Morning journal and courier., 1886-03-04

continue to give their confidence to the society and all the contributions that are tc be made; but
 Whereas The public mind must have been ans turbed by certain cha against the agent or the said society, we recommend the executive commit f tee of the said society to appoint a committee or three gentlemen to investigate any charges or ob lectlons any be made aganst the sad n 4h the said executive committee.
 The Davenport Church and the La-
 dtes' Seamen's Friend Society.
 The following is statement of the case from the standpoint of the Davenport church as given by MT. Meserve last evening to COURIER reporter:
 The committee of the Davenport church at meeting held for the purpose of making list of charities for the current year were in formed by several members of the church
 that they objected to the putting of the La dies Seamens Friend society on that list on account of the society's superintendent of missions, Mr. s. P. Thrasher. The commit tee decided to refer these objections to the society that employed MT. Thra sher, with request for information concerning him. The president of said society, after consultation
 with MT. Thrasher, (who had previously agreed to such reference of the matter to the society," refused to do anything about it. The
 
 jections, and so did They were objections
 to MT. Thrasher as man unfit, for moral and intellectual reasons, for the position he
 holds. They were based on coarse and vul- gar language, also profane language, which
 it was alleged that MT. Thrasher had used;
 also upon the statement that he had borrow ed money widely and had been careless about
 keeping his promises of repayment; also upon
 the treatment of F. B. Smith, who had charge of the Sailors Home when it was first open ed; also upon his offensive political afilia- tions, which were declared to be unworthy of the leader of religious work: also upon his alleged management of the matter ot
 Christmas presents to himself; also upon the
 recent condition of the Sailors Home, which
 since it came under MT. Thrasher's charge was declared to be 'tmore like the forecastle of a ship than like home." It was further declared that he had told smutty stories in
 the presence of thes witness and Justified
 them by saying that he had been in the habit of doing this to some extent ln beloved member of this church now dead Mir. Thrasher denied all this, and al- so produced witnesses to prove that his al- legged abuse of sailors was justifable. Other matters were introduced on both sides, and all parties were fully and impartially heard.
 Nr Thrasher refrained from any reply to the accusation of unkind treatment of MT. Smith on the ground that the president of the L. s. F. s. had forbidden him to do so, because said society assumed ali responsibili- ty in that particular. The committee con- sidered the evidence presented to it on both sides, and unanimously adopted the follow ing finding: 'fIn the judgment of this com mittee it has been made appar-
 ent that MT. s. P Thrasher, super
 intendent of the Bethel, has by his
 methods, actions and language laid himself open to just criticism and on some points to condemnation, but since it also seems so i'm portant that the work of the Seamen's Friend society should be sustained, they
 conclude that collection should be taken for that society,"" It being the opinion that l the article in the Register, which MT. Thrasher and his friends published, but not himself, made it advisable to announce the | above finding to the church for the informa- tion of the members, 1t was so done The pastor subsequently being informed that MT. Thrasher and others had visited the
 Palladium office with matter for further
 publication, submitted to an in terview,
 which was somewhat incoherent because
 the reporter mixed his notes of questions and answers with the direct statement of the pastor, though intending to give an exact account of the interview. The pastors aim was to speak as kindly of MT.
 Thrasher as the facts, so far as he knew them,
 
 basis of very unfriendly criticism in quarters
 hostile to those who had objected to the
 church's taking collection to sustain MT. Thrasher. The L. s. F. s., in preamble and resolutions which were offensive in language and spirit, declined to receive any contribu- tion from the Davenport church. Their
 language was approved by the pastor of
 one of the most important churches in the city and the church consequently felt that it could not appear at called meeting on Wednesday, March 3, but referred the socie- ty to the persons who had originally urged the objections to the collections being taken. This reference was made in letter from the
 pastor to Rev. Dr. Smyth and now made public. The church thinks its action the only one it could possibly take, and asks | only that judgment be suspended until the new investigation by the L. s. F. s. is made. If fair committee of investigation is select ed the facts will surely be laid before it. Meanwhile it appeals to the sense of fairness in all honorable men, not to say Christian men, whether the language of some persons
 in criticism of the church committee was
 just end defensible, especially as those per. sons are earnest partisans and ignorant of the facts.