The Topeka state journal., 1899-03-11
DIR. Thorpe and DIR. Embree Are
Involved.
HEARING NEXT WEEK
Before the Kansas Conference
at HiaWatha.
Bitter Personal Fight Among
Church Members.
Mayor Fellows Withdraws From
the First Church.

There is a great deal of excitement in
Methodist circles in Topeka which has
already resulted in a detection from the
First Methodist church.
At the Kansas Methodist conference
at Hiawatha next Wednesday charges
will be filed against two of the most
prominent Methodist ministers of the
state-Dr. E. L. Thorpe of the First NJ
E. church and DR.. A S. Embree OF the
North Topeka Methodist church
Both the congregation of the First
church and that of the North Topeka
church have voted to ask for the return
of the pastors by the conference. There
was a division in the official board of
the First NJ. E. church over the QUes-
tion but the board voted to ask for the
return of DR.. Thorpe by large majori-
ty. There was no opposition in the Off
cial board of the North Topeka church
to the recall of DR.. Embree.
Mayor Fellows who has been a mem
Der of the First NJ. E. church for years
has withdrawn and other members are
preparing to withdraw and the mem
bership is greatly excited. Mayor Eel
lows charges DR.. Thorpe, pastor of the
First church, with prosecuting DR.. EN-
bree and bases his withdrawal from
membership in the church upon that
ground.
The whole trouble is an outgrowth of
the affair last summer in which serious
charges were made against DR.. Embree.
Though he was eXonerated at the time
other charges followed of a different
nature and though he was cleared of
these in the official Investigations the
charges have now been embodied in one
document for presentation to the Kan
sas conference.
The charges against DR.. Embree are
vOluminous and are now in possession
of the presiding elder, J. R. Madison
who will submit them to the conference.
The charges against DR.. Thorpe are
not SO extensive. They cover but two or
three points, the principal one being
''falSehOOd." They are in the possession
of r. b. Welch, who is a member of the
First church and who has also acted as
DR.. Embrees attorney. He could not
be found today.
Presiding Elder Madison would say
nothing about the charges against DR..
Embree except that they will be sub
mitted to the conference next week He
refused to say anything about the diff
ferent specifications.
Dispositions in DR.. Embree's case
have been taken during the past week
to sustain the charges.
Mayor Fellows letter withdrawing
from the First NJ. E. church is as fol-
lows:
DR.. e. L. Thorpe and the Official Board
of the First NJ. E. Church, Topeka,
Kansas.
Gentlemen: Having failed to contrib
ute to the support of the First Method
ist church for the conference year end
ing March 1, 1899, and believing that
all should contribute according to their
ability, and having been called upon to
subscribe at numerous occasions, feel
it due you, as we'll as myself. that I
state why I refuse to contribute.
1 have tried in good faith to attend
the preaching services of the First NJ.
E. church, but found such attendance
neither entertaining nor edifying. At
the close of each preaching service I
found myself disgusted and in a very
disa greeable frame of mind The entire
service impressed me as a huge joke;
that the preacher was not sincere.
About this time 1 discovered that DR..
E L. Thorpe, instead of being a broad
minded Christian gentleman, teaching
and following the gentle, loving, helping
Jesus, was a man who was willing to
hear, credit, and spread the story of a
common prostitute against the reputa-
ton of a brother minister who had gone
in and out among us for five years
without a whisper against him from
anyone.
That instead of Dr. Thorpe being
big Christian gentleman who would