The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1899-09-08
CLEVELAND ON INGERSOLL.II
lie May Receive Call to Go to a Chi
CagO Church.

The following from the Chicago
. Dune regarding former pastor OF
= city will be of interest to many of
readers:
LENDERS of the Oakland Methodist
lscopal church are debating whether
not the Rev. DR.. Cleveland of
: ma, Kas, shall be their next pastor.
. Sc who favor DIR. Cleveland are in
ntial, but there are several other
q mentioned as candidates for the
. pit and it is not probable that the
{ usregation will decide Immediately.
DIR. Cleveland uhas been known for
many years as a liberal minded preach
er, and while there is some opposition
to him among the members of the
church, those who are not advocates Of
any minister declare that the congre-
cation is willing to have pastor who
has expressed broad views. Among
certain of the older Methodists, how
ever, there is some opposition to DR..
Cleveland,,for while he was pastor of
the MERIDIAN street church in Indian
apolis he declared that he was opposed
to class meetings.
A letter received by the Tribune,
calling attention to DIR. Cleveland's
veiws on Ingersoll, is as follows:
Chicago, Aug. is Editor of the
Tribune. when I took up the Tri-
bune yesterday morning the first thing
that attracted my attention was the
likeness of the Rev. DR.. Cleveland. |
took special notice of it. for the reason
that it was an unusually intelligent
face. Then 1 remembered that few
days ago friend residing in Salina,
Kas., had sent me copy OF the Repub-
lican-J Journal of that town, containing
an interview with the Rev. DR.. Cleve-
land on Colonel 1ngersoll, which in
close. The reporter asked DR.. Cleve.
land:
/" What do you think of Robert In
gersollr
Or Cleveland said in reply:
He was the frankest and most most
conspicuous of our positivists and the
most graceful and loyable OF our ag
nostics: charming presence, a voice of
music, the incarnation of good nature,
a buoyant soul and brave, heartsome in
spirit and to look upon; friend OF the
poor, the unfortunate, the oppressed;
the kindliest of neignbors, delightful
even fascinating in conversation, re-
minding us of Lamb and Coleridge and
Holmes A noble citizen, an ardent
patriot, successful lawyer, master
in the use of winged words, a princely
orator, 'plumed knight. He held to
opinions different from ours; but in
light and sweetness and in gentle and
practical virtues he outdid the most of
us. AS Bishop Fowler said the other
day: I never stick a spear in dead
tiger
II cut that out and pasted it in my
scrap book and wrote under it; eff all
ministers possessed the spirit of DR..
Cleveland the agnostic army would
have to disband We can't fight that
kind of a Christian. He possesses the
kind of religion that we believe in
Fl. L. GREEN.
'P. S, hope the Oakland Method
list church may engage him. He will
start in with the good opinion of every
agnostic in this country"
When shown the letter yesterday a
prominent member of the church de-
clared that he believed DR.. Cleveland
would be benefited if the contents of
the letter were made public.
Il think that it is great benefit to
any congregation, he said, ''to have
for pastor a man who is as liberal
minded as DR.. Cleveland appears
from this letter to be. know
that many church members, while
they were opposed to Ingersolls views,
admired him personally, and the lack
of charity that unfortunately was
shown NV soma clerpymen in discussing