradition been variously traced back to the Knights Templars, the old Roman empire, the Pharaohs, Hiram of Tyre, the Temple of Solomon or even to the times of the Tower of Babel and of the Ark of Noah. In reality the craft sprang into being from the sa-me causes and reasons as other incorporated crafts. Their vocation as hewers and setters of stone compelled masons to travel from place to place in search of work. In order that they might be accepted as skilled workmen by their brother craftsmen, without the necessity of showing their skill, they made use of signs and words which they kept secret. Scotland possesses the earliest record of the presence of masons in lodges, tracing their origin to the foreign masons who came to Scotland in the i2th century to build the abbeys of Holyrood, Kilwinning and Melrose. The masons of England date back to 926, when King Athelstan held a meeting of masons at York. Modern freemasonry was introduced into America in 1730, into France in 1725, Russia in 1731 and Germany in 1740. There are over 48 grand lodges, exercising control over nearly 10,000 lodges in the United States, and nowhere is masonry held in greater honor or importance. The total membership in the lodges of the United States and British America for 1907 was 1,188,566. A set of passwords and a peculiar grip of the hand enable the initiated to recognize each other A great benefit derived from membership in the order is that it enables a mason where he is a stranger to make himself known to his brother-masons and claim their protection. See J. Fellowes' Mysteries of Freemasonry.

Free'port, the county-seat of Stephen-son County, 111., is situated on Pecatonica River, a branch of Rock River. It is 120 miles west of Chicago, on the main line of the Illinois Central railroad, and has the service of three other roads. There are various manufactures, as automobiles, buggies, shoes etc., among them the largest windmill-factory in the world. It has a large number of churches; and eight schools, employing 75 teachers, enrolling 2,600 pupils and instructing in manual training and domestic science; five weekly papers; and two banks. Population 17,567.

Free Trade is the name applied to a certain policy of a government in regard to foreign trade. Its main feature is that no duties are placed on imported foreign products. The opposite theory is protection, and its supporters believe that a nation grows and gains wealth faster by taxing imports and so "protecting" its o\:n manufactures and other products. England has for years heea tfoe leading

free-trade country, having become such under the leadership of Richard Cobden; while a Scotchman, Adam Smith, the apostle of free trade, has done more than any other to promote the belief in free trade by his famous book, The Wealth of Nations. The United States, France and Germany are the foremost protection countries, and France is the most highly protected nation in the world. At the present time the idea of protection seems to be gaining ground throughout the world, though in the United States there have not only always been many free traders, but there are more who believe in it now than ever before. See PROTECTION. See, also, Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations; Fawcett's Free Trade and Protection; John Morley's Life of Cobden; and Carey's Principles of Social Science.

Freischiitz, Der. Opera in three acts; words by Kind; music by Weber. First produced at Berlin, June 18, 1821. Notable as the most complete early embodiment of the ideals of the romantic school of opera. It deals with the supernatural in connection with a simple love-story. The overture — a great favorite in the concert-room — introduces the principal themes of the opera, and ranks among the finest examples of the so-called program overture.

Fremont', John Charles, an American explorer and general, was born at Savannah, Ga., Jan. 21, 1813. In 1835 he was professor of mathematics in the navy, but soon became a civil engineer and was employed in surveys by the United States government. He explored the Rocky Mountains, and proved the possibility of an overland route to the western coast of America. The highest peak of the Wind River Mountains, 13,570 feet high which he ascended, is named after him as F r 6 m o n t's Peak. He crossed the South Pass, explored Great Salt Lake and went as far as Fort Vancouver, at the mouth of the Columbia. He forced a passage in the winter over the snow-covered mountains into California, reaching Sacramento in March with his men reduced to skeletons. In the spring of 1845 ne set out* again to explore the country between the Mississippi and the Pacific. This journey probably gave California to the Union, as he found the Mexicaa troops marching against the settlers

JOHN C. FREMONT