The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-10-08
CLERICAL CRIME.


acter. No Icautious free thinker
ever goes to bed without barricad-
ing every door and window in order
to keep out midnight ministers, and
without arming himself to the teeth
with revolvers and knives with
which to defend himself from any
clerical villain who may force his
way into the house in spite of locks
and bolts. Smooth and plausible as
may be the exterior of the average
minister, the free thinker knows
that this deceptive exterior
conceals a rufian ready for
any crime. Speaking 6guratively,
ministers are simply full Of dead
mems bones, and wolves of the most
rayening species clothed in ready
made sleeps clothing. Their chief
desire is to kill, rob and generally
destroy every free thinker, and they
are also habitually addicted to every
variety of crime mentioned in the
statutes. The wonder is that such
monsters of vice and crime should
be permitted to live for a single
hour in a community where there is
single free thinker to expose their
true character.
An eminent free thinker, who
cares no more for the laws of gram
mar than for those of God, has re-
Gently published, in the shape OF a
small pamphlet, a list of the Grimes
of Preachers" The list is q most
appalling one. 1t gives the alpha
betical order the names of nearly a
Thousand clergymen and ministers
who have been charged with the
commission of crimes during the
last five years in this priest-ridden
land, together with the particular
crimes INDUCED in by each clerical
wretch. The free thinking belief
that ministers of the gospel are the
worst class of men in existence ap-
pears to be fully demonstrated by
this valuable pamphlet. No less
than so per cent. of all the Metho-
dist ministers in the United States
are habitual criminals according to
the author of tho pamphlet in cues
tion-and if we add to these the
Methodist ministers whose crimes
have not yet been discovered, it be-
comes evident that at least two out
OF every three ministers of that de-
nomination are wretches who de-
serve the state prison and the gal
lows. It must be admitted that the
of other denominations
are not quite so bad as the Metho-
dists, but they are bad enough to
bring a blush of shame to the cheek
Of brass monkey.
1t will perhaps be urged, in order
TO break the force of this terrible ex-
poSure of clerical crime, that in
stead of being-as it Ostensibly pre-
tends to be-a list of crimes commit
ted by ministers, the free thinking
is only a list of charges
made by certain newspaper against
certain ministers. OF course, it
would be easy for any uprin-
cipledi free thinker to make
a formidable list of charges.
either by clipping from country
paragraphs containing
the information that sit is rumored
that the Rev. - has been guilty
of reprehensible conduct" or by
first sending such paragraphs to the
country newspapers and then trans
ferring them to his free thinking
pamphlet. In fact, the pamphlet
does contain charges against vague
clergymen, whose names are not
given, but who are held up to exc
Grafton under the general rule of
the "Rev. -" OF course, a list of
charges is a very different thing
from n list of crimes which have
been actually brought home to these
clerical worthless. Still, we cannot
doubt the truth of the free thinking
without doubling the
integrity of its free thinking
and it would be far better
to believe any vague newspaper
'scharge" than to doubt the
truthfulness of any free thinker.
Neither does the fact that certain
real ministers whose names appear
as. criminals in the free thinking
pamphlet were tried and aequittedof
the crimes charged against them
affect the value of the pamphlet,
PROFESSIONALLY these ministers
were charged with crimes, and if
they wers afterward acquitted chat
was not the fault OF the free think
ing author.
For years our leading free
thiDkers-unlesS like Mr.. Beecber
they happened to be in the clerical
business themselves have tried to
warn the public against the bands
OF aSsassins and robbers, calling
themselves elergymen or ministers,
WITH which our unhappy country is
infested. The public has turned q
deaf ear to these warnings, and the
ministers have pursued their in
famous career without hindrance.
Now, however. that we have an
authentic list Of crimes committed
by-or, what is the same thing.
charged by newspapers against =
ministers, the latter cannot long
continue their nefarious practices.
We must have a government com
to proceed against them
and suppress them as completely as
The British Government commits.
sion proceeded against and sup
the Thugs. The public has
rig hit to be protected. Ara respec
liable citizens to be shot down in
broad daylight by reckless minis
sers, or waylaid and robbed at night
oy clerical foot-pads? Are our
leuses TO De broken into by gangs