The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-21
IT WASA THOUGHT TRANSFER
AND THE PHRASES MUST HAVE
GONE ALONG. SAYS DIR. WATERS.



Young Man; Don't Do Hard on Him.
The Rev. DR.. Macy McGee Waters. pastor
Of the Tompkins Avenue Congregational
Church in Brooklyn, explains that it really
must have been unconscious thought
transference that caused his sermon upon
"The Sure Foundations" delivered last
Sunday on his return from his vacation
at Lake George, to resemble so mil u'ely
in thought and phraseology sermon
upon Christ ianity's Foundations preached
last April by the Rev. DR.. Newell Dwight
Hills in Plymouth Church and printed on
the following day in the Brooklyn Eagle.
DR.. Waters's sermon was also reported
in the Eagle, last Monday, and persons
who noticed the extraordinary resemblance
between long passages in the two dis
courses called THE Suns attention to 1t
and wanted to know IL this was becoming
a common feature Of pulpit oratory in
Brooklyn. DIR. Waters, when found in his
study at the church yesterday afternoon
preparing his evening discourse. was quite
willing to discuss the question.
"In q technical sense said DR.. Waters,
Il am culpable in this matter. But in
broad sense I am entirely innocent. 1t
happened in this way, ! suppose: DR..
Hills is a good friend Of mine and am
a great admirer Of him. I read everything
he writes and suppose that I read this
sermon OF his upon the Foundations OF
Christianity In fact. now that 1t ia re-
called to me, have distinct recollection
Of having done 80.
- 49,. zl, alr 10
the same text from st. Timothy, one upon
which had preached dozen times before
ever heard Of Dr. Hills, and wrote my
sermon. had not copy OF DR.. Hilliss
discourse with me; in fact, didn't think
of it, consciously. in writing my sermon.
But must have carried passages from II
in my mind, for / see now closely followed
| Dr. Hills in some Of the things said.
Il regret it exceedingly. ! regret the
| notoriety it has given me, but I repeat that
| in broad sense was innocent in the mat
ter. There liz this, however, to say about it..
Some of the illustrations used in common
with Dr. Hills are very common ones. II is
quite natural that we should use the same
| in dealing with this subject. There is that
| from Daniel Webster about the belief in
! immortality. Then there is that about the
missionary preaching about drunkenness
and there is the comparison OF the ideas or
| Huxley, spencer anu NldlJHtW al ubooI
| God. These are used constantly. 1t is
very hard not to use anything that has been
used before.
| an my sermon this very morning, be-
| fore heard about the other matter of last
! Sundays discourse, I pictured Charles
Sumner in the Senate crying, Here, proud
waves be stayed remembered a moment
afterward that George William Curtis had
done the same thing in a celebrated Grafton.
| and said to myself: You should not have
| done that
Il imagine this following unconsciously
the Rev DR.. Hills happened in very much
the same way. Anyway, if l had stolen
passages from another mans sermon
| printed in a newspaper within few months,
| wouldn't I have been a fool to give that
sermon, as did, for publication in the same
| newspaper
There will be no friction in the Tompkins
| avenue church over the similarity between
its pulpit ideas and those OF Or: Hills last
church. He said Yesterday chat no one
| in his congregation had even mentioned
| the similarity Of the sermons to him. A
| leading member OF the church remarked
| to THE Sun reporter:
"Our pastor has preached to us many
| very excellent sermons In regard to which
| no such charge as is now implied has ever
| been made"
The Rev DR.. Hills won't try to make
| any trouble. When the likeness tween
the sermon OF his brother pastor and his
own pulpit Grafton WAS pointed out to him
| he said it was very remarkable. Then
| he added:
Here's young man newly come TO
| town. Don't be hard on him"
When the last case Of thought trans
| ference in the pulpit came out in Brooklyn,
| the Eagle, which is the mentor OF II the
| Brooklyn pastors, summed up the discus
| sion over II in this way:
after all, the good thing belongs to the
| man who saws IL last