Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-10-15
That is What a Presbyterian
Divine Says He Was.
BUT A CHURCH PARLOR SCENE
That Made the Hair Curl on Church Com
mitteemen's Heads Who Saw II
Doesn't Spell it That Way Rev. DR..
Bowers, Pastor of the First Church,
and tho Dear Lamb of His
FIock-The Parlor the Fold.
PASTOR AND LAMB.

Special to the Gazette
KANSAS CITY, No, Oct. 13.-Rev. DR., E..
T. Bowers, late pastor of the First Cumber-
land Presbyterian church at Thirteenth and
Oak streets. rushed into print this morning.
There is where Rev. Or. E. L. Bowers made
a mistake. He has forced the committee
which investigated the charges against him
to tell what it knows. 1t is now openly
stated that Mr.. Bowers admitted he had
been crimina'ly intimate with member of
his fiock and he had made the parlors of his
church a place of designation. These adj
missions were sufficient for the committee,
though proof was not lacking, but rumor
charges him with many immoral offenses.
This morning DR.. Bowers, in an inter
view in the Times, std he had been lin
discreet" nothing more. He claimed that
his relations with the woman In question
had simply been those pastor should bear
toward an unhappy member OF his church.
Why DR.. Bowers should begin fight at
this late day the committee cannot say, for
even before he admitted in the presence of
six men that he was guilty as charged, they
had overwhelming proof of that fact
This is the way it came about When
DR. Bowers came to Kansas City to succeed
Rev. B. L. Fullerton some six months ago
it was expected he would be installed on
the Sunday following his arrival. To the
surprise of a majority OF the members of
himself announced that that fornality had
been postponed. 1t now transpires that
there We're at that time ugly rumors afioat
concerning DR.. Bowers.
The rumOrS became more serious as time
passed, and about four weeks ago COM
mittee of gentlemen from the church took
it upon themselves to watch their pastor.
They discovered that DR.. Bowers was in
the habit Of paying frequent visits to Il
woman whose name appears on the books
of the church as Il member, and who now
has q suit for divorce pending in the circuit
court. These visits were almost inyaria-
bly, made after nightfall, and while DR..
Bowers remained in the house the curtains
were closely drawn. Occasionally the
preacher and this lamb would meet in the
church parlors. Things looked black and
SO did the Investigators.
Last Friday DR.. Bowers went to Holden
to attend a meeting of the presbytery. He
was expected back Monday evening. The
aStute committee reasoned he would meet
the woman in the church parlors on the
night of his return. This conclusion ar
rived at, trap was set for DR.. Bowers and
DR.. Bowers promptly got into it with both
feet. About 7:30 O'Clock Mr.. Henry Ram
sey and others of the committee We're
one of the little rooms of the church! DR..
Bowers and the woman were in another.
The first mentioned couple saw and heard
enough to make their hair curl. This little
double scene drama continued for an hour
and then the preacher and the woman left.
An investigation followed. The preacher
told the whole story and resigned, but now
is disposed to fight the case through the
pai erS,