The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-09-11
REV.. MR.. GATES EXPLAINS
He Defines His Position
Relative to the Salvation
Arm

t wv "a ~. 0nbCS aQlulul Sb6EG1 10
a Salvationisu yesterday morning at the
Grace M. e. Church the sacrament of the
Lords SupDer. Before the service Hora-
ito Crowke, n of the board of trustees
made an address co the congregation In
which be said he Is against anyone who
places Grace Church in a false light by
countenancing the outrage which has
been perpetrated on the Salvationists.
MIR. Gates preached a sermon bearing
on the Lords Supper which was ad min
istered after his address. A Salvatlonlst
who vas present received with the con-
2regatton. In making his church
announcements Mr.. Gates ssid:-'I have
announced that / will preach my
second candle sermon, but the
light the newspapers have placed
l want tonight to clearly define myself
with. regard to my position In reference
to The Salvation Army. l want all the
Salvatfon1StS who Can TO be present, as
we'll as all my congregation. II any OF
my parisnioners don't care to hear their
pastors explanation. their room 10 better
tha their company"
THE EXPLANATION.
The church was crowded la the evening.
AZ everyone was anxious to hear Mr..
Gates explanation. In beginning he
suid.-
The task before me tonight is as I'M
pleasant a q as the occasion for IL is
u~nprovoked. The force of public opinion
has thrown the preacher of Grace NJ. L.
Church on the defensive, and given me u
task TO perform tonight / have never
performed In my life. AS l said last
Sunday night and will say tonight,
though 1t may not strike your fancy. |
must not give an account TO the public
but to God. My text Is Romans XII, 49,
Vengeance is mine, and l will repay,
saith the Lord
II suppose some of you are surprised to
see me out OF the penitenttary or out Of
Hades or some other equally warm place,
by the looks on your faces all day."
Nj. Gates spoke OF the action of mem
bers of the congregation during the day.
and also referred to the interviews had
with member of the congregation who
took exception TO their pastors actions.
Continuing. he said:-
CRANKs AND PREJUDICEs.
Every church has its cranks and It's
pren iuoices. II you will tell me some
church that has not, l will serve 1t for
half pay. Somebody has said that u crank
turns the world, but / read He hangeeh
the earth on nothing The trouble with
these people Is ythat their own garments
= SRNNh<AR1 - q al bOoy 0Ao0 d
You Will never see a good, well esteemed,
respectable man throw mud"
The speaker then drew pen pictures of
comparison between the action of an
orthodox Methodist Episcopal preach
81" and q Sslvationist who declared he
had been a member OF five different
churches. didn't really know what he was
but thought he was a faith curist. Now /
submit to you." said MIR. Gates, (which
mar Is the safe one for you to follow for
spiritual teachfngf" Other comparisons
were made. In conclusion MIR. Gates
said
A PLAIN STATEMENT.
II hereby publicly assert that / am a
friend OF the organization called the Sal
walton Army, though l do not approve of
its methods, and do even hold that some
OF them are sacrtlegious. / told Staff
Captain Marshall when he organized this
corps, No. 8, that ! did not think it was
wise or.courteous TO organize In a field that
is already amplyoccupied by an svowedlv
evangelical society, and that believed
there were other localities not SO occu-
pied Sin the midst of the very class Of
people they profess to have a monopoly
in saving. ! still think it was an unwise
and discourteeus Movement.
About causing the arrests of last
Saturday. Did / instigate the charge
that caused the arrestss I have been SO
ACpdLIGut Auus \ huA cOIEy W GAJs nave
been apparently so heli in the estimation
OF this community aud my church. /
hereby asseverate on my solemn oath
that ! never made q complaint TO any
police authority ag inst Salvation Army
Corps No. 8. or any other, for disturbing
the peace or maintaining a nuisance.
$50 help me Cool
II was subpoenaed a. a witness by
Captain Lange, which fact. l confess,
carried upon its face enmiiy against TIL.
Army, ], like a loyal citizen, responded
to the summons, and il / a been per-
tnitted 10 testify in the case l should have
sale that | was greatly disturbed both as
u private citizen and tn the services of
my church last Sunday AFTERNOON and
evening by The beating Of drums outside
the Salvationists' hall, and the hooting,
jeering and ribaldry of some of the rabble
gathered in front of the church aud the
parsonage, which disturbance | am
still obtuse and reprobate enough to
declare | believe to havs been caused by
the outdoor services of said Army
This is about what / would have aaid.
CAPTAIN LANCE HEDGES.
II visited Captain Large last evening
after the papers had come forth anu
made me n criminal and declared that I
caused the arrest Of these Salvation
Army officers. / visited Captain Lange
and In his parlor in the presence of his
daughter. at least she called him father.
aud showed him what The JERSEY CITY
NEWS said about DIR. Gates CON plaiut
and what he had said. / said:-.CaEtain
Lapge. did you ever say chat complained
against the salvation Army to any NEWS
reporter, He said:-'I emphaticHlly
deny having said any INC thing to auV
reporter or reporters l sald:-'The
papers had you state that. It has
placed ME in an awK ward position, It
has placed me on the defensive, He. said
TO mel did say this, that among my
witnesses was the Rev. NJ. l.. Gates of
the Grace NJ. E. Church. But they nus
nave considered that it me int you were
IL complainant
II afterwards received a letter from
Captain Lsnge. written III his own hand,
TINT makes the statement substantially as
| have said. / believe l am talkiug 10 au
intelligent audience and | need go no
further. My ime Is up. woald like TO
say more, as | want tu ~exonerate myself
from being considered the complainant
In this case. and | want to nail the report,
rs / believe that there has been q vicious
f~alsehood somewhere from some one. II
you want TO keep your pastor, why, SO be
It. and l shall occupy this pulpit next
Sunday,
He said. further. that If they didn't
want him. he would come anyway, II ne
had TO preach to empty pews. He said
his impression of the whole matter was
that he has not received justice from he
press, not even the Salvation Army press.
He said that he would repeat what he
said last Sunday night. that Tho police
t~tonists, but should arrest the saloon
kaana,a mud hall ptavara alan He aiauad