The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-08-20
NATCHEz. JulY 30. ~.

NATCHEz, July 80, 1884.
Rep. Geo. r. Bal, Passor Hudson Street
Baptist Church, Ba6alo, 4. 7.
Sui see in the columns of the Gin
cinnati Commercial Gazette what pur-
ports to be and doubtless is copy Of q
letter of yours to the Advance" a de
nominational paper published in Chicago,
in which you charge Governor Cleveland
with being q libertine, betrayer of In
nocenee and the most immoral of men.
This, under ordinary circumstances, and
being the act of an ordinary man, would
be all right; but being the dehverances
of an alleged minister of the gospel,
changes the aspect very materially. 1t
is fact, patent to the most obtuse, that
partisan newspapers never hesitate to
publish the peccadilloes of all sorts, of
candidates of the opposite party, and to
lay bare the most secret sins of said
candidates, whenever they have the
smallest amount of evidence upon which
to base their revelations. How is it
in this case? Grover Cleveland was
elected sheriff of his county, mayor of
Buffalo and governor of the State of
New York, but never a word was said in
all these campaigns against his moral
character. Again, at the Democratic
National Convention, when his nomina-
ton was opposed by the most unscrupu-
lous and unprincipled elements of the
Democratic party, not syllable is Mt
tered on this subject, even by John Kelly.
The reason of all this. is obvious. There
was then and is now no semblance OF
truth in the charge you so glibly make,
Ostensibly in the interest of pure mo-
rality, but in reality from desire to
build up the fortunes of your candidate
for the presidency by endeayoring to be-
foul the private character Of his more
upright, moral and exemplary opponent.
lodged ministerial neighbor, that the
whole story was as baseless as the fiimsy
fabric of dream; but as you could find
nothing socongenial to your taste as this
sort of scandel, you gladly awaited your
selves of it and forthwith rushed into
print.
As ordinary good citizens and in the
interest of religion and morality such a
course would have been in very question
able taste, but when preachers of the
gospel are so ready to degrade their holy
office to the level of pot-house poll
tics, it is about time to introduce little
clerical as we'll as tariff reform. Did it
ever occur to you that the religion Of
Christ and politics have nothing in COM
mon? That politics and pure religion
won't mix. That when the Lord calls
laborers into His moral vineyard, He
calls them to preach His gospel and not
the gospel of any political patty? If
you do not recognize these propositions
as facts you are evidently in the same fix
as many others, l. e., laboring under a
misapprehension. The Lord having call
ed soma one else, you happned to over
hear Him and went yourself. If the
Almighty had anything at all to do with
your commission as minister IL was His
intention that you should feed his flock
upon the bread of life and not upon the
dry husks and filthy garbage of politics.
1t has been said that hell is paved with
good intentions. That might have been
the case in the remote past. but since
the advent of the Republican party and
political preachers and clerical political
wire-pullers AID peddlers of obscene
scandals, they have doubtless taken up
the old pavement and will replace it
with political preachers, using the lesser
moral lights of the Republican party as
cement. Have Il care that you do not
become block of concrete for the pur-
pose named. 1t is idle for you or others
of your ilk to suppose that intelligent
men will believe that a regard for pure
morals was the motive that prompted
you to give publicity to this scandal.
We know you too we'll, We know equal
ly well that if you knew, of your own
knowledge, that Jas. q. Blaine has been
guilty of every crime in the calendar;
that he was and is morally rotten,
who're monger and adulterer, bigamist
with as many wives as Brigham Young,
and as many concubines as Solomon, a
thief, murderer, pirate, pickpocket or
Star-router, you would never say word
against his candidacy either in the in
terest of morality or decency. | have
no doubt that the moral character of
Gov. Cleveland will compare favorably
with your own and that of your clerical
colleague in this nastiness; and admit
ting the truth of the charges, am not
at all sure that the same comparison
would not result in the case of all po-
litical preachers. Trusting that the
above estimate of the capabilities and
final disposition of alleged preachers
who prostitute their high calling to the |
plane of partisan billingsgate may be
of some practical benefit to you and |
your congregation, remain yours, etc., |
E. GEO. DELAP.