The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-10
CRIBBED FROM A BOOK
ORIGIN OF PILATES LETTER PRINT
ED IN THE "YELLOW" JOURNALS.
stolen from the Writings of Rev. w.
ID. Mahan, Who Was Driven from the
Church for Publishing "a "Fake."

SEDALIA, Mo-, Nov. s-The yellow news
papers that printed on Sunday morning
."Pontius Pilates Repc.t to Tiberius Gaze
sar," an alleged liberal translation of a
document purporting to be the Judea Gov
errors account of the last days of the Sa-
vior, claimed that the translation was made
by REV. DR.. W. D. Mahan, an English
clergyman and photographer" The facts
regarding :'Piate's report show that the
plagiarism needed to be fortified with dis
patches from Rome telling about the ex
element caused among theologians there
in order to add to its Importance as a news
item for the religious world.
The facts are that Rev. w. D. Mahan is
not great English scholar and paleogra-
pher at all, but an ordinary preacher of the
Cumberland Presbyterian denomination, or
rather was until he was expelled from the
ministry and church some thirteen years
ago for attempting to palm off this self
same fraudulent story about pilates re-
port upon Christianity. In 1884 Rev. Ma
han, who was then a resident of Boonville,
having removed there from Arrow Rock,
Saline county, published d volume of $50
pages entitled Archaeological Writings of
the Sanhedrin and Talmuds'' and this pub
lication contained the same alleged letter
of Pontius Plate to Tiberius Caesar word
for word, which has been palmed off as
discovery of recent date. The story told
in the book was that Rev. Mahan had first
heard of the report in 1856 and secured
translation of it in 1852 and held it until 1884,
when it was published.
Rev. Mahan, in his book, which was print
ed by Perrin & Smith, 210 Olive street, st.
Louis, says that in 1856 German OF the
name of III. c. Whydaman, most learned
man, called upon him at his home III De
witt, Mo-, and told him about the plate
report which Whydaman had discovered
in the Vatican at Rome The author then
reprOduceS the correspondence Whlcn 1Ol-
lowed between himself and Whydaman dur
ing period of three years, which resulted
in the Presbyterian minister securing a
copy Of the unpublished report OF Plate to
Caesar.
In addition to the publication of the
Whydaman correspondence TO prove the
authenticity of the "Pilate report the au-
thor in the preface says: Il secured the
assistance Of two learned men-Drs. Nc
Intosh and Twymanr,Iand went to the y Tai
mudS at COnStantnople in order to cOrrObo-
rate the finding of the report and obtain
certification of the correctness OF us Hterdl
translation
The book was mercilessly attacked by di-
vines throughout the country and the
hare the fact that the "Pilate report was
A fraud and that Rev. Mahan did not go TO
Rome or Constantinople, as he claimed he
had, but had gone no further than New
York city where he kept himself In seclu-
ion for a number of months, his FRIENDS In
the meanwhile believing he was spending
his time in making researches among the
musty volumes of the Vatican. Rev. Ma
han was so Inundated by the expose that
he he dropped completely out of sight. He is
now about seventy-nine years old and when
last heard from was living with a son-in-
law. who is the proprietor of the Hotel Ma
han at Boonvlle
The volume in question contains many
other alleged transla tons of interest. and
II would seem the yellow journals are
preparing to spring them upon the public
as news" as the concluding paragraph OF
the Sunday article reads thus: "Other let
ters that passed between PLATE and Ii
berius are in the Vatican archives and
these will be translated carefully for lit
erary and historical purposes.