The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1898-10-28
THAT WAR CLAIM, AND DIR. BAR
BEES CHARACTER.


thing it had ever tackled, and the
eyes of all Christendom were on
them" 1.-THE conference should be
deliberate" continued the speaker,
land so act that the world would
say they had acted like men,"
And now ali Christendom-thati is,
all unprejudiced, thinking, broad
minded, christian men and women
are ready to say, yes, our eyes
were upon you, and you did act like
men; christian men; in that you
tempered justice with mercy"
Some people are careless about
everything they do; and perhaps
they are no more careless about
anything else, than their reading
In this age of hurry, business man
snatches up newspaper and chances
over it, and misreads half he has
looked at; he forgets to take the
paper home, but tells his wife what
he thinks he read, and makes a like
false impression upon her mind.
Alrea dy we have heard it said that
the Tennessee Conference decided
that BaThee had done no wrong;
that the effort to discipline him was
voted down. Some people think
they have read this; others prefer
to believe it so. For those who
gloat over any misfortune to a great
church, we have no words of argu-
ment. We lack the tolerance or
christian meekness to argue with a
man so narrow in mind, so selfish in
heart, so wicked in purpose, as to lick
his greasy chops and rejoice when
some untoward circumstance befalls
a denomination not his own. The
Lord in His gracious goodness may
take liking to such man, but we
cannot.
But for that other class, vino have
carelessly misread the facts, and in
behalf of the truth of history, we de-
sire to review the case briefly, not
with opinions of our own, simply,
!. but drawing conclusions from facts,
To begin with, the Tennessee Con,
ference is no more responsible for
DR.. Barbee's acts, and has no more
mower to remove him from office,
than the Texas or Mississippi or
Missouri, or any other conference of
the Methodist Church, South, has.
DR.. Barbee was elected Book Agent
} by the General Conference of the
Church, composed of the several
minor conferences of the Church.
And State political convention had
just as well attempt to unseat man
nominated and elected on Nation
al ticket, as for the Tennessee Con-
ference to attempt to unseat the
Book Agent of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church, South. This may be
news to those who thought DR.. Bar
bee, as Book Agent, was responsible
directly to this conference, or that
he was appointed by the Book Com
mIttee.
But as member of the Tennessee
Conference, his character as a
preacher, had to be scrutinized and
, passed upon just as that of any other
preacher. And when they came to
, that, what did they do? Why they
passed his character, you say. And
so they did; but how, and what were
, the proceedings in full? They first
passed a resolution expressing "our
: deep sorrow for the things done by
our agents and condOned by our
Book Committee in collecting this
/ money, feeling that in the disputed
, points they are wholly indefensi-
, ble." And after they mad thus, in
plain, unmistakable language con-
, demned his wrong doing, they still
hesitated and required of him, what?
That he should say, in open confer
ence-through his attorney-that
, admitting l may have made mis-
take, 1 am grieved and sorrowful at
the result" Then after they had
condemned his wrong doing, and
after he had admitted his mistake
and repented of his error, with
brotherly love and in christian
charity they did just what Christ
would have done, they forgave him
and passed his character.
Because they did not abuse him
because they did not impugn his
motives and tear his character all to
pieces; because they admonished
him as an erring brother and dis
ciplined him with words of love
rather than scourge him with the
lash of bitter invective, there are
those who are not satisfied; but in
or out of the conference they are
few, and they may remain dissatis-
fed still.
However. there remains vet dutv