Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-01-03
CLERGYMAN AS A
SALOON OWNER.
Rev. George K. MacDonald's
Views on Liquor Selling.
WILL NOT TOLERATE PROFANITY

Former Pastor of N Long Island City
Church Says He Intends to Run a
Decent Place - Believes In Free
Lunches and Likes to See H1en
Drink Beer-HOvv He Quoted an
Obstreperous Customer.
The Rev. George *. Macdonald. who
recently resigned the passionate of the
!. East Avenue Baptist church at Long
Island City, is now the owner of a sa-
; loon in the Bronx section of New York
city. He employs two bartenders; but,
clad in a white coat and apron, he
presides behind the bar personally.
Il Last May, at the meeting in his old
church Of the annual convention of the
Sunday School association of Queens
and Nassau counties, Mr.. Macdonald
delivered the address of welcome to
his clerical brethren and the other dele
gates of the two counties.
4 New York Herald reporter the
other day found Mr.. Macdonald stand
| ing behind the bar of his new saloon.
| $50 you have found me out, have
your he said, with a smile that dis
| played an excellent set of teeth and a
mouth easily curved to merriment.
IAN interview" he repeated. mo, ]
do not object to an interview, since
you have found me here. 1 am not at
all ashamed to be found in my new
vocation, and 1 am quite willing to ex-
plain my position and set myself prop
erly before the public. If there is one
person L despise more than another. it
is hypocrite.''
Here Mr.. Macdonald paused to hand
out the Scotch whisky and the settler
siphon to a pair of letter carriers of
duty, who had just come in, and OPP
portunity was afforded to inspect his
establishment while he prepared the
highballs and filed a pail with beer
for a waiting teamster.
Now for the interview" said the for
mer preacher as he turned after ring
ing up the price of the cocktails on his
cash register. sympathy in my posi-
ton? Why, yes; 1 have had letters of
sympathy from all parts of the country
since the wide publication of my fare
well sermon. l had one only the other
day from Clarence Hamilton. the may
or of Pictou, n. 81 was born in Nova
Scotia-expressing the heartiest SYM
pathy with me. These people who
write to me only know of my resigna-
ton and the reasons for it. OF course
the writers do not yet know l have be-
come a saloon keeper. / do not know
how they might feel about that. For
that reason it would not be right for
me to permit the publication of these
letters. 1t might seem to place my
friends in false position.
GAS for liquor, 1 have been moder-
ate user of alcoholic stimulants all my
life. My father, who died in 1894, was
a sea captain and Scotchman. 1 have
always been accustomed to seeing spir
it's kept in the house and to using them
in moderation. When 1 have wanted a
drink, 1 have gone openly into saloon. |
Scorning to resort to side doors or TO |
stealth, 1 have bought what l wanted. |
L did this even when L was the pastor |
of a church and thought it no sin to do |
so.
1.-The thing that has Disguised NE is
to see men who stand high in the
church sneaking into side doors to get
their liquor or taking me surreptitious-
ly to 4 sideboard, as if there were some
thing shocking to be concealed. AS l
said before, hate hypocrite; l scOrn
a Pharisee. l have more respect, far
more, for the man who walks openly
into q saloon to buy his drink and who
knows when to abstain than L have for
the fellow, however lofty his reputa-
ton, who sneakS into side door to get
it after dark"
Mr. Macdonald said he had never
been one of those clergymen who affect
black clothing exclusively and coats
cut high at the throat. and his garb
therefore did not advertise the sacred
nature of his calling. His sole appar-
emit concession to clerical conventional
~ of dress was in the neat white bow
necktie, which seemed to harmonic
well enough with the spotless white Of
MS bar Jacket and apron.
The former preacher is a man of fine
physique, strong of build and athletic.
lie has clear, blond complexion, with
| touch of good color in the cheeks,
frank blue gray eyes, a symmetrical
orehead and light brown hair and /
nustache.
II am not aware" he went on, that !
have changed my views materially
# Christian ethics, of Christian con- ]
luct, or, for that matter, of Christian ]
heology. 1 have come to realize that |
ome of my former views were too s
ARROW, and they have perhaps broad
ned as 1 have grown older. Not in 1
he sense that L would license or palIi- t
tie sin of any kind. But it has seemed i
O me that most of the clergy of the '
resent day have failed to understand a
nd to reach men as they are. /
Nothing has ever given me more a
abstraction than to come into contact =
nth the masses of men as have met
hem since came here. l have always
cen in hearty sympathy with the
lasses, the average men, as one meets O
hem in the everyday life of the world. | T