Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1862-03-28
Communicated.
For the Pomeroy Weekly Telegraph.
Response from the Clergy


| Mr. Editor:-In an editorial column
of your issue of the 18th inst, appear
an article, headed, a soord to Clergy
men" read it with very deep interest
with various reflections, and with more
than my usual degree of emotion.
l admire its catholicity of spirit; it:
breadth of view; it's justness of discrim
ination; its sympathy with the wants ot
men; and its merited, though very kind
and courteous admonition to the Clergy
The last reelection with which it fur.
nished me, was, that if it should even
fail to call any of US away from his
tread wheel habits, to enter the door Of
usefulness which you have so widely
thrown open, the very best that could
be done by way of response, would be
to acknowledge the courtesy of the ar,
ticle, and the honest and artless com.
pllment which it pays to the profession
This much is required, even by good
| manners.
l have waited a decent length Of time,
that some other one might perform this
pleasant duty, as I never had any very
remarkable faculty of being first in a
good cause. But finding reign of ST
lence, must speak:
Well, what shall say? "Why,'
says the Editor, "write me an article. y
But, may it please your knighthood, l
am not quite ready yet. I wish to be-
come little acquainted with your con-
gregation, as l can always preach better
on acquaintance.
We are, sir, men of s'trained minds"
but, alas we do not make that training
as available to the public veal, as We
might. Our great error is, that by an
unjustifable retirement from the throng-
ing scenes of busy life, we too often fail
in catching the spirit of the times, and
so fall short of the inspiration which it
would impart We do not wish it to be
SO, yet it is SO, by virtue of our habits,
that we are not always in sympathy
with the living age around US. We al
most instinetively hate newspapers, and
despise politics. In all these things,
there is neither that root, voice, mood
nor tense, which suits US. We do not
wish to be odd, yet we are SO, we think
we are industrious; but we are, after all,
idle; we devote much time to what
avails but little to anybody.
We write great deal. Few men, of
any occupation, write more; {and yet,
alas we are not famed for good penman-
ship. Practice" does not make per-
feet, but, as you justly intimate our
writings die away with the occasion.
But what I rather intended, was to
say something apologetic We write
but little for the secular press, for
several substantial reasons: One is,
that the subjects usually deemed appro-
pirate to your ministrations, lie, not
outside of our sympathy, hut beyond
the enyirons of our daily habits Of
thought. They are net present to the
mind in that form which makes writing
easy and pleasure You may under-
stand moral subjects just as we'll as We;
but to write upon them, as you do upon
war and state affairs, would not be so
easy. If such subjects as are familiar
to our minds by daily reading and re-
fection, would suit your purpose, we
could soon Fill all your "pigeon holes,''
so that you would soon have to cry out:
80, men, hold
But you do not want these, any more
than you do our "sermons; and yet, l
think you might ask us for sermon oc-
casionally! 1t would have the perma-
nency Of other reading matter; but you
are right.
Again: Those of us who are not as
old as the American Independence, have
grown up under the overshadowing in
fnence of an anti higher-law admins
tration of affairs in which a Minister'S S
right to even the ballot box was gravely
questioned. 1 once paid the mulct of
S100 for the daring and unconstitutional
act of voting for Henry Clay. Cheap
enough, too, if his poor son, J. B., had
only died at his birth. Poor boy! But,
thank Heaven, new era has dawned.
A new reign of public sentiment has
been inaugurated Men of all profes-
sions seem destined to agglomerate into
one living brotherhood, feeling and act
ing for the common good, and consoli-
dating phalanx, terrible to the enc
mics Of free speech and enlightened toll
erance. Truly, war is an educator-O,
before l forget-did you know that
brother Greedy is among the prophets?"
Well, he is. He took orders" shortly
after the Inauguration of father Lincoln,
and sermonizes right well in the-In-
dependent, Who can tell what may take
place in Pomeroy, the probable "here.
sizes" to the contrary, notwithstanding!
But as to the 'heresies:'' That did
seem to me like a-well, trick In you,
to rouse US up, and call US out; for you
know that We are orthodox, aud are