, 1905-11-22
Communicated

Last February it became manifest to
me that my mission to the people
through the West Jersey Presbytery l
ministered was soon to end, and was
more clear after the meeting of said
Presbytery.
In view of The fact that | have been
called to another field, and in view of
the fact hat current rumor has it that
the colored minister has collected mon
les on the beach for church purposes
and left with the same; and in view of
the fact that at the eleventh hour a
baseless fabrication has been circulated
that all the monies collected these two
years has passed into my hands and l
am about to del ort with the same from
the beach, | desire to make a public,
emphatic, unqualified denial of the
imputation and defend my honor at
the eleventh hour.
During the two years of my service
here all the money received by me
from this people by way of support is
ffty-four dollars and fifty-two cents
OF this amount $780, 81 was received the
first year, $4 this current year on sal
airy. A lot was purchased on which
$1S5, with interest, was paid to Mr..
Charles Norton for the first year; dur
ing this current year nothing whatever
has been paid Mr.. Norton on the lot,
although ninety dollars were collected.
During the months of July and Au-
gust of the current year sixteen dollars
were raised in the church with the
specific understanding that the money
was to lie paid on the lot. Two enter
tainments were given from which four
teen dollars were realized. But so far
as | know not "a dollar passed into Mr..
Norton's hands and certainly not into
mine. The monies for my board was
taken out of the monies collected at the
church, tut never passed through my
hands nor was paid out by me.
When, therefore, it became known
to the public that my salary was not
being paid and no money being paid
on the lot, for it became noised abroad
that all monies collected at the church
went into one home, it refused to give.
To which reason must be attributed
why there was such a falling of in
contributions during the past summer
as compared with the preceding sum
mer, for they were reduced by one-half
in equally as large audiences. The
people felt themselves hoodwinked.
For the most part this people here
did practically nothing to pay the min
ister's board or anything else. He
built all the fires last winter, sawed all
the wood for their fire, bought and
paid for the oil used in their lamps and
bought their Sunday-school literature
with his own money given by Presby-
terry, no one else aiding. Far from TAX
ing a farthing of the collected funds |
have rather given them my services
and small means to them and main
tain as best | could at the same time
my half orphaned children. The i'm
putation of guilt is by no means the
fact of guilt. What other men who
had nothing to lose have done with
funds collected on the beach | know
not. The public seem to know, for it
has been apprised of it by the people
themselves, as was the facts made
known to me by the people. | do not
wish to be placed in the same category
with characterless, irresponsible men.
| leave the beach with what | came,
viz: my character, and with not a far
thing of the funds collected on the
beach.
OF my honor none shall take from
me but myself. So long, therefore, as
all the monies collected at the church
go one way the bane of suspicion will
rest in the minds of the public, and so
long as all the monies go into n
home for whatever reason, the old re-
gime of things remains.
And the stencil of Denmark will be
shifted everywhere. The pernicious
Islander that | owe my boarding mis-
tress 500 has been denied by me in the
premise emphatically.
f. A. MITCHELL.
-s H1s-