The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1905-04-07
A SHARP REPLY
By A. B. Williams to the Sian.
ders of Bishop Potter
ABOUT THE SOUTH.
The Editor Challenges the Slanderans
New York Bishop to a Show of
Hand. a. to the Moral condl-
tion of His Diocese and
the South Generally.

tion of His Diocese and
the South Generally.
Bishop Potter Of New York Is on
of the pet superstitions Of this C un
try. He is part Of the general New
York superstition. Because New YOrl
is big, most Of US as ume that any
man who becomes prominent there
must be a very large and great man In
deed. We persistently forget that al
many fakirs, humbugs and light
weights rattle and swell arc und II
large places in New York as anywhere
else in the world. AS for Bishop Pot
ter, he has said and done as many silly
things IS any old gentleman we know
OF. a recent expert ieuce OF his indi
Gates that his manners are as bad a.
bis morals in some respects are de-
feotive, his judgment Is bad and his
arrt gance extreme. Some time ago he
undertook to discuss the divorce gu s,
tion in a New York newspaper. AS we
reoollect, he flouE dered around the
subject a good deal ard failed absO-
lutely to make any definite suggestion
or 10 indicate any cJherent policy for
hts chul cn or for legislation. Il the
course of bis somewhat tlabby and cha
otic remarks, however, he said that
the absolute abolition Of divorce would
not do. He added: I'VE have an ex
ample Of what would result from such
q measure in South Carolina, where
the law does not recognize 1T. Pro
hibiting divorce is merely putting
concubinage at a premium" This does
not impress us as high or a church
manlike view. Certainly concubinage
Is not at premium anywhere iii South
Carolina.
The editor Of the Columbia Is. o.
State wrote Bishop Potter very re
spectful letter, pointing out to him
that he had done the homes and peo
pie of the State serious Injustice, re
ferring him to the bishop and clergy
s'of his own church in that State for
evidence and asking him to make care
fat s1uQ tiily EinTd Ihe fa5ts aud Et5i.
take such steps as equity ana justice
may dictate"
In reply the editor received most
tnsolent letter from Bishop Potter, in
directly denying that he had used the
language attributed to him and de-
Scribing the editors letter and ar.
ticle on the subject by Judge Bcnet,
enclosed with 1t, as equally unwar
1anted and impertinent.
The editor Of the State replied with
another respectful letter, in perfect
~ proper and deferential way, taking
Of the bishops hide He pointed out
that the offensive paragraph had been
published prominently, that Bishop
Potter had not seen I'll to make any
denial or correction of an outrageous
and shameful SANDER against the peo.
pie Ut whole State and tnat his dc
NAL suggested IN his own letter was
as evasive as discuurteous. A few days
later Bishop Potter printed in the New
York Globe a brief sta temcnt on the
subject, in which he said he had nc
apology to make to South Carolira
and eXtt nded his SANDER TO the people
of the whole South. He is quoted as
saying:
'He had simply remarked that in
view Of the prevalence OF mlsct gena,
tion in the South, the pose OF lof y
and superior virtue on the part Of its
people, any ywhere had In 1T an clement
equally comic and pathetic"
An accusation like this cannot b.
sustained or disprovcd by statistics or
amdavits. 1t can be considered only
In the light Of general and obvious
facts. Virtue Is net thing Of sections
or Of countries. TIE good are good
and the bad are bad cverywhese arc
wherever human nature is, the affCc
tions and passions OF men and womt L
stray in forbidden paths. One thing
however, Is certain and pam. Thai
1s that the moral t. ne is infinitely
cleaner and the social standards are
infinitely higher in South Carolina
than In Bishop Potters diocese. Ger
tainly q woman divorced Irt m her hus
band and married TO another man in
side OF twenty four hours would mol
be received in respectable society any
where in the South. Yet woman wht
did that very thing Is a leader If New
York's most exalted society. Nobodi
knows tile secret annals of vice; bu
every observer WLO bas met auC
known the people OF New York ant
any Southern State knows that In tn,
South vastly less filth is talked ant
written than in New York. The natu
~rtsi aud inevitable presunpl ion is tina
lives in the South are very muul
\ cleaner. The Women whose clnducJ ant
2nversati are so distinctly loud an,
ead az to justify definite criticism /
tabooed In every Southern State Bish
op Potter cannot say that that is til
case even in the highest AMI theoretl
cally most exclusive society OF his ow
community.
1t would be interesting to kno,
where Bishop Potter got his impre>
BiOnS OF the morals II the people c
the South and how he would 90 abou
justifying himself for circulatilg sue
cruel and Injurious charge as tina
concubinage and misce genation ar
eneral In this part OF the country
The truth Is that misccgenation in 1t
legal sense Is Impossible anywhere Il
the South because it Is forbidden an
severely punishable by law. We d
not hesitate to say that the charg
that these vices are general or eve
widespread In the South is false, an
In making that assertion we will d
better than Bishop Potter. We wi
offer good evidence to convict him c
falsehoOd IL he is willing to dare th
Issue. We will put Oh the stand TIL
Protestant Episcopal clergy of tn
whole South, from bishops to deac n,