Middletown transcript., 1916-02-26
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BYGEORGE RANDOLPH 0[STTR.
GILLIAN CHESTER w.
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soil his soul as a gentleman; and it is
shameful thing that a gentleman
should have finer ethics than a Chris
tian church! In the beginning, ] was
a coward about this matter! 1t was
because wished to be rid Of our re-
sponsibility in Vedder court that
tirTt urged the conversion of that
property into a cathedral. We can
not rid ourselves of the responsibility
of Vedder court! II it we're possible
for a church to be sent to hell, Mar
ket Square church would be eternally
damned if it took this added guilt upon
it!"
"This talk is absurd" declared
Chisholm. ''The city has taken We'd
der court away from u.s."
only the property" quickly cor
rected Rufus Manning, turning to
Chisholm with sharpness in his deep
blue eyes. 'If you will remember. |
told you this sa-ue thing before Doc
tor Boyd came to us. have waited
ever since his arrival for him to de-
velop to this point. and wish to an
nounce myself as solidly supporting
his views"
Your own will not bear inspec-
tion!" charged Clark, turning to Man
ming with a scowl.
"Ill range up at the judgment seat
with you!" famed Manning. Were
both old enough to think about that"
Joseph G. Clark jumped to his feet
and, leaning across the table. shook
thin forednger at Manning.
81 have been attacked enough on the
point of my moral standing!" he de-
clared, his high-ritched nasal voice
quavering with an anger he had held
below the explosive point during the
most of his life. 81 can stand the at
tacks. of a sensational press, but when
spiteful criticism follows me into my
own vestry, almost in the sacred
shadow of the altar itself, | am coln-
nelled to protest! | wish to state to
this vestry. once and for all. that my
moral status is above reproach, and
that my conduct has been such as to
receive the commentator of my Ma
ker! Because it has pleased Divine
Providence to place in my hands the
distribution of the grain of the fields,
am constantly subject to the attacks
of envy and malice! 1t has gone so
far that |, last night, received from
Row Smith Poud a roo,1ocf IN rociou
from this vestry!" He paused IN tri-
umph on that, as if he had made
against Rev. Smith Boyd charge of
such CHASTITY infamy that the young
rector must shrivel before his eyes,
Il have led a blameless life! l have
never smoked nor drunk! have paid
every penny ]. ever owed and fulfilled
every promise ever made. have
obeyed the gospel and partaken of the
and the Divine Being has
rewarded me abundantly! He has
chosen me, because of my faithful
to gather the food of
earth from its sources and feed it to
the mouths of the hungry; and | shall
not depart from my stewardship in
this church, because l am here. as |
am everywhere, by the will of Cod"
Perhaps w. T. Chisholm was not
shocked by this blasphemy. but the
1ismay of it sat on every other face.
even on that of Nicholas Van Ploon,
who was compelled to dig deep to find
his ethics.
You internal old thief" wondered /
Manning. recovering from his amaze
ment. WAS it Divine Providence
which directed you to devise the
scheme whereby the railroads paid |
you two dollars rebate on every car
If wheat you shipped. and a dollar
oonus on every car of wheat your com
1etitors shipped? l could give you a
string of sins as long as the catechism
Ind you dare not deny one of them.
because can prove them on you! And /
ret you have the effrontery to say
hat Divine Providence would estab-
ish you in your monopoly, by such
means as you have risen
o become the greatest dispenser of
charities in the world!
You propose to ride into heaven on
,our universities and your libraries
md on the fact that you never smoked
lor drank nor swore nor gambied;
'ut when you come face to face with
his horrible new god you have Gre
ted, a deity who would permit you
o attain wealth by the vile methods
ou have used. you will find him with
pitchfork in his hands! | am glad
hat Doctor Boyd. though knowing
our vindictive record. has had brav-
ry enough to demand your resigna-
ion from this vestry! hope he re-
elves it,"
Joseph G. Clark had remained
tanding. and his head shook. as with
alsy. while he listened to the charge