The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-08-10
ANOTHER METHODIST
MINISTER GONE WRONG
Charged with Being Worldly, Commercial Refract-
ory, Unchristian, and Shouting Symptoms
En,bezzlement---No Hope that He
Will Come Back

| NlOuudy 4OouCs
i Editors note: In Monday
paper we told our readers how tn
new minister at Mackay had beel
taking subscriptions and money TO
the new community church to tax
the place of two or three small sec
tartan churches, had started two o
three classes in athletics, had mad
a good fellow of himself and boosted
for everything so long as he coult
point out the way and be the Gus
tOdian of the money. The musica
people of the town got up concer
to raise funds for the new churcl
and thoughtlessly advertised the dat
of the concert for prayer-meetins
night because there was going to b,
some kind of day convention il
town and good crowd was assured
! for the concert.
The minister vetoed the date they
fixed, and forbid them to go on witt
it, declaring he would not receive
the money If taken in for a concert
on prayer-meeting night, and even
threatening to prosecute them if they
ignored him. One plucky woman
took all the responsibility, had the
tickets reprinted under another
name and the concert was bowling
success without the minister. They
cleared $50, and then followed a
church row as to what should be
done with the money. The first
meeting developed differences of
opinion and they adjourned. That
brings us up to chapter two which
fOllOws:)
After people made their exit from
the committee meeting mentioned In
the last issue, some of them did
some thinking and decided to call
a meeting of the church board. Now
a church board is supposed to have
powers plenipotentiary, but it hasn't.
1t generally upholds the rules and
the preacher, right or wrong. Well,
they met, so to speak. That is, these
people, holding divergent views came
into each others presence, and were
physically visible to each other. In
spirit they tried to be spiritual and
receptive, but some failed as shown
by the proceedings.
There was really nothing to lay
before the meeting, but they were
ripe for a row and they rowed. You
see it was like this: The bunch had
undertaken to give concert to raise
money to put into the new church
fund, but they had a disagreement
with the preacher and he forbade
them to raise the said money and
he served notice on them that if
they did he would not only not re-
ceive the money but would prosecute
them for doing it that certain way,
so they backed up as it were, cut
loose from the church entanglements
for the occasion, raised the money
another way, for another purpose,
and the preacher had no occasion for
complaint. But withal he was at
the meeting and engineered it. Just
what he wanted, nobody seems to
know, or if they did know, ye writer
was unable to find out, but they sat
and discussed the events leading up
to the May day concert. The min
ister's wife was there too, that silent
influence that leads man Alright and
keeps his vision clear and his pur-
poses lofty.
1t would be improper to say that
she was loaded for bear, but she
was. AS the talk progressed it be-
came evident that her ammunition
was being directed at the plucky wo-
man who had stood pat and out
witted the preacher. 1t took some
stretch Of the Imagination to see
what connection there was between
the church concert that was never
given, and certain fallen woman
who had gotten into trouble long
ago and had to appear In court. But
the minister's wife put it across and
charged the plucky woman with hav-
ing had knowledge of the unfortu-
nate woman and Of having talked
about her misfortunes and of having
given a diamond to certain married
man in the town. The man had fin
ally given the diamond to his wife
and his wife had worn 1t, so there.
You know how committee is;
they will start to talk about some
thing, and somebody will inject an
other subject into the meeting and
everybody will grab at the new
thought and work on it as II 1t was
JuSL WudL tH0y Hdu m6C LOF. WelI,
1t was so in this instance. When
ever any one mentions a skirt and
a married man, every married man,
good, bad and Indifferent, falls under
a ban, and especially the married
man mentioned at the time. Right
then and here he is down and out
unless he is rescued, and he can't |
do thing for himself even il he is |
present, and he is generally some
where else attending to his own busi- |
ness and assuming that everybody |
Is all right. =
But to get back to this meeting, |
The pluckly woman was charged with |
talking and of telling things that put
some mans wife In a bad light
diamond that had been,
well, the diamond itself was tainted.
Now you would think that was
enough to hold plucky woman level
For while and 1t did. 1t was plain |
that she was stumped, but she re-
covered. She rose and said some |
thing in a very kindly manner that |
Ill the slanderers and trouble-mak-
srs In America ought to have drilled