Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-12

llshed in The DISPATCH yesterday. 1t was
a sort of feeler. When the letter was pub
lished in the newspapers, three days after
its date, Colonel Danks was surprised. He
testified that he did not give it out for pub
LEGATION. He believed it came from the
other side, and was intended as another
effort to accomplish the ruin of his reputa-
tion. He was then arrested before an
Alderman, at the instance of Mr.. Blashford,
in proceeding for surety of the peace.
Through members of the church he had the
word conveyed to Mr.. Blashford that he
would like meeting. In the same way in
formation was returned to Colonel Danks
that his enemy did not desire to meet him.
After the first day when the case was set for a
hearing before the Alderman, Colonel Danks
sent this letter to Mr.. Blashford:
HIS SECOND LETTER.
1 see you did not put In an appearance. 1
wish you had been there, for then you would
have known before this that no evil or bodily
harm was intended to you, but that my object
was to find out through you how all this wrong
was done to me at conference.
JOHN A. DANKs
The man who never did you any harm except
to pray for you.
Colonel Danks admitted on the stand that
in the sudden heat of his passion, he said
things to Mr.. BIashford and other members
of the church for which he is now sorry
Questions were put to him asking if he had
made certain remarks testified to by other
witnesses. In several instances he could
not recollect, but would not say that he had
not said the words attributed to him.
Colonel Danks laid before the court of in
quiry the records OF his satisfactory work in
other churches, presenting letters of ap-
proval from official boards
The remainder of the afternoon session
and part of the evening was taken up in
hearing the testimony of persons who were
members of the church during the pastorate
of Colonel Danks. 1t appears that since
his removal quite number of the members
have left that congregation. Some who
testified now belong to other Methodist
Episcopal churches in the city, while others
have Joined the Methodist Protestant
Church.
POINTED INQUIRY.
The inquiry was directed pointedly to a
meeting which Mr.. BIashford is alleged to
have procured a short time prior to the La
trobe conference, where he procured sigma
lures to petition for the pastors removal.
The evidence varied widely as to whether
he was the chief promoter in that action,
Some of the witnesses called in behalf of
Colonel Danks testified that Mr.. Blashford
had represented that the church funds
were exhausted when, as a matter of fact
they were not. Others stoutly defended
MIR. Blashford's conduct, asserting that
Colonel Danks' removal was essential for
the good of the church, that he was hot
headed and promoter of strife in congrega-
ton and choir.
1t was o'clock when the last witness was
rO n
of the Bingham Street NJ. E. Church. then
spoke for 45 minutes in support of the prose-
cution. He dilated upon the letter and
dwelt upon its bitter language as unbe-
coming, to say the least, for a minister of
the gospel. He said he could not believe
that the committee would consider Mr.,
Blashford to be such q man as Colonel
Danks had called him.
A WORD FOR BLAsHFoRD.
The committee had seen and heard Mr..
Blashford, and would be able to Judge of
his character from his manner and language
in their presence. Rev. Mr.. Miller alluded,
in sarcastic way, to Colonel Danks' plea
that he sent that letter to Mr.. Blashford
simply as a feeler, to find out if he really
were the guilty party. He insisted that the
language of the letter would not sustain
that late day Interpretation.
Rev. Mr.. Miller said that a cardinal
teaching of Christianity, next to love OF
God, was "love for your fellow-men." This
love, he insisted, had not been shown by the
defendant. his bitter letter and his utter
aDces were entirely inconsistent with that
teaching of the Scriptures. He said that he
felt that all the testimony showed that
Colonel Danks, by reason of his belligerent
temperament. was united for work in the
Christian ministry.
REV. MR.. CORE IN DEFENSE.
Rev. J. Franklin Core, of Williamsburg,
spoke for half an hour in defense
Of Colonel Danks. Mr.. Core was,
like his ecclesiastical client, a SOL
dier of the Union. After elucidating
the discipline regulations in regard to a
minister's conduct, he proceeded to score
Thomas Blashford, as man who had pro-
ceeded, under the guise of friendship, to
secure the ruin of a minister of the church.
He was rather severe in his language.
He alluded tOuchingly to Colonel Danks'
war record and to his family. He
defended him for writing that letter, saying |
that after his return from conference he was |
'writhing under an avalanche of opprobiium |
unloosed and hurled upon him by his pre- |
tended friend" Rev. Mr. Core said that |
Blashford, when he received the letter, had |
called in co-conspirator and made a copy |
Of it, which he caused to be published for |
the purpose of bringing further disgrace upon
the pastor. During Mr.. Cores speech the
Colonel cried very bitterly.
AT a few minutes after 10 o'clock the |
committee went into executive session, and |
so continued for an hour and half. Ac-
,user and defendant with their attorneys
we're excluded from the room. The eyi- |
lence was discussed in detail, over and |
over, and at IL 80 the committee proceeded |
% a vote. as to whether Rev. John A. Danks
lad been guilty of conduct and language