The San Francisco call., 1896-03-14
DIR. BROWNS ARGUMENT.
He Caused Number Of Women
and Old Men to Shed
Tears.

DR.. Brown made the speech of his life
yesterday forenoon before the council.
1t was the speech of his life because it
was on behalf of his life as a minister oi
the gospel, and, as was expected, it was
Enthusiastically picturesque. Strong
lights and shadows passed across its skill
fully woven web. In the drama which he
was reciting there were sunshine, clouds,
thunder and rain.
The sun shone when he spoke OF himself
of his unspotted record as a minister OF
the Congregational church; and the rain
fell from his eyes when he begged the
council not to believe the wicked and per-
iured witnesses against him, but to re-
member not only his own innocence but
that of his grown-up sons in the East his
devoted wife andhis sorrowing parents.
Young women and old women and old
men shed tears when his words began to
flow, but they were his partisans. The
eyes of half his audience were dry, cold,
skeptical and hard.
A paid attorney could not have pleaded
better for DR.. Brown than did DIR. Brown
himself He overlooked no point either
within or without the evidence brought be-
fole the council. He introduced alleged
evidence in his speech, prefacing its intro
duction with the statement that his argu-
ment to the council should be considered
as testimony under oath. Thus, he de.
clared that the retail saloor-keepers were
seeking to destroy him and had collected
a fund for that purpose, some of which
fund be believed (and doubtless under
oath) had be- n used by the way in which
have been maliciously maligned in the
public newspapers of this City"
His slap at venerable and respectable
lo6 knr nf hyo .
her daughter was greeted with approving
smiles by his Christian friends. male and
female. when he remarked that Mrs. Stock
ton had entered the council chamber with
appropriate escort" Her escort on that
occasion were Mrs. Cooper and her daugh-
ter Hattie.
1t stormed and thundered in the stento-
rian tones of outraged innocence when the
speaker told the council what wicked
women Mrs. Stockton and Mrs. Davidson
were, and what magnificent liars were Mrs.
Barton, Mrs. Thurston and other wit
nesses against him, who had villfied him
and prosecuted him for months.
1t was remarked as an appropriate sequel
to this characteristic speech that one of
his gray-haired admirers should have NOM
mated him as a candidate for the mayo--
atty of San Francisco, thus mingling reli-
gion, perjury, scandal and politics in one
unsavory stew.
The doctors argument, or very copious
longnand notes of the same, were in a
manuscript which the doctor held in his
hand and consulted at frequent intervals
He began by informing the council that
the trial WAS one OF the most remarkable
that had taken place in the history of Con-
gregationalism, and that the same could
be said of the council. Then he said that
it was his province to plead before the
council that he might be permitted to live.
The council had been called for the pur-
pose of asoertaining the truth of certain
grave charges which had been made
against him primarily by two individuals
and taken up and iterated and reiterated
with strange intensity and persistence by
the great daily newspapers Of this cosmo-
politan City,"
'These charges were made" he repeated,
''by two women. both of whom on their
own sworn testimony, one in your presence