Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1867-05-15
PENNINGTON.


a place IN your paper L gave you some
of my reasons for writing, over an as
sumed name, las do most of your CORES
pondents.) At that time, if my memory
serves me right, you gave me to under
stand that you did not indorse my SEN
timents, but that you would give them
publication from the fact that you be-
lieved in free discussion, making no
objections whatever to writing over an
assumed lame. Occasional refers to
this same objection, wiz: the assumed
name) in his last article, and l replied
to it in my article following, but for
some reason unknown to me, you have
left out that part of the article as well
as many other points without any ex-
PLANTATION. l will say right here that
the part of my article referring to the
bad spelling of course did not apply
after the explanation given by Coca
sIoNAL," and it was all right for you to
drop that part of it. Editors may have
the right to change or leave out part of
their correspondents writings during a
controversy, but if such is the case, it
seems to me that when the Editor takes
sides, it would be unequal and unfair.
l neYe advanced the idea that from
the fact that secret societies are wrong,
consequently people are bound to tell
al they know ; or, in other words, have
no secrets. My object in writing these
articles is the good of my fellow-men,
and did not intend TO use any abusive
language, but argue the matter from
the stand point of right. l am sorry to
see OCCASIONAL take the course he has
in his article, for in my opinion such
language does harm rather than good.
And l am sorry that any should be so
blinded by prejudice and so shallow
minded S to think such language
sharp, much less argumentative. You
seem to convey the idea that l advanc-
ed ideas that l would not dare to, were
I to meet my opponents face to face
Ny dear Editor, l have such face to
face contests almost daily, and l ''do
not shun to declare the truth whether
sinners will hear or whether they will
forbear." Furthermore, l ever expect
to defend the truth in opposition to
error, and l would to God that there
were more men and women in our land
who would dare to do right rather than
truckle to noxious doctrines for the
sake of gaining position or paltry gain.
"Better to dig and beg, too, than tam
per with conseience-sin against God
and ruin II own SOULS" CARL.
REMARKS OF h EDITOR.
"CARL" thinks we did him injustice
in suppressing part of his last weeks
letter. Perhaps we did; but in read
ing his article We could NOT see that his
argument was likely to be weakened
by emitting portions that seemed
strained, and for which we had not the
space in u crowded columns. We
suggested to "CARL" the propriety of
writing over his real name, because he
would be more consistent with mis- pro-
fessed hatred of secret warfare. IF he
truly regards the open, bold manner in
which Christ rebuked PharIseeism, and
sin generally, as the proper manner
for men to battle with all forms of vice
and error, he should not wear a mask
whsn he enters the arena of c%ontrover-
sy as a professed follower of the Great
Teacher. By so doing he destroys the
harmony which should exist between
precept and practice, and suggests the
inference that he has not full conf
dence in his own arguments IS. He thus
does himself injustice, and does not
strengthe n his cause. We did not last
week, nor do we this week, mean the
least disrespect to CARL" We think
he has said some things that candid,
impartial minds will esteem meritori-
GUS. He evidently means WELL but
seems to overlook the fact that there
are necessarily gradations IN the instru'
mentalities employed in human train
ing and development. If al men were
actuated by a full measure of Christian
love and b~enevolence, the social struc-
ture would not require the various ex-
~traneous appliances used as break
water defenees to battle the strong,
wide-sweeping currents of vice. Wedo
not seek to defend secret societies per
sc, but believing that there are Socie-
ties organized on that basis, which
have done and are daily doing good
through whose influence men have
been influenced to turn their steps
from ways Of vice TO paths of virtue and
sobriety, we would not annihilate such
institutions because they may not COM
p7ehend eli the excellencies of the
Christian Church.
As CARL claims that he had not a
fair showing last week, we append those
portions of his article, which were
omitted. They are as follows:
Again Occasional accuses Carl of garb-
ling and misquoting scripture. He has
done both in his last letter, and if he
doubts it he need only refer to his let
ter for further proof. In regard to the
quotation in John 1920, to which Occa-
sional says Carl gave wrong interprets-
ton, 1 reply by giving a few of the
words of the comment upon the above
passage, by one of our ablest and ortho-
dox commentators: HE sought no cor
ners, for he feared no eolors, nor said
anything that He needed to be sshsm-
ed of. What He spoke in private to his
disciples, He ordered them to proclaim
on the house tops" In vain may Coca
sional seek for an example of his Socie-
ties, In the acts of Christ.
Occasional seems to take it pretty
hard because Carl writes oEer an as
sumed name, as he does himself, and
thousands of writers. Perhaps it is be-
cause he was so unsuccessful in his at
tempts to get the editor of the CHRoNI-
Gle to betray the trust reposed in all
editors, under such circumstances. 1t
does seem a pity, after making such
vigorous efforts, that Occasional should
have to come home all the way from
Warren, no wiser than he went lat
least on this point.) Occasional seems
to carry the idea that Carl gathered
some of his idess from a tract which he
l0ccasionaI is 80 fortunate as to have
in his possession. Carl begs leave to
inform the Worthy Officer of G. Us,
that the article was written with the
knowledge of this fact, and Carl was in