The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-28
IT is NOT YET
A WHITEWASH,
Dissolution of the Brown
Investigating Com
mittee.
FAILED TO TAKE ACTION
It Declared Itself to Be Without
Any Power in the
Matter.
REFERRED TO THE CHURCH.
A Suggestion Made That the Matter
Be Taken Before an Ecclesias.
teal Council.

The conduct of the Rev. DR.. c. o. Brown,
pastor OF the First Congregational Church,
Is not to be investigated by the joint COM
mIttee of the Bay Association and the First
Church. Such is the decision arrived at by
the joint committee last night at the sug-
gestion of Dr. Brown, despite the fact that
the two separate committees comprising
the Joint committee " ere appointed about
two weeks ago, one at the suggestion of
DR.. Brown and the other by him, for the
express purpose of speedily and thor
oughly investigating the charges first made
public by Mrs. Mary Abbott Davidson,
now awaiting trial on the charge of having
extorted $500 from the First Church's pas
tor.
When Dr. Brown made his first utter
ance regarding the charges against him at
the prayer-meeting on the evening of
Wednesday, January Is, he said:
81 have asked the Bay Association,
which has not the same ministerial mem
bership as the Bay Conference, to appoint
a committee whose character will be above
suspicion to canvass the evidence and to
do that in connection with the standing
committee of this church, and to make a
report to the public, which they will be
asked to accept till the close OF this case in
court.
This l have done without the slightest
hint from any one that there was demand
for it from any member of this church
Some words have been reported to me that
some one had said something ought to be
done. No one has approached me with
any demand that there shall be an investi-
CATION. / understand the temper of my
people, and | know that these reports are
untrue and an injustice to you.
Il u, l..
and shall proceed in this matter on the
full limits Of my rights, as | do now in
placing the matter in the hands of the
standing committee appointed when no
passions had been aroused in the church
in asking that they shall take charge of
the documents and statements that affect
my reputation, and give forth to the COM
munity such a statement as they may
deem proper to make public, withholding
such portions as might be improperly
used"
The session of the joint investigating
committee held last night was its third,
the two former having been devoted to
prolonged informal and general" dis
cussions. And as result of these delibe-
ratlons, covering an aggregate period of
nine hours, the members came to the con-
clusion that 1t had no authority to ''either
convict or acquit, or even TO investigate, !"
and then determined to dissolve, which it
did, after voting to refer the whole matter
back TO the First Church tomorrow night
at the conclusion of the regular prayer
meeting.
At last nights three hours session there
were present: Rev. DR.. J. K. Mclean, Rev.
DR.. g. w. Mooar, Rev. DR.. w. d. Williams,
Rev Dr.. w. G. Pond and Rev. DR.. H. II.
Wykoff, representing the Bay Association;
Deacons D. Gilbert Dexter, ). J. Vascon-
cellos, S. Il. Hatch, A. J. Dewing, J. H
Barnard, J. F. Merrill, T. H. Frank, D.
w. Folger, George A. Westgate and W.
Christensen OF the standing committee.
1t was the first and last meeting attended
by DR.. Pond and DR.. Wykoff, and the at
tendance exceeded that of any preceding
session.
The first arrival at the church, aside
from Sexton Pike, was Detective Seymour
He had been requested to be present by
DR.. Brown to give his testimony in case
the programme that the accused minister
had arranged was broken. He came fully
prepared to testify as he had done on the
preliminary examination, carrying bun
die of documentary evidence under his
arm. He came promptly at o clock, the
time stated by DR.. Brown.
After he had been allowed to keep warm
in the hallway leading from the Mason
street side entrance to the church for near
~ an hour by gently stamping his feet
swaying his form and swinging his arms
as best he could with his burden of testi-
the gentleman under investigation, poked
his head into the hallway from the outer
darkness and, having made rapid survey
of the situation, which included the sight
of the patient detective, disappeared.
Shortly afterward Sexton Pike emerged
from the doorway leading into the prayer
meeting room and invited Detective Sew
mour into the prayer-meeting room, tax
ing the precaution to lock the door ana
thus presumably prevent any possible at
tempt of the reporters to organize and
carry on select prayer-meeting of their
own in the prayer apartment.
After the meeting that was in session in
the pastors Office on the floor above had
dissolved, it was admitted that Pastor
Brown had been in the building, but it
was positively stated that he was not pres
ent during the meeting of the joint COM
mittee, and it was impossible to ascertain
from any of the committee whether Sc
cret conference was in progress between
Dr. Brown and Detective Seymour on the
lower floor of the church while the COM
mission was in session on the floor above.
According to the statement of Secretary
Barnard of the Joint committee, Its action
was prompted by a suggestion made by
the Bay Association committee, which in
turn had. at a conference held yesterday
afternoon with DR.. Brown, been guided in
its action by the wishes of the pastor OF
the First Church.
The report which the joint committee
decided to make public is as follows:
The committee having carefully csnvassed
the whole subject has come TO the unanimous
conclusion that it is unwise to enter upon any
extended investigation, as is expressed In the
following statement:
This joint committee, consisting of the
standing committee of the First Congrega-
tional Church and special committee of the
Bay Association of Congregational Ministers,
submits to the public the following statement
bearing on the case of Rev, C. o. Brown, DID,,
against whom serious charges are current In
the community:
The committee of the association desires to
be understood that il is not intrusted with any
authority under the usages or according TO the
principles of the Congregational church to
either convict or acquit or even to investigate.
ms is the function of the local church,
council.
me standing committee of the church,
"hue II recognizes the fact that 1t is its duty
10 axe the initiative in this As in all matters
ol ehurcn discipline, yet asks the attention
s anq caretnl consideration OF the public to the
IoLowlng facts. and the committee of the
assoclaVon Endorses most earnestly this re-