Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-12-14

the consolidated church. DR.. Hayden
retired from active ministry and took
charge of one of the UNCONVENTIONAL pa
pers. At the consolidation the member
hip of the church numbered between 800
= and 400. In the five years since then
that number has steadily increased until
1t now exceeds 500.
Mr.. Hanks.is one of the few pastors in
Texas who has not had large ingatherings
from protracted meetings, but who has
been baptizing people almost every week,
some weeks as many as dozen persons,
for several years past. And this condi-
ton still continues, for the reporter at
tended his church Sunday night, and saw
the pastor receive into the church for
baptism a middle aged gentleman.
1t is said that the contributions
of the church to missionary and
educational interests, under the minis
try of the present pastor, have
grown from few hundred to several
thousand dollars annually, and the at
tendance has grown so steadily that for
some time past sufficient sitting room was
not to be had for all who came.
Personally Mr.. Hanks is extremely
popular, not only as a minister, but So
cially. He possesses great magnetism,
Z and few there are who ever meet
are not confined TO any class
or any denomination. The rich and poor
and well-to-do all are included among
his friends, and he shows no distinction
among them. He is liberal with his pri-
vate means in his pastoral work
among the poor of his church, and is
:. genial cultivated, original and positively
I-S:xttTactive. Very few, among his per-
sonal acquaintance, give any credence
whatever TO the SANDERS now circulated
about him. The vast majority of his
people are indignant at them, and in the
pending trial they have drawn closer and
closer TO HIM, and will rejoice i'll the COM
plete vindication of his character, which,
they confidently and prayerfully predict.
TROUBLE BEGINS.
After Mr.. Hanks arrival in Dallas all
things prospered well with the church,
and his relations were agreeable with all
until one day DR.. S. H. Hayden, editor
of the Texas Baptist, came TO him and
asked him TO deneunce, in public card,
Rev. J e.. A. McQuerter, then at McKm-
ney. The reason for the request is said
to have been that Rev. MeQuerter had
q killed man some fifteen or twenty years
before, and was therefore unworthy of
the ministry. Mr.. Hanks refused to
grant DR.. Hayden IS request, at which
Hanks was "nOt gentleman, much
less q Christian - and from that time
until the, matter was arbitrated, they met
as strangers.
In the meantime other msunderstaHd-
ings had arisn to weaken the friendship
of the two. The upshOt of this whole
matter was that DR.. Hayden called pri-
waite committee of arbitration together
and mad Mr.. Hanks to appear before it TO
answer the following charges:
The first was the(matter in reference to
Mr.. McQuerter; second, that Hanks had
given Rev. C. /. Schofied of Dallas, pas
tor of the Congregational church, his
friendship after he (Hayden) had de-
nounced him rs being in unscriptural
wedlock with his second wife; third, that
Hanks had tried to shirk his
pastoral responsibility in referring let
: ter from ga female member to him
(Hayden) asking for a church letter.
The evidence is that the ''female mem
Der' alluded to had been a member of
the minority church while DR.. Hayden
b was pastor. Hayden had told Hanks
thSt>he (Hayden) had caught the person
i'll q compromising position with young
man. For this reason, it is said, the
letter was referred by Hanks to Hayden,
The committee of arbitration above al
luded TO investigated these complaints and
declared unhesitatingly that Mr.. Hanks
had not done wrong in any sense.
Mr.. Hanks friends claim that the
above complaints were all on a line with
all expressed determination on Hayden s
part to displace Hanks 1t is said to be
a fact that Hayden had written letters
to two ministers promising them Hanks
pulpit; that Hanks had to resign. Thevin-
dieapon of the committee dispelled any
idea that Hanks had of reSigning, but the
fact that he did not resign did not tend in
any sense to increase DR.. Hayden s af-
lection for him.
THE LAW AND ORDER MOVEMENT.
Last spring there was Inaugurated in
Dallas movement that attracted gen.
eral interest throughout the state known
as the law and order movement.
Several meetings were held at the opera
house, and the lawlessness of the worst
classes was the subject of the denuncia-
ton and resolutions. The leader in the
movement was Rev. r. T. Hanks.
Naturally q leader among men, and full
of enthusiasm in the work proposed by
the society, he soon had nearly, every
minister of the city in the movement witS
him, and the church people generally re-
gardleSs of denomination. The Zest
thrown into the movement for better
observance of the Sunday laws soon
alarmed those who were engaged
in breaking them, and counter
movement was begun by unknown
parties to bring reproach upon those who
were leading it. That counter movement
was made manifest by the slander0us ut
terances that soon were passed from
mouth TO mouth concerning the law and
order people, especially Rev. R. 7.
Hanks. For a while the vilest charges !
that could be made against any one were
made against Hanks, and while no one
uttenng them could ever offer any
ground for them, they gained remark
able circulation. Some few members of !
the First Baptist church unfortunately |
gave them enough Importance TO believe
them upon the ground that ''what every
body says must be so, land believing |
them, they INDUCED 10 large
extent in their circulation The ma
jority, and great majority, however, !
clung to the pastor and protested his IN
nOCence. But as this part of the story
has reached the church, we will bring it
up subsequently.
THE FIRST MEDICATION.
AS soon as Mr.. Hanks learned of the |