The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1907-12-13
sTRINCER G. THOMAS, Props.


rs the management remains the same
rs at present, it makes no odds who
is in charge of the House.
Reduced to it's final analysis, the
question is: Cannot a layman as
manager employ help to carry on that
work as we'll as a minister can? Are
they all blockheads? Have we got no
laymen with business sense? But it
is only of late years that this anti
layman howl has been raised. Broth
er j. II. Murphy, of Baltimore, has
been a candidate of long standing; and
everybody conceded to him the right,
as a member of the church, to aspire
to that position. Now two prominent
Southern laymen have dared to a
bounce themselves for that position.
At one the cry goes up: Down with
the laymen. These two men are Mr..
D.. A. Hart and Mr.. Ira T. Bryant. l
know both of them personally. Either
would, in my opinion, make a success
full manager of the S. S. Union pub
fishing house. I make this statement,
not On account of personal friendship
to these gentlemen, but as a matter
of fact. Mr.. Hart is at present prac-
,ically the manager of the great Ma
tiOnal Baptist Publishing House, the
largest concern of it's kind among Ne
gTCes in the world, and although | am
not authorized to make the assertion.
he is the big wheel in that whole ma
chinery. d. A. Hart probably knows
more about operating a publishing
house than any preacher in the Con-
nection.
Ira r. Bryant was reared in a print
ing establishment and publishing
house. A part of that time was in the
S. S. Union building. Whether he
holds a number of diplomas from
prominent schools or not, those who
know him must recognize his ability
as a scholar, or else plead guilty to
being grossly ignorant themselves.
Both Hart and Bryant advocate the
idea that the s.. S. Union can be oper-
ated upon pure business principles,
that they a do it without asking any
longer for the Children's Day money;
that they could in a reasonably short
time make the Concern a source Of
revenue to the Church.
I am not an advocate of the theory
Of putting laymen at the head of either
publishing house; but | am in favor
Of putting the fttest man in position,
whether he be lay or ministerial. Say
what you will, the Church will by and
by wake up to the fact that the Nash
Vile publishing house will have to
have a manager and a regular Sunday
school editor. And why not? 1t is a
fact that the manager is now able to
pay some one else to edit the iitera-
'ure. Why not let the editor be a
sull-hedged general officer? 1t will
cost no more; and the individual who
does the work will get full credit for
it.
Bryant is being denounced by the
Monitor for issuing a circular as a
means of reaching the a Of the del
egates of the General Conference. He
is being branded as a liar in some
things that he is saying in that cir
cular. But in what respect Bryant is
lying, has not yet been set forth,
Even Brother John NJ. Henderson has
been induced to bring the influence of
his mighty pen to bear upon the sub
iect. He also says Mr., Bryant is a
liar; but %studiCusly avoids telling what
the lie is.
When Dock Hart launches his cam
paign, he will be a liar some, too. He
will be charged with being an under
graduate; as being a layman; as not
being a full-bloOded African Methodist,
because he is in the employ of the
Baptist Publishing House, etc. Mr..
Hart's campaign matter will also have
to be conducted through circulars or
through some secular paper, because.
being a layman, all the columns Of the
church papers will be closed against
him. He will be denounced for that,
too. It is a great pity that ministers
of the gospel will play cheap politics