The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-07-14
sR1RzE OF THE PRESS.
Editorial Opinions Of the Leading Sourn''s
Upon Current Topics Complied EVery
Day for the Evening TeleGrhpn'
SOME WORDS WITH DIR. CHAPLIN.


SOME WORDS WITH DIR. CHAP1N'
From the ~ y. World e 4to
M Raverend Dr. Chaplin is one OF tne
- I,,,,,,,,, i'm the sense OF being most widely
i,e,,,,,, of our spiritual pastors and masters
On sunday he bade his flock to behave them
.o1yee for the few months for when tney
would he derived of his guidance philosophy,
and friendship. shut up his church, pocketed
tbe kew. and has doubtless by new ATTAINED
the fresh fields and pastures now OF ms weary
,-oootion But no solitude Is inaccessible TO
a. UI11ld and now we send after Doctor
Cborin q few words for his painful medita-
tion before he returns to the care OF MS wan
dering sheep. ~ 5;s+irotiop IF beino
ono of two clergymen, and we believe the one
,,rofessedly Christian clergyman, VINO Went 10
the reception given to Danlei ~ 0lchIes. .II Iue
.a,,arters .au told us that he shook hands with
S;lIIIoe tbat he ate and drank with Sickles,
and otherwise publicly proclaimed his willing
&c 20 be accepted as the equal and friend CT
q nerson whom we are almost tired OF charac-
1PI;;,,c, INT whom truth and such people as
naotor Cbapin compel us to continue charac-
1erizino. as a thief, pander, and murderer.
If Doctor Chaplin, in his private character,
chooses to consort with Slckles, IN ms private
character, which the W0i1d mas uone lCs pest
fo make public. we could make no obyecuon,
,,roy;ded he did it with such precautions of
iiaorocy, as would save the shocking of the
,,,,Ilic sense of decency. But he has taken
S;oIIes IN his arms in the most public, shame
less and disgusting way, ana mas taken MN,
NOT os TO the arms of the individual Chaplin,
Int as to the arms of minister OF the Gospel
The sole significance OF Doctor Ohapln
attendance at the SicIles reception was that
it sought to degrade religion into the pro-
curess of a procurer, and give the sanctions
of Christianity to the apotheosis of thief
That a layman, debauched by political in
terest, or hurried away by political excite
ment. should be willing to condone private
baseness in consideration of political per6dy,
is lamentable, but still, in some ways, an
accountable thing. We cannot believe that
even layman who objects very seriously to
breakages of the sixth, seventh, and eighth
commandments can bring himself to pay
public honor to a man whose chief notoriety
has been won by murder, adultery, and theft.
But although such layman must be inhu-
enced either by sympathy with the object of
his "respect esteem, and friendship" or by
fear of him. and must be, therefore, either
scoundrel or a coward, his otfense is venial
indeed compared to that of a clergyman
who does the same thing That in the
secular is but a dirty action which In the
sacred is fiat blasphemy. 1t is the business
of the clergyman to point out by pre-
cepC ana Dy eAullplS, luS NllACICHOO OO-
tween good and evil, as displayed in
actions and as incarnated in men. AS it is
his duty to recognize and honor virtue, it is
his correlative duty to denounce and abhor
vice. He makes no war upon flesh and
blood, but upon principalities, upon powers,
upon spiritual wickedness in high places
What kind of fight can teacher of morals
make who comes to enforce their duties to his
flock with lips which have just banded com
-pliments with the incarnate quintesSence of
spiritual wickedness in high places, and with
fingers which have been polluted by the en-
brace of felon. Obviously the words of
such q man are worthless. He cannot hate
vice after he has endured, pitied, and en-
braced it. He cannot denounce any sort of
crime, with any chance of being listened to-
after he has joined in doing honor to wretch
who is black with every sort of crime
Doctor Chaplin, we believe, has, to his own
satisfaction, abolished hell. His substitute
for it is the penalty which he conceives a sim
ner pays in this life for his sins. He ought
at least, if there is to be no future compensa-
ton for the inequalities of this life, to do his
part towards making the burden of a saint
light and the yoke of a sinner heavy. We
never heard of him getting up receptions"
to struggling virtue. We have seen him
doing honor to prosperous vice. 1t is now a
piece of brazen impudence in him to pretend
to speak, as one having authority, concern
ing the conduct of any man or any set of
men.