The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1914-04-16
DR.. T. P. Bell,
Editor The Christian Index,
Atlanta, Ga.
Dear Brother:
Dear Brother:

01SHSO ny ten members OF this
Mission charging me with misrepre-
senting our foreign mission work in
my circular letters.
In connection with this letter 7
wish to say that in writing my criti-
c1sms l was using what DR.. GAIN
brell calls the inalienable right of
the Southern Baptist to criticise our
denominatiOna1 work, no matter what
the work might be, nor what the
critics position among us, whether
high or low. In an editorial you
denied me this right and urged the
Foreign Mission Board to recall me
from the field. On the other hand,
The Baptist Mission Board of Mis-
sissippi and The Baptist Advance of
Arkansas defended me in long edito-
rails. The editor Of The Texas Bap-
fist Standard expressed his pleasure
that the Board did not accept my
resignation, but had recognized the
right Of the missionaries to freedom
of speech. The editor of the Bap-
fist World also acknowledged my
right to make these criticisms by
saying, Anyway, let the discussion
go on It is good to think over
again our plans and methods, to
take inventory and to stop long
enough to catch our breath, to be-
come sure we are right and so be
enabled to plunge on with new con-
viction and new courage" DR.. Null
Inns, in AN article in your own pa
per, wrote: edo not let us try to
suppress our missionaries. Let them
tell us what they think" The For
eign Mission Board by refusing to
accept my resignation thereby ack-
nc - my right to make these
criticisms.
I think that even you would be
compelled to acknowledge that these
criticisms have been made in a
Christian and not a polemical spirit;
no individuals we're referred to but
only a method of work criticised,
until the publication Of this letter
in your paper compelled me to refer
to persons to defend myself from
the personal attack made upon me
by you and the signers of this letter.
Now, these brethren who differ
from me had the same inaIienable
right to reply to my criticisms as I
had to make them. I expected that
some of them would reply to me in
our Baptist papers at home. This
would have been the usual method.
Instead of that these ten brethren
signed this letter of dissent to the
Board which was intended as pri-
vate communication to them, as I
have learned from several Of the
signers, but one Of the signers, in his
zeal, made a copy of the letter and
OF l44~ oolleagues signatures and
sent it to you, without the knowI-
edge or consent of the other signers,
at least of the three who have talked
to me about it and probably of the
others.
In reply to your criticisms and to
this letter, | have sent you two or
three letters for publication in my
own defense. In spite Of your severe
criticisms of me, and of the fact that
you publish this letter of dissent to
the Board, you have not published
my letters. Do you count this fair
play?
In regard to this letter of dissent
which you published there has come
to my knowledge new information
concerning it's publication which I
feel you are under obligation to me
to put before the readers of your
paper. After I issued my circular
letter Of Jan. Is challenging these
brethren to produce the proof Of
misrepresentation, one of the sign
ers, DR.. G. w. Pruitt of Chefoo,
voluntarily came to me and told me
that this letter was meant only for