Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1894-08-03
A Presumptuous Judgment.


Bellew and Mrs. Cora L. Potter, from
his pulpit, in that city. with the coars-
est invective.
1t seems, from all accounts, that he
belongs to the class OF preachers who
endeavor to attract audiences by the
announcement of sensational subjects,
and the Use OF language when stand
ing behind a towards defense, the
pulpit, that would not b. tolerated in
any other place. The subject an
nounced for Sunday night was An
insult to the public at the Marquam
Grand" and u= anticipated it drew q
large audience for precisely the same
reason that the posting of mill by
Corbett or Sullivan would have at
tracted crowd-mere curiosity to
hear something said that would wound
the feelings OF somebody as severely as
the sledge-hammer blows OF the pugi-
list Furnishes the flesh OF his opponent
in the ring. with this difference, that
no opportunity for defense would be
given his opponents.
He charterized the performances
given by this lady and gentleman as
vile in their nature and such as should
not be tolerated in any community.
1t it more than probable that the rev.
erend gentleman had never heard or
seen either of these plays, and spoke
from the representations of others
equally biased as himself. Had he
personal knowledge on this point, he
would have discovered that there is
little, if anything in the plays to JUS
tify such unqualified condemnation
The plots are based upon actual &C.
currences in life, which exist despite
the teachings of many thousands of
holy men like Mr.. Wallace. They
have existed from the first, if we are
to believe the Bible, and doubtless will
continue till the end of time, if more
Christian spirit is not manifested by
those who would lead. It is useless
for us to close our eyes and declare
that such things do not exist. 1t is
much better to use them to point q
moral or teach warning. The dia.
logue of ain Society,"" which would
probably be the most Objectionable of
any of the plays in the repertoire of
these artists in the eyes of the right
eous Reverend G. r. Wallace, and its
scenes and suggestions are by no
means so broad as may be found in
the ground work of the reverend gen.
tleman's religion-Holy Writ-nor is
there in it line which might not,
with propriety, be read in the parlor or
before the family circle and that is
scarcely true of the Christian Bible.
When, however, the reverend gen.
tlemsn proceeded TO assail the per-
sonal character of Mr.. Bellew and Mrs.
Potter, he was not only guilty of an
act that "should not be tolerated in
any community" but one that should
have been treated to dose Of horse
whip if no other means are available
to enforce prohibition. Private char
acter is far too sacred for even the
amounted to assail it without account
ability, and if we are to judge by the
"holier than thou" class from Beech
er down, the person who is privil.
eyed to cast the first stone, though
he doubtless exists, has not stepped
forward to declare his presence.
As if to add insult TO injury, the
Reverend Geo. P. Wallace, when the
assailed parties arose to leave the
church alter he had closed his excori-
alton, called out from his pulpit,
"Those are the parties of whom I
have been speaking" Fortunate it is
for him that Mr.. Bellew is an English.
man, whose powers of endurance are
larger than that of some other nation.
alities, or the reverend gentleman
would have stepped "down and out"
with greater alacrity than did the au-
thor OF that famous assertion, when
Cd trial for the very turpitude that
his professional brother 80 glibly
ascribes TO others.
Quite different Was the action Of the
great prima donna, Emma Abbott, a
few years before her death. when she
visited an Eastern church and heard
the usual stock-in-trade abuse hurled
at her profession by the preacher, who
unlike the Portland pastor, was
doubtless in ignorance of the presence
of his distinguished visitor. At the
close of the sermon, Miss Abbott arose
and amidst q breathless silence aeked
the privilege of saying few words.
She wished to enter her protest against
some of the untrue utterances from
the pulpit. With a majesty and dig
nifty of which she possessed such perfect
command, she paid . glowing tribute
to the many noble men and women
on the stage whose names had become
synonyms for all that was manly. wo-
manly, noble and true. She alluded
to a few conspicuous acts of charity
for which the profession had become
noted, in times Of public want, and de-
clared that it was not 1.-THE of the
unostentatious benefits devised and
executed by the class that had just
been so numerically condemned. She
claimed what she knew, for herself,
that she was . true woman, and there
were many thousands like herself, who
by turn OF Fortunes wheel had been
placed in a position which invited crit
icism, and it was bestowed without
stint by the clergy, and often.imes, as
she knew, without the slightest justifi-
cation. In the name of Christianity
Il r 4