The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1908-09-18
DIR. NOWLIN Aft
Err Mr.. RING0.
Defends Ministry of All
Churches.
Den0unCeS Br0wbeating OF Wit
neSSeS BY Att0rneyS--SayS
Law Should Stop Ii

1.-The man who robs me of my rep
utation does me greater injury than
the man who steals from me my
money, and the man who takes from
the ministers of religion in Owens
boro their reputation does the conf
munity more harm that the man who
would blow every bank in the city
of greensboro into the Ohio River. II
this be true, what are we to think
of the man who would rob the clergy
not only of tnis day and this city,
but of all time and of every place OF
thier reputation
| 1t was in these words that Rev. w.
d. Nowln summed UP his protest
against the recent severe comments
of Prosecuting Attorney Ben ID. Rim
go on the clergy when they interfered
in civic affairs. A large congregation
heard DR.. Nowlin, he having announc-
ed before hand that he would preach
on the clergy in civic affairs, and 1t
being generally understood that he
would deal with the recent courthouse
occurrence very concretely. He did
this, beginning by reading the elev-
enth chapter of the Second Corin-
thians. He also read the editorial
from the Louisville Post, comment
ing adversely on the remarks Of Mr..
Ringo on the clergy.
He dwelt on the witchcraft perse-
cutions in Massachusetts and declared
that the civil authorities were re-
| sponsible for putting to death of the
alleged witches and added that not
only were the clergy free from the
charge of having put so-called
witches to death there, but that a
learned and aged minister was one
of those put to death at the time
of the witchcraft scare, and wholly
because he declared he did not be-
lieve in Witchcraft and protested
against the action of the civil autho-
rites in prosecuting and Furnishing
people who were charged with being
witches. He quoted several extracts
! from different church histories to
snow that the clergy had never done
the violent or indiscreet things with
which Mr.. Ringo held them respon-
sible. In this connection, he said.
THE Catholic and the Episcopal
churches are often held to be respon-
sible by ignorant people for many of
the prosecutions and butcheries of
the past and these are what Mr.. Ringo
must have had in view when ne made
his unwarranted assertions. but when
the student looks into these things as
student he always finds that the
clergy of these denominations were
/ not responsible but that they protes-
ted against them. and that the wrongs
! were done by the civil authorities,
sometimes in the name of religion,
it is true, but always against religion
Who ever heard before of the minis
ters of any denomination precipitating
anarchy and bloodshed as MIR. Ringo
charges? These wrongs were in every
| instance perpetrated by politicians
and demagogues who often did it in
! the name of the church and one not
wholly ignorant of church history
must know this. | am sure that Mr..
Ringo made his assertion most ig-
norantly or most wilfully and | am
inclined to think he did il ignor-
antly. / doubt if lie has ever taken a
course in church history or that ne
can even give the name of a single
authority in church history"
In answering the charge of narrow
ness or ignorance of sociology on the
part of the ministry DR.. Nowlin said
he had been business man before
he became a minister andt hat he had
dealt with his fellows and success
fully and that afterwards he had TAX
en- the regular course in the Louis
vile seminary of his denomination,
and afterwards took a special course
in sociology at the Chicago Univer-
sity.
The speaker referred to the record
of Luther and Knox and others of
their class and showed that they had
been opposed and prosecuted by the
civil authorities.
One period of the sermon was de-
voted to the matter of lawyers brow
beating and abusing witnesses in the
courtroom. He declared that this was
an outrage and should not be per-
mitted. When I go to the senate"