The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1885-09-02
The Rev. Sunderland Explains.

( We have never seen a published ex-
! planation from Dr. Sunderland regarding
( his alleged refusal to let Fred Douglas
worship in his church, and consequently
We give space to the following rather
long letter to a Rozeman gentleman,
which explains itself
WASHINGTON, June a, 1885.
"The Rev. Dr. Sunderland, chaplain of
the United States Senate, refused to
preach because Fred Douglas, the color
ed statesman, has secured a pew in his
church. But Douglas isa greater man than
Sunderland, and can get even with the
preacher by staying away from church
altogether"
DEAR SIR,- Yours of the 10Th inst con-
tanning the printed slip came to hand
to-day, and | thank you for writing, that
you may know the truth The simple
facts are that Mr. Douglas, with his fam
lily, came to our church on Sabbath
morning May 18th, simply out of curios-
ity, as I suppose, like great many 9TH
ers who come to church for the same
reasons now-a-d days, because President
Cleveland had taken pew in the church
and they expected to get sight of him
on the Sabbath in this way. Mr.. Doug
las and his friends were shown to a seat
and treated precisely as other strangers
are but it so happened that on that
morning President Cleveland was alb
sent. The next Sabbath, May oath,
exchanged pulpits with the Rev. DR..
Storrs, OF Orange, N. j., by an arrange
ment which had been made some months
before. Mr.. Douglas with his friends.
appeared in the church on that morning,
also, no doubt, supposing they would be
sure to see the President in his pew.
They were, as l am informed, treated in
the same manner as before, but of course
| was absent in New Jersey preaching
for my friend. Out of these simple facts
some newspaper reporters, bent on mis-
chief fabricated the whole story aud
have sent it broadcast oyer the whole
country. To answer more specifically
/. | have formerly been but am not
now chaplain of the U SIS
2. Mr.. Douglas does not hold pew in
my church, and never, so far as | know,
has attempted or desired to secure
one.
3. have never. during the 42 years of
my ministery, refused to preach the
gospel to any human creature who would
listen to me, much less to Gods poor
and despised people, and least of all to
Mr.. Douglas himself.
A. In the winter of 1866, Mr. Douglas
for the first time was invited to deliver
his lecture on the assassination of Lin
coin at the capitol but the feeling
against him was SO strong on the part of
the older population that no hall or
church could be procured for this pur-
pose 1t was then that / advocated the
the opening of our church for his lee
1n,,n He did give his lecture from my
pulpit, being introduced to immense
audience by the chief justice of the .. S.
Supreme Court, Solomon P. Chase. The
affair created an intense excitement at
the time and | have never ceased to re-
ceiye the curses of the old slave holders
and secessionists who still survive for
the part took on that occasion. have
suffered more for the attitude | took in
relation to the colored people and to Mr.
Douglas especially in those exciting
times, will venture to say, than all the
men who edit the Truth-Seeker and all
their readers put together have ever slf-
fered from the same cause. Truth
Seeker, indeed If the slip you sent me
is a fair specimen of its success in seek
ing truth, it had better wind mp at
once.
5. As to the question whether Mr..
Douglas or myself is the greater man,
that is quite immaterial. If the world
thinks Mr.. Douglas the greater man !
am sure shall be perfectly satisfied. !
have many reasons to think that am
not very great man, and 1t would not
require any stupendous man to be big
ger man than am. So we will let that
pass.
But it is useless to try to follow up the
thousand and one lies retailed by infidels
and their dupes against the clergy and
the church. 1t is said that "every laws
shining work" and | expect nothing
less for the next four years from certain
portions of the public press but false
hood, vilification and abuse. The injury
thus done to the cause of truth and pub
lie morals by these unprincipled and
reckless men is simply incalculable. The
evil is upon us with al its gigantic pro-
portions. But what is the remedy?
Nov I must leave the matter, thank
ing you for the kind interest you have
taken to find out the bottom facts of the
story.
Very sincerely,
E. SUNDERLAND.
past,,r First PRESBYTERIAN Church.