Palisadian. [volume] (Cliffside Park, N.J.) 1906-current, 1915-08-21
Disguised Pastor
Decides To Leave.
Discouraging Work


village does not know where it stands
1t is not the fault of the Rev. Dr.
George ID. McCulloch, pastor of the
Union Congregational Church-the
only church in the village. DR.. Nc
Culloch has resigned his ministry
after two years OF discouraging effort
to help build up the town. He says
he is discouraged and disguised.
You are lot of village gossips,"
he declared yesterday morning, look
ing his congregation square in the
eye. Some of you are talking about
charging this church. What do you
want it any larger for? There are
slXty-tive people in this congrega-
ton this morning. Only forty-one of
them are members of this church.
Where are the others?
why should you build a larger
church and ask your minister to
preach to more empty pews than |
am preaching to now?
Il came to this village with the
hopes Of being able to accomplish
something in the work of the Chris
tian ministry. | was ready to sac
ritice myself. | was ready to give
my life to this work. Did | find any
response? l did not. l found hope
lessly sunken community, a village
of gossips, town where the chief
delight is to destroy the work of the
hands of some one else. You are a
lot of gossips.
Officers Called Bosses
eff any organization is formed you
all rush into it, elect some Of
ticers, and then Immediately begins
a buz-z-z-z over village gossips
The officers you elected are imme-
diately dubbed bosses. You all sit
back and instead of helping you be-
gin to knock. You tear down every
thing that any one else seeks to
create.
I'VE have a town hall in this vii
lage. 1t is owned by private corpo-
ration. 1t should be a powerful in
f1uence toward a better and higher
civic life. Instead, what is it?
'rhe only amusement that private
corporation provides for this village
is a ten-cent dance once week to
which any person having the te.
cents may come. They call them
band concerts. The band consists OF
a miserable cornet, squeaky violin,
and tin pan piano. The three per-
formers play nothing but ragtime
and the latest dance music. Never
once are the strains of real music
evolved from those instruments. Yoa
are dance crazy. The only amusc-
ment the town knows is a dance.
Il have asked why they never have
a good lecture or a real musicale In
the Town Hall. They tell me the
people would not support it. l have
satisfied myself that that is true.
Your limit is that ten-cent dance.
There have been several private
dances in the Town Hall. l attende 4
three of them because l wanted to
see how they compared with the ten
were more disgraceful than the pub
lie ones. l saw young women there
who are supposed to be of the most
respectable families in this commu
nifty disporting themselves as no re-
spectacle woman should.
Glad He's Going
81 am going away from you ami
l am glad of it. l do not think that
you deserve the effort l have put
forth in the several years l have been
here. But l am telling you these
things because it is important that
you should know them. You men
who own property here and are in
terested in the future of this town
are the ones who are going to suffer.
Unless you lift up the moral and
social tone of this community you
are going to be the losers. | will not
lose, for when l leave here l leave
your village behind me. l have no
further interest here. | own NC
property. l am going away, and
can forget you, but you men who
own the property in this village can
not forget. You will have to stay
here and suffer the loss which will
come to you from your failure to
help make this village what it should
be-"
There is a great buzz throughout
the village today. Cedar Grove has
about 2,7O0 inhabitants, two-thirds OF
them inmates of the Essex County
Insane Asylum, which occupies one
of the finest hillsides in the village
The other third is just about mad
enough to join the twothirds.
Only last Thursday the citizens ten
dered a farewell reception to DR.. Nc
Culloch and his wife and presented
them with purse containing some
$50 or $40. Everything was lovely
then. Now that the clergyman has
delivered his farwell opinion of his
late parishioners they are all sore
He will leave next week for his for
mer home in the middle west. He ad-
vises Cedar Grove to take it's tins
and get real live man who will help
pull it out of the slough.
Would there were gift to gle US.
Tae see oursels as ithers see us.