The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-01
Ministers and Newspapers.


The newspapers are frequently condemn
81 for making reckless statements. The
most OF the unfounded statements which
appear in the newspapers are not DELHI
erateiy made They are either the result
of hasty work or Of ignorance. 1t is seldom
they contain malice.
il is pretty safe 10 say that the newspa-
pers are not as great offenders as preach
ers in the matter Of making reckless state
ments. Not long ago a minister az con-
ference in Connecticut charged the Presi-
dent with drunkenness. He was compelled
to admit that he had no satisfactory au-
thority for his utterance. and was there
fore put in the humiliating position OF hav-
ing to retract his slanderous words.
a few days ago a minister Of considera-
bic prominence. whose church is at Jeffer-
son City. No. said in sermon that he
had lately returned from Turkey, and that
our minister TO that country, Mr.. Terrell,
had embraced the Mohammedan faith and
was helping along the work OF numbering
the Armenians. This preacher. the Rev.
Mr.. Johnson. expressed the opinion that
Mr. Terrell ought to be hanged"
1t has been shown within the last few
days by unquestionable evidence that Mr.
Terrell has not become a Mohammedan
in faith, and that he profoundly sympa-
thizes with the Armenians and has been
particularly active in their behalf-has in
fact. devoted his whole time to devising
means for their better protection. It is
stated on excellent authority that he has
done more for the Armenians than the
representative Of any other government at
Constantinople The Rev. Mr. Johnson
will have to retract his unjust charge.
At the Christian Workers Convention at
New Haven recently Mrs. Poteat. the wife
of a minister of that city, severely criti-
cised Yale college as an unsafe place
to send young men The presiding
officer of the convention was the Rev. r.
A. Torrey, of Chicago. a graduate of Yale.
He did not rebuke Mrs. Poteat. At a din
ncr Of the Sons Of the Revolution at Del
monico's on Monday evening last, the Rev.
DR. Burrell, pastor of the Collegiate
church Of New York city, made bitter
attack upon the Rcv. Mr.. Torrey, because
the latter did not rebuke Mrs. Poteat. He
said that within week and a half after
Mr.. Torrey entered Yale as a student he
was dragged to his room hopelessly drunk,
and that for year and a half thereaf-
ter he led dissipated life, going from
bad to worse, and that he was finally res
cued and set upon his feet by the Christian
students of the college. Assuming that
what DR.. Burrell said is true. it was ex-
tremely uncharitable for him to make it
public, particularly as the Rev. Mr.. Tor
reg is now an honored minister of the gos-
pei, but the Rev. Mr.. Torrey denies the
story told by DR.. Burrell. He says that
during his first year at college he did not
drink intoxicants at all, and that he was
not led to a Christian life by the Chris
tan students of Yale. We do not pretend
to settle the question of veracity thus rails
ed, but it seems to us that in what he said
DIR. Burreu not only showed a vindictive
spirit. but was Indifferent as to whether
the story he told was in all respects true
or not. If newspapers were as reckless in
making charges of wrong doing against
people as the three ministers we have
mentioned, there would be general de-
mand for their suppression.