New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-13
MR. LEE TO HIS CRITICS.

~. Raw T. J. Lee, Of Newark. who discovered
49,. the Rev. Dr. Morgan had preached SER
-. not his own on Easter Day. was seen
49, Tribune reporter yesterday and asked II ne
"a anv reply to make to criticisms recently
...sed upon his action In exposing DR.. Morgahs
so,rs. Mr. Lee referred to the case OF BISHOP
no--v IN 1891, when he (Mr. Lee) discovered
.,oo,arsm in a printed volume and disclosed II
:. Tho Tribune. Mr. Lee then had pulpit IN
r..,on PENN and his communication in me
sr,bune appeared signed without the prefix rev
.-.nd" 1t was not known to his critics that ne
vas a clergyman. and Chicago religious paper
tr.ated his communication as the attack OF
ocular scoffer upon the Church. He did not
,.h On have that argument used again. and as
q. .o,,d not write anonymously, he signed his
ru name and title to his last communication
mo church Is going to call a man." said MT
Ia simply because he happens to stumble
unon another mans sermon. II had wanted
"a ret metropolitan pulpit was not so simple
A not to know that l should go quietly TO one
NJ the most prominent clergymen IN New-forK
.,d nv priyately communicating what / had
Earned make him my friend. My only motive
ms to expose q wrong. for hate notoriety
Mr. Lee said he had received many letters
m the subject, and he quoted from one OF the
most prominent clergymen In New-York. VINO
ssM. ..rhe man who steals and lies In pub
iio should be publicly exposed To have covered
mn the thing would have been the part OF
coward and milksop."
Mr. Lee remarked pleasantly that those clergy
men who had published communications say
4ne that he should have gone privately to Dr
Morgan and told him Of his error. instead OF
making the matter public, were strangely IN
-. IL Anl
error IN taking the course he did, 1t was clearly
thA duty of these clergymen, according to their
oRn logic to come to him privately and aomon-
Nh him This they did not 40. put lnsteao WEI
risht TO the newspapers with their cornmunica-
t1one and Old what they censured him FOR. Mr.
dee said he had done a simple Christian duty
With Christian motive and without 5nou o,,'
rnended by cergymen and laymen. he adoed
that he had a pleasant pastoral charge IN New
ark and had no yearning for metropolitan
In the course Of his sermon last evening MT
a&Se' made a reference to the matter ne
Sesaehed from the text "Abhor that which Is
Thoughts on Sin." after which he said
ps y1s @ and that Ths q
Seysrtty; Men have said that he was too swift and
nj hss E.
loved 70 make sensation But doubt not th h,s
work. SSt ie rom
Il Is easy to misunderstood the motives Of men.
- II might be allowed to make personal refer
nee would say that have recently received, as
expected to receive vast AMOUNT OF criticism els,
Known matter. Men have said that i have been
situated by love of notoriety that might bring me
= metropolitan pulpit You who know me know
WI how unjust that is. am very happy here. and
MO work s at a point where have no desire to
SsyS It. We are looking forward with confident ex-
Sectation to the building Of church in the
bear future You are loyal and generous to me and
g mine. and have no foolish ambition to go to
another field.
You who know me understand this WELL but
pthers II they will do little thinking, must admit
that to ascrbe to me such base motive Is a most
unwarranted and illogical inference from the facts
In the case. No church would think Of calling a
minister simply because he had made the painful
discovery which ! wish any other minister had
made and announced. ] have taken the impolitic
aud the unpopular course-taken It deliberately.
taken II with the expectation that 1t would cause
me more PAIN more adverse criticism. and, per-
haps disaster than II will cause any else
but taken II because / saw no way Of doing other
wise and being man true to his honest convictions
W night and duty.