The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-05
SHE WAS REQUESTED TO WITH
DRAW BY THE METHODIST
MINISTERS.
RESOLUTIONS WERE ADOPTED
THE COLoRED LADY FOUND FAVOR
WITH THE CONGREGA-
TIONALISTS.

| room in the middle of the session without
being given an opportunity to speak. She
complied with the request, but said after
ward: at was the most unfair thing l
have heard OF in many day. Statements
were made In the meeting to which | was
| not allowed to reply. | only wanted fair
hearing"
Miss Wells had attended the meeting
because she had heard that a committee
had been appointed to report that day
| upon the advisability of passing resolutions
| respecting the lynchings in the South.
Proceedings were opened yesterday by
W. S. Matthews, editor of the Advocate,
who said that he considered capital punish
| ment ought to be dealt out to negroes who
committed assaults upon helpless women
| legal capital punishment, not capital pun
ishment by lynching. Mr. Matthews
added that he had approved of Miss Wells
TIL he had come across certain passages in
| her book rejecting upon the ministry.
He added that the ministers should not
| indorse Miss Wells till they know where
she hailed from and by whom she herself
was indorsed
| Miss Wells, who was present, requested
| to know to what passage in her book the
| reverend gentleman took exception, but
her question was ruled out of order A
hot discussion took place respecting Rev.
| w. ). Matthews idea of capital punish
| ment and the question was finally laid over
! for future discussion.
| Bishop Goodsell. who has lived for four
! years in New Orleans and Fort Worth,
Tex, then said that while he did not con-
| done lynchings there was another side to
the question besides that of Miss Wells
80 fierce were the negroes when drunk that
1t was no uncommon thing for white men
to be afraid to leave their families for fear
OF their brutalities. The Bishop further
intlmated that he could tale unfold, in
| fact, two or three tales, bristling with hor-
rlble and salacious facts. On hearing this
Miss Simms, president of the committee
| on deaconesses, as well as the deaconesses
and other ladies present, withdrew Miss
Wells calmly stated that she wished her
slde TO be heard also, as every story the
BISHOP might tell she could match by two
stories OF outrages perpetrated upon her
own people by drunken whites, or by white
people eager to enjoy lynching picnic. 1t
was not Judged proper, however, that her
ears should hear the Bishops stories and
she was requested to withdraw, which she
did somewhat reluctantly, murmuring that
there were two sides to every question and
she was the only one there who could say
word for her race. The end of the
bishops remarks were heard in strictly
executive session, representatives of the
press being excluded.
| The meeting concluded with the report
OF the committee on lynchings. The orig
mai resolutions prepared by this commit
tee were four in number one being an in
dorsement of Miss Wells. AS it was found
that she was not Methodist and her Gre
dentlals were not known it was decided
not to lndorse her, so the fourth resolution
was stricken out. The committee that had
prepared the resolutions consisted of Rev
w. w. Case, Rev. w. r. Goodwin, Rev. S.
L. Carroll and Rev. S. d. Simons. In the
course of a long preamble all lynch law
whether in the North or the South, was
condemned, and the resolutions as amend
ed read as follows:
>, RESOLVED, first, That we, the Methodist
Preachers Association in San Francisco
utterly condemn all lynch law, whether in
North or South, and call for swifta and sufficient
punishment for all who engage in these laws
Resolved, second That while we condemn
lynehing We also insist that every act that
would incite these lawless murders should be
punished promptly and to the full extent of
the law, and that we are in sympathy neither
with crimes that provoke lyncning nor with
those who take the law in their own hands
Resolved, third That we call upon Congress
and the State Legislatures and upon all honor
able citizens everywhere TO put stop, both by
law lava ana az public opinion properly expressed, to
The above resolutions were passed unani-
mouSly.
AT the Congregational Monday Club
Miss Ida B. Wells made speech which
was listened to with interest by those pres
ent at the meeting. She stated that in that
same hall few hours previously her Gre
dentials had been questioned but stated
that she was Endorsed by the colored press
and by 100000 of the colored people,
my credentials consist of the support of
the entire colored race" she said. :.
Miss Wells further gave statistics show
ing. that out OF 1000 negroes-men, women
md obi rhfNI u hna 4
Ing the last two years, only 800 were for
the crime most frequently alleged as the
cause of lynchings. The others were for
alleged wife-beating, stealing, murder, etc.
AT the conclusion of her speech, DR..
Brown spoke in the highest terms of Miss
Wells addresses, both the one delivered in
the First Congregational church last Sun
day and her address yesterday. He then
introduced set of resolutions tending to
dlscountenance lvnching. An amicable
discussion followed as to whether the
words. 1.-The people OF the South" in the
resolutions should not be made to read,
'the people of both North and South" as
lynchings have been practiced out of the
Southern States. The resolutions were
finally adopted unanimously as follows:
Resotued That the members of the Congrega-
tional Club OF San Francisco, in the interests
OF humanity and our Christian faith protest
against this barbarous fnfraction of personal
rights, and request our representatives to
favor legislation to repress these crimes, and
to afford justice to the long-oppressed colored
people in accordance with law.
Res0tUed, That in view OF these lawless acts
of unpublished nSNrders it is time that there
should be a general protest OH the part of
Christians in our land against these crimes
and an earnest appeal on behalf of humanity
and justice.
RESOLVED, That as these murders and outrages
are in our own country, we cannot overlook
them. nor be silent regarding them, and we
call upon the great body of law-abiding people
in the South, by whose silence and disregard
these evils exist, not to cover up these atroci-
ties, but to protest with us against this inhu-
mainly and injustice, not only as contrary to
law, but also as contrary to Christianity,
disgrace to civilization and mankind
A paper by DR.. B. G. Northrop was read,
on "Strikes and the Ownership of Homes"
and a resolution was unanimously passed
calling on the Congregational ministers of
San Francisco to raise collections in their
churches toward the fund for the unem-
ployed.
The Baptist ministers listened to paper
by Rev. Mr. Whitaker on 1.-The Relation
of Pulpit and Church to Politics." the
speaker urging that while clergymen
should uphold what is morally right and |
condemn all that is morally wrong in pub
lie matters, they should not dabble in
ma ri poIitios touohinu foraua1 81