Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-25
E PITTSBURG DISPATCH.
PARKHURST AND TIE PARSONS.
WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH. ]

| WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH.l
PEOPLE appear to be finding a great
deal of fault with DR.. Parkhurst. The
prophets have always had a hard time of it.
Isaiah and jeremiah and all the rest of them
got more kicks than half-pence. I don't be-
lieve, however. that Dr.. Parkhurst cares
very much about the abuse that Is being
thrown at him. Yes: he cares of course. No
gentleman enjoys being set up as the but Of
| vulgar horseplay. And DR.. Parkhurst. being
| q particularly refined and sensitive gentle
man, must of necessity suffer some physical
pain merely from being pointed at by so
many dirty fingers But he undoubtedly
| made up his mind to all that beforehand,
| and has been simply taking it, as one takes
the inevitable ills of life, stolidly as posi-
| BILE.
or all the fingers clean and unclean, that
have been directed toward our new Isaiah,
| 1 think he must have got most discomfort
from those which belonged to the
| hands OF his brothers, the parsons. OF
course, he expected that all the rum sellers,
| and the dive keepers, and the maintainers
| of infamous houses-all the porters of the
vestibule of hell-would assail him. That
| was an easy prophecy. And the police
| oficials, whom he showed to be either in
| competent or corrupt, would not particu-
| larly love him. No man by nature can abide
| to be called either fool or a knave-espec-
| tally when he IS either fool or knave-
| and not talk back. And the politicians into
| whose pockets, DR.. Parkhurst, says, goes the
money which gives free course to all the
treacheries of the devil-they would not
praise the preacher. People usually admire
the sermons which casttgate their neighbors.
And the newspapers which are in the pay of
all this diabolical element OF Now York
municipal life would not be likely to
| applaud.
Bad Errors on Both Sides.
NEWSPAPER morality is often very
funny. We dearly enjoy preaching. espe-
| cially when we can preach to the parsons.
1t was very funny to read the pious papers
which sent their reporters to take down the
evidence which DR.. Parkhurst gave In the
presence Of q few people in court, and then
printed it for the reading of all our sons and
daughters and in the same issue gravely re-
proved tho preacher for familiariZing the
youth of his generation with the details Of
vice. 1t was very wrong and demoralizing
for DR.. Parkhurst to go where he did, and
see what he saw, and describe 1t for the sake
of getting the infamous place closed up,
even though the description was given in a
court Of Justice for moral purpose.
And so we will print it all out in full for
everybody's reading-for what kind of a
purposes-and lay all the blame upon the
parson. This is very amusing-and amazing
morality.
"Here is an immense city, cries the
preacher, "reaching out arms of evangelical
tion to every quarter OF the globe, and
yet every step that we take looking to the
moral betterment of this city has to be
taken directly in the teeth Of the damnable
pack of administrative bloodhounds that
are fattening themselves on the ethical
flesh and blood of our citizenship. We have
a right to demand that the Mayor and those
associated with him in administering the
affairs of this municipality should not put
obstruction in the path of onr ameliorating
endeavors; and they do. There Is not
form unde- which the devil so disguises
himself that so perplexes us in our efforts
or so bewilders us in the devising of our
schemes as the polluted harpies that, under
the pretense of governing this city, are
feeding day and night on its quivering
vitals. They are lying, perjured, rum
soaked and libidinous lot"
This is good, strong, vigorous language,
and is not calculated to win any Tammany
affection. Naturally, the "bloodhounds"
and "harpies' are in pursuit of the uncom-
promising preacher.
Hounded by a Motley Mob.
ALL this, however, Isaiah must expect.
He got 1t all in old Jerusalem, where, it is
true, they had no newspapers, but as they
finally sawed the bold prophet asunder with
a wooden sword, that was nearly as bad.
And he is getting it to-day in nineteenth
century New York.
But it is pretty hard to have the parsons
join In the mob. An abusive crowd of publi-
cans and harlots and pot-house politicians
and loafers and low-down newspapers-and
parsons, is q pretty mean sort Of crowd.
Somebody ought to smash the silk hats of
these parsons over their heads, and, thus
extinguished, take them home where they
belong and let them say their prayers and
read their Bibles and try to learn little
sense. All kinds of fools are dangerous
animals to be at large, but pious fool is the
most rabid kind of all.
These parsons. who for a Sunday or two
past have been abusing DR.. Parkhurst'
ought TO be in better business. There are
always people who are perfectly willing
that good should be done if it is only done in
their way. If it Is done-in any other way,
SO much the worse for the door of it.
Sometimes they have some sort of ethical
fad which they use for a measuring stick,
and they compare every new project with
that, and, if it is bigger than this measure,
something is the matter with 1t.
There was a notable instance of this the
other day in London, at the time of the
County Council election. The County
Council, among their other great
plans for the municipal betterment of
London, had provided music in some of
the parks on Sunday afternoons-the most
harmless, not to say commendaDle, thing
they could have done. But the Sabbatarians
were in arms about it. They held that the
people had no right to Gny music on Sunday
except that which was connected with the
singing of King David's psalms in Saint
Francis Rouse's version. And, accordingly,
these good people actually arrayed them
selves with the avaricious landlords and the
rum sellers and the keepers of disreputable
resorts and the other enemies of the neople,
and voted against the party of reform. II
they could not get their own narrow little
re :orm, they would have no reform at all
The Maxim of Christian Reformers.
ANY way to help nybody-is the maxim
of all sensible, genuine and Christian refor-
nation. When these good parsons, who |
have taken upon themselves to |
revile DIR. Parkhurst, saw the great |
work that he had taken in hand,
and the great need there was of somebody's |
taking it in hand, they ought to have been |
glad to the bottom OF their hearts. Out goes |
our David to assail this huge Philistine, who |
1,on