The herald., 1895-09-01

| cussed, and attempts were made to con-
| struct theories thereon.
| AT one of these meetings the proceed.
ings were interrupted by scoffer, a
| heated discussion followed and the meet
ing broke up in rather noisy order"
According to Mr.. Howland's own story,
as told on the witness stand during his
trial for perjury, his !only claim to the
term REV" was that ne stated that he
was ordained by Baptist minister at a
Spiritualist meeting in Providence. R. l..
He failed to recall the date. He claimed
TO have been Baptist pastor, but could
not recall the name OF single church
over. which be had charge. "They were
SO numerous, he offered as an excuse.
! Now nearly everyone knows that Bap-
t,st ministers are not ordained at spirit
ualist meetings. and when they are Or
| dained the event is OF such importance to
the neophyte that he is quite likely to
remember it's date, though Mr.. Rowland
! could not even tell approximately the
year, 10 say nothing of the day or month.
| The point in the Bulletin editorial in
which reference is made to Mr.. How
lands right to desert demon ination
! is we'll taken. Every man has that privi
| lege, ami Mr.. Rowland exercised such
right when he appeared upon the scene
| in California as an exposer OF spiritual
| ism and spiritualistic methods. He again
exercised that right when he made an
other shift and appeared as teacher of
| spiritualisic truths. Many profound
minds have been converted to the very
| doctrines they sought to destroy. 1t is
possible that Mr.. Howland's many shifts
were a matter of conviction and con .
| science, but his methods woulo tend to
show that be stood on either side of
| the spiritualistic fence according to where
the profits lay.
| The Bulletins reference to Mr.. How
| lands pulpit and parish strikes one
| familiar with the facts as an attempt on
the part of that paper to materially lower
the standard of what constitutes pulpit
and parish. The better class of spirit
ualists did not recognize Mr.. Rowland as
an exponent of their doctrines. His pull
pit was the G. A. .R. hall in Pasadena,
the rent of which he paid himself, and
his parish such people as he could attract
there by peculiar style of advertising.
The so-called meetings were used wholly
and solely to advertise Mr.. Rowland as
an astrologer and palmist.
The Bulletin says that Howland was
convicted of perjury because in his oath
to the complaint upon which Howard
was arrested he described his meeting
as an assemblage of people met for re-
ligious Worship Were these the facts
in the case the fight of the Bulletin and
other northern papers would be just
one. The spiritualists have just as much
right to style their meeting a religious
ore a, has any other denomination. How.
land was convicted of perjury simply be-
cause he made oath that one Howard
''wifully disturbed or disquieted an as
semblage OF people met for religious wor-
ship by noise, profane discourse, rude or
indecent behavior" 1t developed during
the trial that it was Rowland himself
who used not only profane but obscene
language, it was he who made all the un-
necessary noise, etc., ETC., and disrupted
the quietude OF the meeting. In recent
interview with Deputy District Attorney
Charles c. McComas, who prosecuted the
case for the people. the question was
asked by Herald reporter as to the i'm
portance attached to the question of the
meeting having been a religious one. The
gentleman replied that the question as to
whether the alleged disturbance occurred
at religious meeting or not did not en-
ter into the issue. 1t might have been a
political meeting or anything else; the
question of perjury hinged on the point as
to whether or not Rowland swore to wlat
he knew at the time to be false when he
made oath to the complaint charging G.
III ovI ind ha
havior. The jury decided that he did,
and if the editors of the northern papers
could read the testimony given during
the trial. they would also think SO.
The Sacramento Bee takes up How
lands case on the plea that he was
''rairoaded" to Jail. Possibly, according
to the Sacramento idea of speed and swift
execution, he was; but down here in
Los Angeles we don't call it railroading
when it takes from April to July to get
a man into Jail. Rowland was arrested
April 23d, released on bail April 26th the
case called for trial June 9th the trial
lasted three days, he was sentenced July
5th and not taken to San Quentin until
Jnly 14th. Now in Sacramento, where
they only wake up at the meeting OF the
legislature, and hibernate during the in.
term, this is a case OF railroading. In
canal-boa town it is swift work, but in
the electric city of Los Angeles we look
upon it differently. If the editor uf the
Sacramento Bee considers that we move
100 quickly down here. he ought to read
up on some of the quick moves made by
Howland on an occasion when John L.
Sullivan was camping on his trail. while
seeking an explanation as to Howland's
relations to Sullivan's wife. But we
promised not to discuss Howiand char
acter, and will not mention these things.