The San Francisco call., 1899-05-08
REV. DR.. COYLE
DEFIES EDWARD
EVERETT HALE
Denies the Great Di-
vines Allegations.
DEFENDS PRESBYTERIANISM
SAYS IT IS NOT THE FOE OF
LIBERTY.
Some Sharp Criticism of the Attitude
of Unitarians With Crisp
Facts About Scotch
Presbyterians.
DEFENDS PRESBYTERIANISM
SAYS IT IS NOT THE FOE OF
LIBERTY.

OAKLAND, May 7.-Rev. DR.. Edward
Everett Hale's view of the Presbyterian
church, as exploited in dispatch from
New York printed in tO-days Gail. where
in he looked upon that church as liberty's
greatest foe in this country declaring
that in its organization and doctrines the
eminent exponent Of Unitarianism finds
a menace to free Institutions, has called
forth a pointed and almost bitter reply
from Rev. DR.. r. f. Coyle of the First
Presbyterian Church.
Rev. MIR Coyle's talk was on home
missions. and in making an appeal for
collections for a mission he said that he
trusted he should not be charged with
sectarianism If he appealed to his congre-
cations Presbyteriansm.
Our Unitarian friends are everlast-
ingly talking about Unitarianism," con-
tinued DR.. Coyle. They call themselves
broad when we do it, they call it mar
row. If l should stand in my pulpit
Sunday after Sunday talking about Pres
byterianism l would justly be called mar
row and sectarian. So would DR.. Ollie if
he talked nothing but Methodism; or DR..
Brown, If he talked only Congregation
alism.'
worthy Of the man. said DIR. COyle to
Call reporter after this evenings serv-
There is nothing whatever in his state
ment. 1t is not true. Our church gov
ernment is entirely republican,; it is rep
resentatVe. Our congregations elect their
ministers and church officers. DIR. Hale
says there is no back door, and that we
ministers are elected for life. Our church
government reply, provides for the
eeGoa anI 81 eldeTs f9r T term t 9f f4ree
of the ministry. man can leave min
isterial Office and be no longer ordained
and be simply a layman. Just recently
we elected our church officers for a term
or three years.
DR. Hale's statement that the presby-
terry is the foe of liberty is absurd and
false and unworthy any intelligent man.
As a matter of fact. the first deliveranCe
on the subject of liberty in the days of
the colonies was made by the Presbyte-
rians in Virginia. 1t antedated the Dec
laration of Independence. 1t is esti-
mated by historians that 100000 popula-
ton of the colonies at the time of the
Declaration of Independence were Scotch
and ScOtch-Irish Presbyterans. Further
more, there is no ecclesiastical control
in our church / suppose by this term
Hale means we put the clamps on, but
that is not true, and our members dom [
know anything about it. We invite Uni
tarians, Universalists, men and women
ton, to come to our communion serv-
ice, and we ask no subscription of our
members.
Suppose 7 should state in the pulpit
that the Unitarians do not believe what
they preach-a statement made Of US by
the Unitarian minister of Oakland-what
would they say? And suppose | should
as he did, upbraid the Episcopalians and
Catholics for observing Lent as they do?
Would the Unitarians call that broad?
If wasn't going away l would answer
this whole matter more fully"
DR.. COyle leaves next Friday to attend
the Presbyterian General Assembly,
which opens in Minneapolis on May is.
He is a candidate for the office of mod
orator of the assembly, and advices from
the various districts are most encourage
ing in his favor. After the general as
sembly Rev. Mr. Coyle will go TO New
Britain and ContnetaI Europe. visiting
Holland, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and
France