The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-02-08
Honorable SAMUEL WILLIAMS,
died the 2sth day OF February

i OUNe ZfHlJ Il. IL. OSOJ.
And this consistent and truthful editor
would have us believe that this Judge,
councillor and representative this chris
tian and deacon OF the Congregational
church this ''pillar Of the church." the
father of the village and the friend of
mankind" was guilty of offering up pray
ers to the devil and of teaching that the
Bible was dedicated to the devil and was
his gift to man-for, if this substitution OF
the word "devil" for the word "God" was
made at all, it must have been made by
Samuel Williams as the master of the
lodge. And this same Samuel Williams
was the founder of the very newspaper
which is now used to assail his character
and blacken his memory.
In order to bolster up this most false and
wicked SANDER, son of Deacon Page
one Henry Page comes to the rescue and
states that he heard his father "say that at
=" the time when he quit attending the
lodge, the word devil was substituted for
" the word God in their services, and that
he could not and would not sanction
"such blasphemy by his presence" and
that this referred to time during the min
istry of DR.. Ball and 'long before the set
" Element Of DR.. Walker" We venture to
say that Deacon Page never made such a
statement. We do not doubt Henry Pages
veracity, but we do question the correct
ness OF his memory. Look at the facts,
which are unquestioned and UNREASONABLE.
Rev. DR.. Ball became pastor of the Con-
gregational church here, February 1, 1897,
and remained as such until his death, De-
cember II, 1921. Deacon William Page
graduated at Yale college in 1797-the
same year of DR.. Balls settlement-and
became of age in 1900, so that he could not
have become mason until after that wear.
he was admitted to the bar In 1906, and it
was, probably, about that time he became
a mason. He retained his connection with
masonry until after 1914 at least, for, from
1917 to 1914 he was grand secretary of the
grand chapter of royal arch masons. So
u
Dr. Ball had been settled some years, and |
retained his connection Herewith |
until seven years before his death. If he
"quit attending the lodge" for the reason
stated, it must have been long after the days |
Of French infidelity in this country, and at a |
time when Rev. Joel Clapp, DID,, Phineas
White, Seth Storrs, Charles X. Williams,
Leland Howard and other men whom we |
nave mentioned were leaders in masonry
Is well as in church and state, and so were |
he men who countenanced this substitu-
ion Of "devil" for "God." We do not be- |
ieve that Deacon William Page ever made |
such charge, and we think that Henry \
Page, on reflection, will see his error.
AS we shall not, probably, refer to this
subject again, we may be pardoned word |
relative to the origin of this "epen secret"
Readers of French history, will remember
he "Ieign of terror" which followed the
French revolution, when the christian re-
igion was formally abolished, and a
'trumpet worshiped in the church of the
Notre Dame as the Goddess of Reason"
md at this time, it is stated that spurious
masonic lodges were established in that
country where the word "devil" was sub
'tituted for the word "God"-but such was
never the case in this country, and this
was not masonry any more than the wor-
ship of the strumpet was christianity. Du-
ring the anti-masonic excitement from 1926
three years after DR.. Walkers settlement
onward, the story was imported into
Vermont and was used with terrible force
in driving clergymen from their pulpits; and
deacons and christians from their churches;
excluding judges from the bench keeping
from tho halls of lcgielatiUn, both state and |
national, some of the best and purest men
Of the state and socially, politically and
religously ostraciaing all those who would |
not bow to the storm and confess TO a lie. |
Il did its dirty work only too well, and,
hen, its authors, ashamed of their own
spurious offspring, let it die, but not until
hey could no longer ride into office by
means of it and it has remained dead and
buried until within few days, when it is
lug up and again made to do service in as
FALLING some of the most eminent citizens
hat have ever made Rutland the place of
heir residence.