The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-21

Church. The widest stories have been iold OF
people going in and out at all hours of the day
and night. Strange, indeed, that during the
course OF six years the police on Mission and
Bartlett streets never saw the lights cleaning
through the windows Mt midnight. Strange
indeed, that many other churches are open all
Gay ana that dozens OF men, women and chill
dren go in and out without any comment be-
ing made. Why this distinction? Is il SO in
the land OF the free that q Baptist church
must keep its doors locked except when there
is religious service? Are we more immoral
than the members of other churches ksimpy
because we are BaptistS ? Has it come to this
that Baptist preacher cannot have. what
every other preacher has, key to his study
door and couch 10 rest on without having in
his mind the thought OF vice and in his hand 8
knife TO sacrifice a victim
One could understand such insinuations If
the newspapers were subsidized by the authori-
ties of'a State church, but in the land where
all churches arc on an equal footing, the in
sinuation is one OF those mysteries that would
make even the learned, logical literary Judge
Conlan exclaim in a dramatic aside, Eyes, i g
strange" l should say it was strange.
Considerable capital has been made out of
! the TACT that these murders were committed in
church. DO we refuse TO engage in business
because some men swindle? Do we refuse 10
believe in physicians because some of them
tween crime committed in a church and by a
church.
Who is the murderer? The Examiner has
already solved the question One of its letter
writers said: CDR. Gibson is the murderer and
don't you forget it." When the case came IN
for trial in Judge Conlan's court ii was called
I'M, me fe0 0p vs.; Durrant, out 1t ought to have
been called Judge Conlan VS.. the Pastor OF
Emmanuel Church"
1t WAS not the trial of the prisoner, but the
| trial OF the ministerial witness.
! An enthusiastic reporter, as he stepped out
OF my room after an unsuccessful interview
said, al guess you could enlighten the public
on who the murderer is il YOU wanted to do
| So. That cannot do, because do not know.
sometimes we surprise ourselves by our good
! ness Some men have been known to startle
| themselves by their wickedness Circum-
! stances have developed a demon in their
hearts, and, like spider when the opportunity
| came, they crawled out of their dark corners
to do their deadly work on some innocent fiy.
DIR. Gibson then devoted himself to a re.
view OF the newspapers and the reporters
| in which he said it would be utterly i'm
| possible to reply TO all the criticisms, and
! that he did not propose to enter into de-
Tense of himself. He said his greatest sin
seemed to have been his silence and that
| he might have turned his literary ability
against Durrant or any other person ac-
cused.
Referring again to Judge Conlan, DR.,
! Gibson said he did not get angry at the
Judge, because the Judge had revealed his
ignorance of Baptist churches and preach
ers.
He said he had too much veneration for
| General Dickinson to criticize him, and
said he hoped he might have the oppor.
tunity of rewarding him for his kindness
Concluding his lecture, DR.. Gibson
talked of the lessons which the crime had
taught, urging that the lesson for girls is
too plain to be missed.
j. McIvor Tyndali, the disturber of the
meeting, was taken to the Southern police
station where he was charged with dis.
turbing the peace.