Smyrna times., 1892-02-24
UNDER A SEARCH LIGHT
REV. JOHN A. B. WILSON, d. D., OF
DOVER DISTRICT.

The action of Presiding Elder Wilson
in resOrting to the civil law, by begin
ming libel suit against a newspaper,
has simpifed matters very much for
the preachers in the Conference, trying
his own case, as it does, in the open
court of public opinion, with the
editors Of the secular press as the at
torneys, one of them, as It were-the
Morning Ne'US-acting in the position
of chief justice, summing up the evil
dence as in a charge TO a jury, as
follows:
We spoke yesterday of the suit for
libel which the Rev. J. A. B. Wilson,
of Dover, has brought against the
editor of the Delaware City NelUS. and
recommended those who have knOwl-
edge of the facts in questiOn-or of
what are believed by many to be facts
should omit no effort to bring all
these matters within their knowledge,
to the fest of a judicial decision. In
thus speaking, we were dealing with
Messrs. Wilson and Dilworth in their
relation to each other as citizens, ard
were considering merely that civil
order which protects all citizens alike,
and which provides remedies against
injurious imputatiOns being put wan
tOnly and without evidence of the
truth. upon the good reputation of any
private citizen.
There is another relation in which
the Rev. J. A. B. Wilson stands to the
people of Delaware, and that is. as
responsible officer of a strong and
influential ecclesiastical organization,
widely authoritative in this state, and
whose usefulness is matter of com
mon concern, namely, the Methodist
Episcopal Church. Mr.. Wilson is an
officer of this church, is subject to the
jurisdiction, and as a consequence the
church is responsible for Mr.. Wilson.
This church responsibility is twofold
first, in respect to the general repute
which Mr.. Wilson bears among those
who are not members of this church:
and second, in respect to his own in
huence upon the domestic polty of
the Methodist Episcopal Church in
this jurisdiction. Under the system of
organization of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church, each officer of the church
is subjected tOan annual scrutiny, both
in regard to his personal conduct and
his official work, at the regular meet
ing of the conference to which he
belongs, and hence the question of
responsibility for Mr.. Wilson will be
one Of the stated matters to be consid.
cred at the meeting in this city next
month, of the Wilmington Conference.
We reprinted last Saturday from the
Peninsula Methodist, an article in
which 1t was announced that Bishop
Andrews, who will preside over the
coming session of the Wilmington
Conference, intends to PISS few davs
in Delaware, before the opening of the
Conference, presumably with the
purpose Ofganing some personal know
ledge of the contentious and distrac-
tions and their causes, with which the
Methodist Episcopal Church in this
Peninsula, has been long and iniur-
iously vexed. In other words Bishop
Andrews has adopted the intelligent
and sensible plan of studying Mr..
Wilson in the territory where he works
for 1t would be mere affectation to
ignore the fact that Mr.. Wilson, either
consciously CT uncOnsciOuslV. is a
source OF great many troubles which
weaken the Methodist Episcopal
Church in this jurisdiction. No meth
cd could be better devised, we should
say, to bring about that peace of mind
and fraternal harmony which we fancy
all will admit, must exist in any eccles-
iastical organization before it can be
expected to perform its normal work
in society.
There are certain general cOnsidera-
tiOns involved in this matter, which
are apparent even to outside and sec
ular observation. 1t is a singular fact.
for example, that Mr.. Wilson should
be the source of so much discomfort to
everybody. Even his friends are
continually worried for fear that he
will be prosecuted. They become
indignant because his plans are CD.
posed. They manifest irritation, when
in any respect his will is disregarded.
They appear often to have some special
scheme to urge in his behalf, although
whether these schemes are of his or
X u.
obvious that a man who continually
awakens such anxiety and greed in
the minds Of his friends cannot be a
very comfortable man to live with
Manly men-men who are really
strOng-do not have to make a habit
of getting up special devices for their
own advancement. If they are in a
common service with other men, thev
simply go along and take the sunshine
and the shade, the sweet and the bitter
as they find it, They would lose their
own self-respect if they used weaker
men as stepping-stOnes for their own
advancement. They would scorn to
be cOntriving continually to place
other men at a disadvantage, by arti-
hcial and arbitrary process, by intrigue
and combination, and thus secure for
themselves an advantage which they
have not won by common consent. As
matter of fact it is only very mean
and disagreeable mana man whose
nature is thoroughly selfish and to
some degree cOrrupt-whO can make
the downfall and disappointment of
others the prize of his own promotion,
and be proud of the promotion and
dignity and honor thus obtained
The demands of such a man upon his
friends are of precisely the kind to
make them nervous, irritable, Jealous
and generally ill-natured. He must
make life almost as disagreeable for
them as he does for those whom he is
able to thwart and trample upon in
his various schemes to turn the whole
stream of honor aud authority from
his associates and peers and toward
himself.
1t is also singular that Mr.. Wilson
should not be able to live in peace with
those who happen to disagree with
him. Among men whose minds are in
any degree reasonable and impartial,
there is q wide space between the dis
agreement of different judgements and
the hatred of inveterate enemies. As
matter of fact, men of good sense
men who are fit to hold positions of
responsibility and authority-do not
cherish hatred and never permit
themselves TO come down to the low
level of being an ihveterate hater of
anybody. But Mr.. Wilson appears TO
US to have u tendency to regard his
associates as all for him or all against
lin. Back of whatever humility he
may assume-and he impresses us a
man whose outside indications afford a
most uncertain and delusive clue as to
what is going on inside-there seems
to be the imperiOus will and the firm
determination to have his own partie-