Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-07-21
licatlon. 10 quote Die Nation:

plication. To quote Die Nation
The consistory itself admits that
Pastor korell did nothing positive
to secure the election of the social
democrat 3erthold He did nothing.
in fact from which any one could
suppose that he preferred the return or
Berthold to that OF the Reactionary
Stein. His offense consisted in the
fact that he promoted the cause of the
social democrat by neglecting an OPP
Dortunity to oppose social democracy
which he ought not to have neglected.
1t was presumably considered his duty
as pastor to speak out against the
election of Berthold. His silence had
80 ininrr to the church. and by his
silence he had shown a disposition or
mind which was quite out OF keep
ing with the ministerial profession and
was likely to impair the respect ana
confidence which his calling demanded
from the people
The writer quoted from denies in the
first place that the course taken by
Pastor Berthold was preiudicial to the
church. and argues as follows:
Would korell really have served
the interests of the church If he had
openly declared himself against Ber-
thold. and thus indirectly supported
Stein? Mr.. STEMS program includes
the shelving of universal suffrage, and
the consequent contscation OF the
workingmans most important politlc-
al right. Whoever supports him there
by necessarily announces himself to be
the enemy of labor. BY declaring that
1t is the duty OF the pastor to aid the
election of man who opposes the
extension OF the franchise. is the
church doing anything more than
alternating the workingman from the
church,
But the broader argument on when
the Nation stigmatizes the action of
the church in condemning socialism in
the Christian ministry Is that 1t i'm
plies an invasion Of the minister's po-
litica rights. In the words of this
writer:
THE minister does not forfeit his
citizenship by entering the ministry.
The strongest protest should therefore
be uttered against the attempt of the
consistory not only to bring odium
upon Korell by their sentence of con-
demnation, but also to create gen.
eral impression that no minister of the
gospel has any right to take part in
politics"
1t Is interesting to note in this con-
nection that the Rev. Frederick Pres
ton writes to the Christian Register
(Boston) to remark that he considers
as over scrupulous the resignation
from the Unitarian ministry Of Rev.
Mr.. Ruess. Of Alameda. This resig-
nation resulted from the circumstance
that Mr.. Ruess had become a socialist
and consequently belonged to a school
of political thought which was incom-
l.atible with the proper exercise OF his
ministerial profession. Mr. Preston
writes that he does not believe that
"the clergyman's robe" would be "a
masquerade garb' for socialist. and
adds:
PERSONALLY I am far from being
political socialist or socialist in any
way but should suppose that a polit-
ical socialist as we'll as a political
democrat or political republican
might do good service in the ministry
of unitarian churh. We can hardly
preach the responsibility OF citizen
ship unless we take sufficient interest
to have definite views about public is
sues. There are parishioners who have
all the more regard for ministers be-
cause they are politically something
altho the very opposite of their own
views" -Translatlon made for the Lit
erary Digest.