Connecticut western news., 1912-08-29
Letters From the People
Rev. MT. Hurn Protests.
Editor of The News

Dear Sir |: Every newspaper article about MT. Baird that 1 have seen did not fail to say that he was Methodist preacher. Of course emphasizing some thing of this kind gives spiciness to an article. Some things told as facts very much question.
 In last weeks issue you say he receiv- ed & license from "the Methodist Con- ference" MT. Baird received no license from the Methodist Conference. The Methodist Conference grants no licenses. He is not a clergyman but layman; He therefore violated no ministerial vows, neither should any reflections be cast upon the Methodist Conference.
 Very truly,
 J. A. Hurn, Pastor.
 Falls Village, Aug. 25.
 Having due and genuine apprecia- tion of "the rarity of Christian charity" |" we have not the slightest disposition to quarrel with Rev. MT. Hurn on the ground of his willingness to exercise that rare and sterling virtue toward an erring or accused brother. His intent is altogether praiseworthy and does him honor but-and we say it more in sor- row than in anger-his reasoning is de- fective and there are holes in his logic.
 MT. Hurn says: "Mr. Baird received no license from Methodist Conference. The Methodist Conference grants no li- censes. He is not a clergyman, but a layman he therefore violated no minis terial vows neither should any refec- tions be cast upon the Methodist Con- ference" % This is a mere technicahty, which savers very much of what the lawyers call "quibble." Granted that the Methodist Conference did not issue the license to MT. Baird, the fact remains that he was given license by duly con- stituted authority, under the Confer ence, which authorized him to preaoh-- and under that license he did preach. Whether or not he violated any minis terial vows." the presiding elder, tor district shperintendent,) Rev. Dr. Will. son, for reasons which he deemed amply sufficient, suspended that license, thus disqualifying Mir. Baird as 8 preacher. This action was taken after giving Mir. Baird hearing which brought out facts possibly not known to Mir. Hurn, and which have not as yet been published, but which were conclusivelY convincing to the presiding elder, whose judgment in the matter Mir. Hurn comes danger ously near calling into question when he says, in the face of Baird's suspension, ] that Che violated no ministerial vows"
 With regard to casting reflections upon the Methodist Conference," the suggestion cannot have been made ser iously by MT. Hurn. Even if it were possible for anything in this Baird episode to cast reflections upon the Con- ference, the presiding elder suspended that possibility when he suspended the Incense.
 Reverting to MT. Hurn's observation with regard to conspicuous newspaper mention of the fact that MT. Baird was preacher" and that emphasizing something of this kind gives spiciness to an article," we regret to have to assure him that if he intends to imply that the preacher" feature is emphasized in the newspapers to bring reproach upon "the cloth" in general, he shoots wide of the bullseye and entirely misses the mark. MT. Hurn should know that the news chronicler is trained to look at things from the newspaper angle, and gauge them according to their news value. It is the element ot the unusual that gives the quality of news value to a news story.
 An editor, instructing a cub reporter, said to him "When you go out on the street, if you see dog bite man, that's a common occurrence and Is worth five lines. But if you see man bite dog, that's something unusual, and is worth a column.'' The fact that Baird was preacher made the story of his peculiar transactions doubly interesting as news matter, for the very reason that erring preachers-even layman preachers-are such 8 rarity.
 AS for "some things told as facts" about MT. Baird, which MT. Hurn every much questions, inasmuch as We sin cerely and seriously desire that his mind be cleared of all doubt concerning The News's good faith as a chronicler of events, or any suspicion that The News would knowingly misstate facts or print unauthenticated gossip to the detriment of any man, we commend him for en- lightenment to 8 conference with his presiding elder, or with various citizens of high character in Falls Village, in- cluding prominent members of his own church in good standing.
 \ VwTT 4 N,f T fl