St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-23
MCLEAN FOUND GUILTY.
The Center of the Late Church Scan
DIAL Before the Presbytery,
Which Finds Him Guilty and Fires
Him From the Church.

PRESBYTERIAN church on CEDAR Street yeSteT-
day morning at 10 o'clock. The men were
the pastors and prominent members OF the
Presbyterian churches of st. Paul and
Minneapolis, gathered for the trial of DR..
Mclean, the central figure in the recent
church scandal, and the woman was Mrs.
Ravson, at whose house Mclean had lived
for a time when he was preaching at the
Ninth Presbyterian church. Mir. Mclean,
with his counsel, Prof. Baier, and the ReV.
DR.. Peter Stryker of Minneapolis formed a
group near little table to the lett OF me
platform. The prosecution, the Key. Dr.
Campbell, Rev. Dr.. Edwards and MI: IL.
AGilbert sat about another table 10 the rignI
and Mrs. RaysOn sat apart. TO one sue
of the room. Rev. G.. G. Herriott was
made moderator. and divine guidance over
the trial was invoked by Dr.. Reheldaher.
NfcIe sat with his head slightly bent for
ward, apparently sleepy. and hardly moved
during the forenoon session. The proSecu-
ton had brought with them a good-slZed
nile of documents, the written history, they
said. of the accused, cleaned from official
sources at Chicago, New York and other
places where Mclean had figured. The
Presbytery spent the larger part of the
time at the morning session in deciding
upon a line of action to be followed.
THE CHARGES.
The charges and specifications, as 1ol-
lows were read i'll opening:
Charge One-That DIR. Mclean secured adj
mittance into the presbytery by deception,
forgery and fraud.
Specification THAT he concealed from the
presbytery the fact that at the time he was
received there were pending charges against
him in Chicago before the Illinois state board
of health for unprofessional practice, on
which charges his license was revoked ON
April Is.
Specification 2-That he concealed from the
presbytery the fact that when he was re-
ceived he was a member of the First Congre-
gational church of Chicago, and that the
charges were pending against him on which
he was communicated in July last.
Specification 3-That the church letter on
which he was received, which purported to
come from the Union tabernacle church OF
New York city, was a forgery; and he was
not at that time 2 member of that church.
Charge Two-That he has been guilty of
scandalous conduct, inconsistent with the
profession of minister or Christian.
Specification THAT he with a young I'M
married woman, took rooms adjoining and
communicating with each other at Mrs. Ray
sons, No. IA Iglehart street, and by his con-
duct and conversation gave Just ground for
charges of immortality, and bringing discredit
on the church.
Specification 2-That he held public meet
ing on the Sabbath Nov. %, at Market hall.
which, in character and conduct, was calcula-
ted to bring discredit on the cause of relig-
ion.
Following the reading of the charges,
Prof. Baier pleaded not guilty to charge
one, with all specifications making long
talk in which ne moved to strike them out.
After he had closed DR.. Edwards arose and
prepared to read DR.. McLean'S record.
Prof. Baier objected, on the ground that it
was outside the province Of the preSbytery
to go behind the returns, and, moreover, he
said, there was no one present who could
least the first stone" 1t was finally de-
cided to come to the charges at once, and
after an hour or more spent in a sort of fill
clustering, recess was taken.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The presbytery was called to order at
2:10 p. H., and nearly all the members
answered to call of the roll. Rev. Isaac
McNair and DR.. Carroll were added to the
roll and admitted as members of the ses
sion Prof. Baier of the counsel for the
defense, arose to question of privilege.
Ind stated that they objected to the accu-
Satlons in charge No. 2. He moved to dis
miss them, because they did not mention
any specific act. The first specification
said that DR.. Mclean had secured adjoin-
ing rooms for himself and young woman,
and that his conduct and conversation was
scandalous, and thereby affected the good
name and character of the Christian church
of which he was member. This charge
was too indefinite; it neither gave time nor
slace of any specific act which is criminal
Ir scandalous. The fact of his renting a
pom for himself was not scandalOus act,
and renting room for a young lady who
was a stranger, when he had been re-
quested to do so by the young lady's
mother, was an act of kindness, and in
which there was nothing scandalous. The
book and the law says there must be spec
ific charge, and there was certainly none in
those presented. He alluded to the market
house meeting, of which the charges al
legged that the advertising and conduct of
the same was calculated to bring discredit
to the church and Christian religion. Prof.
Baier said that the charge was not made
that religion had been scandaliZed, but that
twas only calculated to scandaliZe it. The
meeting of Market hall when the doors of
the church were closed against him, and
the newspapers closed to his defense. was
the only course left for DR.. Mclean to make
a defense for himself and establish his in
nocence. II there was q spark of manhood
left in DR.. Mclean he had to make an eff
fort to defend his good name and keep it
from being tramped down. and beSmirched
with dirt S:fld filth.
ODr. Campbell said that he thought it was
time for the trial to proceed upon the
charges embraced in the first part of the
Indictment, and at the conclusion of that
examination it might not be necessary to go
on with the second charge.
A general discussion, INDUCED in by all
of the members, followed, which was
h10u 10 Nv
presbytery to proceed with the trial upon
the specifications contained in the first
charge-conduct
SCANDALoUs TO HIS PROFESSION
rs Christian minister, and fraud in con-
nection with his entrance into the presby
terry.
At. this stage of the proceedings it
was proposed to exclude the reporters,
or at least compel them to pledge
themselves to publish only such
proceedings as the clerk approved of. A
motion to that effect was offered, but Prof.
Baier hoped it would not pass, as the papers
had so far published much of the alleged
record OF DR.. Mclean, and that if he sue
ceeded in clearly establishing his innocence
he wanted the world to know it. and if the
presbytery found him guilty of the charges
this also fhould be published The defense
wanted everything done with open doors.
Mr.. Joshua Williams objected to the mo-
ton and hoped it would not be carried, as
much for the church as any other reason. !
He wanted the public to know exactly what
the evidence was that would be introduced, |
and he moved that the motion be laid on
the table. A vote being taken it was de-
clded to allow the reporters to remain.
The counsel for the prosecution then in
frOHnoaH DC no of
Illinois State Medical board regarding the |
action of that hoard in reynl1inr the licenSa |