Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-27
.CHURCHMEN STIRRED
Revival Of Charges Against
Pennsylvania Prelate.
MINISTERIAL SCANDAL
DIR. MORGAN DIX wITHDRAws
FROM THE TALBOT INQUIRY.
The Upjohn Letter - Bishops Cited
Against Rev. Irvine-Former
Chancellor's Views.

| cese of central Pennsylvania is virtually
dead.
| The latest development in this amazing
| case is the withdrawal of the Rev. DR.. Nor
| gan Dix from the committee of inquiry APP
pointed by Bishop Tuttle, the presiding
| head of the church. The venerable rector
OF Trinity pleads advanced years as rea-
son for his unwilingness to serve. But
men In position to know the truth assert
| that DIR. Dix's real reason is firm convic-
ton that the investigation Of the Talbot
charges will broaden into a scandal so I'M
savory and of such dimensions that he is
determined to keep out of it.
! The presiding bishop had selected DR.. Dix
for the important post of chairman of the
committee of inquiry. and thu. Rev. DIR. w.
3. Bodine Of Philadelphia will now serve in
| that capacity.
All this was quietly arranged in New
| YORK yesterday morning, and a midday
| train carried the carefully guarded present.
ment from that city to Philadelphia. 1t
| was Dr. Dix who dispatched the document,
and 1t was DR.. Bodine, the new chairman.
who received it.
Secret "Upjohn Letter" Involves Others
Chief among the secrets is the "Upjohn
letter" in which Bishop Talbot drags the
names Of some Of the foremost of Ameri-
can churchmen into the affair. This Is the
letter in which he cites Bishops Potter Of
New York, Whitaker of Philadelphia. Doane
OF Albany and others equally prominent as
witnesses to the wickedness and depravity
| or lrv1ne,' the unfrocked priest. This Up
| john letter" is the foundation stone of the
presentment against Bishop Talbot. It's
every allegation Is fatty denied by the pre-
senters of Bishop Talbot, all men of promi-
| nence In the Episcopal Church.
Several of the bishops named in the letter
have placed written denials of the state
70 Of fc1n rTo1l~
concerned-in the hands of the lawyers be-
| hind the preSentment.
| The exact text of this UpJohn letter is
given in full. Bishop Talbot dates it "St.
the most important saint days of the Epis-
| copal Church The sentiment of this day Is
| the charity that 'thinketh no evil" that
! "rejoiceth in the truth"
The Bishops Letter.
1t was addressed to the Rev. Dr. Uptohn
one of the prominent churchmen in Penn
| sylvania and president of the Philadelphia
| branch of the Catholic Cub. 1t reads
| washington. D. c., st. Pauls day, 1902
MY Dear DR.. Upjohn-In passing through
Philadelphia happened to meet the Rev.
| Mr Shuttle, and he mentioned the fact that
| some discussion or the Irvine case had come
| up in the Catholic Club.
L feel that you will pardon me If 1 VEN
| ture to presume upon my high esteem for
you and confidence in you to write you
about 1t.
| Il do it first, because cannot afford to
| go into the yellow journals with Irvine and
defend myself.
| But he is such plausible romancer that
am not greatly surprised to learn that in
the utter absence of any protest from me
some of the brethren may think 1 am to
blame.
| man was deposed nearly two years ago for
gross immortality and for lewd and lascivi-
| GUS conduct with women.
That not one Of the questions which he
| tries to make capital of was ever mentioned
or referred to in his trial, but that both the
committee of inquiry and the court found
such horrible condition at Huntingdon
| that they confined themselves entirely to
the evidence there abundantly given.
THAT Irvine has been thirty years in the
| ministry and twenty of those years has
been under the ban of ecclesiastical disci-
pline.
THAT he has been suspended once, adj
| monished once in your diocese, and inhibit-
ed and made to leave repeatedly.
Drags Bishops In.
THAT eight bishops have grave charges
against him; that the venerable bishop Of
Quincy wrote to me on his deathbed that
Irvine had outraged two girls in his city.
THAT there is no foundation whatever in
his allegation that the bishops, who know
him WELL had any dream of casting any re-
Election on our diocese myself, or had
any reference whatever to him in their
earnest advocacy of what we all want and
will, I hope, soon have-a court of appeals.
His case was one out of fifteen or twenty,
and all alike emphasize the need of such a
court.
'That all his talk about divorced woman
being communicated and then restored
by me is baSeleSS.
1.-The woman having brought from Phila-
delphia EST. Clement's) a letter commenda-
n q G
Irvine told mel, said she was divorced I'M
der the provisions of our canon.
Zone would suppose man with such
record would hide his face with shame. OF
course 1t is not altogether pleasant for me
silently to endure such villification as he
heaps upon me, but 1 confess it has not
greatly disturbed me nor have I lost any
sleep.
II have acted kindly and as righteously as
was possible. If the world knew why he
was deposed and what he really is he would
get no sympathy. 1t may be In your power
to reassure them (meaning the doubling
"Bishops Whitaker, Whitehead, Seymour,
Scarborough, Potter. Doane, Adams, Tay-
lor the Rev. DIR. Jefingwell and a host OF
others will bear out all have said as to his
character.
with every assurance Of personal es-
TEEN, I am, very dear doctor, faithfully
yours.
(Sgned "ETHELBERT TALBOT"
Ex-Chancellor Prices Views.
Even If the charges against the Rev.
DR.. Ingram N. w. Irvine contained in the
copy which saw Of Bishop Talbot's let
ter to the Rev. DIR. Samuel Upjohn were
true, the publications Of them should con-
Wet DR.. Talbot"
This emphatic declaration concerning
the letter which forms the subject Of the
presentment Of the bishop of central
Pennsylvania was made in Philadelphia
yesterday by William 8. Price, for many
years chancellor of the diocese Of Penn
sylvania, and recognized as an authority
on ecclesiastical law.
THE charges in the letter shown to
me-" continued Mr.. Price, provided they
were false. would, in my judgment, fur
nish ground for an action for libel DIR.
Irvine has assured me that they are un-
| true and that their untruth can be read
| lily proved. But, true or not. Bishop Tai
| bot had no right, after deposing DIR. r.
vine, to attempt to further injure him by
| writing this letter to the president of the
| Catholic Club.
There Is no question in my mind that,
| for the good Of the church, this matter
should be settled, and settled right. Alb
| solute justice should be done, no matter
| who may be affected"
Case Assumes Wider Interest.
| In the minds of churchmen. the new
phase of the Talbot-Irvine case has as