The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-09-27
Mol1ie and Tillie Auten-
rieth Accused of Chew
ing To1u in Prayer
Meeting.
GRoANs FOR A SINFUL SISTER
Their Friends Say Pastor butcher,
Of Grace NJ. E. Church, Is Play
ing Freeze Out with the
Congregation.

tentious frame structure in which for
eight years the congregation of Grace M.
E. Church have worshipped. The church
is by no means obscure
Four years ago the Rev. James Har-
court made himself and the church so
famous by his unconventional method Of
WORK that he received a call to San Fran
cisco: When he left young man from
the West was given temporary charge
OF the church. HIS name was Frank
finger.
Everyone liked him and his enthusiastic
way OF working, and when the confer
ence met committee was appointed to
go before 1t and ask to have Mr. Tinger
appointed. The conferences would
not listen to such a proposition
.WhatP' said the members, 80 many
graduates of Eastern colleges without
harvest fields, and this man from the
West, forsooth, to obtain a charge in the
Eastl Nayl nayl Think not So :"
The committee returned to their con-
stituents disheartened. and the next Sum
day the Rev. Mr.. Dutscher was ordained
as pastor of the Grace NJ. E. Church.
From the first he received small encour-
agement, but he was not of the kind
that is easily frightened out of harvest
held and he stuck to his post One of
the earliest members of the church and
one of the members of the COMMITTEES
sent to the conference was Mrs. Auten-
rieth, OF No. 7S2 Newark ave-
nue.. The career of the pres
ent pastor has, It is claimed
by his friends, been quite Iurid, netwith-
standing the GOODNESS of his fiock towards
him: Sometime ago he was accused of
having busted the church with the Grip
pied sexton named John Wanamaker.
his name should have protected him
from the attacks of any Methodist. The
matter was hushed up and things con-
gealed again
COLD STORAGE FOR MEMBERS.
During all this time, however, it is al
legged that the Rev. Mr.. butcher has been
freezing out the old members and inRra-
tiatlng himself with the new until now
the old members are sadly in the
minority. At the last election Of
the Board of Trustees. Mr.. butcher
although it has been the irnmemoriai
custom to allow every one who con-
tributed to tho church to vote. an
nounced that only those above twenty
one years who contributed to all the
church funds could vote Only twenty
five votes were cast and an entirely new
Board Of Trustees elected, all adherents
of the pastor.
Now comes the strange part of the tale,
the wonderfulest part Of church history
writ or sung. Beside it all the machine
lions OF ecclesiastics of past ages sink in
the mire Of medfocrity
Hardly had the new Board become
accustomed to its position than they
ordered q letter penHed to Mrs. AHtefl-
rlerh complaining of the unseemly levity
OF two OF her daughters and their most
indecorous conduct.
Inc lady In question has nine children
and the two referred to are Tillie and
Mollie, the elder of the two being twenty.
Mollie's peculiar offense was that she
rolled in her dainty mouth the stringy
and elastic tolu gum in meeting. The
particular offence was on Wednesday
night. Just as one very respected and
devout brother was talking about ais
starry home and the melody of the harp.
q sharp crack was heard in the back
or the room, ana when all the
people looked around they saw two girlA
suspending from their cherry lips long
strings of gum. The graver portion Of
the assemblage declare that each girl had
an end Of the string of gum in her mouth
and both pulled, hence the ominious
snap.
MOURNING SINFUL PLEASURES.
On another occasion it is said that as
very dear sister, who was also very old.
was talking of having resigned the sinful
pleasures of life, most singular
moaning was heard proceeding from
portion of the room where the girls
were. The sister who resigned the pleas
ure was very wroth and the alleged ac-
denunciation.
Both of the girls were fair to gaze upon
sinners sometimes are-and their cause
was championed by their friends. An
investigation is said to have resulted In
suspicion resting on the Misses Auten-
reith.
Miss Mollie is staid young lady who
weekly collects the pennies of the infants
Of the Sunday school and administers
such gospel milk as is meet to them She
is much concerned over the letter.
called on Mrs Autenrieth this morning.
She said, ~ believe it is spite.n
think they intended to freeze us out Of
the church. For some of the old members
have been leaving and new members
coming in, until now the congregation is
trying to force all the old members of the
congregation to leave. The idea
church. Mollie wants to know how
they know what she was chewing,
and Is it any harm to chew gum
went to our minister and asked him
If he ever saw our girls doing anything
wrong. He said, ''no." My Mollie has
been going to that church for seventeen
years. and this is the first time anything
Objectionable has been said"
Mrs. Autenrieth says the letter did not
state specifically what the girls had done,
but she found out by personal inquiry.
She is determined to push the matter and
has secured Justice Aldrldge to investl-
sending of the letter
Pastor butcher was seen at his house
this morning. He said there was no
truth whatever in the story that his
friends are trying to freeze out any one
Further he refused to talk, diplomaticai-
ly referring me to member of the Board,
who could not be found
Many prominent people have left the
church since the present shepherd took
the crook, among them being Warden
Osborne's family. the Perkins family and
I. w; Coyle's family; In tact only two
members are now in the church who
were on the committee that tried to have
Mr.. finger appointed
Some time ago the steeple of the church
threatened to fall, now it is the church
Thus doth Satan obtrude himself ever in
a new form; once he tempted woman
with an apple, now 1T is with chewing
gum, and the end is not yet.
Weather Indications.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 81. 1890, Weatherin-