The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-03-08
PREACHER
ARRESTED
Former Wichitan Gets Into
Trouble in Chicago.
ORGANIZED CHURCH HERE
And Nearly Caused Disruption
of First Baptist Church.
ORGANIZED CHURCH HERE

The following IS a dispatch from Chi
eago:
Lambertine A Hall, ex-supply preacher
under the direction. of the University of
Chicago divinity school and. formerly pas
tor of the Central Baptist church, Wich-
ita, Kan, and of a Baptist church in
Council Bluffs, Ia, is locked up at the
Hyde Park police station accused of lar
ceny. He is the father of Fred Hall, the
University CT Chicago star long distance
runner, who holds the western record for
the two-mile event
Hall was arrested yesterday at the
complaint Of S. a. Burke, proprietor Of
, q storage warehouse just below Hall 5
apartments.
Burke says he has missed many articles
of furniture from the warehouse and at
last caught Hall taking away a chair.
He was released on bail and at mid
night was rearrested he was attempt
ing TO move the property, identified later
as having been stored in the warehouse,
from his home in an express wagon.
Today Burke notified his patrons of the
occurrence leading UP to the arrest Of
the Rev. Mr.. Hall and advised them to
swear out search warrants for Hail 5
apartments. to ascertain if any of their
belongings were there.
Halls wife is near Wooster, Ohio, at
tending to the settlement OF her fathers
estate, and his daughter, who is a stu
dent at the Hyde Park school, was along
when the detectives arrived. Nearly all
of the furniture in the fat was removed
To the warehouse below for Identification.
The girl wept as she saw, rudely carried
away, household effects, calling up men,
cries of her happy western home, where
faf hah hald
When seen in his cell while eagerly
awaiting release on bonds, Mir. Hall told
q strange story. How he fell from grace
20 be guilty of theft is to him a deep
psychological mystery. The sensations
accompanying what he terms an unac-
countable moral breakdown he describes
as follows:
L had always been honest. Why, L
would no more have thought of taking
SO much as a pin that was not mine
than | would have dreamed of murder.
For three years 1 have not been preach
ing. In fact. ! have been driving an ice
wagon" he added rather apologetically.
But the men on the wagons have always
made fun Of me for my high standards
of morality and joked me about being
too conscientious for the business. How
the temptation to steal came over me
] hardly know. l believe it was a kind of
insanity / suffered from. l was doing
odd Jobs around Mr.. Burkes warehouse
one day when it suddenly occurred to
me that l could make use of some of
the things around me. When no one was
looking l took odds and ends upstairs.
Now | realize what l was doing and
the realization of what it means to my
family overwhelms me-.
Mr.. Hall came to Chicago five years
ago a Baptist minister in good standing.
He had seen upwards of fifteen years
service in the pulpit and mission field
For three happy years he was pastor CT
the Baptist church in Wichita, Kan. and
prospered in his work. Then for three
years he was pastor OF the Baptists
church in Council Bluffs. and there he
was equally successful in his vocation.
A supply preacher is one without
regular assignment An eX-supply preach
er is one that is not connected in any
way with the conduct of religious work
Mr. Hall came to Wichita in 1898 from
Council Bluffs. Ia. He brought a letter
from the Baptist church at that place
1t was learned later that he had been
expelled from the church there. He or
ganized another church and made things
very interesting for the Council Bluffs
Baptists He bluffed the members Of the
church into giving him a letter and he
came to Wichita.
He was pastor of the First Baptist
church here less than q year.
The members of the church say that
Rev Hall was a man reckless in speech
and manners. 1t is said he called the
members hard names while preaching.
He was uncouth and the announcement
OF his trouble in Chicago was nothing
more than expected by acquaintances in
this city.
After serving the church here nearly